Hearts in Service

A thought came crashing in on me this morning and I was reminded of a truth found in scripture that I sometimes forget. It's easy to slip into a self-centered mode of thinking. I find that over time I've gotten into a poor me attitude about many things in my life, including ministry. As I was reading this morning, the following verses resounded within me.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, "For Christ's love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.

My life is not about me. It's about Christ. When I get up each day, everything that I do and every decision I make should be in the light of this fact. Dan and I both received a definite call upon our lives to full-time ministry. It wasn't a whim and it wasn't our own desire. It was a calling. Dan was a student at Penn State University and in a ca…

This week has been one of those weeks that feels like it's never going to end. It's been a strange mix of ups and downs, studying and work, and sitting and doing absolutely nothing. Life always seems to be series of highs and lows and my life is no different than anyone else's life.

This week's highs:

I've been able to get out and walk quite a bit and I'm so very thankful that my knees are doing well. The weather has been beautiful and I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
Twice a month we have a service at a local nursing home. It's not a great place and many of the residents are really out of it. But I'm thankful that more and more have been coming. The lady in the pink yells out, "Hallelujah" every five minutes! Love it! Sometimes I think, "Why am I doing this?" and God reminds me that whatever I do for the least of these I have done for Him.



I took my written consecration exam on Wednesday and it took me a full 8 1/2 hours to complete.…

I'm reading a book by John Maxwell called Intentional Living. It's a good book though much of what's in it I already knew and have implemented. But one of the things that he talks about in there is finding your one thing and the why behind what you do.

I've struggled with staying focused for much of my life and I think a lot of that is because I always am going a thousand directions. In the book, he talks about people who are multi-gifted struggling with narrowing down their one thing. As I read that I laughed out loud, read the passage to Dan and he said, "That's exactly what your problem is!" You don't focus on one main thing. You have a hundred things going on.

It was a good challenge for me as I sit, pray and keep to the direction God wants me to go. None of the things I do are bad things and they all bring me satisfaction and fulfillment. The problem is that nothing ever becomes my primary focus because I'm off on a bunny trail as I travel alon…

There is the cloyingly sweet scent of fermenting berries in the air. The temperatures are cooler, the leaves are just starting to turn, and acorns are dropping from the trees as we walk. The vibrant green that was everywhere during the summer is getting a yellowish hue to it and you can tell that autumn is just around the corner. 

There is a different feel to the end of summer and I look forward with anticipation to the fall. It is my favorite time of the year and I look forward to pumpkins, cider, scented candles and apple-picking. Even though we get pounded with snow all winter long, I still enjoy everything about the fall. 

I'm trying to take time each day to look up from my computer and get outside and walk a bit. I want to soak in every minute I can before the winter's arrival. If I blink it will be gone and so I'm trying to keep my eyes wide open, enjoying each moment of this season.

I walked along the forest path and breathed deep the fresh scent of pine. The only sound was our footsteps and the occasional rustle of chipmunks and squirrels running around. Once in a great while there is a larger crashing as a deer runs across the path. The air was heavy with humidity and drops of water from the recent rainfall fell from the canopy above.  

I love the woods because it's one of the few places I can get away where I can think without interruption. It's one of the places where I get ideas to write about and find some inspiration. Often as I see something a thought pops into my mind which gives a great writing idea.

But the reality is that I  have felt very burdened and uninspired lately. There are times when I open up this page to write and absolutely nothing comes to me. Some of the inspiration in the past came from my children and since they are grown, there isn't as much material there. At least nothing that I have permission to share here. :-)  

Other tim…

We live in an age where information is right at our fingertips. You can Google any question you want and get instant answers. The question is "Are they the right answers?" There is a lot of false teaching out there about what God says. I'm amazed at how often Christians get their answers about something from the internet rather than God's word. 
The only way you can be sure what the Bible teaches about something is to actually pick it up and read it for yourself. Don't rely on a Facebook meme. Don't get your information from a devotional. On a side note, there is nothing wrong with devotionals but again, it's someone's opinion of what the scripture is saying. Don't let that be your only exposure to God's Word. Read for yourself and wrestle with the passage to see what God is saying.