Hearts in Service

There are many things that make me cry.  My family knows that and loves me anyway. ;-)  But one thing that really tugs at my heart strings and brings tears to my eyes is the Word of God.  Even at a young age I was like that.  My heart has always been compliant and ever since I was a young teenager, I have desired to follow God.  And I want to instill that love for God and his word in others. As you know, I have written four devotionals, but one thing that I've been wanting to write for a long time is a Bible study.  And one of my favorite books of the Bible is James.  It is a small book with only 5 chapters but very challenging.  It brings us to a place where our faith intersects with our actions and James challenges us to walk our talk. When I write I tend to do things backwards.  I generally come up with a rough title first and then begin writing.  In this case, I've done that, but also decided to start teaching...

This past weekend was our Great Commission Women's Fall Refocus Retreat.  It was my first major retreat as the new director of our district and it went well.  The speakers were wonderful and it's always encouraging to spend some time with old friends, as well as meeting new ones. One of the challenges we heard this weekend was that we often cram our lives so full of stuff that we don't have space to hear from God.  If He is calling us to do something and we haven't left any margin in our lives, we won't have room to do what He wants us to do. I know that I often live my life without margins.  I stuff my days to the brim with activity.  I have many opportunities for ministry.  I have a number of things that I'm quite capable of doing myself.  Yet, should I do something just because I have the talent or ability to do it?  Often, I'll hear of some ministry or opportunity and think, "Oooh, I'd love to do that!"  or "Let'...

Those of you who know me, understand that my heart is tied to my family.  When they hurt, I hurt.  When they are happy, I am happy.  I know that is the case with most mothers.  I have spent so much time, praying for my children. None have struggled more than my oldest son, Nathan.  I don't exaggerate when I say he has walked a hard road.  But no matter how much my heart hurts for him, I am tough on him because I know that wallowing in self-pity will get him nowhere.  I know that focusing on the negative will just spiral him downward.  But I do have to say that being a cheerleader is exhausting at times. However, for the past few weeks, he has been hearing the same message we give him from other people.  As I'm sure you are aware, often we can talk until we are blue in the face to our children and they don't always believe what we say or accept it.  Yet, they will accept that same thing from someone else.  Weird...

I stood in the dark under the twinkling stars and the huge luminous moon.  A warm breeze lifted my hair, crickets chirped around me and I felt peaceful.  I was once again overwhelmed with the realization that the God I serve, the King of the Universe, is so much bigger than I remember at times.  So often I fixate on the problem before me, and it begins to grow in my mind.  It expands to the point that I forget that my God is greater than any issue I wrestle with.  He is bigger than any problem my children will face.  When I keep my focus on Him the problem begins to fade.  It's still there and often requires some action from me, but my fears aren't threatening to overwhelm me.  I'm not quaking in my boots and biting my nails in apprehension of the moment when it all may fall apart. God is big.  When I remember that, the peace comes.  I have been reminded of this so many times in the past few weeks.  And...

I'm not sure what made me think of it, but I realized last night that I don't have an autumn decoration anywhere in the house.  Normally, at this time of the year, my fall table runners, leaves, wall hangings and wreathes are adorning my house.  I love everything about fall - the smells, the sights, the colors and the food.  But this year, it just seems like it's been one endless summer. It's been extremely hot and humid and I've been extremely busy.  That combination caused me to miss the turning of the calendar.  So today or at least tomorrow I plan on pulling out the autumn decorations and move forward into a new season. But let me leave you with a few last pictures of summer's end. Canning jars stuffed anywhere I can find space. A new to me though ancient way of making grape juice.  No more smashing and cooking and straining.  Place the grapes in canning jars, fill with boiling water and sweetener and process in a water bath canner....

M.F.K. Fisher, The Gastronomical Me ~ "There was a series, every summer, of short but violently active cannings. Crates and baskets and lug-boxes of fruits bought in their prime and at their cheapest would lie waiting with opulent fragrance on the screened porch and a whole battery of enameled pots and ladles and wide-mouthed funnels would would appear from some dark cupboard." I remember spending time with my grandmother either shelling peas or snapping beans or watching as she canned tomatoes and peaches.  It was always a fascinating thing for me to see though I certainly had no idea of the amount of work involved. This summer I decided not to plant a garden because I knew it was going to be a busy summer and to be honest, I am terrible at gardening and really don't enjoy it.  However, I do love the end result of gardening.  All of my efforts never really produce that much.  So this year I decided to take my money and visit a regional ma...

Psalm 119:57-62 (HCSB) ~ The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. I have sought Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to Your decrees. I hurried, not hesitating to keep Your commands. Though the ropes of the wicked were wrapped around me, I did not forget Your instruction. I rise at midnight to thank You for Your righteous judgments. James 1:22-25 (HCSB) ~ But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does. As a parent, I can always tell when my childre...

Bad attitudes, unkind words, impatience and stinking thinking have been flying around my house lately.  I've come to a realization that the worst culprit is me!   I wake up and feel the stinkiness oozing out of me and I feel kind of helpless to stop it. And that stink permeates everything and soon our whole household wreaks with the stench! But, just as losing weight won't happen without hard work and determination, neither will those bad habits that I've developed.  God isn't going to miraculously clap a hand over my mouth nor keep my attitude from spiraling downhill.  He doesn't work that way.  He expects me with His help to do the hard work of changing. And it is very hard.  It's exercise.  It requires working those attitude and mouth muscles and forcing them into new ways of thinking and responding.  But the more that you do it, the easier it becomes and the less those muscles scream in resistance. So I'm wor...

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) ~ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Undeserved favor, unearned forgiveness, unmerited mercy.  I have a head knowledge of grace but so often I live my life in such a way that it seems as if I'm trying to earn my salvation. Sometimes I have the mistaken, internal belief that if I do enough good things or work really hard at living out my faith, that I have an in with God.  Yet, that is not what grace is at all.  Grace is a free gift.  I can do nothing to earn it, there are not enough good works in the world to make me deserve it.  I am completely broken and separated from God except for this beautiful gift of grace that He gives me. God's grace covers me when I stumble and fall.  His grace is the Lord's hand of mercy extended to me when I mess up.  He of...

Last Tuesday, I took Emily to a photography studio to get her senior pictures taken.  As I looked at my beautiful daughter, I was reminded once again at how fleeting time can be.  It seems as if it were just yesterday that she was a toddler. But she is starting her senior year on Wednesday and before I know it she'll be off to college.  She is looking forward to this next stage of her life.  I'd love to say her high school years have been wonderful, but they haven't.  She has experienced much unkindness since we moved here and feels quite lonely.  So I know she wants the next stage of her life to begin. All of my children have experienced growing pains.  They have experienced the hurt of rejection and cruelty.  They have experienced things that I wish they would have never known.  Much of what they have gone through I don't share here, but as a mom, their pain is mine as well.  I so wish I could shield them from t...