Encouraging Deep Roots

My days have been a blur lately. Get up, have my quiet time with the Lord, sip coffee, take a shower, clean up the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry. Then I come next door to the church and study for most of the morning. Go back to the house for lunch and to relax for about an hour. Then sewing, cooking, more studying, more laundry, cleaning, get started on dinner, etc.  I get back up and start all over again the next day. To be honest, there is nothing exciting happening in my life. No big ministry things. No change. Just day in and day out drudgery. Add to that concern over my young adult children who are struggling with anxiety and depression, concern over my mother, concern over our church, concern for our future and it makes for one big giant mental distraction. And one big knot in my stomach and heaviness in my heart. I find it interesting that the closer I get to my consecration exams the more a feeling of discouragement is weighing me down. The distractions keep co...

As Dan and I were driving home last night there were dark ominous clouds to our right and to the left was this beautiful sight. The sun was setting and the sky was painted orange and it took our breath away. The pictures through the window of a moving car don't do it justice, but it was spectacular. And yet, off to the right were those dark black clouds. They threatened rain, gloom and very stormy weather. But back to the left, was beauty and light and hope. This is often how my life seems -- gloom, stormy skies and tumultuous weather crowd in on me through stressful situations, unending concerns and anxiety. It feels as if the skies are about to open up and rain on me. And yet, when I keep my eyes on the Lord, I have hope and the promise of God daily walking with me. I catch a glimpse of the bright horizon. I sense hope. And that keeps me moving forward, trusting Him each step of the way. He doesn't promise us a life problem-free, but He does promise to be ...

Genesis 8:15-20a ~ Then God spoke to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out all the living creatures [ d ] that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the ground—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord . I don't know about you, but I hate waiting! I want to see things happen now. And the longer I have to wait for something the crankier I start to feel. It's like a child waiting for Christmas morning. Waiting is difficult, waiting is unpleasant and sometimes, waiting is unbearable. Noah and his family had been in the ark for many months when it rested on the top of Mt. Ararat. If they were anything like my family, I'm fairly certai...

Jealousy reared its ugly head yesterday in a very unexpected way. As that green monster took hold of me, I was actually surprised at my reaction. Jealousy of another person's life and ministry. It came out of the blue and it actually was a gut-punch to my ego.  It took a few hours to get it under control, as well as some self-reflection and prayer to see what was at the crux of the issue. It's not that I really wanted their ministry or life, but it was that I'm feeling defeated in mine. It was an enemy-inflicted taunt that I'm not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, successful enough, and on an on it went. I don't always experience this but w hen these jabs from Satan hit me I often feel like I'm drowning in self-doubt. Every imperfection I have comes rising to the surface and that seems to be all I can focus on. I feel like an unwanted, overlooked weed in a flower garden. But after a sharp rebuke from me to the enemy, I spent some time in prayer. ...

Yesterday, I had a huge list of things that I needed to accomplish and more than likely I wouldn't be able to finish. But I also know that it had been quite a few days since I've done any sort of movement or exercise. I really need to get out and move or I start feeling unhealthy. So I put aside the list yesterday morning and asked Dan if he would want to go for a walk with me. We headed out into the woods and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Some of the weight and cares I have rolled off me and my to-do list was put into perspective. Dan and I were able to connect as we walked and talked. Plus I got that exercise in as we walked 2 miles at a brisk pace.  We got back home by 10:30 and yet, I was still able to get much accomplished yesterday. I find it interesting that when I take the time for what is important, that there still seems to be time leftover to get everything done.  When I get up in the morning there are days when I think I should skip my time wit...

My days are so busy and full. I really do enjoy it, but in order to keep some resemblance of sanity I need to find balance. I don't want to fall into the trap which I often do of spending an entire day focusing only on one thing to the detriment of all else. I think the word that would describe my days is preparation. Preparing my Mind I'm preparing my mind as I study for my consecration exams. My 8 hour written exam is September 11. My oral exam before the Licensing, Ordination, Consecration Committee is on October 22nd. All of my requirements are done so all that remains is studying. I've been putting together PowerPoint presentations of the different question sections since it helps solidify it in my own head. The verse that comes to mind is in 2 Timothy 2:15 ~ "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth." Preparing to Can I bought some pe...

Ding. When I turned my phone on this morning my little notification message made it's alert noise to let me know that I had an email. I opened it to see a message from my daughter's school letting me know her tuition bill was ready to view. The moment I had dreaded for most of the summer had arrived. I closed the window without clicking on the link and took another sip of coffee.  I didn't want to look just yet and needed time to pray and get spiritually ready before I opened that bill. I had just read the passage where Jesus prays that His Heavenly Father would provide daily bread. Just enough for that day. I gave a message on Monday and talked about Jesus' miracles as He prayed and multiplied fish and bread to feed crowds. Afterwards, the disciples gathered up the leftovers and there were basketfuls of remaining bread. The God who multiplies bread can certainly provide what we need to pay one bill. But that one bill is often in the thousands of ...