Too Busy for Fellowship

I could hear the urgency in her voice long before she made it up the apartment steps. With every forward step, came another request, complaint, need or want from the two children circling anxiously around her. Having noticed the new welcome mat across the hall nearly two weeks ago, I too was eager for her attention. I peeked out the window to confirm my suspicions and sure enough, it was the stranger I had respectfully observed only in passing.

Not wanting to see another opportunity to officially meet my new neighbor pass me by, I opened my door to find her hands full, one son’s shoe united, and the others’ A- minus being flashed in her face. The oranges from her grocery-mart bag were just about to squeeze themselves through an unnoticed hole in the corner, and from the aggressiveness towards the leather purse dangling innocently over her right shoulder, I accepted the unspoken warning that unless I had her front door key, now wasn’t the best time to introduce myself. I shut the door as quickly as I opened it. Once again, I missed my chance to welcome her properly.

How often does homework, science projects, cheerleader practice, basketball games, youth camp, bank deposits, bills, Church, small group sessions, chores, doctor’s appointments and deadlines cause you to miss out on building new relationships? Have you been so busy that you’ve ignored a possible friendship that could end up being the source of encouragement you truly need?

In the New Testament book of Luke, Martha found herself in the same vicious cycle of too busy for fellowship. Though what she was focused on was important and very much appreciated, the Bible calls her preparation a distraction. Getting lost in the details even caused Martha to build a sense of resentment towards her sister Mary, which was far from the hospitality she desired to share with Jesus and His disciples. I’m sure Martha was pained to learn from Jesus Himself that her sister’s choice of being still and listening at His feet was greater than all her worry and business combined.

My reasoning for withdrawing my invitation was not based off judgment, but understanding. I too have the allowed the demands of the moment to frustrate my appearance into unapproachability.

Recently, I ran across a popular booklet from the 1960’s called Tyranny of the Urgent. Inside was a brief, but direct point; our greatest danger is allowing the urgency of life to crowd out things of true importance. Living in constant tension between the urgent and important will only discourage us from resting in the one source that can perfectly balance the two.

As Charles E. Hummel once said, “Man is never so truly and fully personal as when he is living in complete dependence upon God.”

As Christians and single moms, it’s imperative that we make adequate time for daily waiting on the Lord. With His help and guidance, we can live confidently and free from the oppressive demands of single parenting.

Article originally featured at TLSM, The Life of a Single Mom

Speak Life

The bitter words leaped off my tongue and were audible before I had enough energy to restrain them. Once heard, the damage was done. There was nothing I could do to remove the painful sight of seeing my son respond to my affections in tears. Through the lenses of his smudge stained glasses, shame presented itself more clearly that day than I’ve ever seen. My tongue was so piercing that it’s effectual end brought an even greater consequence than had I not spoken a response to him at all.

If you are anything close to ordinary, you too may have found yourself suffering the cost of a sharp and brutal tongue. Though we intend to speak life and hope giving words to our children at all times,  we will suffer from moments of weakness and anxiety ourselves. The goal is not to refuse communicating our emotions while under pressure,  but learning how to offer love and grace in all of our responses, all of the time!

As a mouthpiece from God, the prophet Isaiah foretold of a Lord who would be the stability of our times and the abundance of our Salvation. He proclaimed that He is our wisdom and our knowledge. The Lord’s promise to not break a bruised reed or quench the wick of the faintly burning has never been broken, and should be the source of our inspiration when it comes to how we choose to communicate with others. (Isaiah 33:6, 42:3) God’s reservoir of grace is never-ending and so should our tender mercy towards one another.

A few hundreds of years ago, the great Puritan minister Richard Sibbes wrote “We have this for a foundation truth, that there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” Resting our confidence in this is an amazing fact. If God has enough power to release us from our guilt, shame should never be an extension of ourselves. We must simply trust and follow the One who can provide us with peace everlasting.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

Article originally featured at TLSM, The Life of a Single Mom

Living Theology

“Life isn’t logical, or sensible, or orderly. Life is a mess most of the time. And theology must be lived in the midst of that mess.”  - Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship ministry.

Opening up my document and realizing that none of my work was saved before my computer automatically updated, caused my already throbbing ears to pound even worse than they were before I sat down to complete the past due article. All the wisdom from the sweet blog post I had just written about embracing the beauty in things that play out differently than we originally imagine, escaped me in seconds including a response that proves I have yet to grasp the very concept I was just trying to teach.

Knowing that God uses my circumstances to teach me, it’s no surprise that I would be challenged as to how far these convictions go within seconds after I made this declaration. Do I truly believe that the Lord works all things together for good or is this something, like many others, that I freely pass along without truly understanding the value of its meaning? (Romans 8:28)

Believe it or not, I’ve actually learned this exact lesson once before. Not about the blessing in diversity, but about not getting angry when God chooses to rewrite my story. One would think that because it was so extremely difficult for me to surrender my will over for God’s will that I would never desire to struggle against Him again. It’s almost impossible for anyone to see how I could ever grow discouraged if Creator God ever choose to edit my work. Without a doubt, my testimony is evidence enough that He gives beauty for ashes and is the author of any goodness found in me. (Isaiah 61:3)

Why do we shudder when we see His supernatural eraser near our agendas? Our desires are in no way perfectly holy, but we act as though we need no reproof. We so easily forget that without His abundant grace, we cease to be anything worthy of notice.

Warren W. Wiersbe states in his commentary on Ecclesiastes that the Christian should love life, seeking to put the most into it and getting the most out of it, to the glory of God. That “we may not enjoy everything in life, or be able to explain everything about life, but that is not important. We live by promises and not by explanation.” (1 Peter 3:10, Ps. 34:12)

We can be confident that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there too is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:17)

I will mediate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119: 15-16 (ESV)

Completely Unsatisfied, Yet Fully Content

As Christians, we live a unique life. There is always a spiritual war pulling us in one direction or another, seeking to gain every ounce of attention we have. Its purpose in distracting us is to take away from our primary focus which should be Christ. We tend to be discontent with life, always needing something more. Whether it is more material items, money, love, affection, friends, time, status, etc., it seems there is usually an area of our lives never completely satisfied.

According to Paul, contentment is something we learn. In Philippians 4:11 (KJV), He writes “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." He goes on to say in verse 13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." These passages tell us that Paul learned to rely on Christ to strengthen him, enabling him to find contentment in any situation or state. He found God’s grace to be sufficient and Christ’s strength to be perfect. (2 Cor. 12:9)

This is a challenge. We must learn to be satisfied in Christ alone. No one and nothing will ever be able to fill the void meant for Jesus Christ to fill. He gives us all that we need according to 2 Peter 1:3 and Philippians 4:19. Until we surrender our dissatisfaction and lack of contentment to Him, we will never find true satisfaction or fulfillment in Him.  

Is there a deeper struggle in this battle? Ironic as it is, on one hand, we are found easily discontent in life. Yet on the other, we are far too easily satisfied spiritually speaking. Often, we grow content with our knowledge of God or our closeness to Him. Our prayers are good enough. Our time spent with Him will suffice. Why should we study more?!  Don't we know Him already?! We've read the Biblical stories. We are aware of His love and Power. Why should we seek to know Him any more than this? Our pride tells us, we are satisfied to continue life with the knowledge we have already acquired.

BEWARE! We often fail to understand that we can never know God enough. We can never exhaust Him with our prayers. We can never spend too much time reading His word and that even though His mercies are new each and every day (Lamentations 3: 22-23), He is never too busy to sustain us. The Almighty Lord, our God, is just that Great!

Ask yourself, “Am I content with where I am in my spiritual walk with the Lord? Am I discontent with where I am in my life?

My challenge to you is to stay unsatisfied in your walk with God, while allowing Christ to keep you fully content in every other area. By never being content spiritually, we will continue to seek Him more and more. We will long to know Him deeper. The more we search for Him, the more we will desire to know Him. It is a cycle that we can be confident in. We seek, He reveals; we search, He reveals. He will reveal! The Bible promises us in Jeremiah 29:13 "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." 

Never be satisfied to stop when God exposes more of Himself and His truth to you. As we strive to grow in our relationship with the Lord, we can be as content as Paul was in all areas of our lives; completely unsatisfied, yet fully content in Jesus Christ.

GUEST POST written by 2014-2016 President and Vice President of the Protestant Women Of the Chapel, Fort Benning. Laura Lowe and her family are still actively involved in all things HUA. 

Two are better than one...and a three fold cord is not easily broken.

~ Ecclesiastes

 

How to Avoid Anxiety

Featured article at LIFTUPYOURDAY.com on May 23, 2016

Grant that it may not be in the power of any to rob me of the peace that results from a firm trust in Thee. Whenever crosses or troubles are met without, may all be well within. ~ Susanna Wesley

Susanna Wesley knew the danger of allowing circumstances to steal her joy and it is imperative that we too protect ourselves from allowing the Devil to gain ground among us. It seems all too easy to become engulfed with life’s mishaps and have our focused removed from Christ as the center.

Rarely, do we see people stop everything and hit their knees in a prayer of commitment against this. Perhaps, if we did, our insecurity and loss of confidence would be removed.

In Elizabeth George’s, A Women After God’s Own Heart, she points out that, “God confidence comes as the Holy Spirit works within us.” That, “As we pray and when we make choices that honor God, the Holy Spirit fills us with His power for ministry.”

She is so right! Her prayer principle that, If He doesn’t meet it, you didn’t need it, is a super simple, extremely tough value that we would do well to apply to our lives.

Can you imagine walking through life stress free? Though it is impossible to never be without a challenge, we can control where we vest our strength to carry on.

I recently encountered a multitude of trials myself. It seemed that if it could go wrong, it was going wrong. My tears over every new thing easily pointed to my lack of trust in His ability to fix things.

Over and over again, I had to repent for losing sight of His goodness, mercy and grace. I did it so much over the last few weeks that I was irritating myself with myself. Praise God that He is faithful to not only forgive, but restore. Once I finally began to rest in His promises of provision, my soul found contentment in the midst of uncertainty.

Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  Matthew 6:25

Though we are familiar with His reminder that none can add a single hour to the span of their lives through worrying, we consume ourselves with defeat almost every opportunity we get.

Michael Henry’s commentary on this same passage states that, “There is scarcely any sin against which our Lord Jesus more warns his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ~ Matthew 11:28-30

This article is part of Jenny's ongoing contribution to LiftUpYourDay.com

A More Permanent Stay

I walked in the room, set down my travel luggage, and immediately proceeded to our assigned balcony for the week. As soon as I rolled open the sliding glass door, a warm San Diego breeze began tempting me to make a more permanent stay. Though this trip was not deemed a vacation, it felt like one to me. The atmosphere was new, the weather was better and the people, somewhat different. My itinerary promised stories of faithful men and women who stood in the gap between God and government throughout history, and I could not imagine a more fun week of learning and pleasure. Even though it was my husband’s conference, I planned to absorb all that I could from his peers. As I stood there enjoying what Georgia could not offer me, I never imagined how much of a blessing our time here would be.

Ever since I stepped into my calling as a testimonial speaker and writer for Christ’s sake, I have been challenged with the declining rules and standards of a seemingly Godless nation. In essence, government sanctioned events want a dumbed down version of a nameless god that can save them instead of having someone boldly declare the truth that will set them free. As Paul tasks us as believers in 1st Corinthians to be “all things to all people,” I have since struggled with the boundaries between respect and loyalty.

I am aware of the red letters spoken by Jesus. “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Quite frankly, this passage scares me to death. In each of our daily lives, we are in a constant battle for the freedom to express our faith. Though it is our constitutional right to do so, it is continually expressed that we not offend our neighbor. I, as one who is working with many to accomplish authentic change and sober minded living, am forced into constant prayer over this matter. How much is too much, and how much is not enough?

After listening to stories about Martin Luther and his wife Katie’s boldness during their break away from the Roman Catholic Church, I began to gain more confidence with how to approach my own personal sharing in government settings. Between every lecture throughout the week, we heard from a new Chaplain. In listening to every opportunity given for these men to testify, the more my hope increased. Each face tough challenges; each have been provided with divine appointments.

Before the weeks’ end, I too found a Fearless approach. Without naivety towards an evolving culture, I will trust that if I am obedient to share the gospel as called, that the good news heard will redeem those who obey it.  Standing in the gap will always present difficulty. Though I am an imperfect being delivering a perfect message, the source who strengthens me is without limitations.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12

Let it Snow

No one thought it would happen. “It is way to warm. Maybe next year”, they said. While attempting to squash my hopes for a snow filled Christmas, I looked out the window in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin and could clearly see my breath fog up the glass. While it wasn’t neon, it was just enough of a sign to keep my hopes alive.

You will rarely discover me siding with an APP over a human beings life experience, but this time I was confident AccuWeather was going to be right; I secretly hoped so anyway. I counted on only one hand the opportunities I’ve had to play in winter’s white glory and absolutely none of these times were during my Christmas holiday. I wanted to experience this wonderland so much that I even found myself praying for this seasonal delight.

After three days and much debating, I was shocked when my wish actually came true. Down fell the first few snow flurries of December for the area and I was so excited that I nearly knocked my sweet step daughter over bouncing with joy. Like a kid, I watched through the window as the snow fell and stuck to the ground. I waited patiently until enough powder accumulated for a decent sized snowball and picture.

Looking back, I had no clue at the time how much fun my YES from the Lord would be. What stands out most to me though is that I honestly didn’t believe that my prayers were enough to make a difference. I verbally spoke my confidence out loud and in pride declared that “of course it’s going to snow”, but in my heart, it was definitely never more than a fifty fifty chance. While being right was amusing, the comedy that soon followed proves that I really didn’t believe I had God’s attention on such a tiny matter.  

Trivial lesson? I don’t think so. If I don’t learn to trust God with the small stuff, how can I muster the courage to trust Him on matters of great significance? God’s snowy creation equaled extra joy during my vacation. Why should I devalue His blessing in my life.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)