Transformed by the Light

                                                               

        Black night fills my window panes, 

awaiting the new day's dawn.

Sleep deprived eyes fumble for the morning coffee.

Head down, making my way toward the window,

I look out.

A small gasp escapes my lips 

at the breathtaking beauty,

majesty ushered in.

Only moments ago,

where clouds were hidden in darkness,

the sun's colors

are now painted on their faces...

vibrant pinks,

 radiant oranges,

deep purples and blues,

reflections of what waits just below the horizen,

soon to burst forth.

Transformed by the light...what was once dark and hidden, 

has become a masterpiece.

Behold, He is making all things new.

With each new dawn, there is this hope-filled promise

for you and for me. 

Like the clouds once enveloped in darkness, 

we too, wait for the Son, 

drawing us closer to His love.

And as He does,

our lives suddenly burst forth 

with

 His magnificent beauty,

hearts singing with vibrant joy,

drawing deep from His Living water,

radiating His glory.

When the Master Painter looks at your heart today, may it be Christ's beautiful love that He sees reflected.

 This will be what draws the world to 

want to know Him.

How can they know Him if they can't see Him and how will they see Him if we don't show them?

Let the world see a beautiful reflection of the Son today...let it be what takes their breath away.

         And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~2 Corinthians 3:18

Sometimes You Have to Go Through Good Friday to Get to Easter~Remembering Sarah

     Today marks 15 years. Fifteen years since we sang our sweet daughter, Sarah, lullabies as she left our warm embrace for the heavenly hands of Jesus. She was only nine and 1/2 months old, but the length of her life did not determine it's impact. Tonight as I miss her precious smile, I am reflecting with gratitude on the ways God used her short life to change me profoundly and permanantly. Here is a piece I wrote shortly after her death. It is my prayer that some of these lessons will touch your heart. That in some small way, her life will bless you, too. 
     I love you my Sarah~I can't wait to see your smile again.
                                       

                                   What God Taught Me Through Sarah

I’ve learned
that you can sometimes be a great witness for the Lord without ever saying a word.
I’ve learned
that sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.
I’ve learned
that there are alto worse things than death.
I’ve learned 
that watching your child suffer is the most difficult thing a parent has to do.
I’ve learned
that the best doctors are usually people you’d want for best friends.
I’ve learned 
that we have children with the idea that we will teach them about life; when 
teach us so much more.
I’ve learned 
that no matter how much I love my children, God will always love them more.
I’ve learned
that the miracle of dying can be as beautiful as the miracle of birth.
I’ve learned
that God never promised it would be an easy journey, just that He’d be with us every step of the way. 
I’ve learned
that we will never be able to answer our most desparate “why’s” in this life.
I’ve learned 
life can deal us the cruelest blows when we least expect it. 
I’ve learned
grief never ends, it just gets different.
I’ve learned
that God does give us more than we can handle, but never more than we can handle with Him.
I’ve learned 
that the more we think we understand God, that the less we probably do.
I’ve learned
suffering can make your faith, love and hope stronger, if you give it to God.
I’ve learned
nothing feels better than holding your child in your arms.
I’ve learned
sometimes the smallest in body are the largest in spirit.
I’ve learned
when your child is sick, nothing else matters.
I’ve learned
that a healthy child is not only a blessing, but a miracle.
I’ve learned 
sometimes when you think God is the furthest away, He’s really the closest.
I’ve learned
real friends stick by you, even when the going gets tough. 
I’ve learned
that most people are extremely generous and want to help.
I’ve learned
you can feel the greatest joy and the deepest sorrow at the same time.
I’ve learned
you can never take too many pictures of your children, sing too many lullabies, hold them too long, or love them too much.
I’ve learned
no matter how terrible a situation is, God can bring good from it. God is the good in everything. 
I’ve learned 
sometimes you have to stop asking “why?” and ask “what?”~ “What does God want me to do with this situation?”
I’ve learned
you have to go through Good Friday to get to Easter. 

Feeling Forgotten?

                           Feeling Forgotten?
                                       

      Have you been feeling like God has forgotten you...like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling...or that He has turned His face from you? Listen to the Truth of these words that Jesus spoke long ago, but still resonate today within our soul:

     "Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of far more value than many sparrows." ~Luke 12:6-7

    I have a confession to make. I am terrible at memorizing. But this verse is one I am diligently working on, because the power and purpose of it need to be written on my heart as a daily reminder of who I am in God's eyes...and that His opinion about my value is the only one that really matters. 

    Just look at the Truth that resounds here:

Sparrows were sold for a very small price. They held little value by the world's standards, but to God, every one of them was special. In fact, in Matthew, Jesus tells us that not even one of them will fall to the ground without the Father knowing about it...that He is sovereign over even the birds of the air. 

If the Creator has not forgotten one single bird, then how could we ever believe He has forgotten us? 

We must recognize that feeling of being forgotten by God as a bold-faced lie from the Enemy...if he can get you to think you've been forgotten, he can destroy your trust in the very One who promises to "never leave you nor forsake you." He can undermine your faith. 

And without faith, the door of our hearts are left wide open for fear to be ushered in and take over. 

Instead, realize the detail that God has created you with. Look at what Jesus tells us in the passage. God is completely aware of and concerned with every cell of your being and every detail is known to Him. Psalm 139 is perhaps the most beautiful picture of God's loving and careful crafting of each of us. Read it when the fear begins to creep in. Such care has He taken in designing you. You are His masterpiece...He CANNOT forget you, it would go against Who He is. You are written on His heart and engraved on the palms of His hands. This is why you need not fear or feel forgotten...

Recognize and receive the value He holds for you. God's heart for you is not based on anything you've done right, nor is it changed by anything you may have done wrong. Instead, it is based on Who He is...His unconditional love for you. In fact, He loves you so much, that He laid down His life for you! 

Fear not...you are far from forgotten, you are dearly loved. 

                              Live loved!

     

Promises, Promises

                                            Promises, Promises
                                       

      'Tis the season for making promises. You know, all those resolutions that we package into neat little boxes of goals, wrapping them in the pretty paper of determination and tying them neatly with ribbons of good intent?  So, why is it that just as quickly as all of those beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts were ripped open, their glittery paper and fancy bows tossed into the trash...that our self-professed promises meet the same fate? What is it that trips us up year after year, leaving us defeated and discouraged by mid-January? What  can possibly make this year any different? 
    Perhaps the answer lies not so much in what we want to accomplish, but how much we want it and why we want it.
     What is the motivation behind each promise or resolution you've made? Each of us are driven by what our heart treasures most. Think about it...if what we want most is money and wealth, then our choices and goals are determined by this desire. If we crave popularity, we make decisions based on what we think will give us the most credibilty with others. If we are motivated by appearance, then we determine that we will lose weight or dress a certain way. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with any of these desires, but if we want these with the hope that, "if I could just have _____, then I'd be happy, fulfilled and satisfied...then my life would be better than last year" we will forever live in the land of discontent and disappointment. 
    Let me suggest a different direction and perhaps a new approach to this year:
     1. The desires of your heart are what motivate and fuel your thinking. 
     2. Your thinking determines your actions, which in turn, determine the direction of your life. 
    3. Therefore, in order to change the direction of you life, you must begin with your heart. 
     And here's the secret:
IF THE GREATEST DESIRE OF YOUR HEART; YOUR TREASURE; YOUR MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION...IS GOD HIMSELF, THEN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR LIFE WILL BE MOTIVATED BY HIS GREAT LOVE FOR YOU. 
    I have learned that when my heart is centered on no other goal than knowing and glorifying Him in EVERY thought, action and word...that is when I have experienced what it means to live in the love of the Creator...and that is a place of ever-increasing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. It is not contingent on anything I can do better or goal I can accomplish this year...it is a promise that has already been kept by the only real Promise Keeper. He has already fulfilled the only promise that really matters in Christ.  
   So this year, why don't you start with only one resolution~to center your heart on Him and His amazing love for you? Determine to make knowing Him more, throughout each day, talking to Him, reading His Word and trusting His promises your only goal. Then as the desire of your heart for Him grows, your thinking will begin to change from self-focused goals to God and others-focused and it is a GUARANTEE that by this time next year, the DIRECTION OF YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE...you will be filled with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There really isn't any other resolution that will give your heart all of that~and that's a Promise you can count on! 

             Remembering and Renewal

    I have a friend who recently told me that this has been the hardest year of her life. Knowing some of the difficult trials she has faced, I would have to acknowledge that her assessment is probably pretty accurate. Perhaps you would say that has been your story this year, too. 
    The end of the year is a time of reflection for many of us, an evaluation of the highs and lows from the past 12 months. As you think back on 2013, what do you remember about this year? Are there people or events that touched your heart, changed or challenged you in some way? Maybe this has been a year full of difficulty or great loss for you.
     Remembering is a powerful tool and one that God Himself instructs His people to use. In the Book of Joshua, God has just brought His people out of the desert wilderness that has been their destiny for the past 40 years. The first thing He tells them to do is to have the priests pick up 12 rocks from the riverbed of the Jordan and place them in the new land, the Promised Land, as a way for all generations to REMEMBER what God has done for them...how He used the difficult days to teach them to trust in Him, how He taught them to rely on  His perfect Provision with daily manna (bread), how He had rescued them with the parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan...how, despite their failures, He still had kept His covenant promises. 
So, why was this remembering so important for God's people then, and why is it still important for us today? 
BECAUSE WHEN WE REMEMBER ALL THE WAYS GOD HAS RESCUED, REDEEMED, PROVIDED AND PROTECTED US...THEN OUR FAITH IS STRENGTHENED FOR THE FUTURE AND OUR GRATITUDE AND LOVE FOR HIM GROW. 
You see, God knew that the Isrealites were going to need to trust Him for the battles that lay ahead (Think of the trust it took to follow His battle plan to conquer Jericho~I mean who thinks it will work to march around a city 7 times and the walls fall?! Only a people who trust completely in their God). He knew that remembering what He had done would give them hope, encouragement and a deeper faith in Him and His power. 
     So as you reflect back on 2013, let me challenge you to pick up your own "rocks of remembrance." Looking back on this year, what are all the ways God has rescued, redeemed, protected and provided for you...in good times and in difficult? Prayerfully look at where His Spirit has been moving in your life. List them all in one place. Then, look over each one and thank Him. We often utter a quick "thank you" in the moment, but there is something very powerful about seeing all He has done before you at one time. It is truly awe-inspiring. It releases the gift of joy. 
   When He is the focus of your remembering, your perspective will be filled with His magnificent purpose. 
   My friend, who has lived through the most difficult year, also came to know Christ in a deeper and more intimate level than ever before...and remembering that, has changed her perspective from one of sorrow to one of hope. 
  May you reflect, ponder and pray with Christ as your focus...then, and only then, will you leave 2013 and enter the new year with a heart filled with hope, trust and gratitude for Who He is. 
Happy New Year to you all!

  

                                                    The Best Ride EVER!

        The State Fair was in N.C. a couple weeks ago. Maybe you were there, eating lots of things that you'd only try once a year, or maybe spending boatloads of money trying to shoot a plastic bathtub ducky out of the water as it wobbled by (just one more shot!), or maybe you rode some of the wild rides that promised thrills, but mostly made you feel a little sick. Good times.

      For several years now, I've been on a wild ride. Not a fair ride, but something far better...

     About 6 years ago, I first felt God calling me into something more, to take another step and find out for myself what it would be like to live closer to Him. I felt Him nudging my heart to learn more about Him and to help other people do the same. I knew He was calling me into some kind of counseling, but I was not sure exactly what that meant. 

And then He did the sweetest thing....He showed me a picture. As I was praying early one morning, He very clearly gave me a picture of myself, getting off of a rollercoaster. Standing there waiting as I got off of the ride, I saw Jesus. He looked right at me and said, "Wasn't that a GREAT ride?" And with all the enthusiasm and exhilaration of a kid, I said, "YES!" And that is exactly what it has been like.

     Counseling from God's Word has been full of ups and downs, twists and unexpected turns, and alot of thrills! It has never, not once, been boring or mundane. It has been very scary at times, but there has never been a single moment that I felt alone. There is nothing more amazing than having a front row seat to watch the Holy Spirit work in someone's life...to see God free them from something that has been debilitating in their life, or to see Him restore someone's marriage, or watch in awe as someone comes to know Christ for the first time, or comes back to Him after years of being lost, to witness the lord bring someone back from the brink of suicide to a heart full of the joy of knowing Him. There is another amazing thing that happens every time I get on this ride with someone and we climb the steepest hills imaginable, cascading to the bottom and suddenly turning and twisting, our stomachs somewhere behind us. There is a bond that forms. We laugh together, we cry together, we pray together (alot) and we both experience His greatness and power together. It is the heart of sisterhood,  knit together by Christ and it is a treasure of inexpressable value. 

     Today, I was having a difficult time expressing to one of my dear sisters in Christ, how I'd been feeling lately. I tried to articulate how I had been experiencing this strong desire to have my whole life be so connected to Him, that there was never any separation, that everything would be about Him. I told her that I could feel it building every day, every week. My eloquent friend looked at me and said, "It's like you're at the top of a roller coaster and you're about to go down that big, steep hill. You can see it right in front of you and the anticipation is palpable!"  There it was...the rollercoaster, the ride I was on and the One, Who will be with me on this next adventure, gave me the sweetest reminder of His Presence in it all, with her words that took me back to where it had all started. 

And that is where I am...I know that something very exciting is coming, a new adventure and a thrilling ride. I don't know all the twists and turns, but I know one thing with all certainty. If it is the ride He has for me...I don't want to miss one second! 

It is what we are all made for, to know Him and the greatness of His love. Nothing, no not one thing, compares to the joy of knowing Him, and of sharing that love with others!  

                                                         

So what are you waiting for? He has a more thrilling ride than any state fair or amusement park could ever build, and it is designed just for you. So hop on. If you do, when you step off at the end, and He asks you what you thought, you too, can say with a childlike excitement, "That was the best ride EVER!" 

     

Use It or Lose It!

                                                          

     How many of us, in our younger years, played a sport, an instrument or practiced something deligently, determined to improve on what we had the day before? Fast forward twenty or thirty years and one of our kids asks us to play that sport or instrument with them. Wow! What has happened to our excellent skill, our aptitude, and our prowess? It has faded with the passing years of non-use, like a light that has dimmed, our glory days are but a memory. 

    Jesus used a parable (story) to illustrate this principle in Mark 4:21-25. I was reading this passage today as part of a wonderful Bible study called, "You Belong to the Bridegroom" by my precious friend Aliene Thompson (you can order it at www.treasuredministries.com). One of the things I love about her studies is the room she leaves for the Holy Spirit to speak through the Word to you personally. The Lord spoke loudly and clearly through the parable in this morning's Scripture: 

      He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on a stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." 

     "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you-and even more. Whoever has will be given more;whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

     In today's language, "use it or lose it!" Jesus was telling his followers that we have been given the light of Christ and if we CHOOSE to hide it, out of fear, ignorance or rebellion, that light will grow dimmer, flickering and fading from what it used to be. No longer will His light radiate forth from within, shining for all who are walking in the darkness...and where will that leave the world, our nation, our communities and our families? 

    Here is the good news: our faith does not have to disappear with the other things that age may dull! We can actually become stronger, with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control! Our Lord tells us exactly how we can grow, rather than die...gain rather than lose...experience feast, rather than famine~ 

The more we use what He has given us for His glory (not our own), the more we grow in our faith, love, and understanding of Him! Through His Word, His Spirit, and fellowship with His people, more and more is poured out for us to share! And who among us does not think the world needs more faith-filled, Christ-centered, selfless love, to light  the darkness today? 

     It is the choice of every one of us. We can continue to let our faith wither and fade from lack of use, or we can dust it off, and turn our hearts back to Him. Start today, start where you are, and take that next step to use what you have been given. There is no better "Trainer" than Jesus!  He can get your heart back in shape in no time..that's what He came for! He can reignite your lamp! 

    Speak of what He is doing in your life, love that difficult co-worker or spouse with His grace, forgive those who have hurt you...all of this and more, have been given to you as undeserved grace. Now is the time for you to use it! 

 Let your light shine!