In "Other" Words

"Lower your expectations of earth. This isn't heaven, so don't expect it to be."~ Max Lucado ~

This quote reminds me of a section at the beginning of Linda Dillow's book, "Calm My Anxious Heart". The section is titled, "Contentment Begins With An Eternal Perspective." The word perspective according to Webster's suggests "looking through; seeing clearly; the capacity to view things in their true relation of relative importance." Living my life with an eternal perspective helps keep life on earth in its proper place.

In her book, Linda shares the story of a missionary who worked with the pygmies in Africa for fifty-two years. She goes on to say that "primitive doesn't begin to describe her living conditions in the scorching heat and humidity of the African bush." Her daughter discovered "...a treasure, a much more significant find than gold or silver. In an old diary of her mother's, she discovered her prescription for contentment."

Her words convict my heart every time I read them.

• Never allow yourself to complain about anything - not even the weather


• Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else


• Never compare your lot with another's


• Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise


• Never dwell on tomorrow - remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours

The words of this missionary are powerful. In her book, Linda concludes this section with these words: "The secret is in her last statement. Her eyes were fixed on eternity. Her tomorrows belonged to God. She had given them to Him. And because all her tomorrows were nestled in God's strong arms, she was free to live today. One day at a time she could make the right choices and grow to possess the holy habit of contentment. Her focus was eternal, and her focus led to an internal contentment."

It is so easy to place value in "earthly" things rather than "eternal" things. I have learned to ask myself the question, "Does this (thing, event, place, etc.) have any eternal value?" A verse I have written on the inside cover of my bible as a reminder to keep an eternal perspective is 1 Timothy 6:15, God... is the blessed controller of all things, the king over all kings and the master of all masters.

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In Other Words

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."

~ Charles Spurgeon ~

How many times do we want to give up? Quit? It is just too hard. I am a snail trying to reach the ark in time, but I know I can only go so fast (or do so much). If I look to the right or the left I will easily be distracted by what may look like an easier road, smooth sidewalks or a cool place in the dirt. It is tempting to stop, not go down this path because it is long and difficult at times but off in the distance I see the ark. I keep my eyes set on that which is before me and I persevere.

In our ladies bible study this morning we looked at "hope". One of the scriptures that was shared was Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In order to make it to the ark the snail had to throw off (or ignore) everything that would hinder or entangle him from reaching his destination. He persevered (persisted in spite of opposition or discouragement) the path that was set before him. The snail's eyes were fixed on the ark.

The ark represented life to the snail. Without it there was no future. Jesus is my ark. Without Him there is no life or hope for my future. As I run (or crawl) through this race set before me (life) my eyes will be fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.

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In "Other" Words

"Busyness is not a spiritual gift."

~ Lisa Harper ~

Tonight after dinner I was headed outside with three of my children for a walk. For the past week, I have been walking in the evenings for exercise and enjoying the nice weather. I was excited to get out tonight and make my way through our neighborhood.

I was standing in the street waiting for my daughter to get her scooter and fastening the buckle to a wiggly two year old in the stroller. My six year old had come racing down the driveway on his bike explaining something about the brakes when I heard the sound of a baby crying. I heard one of my neighbors calling across the street to my next door neighbor who I hadn't noticed sitting on her front porch with her new baby. She asked how she was doing and I heard my neighbor reply, "oh, just ok, my baby is really fussy and we aren't getting much sleep." They chatted for a few minutes when the neighbor who had been doing the inquiring shouted, "you know what that is like don't you Chris?" For a very small second I thought just answer the question, "yes" and be on your way down the street to enjoy the walk. After all I told myself, "you deserve this time alone with your own children and you have been looking forward to this walk all day and don't mess up your routine now," but before I could finish the thought, I heard the nudging of the Holy Spirit to go over and see how she was doing.

I walked up to her yard and asked if I could hold her seven week old son. She explained all about his fussiness, her lack of sleep (I could see it in her eyes) and her own post pregnancy health concerns. I remembered how difficult those early weeks and even months can be when you have a little one who doesn't sleep. For the next hour I stood outside and held her little one. He fussed for awhile, I talked and cooed with him. I patted his back and rubbed his tummy trying to bring some relief. My own children realized mom was no longer going for her walk and had headed off to join some kids in a game of baseball.

Soon the baby's dad who had been visiting with another neighbor came over and we all stood and talked while the little guy finally settled down and was fast asleep in my arms. He was even snoring. I continued to hold the baby while mom and dad were able to enjoy a moment. I stood and listened as they talked about how difficult the days and nights had been and how their three year old was handling the new addition to their family. I was no longer concerned about my own agenda, but truly grateful that for a moment my own busyness (or maybe my own plans might be a better word) had not interfered with an opportunity to share the Love of God through my available arms.

You see my neighbors know my husband is a Pastor. We know they don't go to church anywhere. We don't want to preach at them, but we do want to show the Love of God by how we live our lives. At the moment, I was hoping the other neighbor would stay and visit with her, but she didn't. Busyness is not a spiritual gift. In fact, often times (moms especially) run from here to there all in the name of "good" things and how many truly "good" things are they missing out on because they are just too busy? My home has been my "busyness" measuring stick for many years now. It usually speaks to whether or not I am too busy. Of course, there are always seasons when things get a bit crazy, but that is not where we want to live.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you Psalm 63:3

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In "Other" Words

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

I love the description that the writer of Hebrews paints for us. I think of the surgeon's knife cutting away at my inner most parts, exposing my heart and dividing (or imparting) that which is truth from everything else and removing that which will bring destruction so that I may be changed for God's glory. Using the Life Journal as a tool for daily reading of God's word imparts truth into my life directly. Each time I sit down to read, I ask the question, "How will I be different today because of what I have just read?" 1 Tim. 4:7 says, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness". It is God's word (ancient words) that makes this quote so powerful!

"Ancient Words, ever true

Changing me and changing you

We have come with open hearts

O let the ancient words impart."

~ Lynn DeShazo~

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In Other Words

“At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ

where evil did its worst and met its match.”

~ John Wenham ~

When I read this quote my first thought was "without the cross, there is no story." In John 19:30, Jesus spoke the words, "It is finished". The cross is the finished work. Nothing can stand up against it.

In our ladies bible study on Tuesday morning, we have been writing down three scriptures every week which show "who I am in Christ". As I prepared the three to bring this morning, I found these three verses so fitting for today and this week:

• Healed by the stripes of JESUS He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24
• Kept by God and the evil one does not touch me We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 1 John 5:18
• Delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God's kingdom For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves Colossians 1:13

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In "Other" Words

As a young bride at twenty two, married to the man who had prayed for me at the tender age of fifteen, I had a very limited understanding of what God's design for marriage was. I knew I was to "leave" and "cleave" and that we were "one flesh", but beyond this, I began a life hoping to find joy and fulfilment only to discover that I struggled deeply within myself. I had a husband who loved me immensely, I was a born again Christian and it just seemed everything should be fine. I found the unfulfilled expectations I had seemed hopeless. Most of my struggles did not stem from my husband, but from my own fears and insecurities. I did not believe that I was capable of being loved. I struggled to accept God's unconditional love for my life and all of this only spilled over into my relationship with my husband. Over the years God has stretched our relationship to the very core. Our love for each other never wavered but the storms of life pounded against us one right after another at times.

James 1:2-8 (ESV) says,

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

As the years went on I sought the Lord with everything in me. I did not want all these trials and troubles wasted. I asked the Lord for wisdom and understanding on His plan for marriage. I lived to this point in my plan for marriage and it was not working for me. Slowly, the Lord moved me down a path showing me not only His plan for marriage but brought healing and deliverance from the struggles that had entangled my life. God brought people and put me in places where biblical truths were taught and this changed my life dramatically. One truth in particular sticks out in my mind that changed my course for good. "Marriage was not designed to make me happy, but to bring God glory!" My marriage was to bring God glory! What a enormous relief this was to me. My joy (happiness) could only come from the Lord and Him alone, and therefore the joy I experienced in my marriage was a result of following God's plan for a biblical marriage. I live each day hoping my marriage will continually bring glory to God!

"One of the secrets to a happy marriage is remembering the source of our joy, which is not one another. The source of our joy is the Lord. Yes, we share tons of joyous moments, but we don't expect, let alone demand, endless joy-filled moments from each other. "

~ Liz Curtis Higgs ~from the devotional: Rise and Shine

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In "Other" Words

"Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets."
~ Madame Jeanne Guyon ~

I have truly selected someone else's words today which so beautifully describe what I hope someday may depict my own life when it comes to the word of God. I often struggle for the right words to say or write. I know them in my heart, I have experienced it in my life, but it just doesn't seem to come out as I would hope. But I do hear and feel the music and will continue to sing the song. This most thought provoking quote was at the end of our bible study this morning for our Tuesday morning study at church. I have been meditating on it all week.

"There is a difference between memorizing Scripture and thinking biblically. There's a difference between knowing the words and experiencing their meaning. There is a difference between having sentences embedded in your head and having their impact embedded in your heart. There is a difference between "doing Christianity" and being a Christian. You can memorize all of the words, but if you've forgotten the music you still won't be able to sing the song." Tim Hansel

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In Other Words

We are urgent about the body; He is about the soul. We call for present comforts; He considers our everlasting rest. And therefore when He sends not the very things we ask, He hears us by sending greater than we can
ask or think. Richard Cecil

I picture a stack of papers piled at the corner of my desk a bit tattered and yellowed from their stay, although unattractive by nature they represent the many unanswered prayers through the years. There have been so many
things I have declared that "I needed or desired" and pleaded with the Lord to allow these events or things in my life. Several things come to my mind, but one stands out. A few years ago my oldest daughter had participated in a drama performance group through the school she was attending at the time. There was a selection process for the following year in which several students were selected to go on and work with a group which would perform in area schools and so on. Everything in the natural mind would have expected my daughter to be selected, but God did not bring what we asked. He did not answer my prayers for my daughter. Instead the words, "He hears us by sending greater than we can ask or think" were lived out before me in the next few months. In the moment, I did not understand why. I prayed with my daughter as she cried and felt a bit betrayed not by God, but by the director and leader of this group. In her natural mind she had worked hard and in every way should have been selected. But neither of us knew what God's plans were at the moment.

Over the next couple of months as the Lord began to open the door for our move across the country we began to see God's gracious and loving hand in our lives. My husband, my daughter, and I all knew had she been selected for this group our hearts may not have been open to His plans. Even my daughter proclaimed God's goodness in her life allowing her heart to be open to the change that was approaching. At a time in a young person's life when most would agree that a major move would be detrimental, she welcomed God's plan.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

Again, the image of several pieces of paper stacked at the corner of my desk and what they represent, reminds me of God's loving and sovereign hand in my own life. There are a few new pieces of paper at the top of the stack. There are still many that have been there for years. At times, I feel the need to deal with these on my own, but than I remember the words of Psalm 77:11-19

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

I desire God's footprints throughout my life, those unseen places which only He knows what is needed and what will bring about His eternal plans for my life.

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

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In Other Words

"I long to worship Jesus with the heart of a child, in a state of pure and true adoration. Yet so many things of the world cloud my thoughts and pull on my heart until it's no longer just a girl in the arms of the Father"
~ Darlene Schacht ~
"The Mom Complex"

When all of my children were babies there was a point in their growth that the safety of my arms securely wrapped around them could no longer keep them in my grasp. There was a point in which the noises in the room would slowly pull at their senses away from my loving touch and caress. They wanted to stay curled up against me, but the distractions were great and would slowly overtake them.
Then suddenly, without warning my babies would be back in my arms. And often if someone or something tried to remove them they would refuse. They were firmly fixed in place or steadfast about their position.
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast,because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

I long to worship with pure adoration like the heart of a child. But I am more like one of my own babies when I am standing before Him worshiping. My eyes are closed, my heart and mind are purely focused on Him. But then, slowly I open my eyes and begin to look away, notice those around me, my mind begins to wander, and before I know it I am as far away from the security of His presence without ever leaving the room.

In Matthew 18:3. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:13-14

These verses reminds me of the value Jesus placed on the little children. It is their heart and faith that we are instructed to become like. It is pure, simple and uncomplicated

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The Truth that Sets me Free

"Satan's ultimate lie is that you are capable of being the god of your own life, and his ultimate bondage is getting you to live as though his lie is truth."
~ Neil Anderson ~

Our Tuesday morning Bible Study is currently doing a study on the "Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free". I am using Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book as a reference. (the book is excellent and I would highly recommend it)

During our first week we looked at the creation of woman and how Satan was able to trap her in believing the "lie". He is still trying to use this method of operation today.

Satan deceived Eve through a clever combination of outright lies, half-truths, and falsehoods disguised as truth. He began by planting seeds of doubt in her mind about what God had actually said (“Did God really say….?”)

In Genesis 3, right at the beginning he questions God
He questions the word of God. He questions his truthfulness, the meaning, the motives, implying that God has some secret plan and so on. He twists the meaning: He said, “Has God indeed said” (verse 3:1)

What God had said (Gen. 2:16-17) actually came in the positive.

He deliberately misrepresented the character and the command of God. He made it seem as if God didn't care.

Next he not only mis-quote’s God’s word but he contradicts it. (Compare Gen. 2:17 with Gen. 3:4)

Than in verse 5 he gives her a partial truth.

Eve was deceived. In verse 6, She “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise”

He appealed to what seemed right at the moment.

Like with Eve, Satan does not come head on and say to me "you can be like god", therefore believe this. Instead he starts by questioning the truth. He plants seeds of doubt. I than begin to question the character of God, and once I am questioning His character I have opened myself up (like Eve) to believe the lie.

God's Word is truth. The more time I spend reading, studying, meditating, and praying God's word the more I know his character and the truth. The more I know Him!

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."John 8:32

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