Anchors

I love metaphors and symbols.  So when I view life, I often try to frame it through these elements.  I've been doing some thinking about anchors and those things that hold me in place when the world seems a bit turbulent.

I have no real knowledge of anchors, so maybe one day someone will teach me much more, but a quick bit of research tells me that anchors dig into the seabed and serve a safety role.  They keep boats out of the surf or off the rocks.  An anchor works because when the anchor digs into the seabed surface or snags on a protrusion, resistance is created because of suction.  The suction occurs because of the material on top of the anchor.  To set an anchor the boat must be put in reverse and strain must be put on the line.  You don't know if the anchor will hold unless you then pull it hard.

There are a lot of ways I could make a connection between the anchor and life.  But two thoughts rise to the surface.  The first is that the anchor is a means of digging into the seabed.  For me God's Word is a way of digging into His truth and the reality of who He is and what His purposes are.  God's Word is the means that I dig into God's heart and view on the world.

The other thing that caught me was how an anchor was set.  It was set when the boat actually reversed direction, and when strain was added to the line.  So when my life goes back and then there is strain, God's Word can grip hold into who He is.  That's good, because an anchor I wish to share with you, is one I have already written about on this blog.  Psalm 103 keeps coming back to me.  When I started thinking about what portions of God's Word would keep me grounded during this bend in the road, I kept returning to this chapter.

I include the text below, with my own wording of it in purple beneath the passage.  It has helped me to think about the message in my own words, to make it truly my prayer.

Psalm 103New Living Translation (NLT)

A psalm of David.

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;                     
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.      
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;           
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.         

3 He forgives all my sins                          
    and heals all my diseases.                                
4 He redeems me from death                  
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.    

5 He fills my life with good things.           
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!            

6 The Lord gives righteousness                 
    and justice to all who are treated unfairly.       

7 He revealed his character to Moses         
    and his deeds to the people of Israel.   
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,    
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,             
    nor remain angry forever.                  
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;   
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.    
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him        
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.  
12 He has removed our sins as far from us       
    as the east is from the west.                  
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,     
    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  
14 For he knows how weak we are;                 
    he remembers we are only dust.                  
15 Our days on earth are like grass;                 
    like wildflowers, we bloom and die.       
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—                
    as though we had never been here.              
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever                 
    with those who fear him.                                          

His salvation extends to the children’s children     
18     of those who are faithful to his covenant,            
    of those who obey his commandments!                

                                                                                            

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;        
    from there he rules over everything.                

20 Praise the Lord, you angels,                               
    you mighty ones who carry out his plans,                   
    listening for each of his commands.               
21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels                 
    who serve him and do his will!
22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,        
    everything in all his kingdom.                             

Let all that I am praise the Lord.                          

At all times, may I praise Him with everything that is in me.
May all that makes me who I am praise Him.  May I always remember the
good He has done!  He has cared for my soul's death and my sin sickness.
He buys me back from death and makes me royalty by his love and mercy.
He provides all that is good, making me soar in renewed strength.
He gives right standing and fair treatment to those who are treated unfairly.
He showed who He is to Moses and Israel saw him by his work.  His character and work testify that He is full of compassion and mercy.   He is patient and loves faithfully.  He  does not remain angry or hold things  against us.  He does not give us what we deserve for our sin.  Those who fear Him receive towering unfailing love.  Their sins are taken away as far as the east is from the west.  Those fear Him are treated with the tender love a father gives his kids. God knows our frailty, our history of dust.  We are temporary:  Sprouting, growing, blooming, and dying.   Time passes and it's like we were never here.  For those who fear God,  His love remains forever.  The grandchildren of the faithful  and obedient benefit and are offered salvation.  God has his throne in the heavens.  From there he rules over everything. Mighty angels who do what He says,  Praise the Lord. Armies of angels who serve Him and obey, Praise the Lord. Everything that He has made in all His kingdom, Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, with all that is me!

I hope by sharing this anchor of mine, something strikes deep in your own heart.  I also hope you will take a little time to think about what anchors your life when the big sea starts to rage.  For in this world, we are pretty much guaranteed at one time or another that a storm will threaten to come our way.  

Stones of Remembrance

A tradition in the Old Testament that has often intrigued me is God's people setting up stones to remember what He has done for them.  A favorite story about this is found in Joshua 4, when God parts the waters for the Jordan for His people as they finally by faith enter His Promised Land.  After crossing, a member of each tribe is to go back, take a stone from what was one the bottom of the flooded Jordan, and then use it to make an altar to God on their new side of the river.  The pile of stones is to be used to teach future generations of God's work on His people's behalf.

This story always calls my heart to dig through the bottoms and take up a stone that He has uncovered so that I can remember His hand at work.  He does mighty work.  We see that again and again.  And He has done mighty work in your life.  I encourage you to take some time and either look for your stones or take a moment to examine the pile you have already made.  And then I encourage you to share your pile with someone else so they can know His work.  I have loved considering this with a friend, and I suspect if you both share, you will both spend some time worshipping our mighty God.

All that brings me to want to share some thoughts I had while waiting to find out news about my biopsy.  I woke up in the night and my thoughts turned to our waiting.  And then my mind drifted to this song-  "All the Way My Savior Leads Me."  I knew part of it, but wanted to know the lyrics, so I reached for my phone.  I plugged the title into YouTube and the first video listed was the one I share below.



Now many would have passed this one by for the versions by Chris Tomlin or Rich Mullins (which I also love), but God had a little gift for me.  You see, when I was in Jr High and just starting to know God for myself, my parents introduced me to some cassettes by the Haven of Rest Quartet.  There was something about "I'm Yours, Lord" that called to me.  Every day as I rode the bus to school, I wore headsets and listened to a quartet singing to God.  A little odd, maybe, but God was at work.

That night as I heard those voices singing those lyrics, God invited me to spend some time looking at my stones.  It was a sweet time that reminded me of His goodness and His faithfulness.  See, He drew an ordinary young girl to Himself through her family.  He used a small church family to pour His love and Word into her.  He used many teachers to help unfold her personality and plant seeds of vision of how He might one day use her.  He surrounded her with sweet friends.  He placed mentors in her life who would model for her how to follow Christ day in and day out, to show what that looked like at work and in the home.  He took her step by step through the awkward growing up years and led the way to stepping out with Him on her own.  He gently taught her about disappointment and about allowing Him to change the plan. He gave her people to serve and love and teach.  He gave her a dear husband to teach her what it meant to truly love another and to be loved as Christ loved her.  He taught her that He was in control even when life wasn't turning out to look like her dreams and there was loss.  He gave her additional friends and mentors who cheered her on and challenged her. He gave Her children to show her what it meant to serve selflessly and to be loved with abandon.  He brought her through more circumstances in which He showed that He was not only in control of her life, but He was kind and could be trusted even when it hurt.  He gave her joyful relationships in which she saw Him work in and through her to help others one know Him more.  He showered her time and time again with beauty and blessings.

Do you have stones of remembrance in your life?  When was the last time you looked at them?  I guarantee if you take the time, you will end up worshipping God as you gaze at your pile, because the line in the hymn is true, "For I know that what're befall me, Jesus doeth all things well!"

Opening the blinds

It has been a while since I last visited this corner of the Internet.   I gave myself the freedom a few years ago, to close up this space for a time.  Life was full.  Writing here, although enjoyable, seemed to take away from the day instead of adding to it.  So I threw the sheets over the furniture, closed the blinds, and shut the door for a season.

Today I have returned to open the blinds.  Some of you are meeting me in this space today.  And I thank you.  I am here, because I again have need to write, to sort and order my thoughts and allow God to speak truth to me.  I am here because I need to process and record the path- to testify to what God has done and is doing.

I do not know how often I will come here, but I have a need to have a place to put down words in the hopes that something may be used by Him.  Maybe that is one of the ways that we are made in His image.  God spoke and our world was formed.  As Jesus, He became the Word in the flesh, so that He might communicate and reveal to us His heart.  And His Word endures forever, working and accomplishing what He wills.  So, maybe my desire is like my Father's:  to create peace in my world with His Words, to reveal His heart to me as I process and form thoughts, and to work in a way that has an enduring impact.

What are the words stirring in your heart today?  Has He spoken and breathed life to you?  Is there a word that is putting muscle and skin onto God's heart?  Is there a word that is accomplishing His work?

For several years friends and I have talked about words to frame our new years.  Maybe you chose a word for your year, also.  At the end of 2016 I began to think about what my word might be. I didn't rush to have one and I didn't have to reveal my word until a few weeks into 2017 when I was meeting with some friends.  As I pondered, the word that seemed to fit was His.  There had been a lot of striving in my heart in 2016.  I was anxious about my role in a situation. I felt He was reminding me that the situation was His.  I was worried a bit about some decisions we made in 2016 and how it would impact the future.  He seemed to be reminding me that the future was His.  As I began to work with my Sunday School class on a study of fearing God and read about our awe of God, I was challenged to view life as truly His, with Him being the central character and it all pointing to Him.  Then just before meeting with my friends, I felt a lump where I hadn't noticed anything before.  My mind jumped to a place I didn't really like and the idea of His overshadowed it.  If it was something, it was under His authority, His control, and His power.  My husband agreed that something was up, and a mammogram was scheduled.  I met with friends and chose His as my word, now adding the outcome of the doctor appointment as something that was His to handle and care for.

The mammogram was then followed with an appointment to have a biopsy done.  Another biopsy soon followed.  And then a third.  At each point, His seemed to become bolder in my thoughts.  I am His.  My family is His.  My future is His.  The path He leads me on is His.  The purposes and methods He works in are His.

The news came in a phone call.  His plan for me included breast cancer.  I was a little taken aback but seemed to hear in the phone call that this wasn't a terrible diagnosis and that it was treatable.  Hopeful    me latched on to this and considered what the future might be.  It wouldn't be the direction I preferred, but surely God would shine His light to others in dark places as we walked through this.

During the third biopsy more information snapped into place.  The words chemotherapy and mastectomy registered in my brain.  The blinds seemed to sweep back a bit and I had a picture of what might be ahead in His plan.  I must confess I did not like what I saw and the view was blinded by tears.

But then the words came, which are the bedrock of my life. "God is good.  God can be trusted.  God is always working to bring Himself glory and for our best good.  God is in control.  God loves me.  God is good.  God can be trusted with my family.  God is always at work in their lives to bring Himself glory and for their best good.  God is in control.  God loves them."

So as the words of the diagnosis and doctors settle in my brain, His words settle in my soul.  May this space be a place where God opens the blinds and allows us to catch a glimpse of who He is and how much He desires us to be His.

The blanket of God's grace

Today has been one of those days.  You know the kind.   The kind filled with I shouldn't but I just dids.

I should sit down for my quiet time and really renew my mind.  I shouldn't rush through my devotional time.  But I just did.

I should refocus my attention on what I'm trying to read.  I shouldn't focus on why the furnace keeps running because the wind is blowing on the side of the house that seems to lack in proper insulation.  But I just did.

I should encourage my daughter who's soon ready to be potty trained to sit down on the potty.  I shouldn't give in to the ease of slapping on a diaper because we need to rush up stairs to get brother up and dash off to school.  But I just did.

I should plan what I really need for Lydia's birthday next week.  I shouldn't talk myself out of going to several stores to get a birthday present for Lydia's birthday next week.  But I just did.

I should train Lydia to walk beside the cart in the grocery store if she doesn't want to ride.  I shouldn't act out of frustration or call her name a million times telling her to stay with Mommy.  But I just did.

I should wrap myself in God's grace, knowing that I am loved even if I don't have all the things from my grocery list although I spent more than I budgeted for, don't have a birthday card or much of a gift for my daughter's birthday, and did not act putting long term gain before the short term benefit.

On good days and bad, we all need to be covered in the blanket of God's grace.

Immanuel even now

Christmas is always a day of expectations.  Little ones are excited about what is wrapped in bright paper under the Christmas tree.  Older ones are looking forward to time to connect and remember and have a need meet that they can't quite name, but hope will happen today.  Believers expect to meet with the Messiah and rejoice and feel close to Him on this His celebration day.

The hours of the day click by and some expectations are met and others are not.  One minute there is joy, but another can be ache.  And after the hours trickle by and the evening settles I take stock.  There has been joy.  Smiles on kids' faces.  Laughter and moments spent playing and building and cuddling.  There have been conversations with family members over the computer.  There has been quieter time with a good friend.  There has been time to read and be still and be amazed that God would come and dwell with us, that He would come to pursue us, and begin that pursuit in the humblest of fashions.

But there has also been mess.  There has been whining and tantrums, lost pieces and lost patience.  There has been crushing-  crushing of torn paper and crushing of hopes to spend time with a loved one.  And my mouth which gave thanks for God's gift of Jesus has also spoken angrily and greedily to another instead of bowing lower and putting his needs first.  The same heart which looked for Him, did not let Him in to change viewpoints and emotions.

But the wonder of the day after Christmas is that Jesus is STILL Immanuel.  He still dwells with us. His Spirit resides in those that have relationship with Him.  He doesn't say, "You blew it.  So that's it.  I'm out of here."  He doesn't just stay for the warm fuzzy moments.  He stays for the ugly angry moments, too.  He remains in the mess and says, "Come to me.  Repent.  I will clean up the mess and help you with the consequences."  And we can expect this and not be disappointed.

Thank you, Immanuel.  I need you to dwell with me today, to change my mess and to transform me into what you desire.    

Immanuel

Immanuel- God with us. It's a phrase that keeps catching me this season. After giving thanks for all of God's provisions at Thanksgiving, the landslide of Christmas preparations almost drowned me. My mind churned with the preparing of wishlists for loving friends and family, and the house was waiting to be transformed from hearth to gutters with lights and garland.

The planner in me wanted to map everything out with lists- lists of what to buy, what to make, what to bake, what to read. As I headed to the store to begin crossing some things off a list, the weight of all the material things around me crushed me, and my spirit was heavy instead of joyful and light. The noise was great around me and in my head. I asked, “What does it mean to worship you, God, at this special season? How can I find you in this rush? What can I give to you as I give to others in this mess?”

And that's when those words caught me again, Immanuel- God with us. Jesus didn't come in the hush of a small home with a perfect family gathered around a crib complete with lovingly hand knitted blankets. He didn't come surrounded by the holy songs at the majestic temple while prayers rose to heaven. No. He came in the bustle of Bethlehem where there was no room because the world had been turned upside down by Ceaser Agustus and his call for a census. He came in a stable with nothing more to wrap him in than strips of cloth and nothing more to hold him than his mother's arms and a manger filled with hay. He came and he was with us in the noise and the mess and the world. And He is still Immanuel- God with us.

The days have passed. Many things on the lists are being crossed off. But frequently, I'm taking time to breathe and speak with Immanuel-God with us. It's the phrase that catches me and carries me. It catches me from the things that are easily tarnished and passing and carries me to the feet of Jesus, the King, who by His grace transforms my heart and the efforts of my hands and makes them worthy to worship Him.

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each d ay he carries us in his arms. Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death. Psalm 68:19-20. May you also be blessed this Christmas season and throughout the year knowing that Immanuel is with you, carries you, and saves you.  

Cough, cough...sure is dusty around here!

It's been a long time since I pounded the keys in this little corner.  Not sure how often I'll be back, but I miss pondering and mulling and putting words to things.  There's just not always time these days.

So why do I pause here today?  This site stirred me today.  A December rainbow.

(Actually it's an image from the internet. I didn't have my camera at the time, but this image will do.)

Taking Ethan today the sun was breaking through the clouds.  As we walked to the building a shower of rain began to fall.  When Lydia and I turned around to head back to the car, we were greeted with a brilliant rainbow.  Actually it was a full rainbow- a complete arch of promise from one side to the other.  And a full double rainbow-  a mirror image of color, with the faint hint of a third one on the side.

Lydia and I just stood there and gazed upwards.  Finally we got in the car and drove home, still keeping our eye on the colored bow as a Christmas carol played on the radio.  I began to ponder.  My heart was full, remembering God's promise to Noah.  Noah had been warned of judgement for sin and followed God's plan of salvation by building the ark as God directed.  After the flood came and went, God graciously gave Noah a bright symbol of his promise to not destroy they earth with a flood again.  Now, here it was Christmas time.  Generations down the line from Noah, God provided another plan of salvation.  Instead of an ark, a manger held His Son, God in the flesh, who would offer His life on a wooden cross to deliver us from the judgement of sin.  

May your heart sing with mine today:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found

Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders and wonders of His love