New Blog Address

I have started a new blog because that site seems to be a little more user friendly. I will no longer be using this one. The new address is http://www.hemakesallthingsnew.wordpress.com/

:)

Hope

My nickname has always been Birdy.  The Lord is so amazing!! Periodically, at very instrumental times, He gives me special bird verses. Usually about sparrows or doves, but my newest bird verse is the well-known Eagle verse … But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Wow! The Lord is calling me to rise from being a sparrow to an eagle! At first I couldn’t receive this because I clearly see myself much like a sparrow … plain and uninteresting. A little weakling fluttering about near the ground. But God sees me as a mighty eagle! How can I possibly be who He is calling me to be?? 

By putting my HOPE in my Savior alone!!! Only then can I soar to the heights that He is calling me to.

We cannot put our hope in the things of this world … the people we love, our finances, our health, or even our future! Those are precious gifts from God’s hand and He wants us to enjoy them thoroughly. But everything is perishing here on earth. If our hope is in those things, then our hope will perish as well. 

Instead of soaring, we will plummet into the deepest of pits. 

If our hope is not completely in the Lord, a dreaded diagnosis or abandonment (intentional or unintentional) will blindside us and send us into an emotional tailspin and despair. 

Conversely, if our hope is in the Lord, even in the midst of deep sorrow we will experience Christ’s strength and intimacy with Him like never before. We will have true joy knowing how tenderly He is loving and caring for us, even during the most horrible of times.   

God calling me an eagle reminds me of when He called Gideon a mighty man of valor, even though he was hiding down in the wine press threshing his wheat. Gideon knew who he was—the least of people in the least of tribes. But that was not how God saw him! God saw him as a mighty warrior!

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you!!!!!! Deut. 31:6

Soon

Lately, I have been dealing with a rushing spirit. I've been working on releasing anxiety and anger while I am driving. This morning I got in the slowest lane ever (southerners really take their time making turns :p). But I was just having an amazing time with the Lord, singing and listening to the radio…intentionally unperturbed about the traffic situation!

F…I…N…A…L…L…Y, I turned the corner to get on the freeway and there it was!!!! The most beautiful sunrise!!! Great big, fluffy, colorful clouds with sun beams gleaming through! It lit up the whole eastern sky! An absolute brilliant piece of art. It took my breath away! The Lord spoke His word, “Soon” over me once again.

Sometimes is seems we will never get through this season. It drags and drags. He wants to teach us wonderful things while it seems nothing is happening. When we have finally learned to trust and rest, grasping the truth He has been trying to teach us, we turn the corner and voila!! A beautiful sunrise! A gift from His hand!

The sunrise wouldn’t have been there an hour earlier; the beautiful cloud formation with rays of light wouldn’t have been there 5 minutes earlier or later. I had to go through the slow traffic to be able to receive the perfect gift at the perfect time...His perfect timing!  A gift I didn’t even know was waiting at the next turn!!

We need to learn the things He wants to teach us in this season and not be anxious about the next. It will arrive!  And it will be a perfect work of art!!

And a great road will go through that once deserted land.

It will be named the Highway of Holiness.

Evil-minded people will never travel on it

It will be only for those who walk in God's ways;

Fools will never walk there.

Lions will not lurk along its course,

nor any other ferocious beasts.

There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.

They will enter Jerusalem singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.

Sorrow and mourning will disappear,

and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Isaiah 35:8-10

Stripped and Shoved Into a Pit

I felt like I was thrown into a pit 5 years ago when my husband, after years of ministry and 22 years of marriage, left me and our kids.

The air in that pit felt so thick and so black. There was no way of escape. I felt emotionally and spiritually like the only thing I could do was just cling for my life to Jesus…I hid behind Him, my arms wrapped tightly around His waist, my head pressed up against His back and my eyes squeezed shut. So afraid to take a step, feeling like I would plummet even deeper to my death in that horrible pit.

Almost a year later, I felt the Lord take my hand and lead me out of the pit where I could breathe once again.  He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delights in me. 2 Sam 22:20

Right before Joseph’s brothers hurled him into the pit, they tore off his beautiful robe. Again, he got his cloak ripped right off him by Potiphar’s wife before he got thrown into prison (which was also an underground pit)!

When we are hurt and betrayed by people we love or thrown into a pit by uncontrollable circumstances, it can feel like we’ve been stripped of our “beautiful robe”…robbed of our innocence, our dreams, our dignity.  It feels as though we have been left exposed and naked in a dark, cruel world, vulnerable for attack.

Jesus was also stripped of His clothing and His dignity as He hung naked on the cross and died for us. He knows exactly how we feel!

A few years ago while touring Israel, we went down into the pit where they threw Jesus the night before they murdered Him and we sang, “Amazing Love.” I began weeping uncontrollably! Jesus had been literally thrown into the same pit I had been emotionally thrown into.  Jesus was with me in my pit, but He was all alone, chained, beaten and bloody in His. My heart broke for my sweet Jesus to pay such a painful price for me…I didn’t deserve such sacrifice.

The next day we had another worship service at the Garden Tomb and the Lord gave me a new picture of Him and me in the pit. This time it wasn’t so dark and smothering and I wasn’t clinging to His back. I was comforting Jesus and saw myself giving Him a drink of water. I was ministering to Him. My first thought was, “This is NOT right!! Jesus ministers to me!” But then He said, “When you do it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto Me.”

We can and we must look beyond ourselves in our dark times!

God’s desire is to give us a new robe! One that can never be stolen!!

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

He has clothed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.

Is. 61:10

                               My son put this great video together for me! "Amazing Love"

I Found the Cure for Stress!

Stress makes us sick and can actually kill us!!! Fortunately, there is an antidote!

On each end of our 46 chromosomes are telomeres which keep our chromosomes from fraying. As we age, telomeres begin to thin and our chromosomes become vulnerable causing illness and death!  Stress has the exact same effect on telomeres!! 

As I was watching this fascinating PBS documentary (attached at the bottom of the page), I could barely wait for the brilliant scientist to tell me what drug I could take that would rebuild my damaged telomeres. I’ve been told I’m a hypochondriac, but in this case I’m pretty sure mine are damaged!! :/   

I was so shocked to find out the cure…compassion and caring for others!!!!!! When we give of ourselves to others, an enzyme is released that stimulates the healing of damaged telomeres! Serving others keeps our cells rejuvenated and promotes longevity!! Wow!! It took millions of dollars and decades of high-tech scientific study to find out what the Bible has been saying for thousands of years!!

Do you feel like there is no way out of your stressful situation? Have you been thrown into a pit of despair or locked in a prison of stress?

Joseph was literally thrown into a pit by the people he loved and trusted the most…his very own family!! And then as a slave, Joseph was thrown into prison by his master after being completely loyal and faithful to him, bringing him great wealth and prosperity.

So often we think God would never allow His children to suffer or to be thrown into prison, especially when we are perfectly innocent! It can feel as though God has abandoned us. God’s word says, “But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love.” Gen. 39:21 NLT

The prison/pit times can be the most intimate times with our Savior!

Joseph did not curl up into fetal position in the corner of his cell and become self absorbed. Instead, he diligently served his masters in these dark places. He did not allow bitterness to set in. He was humble and ready when his name was called to go before the king!

It turned out to be a season of preparation for the great and mighty task God had in store for him!!!

We have two choices. We can wallow in self-pity, expecting others to meet our needs and to comfort us. Or, finding our needs met in Christ, we can be the ones to go out and minister to others! Even during our dark times!

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.  Is. 58:10-12

Does your family seem completely dysfunctional? Does it almost seem hopeless?

Watch this amazing video! In just one generation, this baboon troop’s dynamic is completely changed from aggression and cruelty to healthy, nurturing relationships. I believe God is using this illustration in the animal kingdom to show us what is possible in our families through battle in the spiritual realm.

There is hope in Christ for healthy families! The cycle can be broken and it starts in this generation!! It starts with ME!!!!

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor. 3-5     

A Diamond With Destiny!!

The world-renowned Hope Diamond has not always been revered like it is today!

After traveling from the depths of the earth, it was downsized by more than half its original size, stolen under cover of night during the French Revolution, and thought to be cursed. It has been hocked, sold as costume jewelry, worn by a Great Dane, and played with by soldiers in games of catch!

Finally, when being donated to the Smithsonian, it was mailed in a brown paper bag through the US Postal Service!!!  

But now!!!  This rarest of jewels sits on a pedestal behind bullet proof glass while 7 million people from all over the world flock to admire it each year!

Have you ever felt like the Hope Diamond? Used and abused, betrayed and abandoned, belittled and disrespected? 

There is HOPE!!!

If you place your trust in Jesus Christ, there will be a day when He will take His nail-scarred hand and tenderly wipe every tear from your eye! No more death! No more sorrow! There will be peace and joy forevermore in Paradise!

God sees you as the treasure you are! You are the apple of God’s eye!  Even when you are chased by those who seek your life, you are safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in His treasure pouch! 1 Sam. 25:29 NLT

Wow!! I can’t think of a greater place of honor! In God Almighty’s treasure pouch! Not a more safe, more secure place in this world!!!!

If you believe in your heart Jesus is Lord and confess with your mouth Christ has been raised from the dead, you will be saved! Romans 10:9

Can We Love God and Detest Our Husband?

My heart is so heavy with the way we as Christian women treat our husbands. We are so madly and passionately in love with the Lord and yet we treat the one we chose to be in covenant with, our husband, like he is repulsive to us and cannot possibly get the depths of our spirituality.   I have heard so many women say that their husbands are jealous of their relationship with Christ. Their husbands almost feel as though they are having an affair with God. So many women I know do not see a problem with leaving their children and husband on a continual basis to go and “worship Jesus”…long weekends on retreats and constantly “serving the Lord” at church events.   If we are genuinely loving and serving the Lord, we will be genuinely loving and serving our husbands! The Bible is so clear on this point. What husband would be jealous of his wife’s relationship with Christ if as a byproduct she had respect for him (Eph 5:33), was patient with him, kind to him, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, kept no record of wrongs, always protected him, trusted him, hoped and persevered with him (1 Cor. 13).  What husband would mind a hot lover, one who never denied him and enjoyed him thoroughly (1 Cor. 3-5)!!   If we know God’s Word we cannot say, “I adore Christ and can’t stand my husband.” For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).   While my daughter, Leah, waits for her heart’s desire to have a baby, she is learning the most important lesson of her life!   As she lovingly submits to her husband and waits to start a family, she is learning to submit and wait on God. As she treats her earthly husband with a kind and respectful spirit, she is learning to treat her spiritual Husband the same way.  We cannot truly be loving one, without loving the other.     The way we act in the physical realm transcends into the spiritual realm.   The Lord gave me a picture of Leah loving, respecting, honoring and submitting to Curtis’ authority with such a smile of adoration on her face. Behind Curtis, I could see Jesus with the same expression of love on His face but towards Leah. He felt so honored that Leah was walking in obedience to Him. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples – when they see the love you have for each other (John 13:35).   We cannot say that we are passionately in love with Christ and submitting to His authority if we are not submitting to our husband’s authority…whether or not they are walking with the Lord!  In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives (1 Peter 3:1).   “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46)   Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than the sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).   So rather than serving the Lord in the way that seems right, let’s start serving Him the way He asks us to.  Train younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands (Titus 2:4&5).   This has to be taught and passed on!! It doesn't come naturally. It is hard and takes divine strength to accomplish!   Don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time (Galatians 6:9).

Me First!!!

The world teaches us to scratch, claw and climb our way to the top. Step on anyone who gets in the way!

God’s ways are so different. He calls us to be the servant of all. We are to think more highly of others! Die to ourselves!

Abram and Lot needed to go their separate ways. Sometimes it’s like that with those we love.

Abram was God’s chosen…He was the heir of the promise. He was the one who stepped out in obedience when God first told him to go to this new land. Lot was just tagging along! Abram had every right to give Lot the leftovers. But instead, as a reflection of God’s character, he allowed Lot to have the first choice.

No strings attached!

Lot took a look around and then selfishly chose the well-watered, fertile plains of the Jordan Valley. It was like the garden of the LORD!

Abram trusted so well that God would provide for him and for his family that he was able to sacrificially give up the "best."

Only then did God say to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession. And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you.”

WOW!!!!!! The very Promise Land was given to Abram right after this sacrificial act of kindness! Abram didn’t have to look out for number one or stab someone in the back to get what he thought he deserved. What if Lot had chosen the Promise Land? Abram trusted God!!!!

I want to be like Abram! I don’t want to be stingy! I want to give the best that I have to others. I want to choose the smaller piece. I want to serve.

Are you clinging to something that you think you deserve? Something that gives you significance or that you think will bring happiness?

Let it go!

You may turn around and find that you are standing in your Promise Land!!!

If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life. Matthew 16:25

My destiny does not rest in man’s hands!! Thank You, Jesus!! You command my destiny! 

Pharmaceutical Romance????

While watching one of those pharmaceutical “romance” commercials (I felt extremely awkward even though I was the only one in the room :p), the Lord gave me a revelation!

As the couple in the commercial started feeling amorous, everything began turning into water around them.  They were in a kitchen and all of a sudden the refrigerator had a waterfall rushing over the top of it and the floor became a gentle river rippling under their feet.

Water…it seems so insignificant. But we have to have it to survive!  Not only does it give and sustain life, but playing in it is fun and it’s romantic!  Vacations are usually planned around bodies of water!  It is nearly impossible to get kids or newlyweds out of it.

Jesus is the River of Life!! Not only does He forgive our sins and give us new life, but He romances us and brings great joy in the process!

“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart!’” John 7:37&38

What a romantic God to create the crashing waves in the ocean for us to enjoy and who paints a new and unique sunset every single evening just for His beloved. He is so gracious that He even shares those priceless expressions of love with people who despise Him. He is tenderly wooing them to Himself.

What’s more romantic than a God who hand-crafted a perfect woman for Adam in Genesis and closes in Revelation with the Wedding Feast of the Lamb! Bookends of romance with a lot of romance in between!

The mighty, awesome, creator of the universe holds me in the palm of His hand and sings love songs over me. He keeps every one of my tears in a bottle and hears every one of my sighs. My Mighty Lover dances with me and writes every prayer I have ever prayed in a scroll. Whenever my thoughts turn toward Him, He is already thinking about me (of all people!!) more thoughts than I could ever count! 

Such a loving, compassionate, tender-hearted God and He chooses me for His bride!!!!! And YOU!!  

I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as LORD. Hosea 2:19&20

Sometimes Running Hurts

My run a few days ago was harder than any I have had in awhile. I waited until 7:00 at night to finally go, I ate dinner right before, I was sore from head to toe from previous work-outs and to top it off…I was having issues…I had to change my route a bit and head home midway for a pit stop :p  (My girls said I should be discreet and I think that was pretty darn discreet!)

Once I got back out on the road again, a bicycler whipped past me and a girl nonchalantly trotted by. My first impulse was to speed up and race her, but I knew I couldn’t keep up that pace for another mile and a half.  Humiliated, I just kept running at my slow pace. She got a pretty good distance ahead of me, then she started walking! Sure enough, I eventually passed her and by the time I finished I couldn’t even see her anymore. I finished my run so strong and it ended up feeling so invigorating!

This run so reminded me of our walk with the Lord. Sometimes we do everything wrong and our “run” with God hurts. We pay the consequences for wrong decisions…I got the worst cramp!!  I wanted to stop and walk. But if we push through and we don’t give up the cramps will eventually leave and we will get our second wind.

Also, we can’t get caught up in everyone else’s “run” and try to keep their pace. We need to stay true to the things God is calling us to do and walk in obedience even if at times that seems to be a slower, different pace than everyone else around us. 

Amazingly, a sweet friend named Lindsey Crouch yelled out at me while I was struggling and made my heart happy and encouraged my run! I knew she was a fellow runner and she knew exactly how I was feeling and had been there herself.  We need to make sure in our Christian walk that we are encouraging those around us with the struggles and the victories that God has brought us through.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:23&24

1.           Don’t give up!

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:14

2.           Don't compare the work God has called you to do with the work God is calling others to do!

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16

3.           Encourage one another!

 

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17