In Tune

     "Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.  So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship." - A.W. Tozer
     Hmmm...that's a pretty strong statement!  I can be as unified with a believer from a foreign country, whom I have never met, as I can be with the friend I see every Sunday and mid-week service.  I can also be spiritually estranged from Jesus if my focus is on a closer relationship with people rather than a relationship with Christ.  Ultimately, for the believer, if we are "tuned" to one another, rather than to Christ, the result will be an unrest in our spirits and a message to unbelievers that the goal of Christianity is reconciliation to our fellow man...rather than the reconciliation of sinful mankind to a holy God.  
      As believers, we stand in danger of sending the same message to fellow believers...that God is more concerned with our fellowship than He is concerned with our personal obedience and closeness to HIM.  Distinguishing between the two (when to "get along" with believers and when to "get alone" with God) can be a tremendous emotional struggle.  Taking a stand on either side requires prayer, discernment, and considerable resolve to put Christ first, regardless of how we are viewed by our religious peers.  Sometimes we are called to serve alongside believers who hold different standards than we hold, but that unity in service must never come at the cost of what God has called us to in our personal ministry to and for Him.  Sometimes, I need reminded that our primary goal as believers is to reach sinners with the gospel and that carrying that most valuable truth often calls us to mirror our Lord who was despised and rejected of men.  Fellowship and the "assembly of ourselves together" is a fringe benefit of the calling, but it can never precede, and certainly never replace the calling.    
     I hope this will encourage us to corporate unity, but only that which is condoned by God's Word and secondary to our personal and immediate obedience to the voice of Christ. Seek reconciliation, but realize that some people will only accept you back into their circle when you return as a prodigal. Simply put, if you left to sin, you're a prodigal.  If you left to serve, you are not. I have seen so many people "repent" and assume the prodigal label because it was a lesser pain than the rejection and loneliness of being ostracized by the people they love. Very little can be so debilitating as rejection, but believing you cannot live without the approval of everyone in your circle is idolatry and far more debilitating.
     Remember, we are instruments of Christ...not instruments of fellow believers.  As much as we love them, and as thankful we are for their fellowship, the standard, the tuning fork for a "harmonious"life must be Christ alone. If we are to win the world to Jesus, our song must be HIS song.  Otherwise, we are drawing men to ourselves and social circle instead of to their only hope for salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being..."

Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome Here

     A very long time ago, when discussing a personal struggle with my mom, she told me to ask myself if the thoughts I was having were the Holy Spirit whispering to me. It was a very convicting thought, and I have tried to ask myself that question each time I feel my emotions (indignation, doubt, fear, caution, frustration, anger) running away with me. I have certainly failed countless times, but her advice has doubtless made all the difference in my life. I am terrified to think of the relationships and opportunities I would have destroyed or missed if I hadn't begun to make this a habit in my everyday life!
     I don't want to sound judgmental, but it saddens me to see so many professed believers leading everyday lives where they almost blush at the verbally spoken Name of Jesus...or never talk about seeking comfort from Scripture...or never speak of feeling (Yes! Experiencing!) the presence of the Holy Spirit moving in a situation or time of personal prayer. (Your corporate worship experiences are not enough.)
     Have you ever considered how sad it was that Eli had allowed so much sin into his life that it took little Samuel coming to him THREE times before he realized God must be speaking? Eli's sin was refusing to correct his adulterous sons. It kept him so busy that he had stopped hearing or even recognizing the voice of God. (Sidebar: Sin will keep you so busy covering your tracks or convincing yourself and others it is "okay", you won't have time for personal time with Christ. And if you do, it will be superficial, because until you repent, He will not hear your requests. But, that's a whole other blog...) Eli's story has always convicted me as a parent and teacher. I know that every thought and emotion is not from God, but shouldn't we be so acquainted with Him and accustomed to His ways that we immediately recognize what thoughts and feelings to dismiss and which ones to bring to Him in prayer for His guidance?
     Have you considered how blessed you are, if you are saved and have confessed and forsaken sin), to have a Comforter who constantly abides? Through your moods? Through your complaints? Through your polite, but still evident discontentment? Through your temper? Through your condescension of others? Through your spiritual laziness?
     Sometimes I wonder if we are unhappy with the spirituality of our children and fellow believers because it is a mirror image of our own. I wonder if they are not hearing the whisperings of the Spirit because they have not heard us recount our own conversations with Him. The world and Satan are doing everything they can to dull our childrens' conscience, but I wonder if we will not stand equally guilty before God for not acquainting them with His voice. We teach them to recognize the sounds of danger (storms, automobiles, and animals), the sounds of success (applause, praise, noteriety), but have we taught them to recognize the sound of comfort? More specifically, the voice of the Comforter? If not, then WHY not?
     I'm afraid I know the answer, and it is one that troubles and stirs me to change. We have stopped speaking OF Him, because we have stopped speaking TO Him. Speaking to Him for things and to see wishes granted will not comfort. Going to Him to get what you think you deserve will not bring comfort. Going to Him to excuse your sin until it's convenient for you to get right...no comfort. Going to Him to complain and plead your case...still no comfort. Speaking to Him, personally, in surrender and repentance moves the Holy Spirit to move IN YOU. When He moves in you, your situation is affected accordingly.

Be Changed

 "We can underline our Bibles til our pens run dry without a drop of ink splattering our lives. Self-deception slithers in when we mistake appreciation for application or being touched with being changed." -Beth Moore 

     Avonlea is dealing with fear, tonight, so I'm in her floor in a beanbag chair doing my reading and trying to blog from my phone. (I'm sure there will be a gazillion typos to correct tomorrow.) Since I only blogged three times in 2014, I have resolved to blog once a month, this year. Most of them will be short, I am sure, but I hope they will somehow encourage you. 

    I have probably admitted to you that I have a list addiction. Sometimes, I literally write accomplished tasks onto a list for the sheer satisfaction of crossing them out. "Sometimes" is really the wrong word. I do it on a regular basis. There is just something about seeing it checked off my list that helps keep me on track. I always accomplish more on the days I stick to the list. I must admit, however, that there are frequently nights when I run through the list again and wonder what I missed because of the undivided attention given to tasks scrawled onto a page to toss into a waste basket. Did I look my girls in the face today and ask them what the best part of their day was? Did I hold Clark's hand today? Did I mention a friend's name in prayer? Did I praise the Lord for my health? And with my health? 

     I came across this Beth Moore quote on Pinterest this evening and was convicted at the reminder to make daily devotions more than part of "the list". First of all, I hope you have resolved to read your Bible faithfully. Our spiritual health and strength has never been more vital than it is in this present culture which we have been called to salt and light. Discipleship comes at a cost, and making any sort of difference or bringing any glory to God will require commitment. I hope your list of resolutions isn't so superficial that it only includes diets, gym memberships, organizational goals, and more promises of " me time". Those are all good things, but as believers, they should not be what graces the top of our lists. 

     Overall, I encourage you to evaluate the past year and set goals for 2015. Without a vision, people certainly perish. Then, be faithful. There will be days we won't complete the list, but beware of falling into the trap of believing good intentions or adding scripture to your self-help regime are enough to equip you for spiritual warfare. You have been called to be more than " a better you". You are called to be salt and light in a world that is running straightway to Hell. That will take commitment. It is required of stewards that a man be found faithful, but even being faithful isn't enough. We must be changed to change the world around us. 

     I hope you reach every good goal this year, friends, but my earnest prayer is that more is accomplished for Christ in our lives than ever before.

1 Timothy 4:13-15

"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all."

 

Choose Life

     My friend, Bethany Dillon, posted an article entitled "What to do When Your Church is Changing" to her Facebook, this afternoon. It was exactly what The Lord had been speaking to my heart. I thought I would take the opportunity to share my heart with you today.
     Though some of us would like to temporarily revisit the birth or infant-hood of our children, only an unnatural affection for that child would wish them to live a life without growth and change. To wish that for your infant would be to rob them of their life, because life is just that...a series of growth and change. If we were to receive the tragic news of a loved one receiving an injury or illness that left them physically alive, but incapable of walking, talking, or speaking - if they could breathe and all of their organs function normally, and perhaps they could even think, but possess no means of expressing their thoughts or feelings because they could only communicate on the same level as an infant - we would say that person's "life" had been cut short...that they were not really "living".
     This will sound offensive, but I can't help but wonder whether someone is spiritually alive when they want to be what they were forty, twenty, or even one year ago. I certainly hope I have learned, changed, and grown in the past year, and I CERTAINLY pray I do not possess the same maturity and understanding I possessed as an infant! Occasionally, I would like to revisit my childhood. I remember the safety and the love of my parents. I would relish running along the creek banks and building stick forts with my cousin Shannon or walking the railroad tracks with my grandfather, but consider how much life I would leave behind. And not just for me. That life preserved and unchanged would mean a world without my husband, my children, my walk with Christ since I was saved...and that's no life at all.  Similarly, a church clinging to the past is wishing its future away. Lives God placed you in your community have been unaffected and the "family" He willed for you is nonexistent...because you stopped "living" years ago. 
    Suppose with me that a living, healthy person was placed in a tomb filled with rotting corpses. If he remained, he would be poisoned by their condition of death, until he was at last, dead as well. Be careful to recognize a tomb when you see one. Tombs may have a very different beginning, but once they shelter death, they are rarely anything else. If  you're part of a church that is trying to change and grow, you should thank God for sending someone into your fellowship who is fighting for life...for your life , the lives of your children and of so many others. You are blessed. God is extending His life-giving grace to you. If you are the only one fighting for life, you may need to leave the tomb. (I know Someone with experience in that situation, by the way.) 

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." - Deuteronomy 30:19

Here's the link I mentioned at the beginning:
                    http://joemckeever.com/wp/church/

Ears to Hear

     I ran just ran (literally) up the stairs to type this.  The girls are out walking their new puppy, and I am trying to take advantage of the few minutes of peace and quiet that buys me.  A thought has been on my heart the last few weeks, and I am determined to get it in writing before it’s lost forever…banished to the land of busy young mothers’ thoughts, where school lunch orders roam and intentions of healthier cooking and exercise beg in the streets. That sounds more like an inner city than a land.  Yeah…an inner city of gangster grocery lists and mafia closet organizers.            “Yo, Vinnie, we’re out of cereal.”  

      “Me?  You talkin’ to me?”  Anyway…

     I recently read a quote by Oswald Chambers that has been in my thoughts every day since.  “We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him.”  Read it again, and let it sink in.

     Before we go further, let me say - People in ministry, as we are, will agree when I say that we live with the constant realization that everything we say or write is examined meticulously and poked and prodded for any hint of accusation or judgment.  That isn’t whining.  It is the fact of the matter…and rightly so.  We are as apt to misuse our influence as any other fallible human being.  With that being said, please know that anything in this blog is intended for my own personal accountability to Christ and to encourage others to grow closer in devotion to Him.  This is not a soapbox.  It is just how the Lord has dealt with me, personally. 

     In Exodus 20:19, the Israelites said to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear:  but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”  I have read this passage many times through the years, but only in these last few weeks has the sadness of it stood out to me.  Here, their God is speaking…and they’re too afraid to hear.  Here is the One who proved their worth by sending plagues and pestilence on the land that held them captive, the God who spared their children on the night of the Passover, the God who gave them a leader like Moses, the God who miraculously parted the Red Sea for their deliverance, then destroyed their enemies before their eyes, the God who led them and sent them manna, quail, and water in the wilderness.  Here He is giving His laws…laws that guarantee a life of even more blessing, but they’re still uncomfortable, still reluctant, still unacquainted.  They would still rather hear Moses. 

          God saved me when I was eleven years old.  I have said so many times that God not only saved my soul, but because when He saved me while I was young, He saved my whole life.  Yet, even after all of the good He has wrought in my life in the twenty-five years since, there are times I find myself settling for comfort or advice...or even correction from a “Moses” in my life. There is nothing wrong with testimonies (I love them), but if you crave that over preaching, you’re settling for a Moses.  There is nothing wrong with worship music (I love it), but if that’s the only sound bites of Scripture in your life between church services, you’re settling for a Moses.  If you run to a friend (no matter how godly they are) instead of to God in prayer, you’re settling for a Moses.  I am a worship leader, but if you can only worship when someone else “leads” you into worship, you’re settling for a Moses. 

     If you’re sitting back wondering what my beef is with Moses or if I am encouraging you to disregard the preaching or teaching of those God has placed in spiritual authority in your life, you have grossly misunderstood me.  I will even go so far as to urge you to BE a Moses.  Verse 21 says that “Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”  Moses was an organizer and a leader.  There is much to admire in Moses.  The point is that instead of following his example, they followed him, and drew near to him, and listened to him…rather than being close enough to hear from God for themselves.  Verse 21 also says that, after all that God had brought them through and blessed them with, “the people stood afar off.”  That statement convicts me at the deepest part of my heart.  I certainly hope that after all God has done for me, I don’t wake up one day to realize that I have kept Him at arm’s length, and ignored Him by turning to a person for guidance, over the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

     It is time to draw nigh to God for yourself.  Be thankful for the “Moseses” God has placed in your life, but let us determine together to stay so personally acquainted with God through His Word that in every situation, nothing else will give direction and peace.  Let's love Him enough for all He is and for all He has done, to have ears to hear Him for ourselves.      

"...Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee..." Ezekiel 40:4

Flourish

     This morning, I read over last year's "Resolution" blog.(http://thedaringlife.blogspot.com/2013/01/resolution.html)  As expected, my heart ached at the memory of that time.  I found myself counting the failures again and felt the old familiar heartache of hopes deferred and friendships lost.  And, then, the Holy Spirit, in His kindness, convicted me so deeply.  It seems strange to call conviction a kindness, but there is nothing so kind as the reminder that He is present…hearing every prayer and knowing every thought of my heart.  As clearly as He has ever spoken to my heart, He reminded me of His presence and work in every single situation that transpired throughout this past year and that every single bit of it was an answer to my own prayer.  The prayer to be more transparent – undoubtedly every ugly and vulnerable thing was exposed.  The prayer to stand – Only by His grace was I able to withstand the heartache.  The prayer to serve – It was how I survived.  The prayer to change – Oh my word!  So much change! 

     He answered every single prayer and has spent the last few days showing me that I have wasted so much time focusing on what I have lost versus what He has given.  I'll honestly admit, friends, that nearly every bit of my energy this year was spent on surviving.  It was my focus…just survive, keep your head above water, Laura… Clark's ministry needs you, your children need you, your testimony is based on whether you make it through this, or not.  I know we all go through "surviving times", and dreams of a life without difficulty are a waste of time and energy, but I am ready to move out of survival mode.  God's blessings are not made to be survived. 

     With that being said, I simply resolve to thrive…to praise Him for His presence and power in my life, to be that tree whose roots, though exposed, exist for the sole purpose of reaching the water, knowing my God created me to flourish. 

"And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it." Ezekiel 17:24

All the Pieces

     Today was just one of those days…one where the smallest things seemed really big and I'm sitting here at bedtime wishing I was exhausted over things that matter more.  I flew into our mid-week Bible study after some small defeats that come with being a wife, mother, and teacher, having my e-mail hacked and losing all of my contacts and saved messages, and about a thousand other absent-minded things I had done running through my mind.  Thankfully, the lesson helped me re-evaluate, and on our long trip home, I overheard my girls singing along with our newest favorite CD.  I stopped my own singing to hear Altar sing the words, "I'm letting go of all the pieces that I try to keep from falling down…You're the only One who can heal a heart like mine."  I couldn't help but be thankful that God was using her innocent words to minister to my frazzled mind and heart.

     Just as we pulled into our driveway, I overheard her singing, "This is my temporary home…not where I belong…windows and rooms…that I'm passing through", and I was reminded the pieces I was carrying were all temporary things…on the way to where we're going.  By this time I had convinced myself I was over my bad day, just to walk into the house and drop something borrowed that will cost me $200 to replace.  I would love to say I handled it all with a lovely disposition, but such was NOT the case.  I grumped and griped everyone off to bed then went into the bathroom and had a good cry.  I failed the test miserably.  Our carried pieces just have to fall sometimes.  Take it from me…there's a lot less mess if you lay them at His feet.

"I'm letting go of all the pieces

that I try to keep from falling down.

You're the only One who can heal a heart like mine.

I'm reaching out, so help me, Jesus.

Take all of me and lay it on the ground.

I'm trusting You one day at a time."     

So Bee It

     I haven't blogged since February!  Can you believe that?!!?  Shame on me.  Life has a way of getting away from you, doesn't it?  Typing that last sentence reminded me of a story my Aunt Pat tells about a swarm of bees chasing her down a hill and how her head got way out ahead of her feet, and she ended up rolling the rest of the way.  Life is like that.  I'm like that.  Instead of ordered steps, I let my "head" lead the way.  That's just how I roll. Bahahaha!  Get it?  Roll?  Seriously, though…

     In my time off school in the last several weeks, I've taken a long, brutally honest look at myself.  And between you and me, I'm pretty pathetic.  I just can't seem to get it all together.  The changes in my life in this year have been staggering, and, honestly, as dream-fulfilling as some of them have been, they have come at a great cost.  The cost will never stop breaking my heart.  It just never will.  I'm not sure I could even give it up now.  It's all I have left of so many years of my life.  When it seems like everyone and everything else has moved on and forgotten it, the hurt reminds me that I loved…and that God is love…and if that's the only way I can be like Him, then so be it.  It has brought me closer to Him, and in a way I can't explain, I can feel Him healing and working in spite of it.

     I wasn't expecting to say all of that, but there ya go.  Just so you know, I'm still here.  I would promise to blog more, but we both know that's just a lot of hooey.  I do love you, friends.  And if you're among the ones I seldom see face to face, let me encourage you to stop trying to outrun the stings.  You can never thank God for His healing if you never love so much it hurts.   

Standing By

A post I began last Friday, and just got around to finishing up:

   

     This morning, after hearing school was cancelled because of an ice storm, I sat down at my desk, in warm jammies, with a hot cup of coffee, excited to begin studying Ezekiel.  (sidebar:  I don't know if there's a limit on how many prepositional phrases are allowed in one sentence, but I'm pretty sure I just karate chopped that rule with that one.  Anyway…)  (Wait.  Another sidebar:  I was only half-excited.  The prophets scare me.  There.  I said it.  I struggle to grasp and hang on to everything in them.  With that being said…)

     I started in Ezekiel 1:1 (duh), and literally never made it past that verse.  It wasn't my normal start and stop, start and stop, start and stop confusion that left me there, though.  God used the three words, "among the captives", as a sort of balm to my hurt.  Amazing, how three words can take up so much time, have so much meaning, and make life seem a little more faceable.  Faceable…is that a word?  I don't think it is, but I think you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. 

     There are times in life when we feel captive.  Feeling captivated is wonderful, but feeling captive is another, entirely.  Can much come of captivity?  In Ezekiel's case, the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God he would have missed in Israel.  He and Daniel (& Jonah, in Nineveh) were the only prophets of the Old Testament who lived and prophesied anywhere but in Israel.  That seems significant to me.  You'll never convince me that God intends for us to live a life of captivity, but I am equally convinced that He can use it to our advantage…and more importantly, to the advantage of others.  Here, by this river in Babylon, Ezekiel sat down and saw visions of God.  I wonder if he would have missed the opportunity back in Israel.  I wonder if he would have slowed his service long enough to hear what God had to say.  I wonder how much like Ezekiel I have been. 

     There's no point in wasting time pretending that if God allows us to be "sifted", there's not something that needs sifted.  Israel's captivity was the reaping of sins they had sown, and Ezekiel was there to call them to repentance…and to repent, himself.  What a loving Savior to visit our "captivity" with "visions" of judgement…and then, of forgiveness and restoration!  He may seem to be in the shadows…but be sure that He is standing by.  Our harps may be hanged…but they're not hidden from our sight…or His.  The song is still the Lord's!

"But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD

raised them up a deliverer…" Judges 3:15

Brethren, Pray For Us

     I haven't the time for writing today.  School clothes need picked out, laundry needs put away, lesson plans need reviewed, and on and on and on.  As much as I would like to say some deep life lesson has placed me at the laptop this evening, I'm sitting here wondering how on earth some people could be so cruel - how others could be so clueless - and how the enemy knows just how to send them to kick you when you're down.  I simply had to stop and ask for your prayer.

      Let's be honest.  There are times when God, Who is "our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" doesn't feel very present...and strength is the very last thing we seem to possess.  Refuge seems like a thing of the past in these times.  Everything feels exposed and vulnerable, and we're left feeling like outsiders looking in.  I hate those times.  I hate this time that I'm in.   

     People keep telling me I'll look back and realize some great victory came of it all.  As much as I appreciate their words of encouragement, I'm just not sure they're right.  Sometimes, there's only loss and pain.  It's just the world we live in.  If you're staring down your nose at this critically, you just haven't been where I am.  I won't hold that against you.  I hope you're never here, friend.  I really mean that. 

     Several weeks ago, Clark and I made the most difficult decision we have ever had to make.  Instead of feeling like a death, it has felt like a hundred deaths…none so grievous as the ministry we loved and cherished.  I have never been more proud of my husband for his integrity and spiritual leading in the matter. The grief of it all hasn't made us doubt God's command in the matter.   But, no matter how sure I am that it was the right decision, the grief simply seems unbearable right now.  I am thankful to know He is leading, but we're still searching the valley for green pastures and still waters.  I am asking you as friends to pray for us.  We have no axe to grind.  We just want to heal.  Our love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ has only grown in the absence, and now, more than ever, we pray they are blessed.

"I'm not driven down this path I trod. 
I follow Him by choice.

I don't need to see the way ahead. 
I only need to hear the Shepherd's voice."

"Brethren, pray for us."  I Thessalonians 5:25

Resolution

res·o·lu·tion - a resolve or determination:  the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

    Another year over…  James could have penned no truer words than those describing life as a vapor.  It really is, isn’t it?  This day is always a bittersweet one for me.  I always stand amazed at God’s provision throughout the year, but I am always left wondering if I’ve used what He has provided for His purpose and glory.  I try to thank Him for the blessings He’ll bestow in the new year, but find myself on edge that this could be the year…we lose a loved one, the year we lose a job, the year someone we love turns from the truth, the year (you fill in the blank).  The blank can be terrifying.  And if you’re anything like me, you have probably found yourself piling it full of every horrible thing imaginable…even rummaging through old closets, digging up past failures and the disgrace they could bring and tossing them onto the blank with all the rest of the unthinkable.  I have never been good at filling in blanks.

     I used to be terrified of making New Year’s resolutions.  Honestly, it still makes me a little sick to my stomach.  Because, no matter how well-intended, mine have mostly been things that I was determined to see change…not necessarily things I was determined to do until the change came about.  Some criticize resolutions, but it is important to remember that the difference Daniel made stemmed from what he had “purposed in his heart.”(Daniel 1:8)   Historically, very little difference has been made where there was no one resolved to die trying.  “And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 2:1)   There has also been little accomplished where people resolved to stay the same.  Even God’s Word is ineffective where people refuse to be changed by it. 

     I certainly am no scholar, but I have read enough of God’s Word in the last twenty years to know that it never implies passivity.  “Do unto others” implies action.  We are not commanded to just leave folks alone so they’ll leave us alone.  We are to go beyond that, and actually do unto them what we would have done unto us…whether the favor is returned or not.  (If any of my 7^th & 8^th graders are reading, they probably just rolled their eyes.   I throw this one at them all the time.)  We must be very careful to realize that merely wanting change, and even praying for it is, most often, simply not enough.  If that were the case, the Bible would have no other command, besides prayer. 

     I am afraid we have turned our faith into some sort of voodoo, mind-over-matter mysticism, where we think as long as we want the right things, we’re right.  Nothing could be farther from the truth! “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)  This is an imperative command, and nothing about it suggests inactivity.  Ephesians 6:13 “…and having done all, to stand.”  The standing here certainly doesn’t mean passivity.  Even if it did mean standing at rest, (and it doesn’t) it is only after we have “done all”.  And, oh my dear friends, there is so much to be done!

     It occurs to me when seeing the definition of resolution, that it really isn’t a certain action or task, but rather the driving force behind any accomplishment.  It seems to me that it is a thing to be greatly desired.  I know that my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He can (and so often does) provide miraculously, but may we never be guilty of taking His generosity for granted.  Perhaps, instead of constantly asking for a quick fix, we should be asking for the resolution to accomplish something to please Him.  And before you count your weaknesses, remember that “ye have not because ye ask not.” 

     So, here’s the list.  As best I can know my own heart, I have purposed to do all I can to glorify God in these areas.

1.       To be the wife and mother God has called me to be, above all…no matter what must become secondary to do so.

2.      To be more real, more transparent, and more honest…no matter how difficult.

3.      To stand.

4.      To serve.

5.      To speak.

6.      To love…no exceptions.

7.      To change.  My God who changes not is nevertheless a God of change. 

Go ahead.  Make the list.  This could be the year  (you fill in the blank).

 “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;” Psalm 65:11