Separate But Always Together

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:8-12)”

As I go about my life, attempting to live each day to its fullest, some things, some people, get moved aside, put off for awhile. It is not that they are less important or less thought of, perhaps, just less demanding. Then that "awhile" turns in to "its been a long time" and distance separates our paths. But the love, the encouragement, the friendship does not die. These relationships I am talking about are not possessive nor demanding. They suppportively, patiently wait for the moments you have together. They know you and will always be there for you...NO MATTER WHAT! Friends may come and go, ministries come and go, but they remain...constant. These are not family members that have some genetic bond or commitment, no, they are the spiritual brother and sister placed there by God to lift you up, encourage you and fight for you when you can not fight for yourself. Soldiers come to know this bond on the battlefield. David knew it with Jonathan. I call them my "Silent Soldiers!" It has probably been the one thing I see good in today's technology, the ability to reach out and share my life with those who have been separated by time and space. I praise God for those hearts that do not grow cold with time but are ignited upon contact. It is strong in my spirit today to acknowledge you, dear friends. To let you know how deeply I appreciate you in my life. You know who you are, for you are the one that is for me. You are the one that has not and will not cease to be my friend under any circumstance. Let time separate us but it cannot erase the foundation we have. You are the building blocks Jesus has established in my life to bring me to this point. I want you to know your faith, your love, your friendship encourages me in ways you will never know. May the God of all creation reward your faithfulness today. I pray an abundance of joy and peace surround you and that our God will make a way for us to sit awhile together and encourage one another as we laugh, talk and share all that He has done.

Choose Love!

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalms 23:1-6 (NIV)

Today, I choose love! In a world where so many things don’t make sense, where the opportunity to live in fear, unforgiveness, anger and pain is so tempting….I choose love! For this I know…life is short! I can live it closed up and entangled by the darkness that seeks to surround me or I can believe and embrace every ounce of good I can find. This moment is all that is guaranteed me and those I love so I will dine at its table as one receiving a banquet before my enemies. I will savor every morsel to the last drop. I will mull over and cherish life and embrace the love that has been given me. I will not allow the darkness to overtake me and to rule today or the days to come. Today! I choose Love!

I Am Who I Am!

Make It So!

Do you ever have those times when you just wished things would happen or unfold without any effort on your part? You know what I am talking about. It’s like when Captain Picard turns to No. 1 and says, “Make it so!” If you could just do that, make it so. Suddenly, you don’t have to put hours in to working out in order to get in shape, or wonder how you’re going to balance work, school and family. Even the decision as to what’s for dinner suddenly takes no effort, poof it’s done! If only!

But no, life really isn’t that easy. It has been designed to require faith followed by action. As human beings we have the amazing adventure of life wrapped in hope ever unfolding around us. Can we? Should we? Will we? What if we fail? What if we succeed? There is an unending parade of question after question debating our every minute and either challenging or stopping our next decision. We say to ourselves, “Why do I have to put so much effort into life? Why can’t God just “make it so?” But here’s the problem, we may want someone else to do the work, but we want the choice. We want our freedom without the responsibility of the action. Funny thing is, you can’t have both! In order to have the benefits of freedom, you HAVE TO take responsibility for the actions.

So, there you have it. There are no shortcuts to life. If you want the success, you put in the effort and this is true for every area of your life. Parenting, Education, Physical Health, Relationships….they all will require work! Yes, work! You, not someone else will need to care enough to do what it takes. So, is there something you are struggling with today, something that you just wish God would “make it so?” Then get up, believe you can and do it! Tap into that supernatural power of God within you and push through to the victory. You can do it! And when you feel like you have nothing left to give of yourself and the finish line is not in range, remember this: “You can do everything through him who gives you strength.” (Phil 4:13)

Finding the Balance

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1)

 Lately, my husband and I have had a lot on our plate. There are many decisions to make and as usual, each decision is dependent on the outcome of another decision. However, at the core of all decisions is a dependency on a source totally out of our control. As we precede forward believing that “what we hope for” will unfold, we wrestle with how far do we walk in this direction without an answer? Is it “not trusting in God” to explore every alternative to unfolding the situation in our favor? How many “safety nets” can we put in place and still be walking by faith?

 This is a real and re-occurring issue in our lives. Balancing between “faith” and “taking action”; mostly because I am a “where there is a will, there is a way” kind of girl! I have always believed that there is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it. But where does that leave room for faith?

 Let me tell you, I believe in the God I serve. I have seen His hand move and bring me out of situations that many others have been swallowed by. I have watched my life grow in many ways by depending on the wisdom His Word gives me. However, I do not believe He is a God who wants to control me or watch me be paralyzed by life. He did not raise a child who lives as if she can just sit back and let her Dad take care of her; then, when things go wrong, blaming Him for my lack and disappointments. On the contrary, James 2:17 says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” That tells me, taking action and believing that I have been given what it takes to receive my heart’s desire…is Faith – Faith in His Love and Equipping of me. And, “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

 And if, I have done all that I know to do and the door closes; Faith says, “Thank you Father, for protected me from a mistake and missing out on a better way.” Faith….takes action. And Faith…receives the outcome!