Sweet Old Jack

So my husband and I have two dogs.   A 3 year old Boxer Lab mix,
(Boxadore...or boxadorable as I like to say) named Maggie, and a sweet, 10 year old Beagle named Jackson.    Jack has been with me for a long time.   Before I met my husband, he was the man in my life.    He kept me company on lonely nights, has been with me through many tears, and many triumphs and continues to be a sweet part of our family.   Over the last year or so, he has been having a series of health issues, The newest of which has been his hips.    Hip Dysplasia I believe is the term.    We switched his food and that helped for a short time but then during the cold months of winter he began to become less and less active.  Struggling to walk,  eating less, never wanting to play.  Disinterested in anything but sleep.  Over the course of just a few days, it got so bad that one evening he began to shake and pant heavily. Worried I began to plan for a trip to the vet....as awful as it sounds, dreading it because I knew what they would probably say.   That it was the end of the rope for my little buddy.   My husband did some research and read that sometimes aspirin can help dogs with arthritis and hip pain, so we gave him some in hopes that it would ease some of his discomfort.    To our surprise, it seemed to help.   We decided to give it a few days and see if he would recover at all, I bought some joint vitamins to try and I prayed.    I prayed for healing for Jack, and comfort for us.   I prayed that God would restore his little body somehow.     

Well I don't know if it's the weather, the vitamins, or a miracle, but just a few weeks later he is almost completely back to his old self.   He even played with me in ways he has not wanted to play in a few years.  Like his youth has been restored.    Running, barking, chewing on his toys....almost like a puppy.   He even played with our 3 year old dog....which he has never done before.       I was pondering this and thanking the Lord, and I heard the Lord very clearly say to me "I can breath new life back into old dreams, I can restore what you may think is lost."    I sat in my chair, looking at Jack, tears in my eyes thinking about those dreams I have had for so many years.    The ones spoken and the ones unspoken.   in awe that the Lord would use something so simple yet so tangible to me to remind me of this truth.    

I think of the story in the Bible, you may already know the one, where God promises Abraham, a 99 year old man, that He would make him extremely fruitful.  That his descendants would become many nations.   Sarah was 90.   90....let's just let that sink in for a minute.   If I were Sarah, I would have long assumed my dream of a giving birth was gone.   She was many years past the age of childbearing, and calls herself a "worn-out women".  The scripture even tells us that she laughs at the visitors who come in Genesis chapter 18, to tell them that the following year she will give birth to a boy.  
How many times have I done that?   Thought things like, "oh it's to late for that", "My time has come and gone for this to possible" "It's been so long I'm sure it's no longer God's plan for me"
There are instances when the dreams I have for my life change as I grow, mature, and become closer to the Lord.   And there are those dreams, the ones that I have already seen the Lord bring to fruition in my life.   But then there are those dreams...the ones so much a part of me that I know only the Lord could have put them there.   The ones I can remember feeling even as a child.   That I have yet to see come to light.   The ones that seem so far away that they are growing more and more impossible.    I believe God is speaking to those dreams.    They are not forgotten.   They are not forsaken.   They are there for a reason and He can breath new life into them.

We serve a God who is faithful.    A God who does not go back on His promises.  
Just like Abraham and Sarah, who were given a baby boy, a miraculous child that fulfilled His promise in His perfect timing.    He is our loving Father and He knows what we need before we even ask.    And He has shown us throughout scripture that He will not fail.   Maybe He is waiting on us to ask for a breath of new life.

To Wait or not to Wait

Yesterday in church my pastor said something that has stuck with me.   In talking about waiting on the Lord, he said "We wait with joyful expectation".  How can waiting be joyful?    What is joyful about the in-betweens in life where you don't know what is going to happen, or you have to hold out for those things your heart desires so deeply, with no logical reason?    I decided to dig a little deeper on the word waiting....because well....I am terrible at waiting.    I have always been a somewhat impulsive person.   Once I make up my mind, I want to makes things happen right then and there.   In some ways it has been a blessing in my life, I don't waste a lot of time, and tend to get things done promptly.   In other ways it can be a real struggle for me.    I am so thankful the Lord in His wisdom and grace knows us better then we know ourselves and gave me a husband who is the exact opposite of me when it comes to this area.   But the Lord has been nudging my heart recently to practice self control in learning how to be patient and wait on His timing.

Why is it so hard to wait?
I think one reason is that the enemy knows he can steal God's best from us by getting us to accept something we can have now.    Like having a snack because you were so hungry, but then being to full to eat the delicious meal that was waiting for you when you got home.
Waiting also takes work.   It takes discipline, and dedication.   I remember thinking back when I was in college for example..."man this is taking forever" yet when I look back now, years later, it seems like a blink of an eye.   But I was so ready to move on and begin my adult life that it seemed to just drag on.
Seasons grow tiresome.    Every time I go out it seems I hear someone say something like "man I am ready for summer" or "when is all this snow going to end", but then in the summer time all I hear is "I miss the cold" or "It's just so dry".    We seem to always want a different season then the season we are walking in.
As I get older, There are many areas of my life where I can not only see, but understand why the Lord called me to wait.   But unfortunately I all to easily forget those events when I am stuck yet again waiting.    Especially when it "seems" like I am the only one who has to wait on the things I desire so badly.
I am reminded of the Israelites.  Each time the Lord rescued them, or provided for a need, they would praise Him and then just as quickly turn their backs on Him again.    Over and over then would beg and plead, and then after receiving what they had begged for, forget who they were.   The inheritance they were promised.    40 years of wandering.   40 years of waiting.    The Lord did fulfill His promise to them, but how much quicker would it have come to pass if they had held onto the Lord steadfast, rather then wandering like lost sheep with mere moments of faith.  
Isaiah 40:31 says
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

the word Wait here, literally means "to bind together perhaps by twisting, to stretch".   When we wait on the Lord, we are letting our hearts bind together with His heart.   What happens to two pieces of rope when you twist them together.    they stretch, become stronger, and become one unit of rope instead of two separate units.       It doesn't mean waiting will be easy.   Or make sense at all times.   But we have the promise of renewed strength.

Lamentations 3:24-26 says
"The Lord is my portion" says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.   It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.

Silently, in this case is telling us to wait without groaning or complaining.   boy is that something I need to work on.   But we have the promise that the Lord is good to those who wait on Him and He is our portion.   All we can ever need or hope for is found in Him, that is something that should give us great joyful expectation.

Maybe waiting isn't so bad after all...

More Then Noise

Yesterday evening was a quiet night.   Just the kind I like at the end of a busy week.   My husband and stepson and I hanging out enjoying a little food network and dinner.  When it came time for Christian's bed time, my husband told him first to take a shower.    Away he went begrudgingly to the bathroom (he still hates showers haha) and a moment later we heard singing coming from the back of the house...."Wish we could turn back time, to the good ole days.   When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out. Wish we could turn back time, to the good ole days, when our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out."    My husband and I looked at each other and laughed as he continued to sing this song over and over again at the top of his lungs in the bathroom.     I myself just heard this song for the first time a few days ago at the skating rink and he informed me it was his new favorite song.    It reminded me of my childhood/teenage years of trying to learn every song that was out on the radio and be able to sing each lyric and melody perfectly.  Trying my best to sing along with Maria Carey, or pretending I could rap along with TLC.      But as harmless as his singing was it got me thinking.   How easily did that song get into his 10 year old head.  How easily did it become his favorite.    Don't get me wrong, I understand that you cannot shelter or protect your children from everything the world has to throw at them, but it occurred to me that music is one of the only forms of communication that can sneak a message into our lives nearly undetected.   How many times have you sat in the car singing a song along with the radio without even paying attention to the lyrics you were singing.   How many times have you been watching a movie, maybe even a mildly rated movie that had a song with questionable lyrics that went unnoticed because, well it's a children's movie, it should be safe.   If you are anything like me and my stepson, the thing that catches your attention first is the melody....the melody is what gets stuck in your head and becomes the vehicle to get the message in.  There are even songs I listen too now as an adult that I sang along with as a kid and realize just how negative the message actually was.     Now let me clarify something.....I am not saying it is bad to listen to the radio, or that all artists who do not sing Christian music have terrible messages, but it made me realize just how powerful and important the role of a songwriter can be.  So many artists, when I listen to the radio, follow the formula of writing a song to get air play.  Catchy but empty.   I am reminded of the passage from 1 Corinthians 13:1 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal".
 With music we have the power to get a message to those who may not be receptive to the idea of going to church or talking about Christ.    To reach them perhaps without them even realizing it by getting the love of Christ stuck in their heads.    To "sneak" in love, by singing love.     To make music that is more then noise.

The Narrow Road

This morning, I was blessed to be able to lead worship at a small church in Bellevue.   Now when I say small, it is important to understand that this is a very intentional decision made by the church, not to be elitist or snobby but rather because they have a heart to be like the church in the new Testament.  A close knit community with a heart for Christ, each other, and out reach.    I have led there a few times and am blessed each time by the sweet sense of community and their genuine hearts for the lost.   This morning, Pastor Chuck was speaking from Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it"  He talked about the narrow gate vs. the wide and how so many people who think they know the Lord, know of the Lord but have not made Him the Lord of their lives.    He said this not to scare anyone but simple to remind us that salvation, is not just about a one time choice we make to pray a sinners prayer and accept Jesus into our hearts, but about a choosing daily, to walk with the Lord and to follow Him on the narrow path.  He challenged us to look at our lives and question if we were living to expand His kingdom, or to expand our own.   I have to honest....this threw me a little.   I love the Lord.  Deeply, truly.   I do not doubt that I am a child of God or feel that my salvation is at risk.  But I began to think.....what is my motive for the choices I make.   For the money I spend.   For the people I spend time with.   Am I choosing these things based on a desire to please myself, to please others, or to please Him?    So many times when I look through my Facebook feed I see comments like "please send good thoughts my way" or "sending out vibes and happy thoughts"...."I would never say something like that!" I would think to myself...to be so obviously vague and unspiritual....but then I have to stop and examine my own heart.   Who am I to judge another?    How many times have I watered down a lyric in a song to make it more appealing to a broader audience?   How many times have I posted something "politically correct" on Facebook to avoid conflict?   How many times have I avoided a conversation that I felt the tugging of the Spirit to have, because I was afraid of what the response might be?     We believers have to make the choice to daily make that choice....the narrow or the wide road.   I think it is so important now more then ever because our culture is getting more and more watered down.  More and more afraid of conviction and passion.    More concerned with what is cool or relevant then with the truth.    Does this mean we have to do a total overhaul of everything in our lives?    That is between you and the Lord but my guess is that most of us are seeking the Lord, but maybe have some areas we have yet to yield to Him.  Or some areas where we are selfishly holding on to our own agenda or plan instead of giving Him full access to our lives.  Maybe an area where we are holding black out of fear, or lack of trust.   Perhaps it's misdirected passion or financial strain causing us to be cautious or distracted.    Whatever it is that keeps us from walking fully surrendered, pulling us over toward the wide road each day.   Those are the things we must turn back to the Lord.  

That last few days have been on the rough side for me....my mind has been so distracted with some tough circumstances that I had lost site of the Lord's hand....last night I opened my Bible to
Psalm 66 :1-7 and read this.
"Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.  Say to God, "How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that your enemies cringe before You.  All the earth bows down to you; they sing praises to you, they sing praises of our name"  Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind!  He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot-Come, let us rejoice in Him."
 

 The narrow gate is not promised to be easy. It is not promised to be pretty or prosperous.   It is not even promised to be safe.   But I would rather walk that road with the God who can turn the seas into dry land, then the widest, easiest road surrounded by many others but apart from God.  
 In the arms of a Loving Father, it will be the most difficult most beautiful journey we can take.    But it will be worth it and He will be glorified.