Something Beautiful

First of all, my apologies for not blogging for several days. Secondly, this is going to be my last post this month. Writing every day is exhausting for me on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level. When you add in the circumstances of every day life on top of that, my heart and soul are drained, so I am going to take a short break and allow myself to be restored. Thank you for reading my words and for the encouragement I have received from so many. I'm blessed that you find encouragement in what I write. And now for my last post of this writing month. When a woman is in labor, the French call it travail, which loosely translated means "hard work." Yesterday in the small hours of the morning, my beautiful sister finished her travail to bring a new life into the world. A little before one A.M. yesterday morning, my precious niece, Edith Margaret, was born. From the pictures I have seen she is beautiful, precious, and spunky. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and ...

We have all known the bitterness of other people's lack of faithfulness. Whether it's a brother or sister or mom or dad or spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend or just a friend, at some point we have all felt the sting that hints of betrayal by someone who is close to us. It always hurts to have someone close to you not have your back when you need them. It hurts to have someone you thought would always be there for you not be there for you. It hurts to have someone you trust fail to be faithful. Betrayal. Faithless. These words seem strong, but that's what it really feels like down in the heart. I hate to sound negative, but if you haven't been there it is only just a matter of time. People will always let you down. I have let people down, and I'm sure caused that stinging hurt of unfaithfulness along the way. And other people have let me down. My heart has been stung more times than I care to recount. It is in those moments that sting deep down that I have to r...

I am a firm believer that beauty can be found in any situation. We just need eyes to see it. I'm not the biggest fan of winter. I really don't like being cold. I dislike wearing tons of layers; it makes me feel like I can't move. My heart delights in the beauty of growing things. I like not having to wear shoes. Essentially I'm a hobbit. So yeah, winter not really my thing.   And yet, there is still beauty to be found in it. This is perhaps a mild illustration, but I honestly believe that in any situation in life beauty can be found because God can be found in any situation in life, and He is the altogether beautiful one. All beautiful things do is reflect the beauty of the Creator. And everything that we find beautiful is just a glimpse of the beauty that is waiting to be revealed.  

Making decisions can be a difficult thing, especially the big and important decisions like where to move, what job to take, who to marry, etc. If you are at all like me, you often find yourself in these decisions with the biggest question at the forefront of your mind being "Is this God's will for my life?" I cannot tell you the number of decisions and hours and days and weeks and months and years I have agonized over wanting to make the "right" decision to make sure I'm in God's will. Finally, a little over a year ago, I had a realization that I get choices. This may not sound that life changing to you, but it was revolutionary for me. God gives us choices. He isn't sitting up in heaven, watching, waiting for me to make the "right" choice so that I can continue to walk in His will or smite me if I choose the "wrong" thing. He is beside me, offering counsel as I seek Him. He is in the voices that speak wisdom to me as I face cho...

I am so grateful that God's faithfulness is not dependent upon my faithfulness. The Lord knows that I have not always been faithful to Him. I have put other things before Him. I have made other things more important than Him. I have not always loved Him faithfully. But He is always faithful, even when I am faithless, simply because that is His character.

It is an election year. ISIS is running unchecked across the middle east. Ebola is devastating western Africa. Countless other tragedies are striking around the world. It's easy to get caught up in these situations, to get worked up about them, to start being fearful and worried. It's easy to lose perspective. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we shouldn't be caring about these situations. I pray for the elections, the situation in the middle east, the tragic loss of life in Africa. It breaks my heart to see and hear about these situations. But. I am a member of God's Kingdom. And I know the character of my God. He is faithful. He is good. He is just. He is holy. He is merciful. He is abounding in steadfast love. He is righteous. And I know that at the end of the day He is in control. Which is a very good thing because all of these situations are completely out of my control. I can vote in the upcoming elections, but my vote will be one among millions. ...

    "Restore us again, O God of our salvation." - Psalm 85:4   "He restores my soul." - Psalm 23:3   "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." - Psalm 51:12   I am overcome by the faithfulness of the Lord to restore. This last spring as I was preparing to make a large life transition my pastor spoke a prophetic word over me. What he said was that God wanted to restore things to me, some that I didn't even know I had lost. It rang true in my heart, and as I have been going through this season, I have come more and more to recognize the deep truth of these words in my heart and my soul.   God has faithfully been recalling and reclaiming pieces of my soul and restoring to me the joy of His salvation. He has restored to me love, joy, peace, hope, belief, and so much more. He has restored to me relationships. He has restored to me trust in people. He has restored my hope.   Gone is the cynical, bitter edge to my thoughts...

I was reading in Joshua today. It's awesome to read about God fulfilling a centuries old promise that Abraham's descendants would possess that specific land. It is beautiful and inspiring to read about the different ways that God shows Himself faithful to help them as they take possession of this land. But you know what really got me? Caleb. You want to talk about someone who is hard-core, Caleb is at the top of my list. He was 40 years old when he went with the spies to spy out the land. He reported back that God would give this land into their hands, that God would be with them. This is why he survives for the next 45 years instead of being swept away with the others who doubted God. And then there he is 45 years later. He asks for the portion of land that he spied out which is what God promised him. It was good land. But it was also where the giants lived. It was hill country, much easier to defend. And here's 85 year old Caleb. He is just as strong as he was at 40....

Healing is a subject that is close to my heart. I know that it is a subject that is close to God's heart as well. I know that He looks at the broken world, the broken people, the broken relationships and situations, and I know that His heart grieves because that was never what He intended for us. Jesus became human so that He could heal our broken world. But His healing came in an unusual way. He died for us. He became the remedy. He redeemed the world. And yet, the world is still broken. We still have the consequences of the fall. There is still death. And yet, I believe that God is faithful in healing. We just don't always see His healing the way we would expect to see it. Sometimes the healing comes when the body dies and doesn't have to fight cancer any more. Sometimes the healing is through surgery or medicine. Sometimes the healing comes just through time.  I do believe that God always heals. I just don't think it's always the healing we are looking ...

I just have to say this and get it out of the way. The Royals are going to the World Series!!!!!!!!! Love my boys in blue!!!! Seriously, my heart is just overflowing!! Okay, now that that's done. . . Actually, I'm going to talk about the Royals some more, but I promise that it has a purpose. I think the thing that I love the most about this team is that they don't give up on people, even when they probably should. Long after other teams would have dropped a player who is struggling, they hold on because they can see something there that we can't. (Billy Butler, I'm sorry for all the mean things I've said about you.) I see in that the faithfulness of God because He doesn't give up on me, He doesn't give up on you, even when He probably should. He sees who we are and who we will become, and He doesn't give up on us. I know that there have been a lot of times in my life when, if I was in God's place, I would have given up on me. "She...

There's a game we used to play when I was in college called "Never Have I Ever. . ." And the purpose of said game was to say something you had never done to get other people out who had done that thing.  I thought of this tonight because never have I ever had God not answer a prayer. That's too many negatives in one sentence. I'm sorry. But the point stands.  God answers prayer.  Even my silly ones. Like: "Dear Lord, please help the Royals win." Even the ones I say aren't a big deal. Like: "Lord, it would be nice if I got to travel more." He hears them and answers them.  I don't always like the answer, but He always answers them. Sometimes the answer seems to take a long time. But in the end, God has always and will always answer prayer because He is faithful. 

I took yesterday off. It wasn't intentional. I was actually planning to write a post before I fell asleep, but I was so tired I fell asleep without even realizing it. I realized this morning when I woke up that I didn't write yesterday. It wasn't that I didn't have time to write during the day. I did almost nothing yesterday. I even skipped church yesterday. I know. But you know something, resting is an expression of faithfulness. The very act of taking a Sabbath day is an act of faithfulness. It says that I believe God will be faithful to help me accomplish in 6 days what the rest of the world does in 7. To rest is to intentionally say I trust God. Perhaps I am making an excuse for just being lazy yesterday, but this has been a profound lesson in my life. Learning to rest, and not just rest but make that resting an expression of worship and holy surrender and submission to God has been a journey to say the least. It is difficult in our society to intentionally make...

This post is very late because today was a big day, but a day filled with God's fingerprints of faithfulness everywhere. Along with 6 team mates, I ran from Omaha to Lincoln, Nebraska today as part of the Market to Market relay. Whenever I participate in a running event, I am constantly aware of God's faithfulness. Today He was faithful in just helping me to finish. I had some beautiful runs today. The weather was perfect. The scenery was beautiful. There were so many moments where I was just in awe at God's creation and the beauty of His presence. I actually quite enjoyed myself. Apart from not being sure if I will be able to move tomorrow, it was an incredible event. To add to the further enjoyment and experience of God's faithfulness, today was my half-birthday. I know it seems silly, but I love celebrating, and I love having a reason to celebrate life. As I was thinking back tonight, while I was driving home, I was remembering where I was last year on this day, ...

He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. He is faithful. As we go into the weekend may you experience God and His faithfulness. God before you, God behind you, God beside you, God above you, God below you, God within you. 

Several years ago, I felt God impress upon my heart the need to embrace the seasons, all of them, even winter. It's easy for me to like spring, summer, and fall. I don't have a problem with any of them. Winter is much more difficult to embrace.  Winter is cold, dreary, bleak, dead, and a hundred more unappealing adjectives. And it always seems to last forever (can I get an Amen?).  But I really felt like God wanted me to learn to embrace the seasons. After all I can't control them, so I might as well learn to live at peace with them.  What many people don't realize is that the seasons are evidence of God's faithfulness. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah and all of his descendants (by the way that includes all of us!) that "While the earth remains,seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night,shall not cease."* When I choose to embrace the seasons, I choose to delight in the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenants. ...

I dream of living on a beach one day. Talk to me for any length of time about the things I'm passionate about, and this will come to the surface. You may hear about "The Beach House" which is a dream close to my heart, a dream which slumbers in my heart sometimes, and sometimes raises its head, calling for my attention.  And it is a dream which may never happen. I may never live by the beach. I may never have the house of rest and refreshment and savoring that dwells in my dreams. I may never have a retreat center. This dream may only ever be just a dream. I don't know. What I do know is that God is faithful with my dreams. When I surrender my dreams and desires to Him, He is faithful to give me those dreams and desires in the best possible way in the best possible time. Sometimes that means never, and that's okay because I know that He knows what's best and is faithful to give me what's best. 

I am a farm girl. I grew up on a farm, and I will always be a farm girl at heart. I delight in wide open spaces and fields of green that ripen for the harvest.  I was running last night, and I could smell the scent of soybean dust in the air. It is the final harvest season of this year. The soybeans and milo are being cut. The fields are ripe for the harvest, and the workers are busy at their tasks.  Soon the harvest will be gathered in and the seeds of hope will be planted for the next season. There will be sowing so that there will be another harvest.  The act of sowing and reaping is an act of trust in the faithfulness of God. We sow, but He is the one who causes it to grow. He is the one who is faithful to bring the harvest. Bringing in the harvest is a celebration of the faithful provision of God, and of His faithfulness to grow what we sow.  Don't give up on sowing, for in due time there will be a harvest for God is faithful. 

The faithfulness of the Lord is just sweet. He is never in your face or harsh or brusk when it comes to His reminders of His faithfulness.   Where I would be inclined to say "I told you so," He just gently reminds that He was there all along.  Where I would be inclined to question why anyone doubted me, He just meets my doubts over and over again.  His faithfulness is so sweet, and it is a beautiful place to rest. 

Disclaimer: I had planned to post this last night, but I was a little busy watching my KC Royals sweep the Angels, and I didn't quite get it done. Sorry it's a day late. Please forgive me.  I bawled my eyes out in church this morning. It's world communion Sunday, if you didn't know. A Sunday where all believers take communion on the same Sunday to show unity in the church.  My pastor this morning gave us lots of time to spend in intercession for our brothers and sisters, especially those who are being persecuted for their faith. Parents who are having to watch their children be martyred for their faith. Children who will never grow up because they refused to deny Jesus.  My heart broke for these. And I wept for them for a log time. And yet. And yet, somehow in the middle of it all, I know that God is faithful. He is faithful because my tears do not go unseen. He is faithful because my prayers do not go unheard. We expressed his faithfulness in the very act of taking com...

Since God's faithfulness is not dependent upon my circumstances, seeing God's faithfulness can sometimes be challenging because I am limited by a box called time. God is not limited by this box. But this is often one of the greatest difficulties is us seeing God's faithfulness, that we don't see it in the time frame that we think we should.  God's words are never void, and His promises are always true. Therefore my understanding of His timing in fulfilling His word and promises is what is lacking. I have had to learn to adjust my understanding of His timing in fulfilling His plans and purposes, and by no means have I figured this out.  This is what I do know. God's faithfulness will show up when I least expect it. God's faithfulness will show up in the way I least expect it, and in the time I least expect it. And His fulfillment of His faithful promises will be infinitely better than I could ever dream up or imagine.  Learning to walk in God's faithfulne...

I love the stars. Ever since I was little, the stars have been faithful companions. No matter where I was, if I went outside at night, there they would be, the same lights winking back at me.  The stars have always pointed me back to a faithful God. Because each one of those tiny specks of light has a name. Because each one is exactly where it is supposed to be. They all come out in procession. They forever sing praises to the Creator.  The stars remind me that I am small and God is big. The sheer vastness of the universe and how it all continues on just as He has commanded it to. The fact that the command of His mouth is still being obeyed as light is still being created through new stars forming. Whenever I struggle to see God's faithfulness, I look at the stars. And I marvel at God being so big and caring for something so small like me. How beautiful is that?!?!   

It's easy to declare God's faithfulness when things are going well. When life is going well according to my view, it is easy to see God as faithful. When life is all sunshine and blue skies I can sing God's praises from morning to evening.  When there is a storm raging all around me, it is much more difficult to see God's faithfulness. When nothing seems to be going right, when life seems to be upside down, and when I can't see God's faithfulness I find it a great challenge to declare: "God is faithful." When I can't see His hand it becomes difficult for me to sing His praises.  Yet, those are the moments that it is most important to declare that God is faithful. In those moments it is the most important to declare that God is faithful  because that is a powerful statement of our belief in God's character.  Think about the moment when you feel the "ugliest," that moment when you feel absolutely no hint of beauty in yourself. Now imagi...

I have started this blog about ten times. I have decided that I wasn't going to do this about three times. I've really never done anything like this, and why does it really matter what I have to say anyway. Perhaps I am afraid of saying I'm going to do something and not following through (it wouldn't be the first time), but I feel like it's something I'm supposed to do. I feel like it's a challenge I'm supposed to accept.  Now you are probably wondering what I'm going on about. The challenge: write every day for the month of October. 31 days. You see, I'm not necessarily good at the consistency thing. Which is probably part of the reason I feel like I'm supposed to do this. Consistently writing is something I can improve on.  So I think I'm supposed to do this, but the real struggle I have been having is what do I write about? I don't want to say something unless I can say something profound, and yet, I have so many things I want ...