“ROAD ENDS”

As I was walking down a backroad not long ago I came to the end of the road, literally. The pavement ended abruptly and there was a fence of sorts in front of tall overgrown weeds and wildflower growth. On the fence was a sign that read, “Road Ends”! As I stood there and gazed at that sign my mind began to conjure all sorts of thoughts. “What if this was my road of life? Would or could my life end this abruptly?”  The answer, of course was, it could, but as I stood there and gazed at that fence blocking any further exploration, It indeed made me think. Another thought that was practically “begging” and “pleading” to me was the tall grass and overgrown weeds and wildflowers on the other side of that fence. I really really wanted to wade right in there through the tall grass and see what lay behind this roadblock. For me the picture didn’t end! The wildflowers were calling out to me. Was there a stream or brook that was going unnoticed and I could put my toes into? Were there deer in the fields romping and playing? Or, my very favorite, were there wildflowers of every color to gather and take home for my dining table? The wildness of it all, the unknown, the adventure of new experiences were the lure for my curiosity of life. I wasn't ready for this road to end. I wasn’t ready to just stop and turn around and go in the direction I’d already been. That evoked a sadness in me that was hard to explain. I wanted more! I wanted to see what I hadn’t seen before. My zest for life and ALL it held were greater than what that sign was telling me.

Is that true for you in your life? Do you want more? Do you long to taste, touch and experience all the life that your Father in Heaven has in store for you? Do you still long to go down the entire road of life, no matter how it changes or no matter if someone is being that “Road Ends” sign for you and telling you that you can’t? The sign doesn’t have to be the end of your adventure. It doesn’t mean darkness and the end lies right on the other side of what looks to be a road block. I believe there is still hope and life beyond the “road ends” sign. Now, if you are suffering and have become physically unable to recover and you know God and have served him, that “Road Ends” sign could very well be your next adventure in Heaven and how Marvelous! But if you are of sound mind and able body then the roadblocks are not the end! You now have the opportunity to take off in a new direction that could take you down a path to the best days of your life. Your roadblock doesn’t have to mean “STOP”, but it very well could mean, pause, take a breath and ask God how to proceed. Your wildflower, love of nature, or babbling brook experience could be a breath away! Don’t allow what others tell you that you can’t do to be the things that rules the day. Roll up your sleeves and be that person that says, “I can” and won’t allow a little roadblock to keep you from going further on in this thing called life. For us, the road truly changes when our Heavenly Father calls us home but that’s only to start something wonderful and unimaginable. So, if the numbers of your days are still ticking on, step around that fence or roadblock and go where they say the “Road Ends” ! Because I’m thinking it doesn’t actually end at all! 

"I See You"

I am super happy every morning to be able to get up and usually straight away go out on my back deck and fill my bird feeders. The birds here in East Tennessee are hungry, let me just say, and have voracious appetites but they are also beautiful. Ive seen multitudes of blue jays, cardinals, red headed woodpeckers and finches. They're all so beautiful in their brightly colored suits and they are all vying for position at my feeders. The blue jays are the bully's of sorts as they are the largest so they make sure all the others wait their turns until they are quite full. When the jays leave the others then feel safe to come and eat. But the ones that melt my heart every time are the patient, sitting on the sidelines, little brown sparrows. They wait patiently until all the others have eaten and then get their fill and fly off to their next adventure. 

Sometimes in my life, if I can be honest here, it has felt like I am living out the brown sparrows life. The big guys, the ones with wealth and power just swoop in and rule the day so to speak. They get the best things, and have the pick of whatever they choose. The others are right there behind them to get or attain what the power players haven't gotten. And then, here I am, the brown sparrow, patiently waiting on the sidelines to get whats left over. 

In truth, as the Lord reveals to my heart, even though the other birds are bigger, more beautiful with their colorful suits, I "see" the brown sparrow and I make sure she has what she needs. She patiently waits, so I wait and watch and I make sure always that she receives what she has need of. 

So, God "sees" me! He "sees" you in whatever place or suit you find yourself in. The truth is that God sees us all and takes care of us accordingly. But if you are feeling a bit like I have at times, like a little brown sparrow, just know that God will also provide for you what you need when you need it. Sit back patiently on the sidelines if you must but you will have what you need when the time is right.

It says in Luke 12:7  "Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."

There are days when you may feel like a "plain Jane" or in this case, a brown sparrow, but take it from me and the Word of God, "He sees you"! 

“Breaths That Matter”

I have a wonderful memory that I hold tight to that occurred quite a few years ago. I was very privileged to meet a lady whose last name was “Short” and to be a part of a two woman team who shared Jesus with her. She was a middle aged woman whose husband was no longer around and she lived alone and as fate would seem to have had it, she had just been diagnosed with cancer. My friend and I were happy to sit with her talking for hours about Jesus and she was very hungry and ate up every word and scripture that we shared. As was the custom of the church that we were attending at that time, we called our new friend “ Sister Short”. As time waits for no one, Sister Shorts’ time on this earth was very brief after our encounter. I will always remember the day that she went to be with Jesus. I was sitting with her in her hospital room holding her hand and praying. It was the most dismal rainy and dark day outside so she asked if we could pull the window shade down in her room. As she lay in bed holding my hand, I heard her say, “I want to see Him!”. So I began to pray that she indeed would see the face of her Jesus. Mind you, I had my eyes completely closed as I prayed and it was pretty dark in that room as well as outside. Then, the most miraculous and wonderful thing happened. A bright light came and flooded the room. I could tell even though my eyes were closed that there was the brightest glow but somehow I couldn’t manage opening my eyes. The light lingered for just maybe 10 seconds and then I was able to open my eyes. It was still very dark in the room and I looked over at Sister Short and as you may have already guessed, she was gone! Gone home to be with her Jesus because with her last breath she asked to see Him. With her last breath she called out her request and as I complied as well with my lips, her breaths pleas were heard and honored. What a beautiful beautiful moment that was for her, and for me as well. 

What comes to mind right here is that the things that we say with our last breaths, “matter”. They matter as much as all of the things we say in our lifetime of breaths. Here’s the important  question that we must ask though, “Are our words sweet? Are they kind? Are our breaths being wasted in angry words? Are our words ones that remain and impact for good change?”

I’m not trying to condemn anyone who happens to read this but my desire is to pose the questions that we all may seek to “do it better”. After all, if we do not seek to change always for the better than the breath that fills our lungs may indeed have become polluted. Let’s always be willing at least to examine and filter out the polluted breath until it once more becomes sweet in the nostrils of our creator.

Another example, and I think our ultimate example, of the breaths that matter is the story of Jesus and his crucifixion. As the account in the book of Luke reads, Jesus was nailed to a cross between two thieves or robbers. One of the thieves was openly ridiculing Jesus while the other thief stated, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? (Speaking to the other thief) We are receiving the due reward for our sin, but this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong!” Then with his final breath ( the breath that mattered most in his case) he asked Jesus, “ remember me when you come into your kingdom?” And with one of Jesus’ final breaths he answered, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”! 

How beautiful again were the final words that were breathed here! They breathed “life” for that thief who was crying out for forgiveness. They whispered love beyond what was deserved. The words of the thief that were breathed were words of hope and anticipation for what was to come and they were answered and met with a resounding “ yes” from our Lord and Savior. 

I can still hear Sister Short saying, “ I want to see him” and when the light flooded into that hospital room she was met with a resounding “ Yes “ by her Lord and Savior. How amazingly beautiful and sweet was the very air in that room in those moments. It changed everything! 

When we were created in the beginning of time it says, “ the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and ‘breathed’ into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul”. (Gen 2:7) Gods very breath was breathed into us to bring about life and our breath is part of what sustains us in this life. No breath, no life! So, if breath is the very essence of life then the words and things that we breath in and out on a daily basis matter. Words are indeed life and death. They build up and give hope or they tear down and pollute. Initially we were dust, a bunch of dirty polluted molecules that didn’t matter but then God breathed his breath, his life into us to make something of the dust! Wow! So, it matters! It matters what we do with the life, the very breath that we’ve been given! With our first breaths, our last breaths and all the in between breaths, let’s speak LIFE! Let’s use the life giving flow that is vital and let’s be what Jesus was to the thief who cried out. Let’s breathe what matters. . . . HOPE! 

To Remain

We talk about the courage needed to leave a place, the strength to move out into uncharted territories. We admire those who take to change like a boat to water, dipping their oar in for the next new adventure. This is the stuff of revolutions and gold rushes. But sometimes it takes just as much strength to stay put as it does to go. It's not easy facing the same dishes piled up in the same sink, the routine work week, the interminable habits that of course you don't have but that the people around you use continually to sharpen your character.

Remaining takes commitment. It puts up with the mundane. It chooses to love even when the glow of newness has faded. Remaining knows the value of longevity, loyalty, and hard work that eventually pays off. To remain is to know your labor is not in vain. It's to live with hope.

If we were to wake up in the era of John the Apostle, we would witness an upheaval from within the church, new and vogue ideas about Jesus were circulating---ideas contrary to what had been taught from the beginning. We'd see people leaving the church for "higher enlightenment", attempting to pull others with them. 

In response to all the tumult, Johns plea was simple: Remain, Dwell, Abide. Don't leave the steadying truth that you know for the sparkle of new philosophies or the swell of cultural tides. Remain within Jesus and the fellowship of his Bride.

The practice of abiding is never more difficult than when we're surrounded by a host of other vines from which a lot of bubbly people are hanging--all happy in their flesh and darkness. You know, when everyone else's vine appears more thrilling than the one you're attached to. You look around and begin to believe the lies of the Enemy--that the way of Jesus is limiting and that his followers are outdated.

Suddenly you have this overwhelming pull to tie your branch up to that new belief system, the married man who's showing you attention, the higher paying job that will take you away from your children, the extra drink, the glance at pornography. We deceive ourselves into thinking new, interesting branches will offer more nourishment, so we spend our time hopping from vine to vine, looking for another place to dwell.

For a season I toyed with what it might look like to try to play in both places; a toe in the church and my heart in the world, but this is not what abiding means. Rather, such a lifestyle means a crack down the center of your being. Ultimately I couldn't live torn like that for reasons that have a whole lot to do with the mystery of abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us. Because of this truth the Lord never lets me break away, and I'm forever indebted to Him. Praise God for us in Him and He in us, the latter being the most powerful of the two. 

Perhaps you are in a similar position. You're wondering if the message of the gospel is really all it promises to be. The Christian walk you've known seems tired while the lust of the flesh appears to gallop across the fields with vigor and excitement. 

But, the annointing that the world boasts of is counterfeit and its fleeting. It's not the real thing which is why the Apostle John says, "Do not let anyone deceive you". There are deceivers out there and people get deceived. One of Johns greatest passions was to keep the fellowship of the community intact, reminding the church that the constancy in Christ far outweighs the temporal electricity of those who'd move on for more "enlightening" ideas.

As I grow older, the more my heart yearns for stability. Not stagnancy, mind you--rather Immutability (constancy; being fixed) I long for what will never change, all that's constant in Jesus, promises that never fail, fellowship that will carry on for as long as forever. In a world of ceaseless change and dissenting opinions, how grounding it is to know that we can know. Especially when social spheres, media, and culture timelessly seek to persuade us to question our faith, to doubt Gods truth, to adhere to His Word selectively. 

I can hear John calling out to his readers, "Dear little children, don't let the deceiving voices make you doubt what you know! You know His truth. You've confessed the Son and so you have the Father as well. Remain right where you are. This is your home. I know the voices are familiar, people who were once close to you. But don't forsake what you've heard from the beginning--the gospel that rung so true the moment you heard it, the moment it changed you."

Who Is Guarding Your Door

There are many who may know this about me but then again there are many who do not! I have wrestled most of my life with trying to feel accepted and worthy and good enough, you know all the lies that the enemy of our souls would try to whisper in our ears. You know, " you're not or will you ever be smart enough because you didn't get a college degree"! Or, "you don't have enough money so people won't ask you to go out to places with them". " No one will listen to what you have to say because you don't know anything"!  I have given place to those feelings, even nurtured them at times and they still had me shut behind a door of unhappiness and misery. I fell deeper and deeper into the trap of becoming a "people pleaser". That's right, a people pleaser! I thought that if I could get everyone to like me by doing whatever they wanted or whatever they asked of me, then I would finally find that love and acceptance that I so desperately sought after. Here's where some of you are maybe shaking your head either because you know that's a foolish way of thinking or you're shaking your head because I've just described you! I was held prisoner for many many years behind this door of lies and deceit that the enemy had constructed in my mind. And the real truth that kept that door secure in my thoughts was the guard that stood outside of it. You see, the guard was there to make sure that nothing else got in that door and to also make sure that I did not get out! The name of that guard was " fear"! You see this thing in my life, the people pleasing, unaccepted, unworthy and miserable person was trapped behind a door of my own choosing. That's right! I chose to stay there. I chose to allow the guard outside that door to call the shots. You see I think that guard was an " agent" of sorts, hired to keep me attached to the inside of my false thoughts. Hired to keep me inside that horrible place so that I would never know the freedom of security and acceptance and love and worthiness. My guard was doing a great job of keeping the atmosphere of fear around me so that I would never know freedom from those lies. Here's the good news though my friends, I got out! I had to do something to get out and that was make a conscience effort to turn the knob on that door, open it and walk out. That's it! Here's the light that came on for me that flooded my dark room of unhappiness. Isaiah 8:11-13 "The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do and dont live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heavens Armies Holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe". That was it! I had been thinking and acting like the rest of the world. I was being held captive by fear in a prison of lies that the enemy had fed to me. I had even thought that it was INDEED a conspiracy against me to make me feel like a failure in this life! I was living in dread and then the light came on! "Make the Lord of Heavens Armies HOLY in your life. He will keep you safe"! My defining moment came when I reached for the door knob of change and flung open the door to freedom and walked right past that guard saying, "He will keep me safe". I can't tell you how that made me feel exactly but I can tell you that I wanted to walk more and more in it. It became a "confident knowing". The more that I spoke the Word of God into my life and didnt listen any longer to the lies that were trying to flood back in, the stronger I became. I no longer live in dread of that guard at the door! I no longer live behind that door but I am free to walk in and out as I please with the Lord of Heavens Armies by my side. No guard in sight! Be at peace today my friends because if God tells us to walk in something, he will empower us to walk in it. He will indeed keep you safe when you make the choice to walk boldly and confidently past that guard and out of your door and into freedoms heavenly light. Choose, darkness or light? Prison or freedom? It is going to be your defining moment I think.

"Maid In America"

There are some days, and really not that many I have to admit, that I feel the drudgery of cooking, laundry and scrubbing the toilet! I do it all the time because that is just a part of my life and most of our lives but some days it just gets to me. I then find myself slipping into "pity party" mode and I begin to grumble about being everyones "maid" and servant. Yes, I know fully in my heart and so does God, that I'm not anyone's maid BUT someones wife and mother and very much needed in the whole big scheme of things around my house. My part, really, is to keep things moving and in "ship shape" order so that our lives can run smoothly. And. . . . . for those of you who are thinking, "what about your husband and kids, do they do anything?" Well the answer to that is "yes" they do but that never stops me from whining about it from time to time. We all have our moments when we forget or just get tired. As long as we don't stay in self pity mode too long and get our hearts and minds back on track, we should be fine. It's when we stay in that mindset, entertain it a little, grumble about it and then start plotting a strategy on how to get around it that we get ourselves into trouble and get "stuck". We can, I believe, get disgruntled, upset, tired, weary and worn by the mundane tasks set before us but we have to realize that they are also a part of life. We must put our minds back in drive and keep on truckin. We must be determined to keep moving forward. But really, we have to pray and ask God to help us adopt a servants heart and attitude because we are only doing harm to ourselves when we get an attitude of "we deserve better"! Cleaning, cooking, laundry  and "Yes" cleaning the toilet can be done with gladness and a song in our hearts. We are Gods "hand maidens" and everything that we do down to the dirtiest jobs should be done "as unto him". I am blessed to live in a home not a hut. I am blessed to drive a car not a herd of sheep. I am blessed to sleep in a warm bed not on a mat on a dirt floor. I am blessed to live in a land of freedom not enslavement and I am blessed to freely be able to worship my God. Sadly, everyone in this world does not experience all of these blessings that I have. But this "Maid in America" does!

Insight insert: I truly believe that God desires for each of us to really "see" our value and worth. Your value is or never will be in the things that you do such as your job or a talent that you may have. You should never be defined as what you do, for example you might say, "I am a doctor", so that should lend you more respect and honor and that's who you are! But guess what? You would be wrong because "a doctor" is what you do, your job, it is NOT who you are or who God made you to be! You had to go to school to learn to be a doctor but who you really are is the traits that God gave you to define you. You may be kind, caring, funny, or maybe even very wise so that should be where your value and worth lie. I would ten times rather be stuck in an elevator with a wise, caring or funny person instead of someone with a 4.0 GPA who has no common sense. All the education in the world would never compare to the value of wisdom or kindness. What are the attributes that you have been blessed with? This week if you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to someone new, make sure you say, "hello, I'm Jane and I am happy to meet you. (even if you are a Dr., you need not mention it. Try going it on WHO you are)!

Scripture:   Proverbs 31:20. She's quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor. MESSAGE

Proverbs 31:26. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Only One Life

Today, for whatever reason, two lines of a poem that my dad used to recite came into my mind. It went like this, " Only one life, twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last"! I have very vivid memories of daddy reciting this again and again and a slightly blurry memory of it on a plaque that mom had hung somewhere in the house. Now that was an easy 50 or more years ago and here it is popping up in my head once more! When this happens I ALWAYS want to take a closer look! Upon some Internet investigation ( I am fondly called the "Google" queen by my children) I found the poem. The poem is called " Only One Life Twill Soon Be Passed" by C.T. Studd. It beautifully paints a picture in words of what our lives should look like! "Give me Father a purpose deep. . ." speaks volumns of why we live, depressed, defeated lives. We need a purpose! Most of us, if we were totally truthful, would say that our lives on a daily basis most probably revolve around some shallow, self-serving purpose that brings us to a place of emptiness in the end. We work long hours to earn more money to buy the things that we truly don't need! We rent storage buildings to store the excess of items that we just can't seem to part with! And we waste hours on our cell phones or "Facebooking" on our computers playing games that will only pull us back into wasting more time the next day! NO PURPOSE! That is an endless highway to nowhere that will only leave us craving to get to the " happily ever after" place that doesn't even exist on that road. Another line reads: "And from the world now let me turn". . . . .lovingly directs us to turn away from the shallow things that the world tempts us with or offers to us served on a silver platter! Just how do we lay all of those things down and turn our attentions toward the things that we need to do that DO matter? It won't happen overnight but it CAN happen. You didn't get to this place in one day but you can stop and turn around and go the other direction before its too late! First, you need to ask God to forgive you and then ask him to help lead you in the right direction, the direction he has been pulling you in all along but you have grown numb and resistant to. We truly have become a wicked people that have turned to our own ways, self-centered and selfish! This is our wake up call I believe!  I'll make this more personal if I may, " Only YOUR life, it will soon be past, ONLY what YOU do for Christ will last"! Lay it down (your own stuff and agenda) and make a difference in someone else's life from now on. It is NOT about us and the self gratification that we can experience ( the world will lie to you with that philosophy) it is about Christ and him working through you to change the lives of others. So, "thank you" daddy for reciting that poem and "thank you daddy God" for inspiring Mr. C.T. Studd to write it so that it could ring in my ears the heavenly tune of repentance and renewal! You revealed to a poet what truly was important and now I share it so that it can come full circle to you! The poem ends with these lines, " And when I am dying how happy I'll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee"! 

insight insert: Have you found yourself caught up on the carousel of the mundane and self serving? I know I've been on that carnival ride and found that I grew more weary riding it! Get off!!! It's time to realize that this life that we have been given is short and comes to a halt way more quickly than we know. Examine your daily "doings" and ask yourself, "are these things being done for anyone else's good or for my own good? Are my daily tasks to bring joy and encouragement to others lives or is what I am doing just bringing joy and satisfaction to myself?" Don't get me wrong, we all need times of rest and relaxation to refuel and go on but that is not what I am speaking of. The daily majority of your time routines that eat away at your time and are of no earthly or Godly benefit whatsoever good is what I refer to! This week, look at your life through a much larger magnifying glass than you would normally use and allow the Spirit of the Living God to show you what mundane carousel to step off of. Now, tune in and hear what he has to tell you and move on it! You only have one life!

Scripture: Ephesians 5: 15-17. "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of The Lord is".

Psalm 39:4-5 " O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few hand breadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all of mankind stands as a mere breath!"