Breath of God

" The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

It's taken me a few days to digest all that has happened in our city over the past few days. One moment I was cleaning out flower beds with my husband, and the next our city was in crisis from a tornado that rummaged the earth for 22 minutes. I have two families that are dear to me that will have to rebuild because their homes are unliveable from the storm.

Spending the next days racking my brain to find ways to help, something occurred to me. This devastation occurred on Good Friday, and it was amazing to see the Body of Christ be His hands and feet of service over these past days. I have seen Jesus, in the form of His people, all over Murfreesboro. I can't help but think that God at times has to allow these devastating things to remind His creation that we were meant for something more in this life besides serving self. We were meant to live a life of service to Him. That's exactly what I've seen. Service out of the overflow of Christ living in us. Is this time excruciatingly hard to watch? Of course. But, I know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.

I posted this picture because of something that my friend James said to me as we were surveying his devastation. He lives in an older neighborhood with very mature trees...actually an oak in the front and back yard. With the sound of chainsaws in the background, he said these words to me, "The mighty oak is no match for the breath of God." So true, James, so true.

I am thanking God today for the good that I already have seen coming from this storm in our lives. Just as the rubble leaves the scene of devastation overflowing in the trucks that carry it, our lives continue to overflow with the love of Jesus Christ, who is with us in the midst of every single storm we face in this life.

Rain

I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. (Leviticus 26:4)

Spring, just as in life, has its share of rain. Rain has many purposes...it nourishes the ground; prepares new life to flourish, it acts as a storehouse for drought; it makes what was dry, wet, and what was thirsty, a drink. Rain also can "rain" on our parade. It keeps us in, it makes us wet and irritable, it obscures our vision, makes us "blue", and thwarts our plans.

The rain in our lives has many purposes as well. It can make us blue; thwart our plans; come unexpectedly; and be an inconvenience. There is beauty in the rain because God is always in the rain.

God can allow rain in our lives to nourish us; to cloud our vision so that He can show us His; to bring about new life after a season that seemed dead. God's rain can offer us a drink after a season of drought. No matter how we look at it, God is always for us and has a purpose and a plan for our lives. His rain in our lives is ultimately to bring forth growth and a harvest in our lives. Hallelujah! Bring the rain!!

Beauty from Ashes

" to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:3 It is amazing to me that my God can take something that I never thought could be redeemed, and use it for His perfect Glory. What I never thought could be "made right", has been made right by the blood of Jesus Christ. These flowers represent 14 innocent lives, but more than that, the flowers represent the "new lives" in complete grace that their mothers feel...and that grace only comes from the the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. His word promises that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 I see the good every day when I am reassured by my Savior that His blood is enough to cover my sin... I see the good when my mistakes can be used to guide someone in truth...I see the good when I can finally be at peace and know that my child rests in the Father's Hand and that I will see him one day in Glory....I see the good when shame is replaced with joy...guilt is replaced with peace...condemnation is replaced with acceptance.

"My biggest nightmare has become the child of my dreams".

(excerpt from Surrendering the Secret)

Beauty from ashes...there's no greater feeling of joy than to be "you" and still be used by God. All praise to His Holy Name!!

Foggy Road

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
(Psalm 16:11)



On a foggy day, it is extremely difficult to see much in front of you. Your focus must be on the road in front of you, and nothing else. The road farther in front of you is unclear, and hard to discern. Our lives are a lot like a foggy day. All we can see is the day in front of us. The days beyond today are foggy and unclear. But as with our drive on the foggy day, we have no other option but to focus on the road directly in front of us. Our comfort has to lie in the fact that God is in the fog, and that all things are clear to Him, even as we're straining to see.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

Only One

"You are the only One I need

You are the only God for me

I cannot move, cannot breath

unless You exhale in me."

(words by Antonio Neal)

As I think of the God of the Universe exhaling through me, I am reminded of the power my words have as they come out of my mouth. Throughout the course of the day, how many times do I battle God's exhale when I choose my own? He urges me to build up and not tear down...He sweetly cautions me to choose my words carefully...Very simply, our words have the power to give life or to destroy. When I choose me over God living through me, I cut off my only true life source.

"It is so sweet to know that you have drawn so close

And in return I lay my life down at your feet

Your desire is the song i want to know

You are my song, my melody"

Daffodils

The daffodils bend as the wind pours over them. They sway, but they never lay down. They are resilient...they continue to bloom no matter how much they are blown...if it rains on them it doesn't destroy them. In Christ we have the strength to be like the daffodil. The winds, storms, and rains of life may try to make us buckle, lay down, or even be destroyed, but in Christ we can always rise above and bloom.

"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matt. 7:25

Magnificent Glory!

Our trip to St. John celebrating 20 years of marriage was absolutely the most magnificent display of God's Glory that I have ever beheld. The sweet and vastly different mix of translucent aqua blue waters against the backdrop of rocky mountains with a splash of green from the rain forest took my breath away every single day that we were there. While visiting, I got the awesome opportunity to take my first stab at snorkeling. I have been a water lover all of my life, but have never had the chance. I could not help screaming through my snorkel with absolute delight as I saw fish that I had only seen behind glass at the aquarium. The Nemos and Doris and so many others that I had never seen were right below my face nibbling at the coral below. Just another awesome display of God's creativity that He blew me away with. I told Mike as I came out of the water, "There's a whole other world under there that God wanted ME to see"!!!This starfish is alive and about the size of both of my hands with fingers spread apart big! He was right near the shore, but I was trying to keep my composure and not jump up and down with excitement at seeing something that I had never seen before! I was a bit scared snorkeling at first, because being the Gladys Cravitz that I am, I was listening to others say that they had seen huge turtle, octopus, and barracuda under there! I didn't know if I was ready to be immersed in that! I just wanted to see the pretty fish that wouldn't hurt me.

The end of each day always left my heart clapping for the Lord at His beautiful creation. From sunrise to sunset, He is in it all...all you have to do is just look for Him.

This view is from atop the mountain near where we stayed. The small dots in the bay are huge sailboats. From each direction there are views just like these. Mike and I took books and magazines to read, but didn't read any of them because we went to a different beach each day and there was a different view. We didn't want to miss a thing, and we didn't!! Yay God!!

These were the views from our back porch. In the evening picture, the mountain in the distance is St. Thomas. Isn't God marvelous!! His Name be Praised!!

God knows my soft heart towards His feathery creations. I love the yellow finch and the cardinal of course which are not in St. John, so He showed me a bird that I had never seen before...the Bananakeet! We filled a bowl full of water and a little sugar to attract them. They are so used to looking for you to feed them, that the first day they landed on Mike's coffee cup. Precious God birds...

Every facet of God's creation is so amazing...