Holding Harrison

The dancing light in his eyes and the smile on his face shouted of the revelation in his heart. It was a Kodak moment. Not an unusual moment for our Pastor, but it certainly had to be an "ah ha!" moment. He has done countless baby dedications, and I am sure, has enjoyed everyone of them. There are certain to be countless achieved scrapbook snapshots of Pastor holding Emma, Jackson or Bethany. Everyone of them special. But somehow, the look in his eyes on this particular Sunday morning, and the smile on his face, made my spirit leap as the ears of my heart welcomed the revelation of what God was speaking.

As the child's parents brought him down the aisle my husband made the comment, "He already looks grown up. Like a little man." I nudged him with my arm. "Of course he does, Honey. He has already experienced more of life than many adults."

I had been introduced to Rebekah, baby Harrison's mom, by our Pastor's wife many months before, and had been praying for a miracle. Baby Harrison had been born with omphalocele, a medical condition where some of his internal organs were protruding through the belly button, outside of his body. At his young age, He had experienced multiple surgeries and treatments and was still in a very fragile state. This birth defect triggers many other problems and severe risks.

His mom placed the baby in Pastor's arms. His hair was combed and his tiny suit and shoes added to his look of maturity for his size. Pastor told a little of Baby Harrison's story and how his parents wanted to have him dedicated. Then right in the middle he paused for just a second and seemingly, in a tone of realized revelation, he said, "I am holding a miracle!" From there, I am not aware of exactly what Pastor was speaking and what God was whispering to my heart. I think that he may have said something about it being amazing that we can hold miracles.

But in my heart of hearts I heard, "Yes! You are holding a miracle." And if you are thinking that this is not any big revelation...then, you just aren't hearing what I am hearing! Just think about it for a minute. We know that life itself is miraculous. Yet, we have become so accustomed to walking, working, living, breathing, and interacting with those who do, that we have reduced the miraculous to 'normal', 'everyday', and 'common'.

And what about those miraculous things that He is doing in and through you and those normal, everyday commoners you associate with. Even while writing this, as I thumb through my mental file of life experiences, I can think of healings, provisions, encounters, cancelations, and turns of events that are completely unexplainable without using the term miraculous.

Without even prying into the files of the 'commoners' in my inner circle of treasured friends, but sticking only to the confines of own life, I find things like a changed court date (therefore a different judge...therefore a different decree), unexpected monies and provisions, a butchered cow, healings, a timely interrogation in Beiging, China, and a tooth turned upside down and moved in a micro nanno second during a prayer meeting.

Looking back, I also see that in most of those situations, I had no knowledge that anything miraculous was going on until after the fact. I know that in the case of Mary being pregnant with our Savior there was prior knowledge of the miraculous, however, this is not always the case. For instance, do you think the mom that packed the little boys lunch had any prior knowledge that she was preparing lunch for 5,000? How about the little boy who gave the lunch? What about the fish and chips breakfast the disciples enjoyed on the beach, or the water turned wine? How about the Jews released, or the Bibles smuggled, the failed firing squads in missionary stories, or the car that narrowly missed you on the way to work this morning?

My mind is spinning as fast as the ceiling fan. What about the sunrise? Everyday? What about those dying with, living with disease or cancer? Oh God! "Open my eyes, that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see, Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine."

I am reminded that "we see through a cloud, dimly..." I pray for glimpses of eternity's perspective. And you are right, Pastor. You are holding a miracle! And so am I! The revelation is that we are all priviledged to be holding a miracle...or two! Perhaps several.

One of them may be just the fact that today you are reading this blog. (I wrote it the night before I was hospitalized over a month ago,  and am just now getting to post it.) Perhaps today your eyes will be open to the most miraculous fact of all: That Jesus Christ gave His life that you might have eternal life, and live the rest of your life in the love of your Savior! (John 3:16, I John 1:9-10)

Thank you, Harrison. Through your life, God has unveiled my eyes, again!

A Cry in the Night, ReRun, Ditto, Again...and Still

Someone asked me if my trip was uneventful. I flew out yesterday, arriving last evening. I am on a  ministry trip. Are flights ever uneventful anymore? I am not sure. And I am not even ready to describe my 1 and 1/2 days away from home yet. I speak tomorrow evening and am really trying to focus. However, today, in the midst of an unbelievable 'computer storm', I was reminded of this little article I wrote a couple years back. Some ReRuns are just worth rerunning! What can I say? I hope you enjoy this one (or re-enjoy it), and remember on this memorial day: Our God truly never slumbers, and no matter where you are, He is there when we cry out to Him...in the day or in the night!

I have often wondered what it would take to get my husband to wake up in the night. Last night, I discovered that it will take more than a three inch glass bottle shattering on a tile floor, twenty feet from his pillow, a low decimal scream from his wife, watermelon ice nail polish plastering the bathroom, deep heart sobs (his wife's sobs), tears splashing (his wife's tears) in puddles, cupboard doors shutting, and furniture moving! Oh yeah! Much more!

And in case you think that this is a slight over dramatization of a minuscule moment of life…It is not! You can try it with your own nail polish; preferably a red tone.

It was about 10:30 p.m. I had scrubbed and cleaned all day to get ready for my out of town guest, and our family Fourth of July celebration. Before going to bed, I remembered that I hadn't paid the bills on line, so I quickly sat down to take care of those details. When my eyes were sliding somewhere into Sandman's land, I figured that I should probably go to bed. After washing my face and doing the required anti-aging regiments, I turned off the light and started out of the bathroom. That is when it happened. I wish that I could describe this picture as distinctly as it decorated the wall. You see, there were three bottles of nail polish there: white, clear, and watermelon ice. Only one fell. Watermelon ice! Get the picture?

I made several discoveries that night:

• A three inch bottle of watermelon ice nail polish holds enough polish to plaster a bathroom wall brightly painted with Behr lemon ice paint, the side of the tub, the front of the toilet, the white molding, and one entire left foot. And also have enough left to destroy a small white stand.

• The colors watermelon ice and lemon ice really go nicely together. I would suggest a Capri outfit rather than a wall.

• A three inch glass bottle free falling from a small three-foot stand, on a ceramic tile floor will make a dustpan full of crushed glass.

• You should always keep more than a capful of nail polish remover on hand. A capful drained from the bottom of the bottle will saturate only two cotton balls and will have virtually no effect on a watermelon ice storm.

• We really do not live in “the perfect world of Walgreen” and watermelon ice nail polish will dry thoroughly on all the above surfaces before one can get to a 24 hour Walmart to buy nail polish remover.

• The salt in tears, also, will have virtually no effect on the storm.

• Thank God! Awesome cleanser and oven cleaner does! (If that is what you happen to have in the house.)

• A watermelon ice storm of this magnitude takes approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes and tons of elbow grease to pass.

• My husband sleeps well through these types of storms.

• But hallelujah! My God never slumbers or sleeps. My God hears me!

I was extremely exhausted when I made these discoveries. My not so young, weary body collapsed dutifully to my knees in an immediate response to the disaster. Pain shot through my knees. (Oh, and glass pressed in them.) My arms and my back ached with the scrubbing movement. Fear gripped me. What if it doesn't clean up? Loneliness sunk in as I fought off Mr. Pity Party. I wanted to wake my husband up, but somehow I knew that in one small room, it takes just one person to clean up the mess. And I knew my husband would say, “What can I do?” And then he would laugh and say “That will teach you to put your nail polish away.” (And that is exactly what he said in the morning, when I told him about the storm.)

In the night, on my knees in my tears, I cried out to God! And He was already awake! He heard me. He strengthened my weary body, and gave me creative ability. It became a challenge. I found out what worked for tile, for painted walls, and for grout! The more I cleaned up, the more I worked to clean up the next spot. I laughed victoriously. Only the small white stand looks weathered. But I just turned it around to put the iced part against the wall. Not one drop of polish hit my stack of bright yellow and orange towels. Not one drop got on my clothes. You could not tell there was a storm in the bathroom except for a slight chemical odor…lasting only 3 days!

It was about 1:30 a.m. when I slid in beside my peacefully sleeping husband. He had not even felt a slight wind or wave of the storm that just about wiped out his house and his wife. Oh well. It was my colorful storm. It was also my calm assurance. It was my victory. And it was a blessed assurance that My God truly never slumbers or sleeps. My God hears my cries in the night. My God comes and strengthens me and enables me. My God causes me to triumph.

“O Lord, my God, I call for help by day; I cry out in the night before thee.” Ps. 88:1

Yes, in hind sight, my watermelon ice storm was just a minuscule moment in life. There have been, and will be much bigger storms. But this I know! He will always hear our cries in the night.

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may praise thee and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee forever.” Ps. 30:11-12

Pray it Again, My Friend...Pray it Again

You can say that again! That is a statement you are apt to use when someone says something that bears repeating. A friend used to say: "Say it again, my friend, say it again! I am sure my uncle's rendition would be: "You can say that again. Yes you can. Yes you can!"

The other day, in the waiting mode, I was listening...well, maybe just hearing...the constant drone of yet another talk show, in the background. I was more than a little tired, and annoyed at the fact that I was in a position where I could not choose silence over seemingly worthless, 'informative babble'.

Today, our fingers, not only "do the walking", but through twitter, Face Book, Chat, Bing and Blog, and so much more, our "fingers do the talking". It seems that it is even more important that we repeat, or say again, only those things that really are worthy of repeating. So, when I came across this prayer, while cleaning my office, I thought: "You can pray that again! Yes you can!"

"Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will."

I ask in in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen."

Pray it again, my friend. Please pray it again. In our nation "under God", you can pray! In fact, prayer is not only our privilege, and our unending duty, but it is our power! It is our hope!

(In the Kansas House, in Topeka on January 23, 1996, Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita and was guest chaplain of the day. He prayed this prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, his prayer stirred controversy and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized the prayer. The controversy didn't end there. Later that year in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright's prayer as the invocation. Some members there also walked out in protest.   The story was aired a few times by Paul Harvey.)

Easter Haiku

Extreme Sacrifice

Extravagant Provision

Exemplary Love

**Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry
consisting of 3 lines, made up of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. 

April First or April Fourth

It was a first for me. I don't think that I ever did it with my own kids, but grand kids somehow reach into a deep spot of your heart and bring out things you did not know were there. Therefore, on Saturday and Sunday I spent several hours going door to door, throughout our neighborhood, selling chocolate. Yes, you heard it right! Selling chocolates! Well, thankfully, they did the selling. (They are sooo cute...) I just walked along and gave the adult support. Well, I gave support and did a little teaching.

We learned what "No Soliciting" signs mean. We found a few and respected them. Cordel said, that it was OK, "they just missed some really good chocolate." Most "No Soliciting" signs, were just words on a colorful stone or plaque.

However, one sign especially disturbed me. It had no words, but rather was a simple yellow circle, with a man with a briefcase and a woman with a Bible inside the circle. They were standing side by side, and then there was a black line drawn through them. What it said, shouted its message: "Don't try to sell your product or your Jesus here." Wow! That poor household was not only going to miss some good chocolate, but the sweet presence of Jesus just passed by, totally unrecognized by them. I explained to the boys that I was sure they had no idea what they were missing. Time and needy time again, with their little wordless sign, they have turned away His love, His power, and His peace, the only real answer to the problems inside that door.

How do people make it day after day without God? This reminded me of the following little article that came from my uncle via email:

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days.

He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge.

After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fool’s Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool.

Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

Which holiday this month brings a celebration of love, power and peace to your house? April 1st or April 4th? I am rejoicing that Chirst arose from the grave and He still lives today!

Happy Easter!

Cutting Circumstance with Consolations and Compassion

Just wondering: Anyone out there in "Blog World" have any circumstances going on? Anyone out there in Blog City, living in a fog? Any stuggles, trials, or seemingly uncrossable rivers?

Of course, I know the answer. We are all bogged down under the weight of circumstances. Our lives are made up of them, and if we aren't extremely careful in our focus, we might even allow our progress to be stopped by them.

This morning, I was musing back to the early eighty's when I named our women's ministry "Arising to Excellence". The Lord had spoken very clearly to my heart about Isaiah 60:1-3.

"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."

Obviously, I had been walking through some adverse circumstances, and struggling to see my way out. Some of them I've walked through, and some are still present in my life. But I've learned that if I am ever to arise to the excellence He has for me, then I must arise above my circumstances. And we are living in a day when 'nations' will come to His light in us, and yes, even kings will look on in amazement as the church arises out of the dung.

 However, there are still  'yesterdays'...like the one I just had yesterday...when I am again so bombarded by circumstance, that I must, 'of necessity', seek God for 'todays'...like this one, this morning, with a reminder that I shall not be defeated. For "there is a highway" for me to walk on, above the circumstances. I will press on to see and follow His steps to arise to excellence.

You see, creation must never question His Lordship. We must learn to ever lean, ever obey, and ever praise. Our fears must always bow to our faith in Him.

Ps. 94:19

"When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul."

I am so thankful for His consolations. I am so thankful that He stooped to raise me up! In spite of the cares, the circumstances of my life, I am cheered by simply adjusting my focus to Him.   It really is true: Joy does not depend upon circumstance.

Is. 66:13 and 14

"As one whom His mother comforts, so I will comfort you; You shall be comforted in Jerusalem; you shall see and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall fourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants and his indignation is against his enemies."

Is. 54:10

"For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed says the Lord, who has compassion on you."

Ah ha! I shall once again arise and go forth and leave my circumstances cut down to size and cowering in the corner!

Maybe I'll go shoe shopping...and look for pointy toes...as a memorial stone...to keep them in the corner!  Any excuse for shoe shopping! lol! Right ladies?! Now I hear you!!

Amazing Women

Do you know any? I am sure you do. It just may take a moment or two to stop and think about who they were, or are, in your life. And what makes them so amazing? Is it the way they live? What they laugh at? Or perhaps just how they love?

I can think of several amazing women that I have had the privilege of walking or working with, and sharing lunch or stories. Sylvia, Sharon, Eunice, Esther, Vickie, Charissa, Linda, Laura, Debbie, Barbara, Claudia...and so many many more.

We just finished our Arising to Excellence Ministries Amazing Women women's gathering in Grapevine, Texas. It was the first one for 2010, and it was fabulous. We looked into the Word to see what made those women so amazing. My dearest friend, Vickie, my 'Ruth' shared some nuggets about entering into His rest instead of our own. She has been such an amazing woman...friend, sister, and encourager to me.

I asked my daughter to share a few words. Of course her response was "I'm not amazing." But being the single mom of three, overcoming cancer, role model that she is, I begged her with tears. She came and shared mid day on Saturday, and moved everyone of us to tears with her analogy of being in a seemingly waterless place, and realizing that we might just have to poke a cactus in the desert, but God will always provide! She has her daddy's personality, but I was so blessed when on the way home (he had been doing sound for us), he said, "You can sure tell that she's her mother's daughter!" Yes, thank you Lord, for this amazing woman, my daughter and my friend!

I shared the other sessions: "What Makes Me so Amazing?", "Where They Live", "When They Laugh", and "How They Love". God was good to us. Restoring us, refreshing us and filling us again.

You don't want to miss the next "Amazing Women -2010".  We could soon be in an near you.  If you are anywhere near Schoharie, NY on April 23 and 24, come join us: Amazing Women. Where They Live, When They Laugh, and How They Love.  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=366742761964