Renewal

18 Jan

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you  may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~Romans 12:2

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This weekend I need some Biblical reminders that heaven is my home. Do you?

I asked Ron this morning if he thought that people we love, know, or have influenced will be the first to greet us when we enter into heaven.

Immediately following my face to face encounter with God Himself and Jesus in His glorified state, will I then be welcomed to heaven by some of the people that I love, and connected with most in fellowship here on earth? I sincerely hope so! Further, I hope that I have the privilege of welcoming others into their eternal home and joining with Jesus in saying, “Well done.”

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Today’s post will be simple. Meditate on one of these scripture passages and let your mind marvel at an eternity spent with Jesus.

Why not listen to these encouraging lyrics sung by Moriah Peters? Click here if viewing in a reader.

1. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. ~ Hebrews 11:14-16

2. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. ~ Philippians 3:20-4:1

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you ~1 Peter1:3-4

More often than not, I rejoice at the thought of pure relationships in heaven. Community unstained by worldly desires. True fellowship with believers where jealousy, covetous, pride, idolatry, and adultery will never enter in. Contemplating an eternity where no death, sickness, or malicious acts of violence will terrorize will surely make believers rejoice at these words:

4. Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ~Revelation 22:20

5. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. ~Revelation 21:1-4

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We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away? ~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 124

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My Son, Stay on Track

16 Jan

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The purpose of parenthood is to train up the next generation in wisdom and fear of the Lord. King Lemuel’s mother knew the importance of training her son in wisdom (see here). Solomon instructed his son in the ways of wisdom (here).

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;~Proverbs 2:1-7

This week Joshua turned three. Ron and I decided in order to celebrate the children’s birthdays we would have one parent take each child on a birthday date. Joshua chose his restaurant and mommy chose his clothes and the two of us set out together.

I will tell you that I was a bit nervous about our date. I wanted this to be a special time for Joshua to celebrate his birthday…I wanted to make memories.

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My three year old son loves trains. If we assemble a track for him, he will sit and play contentedly…given no one comes and interferes that is. We as parents are laying a track for our little engines to follow. Ron and I want to lay a track that would lead our children to the Lord; regardless of any mistakes we make, however, God’s purposes for our children’s lives will prevail.

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So it was, on our date that God revealed moments that I could instruct my son in the ways of wisdom…even in wise dating. “Hold mommy’s hand Joshua. When you meet a girl and you really love her, you will want to hold her hand. You will pray before you eat just like mommy did.”

Earlier during our meal, as we laughed and enjoyed each other’s company, I used a moment of our time to remind Joshua that God created him for the purpose of loving God and bringing Him glory.

My three year old son may never remember this one birthday talk, but it is the continual laying down of a track that will lead him to understanding and godly wisdom. It is the continual teachings that will guard him and guide him to recognize signs of danger and, conversely, the ways of wisdom.

Dearest Son,

As you enter this year leading to four, I pray that you will stay on track. May you grow in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Some days we will add many pieces to the track towards wisdom yet others it will seem as if we have taken some away. Steadily on we will work this year and praise God for the increase. I love you,

Mom

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. ~Proverbs 22:6

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I Have Not Love

9 Jan

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Jesus,

Help me. I have not love. At least not love enough.

Your Daughter,

Brooke

P.S.

I only love because you first loved me. Thank you…

How numerous the opportunities to kneel or to break by 10:00 in the morning! Today, the rare occasion in which the children awake me…at 6:00 no less; I choose to kneel. Sending daddy off to work; kneel again. A visit with Little E’s case manager, I kneel as the kids either obey the first time… or not. But wait, wait for it, here it comes…I bend…then break.

Crayons are given, coloring pages laid out, one book is read, and the starting of another. It is at this point it all comes unglued. I bend something mighty and the peace breaks into the very pieces which cannot be picked up.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.~John 13:34-35

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1

If I am in fellowship with Christ, then shouldn’t I demonstrate love in action? Even with the provocations of three children? Instead, I bend and so went the clanging pieces of broken people clashing loud… the absence of patient love.

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People are fond of quoting the verse, “God is love.” But, C.S. Lewis rightly questions the meaning behind these words. Are we misusing these words as mere semantics for the thought that every love people express is God? Here is what Lewis has to say in this regard:

But they seem not to notice that the words “God is love” have no real meaning unless God contains at least two Persons. Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, He was not love. Of course, what these people mean when they say that God is love is often something quite different: they really mean “Love is God.” They really mean that our feelings of love, however and wherever they arise, and whatever results they produce, are to  be treated with great respect. ~ Mere Christianity, p. 151

God is love expressed in his three state relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and then to His creation. To sustain my relationship with others I require the love of God as infused by daily filling of the Holy Spirit. The filling that I should seek and lean into through prayer and the reading and memorization of Scripture.

In the church, love is the most needed as the culmination of gifts that God has given His people: teaching, acts of service, giving, admonition, etc., are utilized. Whether preaching the gospel in our home,  to the body of Christ, or to a lost world, love is the essential key for others to see Christ in us; for others to know that we actually believe what we profess.  I realize this  especially when I have chosen to stomp my feet, dig in my heels, and demand the obedience that is required from our children as their mom.

Jerry Bridges perfectly illustrates the effects of the absence of love in the following story:

I remember hearing of one university student of whom it was said, “He can lead people to Christ, but no one wants to room with him.” Whether he could, given that immaturity of character, truly lead people to a saving knowledge of Christ may be questioned by some. But whether he could or not, it is true that a great big dose of love was needed to make him truly effective. ~ True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia

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After the kids had listened to the second story and sat there as quietly as possible in obedience I penned the note above. I need more of Christ because I need to love others more… I must choose to kneel.

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To Kneel or to Break

7 Jan

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On Christmas Eve, I bent over to pick up Joshua and the spasm of pain in my already troubled lower back quickly communicated a costly mistake…I had bent when I should have kneeled.

Health professionals, or anyone with back pain, confess that kneeling protects the back by transferring the stress of weight to the legs. However, most people bend at the hips the moment they drop something. Bending is the easier action. Easier isn’t always better…bending causes more strain to the spine and may result in injury. Because kneeling is not our first reaction, more discipline and resolve are needed to use this better practice.

If we do not kneel we risk brokenness of body. Similarly, if we face the mishaps, temptations, and opportunities of today with a bent on our own merit and strength mentality, we succumb to brokenness of spirit.

Why should our backs endure that which was intended for the knees to sustain?

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather healed. ~Hebrews 12:12-13

When the mess is made, the expectation unmet, the diagnosis rendered, relationships severed, or the moment of opportunity knocks, will we bend with all our might or bow our knees in humble prayer?

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit  in your inner being, so that…you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ~Ephesians 3:14-16, 19 (emphasis mine)

Kneel and be filled… bend and break. The choice is ours.

Today and everyday this week, why not kneel to retrieve and then kneel your heart in prayer? Obedience begets obedience and discipline begets discipline. May 2013 be marked by the discipline of prayer over self-powered attempts, and kneeling rather than back-breaking grasps.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. ~Luke 19:10

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he (Jesus) departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. ~Mark 1:35

And going a little further, he fell on the ground and prayed…~ Mark 14:35 (emphasis mine)

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With Gratitude

21 Dec

As we draw closer to Christmas, the culminating holiday (holy day) before a new year, I want to take a moment to speak to my faithful readers. Thank you so much for making even one post from this year a part of your day. This creative outlet is for me, one of my greatest joys in life. It is remarkable how the Lord pulls my inner thoughts and the outward workings of life together in weekly 500 word posts. He is so very faithful even when I am not.

Reader-friend, thank you.

 Thank you for all the Tweets, the Facebook shares, the mentions to friends and family to gather here and pursue a holy, eternity-minded life together. You have no idea how blessed I am to hear when something I have scribbled out in this corner of the Internet has impacted your life or helped to put into words inner emotions and thoughts that you experience. I am humbled that God would use my passions and His pursuits to bless you.

I will be taking a break until the New Year. (Unless the Spirit puts an irrepressible word on my heart!) I look forward with anticipation to the soul lessons of the coming year.

With deepest gratitude, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. ~Colossians 3:1-4 (emphasis mine)

 

All photos courtsey of Ron.

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Prayers for Newtown

18 Dec


Friday afternoon, December 14th,  I sat on my bed licking envelopes with a bitter taste in my mouth and a burden on my heart. There I sat sealing Christmas cards complete with beautiful pictures of our children and healthy family. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, twenty sets of parents learned the tragic news that their precious babies ranging in age from 6 to 7, had given of their last earthly embrace. Only hours before they said goodbye to siblings and moms and dads and bounded through the front doors of Sandy Hook Elementary School. Likewise, six vibrant women showed up to work for the last time, completely unaware that they were minutes away from the threshold of eternity.

In the wake of such tragedy, I attempt to process the reality of Friday’s shooting. This horrific event is utterly unimaginable.

As we mourn with the victim’s families, I would like to offer prayer suggestions that we as believers can petition on their behalf.

You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.~John Bunyan

Prayers for the city of Newtown, Connecticut and Sandy Hook Elementary School:

  • pray for the families comfort by the Holy Spirit
  • pray for the salvation of each victim’s family
  • pray that the marriages in the families surrounding the victims would hold together under the weight of such grief
  • pray for the siblings
  • pray for the unexpected Christmas that is upon them
  • pray for the first responders who viewed the horrific scene and the examiners that autopsy the victims’ bodies- pray that God would grant them sleep and reprieve from the images that they will carry in their minds the rest of their lives
  • pray that the students, families, and first responders would get the counseling, spiritual, and medical treatment they need to deal with the post traumatic stress of this event
  • pray that out of this horrific tragedy people would become followers of Christ Jesus
  • pray for the local churches to be salt and light in this great hour of darkness
  • pray for local pastors as they prepare their sermons- may they be the very words of God speaking to a grieving and seeking people
  • pray for the local mayor, school board, and the governor of Connecticut as they make decisions moving Sandy Hook Elementary School forward
  • pray that the media would not glorify the gunman and so encourage other violent acts from mentally and emotionally unstable people
  • pray for the gunman’s brother and father whose lives have been forever altered-for their salvation and peace in the days ahead
  • pray for wisdom for parents as they try to communicate the events of last Friday to their children
  • pray for our nation as we react to these events-may we consider the real issue of the heart of sinful man and may we respond in humility and repentance as a nation
  • pray that Christians would use this as an opportunity to preach the gospel and share the comfort of the Holy Spirit

Father God,

The events of last Friday did not take you by surprise. Like us, this evil act grieves your heart. For you made man to bring you glory and we returned the gift of life with sin and evil.

Thank you Lord that you love the little children and you welcome them to come unto you. Thank you that the Bible provides hope that the children killed in Friday’s shooting have had their tears wiped away by the very hand of God. 

You are a loving and just God. We lift the above prayer requests to you and ask that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We long for the day when you will return and create a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more sin, striving, nor death. Come Lord Jesus and prepare the hearts of your people for your return.

We love you Lord and it is in Jesus name that we pray,

Amen.

 

 

Further Reading Recommendations:

1. The Gospel and Newtown by David Platt (here)

2. Newtown As I Know It by Jamie at Simple Homeschool (here)

3. Talking to Children After the Death of a Loved One (here)

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Broken and Overflowing

13 Dec

“Mom, I need to go potty.” “Okay, go on and I will come and help you in a minute,” I told our middle son, Joshua. I, as usual, hurried to complete a few tasks and forgot about Joshua being in the bathroom. That is, until I heard the water running.  With Little E close on my heels, I hastily made my way to the bathroom door, only to find that it was locked. “Joshua, don’t lock mommy out of the bathroom honey.”

I reached for the gym clip above the door. Joshy calls it my key.  After a few tries I successfully unlocked the door, unprepared for what lay on the other side…

Picture my two year old, hands splashing in soapy water as it filled the sink to the brim and overflowed onto the floor. Within seconds I turned the water off, pushed the lever so the water would drain, and quickly dried my son’s hands. Then I grabbed my camera as any self-respecting, American mom of the twenty first century; digital documentation of woes is a must!

As I began my verbal correction, the sound of breaking glass in the hallway quickly diverted my attention. I knew instantly what the sound was…the teacup nightlight, a wedding gift we had used for the last ten and a half years of marriage. Little E experiences a gravitational pull towards electrical plugs and outlets; certainly of which included the hallway nightlight.

There we stood, the three of us, with Ron and Emily barely out of our neighborhood to run errands: puddles in the bathroom and glass on the floor.

I cleaned up the glass and instructed Joshua to wipe up the water with the towel I provided. In my mind I pondered how events could take such a quick turn, and how on earth do moms I know with four boys do it?

A few minutes later the boys were splashing in the bathtub, giggling and playing like the two adorable children that they are. I kneeled on the cold tile floor thinking how thankful they should be that they are cute!

God would have me live just like that moment: kneeling, broken and seeking the overflow of His presence. He loves a contrite and humble heart that knows life is more than we can handle independently. God strengthens my weak knees and feeble arms. He wants me to live out of the overflowing measure of the Living Water, Jesus Christ himself, that is available to all who would repent and believe…to all who would ask for His filling in our lives.

I wonder, do you have broken places that you need to confess to the Lord today? Are there areas in your life where an invitation to the Holy Spirit to come and do His work, to fill you with His desires and wisdom, needs to be extended? I certainly have those. God works in our lives according to His will, however, He longs, as most parents, for His children to seek out His help on their own initiative. Run to Daddy today dear friends and let us ask Him to take our broken lives and fill them to overflowing with His presence.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:6-7

 

 

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An Unexpected Christmas

7 Dec

The first Christmas came pregnant with anticipation and the heralding of angels upon lowly shepherds in a dim-lit field. For thirty-three years Mary would remember the night her son, our Savior, was born. She would ponder the events in her heart and pour over the man the Son had become. On the thirty-fourth year after His birth, she would find herself celebrating an unexpected Christmas: God and Son reunited, mother and Son separated by heaven and earth.

From angels, to now ages without Him, we too may find ourselves celebrating an unexpected Christmas. A Christmas marked by loss even as we are cradled in the cross of Christ.

The Father empathizes with our empty place settings at the table this Christmas. He sees every tear and knows the aching of our hearts. The loved ones who are united now with the Father have left a scar on our souls; a separation that only death can bring.

Thankfully death lost its final sting at the resurrection, and those who were in Christ in life now celebrate Christmas with the One of whom it was prophesied:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ~Isaiah 53:4-6

The separation from our loved ones is temporary because Christ first separated Himself from the Father. He brought us peace in His pain and healing in His affliction.

No one comprehends the sorrows of a grieving heart like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Indeed He sympathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15) and gives grace in our grief.

As unexpected Christmas’s are celebrated all around the world, petitions are made to the One who brought us eternal peace asking Him to pour His healing balm on temporal suffering hearts once more.

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For When You Don’t Want to Trim the Tree

27 Nov

I lay on my unmade bed, “I don’t really want to decorate this house. I have the nativity up, isn’t that enough?”

Decorations were strewn all over the bedroom and living room and I was strewn on the bed in desperate need of a mental and physical break.

Wasn’t I the woman who had all her Christmas presents purchased before Thanksgiving for a few years in a row? Wasn’t I the one who occasionally decorated for Christmas prior to leaving for Thanksgiving celebrations with family in Alabama? My how things had changed.

Then I recalled Emily’s quip, “The tree looks beautiful mama!” This after I had only plugged the lights in! Then it came to me: I am no longer decorating for myself; I am decorating the house for the kids now.

I lay there a little while longer and let this reality set in. Even decorating the house for Christmas has taken on a selfless twist with the dawning of parenthood. Ashamedly, this was novel news to me. I always thought my mom decorated because she loved Christmas, but maybe it is always for the ones she loves?

After brainstorming what remained of the decorations, I began my quest to decorate the house in such a way that the kids and Ron would happily reflect upon in years to come. The new flannel Christmas sheets hit the mattress, the second nativity the dresser, garland and ornaments for the chandler, and the finishing ornaments on the tree.

Truly, Christmas was never about the presents nor the decorations it’s always been about man’s sinful heart which needed to be redeemed by the sinless Messiah.

The decorations in our home are an outward reminder and a marker to share the story of redemption. The story that all started when the Son forfeited Heaven to lay down in a bed of hay and start our journey Home.

 *A special thanks to the wonderful Neely Farms. We look forward to our traditional after Thanksgiving Day visit every year.

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Moments Bathed in Thanksgiving

20 Nov

I pour the water over his uplifted head. He blinks and shakes the water from his blonde hair.

Only a few weeks ago Little E would have screamed and cried at the mention of pourning water over his hair; forget laying back in the tub to wet it.

Next he surpasses my expectations as he plunges his face into the clear water. I know he must have seen Joshua blowing bubbles in the tub. Joshua is altogether unafraid of plunging face first into depths of water. He knows how to kick and splash his way safely to the edge of the pool in summer time.

Yet, even as Little E is splahing his face in the water like a mallard, I gaze in amasement at this gift from God…an unexpected grace pointing to the fulfilled wholeness of a little life in our care. It is in these graces that the daily work is rewarded. Wasn’t it only days before that I had marveled at the love between foster father and son? Emily was pushing E on the park swing and Ron kissing his puckered lips with every swing forward.

The joy of the Father and Son kiss our upturned faces when they are lifted heavenward in repentance and thanks.

May the Lord pour out His joy on us as we gather together to thank him with upturned gazes for the blessings of another year. May your tables be filled with food, family, and faithful thanks to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts.

May we bathe everyday in moments of thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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