Month: September 2016

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16

I loved music when I was young as much as I do now. I remember making tapes with a radio and a cassette tape recorder. You put that tape in and had your finger poised over the button just waiting for the perfect moment to start recording. It was usually during a top 20 countdown in order to get the most current songs. If you were really good, you knew when it was the perfect second to start and stop recording.

I know that most people use their phones now to get music. I haven’t gotten there quite yet, but I have this wee little USB stick. I can buy all my favorite songs and listen to them in the car! No fast forwarding or rewinding for me. I can have a mix of all different genres in one place! Plus, I don’t have to worry about what lyrics will be coming on over the radio. We can listen to fun, upbeat music…hundreds of different songs that the whole family will enjoy.

Did you know research has shown that it’s possible to change your mood by listening to “happy” music? We should know that by how many times it talks about music in the Bible.  When we are all mopey we can’t say, “I can’t help it. It’s just the way I feel.” We can help it; how awesome is that?

Whether you’re facing something not so pleasant around the house, a drive you aren’t looking forward to, or even if you’re not thrilled about where you’re heading, put on a few songs that will really get you in the right frame of mind. Go ahead and sing away! It doesn’t even matter if you can’t sing; God gave you your voice so he won’t mind listening to it. Hey, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it no matter what my family might say!

Here are just a few of our favorites we like to get happy to:

• Best Day of My Life – American Authors
• Good Morning – Mandisa (Featuring TobyMac)
• When I Grow Up – Raging Idiots
• Back Seat Driver – TobyMac (Featuring Hollyn)
• Beautiful Day – Jamie Grace
• Keep Your Head Up – Andy Grammer

Are you going to go around feeling low today or are you going to sing? Which shows God your gratitude? Get into His word, talk to him, and sing Him praises. I know I’m most joyful when my children are. I don’t think it’s any different for God.

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” John 9:40

Today I find myself relating to Theodore Roosevelt. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt helped lead the Rough Riders into Cuba. I learned that he made it to shore with a raincoat, a toothbrush, and a dozen pairs of glasses. It’s those glasses that got me! The reason I’m even thinking about them is because there is something on my lenses making me a little bonkers. I clean them at night, but it looks like I’ll have to do it a little earlier today.

If we play the game where you ask me to choose only a few things to take to a deserted island, then I might have to follow Roosevelt’s lead to make sure I have my glasses. I only see blobs without them, and I sure do like my crisp, clear vision. I don’t even keep a clock on my nightstand because I can’t see it anyway unless I put my glasses on. The boys know not to ask me to look at something if I don’t have them on, because unless I’m a few inches from it, forget it! I’m like that lady in the Sears Optical commercial that mistakes a raccoon for her cat!

The smudges on my glasses not only affect the way I see, they alter my attention too. My focus is on the wrong thing. Hmm…could this be what happens to us when we don’t keep up a regular cleaning schedule for our soul? Dirty glasses make us not see clearly, while dirty souls can actually make us spiritually blind!

A soul with smudges is a whole lot harder to see compared to smudges on our glasses. Because of that, we might not even notice the build-up until it’s really bad. Could this be what happened to the Pharisees? They couldn’t believe that anyone would consider them spiritually blind, but soul smudges are hard to see in ourselves.

I learned that smudges on my glasses are often from my own making. Yet, I know that if I try to clean them without the help of the cleaner, I’ll just make them worse by smearing them. I also know that if I try to deal with the smudges on my soul without the help of God, I’ll just make a mess.

Let’s not only get rid of the smudges, but replace them with things that come from God. Here’s a list from biblestudyplanet.com that I thought was great:

• Clean out Pride and replace it with Humility.
• Clean out Anger and replace it with Self-control.
• Clean out Unbelief and replace it with Faith.
• Clean out Revenge, and replace it with Forgiveness.
• Clean out Complaining and replace it with Praise.
• Clean out Wicked Thoughts and replace them with Pure Thoughts.
• Clean out Gossip and replace it with Encouragement.

I challenge you to pray about this today. Ask if there’s anything that’s distorting your vision due to smudges.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Ever since the first class I’ve taken my pup to, my boys are usually with me. They get drafted into helping, which they’ve come to enjoy. It started out as their job to approach the owner, asking to pet their dogs in puppy class. Who wouldn’t enjoy petting a puppy?

The next job they got was in a class that improved social skills. We had donuts while sitting around talking, and our dogs learned to relax calmly on the floor. Then, a bike was pulled out to make sure the dogs remained calm when someone was riding past them. Guess who would be the rider? Picture it now…boys with agility ramps. I could see the wheels turning. They knew better, but it did put ideas into their minds which I had to hear about on the way home. Needless to say, I had to put a quick end to some of the things they were coming up with. As far as classes go, now they were hooked! They couldn’t wait for the next one because they got donuts and were able to ride bikes. It couldn’t get much better for two boys! I started wondering if the classes were for them or the dogs.  Maybe the dogs were just there for the boys’ enjoyment!

Today, the pup attended classes that prepare dogs for therapy work. The dogs were introduced to situations that you would find in a hospital or nursing home. My oldest son got to ride in a wheelchair, while the youngest pushed him. The youngest had control. It was an unusual dynamic that had me interested in how it would work out. Would this be payback time? Actually, the youngest was able to keep the urge to do who knows what in check! Then, they had to get into a yelling match because it could be something you might come across while volunteering. All I could think was what they might say! When the instructor started raising her voice, my pup could have cared less. When the boys did it, he had a bit of a shocked look on his face. If I would put to words what my pup was thinking, which of course I never do because that would just be crazy since dogs don’t think the way humans do…but hypothetically if I did, he would have been saying, “Ooh, you boys are in so much trouble. I can’t believe you are acting like that in front of all these people!”

I’ve learned so much in all the different classes we’ve taken.  The class today really got me thinking about how therapeutic dogs are to people. I’m especially drawn to the benefits they can have for children who have a disability. These kids touch my heart. It isn’t because they are different. Aren’t we all in some way? It’s because I may have a way to make their lives just a little easier by simply sharing my pet.

When someone shows a kindness to my own children, it means the world to me. It makes me realize how our own thoughtfulness can help others.  We need to invest in children in order to see a positive change in the world. We need to stop being uncomfortable and seeing weakness in those with a special need. Instead, we need to just open our eyes and see Christ’s strength that is resting upon them.

I read something I’d like to pass on: “God made us all with special needs. Some are simply more apparent than others.” Be a little kinder to everyone you see today. Be a little kinder to yourself also. Instead of seeing a weakness, see Christ’s strength.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

We were out fishing with my parents today when my oldest decided that the fish in the lake were just small things, so he might as well go for something bigger. A mighty fine job he did too! That tree was so big that it caught him instead. His lure was good and stuck, and no amount of tugging was going to dislodge the spinnerbait he was using. Yes, it was only 99 cents…yes, we could have cut the line…yes, we were going after that lure! I suppose leaving it go would have been the easy thing to do, but we were not leaving it behind. We were not going to let the tree win. It was ours and we bringing it back home with us!

The war was on! We got that big ol’ pontoon boat right up to the shore where the branches were teasing us while holding the lure captive. I stood up on the seat, but I wasn’t near tall enough to reach it. My dad, who apparently forgot that he was a grandpa and had the illusion that he was a monkey, climbed up on the rail and pretty much went hand over hand on a limb that I was positive would break at any time. He pulled down the limb with our lure in it so that I could grab it and bring it closer. The rest is a little blurry. I just remember telling my dad that it really wasn’t worth him getting hurt because at this point the tree is trying to attack him. He had to duck as it waved its giant arms at him. Also, my hubby was getting in on the action too, and that tree had the nerve to almost take him out! One final assault though, and we came out the victors!

I guess the tree was not all that nasty; it might have had to do with my perception. It was windy and the boat was drifting pretty quickly, so I guess it might have just seemed like the tree was attacking. However, umm…looking back, the branches trying to take us out might have been us moving instead of the tree swinging. It does make it rather hard when my dad was half in the tree, half on the boat. I think his feet actually left the boat a few times.

My dad taught me a lesson through this. Don’t leave behind what belongs to you. Jesus taught us that through the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15.

How many times do we feel caught? We could be caught in hopelessness, discouragement, sorrow, fear, anxiety, or sin. Sometimes we know we are tangled up, but don’t know the cause. The great thing is that the Lord himself goes before us. He already has seen the enemy, so He knows how to get us out of that tree. He’ll be with us when we feel like people will say we aren’t worth it. We can have courage instead of fear. We can be encouraged instead of discouraged.

The next time you feel caught, truly good and stuck, know that you aren’t alone. There might be a bit of a war, but the Lord will leave with you because He doesn’t leave behind what belongs to Him.

**We may not understand why bad things happen as we remember that 9/11 day 15 years ago, but we are grateful that the Lord doesn’t leave behind what belongs to Him.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Last weekend the guys had big plans that involved a pond and fishing. They had everything you could imagine…rods, reels, sinkers, bobbers, line, hooks, and let’s not forget the bazillion different types of lures. After lugging everything down to the pond, they were ready to go right? Not quite. Next, they had to figure out what to use, get everything ready, and find that perfect spot. Finally, they were ready to fish.

Since I wasn’t fishing, I had plenty of time to come up with ways to amuse myself. As they were doing their thing, I was watching all the grasshoppers. There were loads of them! I’m not admitting to being competitive, but I watched with great delight as the guys were sneaking up on them, rushing them, throwing hats, and coming up empty before they started fishing. I had to give it a try…not to show them how it was done or anything, but to prove… I mean practice my lightning fast reflex skills. It didn’t work! They were just out of reach, bounding away before I caught them. They were right there, but so elusive!

Sometimes I feel like that is me trying to get the peace of God. It feels just like trying to catch those grasshoppers. They were so close, but just as I was about to reach them, they’re gone! I know God provides and that I’m blocking it in some way, but how?

I think it’s partly about trust and control. Do you trust God, but like to help Him out? We need to be careful when we put “buts” in our sentences! Guess what…He doesn’t need our help. He might use us, but I’m pretty sure He has things under control. There’s another word that might be a problem. Control.  Do we let go of control long enough to even feel His peace? Do we let go of it so that there’s room for that peace? What? He can create the world and every living creature, yet he can’t handle something in our lives? That’s like saying a creator of high-tech electronics might need your help starting up a computer! It’s absurd, but don’t we do that all the time?

Let’s start handing things over to God without trying to take them back. We need to get our focus off the situation that is creating that lack of peace so that He can take care of the problem for us. He’s the professional!

I challenge you to trust that God can handle whatever you give to Him. That’s when you’ll see the peace of God, which transcends all understanding take over your life.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

A big tree fell from a storm a couple weeks ago in front of the house down the road from us. When I was walking the dog the other morning, I saw the neighbor was starting to cut it up. It looked like an overwhelming job to do by himself, so being the helpful neighbor I am, I volunteered my hubby’s muscles. As soon as I came back home and told him about it, he was ready to pitch in. AND, being the helpful neighbor he is, he volunteered the oldest to go along too! What can I say? We are a volunteering family. We volunteer each other!

Once the guys got there, more neighbors joined in until it seemed like it would be more fun there than at home. I’m just saying I could hear them from my house and we aren’t all that close! When they came back several hours later, they were exhausted, but in a great mood. They were laughing and talking about what a good time they had.

That got me to thinking on how we get so busy in our own lives that we tend to miss opportunities not only to help our neighbors, but to enjoy the accomplishment of teamwork. We see it with the Amish and barn raisings and with branding season on ranches. It’s not always about the work, but about the fellowship. Something isn’t quite right when the joking and teasing are missing!

When it is you facing a job that seems overwhelming and hard to handle by yourself, you realize how much it means when someone lightens the load for you. Some of my fondest memories come from those situations! Thinking of those times makes me want to pass on that feeling. Not only are we helping to carry each other’s burdens, we just might realize we are getting more out of it than the person we’re there to help!

You never know where you can be God’s hands today. Look for it! Don’t just walk by someone struggling; stop and help with a smile!

All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37

I got a beautiful yellow magnolia tree for Mother’s Day one year. I couldn’t wait to have a tree that my children could stand in front of for pictures. It has been growing and doing wonderful until this year. Now, it looks pathetic with hardly any leaves! There were all kinds of reasons that we were thinking caused it to not be doing so well, but I think we found out the real reason. My son caught some deer in the act of eating the leaves from my tree! They were even breaking branches off! I admit I don’t know much about trees, but I thought magnolias were supposed to be deer resistant. Of course that wouldn’t apply to my deer and my trees. We have an unusual group here who think hot sauce is a pretty good condiment. Don’t ask how I know that.

How did such a beautiful, lush tree get to be in such a pathetic state? Couldn’t the same be said of us? How do we go from energetic, optimistic people to being exhausted, resentful and looking pretty withered? Could it be that we are taking on what we shouldn’t be? That tree was never made to be the food for those deer. We aren’t made to be everything for everybody, but how do we say no?

My son came to his dad and me yesterday looking for guidance. He told us that he has trouble telling people no (when it isn’t a situation that would harm him) because he doesn’t want to disappoint them, have to argue with them for no to be accepted, lose an opportunity, or even have someone get mad at him. Ahh…how to answer that question when this is a struggle adults still deal with? I hate to tell him, that even though the situation might not hurt him physically, if we only say yes to activities and projects, it will eventually do damage to him through a little thing we call burnout.

The first thing I realized is how the word no makes you cringe just hearing it. We were recently learning in grammar that words such as no, never, none, etc. are considered negative words. No is used when correcting, it’s said by a child when they aren’t cooperating, and it’s used when someone is rejecting you or turning you down. If we don’t like to hear the word no, it is no wonder we have trouble telling someone else no. We don’t want them thinking we are rejecting them, we are simply turning down a situation.

All too often we are dealing with burnout because of overcommitment. We start looking like my pathetic tree in the backyard! God didn’t make us to be Super Christians who are everything for everybody. He has specific things in mind for us, but we tend to take on more and more until we are stretched so thin that we can’t fully commit to anything, including our own family. We can’t give anything our best when this starts to happen. What God does have for us to do, we are unable to do with a cheerful heart because we are so overwhelmed. That certainly doesn’t please God.

We need to remember that it’s ok to say no without a long list of excuses and lots of apologies. Even if you are saying no to great causes, such as one more church activity, you shouldn’t feel guilty if God is leading you to step back.

I read that God oftentimes doesn’t want our family responsibilities to be sacrificed for our volunteer responsibilities. We need to choose our activities wisely so we don’t become overcommitted and our families suffer. Those things we do with our family are the first to go when we have more to do than we have time for. We schedule the activities we have to do on the family calendar, but are we scheduling the most important ones?  They are the ones that nurture our marriages and our relationships with our children. If we do, we just might see that we are being completely truthful when saying, “I’m not going to be able to take that on because my calendar is too full.”

Today, be honest and direct when you need to say no. Also, accept no gracefully without taking it personally and getting hurt.  Realize the person probably isn’t rejecting you, they are saying yes to God’s will in their life.

On this Labor Day, determine to labor wisely instead of more.  Fill your calendar with God approved activities so you don’t feel like my poor, pathetic tree!

Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:8

My oldest and I were traveling down the road the other day when we got behind a truck pulling a trailer without any sides on it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I had to ask my son if the items were tied down. No they weren’t! This became a great source of entertainment for us. First, let me say this was on a major road that doesn’t have a low speed limit. Next, let me tell you that I think there was already one mishap because the vehicle was pulled over before it got back on the road ahead of us. Finally, we are talking about a windy, hilly road.

I was keeping my distance just in case we had to make a quick stop…definite possibility by the looks of things. We are talking wobbly! So here is a trailer with no sides hauling a table, chairs, and other pieces of furniture without anything tying them down. I’m not saying this was the smartest thing you should do or even the safest because it wasn’t.

It was as if we were at a sporting event rooting on our favorite team. We wanted him to make it, but the odds didn’t look good. Every time he hit a bump and the furniture popped up into the air without falling off, we cheered! When he turned off the road and it looked like everything just might go tumbling, he had us hooked…we were oohing, gasping, and finally cheering again. We laughed so hard after that! Apparently we are easily amused.

How many times do we need to be reminded that life is much smoother and a whole lot less wobbly when we are focused on God’s route? A double-minded man is bouncing around in two directions just like that furniture was because it wasn’t tied down. It needed a good rope or tie-down straps, we need God’s path!

There is a time when we are going to have to choose between God and the world. We can’t always bounce back and forth, or else we are going to completely fall off while suffering breaks. When you are this way in the Christian approach there is no peace, only compromise. Through His grace, we can get steady and not be wobbly by getting back to a single-minded approach to God.

Today, don’t keep everybody gasping, waiting to see if you’re going to fall.  The excuse that everyone else does it isn’t an excuse at all.  Remember that His way is the only way!

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrew 4:16

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6

Before we brought our pup home, we got bells to hang on the doors so that he could let us know when he had to go out. It’s much easier for a little one to tell you when they have to go to the bathroom rather than you trying to interpret their cry or their potty dance, so I figured it would be much easier than me trying to interpret the bark, the potty dance (hey, dogs have them too), or the stare. The stare is a whole new level of communication. Our old dog had his stare down to a science. That’s a whole other story though!

One of the first things you want to teach your pup is to do his business outside. Each time before we went outside, we helped him ring the bell by using his nose. The important thing, as the owner of a pup, is to get them out as soon as they ring that bell. They are actually training you to jump and put some pep in your step every time you hear it. They learn to trust that when they ring, you are listening! They don’t have to wonder if you are going to show up because you are there before they can blink. They might be motivated by getting treats and praise when they do their business outside, but you get pretty motivated after cleaning up a couple of messes!

Our pup grew and matured and became very reliable on the bell ringing. However, he was still young so we needed to make sure we still answered right away each time. He was also learning that when he rang, whether he had to go or not, he got to go outside. We got him fixed while he was still in this stage, and that is when he realized how committed we were to answering his demands. We were told that he needed to stay calm and keep his exercise limited. Unfortunately, he was used to his two walks a day. When he missed his first walk, he looked confused but otherwise it didn’t seem to be a big deal. The next walk he missed, he started getting a bit perturbed. He would ring the bell, we would take him to his area to do his business, and he would stand there and look at us. We would take him back in the house and the cycle would start all over again. We had to still answer his call, but if he didn’t go when taken out, we knew he was playing us, so he would have to go to his crate for about 15 minutes. We were basically telling him that he couldn’t do that. If he got out of his crate, rang the bell again, and didn’t go AGAIN, back in the crate he would go. This is a lesson we had to repeat a few times since then because he just wants to be outside, but he has learned he has to wait on us.

Now he is several months old and an expert on the bells. He rings it in different ways and he expects us to interpret. No matter what way he rings, we listen. There are times he will go to the bell and do a pass-by with a little jingle. That means I don’t really have to go out, but I’d like to go play…just whenever you’re ready. There are times when he goes and gives it a little tap, it almost seems timid. That means he kind of has to go, but we can take our time. There are times when he boldly goes up to the bells and rings them with confidence. They are heard throughout the whole house when he does this and they make us jump to our feet and run! If we aren’t there within two seconds. He’ll give another ring just to encourage us on!

I got to thinking how much this is like our prayer life. Each time we go to God in prayer, we need to be confident He is listening for our voice just as we are tuned in to hear that bell. He never ignores us when we come to Him. Next, I realized the different ways we approach Him, just like the different ways the pup approaches that bell. I can say that I’ve done that pass-by because I’d like to just have His attention, but I really can’t think of how to approach Him about something. There are times I’ve just made the little tinkling sound because I’m unsure. The uncertainty could be from doubt that God will answer my prayers to thinking I could really handle something myself. By the way, that never has worked out quite like I had hoped. It is the times that I boldly go to God, fully committing to my conversation with Him that has Him running to listen, answer, and take control. When I boldly and confidently approach Him saying, “Here I am God, it is I God!”, I know I’m getting His full attention and He will answer me.

Go boldly to God in prayer today! Even if you may not get your way, you can be confident He is listening and you have His full attention!  When you don’t get your way, realize God sees a bigger picture than you do.  It could be that He is saving you from something you can’t see or He has something even better in store for you. So don’t pester when you already have an answer, even if you don’t like that answer.  You don’t want Him to have to crate you!

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

The first time I moved out of my parents’ house was when I got married. I had lived in the same place since I was probably six months old. I grew up with lots of space and woods around me, and I wasn’t used to neighbors being very close. A couple months before the wedding, we were told we better start looking for a place to live. One of the first places we saw was perfect for us! It was an apartment, but there were only two levels, with two units on each level. There was a pond for the hubby to fish across the street and a cute little yard to enjoy beside our place. Even though we weren’t in the city, it wasn’t quite as remote as I was used to. Plus, I wasn’t used to not having animals around!

The new hubby realized this was going to be a bit of an adjustment, so he tried to help me out. He got me…fish. That was really cool and held me over for a while, but I can’t say they interacted with me too much. Our first anniversary was coming up and he surprised me with a class about horses. He loved me so much that he was going to take it with me even though he wasn’t a huge fan!

The first several classes were for learning, the next several were for riding. The first night we were to ride he didn’t look so good. I think he was having a very lengthy conversation with the Big Guy that evening…all throughout class. I had just gotten done riding (while having the time of my life), and it was now his turn. He manned up and headed over to the sweetest, oldest, most docile horse you would ever want to see. I don’t think he was breathing quite right, and I’m pretty sure the conversation was still going on with God. He got next to the horse when the instructor realized class was over. I have never seen such relief on someone’s face before!

He kept his word about going with me, and I have no doubt he would have put himself through misery until the very end.  I knew I had to leave him off the hook. If I didn’t already know for sure, which I did, I knew after that one year anniversary gift just how much he loved me. He not only was willing to do something he REALLY didn’t want to do just to support me, he was doing it during archery season. To him, love wasn’t just a feeling, it was an action.

I told him to go hunting on the nights of class because I appreciated his willingness to “give up his life for me” by getting on that horse, but I was comfortable enough to go on my own. Now I didn’t just think he was the best in the world, he thought I was too!

How many times do we forget that love is best in action? It’s something you show. The words are great, but the actions really show someone how much you appreciate and love them. Jesus is love. Nobody put that into action better than Him. How are you going to put love into action today?