The Blood Changes Everything!

My daughter-in-law is at my home recovering from open-heart surgery.  Even though she is still coping with occasional pain from the incision site, swelling in her legs, and some insomnia, she still says that she feels so much better than she did before the surgery.  Now that the blood is pumping through her body efficiently and correctly, it's making a difference in her energy level.  In fact, all that good blood flow to her brain is even changing how she thinks about things.  She has a new enthusiasm for life and an excitement for her future.

The circulation of blood in our bodies is necessary for life and health and I've seen first-hand how debilitating it is when something goes wrong with that system.  I'm also seeing just how revitalizing it is when the blood gets where it needs to go.  It's almost like she is a different person.  She still has many of the same characteristics she always had, but there's new life in her and it's exhilarating.

She's planning a vegetable garden and a lot of baking and a host of other projects for her little family.  I believe that if the doctor would give her clearance, she'd go dig up her backyard at the end of December to make sure the site was ready for spring planting!

The blood of Jesus is life-giving on so many levels.  Without it, we are lost and without hope. With it, we are saved, called, filled with life, anointed with power, healed, and blessed.  His blood changes everything.  It creates purpose within us and anticipation for the next steps God has for us.

If we had the same enthusiasm for our renewed life as Brittney does and we put it into action steps toward where God is leading us, we'd be amazed at what we could do for the kingdom of God.  Remember today where you were before and how far you have been brought by the blood of Jesus.  Remember the promises He has made to you. Think about the goals and dreams you once had for your life and ministry. Take a moment to let that life-giving blood resurrect all that He has purposed for you.

Never Alone

In the last two weeks, I've lost more sleep than usual.  I'm feeling fine.  I don't have insomnia.  I'm not staying up past my bedtime.  It's simply that my granddaughter, Bella, who's not quite three years old, has been my sole responsibility while her mother was in the hospital.

Bella fights sleep with all that is within her in the first place.  Once she does go to sleep she wakes up several times a night.  Sometimes she just cries out in her dreams and quickly gets quiet again and settles back down. Sometimes her crying continues and I can settle her by just sitting beside her and patting her back until she falls back to sleep.  On other, more frustrating nights, she yells for me or gets out of her little toddler bed and makes her way to my room and cries inconsolably unless I take her in my arms to rock her or tuck her in beside me.

Bella needs the presence of someone to soothe her into the peace of sleep.  Now that her parents are home from the hospital and staying with us for a few more weeks, there are more "someones" to help with her nighttime cries. Ultimately our goal is for her to sleep through the night in her own bed, allowing everyone else a good night's sleep as well.

Tonight I sang a lullaby to her that I remembered singing to her daddy.  It talked about the nearness of God in the night and I was reminded that both in the natural night and in the night seasons of our lives when it is dark and we feel alone, the truth is that we never are.

Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

There are many, many more scriptures that talk about this ever-present God who is with us in all circumstances.  All through both the Old and New Testament, He reassures us that we don't have to deal with all the issues of life on our own. 

Years ago, I heard a story about a little boy who had trouble going to sleep in his room alone.  His mother told him that God would be with him.  He said, "But I need somebody with skin on!"

In this Christmas season, I remember that God did have "skin on" in the person of Jesus.  Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us". 

I hope Bella learns to calm herself in the night, both for her rest and for ours, but more than that, I pray that she knows a Jesus who will be with her through everything she experiences in this life - both joyful and painful and that she will know in the depths of her spirit that she is never alone.

Talking to Jesus

Last Sunday night, my son's family spent the night at our home.  Josh and his wife, Brittney, were leaving the next morning to drive to Duke University Hospital so  Brittney could be admitted for heart surgery on Tuesday. They were preparing for the trip and my husband, Paul, (aka Pawpaw) was resting because he was recovering from a bout of pneumonia, so I had primary responsibility for my granddaughter, Bella, that evening.

I put Bella to bed that night.  She has graduated to a toddler bed and this was her first night to sleep in it.  She asked me to stay in the room with her for a few minutes and as I sat on the floor beside the bed, she began to sort of sing her full name, "Bella Ellis, Bella Ellis" and then continued in a sing-song voice to say things like "Papaw feel better" and "Help me sleep in my bed by myself".

I realized what she was saying and I asked her, "Bella, are you praying?" She sat up in the bed and said, "I not praying, Mamaw! I talkin' to Jesus!"


How simple, yet how profound. There are thousands of books dealing with the subject of prayer.  Many sermons have been preached about it.  There are studies on prayer with workbooks and journals. Yet, at the heart of it, it's really just talking to and listening to Jesus.  Even a not quite three-year-old can do it and do it well.

Last night, she had a really hard time going to sleep.  She really misses her mommy and daddy.  I think she napped a little too long in the afternoon and just wasn't quite ready for bed, but it was getting very late.  Though I was firm with her about staying in her bed and in the room she uses at my house, I had some mercy for her tears and lack of cooperation.  Finally, I just scooped her up in my arms, sat down with her on the loveseat in the room and said, "Ok, Bella, we're going to talk to Jesus".  I wiped her tear-stained face, held her and rocked her and prayed with her until she finally fell asleep in my arms and I was able to put her in her own bed.  Early this morning, well before I was ready to face the day, she woke up crying for me and when I went to check on her she said, through her tears, "Mamaw, can we go on the couch and talk to Jesus?" 

When life is difficult and you can't rest, just find a quiet place to be and talk to Jesus.  Bella highly recommends it.

(By the way, Bella's mother is recovering in the hospital and will hopefully be home this week.  Your prayers for an uncomplicated recovery are appreciated.)

Because You Ask Not

My daughter-in-law, Brittney, is always winning something.  She's won concert tickets, CDs, hotel stays, door prizes at conferences, professional photoshoots - you name it - she's won it. The other day I received a group text she had sent to several family members with a picture of a local radio station logo and two gift cards to a fast-food restaurant with the message, "Bwhahaa, birthday winner!" She does love to rub it in....

I haven't had the same good fortune at winning all those prizes.  There is one very simple reason for that.  She enters the contests and I don't.  She makes the effort to place a phone call, or fill out a card, or "like and share" a Facebook post, or upload a video, while I just ignore most of those things.

I know that asking and receiving from God is far different than winning a prize by chance, but the principle is the same.  The book of James tells us, "Ye have not, because ye ask not." (James 4:2) 

I win not, because I enter not.  She wins because she takes the steps necessary to position herself to receive. How many times in my walk with God have I worried about something instead of asking God for the solution?  How many times have I wished for a situation to change but never really prayed about it in earnest?

God is not a genie in a bottle, there to grant our selfish wishes, but when we pray in line with His word, He will watch over his word to perform it.  (Jeremiah 1:12)  If we never speak His word in prayer, we do not place ourselves in a position to receive from Him.

This Tuesday, Brittney is scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery.  I know the outcome I want to see from this procedure.  Many people are praying for her and she is praying for herself.  We are believing that we will receive that outcome because we are asking.

Some people have asked me to tell Brittney that they are thinking about her.  In some cases, I know that thinking is all they are doing. There are others who will actually pray for her.  We often say that "our thoughts and prayers" are with someone.  In truth, neither my thought or yours will ever help a single person.  However, James 5:16 says " Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

If you are someone who prays, I ask you to ask God to guide the hands of the surgical team, to allow no complications, to hasten her healing, and to bring her back home to her little girl with a new strength and energy - ready to enjoy life in a way she has not been able to do for quite some time.  Please help me in the asking, and I believe we will have the desire of our heart.

Focus on the Listening

This morning during praise and worship, I noticed something very small and insignificant to the overall flow of the service, but it spoke volumes to me.  Our church worship team has phenomenal talent and they are Holy Spirit-led, not performance motivated.  Worship time can sometimes be loud, because these folks, and the congregation, are not shy about declaring praise.  If the volume bothers you, earplugs are available at the Welcome Desk!

As the instruments played this morning and the congregation was singing, a young man who serves in the church in a number of ways came to stand in the front of the church as he worshipped, as many people do.  After a moment or two, the pastor stepped over to him and began to talk to him.  In order to hear the directions he was being given, he had to lean his head closer to the pastor's ear, block out any concentration on the lyrics and music that surrounded him, and focus only on one thing.

This is not a rare occurrence.  Many times during the course of a service, a pastor or leader will need a message taken to someone or an item brought to him.  I've probably seen this type of exchange a hundred times, but today it spoke to me.

We live in a world where we are bombarded with sound.  Almost everywhere we go there is something being played through a loudspeaker. If it's not being played for us, we turn on music in the car, the television in the living room, music and videos on our cellphones.  The messages come at us constantly and quickly.  We are always processing what we hear, accepting some thoughts and rejecting others.  In the middle of all that audible and mental racket, it is sometimes difficult to focus on the one voice we desperately need to hear - the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The young man listening to the pastor this morning did a couple things in the natural that we can do in the spiritual to better hear our directions in this life.  He tilted his head toward the speaker. He got as close as he could in order to make sure he didn't miss a word.  Proximity to God is the way to know what He is trying to say to us.

I also noticed that he wasn't trying to talk or continue singing with the praise team as he listened.  He quieted his own mind and his own mouth so he could focus on what was being asked of him.  How often do we come to God for direction and end up telling Him what we think should happen?  We need to be still to give His voice priority.

Our family is entering a very challenging month.  There will be tests of our physical bodies, our emotional states, and our spiritual strength.  I will remind myself this month when circumstances are not ideal, that I need to lean into the very heart of God for direction and support and to quiet the thoughts of my own heart so I can focus on where He is leading.

Proverbs 4:20
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings....

Faith, Expectation, and Experience

Like many Christians, I sometimes struggle to activate my faith in a particular situation.  Some things just seem so big.  How silly of me to ever think that they could be too hard for an infinitely powerful God!  Because we are so easily overwhelmed with the things life hands us, we can limit God to what we imagine could be done in a situation to make it right.  We don't remember that He told us that He could "do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us".  (Ephesians 3:20) 

Faith is strengthened by use.  2 Corinthians 10:15 speaks of faith being increased.  2 Thessalonians 1:3 speaks of faith growing exceedingly.  I've heard it said that faith is a verb - not a noun. It's something we do, not something we have.  If you read Hebrews chapter 11, the "hall of fame" listing people of faith, it shows that their faith was demonstrated by what they said or did, not just what they felt in their hearts or thought in their minds.  They trusted God, stepped out in obedience, and their faith was rewarded. 

People make faith such a mystery, but we operate in faith every day.  When you were still just a toddler, your mother probably carried you in her arms and let you flip the light switch off when you were leaving a room or flip it on when you were entering.  You had the experience of having that power at your tiny fingertips.  You probably thought it was amazing at first, but in daily life now, you touch those controls with barely a thought. Experience has taught you what happens and you have a very natural faith that the light fixture will respond when you operate the switch.

We trust people that we barely know in our everyday lives.  We'll accept a job offer and work for two weeks in a new position with nothing but the promise of a payday.  We put money in vending machines and expect a product to emerge.  We sit down in chairs that we expect to support our weight.  We turn the key in the ignition and expect the engine to start.  We do hundreds of things like this on a regular basis and we're surprised when they don't happen - not when they do.

We act first and expect something to happen. You see, faith isn't that hard.  You keep doing things because you have the experience of acting and seeing results.  If you just stand beside the switch on the wall and hope that light will illuminate the room, you'll be waiting for a very long time for that promise to manifest.  It takes the corresponding action to get the result you desire.

Now God's not a light switch and we can't reduce our interaction with Him to a formula.  He's not at our beck and call to manipulate to suit our whims.  We can, however, in the context of a relationship with Him and a knowledge of His Word and His will, act in faith upon the promises He has given us and expect those promises to be kept.

Sometimes the stepping out is a declaration of faith in prayer.  Other times there's a physical action.  Right now, my son and his wife are trying to sell their home.  When the buyer comes along, they will be moving in with us for a while until they find the next place God has for them.  I've prayed for the sale of their house, but I realized that if that is what I really expect to happen, I need to take some actions that match my expectations.  So I've been cleaning out closets, reorganizing rooms, making lists of things that might have to go to make room for them - putting some walk with the talk. I need to prepare for what I expect to see.

What's the next action you need to take to make room for what you are believing God to do in your life? Do you need to update your resume, pack up some things, start researching schools, join a ministry in your church, write a book?  There are actions tied to your prayers that you can explore, all the while declaring what the Word of God says about your situation.  With every answered prayer, you have that experience of faith operating in your life and that experience builds your faith for the next challenge.  Get some experience!

Save the Date!

I may be part of the older generation, but because of my job in education, much of what I do every day is computer related.  I don't even use a datebook or paper planner of any kind now.  All the events of my life are on a digital calendar that is available to me on any device I can access.  On the other hand, there's my husband, Paul.  This is what he says about himself.

"I'm Fred Flintstone in a George Jetson world."

Though he will take a brief look at his hometown newspaper's online version (just to make sure he isn't mentioned in the obituaries), he's really not very connected online.  He says he uses "Face-look", not "Facebook".  We have a shared data plan on our family's cell phones and he uses exactly 0 bytes of data each month.

So for Paul's benefit, there is a paper calendar on our bedroom wall so I can make sure he is informed of all the different things that are happening in our lives and the lives of our family members that might affect him or for which he needs to be praying.  The other day, I looked up at the November calendar and realized that I hadn't updated it since we turned to that page.  The month was completely blank.  At first, I thought I'd just add the things that were yet to come this month, but I like to be thorough and so I added even the events that had already happened. 

But what's the point of writing down what's already in the past?  Sometimes it's good to have a point of reference, such as knowing how long it has been since you last saw your doctor. Other times it's nice to look back and remember a pleasant event that you might have otherwise forgotten.  Someone might write a date on a calendar to mark the beginning of a goal or a decision such as the beginning of a diet plan or the last time they smoked a cigarette. 

Today was one of the kinds of Sunday morning services that should be written down and remembered. Though God is always present when we meet together, the Holy Spirit did some very special things when we were together today.  I keep a journal where I write about significant moments and days in my walk with God.  Sometimes He works in our lives in ways that are amazing, but time and failing memories can erase the importance of a moment.  When I am struggling with circumstances in my life, it helps me tremendously to go back and read about the ways God has intervened in my life in the past.  I "save the date" by creating my own small memorials in words to mark the day when I saw an answer to a prayer, when I was encouraged by a word from someone who was listening to the Holy Spirit on my behalf, or when I let God use me to bless someone else.

God likes us to remember those days as well.  All through the Bible, people remembered and reminded each other of the mighty deeds which God had done. The children of Israel built memorials of stone to remind them of what God had done for them.  Hearing and meditating on those things once more builds our faith and helps us trust Him for the future.  I encourage you today to begin to either keep a journal or at least a few sheets of paper in the back of your Bible to create a written memorial to go back to so you can encourage yourself in the Lord in a time when hope is difficult to find.