Happy New Year!

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A Future and a Hope

 

My daughter’s high school graduation fell on the very day a pastor proclaimed in a national campaign the world was going to end: May 21, 2011.

 “At least by 6:00 p.m. I will already be a graduate and the whole family will be together at the restaurant,” my daughter pointed out.

We were still at the table after the bill was tallied and the dessert plates polished off—well after the deadline for the world’s time clock to stop.

Visit Heart of the Matter {Online}  to see the conclusion to A Future and a Hope, my latest contribution to their parenting blog. 

Confessions of a Bible Study Flunky

New Year's Day finds us bringing to mind old acquaintances and humming Auld Lang Syne. I had a special treat this New Year's when I googled and facebooked my way to locate Trudy. 

I was Trudy's worst nightmare twenty years ago when she taught a ladies' Bible study in her home. It was my first experience digging into God's Word—or for me—dawdling with God's Word. 

I remember Trudy's passion as she talked about the names and character of God. Although I was a believer in Christ, I couldn't imagine being so in love with God or excited about spending time with Him in His Word. 

I had my own problems. I was a young mom of two girls under four. I recently moved away from my family to a strange town with a husband whose work schedule had him gone 80% of the time. I was overwhelmed. 

Our theme verse for the study was pretty clear:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

I didn't connect the dots. Instead of running to God who wanted to be my answer, I preferred to gripe about my life during prayer requests. I told the entire class that I had trouble completing the study questions and Bible reading because the Bible was just plain boring. 

I remember the sad look on Trudy's face when I said this. It was probably a snapshot of God's heart who longs to draw us to Him but we find every reason to tell Him He is not enough. 

Trudy moved and I moved and we lost touch. She never knew that I finally got it. God got me. 

When I talked to Trudy on New Year's Day I told her about my family—four children who love Jesus and a husband that I chose to stay with through hard times. The seeds she planted into the messy soil of my childish heart bore fruit. 

I wouldn't be here without the part she played, faithfully imparting the Word to a  woman who didn't seem to be interested. I finally learned to run to my strong tower and let Him be my answers. 

Now I am that Bible study teacher who wonders sometimes if it is worth it when women don't find time to study or pray. No matter what I say they don't see God as the answer to their needs. 

I remember Trudy and I am glad she didn't give up on me or throw me out of the Bible study or her heart. I decide to keep on obeying and trusting God to bring the fruit in His time. I don't know the marriages and families He might be touching through our times in Bible study—even with the dawdlers who don't connect the dots just yet. 

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For more spiritual insight link to Spiritual Sundays. 

Out on a Limb

To pray or not to pray....

We teach our children about a God who cares about their every need. We teach them that He is all powerful. We teach them that He hears their every prayer.

When the family dog ran away after a move to a new town, I was heartsick. I wanted the dog back. My pre-school daughter suggested we pray.

I looked down at her earnest face and my spirit faltered. What if God didn't or couldn't find our dog in this new place?

I couldn't believe I actually thought that, but I did.

When a child wants to pray, you pray. We bowed our heads, held hands and my daughter talked to her heavenly father and poured out a faith-filled prayer. I felt ashamed of my doubts.

I knew the names of only two people in the whole town. I called the first person that came to mind--no dog. I then rang the only other person whose name I could remember; she lived twenty blocks away.

"What does the dog look like? Would he be brown and black? I see a little one running across my backyard right now."  

I described my miniature collie. I thought with every new detail, my acquaintance would realize the stray dog was not my pet. After all, it was impossible for this to be my lost family member. Twenty blocks was a long way from our house.

My daughter and I drove twenty blocks to find.....our beloved pet....playing in my new friend's yard. Of all of the thousands of houses in the entire town, my dog went to the house that I called.

I think He delights in proving Himself especially when it involves our children.  God specializes in rescuing us when we go out on a limb like a little child. 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, 

and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

God's Faithfulness

The first signs of Spring popped out this week. I let the dogs out early in the morning and I noticed bright green shoots that seemed to have sprung up overnight.

I looked around the yard and saw more signs - just the beginning. It is as if the earth, the plants and all of nature are about to burst forth with life--once again.

Why am I surprised?

While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night

Shall not cease.

Gen. 8:22

God is faithful. This past year saw many twists and turns. Shocking events occurred in the nation's economy. Natural disasters abounded. Yet, springtime is showing its first signs of arrival, as it has every year on schedule. The steady rhythm of God's faithfulness undergirds us as His creation reveals.

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. --George Washington Carver

For spiritual refreshment, visit Spiritual Sundays.