discouragement

Mighty Mouse Faith

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This picture is one of my very good friends and her 12 year old son taken last year during football season.  Besides being one of myunnamed[1] (3) favorite pictures ever, it is also a tribute to great faith.  You see, Troy, her son, is on the small side of life.  He is almost 13 and yet he is a head shorter than his almost 12 year old sister.  He is also very small boned, and has a very hard time sometimes being accepted by and respected by his peers.

However, he has a passion for football.  Yes, that sport where generally the bigger and bulkier you are, the better.  Where guys his age are generally 6-10 inches taller than him, and at least 50 pounds, if not more.  Where bruises and bumps and battering are to be expected.  It was very hard for her to say yes to his playing..but he had such a desire, and the coach was willing to let him, so she couldn’t say no.

And you know what?  Halfway through the season, he was still on the team…and had earned the most envious nickname of “Mighty Mouse”!  The coach was amazed at his speed..and his ability to run in and out of the big bruisers without them having a chance of catching him!  He’s also lower to the ground, and it doesn’t hurt as much when he’s brought down!  He earned the respect of his team members and coaches by being fearless and by being able to work quickly to make a play happen.

That’s the kind of faith I want!  I want a spiritual life that reflects no fear.  I want to be able to face the big bruisers in my life – the scary things, the obstacles, the new things – with a ready heart.  I want to be able to take those bumps and falls in my walk with Jesus, and get right back up, ready to play again.  And I want to make big plays for our team –  the eternal one – the heavenly kingdom, to the praise and honor of our great God!  I want God to look at me and say, “I can count on her…she’s not afraid to step out and do _________”…whatever He needs me to do.

As it says in my life verse, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).  So next time you are facing something huge in your life, just remember this picture- and that our GOD is bigger than anything!

Pink Shoes and Ponytails!

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One of my favorite parts of being back at Chick Fil A is waiting on the children.  They are always so excited to be there, and you never know what they will say.  Today I had a delightful little girl, around 4 or 5, with these adorable sparkly pink shoes that lit up when she bounced, which was often.  She had a ponytail and a big pink bow on it.  Right after her I had more little girls with pink shoes, and I was surrounded by happy!

I started thinking about how children come in, and approach our counter, and us.  They are very proud to place their own orders, and they are filled with confidence that their order will be heard and filled.  If we don’t serve something – like the pancakes a little boy wanted today – then they are disappointed, but they move on and choose something else.  They have parents hovering nearby, and they know that if something goes wrong, the parent will help them out.  And they ALWAYS want dessert!

I wondered what would happen if I could translate their attitude to my walk with the Lord and especially my prayer life.  While I know prayer should be entered into with reverence, I wonder if sometimes I shouldn’t BOUNCE into God’s presence!  Either overjoyed with blessings, or excited to be there, but definitely with a heart full of joy.  And what if I always came with full confidence?  And with the expectation that my request would be heard and answered, or if the answer was “no”, that an acceptable answer would be made known?  What if I accepted “no” gracefully from the Lord, and then MOVED ON??  I could also try asking for dessert!  I am sure God doesn’t mind when I ask for things that I want sometimes, and not just what I need.

And the best part?  The Scripture says that when we can’t “order” our prayers, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us (Romans 8:26) just like those parents in the background. How awesome! May God help us all to not always be so serious, but to “enter His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4) – and occasionally a bounce!

June 31st

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When I worked for the bank, in the electronic banking support department, one of the most interesting parts of my job was reading the “contact us” email.  There were emails that make perfect sense, well worded, and straight to the point.  There were also emails that threatened, whined and complained…and I was supposed to come up with some reasonable answer to all of them.

However, there were some that were just downright hilarious, and were amazing in what they said.  One of my favorite ones was a sweet, sincere note..asking for help with their online statement.  It seems they had downloaded the statement, but they felt it was incomplete.  The email basically read “I am having problems with my statement.  When I download it I only get June 1-30 – and I can’t figure out why you cut off the 31st!”. Ok, if you haven’t caught on, June only has 30 days!  And I very politely replied to that effect.  But now when I have one of those days, just the thought “June 31st” can make the worst moment very bearable.

I believe God allows days like that for a very specific purpose.  One is to get us to quit taking ourselves and our immediate “worlds” so seriously…to get us to step back and say, “Really? Am I so worked up about this?”  God does want His children to laugh, and smile, and enjoy their lives…and we need to act like we have unending joy and peace in our lives.

Another reason is to make us humble.  We can be very impressed with ourselves sometimes, and we forget that we are just one step, one thought, one moment in the wrong cirumstances to start downhill towards some very ugly attitudes and habits!  And we just really DON’T impress anyone when we have a judgmental attitude.

And finally, I believe God gives us those days to say, “Look – I am in charge here, if you will just let me work.  And since you won’t always, I have to make you weak so that I can be strong.  In your weakness I shine…so here’s __________to help remind you whose power you need to be walking in!”

So, when a June 31st day happens to you, or maybe a June 31st week, stop.  And look around.  And pray. And ask God what He needs to do through you, or show you, that you aren’t picking up on.  And above all, LAUGH!  To Him be all the glory as we pursue this life as His children!

Shining in the Dark

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DSCN0198I was very blessed to get this picture last fall when I was driving home from church one night.  I love the light breaking through the darkness, refusing to be swallowed up, and shining on.

I always think of this Scripture “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16). Our world today in general is a very dark place.  It seems every day that there is new wickedness, new brutality, and new evidence of man’s fallen state, and very little of the victory of God and His people.  It is so easy to watch a 30 minute nightly news cast, and think, “what’s the purpose?”  And sad to say, this is very true of Christians as well.  I have heard this more lately than not, “even so, Lord Jesus, come!”  Or “I am SO ready for the Lord to come back and take us home!”  As if there are no more victories to be had, no more sinners to be saved,and no more good to be done on Earth.

AND YET!!  Our God says that WE have the victory, and we are more than overcomers, and WE are the ones He has chosen to use to penetrate the darkness of this world! What gives us the right to give up, if we have the most powerful source in the world – the Lord – working on our behalf??

Look at this picture again.  What is the predominant color?  Black/dark gray.  But what is the color you notice first?  The light!  And why is the light so striking?  Because it’s surrounded by dark!  That’s the way God’s people – you and me – need to be especially now.  We need to look the darkness in the face, and say, “You will not drown out my light – in fact, you will just emphasize it!  We need to remember that God expects us to share that light, and work to bring as many people as possible to Him – because the Scripture also reminds us that He is not willing that any should perish, and that His longsuffering towards us is because He wants to give as many as possible an opportunity to know Him.

So, the next time you notice you are surrounded by darkness, remember – that’s your time, and God’s, to really show off His love and let others see Jesus in you!  Remember – we have the rest of eternity to live in His light – so what’s a little darkness now?

That’s How We Roll!

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unnamed[1] (17)This picture is of my favorite, favorite little guy, Anderson.  He is one of the best “and yet..God!” stories of my life.  His parents, Jamie & Candon, came to know the Lord late – after 12 years of living together, and two children ages 11 & 10 at the time.  After their salvation, they wanted to honor the Lord in all things, and they got married in July, 2012.  They had been told much earlier that they could never have any more children…..AND YET!!  Two months after the wedding, Candon was pregnant. This little guy was the glorious result, and after the shock wore off, they realized that God indeed blessed them with this miracle in response to their obedience. Anderson will be 2 next month, and although he has outgrown being my worship buddy in “big” church, he is still all mine on Sundays.

Candon sent me this picture the other day, telling me “this is how we roll at age 2!”  As you can see he  is watching TV, all snuggled up, pillow behind his head, favorite stuffed animal by his side, favorite blanket at his feet, and there’s a juice cup in there somewhere.  All the comforts of his life, and his Mom on standby if he needs anything else!  And that confident look on his face indicates he is seriously pleased with life and he has no worries.

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived our lives that way?  Not that God has promised us all the comforts of life.  To the contrary, He has promised us that there will be trials and suffering, and believing in Him will GUARANTEE that we will be hated and persecuted by the world, because they hated HIM.

But we can live victoriously!  We know, as they say, how it all turns out, and it all works out for good for those that love Him (Romans 8:28) that in all things we conquer (Romans 8:37), and that NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39)!  So, while we can’t climb into laundry baskets anymore and expect to be waited on hand and foot, we can still adopt my little guy’s confident smile, and KNOW that we will be taken care of, and we win in the end!  Amen!