Being God with Skin On...

Are you a mom with kids still in the home?  Or a mom who has grandchildren?  Whether or not, every one of us has a unique opportunity to be God with skin on.  Jill Savage, founder of the Hearts at Home Ministries and author, views motherhood so practically as the ministry of availability.  Gloria Gaither, songwriter, singer and author, speaks about divine interruptions.  I have really come to appreciate that perspective especially when I get the calls from certain people or meet people at various gatherings.  Women like Jill and Gloria, have allowed the Lord to change their perspective on those (big and little) people annoyances that get in the way of our agenda.  He takes those times that we lovingly respond to and makes God opportunities out of them.

I don’t know about you but sometimes my ministry dreams are much bigger than they need to be! We all know that time is such a rare commodity today and that there is just never enough of it to go around and especially when it comes to ourselves!  I have discovered such a love for writing out my “lessons from the field” being passionate about sharing my heart and all that God is teaching me. But...managing a home, being a wife, mom and grandma and working full-time really makes for skimpy hours left to do my writing. Then on top of it all there are those interruptions from other who also need attention. Here is where ministry really begins.

You see...each one of us who have been redeemed, have been given this wonderful opportunity to reach out and touch others--lonely others, hurting others and needy others--because this journey as God’s child has called us to reach out and comfort those in need from the little people to big people. The need is so great and yes, we have to be careful and exercise healthy boundaries but not for selfish reasons. Here is the Scriptural mandate Paul gives us:

2 Corinthians 1:3,4 (ESV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Now this can certainly be applied both emotionally and physically as a child comes needing a bandaid to cover a wound or a lonely elderly lady you may meet at the grocery store who would love to have the ‘touch’ of a kind and caring word spoken to her. On a grand scale? Probably more practically speaking through our own hands, arms and words, given to those in our very own sphere of influence.  Mommies, you most likely have a husband and possibly little ones who especially beg for your attention. But oh how we long for our moments of quiet and rest. Mothers, life just seems demanding especially when we are running here, picking up this kid, running that kid there...you probably feel as though you are going to be split in two as you are pulled from every direction. Then the thought enters, where am I going to find time to work on my friendship with my husband and closest friends?

It is rather funny that as I was writing this my husband and I had gone to Florida to visit with my mom and sister over the Thanksgiving weekend.  A quiet moment early one morning gave me this writing inspiration and then my husband awakened. I put down paper and pen and made his coffee (my sister had a new machine he did not know how to run or he could have made his own!)  I proceeded to go back to the writing as I was concluding this piece. Then he started quietly drilling me with conversation and questions. I got a bit perturbed but kept writing although annoyed until the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and basically revealed to me that I was writing about moments just like this. I proceeded to put down paper and pen and zone in on my husband who needed just a little bit of my time to probably just acknowledge his presence!

Now we can look at being used by God to be Jesus with skin on. Practically speaking, every time an interruption comes your way, you have the opportunity to turn it into a ‘ministry’.  You see, ministry may not look like your preconceived notion of what it should be but...when you lay down your agenda and become Jesus to those around you, voila...you can become Jesus with skin on!  Tenderly wiping away the dirt on that skinned knee while you administer love. Helping your husband find that misplaced item (even though you are in the midst of sorting or folding  laundry.) There may be a teenager that comes home hurting from being ignored by a peer group. Stop your supper preparations or ask them to come and help you and be an encouragement to them in their time of feeling very worthless or lonely. There may be Mrs. widow the elderly woman from church in the produce isle. Can you take just a few moments to ask how she has been? We are all in a hurry to get our stuff accomplished but sometimes God wants to use those interruptions to be Jesus with skin on! The following lyrics are the chorus from a song the group Casting Crowns made very popular a few years ago:

But if we are the Body

Why aren't His arms reaching

Why aren't His hands healing

Why aren't His words teaching

And if we are the Body

Why aren't His feet going

Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Father God, I confess that most of the time I am all about me and my agenda.  Will you show me that my “ministry” efforts start in my own sphere of influence--even my own home--and that there are so many that I could reach out and touch with Your love.  Let me see that my family comes first but that it all begins by looking up and allowing You to show me those precious opportunities through Your eyes.  Thank you for the times that I have been on the receiving end of some one’s ministry as they reached out to me.  And for showing me that we are the practical gospel that some will only read and that there are hurting people as well in the body of Christ.  For You have shown me that I am here to be your witness as I wear Your love!

In a Perfect World...

Why are relationships so difficult? Why do I do things that irritate people? Why are there people who totally annoy me? Sometimes I just want to go where I won’t ever have to deal with people and all of their stuff!!! Well...wait a minute...I wonder how many people say those things and think of me? Plain and simple, relationships are hard stuff.

Images by Ozzie

When you love someone you just want to spend time with them and that’s good because that is how relationship is cultivated. That just might be the easy part unless you have kids and schedules or work full-time. Making the effort with those commitments can get a bit sticky! However if we need to hang in there even when things get weird. Oh my do I know that that’s like and when it happens, I just want to escape and try not to deal with it. But that’s not the way to do it. That’s when I need to expend some effort to mend the hole created by an unkind word or a misunderstanding. I sure don’t want to take up an offense!

As I was pondering what lessons God has wanted me to learn in this season, and immediately remembered that He is teaching me what “love one another” is all about. You see...when we refuse to abide by this then we give the enemy a foothold and then we develop a stronghold and it gets harder and harder to deal with the situation and do the right thing. Laying aside ourselves to take up the concerns of others!  Just look what this passage in Colossians says from the Message paraphrase:

Colossians 3:12-14  So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Put on love, in other words it should be the first item on when you awaken and the last off before bedtime. And if you have a spouse I guess you just need it 24/7!

It is a big, and sometimes consuming job all this relationship stuff! But you see, I have been given the mind of Christ. That means that I must gradually begin to adapt to Christ's nature in me, as I journey through the tough stuff. Even though I have bad days, don't I get a break here? Probably not if I am going to attain my goal. (Man, some days it can be a tough row to hoe!) And if you struggle with unconditional love like I do it can be even more difficult. But I am learning and it helps to take a look backward to see all that God has forgiven in me. This new garment of love takes a concerted effort to put and keep on, daily.

What can you do when relationships get sticky?
How difficult is it to wrangle your pride and admit that you may have had a role in an uncomfortable situation?

Father, it feels like I have so far to go on this journey, but I will continue to allow You to work out those uncomfortable traits in me even if it hurts and is uncomfortable. I will trust You as You continue to work all things together for my good and Your glory, in Jesus; name!

God Really Has a Sense of Humor!

You would think it was spring, well actually my office is long over due for an overhaul or a purging would be more like it! In so doing I was going through those little stacks of notes one can tend to pile up and I found another fortune from a fortune cookie.  I can't believe how God has spoken and confirmed things through those silly fortunes!

At the end of June I attended a Writer/Speaker conference in Grand Rapids, MI, Speak Up, put on by Carol Kent. What an amazing time my friend and I had there. I took the writer's track and she the speakers. Wonderful time with talented people and such a great help for me knowing nothing about writing a book.

In the months of preparation before going I asked the Lord to give me an answer. Is my writing something that I should continue with or give up. You see I have been in the process of writing my crazy story for some time, just not knowing what to do with it or where to take it. I also have a desire to write on a couple of my speaking topics and I just really wanted my Father's approval before going any further.

While at the conference there were publishing agents and editors in attendance and I was so blessed to get some very positive feedback from three of the four I had appointments with. So possibly that means I should continue my adventure with writing is what I'm thinking. I'm not saying I have a book deal, but I feel very favorable about the outcome and with all that I learned while there. 

So then a month later I am cleaning my piles at work and find this crazy fortune which tells me that I love words and that some day I am going to write a book! I have to say, if God can speak through a donkey He can sure speak to me once again through a fortune! 

So is it crazy to see God's approval in a fortune? Did I do the right thing by putting out the fleece so to speak and asking Him if I was on the right track (or should I say write track!) I know this, I will continue to write and hopefully someday soon I just might have that book or two to share with you!

Is there a dream somewhere deep inside of you? Don't you dare give up...begin to pray it through and into being!

You Are Supernaturally Planted!

I live in International Falls, Minnesota. People have said to me “why would you want to live in that ‘God forsaken’ part of the world? After all, our slogan is the “Ice Box of the Nation.” Can you imagine being in one of the coldest parts of the lower 48? Funny thing is I love to tell people when they ask that I love where I have been planted! 

One year when the Weather Channel was here reporting on our "Ice Box Days" festivities (the Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run, Turkey Bowling, etc.) one of the camera men caught me going in to our early church service (yes, before 8:00 AM in January) and briefly asked me how I liked being out on such cold mornings to go to church. I can't remember how cold it was but enough that most folks would shudder at the temperature. I said something to the effect that I loved it and that we are a hearty bunch up here because we endure the cold even to go to church on an early Sunday morning. How funny when I got a call from a lady that was originally from here (but now residing in the warm and sunny Florida Keys) who said she saw me on television at church! Although, I can honestly share with you that I did not always have that positive of an attitude, having been here now for over 40 years given me a wide range of emotions affiliated with the reality that this is home. Some are great, but the reality of my children and their children leaving the area makes it not so great. In some ways it is the end of the world (well the United States that is) as Canada is right across the bordering Rainy River.

My first twenty years of life were filled with many short-lived stops along the way and no, I was definitely not a military brat. I went from being born in Connecticut, to Columbus, Ohio, (living in various apartments for my first 9.5 years of life) then New York City (Manhattan Island) for five years. It was then…four more years of bopping around the country which brought me up to Minnesota. Yes, Minnesota. When I am asked how I ended up here I always say that it is just too long a story to go into! Ultimately, I have come to know without a shadow of a doubt that it was the providential hand of God that brought me here. After all, I met God in the "Ice Box of the Nation"! And I have grown quite partial to my little neck of the woods (literally speaking.) Funny thing is there sure are a lot of people I know who would rather not be here. It is usually weather related—too cold, too rainy, to smelly, etc. Yes, it is frustrating at times that you have to drive for at least two hours (four hours round trip) to find something more than a Kmart to do your shopping at and spring may come early but you can count on at least one snow shower in May!

What I would like you to know is that even with its lack of amenities, God has given me an incredible love for where I live, my community and the people who live here. Think about this. I'm sure you find it so easy and comfortable to pray for friends and loved ones. Now, let me stretch you just a bit...can you honestly pray for a place you do not love? Or how about a place you hate or feel trapped in? Maybe, you do not like the politics in your community or it seems like the area is drying up. We certainly have justification to give up, don't we? But why not do the uncomfortable thing by stepping out and praying for everything that is 'wrong' with where you live? You know that it probably will not warm up if it is the weather you dislike or there may never be a “Target” (or whatever your favorite place to shop is) in the area. But, God can help you focus less on how cold it is which might divert your attention (so to speak) when you pray and ask God for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in your area as it is in heaven!

This is a fun way of looking at Matthew 5:14 from the Message:

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.”

The Irish Worship group BlueTree says it well in this music video, God of This City. You see, we--because we know Jesus as Lord and Savior--have been called out of the darkness and been brought into God’s marvelous light, through Jesus Christ and His shed blood for you and me.Here is what it says about who we are as God's chosen people:

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

Friend, there is a city, town or community that needs the reality and saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  We are the brightly shining light God is using to expose the darkness and introduce people who God loves to the Savior!

If you feel as though you live in a “God forsaken” environment, I would like to challenge you to start to pray—to pray for God’s visitation in your area. If love is what stops you, why don’t you ask God to give you a love for or deepen your love for your area and its people. A great place to start is with prayer walking. Do you frequently walk? Maybe for your daily exercise routine you are out and about your neighborhood hoofing it up and down streets, roads, etc. Try praying for various families you might walk by on your daily regimen. You might even be able to have access to a map of your community and you could even start to log the areas you have extended ‘prayer covering’ over...As you are walking, ask the Lord to burden your heart for the people in the coverage area you take in. You might walk by someone’s home that you do not particularly care for or feel that they do not care for you. Well, ask the Lord for an open heart toward that one, that family or business and I guarantee that you are going to change! Something is going to well up within you and you are going to develop a love for your community because you have started to pray for the life blood of your area, its people.

Is your area suffering from this economic downturn? If possible get to your down town business area and start praying for the Lord’s blessings and prosperity over the businesses in your community. I like to include in my prayer time the words Jesus used in teaching us how to pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Praying God’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven is a powerful prayer and that is what we need to be about doing! Maybe where you have been planted is specifically for this very time. You have been called to pray and walk on the hardened ground of unbelief, pride and independence. You will be amazed how your heart will turn as you exercise the loving act of prayer for your location. Do not give up! You will begin to see how God is always up to something, and it is always good!

Lord, thank you for teaching me how to pray for the area I live in and giving me hope to see that You care very much for this place. If you desire that no man should perish then how can I believe the lie that I live in a God-forsaken area? I am asking you to break my heart with the things that break Yours. Let me see the people, places and businesses with Your eyes because there is always hope there. It is pretty exciting to see things begin to change when we expend time and energy praying for our communities. And don't let me stop there. Continue to burden me with prayer for my state, country and beyond and thank You for the change that can happen when we pray in Your name!

To Be Forewarned...

Mad Momma Grouse by Sandy/Scarlett Images

I can’t believe it, another attack...not from the devil or a person but the momma grouse!  This is the second time that we have gotten too close to the brood.  As Elsa (my pup) and I were climbing up to get on the old railroad grade (now a designated snowmobile trail) Elsa always first, startled a young brood of grouse gobbling gravel.  As I stepped up around the bushes on each side of the path that hide clear visibility, here she came, momma bird all fluffed up to look as big as could be and running right toward Elsa!  As I stepped up she made a quick dart into the brush and disappeared as the little ones had all scurried away!

You have heard the saying “To be forewarned is to be forearmed” haven’t you?  Well I thought about the spiritual implications in light of our morning incident.  Momma grouse is always willing to lay down her life for those little ones and there she was, enguard as she heard us tromping up the incline ready to give us what for!  She was ready and at attention watching over her brood and man, if my Elsa hadn’t been on a leash, I would hate to see what could have happened and thankfully it didn’t.

So, in this world the Bible tells us we will have trouble, John 16:33.  Do I like that statement?  Of course not, life shouldn’t be so troublesome!  However it is a warning for us to heed, a warning God has given to His children.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

But even in the midst of the fiery trials of life, Jesus says that we can still have peace, how does that work?  Some of my favorite verses in John come from chapter 15 that mention the vine and the branch and the work of the “Vinedresser”, (our Father.)  The forearming that we can anticipate is not only found by remaining in tact to the Vine (Jesus, through whom we get our marching orders and life truths through the Holy Spirit) but also we head to Ephesians 6 and we learn about daily putting on our armour.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

Ephesians 6:13-18 (ESV)

There really is no excuse to get caught unprepared for each new day and its surprises good and not so!

Father, I can’t believe that sometimes I just forget that I don’t have to go around bared to the enemy of my soul without a covering. Lord, help me to get properly dressed each day so that I won’t be subject to defeat whether minor skirmishes or a total wipeout.  In You, I have everything necessary to walk in victory for Your name and Your glory, Amen.