THE ROAD I HAD NEVER TAKEN

It was one of those beautiful sunny days with a brilliant blue sky that makes you want to just go somewhere or do something special.  On my way home from the mall, I approached the light at an intersection I have stopped at many times, intending to go straight down the road, once the light changed to green.  But this time was different.  The colorful signs on the corner invited me to turn; the unknown road beckoned me to discover its secrets and so I did.  What wonderful sights would I see?  What hidden treasures would I find?  What great adventure lay ahead?  The few interesting shops were soon left behind for a few medical offices and then only empty fields.  HOW DISAPPOINTING!!!!  There was no adventure to be found.  Finally I turned into the one lone gas station, pulled out and headed home, straight down the old familiar road.

As we journey down life’s long road, we will come to many intersections. Some will offer bright lights and promise unknown adventures. You may feel as if you are in a rut; life has become mundane and going “straight” down the road on your journey home seems SO BORING! Before you take a detour, STOP, THINK and LISTEN.  STOP…do you really have time to be distracted by a few flashing neon signs?  THINK…what if there is nothing waiting but empty fields?  LISTEN…what is the Holy Spirit whispering to your heart? 

So many dear ones have turned down the irresistible “Road Never Taken” only to find it is just a road of false hope and empty fields.  Sadly, they never find the right place to turn around as they travel further and further from home.  They hope that around the next curve or over the next hill they will find the excitement they crave, but mile after mile, there are only empty, desolate fields.  Some have finally “run out of gas” and stopped to rest among the barrenness, lost and alone.  But that doesn’t have to be the “End of the Story.”

Although the “Mystery of the Unknown” is overwhelmingly inviting, don’t lose your focus; keep driving straight ahead.  If you have already turned, only to find the beckoning road is bleak and lonely, TURN AROUND NOW!  This road was NEVER meant to be taken.  There is still time to make it home before the darkness closes in.  The “Lights of Home” are shining brightly and there you will find everything for which your heart has been longing.

WHEN TOMORROW BECOMES YESTERDAY

Ephesians 5:15-17 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Thirty-eight years ago, I walked down the aisle to join Steve and begin our life journey together.  There were so few yesterdays and so many tomorrows.  Oh the plans we made, the places we would go, the things we would accomplish together; and we have!  Walking down the path with my beloved has been a dream journey but we have reached the road marker where we must face the realization that there are more yesterdays full of memories than tomorrows full of dreams.

For a few moments I pull back the curtain and peek through the window of memories; our first home, at 20 years old, holding our first son and 17 months later, our second son.  I remember the laughter, the tears, the joy, the anger…why was I angry?  I’m not sure I recall; it really wasn’t that important.  Family vacations; I wish we had taken more.  Fun at the park; why did I not stop and play longer?  My sons standing strong and handsome awaiting their own brides at the altar; holding my first grandchild, who will soon be 10 years old; holding the other 6 as they came along over the next few years and feeling that I must enjoy every minute of this “mini do over.”  I think of our moves and our houses; leaving family and friends to follow God; the triumphs and the disappointments of all the TOMORROWS THAT HAVE BECOME YESTERDAYS.

Border Agent Terry was just 42 minutes from being relieved of duty when he was shot and killed. Just 42 minutes from leaving to spend Christmas with his family. 42 minutes from holiday festivities and exciting plans when his “tomorrow became yesterday.” There would be no more tomorrows to anticipate or take care of all the things he had not gotten “around to;” only yesterdays full of memories, unfulfilled dreams and regrets.

We can count our YESTERDAYS but only God knows how many TOMORROWS remain.  YESTERDAY may be full of regrets but you have THIS DAY; THIS MOMENT and it is full of promise.  You can choose to spend RIGHT NOW doing and being whatever you desire.  You may have made exciting plans for tomorrow or this weekend, but God has a plan for you TODAY. Don’t waste TODAY looking forward to TOMORROW or yearning for YESTERDAY.  The decisions you make TODAY will determine the memories you leave when your TOMORROWS become YESTERDAYS…choose wisely!

 

THE TWO BLOOMS IN MY GARDEN

With visions of beautiful spring flowers, last October, I planted 30-40 crocus, daffodil and tulip bulbs.  I carefully sectioned off a portion of ground, mixed in fresh dirt, placed each bulb in the correct position at just the right depth and smoothed just the right amount of soil to cover them for the long winter.  Winter came in December and hung around until March as my bulbs rested peacefully under a deep blanket of snow.  Finally, the sun began to peak out once in awhile and the earth warmed ever so slowly…where were my beautiful spring blooms? Finally 4, yes only 4 tiny shoots appeared and in early May, I was rewarded with 2 beautiful red tulips.

I rejoiced over the 2 blooms but I was also a little discouraged.  Where were the other 30?  They had received the same attention, they had been planted in the same soil.  I had taken such care to make sure they were pointed in the right direction.  The fresh dirt had been placed over them at the exact suggested depth; WHAT HAPPENED?  Walking around the neighborhood, I noticed all the other beautiful spring flowers, proudly filling the landscape at other houses.  Some were growing among rocks, others could barely be discerned from the weeds growing around them; none looked as if they had received the care I had given my blooms.  I had only 2.  My flower bed was so bare in comparison that I almost missed the beauty of my 2 tulips standing strong, opening their lovely petals to drink in the warmth of the sun.           

I began to think back over 35 years of ministry and all the precious people we have loved, taught, ministered to, and watered with tears in prayer.  Yet, I look at my carefully prepared garden and see only a few blooms.  My neighboring ministers proudly display their lush, full-grown flower beds and I wonder  what did they do that I forgot; where did I go wrong? 

Anyone who has ever planted tulip bulbs will tell you that they multiply, year after year.  If they are not thinned out, the bulb will eventually take over the whole flower bed and you will have an abundance of lovely blooms. You never know how that 1 or 2 will multiply, after they have bloomed.  Your 1or 2 may each reach 2 or 3 which will reach 4 or 5 and a multiplicity of blooms will fill the garden.

 Perhaps, next year, some of the dormant bulbs will burst to life and join my 2 blooms reaching toward the warmth of the sun.  Steve and I have received emails and FB posts 5-10 years later, thanking us for ministering the Word to them.  At the time, we thought the tiny bulbs would never respond but the Word was at work, covering them with truth until the shoots finally burst forth. 

Your garden may seem bare standing next to your neighbors but don’t allow your disappointment to dismiss the few beautiful blooms that are standing strong.  Think of the people you have led to a relationship with Jesus Christ; the ones that stand strong in the congregation, lifting their hands in praise to their Savior.  Rejoice in their beauty; God is smiling and all of Heaven is dancing.

GOD BIRTHED THE DREAM; LET IT BREATHE

I am a dreamer. Once my eyes close, my mind begins cycling through the day and the dreams begin.  I dream sad, happy, fun, crazy and serious, but every now and then I dream a dream that sticks with me and troubles me until the meaning is revealed.  Yesterday morning, I awoke from such a dream.  I meditated, prayed and wrote it down.  Finally, I thought I had the answer. Then, I closed my eyes last night and I felt God speaking to my spirit.  I didn’t have the answer at all….now it all makes sense.

THE DREAM:

I was standing in a crowded building when a woman carrying a heavily wrapped baby followed by two boys walked by, glancing around furtively.  It seemed that every time someone came close, the two boys would cause a distraction and take the attention off her.  She seemed so lost and confused; finally, I went over to help her.  As I approached, she clutched the “baby” tightly to her chest and turned her head away.  I asked if I could help her, then if I could see the baby.  She said, in a panicked voice, “No.”  I continued to pull the gauzy blanket open as she said, “Please don’t.”  Finally a beautiful plastic doll was revealed.  I said, “It is beautiful.” She screamed, “You haven’t really seen the baby.”  I continued opening the blanket until a beautiful little face was revealed with a horrible skull deformity.  I said to the woman, “Yes, I have and she is beautiful.”  To the baby, I whispered, “Jesus loves you” and was rewarded with the most angelic smile.  The baby was not an infant but was tiny, underdeveloped and immature because it had been kept swaddled and carried close for its entire life.  As I took the woman to find help, I woke up.

All through the day, the dream would not leave me.  I thought about hurts, scars, dysfunction, bitterness and all the things that are hidden and held close but they didn’t seem to fit this dream.  Just before drifting off to sleep, I felt God’s Spirit surround me and whisper, “I have birthed something beautiful in you but you keep it swaddled and hidden because you fear that it is not “normal.  Because you have not allowed it to breathe and mature, the call I have birthed in you has remained tiny and underdeveloped.”

The Bible contains so many accounts of people allowing the dreams that God had birthed in them to mature and bear fruit.  We don’t read many stories of people who swaddled the dream and held it close until it died.  WHY?  Because there is nothing to tell!!!  If Joseph had not taken the chance to interpret dreams to a butler and baker, his own dream would have died in prison and Jacob would have mourned him, never knowing Joseph had not been eaten by wild animals.  Daniel would have been just another slave in Babylon, Joseph would not have been such an integral player in the Christmas Story and Peter would not have preached a powerful message at the Birth of the Church.  They would have all faded into history, unknown, along with their tightly swaddled dreams.

What has God birthed in you?  Is it still tightly wrapped and clutched close as you struggle along the journey?  There are so many reasons we do not allow our dreams to breathe and mature; most of them have a root in FEAR or PRIDE.  Perhaps like me, the thing God has birthed in you doesn’t seem quite “normal;” it just does not follow the “normal” methods.  It could be that you are afraid if the wrappings are pulled back, revealing your dream, it will be met with laughter and derision. Maybe you are afraid you have misunderstood God and if you unfold the blanket all that will be revealed is a “plastic doll.”  Whatever is holding you back is choking the life out of the dreams that are fighting to breathe and mature.

It is time to remove the security blanket and realize Jesus loves you and whatever He has birthed in you is BEAUTIFUL.  Take control of the “Distractions” that follow you to take the focus off your dream.  If God is calling you to do the “ABNORMAL,” remember you are unique and God has a unique plan for you.  WHO EVER THOUGHT ANYTHING GOD DID WOULD BE NORMAL?  If you are afraid of doing the wrong thing and messing up, here is a word of encouragement from Thetus Tenney, a very wise woman of God, “If it lines up with the Word of God, is edifying to the Body and glorifies God, GO FOR IT!”  If the crowd laughs in derision, you won’t even notice as you will be blinded by the Glory of God in your life. GOD HAS BIRTHED A DREAM IN YOU; LET IT BREATHE!!!

IT WAS ENOUGH TO BE YOUR MOM

I wrote this blog in 2011and it remains one of my favorite.  To all of the young mothers that feel like pulling your hair out some days, pray you’ll get through the potty-training stage and past the “terrible-twos,” you will.  One day you will wake up and those sweet little darlings pulling at your skirt will be your grandbabies and you will be so proud and thankful that you were called to the most important job on earth…being a Mom.

It is no secret that I am a Facebook junkie.  I love keeping up-to-date with friends and family.  One of the things that I have avoided getting involved in is the “Mass Group Posts.”  To me they are similar to the old “chain letters.”  Some even go as far to tell me if I don’t post a certain paragraph, I am denying Christ before the world.  Never mind the life I live, it’s all about posting a specific saying.  A couple of weeks ago, this particular post caught my eye: “I work 24/7. I'm a MOMMY, I'm a cook, a cleaner, a parent, a teacher, a referee, a nanny, a nurse, a handyman, a maid, a shrink, security & a comforter. I don't get holidays, sick pay, or A DAY off. I work through the day & some of the night, on call at ALL hours. I'm underpaid & overworked. Now tell me that YOUR job is harder than mine! Repost this if you're a great mommy ♥.”  I did not repost the item but I couldn’t resist commenting.

I was a full time mommy for 20 years, I never considered myself underpaid. OVERWORKED? Maybe, but I just didn’t consider it in monetary terms.  You see, to me, Motherhood was NOT a JOB but a CALLING which I chose to follow. Although this calling did not bring great wealth, it was not without great reward.   I will never forget the feel of little arms around my neck and the sound of a tiny voice saying, “Mommy I “wuv” you.  What mother hasn’t paused for a few moments just to watch her babies sleeping like angels and wishing she hadn’t said “not right now” so many times that day.  There is nothing like seeing 2 little shining faces emerge after a warm bath, snuggling with them in their cozy “jammies” and inhaling that soft baby smell.  As they grew older, I loved listening to their funny adventures, discovering the world through their fresh eyes and guiding them through the “teenage jungle.”  I have enjoyed being a Mom in every stage of their life. As far as overworked, that is what I bought into when I chose to have kids.  They have been worth every sleepless night, every hour lost, and every dollar that I could have been spending on myself.

I know how Mary must have felt when she held Jesus in her arms for the first time.  I’ve experienced the overwhelming love that pours from your heart as you rock the tiny helpless little baby. But, did she feel “used” when she knelt at the cross?  Did she feel underpaid and overworked when she came to the end of the road with her son?  Did Mary complain, “I cooked, cleaned, taught you, dried your tears, washed your clothes, was always there for you and this is the reward I get?”  Luke 2:19 tells us, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” Perhaps at the end she reached into her heart for all the sweet memories and murmured through her tears, “It was enough just to be your mom.”

Yes, there were times I was privileged to teach them new things, referee their disagreements, bandage skinned knees, and provide clean clothes and delicious meals.  I’m thankful they trusted me enough to take my counsel instead of learning life’s lessons on the playground and that they knew their home was a safe place where they could always be comforted.  Being an important part of my sons’ lives as they grew to be men who love God, love their families and still love their mom has been all the pay I required. Steven and Philip, it was enough just to be your mom.

WONDERFUL!!! NOW WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT?

I am always a little suspect of Preachers, Speakers, Bloggers or Facebook Posters who never have a bad day, never make a wrong choice and have a way of looking down their collective noses at those of us who are not so perfect.  Get off your self-built pedestal; GET REAL!!!  To all my readers, my blogs are the images I view in my mirror, of human faults and failings surrounded by God’s endless mercy and grace.

For several months I have been struggling with an issue.  It has been the subject of many discussions with Steve, usually ending with me weeping in despair.  Many nights I have sprinkled my pillow with tears and many mornings have found me on my knees in supplication.  I have made many suggestions to God that I believe would really improve the situation.  Although, I’m sure God was listening to all my amazing ideas, He didn’t seem to want to try any of them.  FINALLY, this weekend, I saw a glimmer of light and realized God has been working on things without my help.  WONDERFUL!!!!  I am dancing and rejoicing…well, ok, I know I should be…it would be the right thing.

Truthfully, instead of sitting on “top of the world” or feeling as if a great weight had been lifted, I felt completely deflated.  WHAT AM I GOING TO PRAY ABOUT NOW?  For months, I have held this problem close; I have caressed it as I wept and pleaded for God to intervene.  It has provided many hours of conversation and solution development but even more important, it has provided wonderful EXCUSES FOR MY OWN INADEQUACIES AND LAZINESS.  What a comfort it is to be able to say, “Well at least I don’t…” or “I just don’t understand; I could never...”  Isn’t it just like God to snatch my beautifully formulated excuses right out from under my nose?  WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT NOW?   How about forgiveness?  YES, this morning found me on my knees repenting and God was not only listening, this time He answered.  HOW GREAT THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US!!!

A favorite Bible story for Sunday School kids is that of “Jonah and the Whale.”  We learn that God commanded Jonah to go and tell the inhabitants of Nineveh to repent or be destroyed.  Jonah disobeyed and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish instead; there was a big storm, Jonah was thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale, spent 3 days in the whale’s belly, was regurgitated on to dry land, and ultimately obeyed God by preaching in Nineveh.  The story doesn’t end with the Sunday School version, however.  After Jonah preached, all of Nineveh, even the animals fasted.  The people repented and God relented.  Jonah 3:10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Like any “Preacher of Righteousness,” Jonah was on the mountaintop rejoicing and praising God; RIGHT?  NOPE, Jonah felt just a little deflated, as we read in Jonah 4:1-2 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. ² So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.  I find it amusing that Jonah is angry with God for showing mercy until I take a look in God’s mirror and see, not Jonah but my distraught face.  I see my own lips mouthing the words of Jonah, “God, it is just like you, after I’ve prayed all these months, you provide a solution.  I knew you would do something like that.  Now what will I pray about?”

There must be times when God looks down, shakes His head, rolls His eyes and asks, “will she ever learn?”  God says to Jonah in verses 4 and 9 “Is it right for you to be angry?”  Then He graciously repeats the question to me and reminds me that Jonah didn’t have himself for an example; I should know better.  So I repent, God forgives and I rejoice.  As to the question, “NOW WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT?”  My email just sounded and sure enough; something important to pray about! 

TRADING THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF – PART 2

Moses has been delayed on the mountain, the Children of Israel become full of doubt and approach Aaron, asking him to make them a god that will go before them… NOW, to the rest of the story. 

Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me"

What did Aaron do? This Priest, anointed for service to the Lord, the leader left in charge; how did he react?  HE TOOK UP AN OFFERING. Now that strains even the elastic bounds of incredulity...no rebuke, no call to repentance, no reminder of God's great deliverance or provision; no...HE TOOK UP AN OFFERING!  Then in verse 4, Aaron steps over the line; And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.  

Aaron had become a “SEEKER-FRIENDLY” leader.  

He had become more concerned with pleasing the people than obeying God.  Once the “Line” has been crossed, further transgressions become a little easier.  

Exodus 35:5 So when Aaron saw it, He built an altar before it.  And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord."

Aaron’s second mistake is revealed, he tried to join the HOLY TO THE PROFANE and proclaim a “FEAST TO THE LORD.”  Oh he built an altar; he used the right words; he invoked the Name of the Lord BUT we cannot mix the HOLY WITH THE PROFANE.  

GOD WILL NOT ALLOW HIS GLORY TO BE MIXED WITH THAT OF A GOLDEN CALF.

GOD IS DISPLEASED!  He tells Moses what is going on and to get off the mountain.   As Moses and Joshua come off the mountain, they hear the noise coming from the celebration and Joshua, hearing the noise, says to Moses, “I think there is war in the camp” and Moses says something so profound, which sums up the sad condition to which Israel had fallen.  

Exodus 32:18 “But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.”

The children of Israel were in control of their own worship.  This God wouldn’t ask anything too hard from them, condemn them or pronounce judgment upon them.  They could compartmentalize this God and feel good about themselves as they “checked” off their daily or weekly duty.  They could decide when to worship and then leave the altar to go about their life until the next self-appointed time of worship.  This God would not follow them or be involved in their daily pursuits.  There would be no “SHOUT OF VICTORY OR CRY OF DEFEAT” with this God; only SINGING.

Moses statement is an indictment not only of the Children of Israel but could be said of the state of many congregations, today.  We have become “weary in the waiting.”  We have given offerings and created golden calves; turning our face from the Glory on the Mountain.  We have created beautiful buildings, with altars and said “Let us make a feast to the Lord.”  We worship with choirs and worship teams; offer programs and homilies.  We prepare our agendas and format our gatherings, appealing to guests and members in rote fashion, leaving little room for the “thundering and lightening” of the Spirit.  A prayer of dismissal is prayed and we walk away the same way we entered; unchanged.  If you stop your activity and really listen, what is it you hear?  There is no “noise of a shout of victory,” “no crying of defeat or repentance;” it is only the “sound of singing you hear.”  We have traded the GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF!

Exodus 32:20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

God’s Glory will NOT dwell beside a Golden Calf!!!  It is time to burn the golden calves in our lives and grind them to powder.  Whatever “calf” you have built in your life that has become an object of worship, MUST be destroyed.  If you desire REVIVAL in your church or in your life, it is time to burn the golden calf.  If we ever want to hear the SHOUT OF VICTORY or the CRYING OF REPENTANCE, the golden calf must be ground to powder and scattered.  I LONG, ONCE MORE, TO LINGER IN THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN!!!:)

TRADING THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF-PART 1

Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

We enter the journey thru the wilderness at the point where Moses has gone up the mountain at the command of the Lord to receive Divine Instruction to deliver to the Children of Israel.  It seemed that Moses had been gone for a length of time and their faith began to wane.  It had been just a short time before that they had witnessed the miracle of deliverance from Egypt.  God had parted the Red Sea, drowned the enemy, given them a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night to lead them, gave them sweet water at Marah, and rained Manna from Heaven to feed them.  What had brought them from victory to doubt in such a short time?  

Why would they so willingly trade the Glory on the Mountain for a Golden Calf?

The first clue may be the last line of verse 1, “for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”  Mistake #1, the Children of Israel forgot WHO brought them out of Egypt; they had put their faith in the MAN, God had anointed to lead them instead of the GOD who had delivered them.  

What led them to put their faith in Moses rather than God?  To find the answer, we will backtrack to Exodus 20.  Through Moses, God had commanded all the Children of Israel, to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves to prepare for the presence of the Lord.  They drew near the mountain as Moses ascended to commune with God but fear consumed them and we read this...

  Exodus 20:18-19 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”  

FEAR consumed them and they willingly traded the GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN!

What were they afraid of? What had occurred in their minds and heart from Exodus 24:7, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” to Exodus 32:1, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us.”  

Surely it wasn’t fear of the God who had delivered them, the God who had made provision in their time of need, the God who had fought for them and destroyed their enemy; what were they afraid of?  

Perhaps, it was a fear of the Holiness of God and not measuring up to His standard.  Maybe it was the fear of a loss of their own will that would result from total commitment?  Or, could it have been a “fear of the unknown?”  

Whatever personal fears consumed the Children of Israel, it brought them to Exodus 32 and pleading with Aaron to give them a GOLDEN CALF instead of the GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN.

The story continues in "TRADING THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF-PART 2"