Love is a Powerful Thing!

“A mother’s love is a powerful thing but it can’t ‘own’ a child nor can it even keep a child safe.” That is certainly true. I cannot control someone else’s safety if they choose to step out from the protective umbrella of God when they try to escape stresses by drinking or taking drugs, or participate in other lifestyle choices to avoid doing the right things.

I can love my daughter with all my heart but if she walks away from safety, she’s taken herself into very dangerous territory. I cannot make her do what is right. She now must choose to help herself by submitting to counseling, rehab and to God himself. Right now it doesn’t appear that she will do that anytime soon. But I am praying that she will change her thinking and turn to God. And for myself that I will yet see the hand of God on her life. As my friend reminded me just this week, I need to pray and see her in my mind as God would have her, whole..rejoicing in Him.

“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea..” Ps 46 God is always permanent and stable; He NEVER changes. Corrie ten Boom said, ”In order to realize the worth of the Anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.”

When will our daughter feel enough of the stress and chaos and turn to the only Anchor that will hold her steady—Jesus Christ? Heb. 6:18 says “These two things cannot change; God cannot lie when he makes a promise and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we’ve been given. We have this Hope as an Anchor for the soul, sure and strong!” Lord, save her from herself!

You, O Lord, are the only One who can bring this to pass..I will stand on my watchtower and await your powerful hand in her life!
*copyrighted 2006

Those Restless Nights!

“ I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.” ( Ps 3:5)

Are you ever fearful? Does it keep you up at night? Have you ever considered that everything looks and feels worse at night? If you have ever been ill for several days at a time, you probably have dreaded trying to fall asleep. Everyone else seems to be at peace; snoring right next to you or down the hall dreaming sweet dreams.

There have been nights like that for me. I remember when I lay awake at night thinking about the next morning’s outpatient surgery, running many different scenarios through my head. Would the lab results come back cancerous or benign? Having lost my mother to breast cancer, the seed of unease is ever ready to bloom forth with fear and loathing.

There were the nights when a child was away from home because of poor choices. I didn’t know where she was laying her head as I tried to close my eyes on my soft pillow. I knew that as parents we were doing the "right” thing, but it felt terribly “wrong” now by cover of night wondering about my child’s safety. I remember praying in that situation, “God, You alone know where she is tonight and whom she is with. Guide her back safely to YOU first and then to us. Help my unbelief; because I don’t know how all of this will turn out. Help us all to REST safely in You, Lord.” I did sleep that night knowing the Lord was watching over my child, no matter where she was. I can cry out to God when I can’t even cry out to a close friend.

My Lord watches over me when the enemies of fear, worry, frustration, doubt and anger surround me on every side. God will do that for you also. He will slap each one of those enemies in the face, insulting them for accosting you and will remove the hold of panic on our hearts. He replaces my enemies with peace and safety for His name’s sake and allows my mind to REST in His keeping. Let Him do that for you today, also.


PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, that we can come to you and expect you to give us your peace, if we have given our hearts to you. Help us to remember to turn to you immediately when situations arise, so we can lie down and sleep at night.
*copyrighted 2005

When Patience Wears Thin

“How strange that men should try to outwit God..O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is still time. Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:1; 10-11)

It isn’t just kings and rulers who try to outwit God. Unfortunately, it is a common disease that infects the everyday man or woman also. God is patient to a point with those who try to outwit him. But eventually our time runs out, and at some point, at His discretion, we meet the end of the rope.

My husband was in law enforcement and can tell you first hand his many stories along those lines. His patience as a cop can run out also. There was a teenage boy whom Bob had tried to reason with and win over. He tried to talk some sense into the boy before he got into worse trouble because of the “friends” he was spending time around.

He had even called the boy’s parents to explain what the consequences would be if their son continued down this slimy path. The parents were receptive, but clearly had lost control, unable to persuade their son to “come clean.” Eventually time had run out, without this boy making the right decision. He had knowledge of the whereabouts of another young man who was wanted by the police, yet he would not be the one to turn him in. So, as happens sometimes, a task force rounded up all friends of this boy and carted them all off for “harboring a criminal”. It took this dose of reality to bring the boy to his senses. Contact with the wrath of the police, brought the reality that he had best make some changes in his life.

Thankfully, he was in church the following Sunday with his parents. I pray he will turn away from this troubled path he had been on and turn his life over to God before it is ultimately too late. God will be patient with us to a point. The problem is, do we know what point that is? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go so far down the wrong path that I can’t see “the light” anymore. As my friend Patsy Clairmont’s Aunt Pearl used to say, “There ain’t nothin’ like a whoopin’ from the Lawrd.” “Oh the joys of those who put their trust in HIM!” Psalm 2:12b

PRAYER: Lord help us when we put too much of our confidence and security into the things of this world. Remind us Lord that it is you we need to depend upon. Help us to get alone with you and pour out our hearts.

*copyrighted 2005

Lacking Wisdom You Say?

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Do you worry about your future and wonder how you will get by? Will we be able to exist if the Social Security benefits evaporate? Do you wonder if your stock plans and 401k’s will pay off? It seems nothing is for certain these days, with the world stock market and economies wreaking havoc in the newspapers and on our lives. Maybe our dependence and focus has shifted in directions that cause us to go round and round, never getting to our destination. And if we do arrive there, we are so confused and disoriented we are of little use.

Perhaps we need to get alone, out of the hustle and bustle of our everyday world, and seek some solitude and silence. Maybe we need to lift our voice, weak as it may be and begin to concentrate on the Creator who is always with us. “For every animal of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine.”(Ps. 50:10-11 ) NIV.

And though not many of us could do it like the great psalmist, David, nor like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music; we must open our mouths and cry out to the God who understands us intimately and loves us just as we are! Insecurities, inabilities, warts and all, God cares about our welfare and is just waiting for us to call upon Him for the answers we so desperately need.

PRAYER: Lord help us when we put too much of our confidence and security into the things of this world. Remind us Lord that it is you we need to depend upon. Help us to get alone with you and pour out our hearts.

*copyrighted 2005

My Wee Mee

The Tree God Plants

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes; buit its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8


"The wind that blows can never kill the tree God plants;
it blows east and it blows west,
the tender leaves have little rest,
But any wind that blows is best.
The tree that God plants strikes
deeper root, grows higher still,
spreads greater boughs, for God's good
will meets all its wants.

There is no storm hath power to blast
the tree God knows;
no thunderbolt, nor beating rain,
nor lightning flash, nor hurricane;
when they are spent, it doth remain,
The tree God knows
through every tempest stands
fast and from its first day to
its last, still fairer grows."
(Author Unknown)

Finishing Well!

We all have seen end of the year articles which focus on setting goals, new year's resolutions, developing a "game plan" and establishing or re-ordering our priorites. Now, all of this is helpful, insightful and often necessary. We often need a "push" to get off the dime; it can be a major task, depending on what kind of year you have just ended.

What about "finishing well"? It's at the opposite end of what many have strived for on New Year's Day as they recite their resolutions. For those of us in business, we have all read the Five Minute Managers, the Five Minute Salesmen, we've seen 30 second commercials, and at home we've seen the mini-series (which drags out into 14 episodes); we've purchased the abridged editions of epic novels, popularized by Reader's Digest, we studied Clift Notes in school to complete an assignment that should have been done weeks ago!

Too often we'd rather quit early than stick it out, or we'd rather take a short cut if it just doesn't fit into our schedules. Dieting and exercize sound like the right thing, but two days later we find they were overrated! Finishing anything can be work, so we bail out and blame others or find a convenient excuse to hang our lack of motivation upon. We want results and we want them now, but we are unwilling to pay the price for it.

Things of value don't come about without putting in time (the PITs)~~ spending time in the pit reaps results, and there really is no other way to accomplish it, other than putting in the time. Sometimes it is the pits, we feel unappreciated, misunderstood, taken advantage of, discouraged, disillusioned, depressed even! But don't quit--it won't always be the best, there will be the lows--but don't quit, don't become the "spectator"--be a participant!

It's like the story about the famous composer, pianist, Ignace Jan Paderewski. It is said that he was about to give a recital, a performance for which the theater was rapidly filling with his devoted audience. A young mother had brought her young son, whom she was hoping would be influenced by the great Paderewski. It had been difficult to get her son to practice, but he had enjoyed playing chopsticks. The lights began to go dim, and the mother looked around to find her young son, not on the seat next to her, but sitting on the piano bench on stage. The crowd had begun to murmur and peer about for the young lad's guardian. Just then the young boy began to play chopsticks, much to his mother's dismay. However, before anyone realized what was happening, the Master, Paderewski had sat down on the bench beside him and was saying in his ear, "don't quit, don't quit, keep going!" while he played a countermeasure complimenting the lad's chopsticks. When they were done, the crowd stood to their feet shouting "bravo, bravo!" The distraught mother was overwhelmed and the young boy received a standing ovation, along with the Master!

Do you sometimes feel you have practiced and practiced this piece of music called "life" and it only sounds like chopsticks? There is One, the Master, who will come alongside us and He is saying "Don't quit, don't quit! You are doing great! Keep on!" He plays the "countermeasure" that makes our chopsticks sound like a concerto! We give up too quickly! We don't want to practice those difficult pieces, we just want to play chopsticks... Jesus knew it would be difficult at times and so he sent us Someone to "come alongside". He said He would have to go in order to send us the One who would lead us into all truth, guide us, remind us of His words, and pray for us when we can only groan in agony of heart. He knows what we need before we even speak it... Listen! He is saying to you and to me, "Don't give up! Keep going! You're doing great! I am right here beside you, don't give up!" So as the New Year begins, perhaps you have wanted to quit... remember His words and listen for that beautiful melody being played in countermeasure by the One who loves you most! (Adapted from Chuck Swindoll)