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To Simply Trust

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Over the last few months, I've talked about trusting God a lot. I feel like these days are stressful, hard, and full of struggle. Because of this, the need to trust God is even more important. However,with all of these obstacles, the very reason we need to trust God is what makes it so hard to trust Him. While driving, a thought occurred that I think can challenge us all. So, here goes... have you noticed how easily we trust the FDA to determine what is good for us to eat?  There have been things that I enjoy eating; however, after the FDA has found it bad for us, I stop eating it. Not because I don't want it or it doesn't bring me pleasure, but because the FDA has found that it could harm me, so I abstain from eating it. Why is it that we can trust a government agency to decide what is good and not good for us without becoming angry or saying they are unfair, but we become angry when God tells us what is bad for us for the very same reason?  He does this because God knows...
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From Death to Life

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 I live in a beautiful area. Many flock to my area to see all the leaves changing colors. Yellows, reds, and oranges color the hills and mountains. As we look at the trees, we think beautiful. However, what we actually see death. As the weather becomes color and the days shorter, the pigment in leaves, chlorophyll, breaks down leaving the orange and yellow pigments, carotenoids behind. The leaf also forms a layer at the base of the leaf, cutting the life system off. This results in the leaves dying. However, the cycle is nessessary in order for the tree to conserve energy during the harsh winters. In order for life to continue for the tree, something needs to die . When we look at our spiritual lives, it's very similar.   Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV   For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.   11  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but lat...
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The Feast

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  My church always comes through for potlucks. My husband likes to say they have the gift of potluck. We always bring all of our small groups together for the first Sunday of the month. Since it has been a long week, I took the easy way out and bought some store- bought cookies. Of course, when all of the homemade masterpieces arrived, my store- bought cookies paled in comparison. Who wants to settle for a shelf-stable cookie when you can have homemade cherry cheesecake or cream pie? Needless to say, our children's Wednesday meals will have the edition of store- bought cookies. This brings me to this week's thought. God has a wonderful plan for your life. However, so many times, we settle for a poor substitution of God's best for our lives. It may not seem that bad, but it just isn't as good as what God intended. My challenge is to allow God to guide you and submit to His leadership. He already knows what you need before you even ask, so why would we want to miss out o...
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Your Past Doesn't Define You

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 As a pastor's wife, I cross paths with many people. One of the most common things I have heard is, "God could never work through me because of where I come from." So often we allow our past to define our value to God. Let me take a moment to argue that your past does not determine your value to God. Let's get into the cool part of this. In the Old Testament, Numbers 16, Moses has led his people out of Egypt. They have built a tent as the Tabernacle for God. During this time a man named Korah, who was a Levite dedicated to working in the Tabernacle, decided the whole community was holy, not just Moses and his people. Therefore, they should be allowed to lead the people.  He took 250 men to raise a rebellion. Moses addressed them by telling them to bring incense to worship God, and He would bring incense. They would see who God called. As they brought the incense, God warned the people to move away from the tents of the wicked. Then, the ground opened and swallowed K...
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A Flower is Still a Flower

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  Since Fall has finally come, I wanted to join the bandwagon with Fall mums. I have driven by so many stands with these big, beautiful mums in so many bright colors. I voiced my excitement for these mums and my sweet husband heard. He appeared one day with two pots of yellow mums. The only negative was that they were green with one little flower poking out of the greenery. After mentioning this, my husband pointed out that by being green, my mums would sprout later so that I enjoyed color for much longer. I couldn't fault this, so I waited. Nearly two months later, my one little yellow flower peeks through the greenery like a clown in the middle of a funeral, bright in an otherwise solemn surrounding. Of course, this became the joke around my house. It's like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of mums. Here's the spiritual nugget. It becomes so easy to focus on what you don't have that you can't value and appreciate what you do. If only I had more money, meanwhile,...
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Clothed in What?

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  I attended a women's retreat this weekend. While there, there was a statement made that really challenged me. "When we don't put on the armor of God each day, we open ourselves up to the enemies attacks. Naked Christians (unarmored Christians) are not pleasant to look at."  I thought about the TV show , Naked and Afraid. People are dropped off in harsh conditions with no clothes and only their wits to survive. Due to lack of clothing, the harsh conditions create obstacles that cripple the contestants ability to function. God gave us the ability to protect ourselves from the harsh conditions of this world. We have the helmet of salvation to guard our minds from thoughts that intrude and cripple our walk with God- those thought that tell you that you'll never be good enough to earn God's love. We can never be good enough. We all fail, but my salvation reminds me that this is the point. Jesus came because we could never be good enough; however, with Christ, He...
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Crazy Dog Mom

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  Over the years, I have owned several dogs, and the bigger the better. As I was walking my grand puppy this weekend, I started thinking about what my neighbors must be thinking as I plead with my dogs to do their business. Imagine late at night the sound of a desperate woman repeating the mantra of, "Come on. Poop. Go poopy. Poop. Poop. Poop." They must think I'm crazy, but I  read about a study where dog owners who repeat one phrase over and over saw a quicker poop time for their dogs; thus, the poop mantra. As the dogs hear my voice, they become so familiar with it that they automatically respond. Wouldn't it be great if we become so familiar with God's voice that it's second nature to automatically respond to His voice? Keep in mind   that immediate obedience comes in a very similar way to the dog training. It's repetition. As we seek God regularly, we become responsive to His voice. The more we listen, the more we recognize His commands. So as I wand...
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