Waiting for Prince Charming

            I woke up this morning reflecting on how blessed I am to have a husband like mine. I am I do not understand why God has given me such a gift, but I am SO thankful. He is my Prince Charming. J (I know…oh brother…) I am a hopeless romantic and I thank God for every day that we get to spend together. We have been married for thirty-two years and dated for a couple of years before that. He has been so many things to me and our family through those years. I could never list them all on a single blog, but I will attempt to at least list some of them here, but before I do that I want to say a few things about waiting for your “Prince Charming”.

            God knows me better than I even know myself. He knew exactly who I would need in my life and He knew who my husband needed in his. This reminds me of the story of Creation, in Genesis, when God created Adam and Eve. God knew that Adam would need someone who was made specifically for him, someone who would fit him perfectly. In fact, God created Eve from Adam. I believe God granted my husband and me that same blessing. I feel like we were truly meant for each other. He is my soul mate. I am so glad that I waited for him all of those years ago. I had a few other “boyfriends” but none of them would have been a good husband. God protected me from some serious consequences when He led me away from them and to my sweet husband. In a way, my husband rescued me.

            My advice (not that I’m an expert) is that if you are a young girl, anxious for a relationship, or even a mature adult longing for someone to do life with, please go to the Lord in prayer, and please ask Him who He has for you. Please seek His guidance and wait patiently for His answer. He will answer, I promise. His Word tells us that if we seek Him, He will answer and we will find Him. Trust Him. He knows what and who you need. Do not be in such a hurry. This is one of the most important decisions in your life other than accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I know so many young ladies who are desperate to have a boyfriend, to have a baby, to be in a relationship, to just have a guy on their arm that they often sacrifice so much and then end up alone and disillusioned. It makes me so sad to see girls get so deeply hurt because they did not take the time to seek God first in their relationships. What is the hurry girls? You have your whole life ahead of you!

            Marriage is a lifetime commitment and it takes a LOT of work. It is not for wimps! J It is not a 50-50 thing like some folks say. It takes a 100% commitment from both people in a marriage, but when you devote yourself first to the Lord and then to your spouse and eventually your family, it is SO worth it. It can be wonderful. Of course, no marriage is without challenges, but when you face them together with God’s guidance and help, they make you stronger and your love grows through them. There is no perfect marriage because there are no perfect people, but there is a perfect God to guide you.

            Well, I guess I’ve preached enough here and I want to save some space for mentioning a few of the reasons why I appreciate my sweet husband so much. I love him so much and he brings such joy to my heart. He is truly a gift from above!

 …he loves Jesus

…he is so loving and kind to me, our sons and everyone.

…he is so funny!

…he is so generous to everyone. He constantly gives all that he has for others.

…he is a very hard worker and a great provider.

…he cares for us in so many practical ways.

…he always says that he is happy when he knows I’m happy.

…his is an incredible father to our sons and MANY other young folks.

…he is so supportive and understanding of me and my arthritic disease (and so faithful to massage my aching joints when I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed in the morning!)

…he has devoted his whole life to taking care of me, our boys and now our sweet daughter-in-law, and so many others.

…I love our walks together, our talks together, our weekends away, our Cheese Shop lunches, our cheesy Hallmark movie nights, our “Once Upon a Time" nights, our frozen yogurt nights, working alongside one another, sitting beside him in church, and I enjoy every minute with him. I never tire of spending time with him.

…he is so helpful.

…he is so smart.

…he is always willing to lend a hand with so many things – dishes, yard work, planting our veggie garden, working on our house, taking me back and forth to doctors…and he even makes sure that there is always toilet paper! What a guy! (Who else does that??)

…he is amazing! (He is human just like the rest of us, but he is pretty amazing!)

…I love him so much

…and finally, he loves me just the way I am and for that I am eternally grateful.

 I pray that this encourages someone in some way. I pray that you will always seek the Lord first. He will be a Father and a Husband to you if for some reason you find yourself alone. Wait patiently on Him, take your deepest desires to Him, for He cares so deeply for you.

 God bless you!

Worry Wart

This morning, (November 7, 2012) like so many Americans I woke up with the election on my mind, wondering what the outcome was, although I had a feeling it would turn out as it did. I was right. As soon as I rolled over, picked up my phone and checked out who our next president would be, my heart became anxious. I tend to be a bit of a worry wart. The truth is, I went to bed with an anxious heart. I started worrying about my loved ones jobs, about the loss of values in this country, about our kids futures, about my friends who have struggling small businesses, and about the possible cuts to our military families who give so much to protect our freedom. My worry became anxiety kept me awake last night for several hours. When I do not place my focus in the right place, I tend to go to my worry place, and that is not a good thing. Worrying gets me nowhere. Ever.

In Philippians 4:6-7, (one of my favorite verses) it reminds us that we are not to be anxious about anything, but rather, to take our requests to our Father, with an attitude of thanksgiving and as we do this, we will receive peace that surpasses all understanding. Following that, in verse 8, God’s Word tells us what we should focus on instead. I have found that if I focus on the right rather than worry, not only does it calm my heart, but it gives me peace. For me, finding peace in this unstable world boils down to one thing, who do I put my trust in? Is it other people, a president, money, things, or other various “idols”? Well, last night when I went to bed, I think my mind was more focused on some presidential election than on the power of God. Peace was hard to find because I was not focusing in the right direction – upward.

            This morning, after I crawled slowly out of bed, I fell (gently) to my knees, and spent a good deal of time in prayer for our country, our president and for those I love who will be most affected by the outcome of this election. I agonized in prayer for our hurting nation. I went out to the kitchen for a hot cup of tea and some oatmeal and then I went to the only place that I could – God’s Word. I quietly searched for Scriptures about trust. I found many verses. I found peace, I found hope, and I found a God that is bigger than economic instability, bigger than my fears and worries, and bigger than any presidential election. God is still in control. He never stopped being in control. God is able. God is faithful. If we are His children, we know that He already has the victory, that His hands are upon us, and that He cares about us. He is stronger!

            This is not a political post. So please do not read it that way. It is not about who won or who didn’t. It is about the hope of Jesus Christ. It is about trusting the only One who is trustworthy. The president is not and never will be our Savoir. He is just a man. We should never put our trust and faith in any man. Every man will eventually fail. We must put our trust in our God. He is our only HOPE.

            I am not going to lie, I am concerned about the outcome of our choices in this nation. Does it break my heart knowing that our current president supports the killing of innocent babies? Absolutely. Do I believe that we are on the brink of an economic cliff? I fear that we are. Do I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman? Yes I do. Do I fear that my husband, son, daughter, or friend could lose their jobs? Unfortunately, I do. But, the bottom line is, that in spite of all of these things, I know that I can still put my trust in God. He cares deeply about the lives of the unborn babies who have been killed and I’m sure He grieves deeply. He sees the financial state of this nation. He hears the cries of those who can barely make ends meet. He feels the pain of the homeless. He understands the trials of the unemployed. He also sees the heart of every man and will deal with those who act contrary to His Word. He is good, but He is also just.

            I want to leave you with the verses that helped me find peace this morning. I urge you to meditate on them and to renew your trust in the Lord. I am going to do the same in these uncertain days. I say uncertain, but the truth is that they are not uncertain. God already wins in the end. God is victorious. He never changes. There is no uncertainty about the future for us believers. We are His and He is with us. Do not lose hope. He is bigger, and He is stronger. May God bless you with peace in the coming days. May these verses point your heart and your eyes in the right direction. As always, thank you for reading.

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

 “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” Psalm 13:5

 “My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors” Psalm 31:15

 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”Isaiah 26:3-4

 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

 “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God”. Psalm 20:7

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

 

 

 

             

Silver Lining

This past week for some strange reason, I lost my voice. I’ve never really experienced this before. I’ve had a cough before or maybe a scratchy throat, but I’ve never lost my voice. It has been interesting.(I'm sure others have enjoyed it more than I have!) I’m not sure yet what the cause is, but I really hope it gets better soon. If you know me, I love to talk and sing and it has been really hard not being able to do so.

Like many things, if you look hard enough, you can find some kind of silver lining. Well, I’m looking, but I am not sure I have found one yet. However, this morning, I did have an interesting experience and maybe it was actually a silver lining after all. I usually sing on our worship team or in the choir at our church. I LOVE to worship the Lord through music. It is my passion, my ministry and it brings me such great joy. I cannot imagine my life without it. My iTunes account is filled with over two thousand worship songs! That’s how much I love it!

Today when my husband and I went to church, we sat out in the congregation rather than being up on the stage in the choir like normal. I’ve had to do this before and it always gives me a different perspective on things, as it did today. I was not physically able to sing with my voice because I do not have one right now, so I had to “sing” in other ways. I am usually pretty expressive in worship anyway, but today I found myself wishing that I knew sign language so that I could express myself through that kind of “words”. At first, I found it hard to worship because I am so used to singing during worship. The choir sang a beautiful song and I grieved because I wanted to sing with them so badly. Then we moved on to the worship set. One of the songs that we did is a song called “From the Inside Out”. The lyrics and music are beautiful. I eventually closed my eyes and tried to focus on the lyrics and on the other voices around me. I went from grieving to worshiping pretty quickly. I had to work hard not to sing, but once I closed my eyes, my focus shifted. I began to really think about the lyrics. I found myself praying what I was “singing” in my head. Soon, my heart was fully involved in worship. I could feel God’s Presence in our Worship Center and in my heart. It was an incredible experience as I worshiped Him quietly. He is so worthy of our worship and praise. Every part of me was worshiping Him. I got lost in the moment. It was beautiful. It was not about me at all, but about HIM.

I really look forward to getting my voice back, but I am thankful for the worship that I experienced today in spite of my not being able to sing out with my voice. I am thankful that God prepared my heart through other people’s voices and got me ready to hear His Word being preached, and what a message it was! I am so thankful for our pastors who spend hours studying the Bible, and planning worship services so that we can learn about and worship the Lord in spirit and truth. I am also thankful that God is changing me from the inside out. (after all, what is in the heart is what comes out in my behavior-another blog for another day) My prayer is that He will consume me from the inside out like the song says, and that He will continue to transform my heart. I want to make Him first in my life. I pray that my offerings of praise will be pleasing to Him. He deserves our very best and that is what I want to give Him, whether it is with my voice or with my hands. Today gave me a new appreciation for being able to worship through singing. In some ways I have taken that for granted. God has put in me such a deep desire to worship Him through music. I look forward to getting over this crud and being able to sing to Him with everything I am worth. The Bible says to make a joyful noise. Well, today I was not able to do that physically, so I did it with my hands and with my smile. I lifted my face up to Him and offered Him a different kind of song – a quiet expression of worship from my heart. Even though I missed singing, it was a blessing to experience worship differently and quietly today.  I’ve included the lyrics of the song I mentioned. They are beautiful. Even as I type them now, I am listening to the song and my heart is worshiping Him again, quietly, without a single spoken word. I am so thankful for the gift of worship!

"From The Inside Out"(Hillsong Music – Joel Houston)

 A thousand times I've failed

 Still your mercy remains

 Should I stumble again

 Still I'm caught in your grace

 Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades

            Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul

 I give you control

 Consume me from the inside out

 Let justice and praise

 Become my embrace

 To love you from the inside out

 

Your will above all else

 My purpose remains

 The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

 Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades

 Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul

 I give you control

 Consume me from the inside out

 Let justice and praise

 Become my embrace

 To love you from the inside out

Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades

 Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

 And the cry of my heart is to bring you praise

 From the inside out

 Lord my soul cries out