Hope

The waiting game….


“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2,3 Jesus

To me Heaven will be like one enormous family reunion, the best one we could ever imagine, and it won’t have an end. No endings, no partings, no good-byes.
We won’t have to leave, go back to dismal jobs, go back to the old routines and rhythms of life that we have to fit ourselves back into.

Everyone will be glad to see each other and no one goes home, because we will all already be home!

A giant church supper where everyone is welcome and nobody is a stranger.

All of life is some form of waiting, forward looking.
It is the momentum of life that keeps us going….
Here in Arizona, in the heat of summer, we know about waiting.
We wait for cool breezes, relief from the merciless heat.
The time for open windows and dining al fresco instead of al fry-o!
Or we wait for the weekend,
Retirement,
Vacation,
Kids to move out.
Kids to come back….

It is good though, to pause in the waiting, to savor what is happening right now this very moment. Enjoy the process of waiting because there is beauty in that too!

But someday our wait for everything will be over and we will hear Him say, “Welcome Home……”

Is there a major life event you are waiting for right now? Maybe more than one? What is it that makes the waiting easier?

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Philippians 3:20-21

Lights along the path…..


“You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.” Colossians 1:21-23 The Message

We are Christ’s messengers of Good News. Like lights along the pathway of life, we are to bring light to those around us. We have the best news that was ever given to mankind. Pastor Will gave a great analogy yesterday. I am paraphrasing here, “We call all of our neighbors and friends when we hear that Chick-fil-A is giving away free sandwiches, but when it comes to sharing the Good News of salvation to a lost and dying world we keep silent.”

The other day my co-worker was talking excitedly about a documentary he watched the night before. It was all about how nature works together to provide just the right balance for sustaining life. It was all very evolutionary and scientific. I listened for a moment, nodding in agreement. Then I said, “Yes, it is amazing how everything is perfectly in balance, I believe that God knew exactly what it would take to sustain life and that is how He created it.” He was good natured about it, being open to different views. I couldn’t stay silent.

Then I think, would the Apostle Paul have stopped there? The Acts church was adding to their numbers daily There is someone who may be waiting for you or me to tell them what they most need to hear. They are sitting in darkness waiting for someone to show them the light of Christ. How can we show someone the light when they don’t even know they are sitting in the dark? And how can we show someone the light unless we have come out of the darkness ourselves?

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:26-31 Read the rest of the account here.

Where would I be today if someone had not shared with me? I can’t even think of it. Grateful today for a God who has withheld nothing…..eternal life, His Son, the joy of creation, knowing who set the stars in the sky, peace in turbulence, knowing He will never leave me, He knows my heart, my name, every hair on my head, he holds me in His palm…..#392 and counting. Happy Birthday Dad! Thank you for being my light then and now!
holy experience

It is well…..

Bing Images, New River UK

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

These are the verses I learned, but there are two more that are worth looking up….

Horatio Spafford

“It Is Well with My Soul” is a very influential hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss.

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

This old hymn popped into my mind on the way to work today and I just couldn’t help singing it….what is it about those Hymns that can make you feel all wiggly inside when you hear them?

Do you have a favorite?

You follow me…..


“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” John 21:20-23

Jesus and Peter were walking along the shore, birds flying overhead, water lapping gently…..I can almost see the expression on both Peter and Jesus’ faces when Jesus said, “What is that to you, you follow me.” Jesus never had a problem getting right to the heart of the matter. I can imagine Him looking right at Peter and then Peter looking down because He realized that he was being admonished. I don’t think Jesus said this harshly, I think He probably had his arm around Peter when He said it. He was trying to get Peter back on track, back to focusing on Him. Just what we need to hear today. It is so easy to lose focus, but I feel His steady gaze turned on me now. “Lori, what is that to you? You follow me.”

But Lord, what about when I feel so overwhelmed I can scarcely take a breath….
You follow me
What about when I can’t see where I am going….
You follow me
The pressure is blotting out all my peace….
You follow me, for I am going before you today.

My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

Why do you think Peter was concerned about what would happen to John? What are some of pitfalls of comparing our lives to others?

Eternity in our hearts

Stairway at Butchart Gardens

Living with eternity always in mind changes our perspective on everything else that happens in this life. This is the great challenge, to keep this fixed always in the backdrop of our hearts and minds. In this way, nothing can totally devastate us as it would if we didn’t have this hope.

Everything around us, however difficult or bleak the circumstance may be, continues to be colored with this one idea, this one thought. This is not all there is….. Sometimes we feel as if we have one foot in this world and one in the next and we feel the weight of it when life gets to be too much. Some would say that living like that would taint this life, as someone who goes around with one ear closed, half paying attention to everything around them, but really it turns the volume up. Everything somehow seems more brilliant, more vibrant and alive, like a deaf or blind person who has just got their senses for the first time.

Paul felt the weight of eternity too……

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; Philippians 1:21-23

There is no going around it. We will constantly seek more in this life, because we know instinctively that there is more….He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

What do you think? Does knowing we have eternity make you sometimes want to give up on this life? Or does it make it easier to go on?

Jesus is no secret……


In a society that seeks quick fixes and the flavor of the month, along with financial abundance, the movie The Secret became a phenomenon in 2006. This led to appearances on Oprah and other popular television programs and media venues for speakers such as James Arthur Ray, whose book Harmonic Wealth rose on the best sellers lists and drew a steady flow of registrants for his expensive spiritual retreats. It was at one of these retreats held in Sedona, Arizona, that dozens fell ill and at least 2 participants died as a result of something that went awry at a sweat lodge ceremony. Article taken from Examiner.com, Philadelphia

In fact, 3 ended up losing their lives.

Last night on Dateline.NBC they were recapping events from this tragedy. They interviewed some of the participants, all of whom are intelligent individuals with successful careers and bright futures. But there was a common thread wound around all of them.They were looking for something they hadn’t found yet.

The Angel Valley Retreat Center, where the weekend events took place, is owned by Michael and Amayra Hamilton, who rented it to Ray for a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” retreat that promised to “absolutely change your life.”
Participants paid between $9000.00-$10,000.00 for the retreat.

One man emerged from the Sweat lodge halfway through the ceremony because he thought he was having a heart attack, and instead of summoning medical aid, Ray said “It’s a good day to die,” according to a search warrant affidavit. Source: CBS.com news

Participants, at least the ones who made it out alive, continue to be haunted by events of that fateful weekend in 2009. It did change their lives, but not for the better. Three lives ended unnecessarily only because they thought they were doing something good. They put their very lives in the hands of the wrong person.

People do it everyday. We’ve all done it at one time or another.

But there is One who contains within Himself all we will ever need to be fulfilled in this life and that is Jesus. No, I didn’t say rich, I said fulfilled.

What makes Him qualified?

He has been here since the beginning. John 1:1
At the appointed time He came to earth, born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14
He lived a sinless life. 1 John 3:5
Voluntarily gave His life for us by going to the cross. 1 Peter 2:24
Rose again on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:4
Appeared to many eyewitnesses after His resurrection. Acts 13:31
Ascended to the Father, where He intercedes for us today. Romans 8:34
Gives us His Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. John 16:7
At the appointed time He will come back. Hebrews 10:37

James Arthur Ray is charged with 3 counts of manslaughter and faces a minimum of three years in prison and a maximum of 12 for each manslaughter charge.

I pray for those today who continue to be deceived by James Arthur Ray and others like him…….He continues to lecture on his website.

Answers from the Psalms


You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Psalm 81:7

Counting hope today in expectation of the answers……”In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation!” Psalm 5:3 We can pray in expectation because we know He is faithful. I love the idea of David laying his requests before God in the morning…..He wasn’t afraid to be open and transparent before God….and vulnerable. He knew that God would answer because of all the times He had answered in the past. He also knew that true faith means coming before the Lord with full assurance that God had already worked it out!

David made some big mistakes just like we all have, but he still knew that he was God’s child. He knew that his help truly came from the Lord and no one else. Maybe you had a parent you could never count on. You always had hope that at least one time they would come through for you, but they never did. One time give a word of encouragement. One time, show up for the game. One time, say they loved you, were pulling for you, were on your side. You gave up, on them, on yourself….feeling you must not be worth it.

But take heart, because our Heavenly Father is not like that. He is in the bleachers cheering you on. He always has been. He says, you are mine and you are worthy! We need to look no further than Calvary to remind ourselves that God thinks we are indeed worth it.

“For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” Psalm 61:5 #361

“They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” Psalm 22:5 #362

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 #363

#364 flowers in summer, #365 laughter when all else fails, #366 answers, expected and unexpected, #367 the gift of health, #368 time off work, #369 air-conditioning when it’s 112 in the shade, #370 parents that were there……

holy experience

Lo, I am with you always…


This morning right before I awoke I dreamed I was staring at the sky much like the one above, and as I was gazing at it, a very large hand came reaching down out of the clouds. It was huge, a God-sized hand, the biggest thing I have ever seen in the sky. I gasped and turned around, hoping someone else was seeing it too. But nobody did.

I think sometimes God sends us little messages to let us know that He is with us. He knows we are weak, get tired, lose hope, need our spirits lifted. I know it lifted mine this morning. I don’t think there was any deep message in it, except that God was saying, “I am here.” Maybe this message of hope is for you today.

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 Even Jesus needed angels to comfort Him in the garden before He went to the cross. If He needed their comfort, what makes us think they don’t tend to us as well? I think if we could really see the spiritual activity all around us, it would greatly change how we live from day to day.

Jesus knew of it, and the demons who greeted Him knew of it too, but most of the time we are woefully ignorant. And sometimes, the here and now is painful, blinding us to it even further. All we can see is the hopelessness of our circumstances. Sometimes though He breaks through and reaches us where we are.

I had just lost my husband and I was walking around in a black vacuum. The grand-piano sized grief had settled on my chest and I carried it everywhere. One day I was checking out at the grocery store. As the checker handed me my change and looked at me, I felt some undescribable. It was as if Jody himself was looking out through his eyes saying, “Everything’s gonna be fine.” I have always thought it was an angel. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14
All these years later, the memory has not dimmed. I was shaken by the encounter and rocked by emotion. I fled the store. But at the same time it gave me hope. He was right of course, everything was fine eventually. Everything will be fine for you as well. Whatever it is you’re facing, He is with you!

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23,24

Keep looking to the sky!

Blogging Benefits……

There are two ways to live; one as though nothing is a miracle. The other as if everything is. Albert Einstein

Since the day I passed my one year milestone on blogging, I have been meditating on what this whole experience has meant to me, and done for me. I have learned some things about myself. This whole process has taken me by surprise at times, by how much joy it has given me, what a blessing it has been. I get a comment and my heart soars because I know someone understands, someone relates, someone is encouraged. That makes it all worth it. Then there are times of discouragement when I feel my words are falling flat, going nowhere. Why does that affect me so? Should it? I ask myself a zillion questions. I get caught in a self destructive cycle that spins and goes nowhere.

I am awed by so many brilliant, creative talented writers out there, “Real writers,” I call them. I think how much better their words sound than my own. But then God whispers: your words matter too. All of our words are precious to Him. Like your childs first words, perfect no matter how they sound. And when we join our words together, we become one unified voice in praise to Him. All different, all beautiful.

So I draw back, I dip into the Wellspring of His Word, and I am refreshed, inspired, bowled over by God’s love for me. I remember why I do this, I have to share Him.

It is humbling, this process. And that is good for me because it leads me back to Him, back to where I started. Back to knowing that without Him I can do nothing. He is my strength, my song, my hope, and His love never fails. He gathers me in His arms and sings over me with joy and I am renewed again.

So I am celebrating the blessings of blogging today, and want you to know I pray for everyone following this blog, and everyone who may come across it another way. I continue the counting of the gifts today…..#341 He is my shield, #342 my hiding place, #343 my strong tower, #344 my hope, #345 keeper of my dreams, #346 collector of my tears, #347 my strength, #348 my deliverer, #349 my desire, #350 my inheritance, #351 my salvation, #352 my inspiration.

holy experience

God’s furious love…..


Are you struggling to forgive yourself today? Maybe for something you did in the past? Some wrong decision? A turning away from God? Something you have given yourself a life sentence for? Maybe your kids are grown and you see the scars they carry, scars you think were inflicted by you. Maybe you think you’ve failed God, blaming yourself for a failed marriage. You think your verdict is just, fair. You heard the hollow echo of the metal doors you slammed on yourself. You threw the key far away, out of reach. After all, you messed up, right? Here is what God laid on my heart the other day in prayer: “When you don’t forgive yourself you are making yourself into the God you think I am, but I am not that God, I have already forgiven you!”

So many times the guilt we feel is totally false. Useless. Destructive.
If the guilt is real, confess it! He will not only forgive you, He will forget you ever did it!

Our God loves us with a relentless love we can scarcely understand. We are so used to living in a performance based world that we think God is that way too. We even make our churches performance driven! The church should be a safe place. A place we can expose our imperfections, our vulnerabilities, our sickness, a place of reconciliation.

“He (God) is not moody or capricious; He know no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners.” Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

He loves us! Right now where we stand, without us changing one single thing about ourselves. When that love is grasped, really grasped, only then can we begin to live the life He calls us to live. A life that seeks to please Him, obey His commands, not because it scores us any points, but because we want to return the love that He has so mercifully shown us. We won’t reach perfection, but it’s okay. He will still love us, and there is nowhere His love won’t go to reach us.

His love chases us out to the desert wilderness like He followed a distraught Hagar, whispering His great mercy into her desperation. It sends Jonah to the Ninevites, even grows a shelter for him when he gets ticked because the Ninevites repent. His love is Hosea to our unworthy Gomer. Ultimately it went to a lonely hill and there it reaches us. Outside the gates……at Calvary.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Col. 2:13-14