You're Not Home Yet

 An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated and discouraged.  They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions.

No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President's entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man.

As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, "Something is wrong.  Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us."

"Dear, you shouldn't feel that way", his wife said.  He replied, "I can't help it; it doesn't seem right."

When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President's arrival. No one noticed this missionary couple.  That night the man's spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly". His wife replied, "Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?"

A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"

"The Lord settled it with me", he said. "I told Him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said;  "But you're not home yet."
 
"But our citizenship is in heaven." (Philippians 3:20)

Oh to be loved like that!!

Yesterday one of my very sweet friends dropped by my office to visit and came bearing my very favorite brew of coffee! (In case you're ever in Ball Ground, Georgia, you have to stop in and try the Barrell Aged Coffee House coffee! It's amazing!!) But back to what I wanted to share ...

During Ashley's visit, I reported that I had sold "Bertha" (my 2003 Suburban) and purchased "Sassy" (an Acadia Denali). She's "Sassy" because she gets sassy with me when I get too close to the road margins - she beeps at me! Right after I took ownership of her I knew she was going to be "Sassy". She's got all kinds of bells and whistles (most of which I still don't know what they're for), so there's a "ding" here and a "ding ding" there any time I don't do what she thinks I should! Seriously!

But that's not the point of this post. During our conversation yesterday (a colleague joined us in the viewing of Sassy), I noted that I had immediately applied my rear window decal "Proud USAF Mom". Ashley commented something to the effect of "like anyone who knows you would think you're not proud of that guy". I quickly pointed out it had been 54 days since I had hugged his neck. My colleague, Meredith, exclaimed, "Oh my, you actually know how many days it's been?!" "Of course, I said. I have a countdown app on my phone that can tell me to the minute how long it's been." And here's what got me ... Ashley said, "Oh! To be loved like that!"

All afternoon that resounded in my heart - my sweet friends, we ARE loved like that! God knows exactly how long it's been since you hugged HIM in prayer, in song, worship or any other way that you choose to love on Him. It matters to HIM! YOU matter to HIM!

With tears rolling down my face I loved on HIM, my God, my maker, my rescuer, all the way home last night. I just couldn't get over how much He loves us like that!! How long has it been since you thought about how much He loves you like that!?

Think about it.

You're never too old

Seems recently (especially) I have to keep reminding myself that my useful days are really not over - that there's still something in me that may be influential for some poor soul out there. Yes, I've been reminded of Sarah over and over again - too many times for comfort. But then this morning I was reminded of Elizabeth. You remember her - the one Mary went to after the angel told her she would become pregnant with Jesus.

Yes, a sixty-something woman who's expecting a child today (God forbid!) would probably be on the fast track into The Guinness Book of Records, but there is also the reality that people are quick to minimize a woman "of advanced age" and assume that her best, most productive, most impactful years are behind her - that she couldn't possibly birth anything new. Here's the bigger travesty: women buy into those lies and believe them. So let me just jump up on my soapbox, clear my throat and say something really loudly: Elizabeth's life is a beautiful reminder that God continues to do new things in and through us no matter what our age happens to be.

Don't miss this either: the calling on Elizabeth's life (in what we might call her golden years) was no small thing (not that there are any small callings, but Elizabeth's was certainly a visible one). After all, she was going to be the mother of John the Baptist. She was going to be responsible for raising and teaching the forerunner of Jesus Christ.

And then when Mary showed up, Elizabeth confirmed her pregnancy. In fact, she confirmed that Mary was "the mother of my Lord," so Elizabeth was the first human in the New Testament to speak not only of Mary's calling--but Jesus', too!

Elizabeth had an enormous influence on her young cousin and the body of Christ. So when I read Luke 1:45-45 and am reminded of Elizabeth's strong words of encouragement to Mary, I can't help but wonder, What if Elizabeth had decided that her Kingdom usefulness was over? What if she had decided that she was fed up with whatever was going on at the temple, crossed her arms, and said "I'm over it. I'm out of here." What if she had looked at Mary and thought, "Well, I could bless her--but NAH"?

There are countless number of ways we can get burned out and worn down, right? And let me just be clear: if we're really worn down and worn out, then, by all means, we need to rest. We're not doing anybody any favors when we're trying to serve out of a reserve tank that's already empty. (Note to self-quit preaching to me.)

But if, like me, you're convinced yourself you aren't needed anymore, that your best days are behind you, that you're not "relevant" enough, not anointed enough to serve the body of Christ--or, heaven forbid, your family--let me just say this: Stop it. Right now. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. Don't you dare discount your importance, your influence or your calling.

And just to clarify, I am EXTREMELY aware that this kind of doubt can creep up on us at any age. It seems to fire up most often in my life when I'm in the middle of transition--moving from a comfortable place to one that is so not comfortable - like moving from one stage of motherhood to something new. But here's the thing - we have to stay in it. We can't just give up and hang it up because for whatever reason we are fed ALL THE WAY up or just scared to death. We can't forget there is somebody behind us and ahead of us who need us to stay in it.
There are those in your church that need you to stay in it.
There are those in your family who needs you to stay in it.
There are those you work with that need you to stay in it.
So you stay in it, do you hear me? Hey, you, yes you!
YOU. STAY. IN. IT.
You are uniquely built to impact others in ways you cannot even imagine. You are the only "you" there is. No one else on earth has your wisdom (don't make faces at me now), your experiences and your perspective. So when you're tempted to give up, back down or back off ... just remember this: Elizabeth was in her golden years--but she was about to birth a whole new thing! YOU stay IN it!

Thursday thinking...

Life was much, much easier during my carefree, pleasure-seeking heathen days. No, I can't say it was more satisfying ... just easier. This Christian stuff, this committing myself to follow God's path stuff ... well, it's a lot of work. It's a lock 'n load commitment, with a long battle ahead (longer for some than others). Sure, there's the joy of seeing the path to follow and believing in its rightness, as well as knowing (most....much...some of the time) that it's really the only path that makes sense. But it also sets us up to fail, to miss the mark and come up short. It strips away the delusion of our (okay, mine) arrogant self-image and makes it almost impossible to lie to ourselves. I'm stuck with not only being the clay-footed, stiff-necked Christian that I am but of also honestly recognizing that old gal when I look in the mirror. There are days when facing a ton of challenges, belief itself is the biggest challenge. My point is we all struggle to believe and to follow God's way. But failing or falling short, while inevitable, is not all bad. It's a growing process, and God understands our lack of perfection ... He created us after all.

So, celebrate and enjoy the gift that is today!

Quote worth posting and contemplating....

“The shift of putting ourselves on the throne isn't this cosmic, Avengers-style civil war. It's dangerously more subtle. For good Bible-believing, holiness chasing people like us, the temptation isn't to abandon what we believe and turn our backs on God. The temptation is to pursue loving God and looking like Christ in our own strength. The temptation is to do all those right things, for all the wrong reasons. The danger is to love Jesus but somehow, simultaneously, make it all about us. To make holiness look a lot like happiness.”  
― Whitney Capps

Pressing On

Before you throw darts or spit hairballs at me ... hear me out. I know you've heard this preached time and time again but maybe just maybe there's a different twist here. Don't you love it when you read something you've read 100+ times but see something new in it! I do, and that's what happened for me with this passage in Philippians.

I assumed that Philippians 3 referred to Paul's past struggling - his past sins when he said he was forsaking all of it (we all want to forget bad things) and pressing on. What if he wasn't just referring to past strugglings but to all the great things that had happened in his past. We know he had lots of accomplishments. How many of us take that tiara out of the closet and try it on again - for the umpteenth time - you know, the tiara that you got some bumpity bump years ago!? We keep reliving the good times - thinking if I can just get back to those times. Do you do that? I do it. I have found myself reliving times when I knew that I knew I was right where God wanted me - like teaching in Ukraine - and seeing so many amazing things happening ... and wanting so badly to relive those times. But it's not just about what happened in the past. Put that tiara away! God's ready to do a new thing in every one of us, but He can't work a new thing in us - lead us to new victories - if we're always facing backward!

It's time to embrace Him as Lord in all of His greatness (Phil 3:7b). Instead of pursuing His hand - pursue Him. Yes, it may mean we suffer some. Yes, it may be that we have to swallow some pride, some selfishness, some "me" time - but it will be worth it. Why are we stuck on what He did in the past when He's waiting on us to pursue the future and all that He has waiting on us?

He wants us to pursue Him and His full abundance. He said He came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). And the awesome news ... I don't find an expiration date anywhere in the Bible!

I know that I know that He will continue the maturation process in us and finish the great work in us if we just press on! (Phil 1:6)

Have a great week!!

Phil 3:12-16 TPT I admit that I haven't yet acquired the absolute fullness that I'm pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. I don't depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however, I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.

When, God, when?

"0-60...Eventually." I actually saw that on the back of a car in front of me at a stop sign. And I laughed out loud. I know that 0-60 speed is a thing with cars--and car buyers. The smaller the number, the better the car's performance. But this car was making no promises - at least not promises meant to impress. "I'll get where I'm going eventually," it seemed to say. And as a subtext: "So if you're behind me, don't be in a rush."

I don't see too much enthusiasm for "eventually" anymore. Hardly anyone gets excited about "one day", and the fact is, neither do I. If I want something, I want it sooner, not later. If I long for a thing, I don't delight in waiting for it indefinitely. "In a little while" doesn't seem much better to me than "someday." Vagaries don't cut it for me... for most of us. We want to know when.

Through the years, however, I've come to know God doesn't always share my sense of urgency. And as far as I can tell, His promises to me do not come with a guaranteed delivery date or even a virtual tracking number to track their progress. (Don't you wish they did!) But with Him, "eventually" is implicitly certain. If He says a thing will happen, it absolutely will. "He is never late," a friend of mine used to say, "but He has certainly missed a number of opportunities to be early." Time to Him is not like time to us. He has all of eternity to make it all come out all right. And He will. Eventually.

Eventually, the lion will lie down with the lamb.
Eventually, there will be no more pain or tears.
Eventually, sickness and death will hardly be a memory.
Eventually, those who follow Him to the end will hear Him say "Well done."
Eventually, we will see Him face to face.

You and I will survive our "eventually" ... and be satisfied in Him forever.

"So, dear friends, don't let this one thing escape your notice: a single day counts like a thousand years to the Lord Yahweh, and a thousand years counts as one day. This means that, contrary to man's perspective, the Lord is not late with his promise to return, as some measure lateness. But rather, his "delay" simply reveals his loving patience toward you, because he does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9 TPT