The Cost and Priviledge of Being Used by God

 Imagine how uncomfortable it must have been for Mary traveling to Bethlehem when she was heavily pregnant. It would have been uncomfortable enough in a car or an airplane. But she didn’t even have that privilege. It would have taken at least four days. How her poor body must have ached!

And then when they finally got there, there was no suitable accommodation for them. The only room they could find was a stable, and of course labour started there.

Mary’s life had already been “ruined.” Finding out she was unexpectedly pregnant before her wedding. Having to sacrifice her reputation to be the mother of the Saviour.

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of the Saviour. It was a huge honour. The angel said to her, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Mary was richly blessed. But it came with great sacrifice and discomfort.

I wonder how she handled it all. Did she grumble and complain on that long journey to Bethlehem? Did she feel sorry for herself? Did she question God? By going to Bethlehem, Scripture was being fulfilled. God’s will was accomplished. God was being faithful to His Word.

For God’s will to be fulfilled in our life, there will be a cost. For God to be faithful to His Word, there will be some sacrifice and discomfort. 

 It is a huge honour to serve the King. Serving God brings rich spiritual blessings. May I always keep that in mind when I feel like complaining about the cost. May I have Mary’s attitude.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Luke 1:38

There really is no cost, only the privilege of serving the King of Kings. Helen Roseveare

I long for nothing more earnestly than to serve God with all my might. Charles Spurgeon

Beautiful on the Inside

 This book is old, faded, out of shape, and smoke damaged. It has literally been through the fire. But it is filled with such treasure. The most beautiful hymns, stories and devotional thoughts. 

Maybe you feel like this book. Maybe you have been through the fire, so to speak. Maybe you are weary of the battle. Maybe your body is breaking down. Maybe your life feels out of shape.

But may you also be like this book on the inside. Filled with the priceless treasure of trust in God. A faith that has been refined by fire. May you be filled with beautiful songs, stories of what God is doing in you, and may your thoughts be on things above. 

“For this cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory…” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Two Beautiful Songs

All Things Work Together for Our Good

 In His Time

A Servant and Giver

 “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matt 20:28

Jesus came to earth to minister and give His life.

“Minister” means to attend to the needs of someone. To serve, to take care of, to look after, to assist, to wait on and to see to.

He came to give His own life for others.

And who are those others? People who didn’t ask for Him and who didn’t even want or see their need for Him. People who would hang Him on a cruel cross even though He was perfect. People who didn’t deserve His love.

 What a man! May God make us more like Him, so we are humble servants and generous givers to those who don’t deserve it.

Follow Me

 Following Jesus is hard, and it takes sacrifice. It’s easy to get too focused on that. I’m speaking for myself here! But following Jesus means nearness to Him. It means guidance from the One who knows what’s best and what’s around the corner. It means we’re with the Source of all joy, hope, comfort, peace and love. We are with the Provider, the Good Shepherd, and the One who is all powerful. We are on the road to Heaven where the best is yet to come. Nothing is better than that. Let’s focus on Him rather than the hardness of following Him!

Keep Moving Forward

 To keep your balance on a bike, you need to keep pedaling. You need to move forwards. Unless you put your feet on the ground, you will wobble and crash to the ground if you stop pedaling.

And it's the same with the Christian life. We need to be always moving forward. Not necessarily always busy. Rest times are important. But always moving forward in our relationship with God. We need to keep praying, reading our Bibles, learning, obeying, trusting, applying, and so on.

That's how you keep your balance as a Christian!

In the Bible the Christian life is compared to a walk. Enoch walked with God. When you walk, you keep moving forward one step at a time. 

Just keep plodding along!

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18

Rest is Profitable

 This afternoon my children and I were busy setting up for preschool. All except for Esther. She has a cold and ongoing problems with tiredness. So she lay on a beanbag while we set up. She said, “I wish I could do something profitable.” I know exactly how she feels and I felt bad for her. But I told her, “You are. You are resting and that’s what you need right now.”

Rest can feel like a waste of time. It can feel like we aren’t doing anything profitable. But that is not the truth. Rest is what gives us the strength to get up and keep going. Rest is difference than laziness.

And taking the time to pray and read God’s Word may also feel like a waste of time sometimes. But that is where we find rest for our souls. Giving our burdens to God, thanking Him, and listening to Him speak through His Word is the most profitable thing we can do.

It’s hard to rest when there’s so much we could be doing. But wearing ourselves out is also not profitable. We need to take time to rest both physically and spiritually. That’s profitable!

“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

Hard but Wonderful!

 I heard a preacher say this when he was talking about serving God. “It’s hard but it’s wonderful!” It’s so true and it applies to many things in life.

Having a child with special needs is hard, but it’s also wonderful. Being a Christian is hard, but it is truly wonderful! Living by faith, doing right, sharing the gospel with others, teaching the Bible, reading the Bible, being a parent, being married, and so on is hard but it’s WONDERFUL!

Trials are hard, but what we learn and become through them with Gods grace is wonderful!

There is a similar quote on our school staff room wall. “It’s hard, but it’s worth it!”

If what we are doing is good and right and in Gods will for us, it will be well worth the hardness.

It’s easy to be focused on the hardness. But it’s good to remind ourselves that it is wonderful and worth it! Don’t try to do it in your own strength. Trust God to help you and stay close to Him.

“Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

Do What You Can!

 There is a lot Lydia can’t do. But she does what she can do, like chopping up veggies.

There are things I would like to do that I can’t do. Good things. Things for God. Dreams.

This verse struck me. “She hath done what she could.” I need to do what I can do. Maybe one day God will open different doors. But today I need to focus on and do what I can do today. And there’s a whole lot I CAN do!

What about you? Are you doing what you CAN do? Are you using the opportunities that God has given you right now? Are you using the abilities you do have? Are you reading the Bible and praying? That’s something you CAN do!

May it be said of me, “She has done what she could.”

Wrong Reference! Mark 14:8

From Ugly Bulbs to Stunning Beauty!

 My husband planted an ugly bulb sometime back. Now we have a beautiful gladiola opening up and blooming. God turns bulbs into stunning bright flowers! 

When God is the gardener of our life, He does the same for us. He takes the ugly and hard things and over time makes them into something beautiful. It may take lots of waiting and some dark days of feeling “buried”, helpless or hopeless. 

But trust God. Submit to Him. Learn all you can in the process. And know that one day your “bulb” will be turned into beauty!

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

A Crazy Haircut & a Vlog

 

Yesterday Lydia took the scissors into her own hands and gave herself a haircut. She cut into her beautiful long blonde hair and when I found her, she said, “Short, short!” When she takes scissors into her own hands, she makes a mess of things as you can see.

And when we take things into our own hands and do things our own way, we also make a mess of things. God is the Hairdresser. He’s the One who knows what’s best for us. He knows how to make a beautiful life. He knows where and when to cut.

Let’s surrender to Him and let Him hold the scissors. He knows best!

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalm 18:30

And a vlog from our holiday in Taranaki and some thoughts about prayer and my favorite Bible story.

Consider the Lilies

"Aren't those lilies beautiful?" I asked someone this week. "I like the stalks," she replied.

What a strange answer! I mean, who looks at the stalks? It's the flowers that you notice. It's the flowers that are pretty, not the stalks. But her comment made me notice the stalks. And yes, the stalks were neat!

What would flowers be with no stalks? Stalks give support and support is very important.

Some people are like lilies. Their role/job stands out and is noticed by most people. Then there are people whose roles are more like the stalk. They give support. Their job is so important, even when it goes unnoticed.

Do you have a support role? Does what you do seem unnoticed? Know that the God who made the lilies sees you. He sees both the "lilies" and the "stalks", and they are both the same to Him. They all are all noticed by Him and their jobs have equal significance.

Have a look around? What jobs/roles are unnoticed to you? Maybe it's time to pray for those people and give them some appreciation!

But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.--Exodus 17:12

Hidden Treasures

 God has treasures in store for His children. Not earthly treasures that don't last, but the real treasure that comes from knowing God. The treasures of peace, joy and nearness to Him. The treasure of being satisfied and content. The treasure of God revealing truths from His Word. The treasure of growing in a personal relationship with the Creator and feeling His love.

But those treasures are often found in the hard times and in the secret place of our quiet time alone with God.

How Do You Do That?

 I watched two little girls playing on a climbing frame. One of them was like a little monkey, moving along easily and quickly. The other one moved inch by inch. For her to reach the other end took huge effort. She said to the other girl, “How do you do that?” The other girl had no answer. She just does it!

What a picture of the different talents God has given us. There are some things we do effortlessly and naturally. Someone else looks at us and says, “How do you do that?” We don’t know, we just do.

We look at someone else who can do something so well that we struggle to do. “How do you do that?” They don’t know, they just do.

It’s easy for discontentment to creep in when we look at what others do. It’s easy to forget that others look at us and think, “How do you do that?”

We need to appreciate the gifts that God has given us, and the gifts God has given others. Instead of being discontent with the gifts we don’t have, we can still learn to get better at the things we can’t do well.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. Romans 12:6

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10

My Cup Overflows

 If the Lord is your personal Shepherd, then you can say, "My cup overflows with blessings." You can say this because even your trials are turned into blessings when they're in God's hands. He has promised to work them together for good. That means they're blessings in disguise!

You can say this because the Lord is taking care of you, leading you, giving you strength and rest, comforting you, and so on. If the Lord is your Shepherd, your cup runs over with blessing!

Is this your mindset?

Hope at the Tomb

What's your favorite part of the Easter story this year? I have a few. The ripped veil giving us access to God. The loving words of Jesus on the cross.

But I needed to teach the story of Mary Magdalene at school. Preparing the lesson the night before was the very last thing I felt like doing. But afterwards I felt like I had been there and gotten a glimpse of how Mary would have felt! She went from having a broken heart to having a bursting heart. All because she had been in the presence of the One she loved. She had heard His voice and seen Him.

That joy can still be ours today because Jesus is alive, very real, personal and still gives hope today.

I love the song, I Talked to Him Today.

But I talked to Him today, and my cares all fell away
He made me feel like life had just begun
He said all of my trials can be turned into triumph
Through the victory that He's already won
And I talked to him today, and the comfort that He gave
Filled me with desire to tell the world, yet on Calvary he died
But right now He is alive, I know because I talked to him today

Lift Me Up

A prayer based on Psalm 30:1a

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up,

Lift Me Up

Lord, I'm feeling so discouraged

I'm starting to despair

My eyes are facing downward

And my mind is filled with fears.

Lord, lift me up and carry me

I want to feel your love

Lord, lift me up and hold me close

Help me see things from above

I need to feel Your nearness

I want to feel Your love

Lord, lift me up and carry me

So that I can rise above

Lord, I'm so tired and weary

Trying to do Your will

I keep taking another step

But it seems it's all uphill

Lord, I am so selfish

Focused on me

Lift me up so I can see

All the needs around me.

~Emily van Rijn~

Lift Me Up

I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up,…--Psalm 30:1

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.—Psalm 3:3

As a mum, there have been many times my children have come to me to be picked up. Children usually love to be held in your arms. Even my seven year old with Down Syndrome still loves to be held. She will come to me with her hands up and say, “Cuddle?”

Sometimes we lift them up and carry them to keep them safe. To comfort them when they’re upset. To take them to a certain place. To carry them when they’re tired.

God is like a parent or adult who lifts up His children. David experienced this for himself. God raises us to a higher level. He picks us up and moves us to a different place. He comforts us.

He also can lift us up above ourselves—from being focused and preoccupied with ourselves. He lifts up our head so our eyes become focused on Him.  He lifts us up so we see things from a different perspective. He can lift our spirits when we are feeling down. He can carry us when we’re tired and weary. He can lift us above our circumstances.

Is your heart’s desire and prayer the same as Johnson Oatman Jr.? He wrote this hymn.

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Lord, lift me up, and let me stand

By faith on Canaan’s tableland;

A higher plane than I have found,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where these abound,

My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till rest I’ve found,

“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

Some Quotes by Amy Carmichael

 "Sometimes when we read the words of those who have been more than conquerors, we feel almost despondent. I feel that I shall never be like that. But they won through step by step, by little bits of wills, little denials of self, little inward victories, by faithfulness in very little things. They became what they are. No one sees these little hidden steps. They only see the accomplishment, but even so, those small steps were taken. There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity. That is the work of the moment."

“It is not the place where we are, or the work that we do or cannot do that matters, it is something else. It is the fire within that burns and shines, whatever be our circumstances.”

"I would rather burn out than rust out."

"It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desires which He creates."

"Now you are deep in what seems to me a peculiarly selfless service. The spiritual training of children must be that. You work for the years you will not see. You work for the Invisible all the time, but you work for the Eternal. So it is all worthwhile."

"There have been times of late when I have had to hold on to one text with all my might: “It is required in stewards that a man may be found faithful.” Praise God, it does not say “successful”."

"Our enemy is more aware than we are of the spiritual possibilities that depend upon obedience."

Jesus our Guide, Counselor, Model and More!

 I was praying through something I know God wants me to do, but I'm not sure exactly how. When my husband read The Daily Light before bed, he read this verse.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eyes. Psalm 32:8

This verse is always an encouraging verse when we are looking for guidance! 

But as I studied this verse and was looking up the word 'guide' I saw a list of related words that sparked some thoughts. To think that God is all of these words is encouraging to think about.

Counselor--a person trained to give guidance on personal or physological problems

              --someone who is trained to listen to people and give them advice about their problems

Model--a thing used as an example to follow or imitate

Pathfinder--a person who goes ahead and discovers or shows others a path or way

Rudder--A rudder is a device for steering a boat

           --any means of or device for governing, directing, or guiding a course, as a leader or principle

Escort--a person or group of persons accompanying another to give protection or as a courtesy

Captain--The word captain can describe any leader, but it's traditionally been the name for the person on a boat or ship with the highest rank. The captain of a fishing boat is responsible for making decisions about what route to take and how best to avoid bad weather.

     Jesus is our counselor. We can go to Him again and again to pour out our hearts. He listens and gives advice and guidance.

    Jesus is our model. Our example to follow.

    Jesus is our pathfinder. He has a made a way for us to be saved. He also goes before us and knows where we are going.

    Jesus is our rudder. Without Him we have no sense of real direction in life. Thank God, we don't have to try to figure everything out ourselves and be our own rudder.

    Jesus is our escort. We don't have to go through life on our own. We have Someone with us always and His presence makes all the difference.

    Jesus is our captain. He is the one in charge--the boss. All we have to do is trust and obey.