Be my Hiding place

I don't think that anything which happens in our lives is truly an accident. There's a purpose for every single thing that befalls us; the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust. During a flood, the last thing you want to see is more rain; during a time of drought, you will run out into the wonderful wetness and savor the droplets hitting your face. These happenings in our lives are placed in our lives to accomplish any number of things; either to test us, to make us stronger or to lift us up to a higher level of peace, love and understanding with our heavenly Father.

The same can be said of two events that, in context, seem different from one another. However, I believe that these two events interweaving in my life are for a reason. A few weeks back, I made a trip to the library, whereupon I found the book, "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. I have been having a hard time putting the book down; this was a story about a brave family that didn't realize how truly brave they were. What has been hitting me between the eyes is the smoothness with which the Third Reich came sweeping into Holland -- not only militarily, but mentally. One wonders, how could Holland, or any country, have allowed the horrendous atrocities to occur in their country. But you see, the Germans did not introduce all of these far-reaching restrictions over night. A law here, a rule there, until it was too late to fight back, and the countries ended up like a fly caught in a web.

This past week, I participated in my first-ever political rally. Over 1,500 people showed up on the grounds of Legislative Hall in my home-state, letting our voices be heard regarding our views on marriage between men and women. Men and women, black and white, young and old, were all united for one cause: we simply stated that marriage was between one man and one woman.

It's amazing to me how people who even say that they're Christians will turn around and revile those of us who stand up for Biblical principles. Is it too late, now, to reverse what has been coming to our eyes, ears and minds as a collective nation for over 80 years? The Scopes monkey trial started the ball rolling on solely teaching that lie otherwise known as evolution in our public schools. Madelyn O'Hare ushered in the age where we won't even be able to have a "silent moment" in our schools. We teach nine year olds how to place prophylactics on vegetables and teach girls that abortion is a viable alternative. Various television shows over the years have gradually numbed a nation into thinking that it's "okay to be gay."

When I try to state my opinion, I am greeted with the ever-present, "Well it says in YOUR Bible, 'Judge not, lest ye be judged.'" They also add, "I'm not going to give you credence for a lone verse in Leviticus regarding homosexuality." Yeah,,, even the devil can quote Scripture, when it suits his purposes, and there are more places than you'd care to imagine that talk negatively about homosexuality in the Bible.

I have to remind some people that there are NOT different levels of sin. No sin is worse than the other, in God's eyes, for ANYTHING that separates us from Him is sin. Gossip is just as bad as murder, in God's eyes. And running around on your wife while still going to church is just as bad as a person who loves someone of the same sex. In and of myself, I find I am a most sinful person, indeed; but, as I was telling my children in kid's church, there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God, and His forgiveness, if we humbly ask Him to do so.

Especially after reading "The Hiding Place", I am more than convinced that the end of this age is coming quicker than we may realize. I am also wondering more and more why we Americans think we are going to escape the wrath to come. We have allowed avarace, sin and greed to permeate our existence and then we expect God to bless us! We turn our backs as a nation on His laws while we terminate the unborn, celebrate "commitment ceremonies" -- even amongst the clergy! -- and teach our children that His Word is a lie when we openly celebrate reincarnation and evolution.

Jesus said it best when He said, "And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” - Mark 6:11, and "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. " - Luke 17:28-30

When I read the book of Revelation, I recall where Jesus speaks to the church of Sardis: "These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.." Revelation 3:1-3

I don't want to be a dead church (you see, it's not a building that makes a church, WE are the temple of the Living God) -- I want to be ALIVE in HIM! May You help me, O Lord Jesus, to be all that You wish me to be for You! Awaken me, and stir in me the ability to do Your will, no matter what others may do or say!

Just some meanderings...

Usually, I go on Facebook twice a day. But I've been noticing a terrible occurrence; I plan on only being on Facebook a few minutes, but then find myself on there much longer than anticipated.

I start playing a game that which someone has sent me the "application" . I copy and paste a silly note that someone has sent to me and fill it out, myself. I start taking a quiz to see how "smart" I am in the knowledge of "80's music" -- as though it has any relevance on my life today. Then that quiz flows into another quiz, into another quiz and before I know it, too much time has slipped out of my hands.

I don't know... am I making any difference to any of my friends on Facebook? I wonder if I make a difference, period. Sorry I'm sounding like this. My greatest desire is to touch lives on behalf of Christ; somehow, that's one thing I keep questioning about myself.

Instead, I get phone calls from my mother who is now upset that I've accepted her niece (my cousin) as my friend, because my mother has not spoken to my aunt in over 17 years, and seems to think that my cousin will take news of her and my father back to my aunt, if I talk about them to my cousin. My sister told my mother, even though my sister has not become my friend, yet, but she can see who my friends are.

But you know, I have gotten in touch with a dear friend who has stayed true to Christ, and she and I now phone each other about once a week. I have been able to be friends with other people who I wouldn't have known otherwise. In every situation, God CAN shine through. I just have to pray beforehand and ask Him to lead me in my comings and goings, and to be an edifying force, and not to allow myself to be swept away by all things that can so easily distract me.

Please help me to be effective for You, dear Heavenly Father...

In the Blink of an Eye

The news just announced yesterday of the death of an actress, a talented actress from an acting dynasty. She was simply taking skiing lessons - on the bunny trail, no less - and fell. She was offered treatment, laughed about it and refused the treatment. Within the hour, Natasha Richardson was suffering from a headache. By the next morning, she was brain dead. Her family gathered around her, said their last goodbyes and pulled the plug. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. My condolences go out to her husband, young sons and the rest of her family.

When I heard about that accident, I was taken back to my husband's accident in August of 2000. I was expecting our daughter at the time. I just got done fixing my step-son's bike and was washing my hands when the knock on the door occurred. Standing before me were the police. They asked me my name. The vast myriad of thoughts that overcome your brain are overwhelming in those few seconds that the policeman says, "We're very sorry, but...."

In the blink of an eye, your whole world changes. My husband was minding his own business when someone passed a mail truck and hit my husband head-on. Even though he was wearing a seat belt, he still hit the windshield. He bounced back, and hit the side window. His hip was shattered, his other leg suffered a compound fracture, glass got in his eye and his thumb needed surgery. He actually died three times on the way to the hospital. Miraculously, he did not suffer internal injuries, he was not blinded, and he suffers from short-term memory loss. After that, you treasure the moments with your loved one -- including the times you want to haul off and smack him on his arm.

Our lives are but a vapor. I have been surprised at how quickly 25 years have passed from the day I graduated high school till now. I am surprised at how quickly my children have grown. One day, I will cross the threshold of this world into the next; how will I have touched the world in which I live? Have I done all that the Lord has given me to do? Have I really touched the lives of others in a positive way? More importantly, have I influenced them to serve and believe in a loving Savior? In the blink of an eye, someday I will be no more. In the blink of an eye, you will find yourself living in eternity - somewhere. Who have we touched today? Who have we reached? We need to work while it is still day.

What Would Jesus Do, if you sat in my pew?

I have a really dear friend who has been going to a Bible study at a church other than her own. While at this Bible study, the talk amongst those who regularly attend that church turned to pews. It turns out that one of the ladies at the Bible study sat in "the wrong pew." The lady whom the pew "belonged" walked up to the first lady, and stared at her. Just stood there... and stared. Finally the second lady spoke to the first lady: "You're sitting in the wrong pew; you're supposed to be in pew four, pew three is mine." The first lady sheepishly expressed her apologies and basically crawled back to "her" pew.

What worried my friend was this: "Becky, if I ever go to a Sunday night service, what do I do if I sit in the wrong pew?"

"You smile and say that you're new, and continue to sit where you're at," was my reply. No one OWNS a pew. If you're going to GOD'S house (which is a falacy, anyway, for if we are the temple of the Holy One, then the church building is only a meeting place to get equipped to do battle for the Lord), then it's GOD'S pew -- not yours.

She actually was moved to write a beautiful essay on her thoughts about this "pew" business. I asked her if I could print it as a "guest blog"; I hope she sends it to me so I can do so.

Last night on the news, the announcer stated that church membership in the main denominations are dwindling, and more people are actually claiming "no religion" for their religious preferences. Hmm.... would attitudes of "God's people" have a little something to do with it? You betcha!

Personally, I'm so sick and tired of condescending looks of those who claim they love God, yet hate the person who lives next door because they're,,, uh,,, not desirable. Pastor Ronnie (you'll find his blog listed in the column beside this blog -- I never knew him until I started writing a blog, but I'm so glad I know him now) recently stated something to the effect that he is amazed at how God uses what other people would throw away (like a drug abusing, jail bird) to bring glory to Himself.

What if this young man went into the church that I mentioned above, to search for the love and compassion of Christ, and end up getting "stared down" by some person who doesn't want to give up "their" seat? Aren't we supposed to welcome rich or poor, smelly or clean, well-dressed or tattered clothes, saved and unsaved, and embrace them as Jesus would? In our church, we don't have specific pews. I don't have a habit of sitting in the same seat; the only seats I sit in on a regular basis are the piano bench and the teacher's seat in the kid's room; and that's only for a short amount of time. In previous churches, I've done the same thing, because for me, to sit in a different seat is a wonderful way to get to know other people I wouldn't normally get to meet.

In fact, at one church in which my husband preached before I knew him, he unscrewed all of the brass name plates off of every pew and screwed them onto a board that he hung in the back of the church. Not only that, but my husband physically moved all of the pews around; when the parishioners came into the church, they didn't even get to sit in their "normal" pews. I still laugh when I think of how he must have blown the people's minds!

My question to challenge you is this: What if Jesus came to YOUR church and sat in YOUR pew? Would you welcome Him,,, or would you "stare" Him down? I hope you would smile and welcome Him -- or any person sitting in your so-called "regular" seat in with open arms, because after all, Jesus Himself said that anyone who welcomes someone in His name welcomes HIM. Next time someone sits in "your" seat at church, please imagine that that person is Jesus, and treat that person with love... then smile, introduce yourself, and welcome that person in. It'll make a world of difference!

Say,,,, WHAT?!

Recently, I've had a meeting of the minds with my fourth-grader. He LOVES to talk.... and talk... and talk... well, you get the idea. He gets that gift of gab easily, with a gregarious preacher for a daddy and a very talkative former disc jockey for a mother. However, he does NOT like to write reports. He would walk up to me and chat about a subject that we're researching, yet say to me, "Do I have to write more than seven sentences?"

The answer was a resounding "YES", when I gave him a "C" for a paper on Thomas Alva Edison. We have had our ears chatted off about Thomas Alva Edison, yet, when it came to writing a paper about this wonderful inventor, he hardly wrote a thing! My son does not suffer "C's" very well. So I sat down with him, and rewrote a paper, explaining to him and showing him how easy it was to just sit down and start telling me in written word what he was sharing with me orally. A week later, he had to write another paper, this time about David Livingstone. To my utter delight, he dove into writing this paper; he actually got up to 701 words -- over a page long! When given the proper encouragement, it's amazing what a person can do.

Recently, while praying to the Lord, I got an umption: "I want you to orate 52 stories in 52 weeks, and put it on the church website. I want you to also draw a picture to correlate with the stories so that children can color them in."

At first, I was scared, and overwhelmed. HOW would I do 52 stories? Then I felt that I really needed to number a notebook paper up to 52. Then, I felt I needed to write down "titles" to stories that I knew. That notebook filled up quicker than I thought with ideas for 52 stories. Then I worried: "I'm okay as an artist, but not stellar... how am I even going to begin drawing these pictures to color?" Then my husband pointed out that I've drawn some other pictures previously that I could use for the web-site stories. He also gave me an idea for a new drawing. I've been given wonderful encouragement from other friends regarding this new endeavor; now, what I need to do is dig in like my son did with his paper. With the proper encouragement, it's amazing what a person is capable of doing.

Fight the Fight

I have two friends whose divorces have become final relatively close to one another. They don't know each other, and their stories seem to be different.

One gal is upset about the death of her marriage, while the other friend is celebrating the end of hers. The other night, she asked me advice. She is upset that her now ex-husband wishes to share custody, 50/50. The thing is, her now-ex-husband is a good man who adores his children. I told her that if she trusted her children alone with her husband while married to him, then she should be able to trust him now; I don't think she liked that. I told her that I wish she would have asked me for advice before she filed for her divorce, which hit all of her friends like a bolt of lightening. None of us saw it coming or were told about it until it was almost final.

People tend to think that because I have been divorced that I will be in the cheering section for anyone who wishes to leave their spouse; I am not a fan of divorce at all. I know only too well why God HATES divorce. It affects the children, the husband's family and friends, the wife's family and friends, your business associates and your church family, not to mention God, Himself. I did not want a divorce; I wanted us to get help. There were problems that caused me to leave to protect myself, among other issues that is the business of my ex and myself. It's my understanding that my friend who is not happy about her divorce did not want hers, either.

This is the advice gave to the friend who was all too happy to get a divorce: "In life, marriages are like tides,,, there's ebbs and flows to every marriage. There are times you feel passionate about each other, other times when you feel more in like than in love, and other times where you don't like each other all that much,,, BUT marriage is so worth working for."

And that's the truth. It IS worth working for. If you fell in love with someone, there was a reason you did so. There was something that drew you to them. If your relationship is based on nothing but looks, well, then,,, uh,,, there's a problem, because looks fade. People lose their hair and put on weight and have bad breath when they first wake up. But if you are a Christian, and you said "Till death do us part," then that marriage is worth fighting for. Now, if that other person is running around on you and trying to beat you up, there are reasons to leave. But if you want to leave your spouse because you think your life will be more carefree, don't ask me for advice,,, you won't like it.

The devil is only too willing to try to convince you that you're in your rights to get a divorce -- it's up to us to know which is the voice of the enemy and which is the voice of God -- and fight hell, itself for the life of our marriages.

Sorry,,, but I just had to get this off of my chest.