Daughters
Psalm 115:14
May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
What can I say? I love my children. I love my sons. I love my daughters. I am blessed. For those that have children, you are reading these words and nodding in agreement…knowing you feel the same about your sons and daughters. God did something so marvelous for us…allowing us to experience here on this planet…FAMILY. How wonderful He is.
This past weekend I took Sara and Bethany with me to the final Deeper Still conference at Freedom Hall. Deeper Still has been going on for ten years and has ministered to over 110,000 women in that time. Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and Kay Arthur are the speakers. It was a wonderful weekend and God was very present and exalted in that place. But, I was ministered to by much more than the 3 speakers…as wonderful as they were.
Seeing my daughters follow hard after the God that they love is sometimes more than my heart can stand. Seeing them worship Him with their whole heart. Serving Him with their gifts.
Watching them love their children is such an emotional thing for me. Knowing they are called mama now always puts a smile on my face.
Knowing that they each are trying to figure out just what God would have them do makes me so proud. If I feel this way, I cannot imagine how God must feel about them!
It is so hard being a woman of God, mother, wife, employee, daughter, sister and whatever other hat you may wear. Life today is complicated…do I hear an AMEN??!! Young women, like Sara and Bethany, need to know that we are here for them. Those that have gone before and walked down some of the paths they are walking…we know those paths. They are embedded in our brains…mistakes made…dreams fulfilled…wrong turns…right turns…bad decisions…good decisions…days of screaming kids…days of sick kids…days of short tempers…days of patience…days that we seemed all alone…days when everything in the world seemed right. Remember those days dear women?? I do. And I am here to say that what I see in my precious daughters gives me a feeling of such hope and pride.
In this world where women are trying to make it to the top by whatever means possible. Where women are in such competition with one another…thinking only of themselves…spending themselves into oblivion…walking the other way when they see someone in need…and the worse thing of all…turning their back on the One Who gave Himself for them. I look at my daughters and see two women…who though not perfect…are seeking Him…are tender toward His ways…receptive to His discipline…listening for His leading…and loving Him. They are loving their children in such sweet ways…very unique to each one of them. And even though they miss their daddy more than they can express…they march forward in their faith walk. Knowing that the legacy they leave behind for their children is just as important as the one they are following now from Rick.
How great is our God! To allow us the honor of parenting. And when we have raised our children in His ways and they continue that legacy with their own children…how blessed we are. Watching with a front row seat during this season of my life…I feel so very blessed. I am in awe of my daughters and what they do every day. My prayer is that one day they will be in this place…watching their children do what they are doing now. Loving God with all their heart…following hard after Him and teaching THEIR children His ways. Family…children…daughters…thank you Lord for these precious gifts.
Sending much love,
Debbie
Do Not Fear
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I am doing something this week that 17 months ago, I would not have been able to do. And something that I never wanted to have to do.
Travel alone.
I know for most of you this may not sound like a big deal. But for this girl…it’s huge.
I had a husband who planned every trip we ever took. Rick got the money, secured all flights and rental cars, did the driving, decided how long we would stay, took whatever route he wanted to get there (I have a hard time reading a map, much less following one). And….I packed! Whew!
I am so thankful for a husband that was strong, loving and protective.
But, he is no longer here.
I have wanted and needed to go see Rick’s mom (she just turned 95) in Florida for quite some time. That is something he so much wanted to do before he died, but just couldn’t make the trip. I finally made the decision to come… I flew to Florida on Thursday morning.
Coming back to where Rick grew up and where we lived for four years is hard. Everywhere I go is a memory. Our homes, the ball field where he played church softball, the church where he preached and we ministered together, the Olive Garden where we ate, the beach where we walked. So many memories. So many emotions to work through.
But, I have made some wonderful discoveries! As I go through each new experience, I’m realizing just that…I’m going THROUGH it! I’m making it to the other side. I’m doing the next thing.
I bought my own plane tickets and rental car. I’m finding my own way to where I need to go, choosing the route I need to take, and walking the beach alone.
But, just as the verse in Isaiah says…I’m really NOT alone. Oh how I love the Lord! He knows so well that when the unknown moves toward us, we can walk toward fear and feelings of dismay. I can tend to actually RUN headlong right into them!! But, He knows me and addresses both…by His presence.
Giving me what I desperately need in that moment…HIM
When I have Him with me everything is doable. No matter how hard it may appear…or in reality be. He has been my strength. And He will continue to be.
But, I also must thank Him for those that He’s placed in my life. My children and their spouses. They have been my greatest cheerleaders! Encouraging me to go…praying for me…giving financially so I could go and understanding why I HAD to do it. I am so blessed.
If you know someone who is at a crossroads…needs to do a hard thing…is grieving…has to prove to themselves they are stronger than they think. Please come along side them. Listen to them…without giving advise or talking about yourself…encourage them…pray for them…and help them in ways that will empower them.
Sometimes the journey we are on can be extremely difficult. But, the more difficult the journey, the greater the victory. And the more aware we are of how faithful our God is to walk with us through it.
He truly is my strength…I pray He is yours.
Sending much love from Florida,
Debbie
Rabbits & Flowers & Babies & Stuff
Life on this earth just continues to amaze me. How one day just blends right into the next until here we are…going into June 2011. How can that be? I should still be young with little children around my ankles and lots of bills to pay and a husband that comes home from work every night. Instead, I am older (some days feeling older than others), now with grand kids around my ankles at times and a husband who lives in heaven.
I look at life now through such different eyes…and a different heart. And the only thing that has changed both those has been God…by using my circumstances to MAKE me see Him as never before. Why is it that most of the time He has to back us into a corner with no where to look but to Him? I suspect that is the only way He can get us to look Him in the eye. And when we see our reflection in His eyes…we cannot stand what we see. That is what brings change. At least in me anyway.
There is so much about God that we don’t understand. So much about ourselves that we don’t understand. So much about life and death, family and friends, work and church, sickness and healing, asking and receiving and a million other “things” that we just don’t get. But, God gets it all. He knows all the answers and hears all the questions. He sees me fighting what seems to be a hundred rabbits eating my flowers and vegetables. He sees me at night sitting alone as I continue to mourn the loss of one that loved so much. He sees the woman who is losing her husband to addiction. The parent who is losing a child to sin. The man who is losing himself in his work. The mother who thinks she can’t go on with no sleep. God sees it all. All the stuff. Life. Hard. Long.
As much as there is of Him that I don’t understand…this I DO understand. He is very present with us as we walk through all this stuff. If I will take the time, He wants to make sure that I see evidences of Him all around me. Those things that can cause us to take our eyes off God can be the same things that can cause us to see Him…if we will just look. A rabbit seen through the eyes of a child…the blessing of children around our ankles…the sense of accomplishment of doing a hard days work…watching vegetables push up through the ground…His provision of finances to pay our bills…beautiful green grass growing and begging to be cut…being woken up by kids and watching the sunrise together. These are the things that are gifts. Gifts. The stuff that makes up life.
God does not play hide ‘n seek. He WANTS to be found…He wants us to see life’s gifts. He says that when we seek Him with all our heart, we WILL find Him. He sees us in our daily lives…the year 2011…June. He knows that summer lies just ahead of us…and He knows what that summer holds. I want it to hold more than just rabbits, flowers, babies and stuff…I want it to hold Him. Lots of Him. Seeing Him in everything. With a baby or two thrown in there for good measure…smile
Sending much love,
Debbie
New (almost)
IICorinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Sometimes I get in a “mood” to clean. But, not just clean…I want things to look new. But, being the tight-wad that I am (and not having an endless checking account), I cannot just go buy something “new” because I feel like it…or because I think it will make me feel better. So I do something that I learned from my mama many years ago. I RE-ARRANGE!! It is amazing to me how just simply re-arranging furniture can make an entire room look brand new…well almost. Of course it would be super to have at least one thing new in the mix, but sometimes that is just not possible. On days like that I get my old clothes on, cleaning supplies in hand and start the process. First, I stand and look at the room for what seems like forever. Trying to envision what would look good where. Then I start the process of moving and cleaning. Of course when you move one piece, even though you may not have wanted to move another one…because you moved the first piece, that makes all the others need to be moved as well. Wow, that sentence make me tired just typing it…not to mention having done it! Samson (my dog) was so displaced he couldn’t figure out where to lay while I moved stuff. He wasn’t much help…(-:
I love re-arranging…but sometimes I get side-tracked. Like today. I couldn’t resist looking inside the boxes that I found underneath my bed. And I couldn’t look in one and not the others. I found some wonderful treasures…a letter from my mom written to me when I was 19. A certificate that Rick received when he went through VBS as a kid. Notes and pictures the kids had made for me when they were little. Poems that Rick wrote to me early in our dating relationship. Cards and pictures galore. Priceless treasures…
Usually when I re-arrange a room I am excited to see what the end result will be. Sometimes, I do all the work of moving things, only to discover that it looks horrible. When that happens I end up putting things back where they were originally. All that time and effort wasted. Today was not one of those days. One piece moved led to another piece being moved until finally…it was done. And I loved how it looked…and felt.
That’s kind of how it is with God. He says that when He gets hold of us and starts re-arranging…He takes the old and somehow makes EVERYTHING new! The old is gone….we become new in Him. But, that process of re-arranging can be painful…hard and long. So many pieces and parts of us that need moved…discarded…cleaned up or thrown away. But, there are also some things that may be buried in us that seem useless. But to God…when placed in His hands…become priceless. Things from our past that only God Himself can redeem and turn them into priceless treasures. What a wonderful, loving Father we serve. To know that as He re-arranges us and makes us new…moving all our individual pieces into the exact place that He wants them to be…He also redeems that we thought was lost forever.
My room now has a new look. The same old pieces of furniture…same quilt…same curtains…same old chair that I love so…but…when I walk into the room…it FEELS different. It feels “new”. Re-arranged…cleaned…uncluttered…redeemed. Just like my life. In Jesus…He does make all thing new!
Sending much love,
Debbie
A Mother’s Love and Instruction
Proverbs 1:8,9
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Mother’s Day…I have not celebrated it with my mama since 2000. I miss her. Being able to thank her for what a wonderful mother she had been to me was a highlight of my year. She really was a wonderful mom and I am so grateful to her and to God for that.
I learned many things from Faye Carolyn Evans. *Always put lotion on underneath your eyes with your ring finger, it has the least pressure and will cause less wrinkles later…it’s important to have a home cooked meal on the table at supper time…she prayed with me every night as a child and I carried that over into the night time routine with our kids…she taught me how to make the best chocolate pie in the world…she instilled in me a real love of ironing(I know, that’s weird)…she encouraged singing and music…she taught me how to cut back a rose bush (even though it looked like we were killing it!)…a love for spelling and penmanship…by her example I learned that hard work is good for you…she showed over and over again such selflessness…she had a way of making Christmas so special…she showed me how to bake a ham with coke (it’s the best ham you’ll ever want to eat)…she lived out a wonderful commitment to her grandchildren.
There are a few other things that I learned as well. The not-so-good things. You know…the things we do wrong and hope our kids learn from our mistakes kind of things. Things like…fear can keep us bound up. Worry will rob us. As hard as mama tried, she battled those two things her entire life. Both are addressed in the Word of God. He knows that in our humanness we are prone to fear and worry…and He came to free us from both. I want to stay in freedom and give Him the fear and worry. I know she would want that for me as well.
What a gift a Godly mama is. After she died, I removed several things she had on her refrigerator. Hand-written notes that she had heard or read somewhere and wanted to keep where she could see them daily. Here they are:
I am in the place where God shines thru. For He and I are one, not two. I need not fear - nor fret - nor plan. He wants me where and as I am. If I’ll just be relaxed and free. He’ll carry out His plan thru me. Author Unknown
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the PRESENT.
There are times when, no matter what the attitude of the body, the soul is on it’s knees!
I love these notes…written by her hand. I can close my eyes and see her writing them…her hand-writing was beautiful. Make sure if your mom is still living you give her a huge hug, look into her eyes and tell her how much she is loved! And all throughout the year…as Godly moms…learn from their examples. Carry on the legacy and the love that can only come from a mother. The love and instruction of a Godly mother is just that…a gift from the One and Only, Awesome and Worthy of Praise God! May He be praised for giving us the gift of a Mother.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sending much love,
Debbie
Accident
2 Corinthians 6:4-10
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way; in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Monday started out like any other day. On the way to work, I prayed all the way there. It is my normal start to the day to pray for many things…but especially my children, their spouses and my grandchildren. I go through A LOT of requests for them and included in that list is their safety…while driving, working and just going through their day. Monday included that prayer.
But, later on that morning I got a very scared phone call from Sara saying that her sister, my daughter Bethany, had been in a wreck and we did not know how serious it was. I immediately started praying and left work…not really knowing where I was going…just wanting to go in the direction that would take me to Bethany. You know, when those moments come…they just take us. We have no where to go but face the moment…and take it right into the arms of God. That’s all I knew to do as I left work. Talking, very loudly I might add, to God as I was going to my Jeep…I laid out my request to Him. Lord, I KNOW You are Sovereign. I know You knew this would happen before it even took place. You knew it while I prayed this morning. I’m asking you for mercy right now. Mercy for Bethany and the baby that grows inside her belly…and dear God…mercy for me. My heart is so tender right now Lord…in Your mercy protect her and that precious life inside her. I had to, at that moment, leave it with Him. Not an easy thing to do for a control freak like this mother…He’s trying to break me from that. With not a lot of success, I might add. (I’m really working on it..really I am)
We later learned that Bethany had gone off the shoulder and over-corrected, causing her car to spin around, she thinks, about 5 times. Finally running into the four-board fence and coming to a stop. Every time she spun around, she hit the fence and went into another spin. Wire on the fence kept her from going down a revine…and we found out later this as well. She was very blessed to not have the wood from the fence come inside her car…or into her. Her car was totaled. She and baby were protected by God.
In this passage in 2 Corinthians Paul gives us a very small glimpse of what his life was like. With every negative hard thing, he counters with God. There were no car wrecks in his day…but he had many other troubles and hardships. And he wasn’t afraid to let us know what they were. Hardships, beatings, imprisonment, riots, hunger, no sleep, beatings and so much more. Although he made sure we were witness to his hardships, he also made sure we were witness to something even more important. His God. His greatest statement is this…having nothing, and yet possessing everything. Oh, to be able to say that. On Monday morning, my day was starting out like any other. By 10:30 am, it was headed where I did not want it to go. Into the unknown. The area of nothing. But, Paul and God want us to see here that even in those moments of uncertainty and nothingness…we still possess everything. GOD He has not gone anywhere…He has not changed…He is with us.
I’m thanking Him for His great mercy and protection. I’m thanking Him that no matter what, He is Sovereign. One moment life is going this way…the next, it can take a turn…a sharp turn…or simply a detour. I’ve had both…maybe you have too. Whichever way it goes…He is ahead of it all. Our God and King.
Thanking Him for daughters, baby’s, life and
Sending much love,
Debbie
Samson
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
II Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Above is a picture of my miniature Schnauzer, Samson. He is almost 7 years old, but is still a big baby. He evidently didn’t listen when we told him who he was named after. Or maybe he just heard the part about when Samson’s (the one in the Old Testament) hair was cut off and he lost all his strength. Samson the dog is afraid of just about everything. When it thunders, I think my leg grows velcro, since he pretty much stays stuck to it. He’s afraid of any loud noise, (or quiet one for that matter). He runs the other way when the wind blows. The fireplace completely freaks him out. He lives much of his life in fear…poor thing. And as much as I talk to him about it…he either doesn’t listen, doesn’t understand or doesn’t care.
So here’s the thing. Samson the dog reminds me of Debbie the Christian. And here’s why. Samson lives in my house with me, but inside this house is Samson’s house…his crate. He has been crated since we got him at 6 weeks of age. His crate, he believes is his place of safety. The one place that he can go where nothing will hurt him. Not thunder, noise, wind or the fireplace. When it’s time for Samson to go to his crate, I offer him something. A treat. As soon as he hears me getting it out of the cabinet (he’s a smart dog), he RUNS to his crate. The other day as I was doing this whole thing with him, it dawned on me. WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU IN SUCH A HURRY TO BE LOCKED UP IN A CRATE? When he could have the whole house to stay in, he WANTS to go into that little crate. And not just that, but what did it take to get him to go into the crate? A small treat. But, even though it was such a small thing it was something that he WANTED and willingly went into the crate for. Went in to that tiny place where he thought he was safe…but was he?
What things do I love so much that I follow them right into a place of slavery? Most likely it is the same thing, over and over again. The enemy of my soul knows what it takes to get me to go in and holds it in front of me every time. Knowing that I will follow him back into that place. It is a place that I have been so many times, just like Samson. And even though it’s a place of slavery, we do it so many times it begins to feel normal. It feels safe. I willingly go in and just sit there…waiting to be let out again. Strongholds in our lives are that way. It could be many things that take us to a place of slavery. Fear, condemnation, guilt, food, self-loathing, insecurity, pride, jealousy and a million other things that you could add. We each have that “thing” that the enemy holds in front of us luring us, without much effort, into our small place of slavery. But, Jesus came to set us into spacious places. Psalm 31:8 says, “You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.” He wants us to stay in the place where we are most free…the place where He leads us. And the only way to do that is to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on that “thing” that is doing it’s best to lure us in.
After watching Samson day after day after day go into that crate with only a small treat to get him there….I made up my mind. I REFUSE to keep being led by the enemy into that restricted place he desires to take me. He doesn’t want us in the small place of slavery, where the stronghold takes us…looking out wishing we were in the spacious place. My Master and yours wants us to look and listen to Him and stay in the spacious place where there is freedom.
Every day Samson goes into his crate, willingly…several times a day. Every day I will choose to NOT go into that crate of slavery, but instead will stay out…where it’s spacious and full of hope and joy. I’ll let Samson go into the crate…maybe I’ll give him 2 treats tomorrow…smile.
Determined to stay in the freedom of the spacious land &
Sending much love,
Debbie
