Love The Ones You're With

Recently my daughter was searching for something n our attic, and came across a VHS video labeled "My First Year", which was a recording of the entire first year of her life.

My three children and I all stopped what we were doing, and for the next hour, laid on the bed watching this video, laughing until we cried.

It was a typical first-time-mom video. You know - the kind where the baby is videoed for ten solid minutes, while she was just laying there - doing absolutely nothing except looking adorable. Then we watched the baby coo. Then we watched the baby turn her head. Then we watched the baby as she lay helpless in her swaying baby swing with a wide eyed look of "what's happening to me?!" Then we watched the baby cry... and so on.

Every "first" was recorded, from baths, to swimming pools, to Easter outfits, to birthday parties. Every minute of her little life was too precious to miss, and definitely video worthy.

It brought back so many sweet memories of the beginning of my little family, and all the ways God has blessed us and transformed our hearts since that time.

But amid the laughter, my heart was also touched with bittersweet memories. Memories which had been misplaced somewhere in the recesses of my mind as the years had passed.

My eyes burned with tears as I saw my paternal grandmother celebrating Morgan's first Christmas, smiling as she watched her play on the little baby bed of which she had knitted little blankets and pillows for. The sound of her voice was such a sweet memory, like music to my ears. She had died of cancer when Morgan was only eighteen months old.

I watched my maternal grandparents hold my daughter, and ooh and awe over her, as I stood proudly in the background - with large bangs and bright blue eye shadow. But today, they are both walking with Jesus as well.

I watched as my husband's Grandfather, and his precious full-of-life Aunt, laughed and talked with the family over a Christmas holiday, both of whom passed away way too early due to unusual tragedies.

I watched my sweet sister, beautiful, healthy and vivacious - years before she was diagnosed with the debilitating disease of Multiple Sclerosis.

As I watched scenes from my past play out on the screen, I was reminded of people who were once in our lives, but are now no longer a part. I saw how some people once were, but how their lives have drastically changed. 

Yet at that time, the thought of change occurring.... was not even a thought. We took the present, and the people in it, for granted, simply because we were just living our ordinary lives. Taking for granted that those people would always be around, and that life would go on as 'normal'.

Although many of the memories were fun to revisit, and it was hilarious getting a glimpse of the strange choices of hairstyles and clothes that we all had back then, it also was a reminder of how quickly life changes, and how short and priceless it truly is.

When all those experiences were recorded eighteen years ago, things were so different. People were so... there. Lives were so in tact. But life would soon change, we just had no idea what those changes would be.

As I watched the video, my heart flooded with sweet and painful memories, I felt a compelling desire to treasure the people in my life, and not take them for granted, as I so often do. I certainly do not mean to take them for granted, but when doing normal life, we just don't expect the present to change.

 I also felt a sense of urgency to call and tell all my loved ones that I loved them, just because. To forgive someone who I had been holding a grudge against. To overlook the little idiosyncrasies of other people instead of letting them get on my nerves. To have patience and adoration for the important people in my life, and not be passive in my relationships.

To love the ones in my life with my whole heart, while I still have them to hold.

Every minute of our lives is not video worthy, but every moment with the people we love is a priceless gift. Dare we take those moments for granted for one more day?

Is there someone who needs to feel your love today? Is there someone who you need to tell them you love them... just because?

There is no better time like the present.

When Transformation Becomes Beautiful

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

This is a popular verse, usually referenced with respect to steering away from sinful thoughts and behaviors, and to be in the world, but not of the world. But as I was considering this verse recently, I saw a new twist about being transformed and my curiosity was peaked.

The word "transformation" comes from the Greek word μεταμόρφωσις, which means, metamorphosis.  In my opinion, the term metamorphosis more clearly describes what God means when he tells us to be transformed through His power. You see, when something experiences metamorphosis, it completely changes, on the inside and the outside. Once something has morphed from its old state, into its new state, that change is obvious to everyone.

An example of a true metamorphosis would be an insect that completely changes its biological structure. For instance, what starts out as a tiny larvae, turns into a worm, then builds a cocoon, and emerges as a butterfly. The insect completely changed from one state to another, from the inside out.

That is what Romans 12:2 is encouraging us to do in Christ - to allow Him to change us completely.  Not partially. Not just the areas that we dont mind changing. Not just the things that we wanted to change. But completely. So that He can create His masterpiece in us, even when we cannot see what He is building, just as I talked about in today's Proverbs 31 Devotion.

A 19th century German philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche was best known for his statement "God is dead". The death of God movement in the sixties is sometimes technically referred to as "theothanatology" and promotes the belief that humans are no longer able to believe in any supernatural order since they themselves no longer recognize it - which basically means, that since there was no evidence that peoples lives and hearts were changing as a result of their belief in God, then He must certainly be dead.

Obviously to me, and anyone else who claims Jesus as the only Savior of the world, this is an extremely blasphemous, offensive statement, and a grossly false assumption, because we know and believe that the Holy Trinity is alive and well.

However, did Nietzsche have a point with his underlying comment that if you cant see real life change in people who claim to believe in God, then God must not really be present in their lives? I think he did.

You see, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, and commit to living a life that brings glory to Him, we are called to a radical transformation - not just one that we claim, but one that people can see happening in us.

This act of transformation begins with God rebuilding our heart from lost to saved, our mind from sinful to righteous, and then our life from mundane to purposeful.

When we truly undergo a radical transformation of the heart, mind and soul, our outward behaviors and actions will become a new creation, obvious to all who see us. So if we say we are in Christ, but there is no metamorphosis occurring in our life, are we really transformed?

People are usually not impressed by looking at an ugly gray cocoon, but are always impressed by the beauty and splendor of a butterfly when it emerges from that cocoon. Of course our goal for transformation through Christ is not to impress anyone, but our goal should be for others to see the beautiful transformation that has happened within us.

When people see physical evidence of what an invisible God is building in our lives, only then will they be interested in discovering Christ for themselves.

Even though we have no idea what He may be building, we can always have faith that it will be a masterpiece, just as we told in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "

When God builds something beautiful, people notice.

How might God be transforming you, or building you, into something new?

Fingerprints of Grace

When we think of a fingerprint, we rarely think past the thought of a smudge that our finger leaves on a surface. But a fingerprint is actually so much more, especially when it comes to leaving fingerprints of grace.

A fingerprint is an impression of who we are, left on something or someone we have touched. It is an indention of our unique makeup,  pressed upon something or someone else. It leaves our mark, and is sort of like our signature card for every move we make in life.

It is a unique external pattern of our internal DNA that nobody else in the world has besides us. A science article I recently read said that when fingerprints form, they are dependent upon "the exact position of a fetus in the womb at a particular moment and the exact composition and density surrounding amniotic fluid that's swirling around the fingers as they touch surrounding structures."

So the entire development of a fingerprint is so chaotic within the confines of a mother's belly that among all the people who have ever lived, or will ever live, there is virtually no chance of the same exact pattern ever forming twice. Even identical twins do not have identical fingerprints.

I find that fascinating, and when pondering the concept of Gods grace, as mentioned in today's Proverbs 31 Devotion, I began to consider not only how God has left His fingerprints on me, but how we leave our unique fingerprints of grace on other people.

The story of my life is covered with God's fingerprints of grace, as is yours as well.  All my precious memories, my blessings, and even my most painful scars, are evidence of God's fingerprints of grace in my life. As I thought about this analogy, God pricked my heart to ponder if, and how, I had left my fingerprints on anyone lately.  Not on their physical bodies, but on their spiritual hearts. 

I began to consider how much I treasure the grace that God provides to me, especially knowing that it is only given because of His sovereignty, not because I deserve it, yet how I often forget to extend grace to others, especially if I don't feel they deserve it. 

This whisper to my spirit prompted me to spend some time in prayer, asking God to make me aware of how I could 'touch' someone in the near future, with grace from me, as an extension of Him.

I also asked that He open my eyes to see if I am withholding grace from someone who needs it, and if I am, to infuse me with the courage to offer it as freely as He offers it to us  - with genuine love, and no strings attached.

I then recalled the verse in 2 Corinthians 9:8 which says "And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."

I was reminded through this scripture verse that grace is not a gift to be kept to ourselves, but a gift that is meant to be shared.  When God leaves His impression on our hearts, we should feel so moved by His touch, that we feel an overwhelming desire to leave our fingerprints on the lives of someone else.

Are you thankful for God's fingerprints on your life?  Are you thankful enough to reach out and touch someone else in His name today? 

If God is bringing someone specific to your mind right now.... someone who needs your grace, and maybe even your forgiveness, but whom you have been withholding grace from .... will you consider leaving your fingerprint on them today?  Is there someone you don't even know, yet you may know about, who might need to be touched by God, through your touch today?

If so, consider leaving a quick comment about who God may have placed on your heart, so that we can all pray for each other,  but also for your own accountability to follow through, especially if it may take a lot of faith and courage to do so.

There are lots of ways to leave our fingerprints on people we know and people we do not know; people we love, and people we find hard to love. If God calls us to step out in faith and touch someone, then it is because that person needs to have our specific mark left on them. A mark which is unique to who we are, and one that no one else can leave. A signature card of who we are in Christ, and an indention on their hearts, with our initials.

So who will you leave your unique, God-inspired impression on today? When the day is over, where will your fingerprints be?

His View is Straight Through

No matter how many times I travel on an airplane, the privilege of getting a birds eye view, or should I say a "God's eye view", of the earth never ceases to take my breath away.

I flew to Peoria, Illinois, this past weekend to speak at a wonderful Winter Conference. My seating preference when I am flying is always a window seat for two reasons: 1) if I want to sleep, I can lean my head against the window instead of risking it bobbing around like a fishing lure in the ocean, and 2) I love to soak in God's view of the world from the skies.

On Sunday, my flight home from Peoria was connecting through Chicago, and upon our descent to the airport, I could see the layering of snow from the snowstorm that had swept through that area on Friday. Although this unexpected snowstorm caused me great travel angst and stress on Friday, causing flight delays and detours which resulted in my arriving at the event fifteen minutes before I was supposed to be on stage, this light blanket of snow now seemed peaceful and beautiful.

As I peered out the window at the snow covered ground, my eyes fell upon the sheets of ice that covered the bodies of water. But as we slowly glided over them, I noticed something unique - I could see straight through the lake water, getting a glimpse of the huge rocks and canyons that hid deep beneath the surface. It was a sight that would never be seen by the human eye when standing on the shores of the lakes.

As I tried to focus on the murky objects tucked under the freezing water, I thought about how God has this amazing view of the earth every day. How He is able to see straight through to the ocean and lake floors and get a glimpse of even the tiniest of tiny fish. How He can see straight through the ground into the innermost portion of the planet.  And then I pondered the thought, of how He can see straight through us as well.

He sees the caverns of our heart, the hurts buried within, the insecurities embedded into our subconscious spirits, and the unspoken fears in our minds. He sees through the tough facades that we put on every day as we mask our feelings from others and bury our concerns so deep that they will never be seen by the human eye. He sees all the things we try to hide from others, and maybe even from Him.

He sees our true hearts, and knows our real motives, for all that we think and do.  God sees straight through our exterior surfaces, viewing deep into our interior lives.

Here are a few verses that portray that truth:

Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

1 Samuel 16:17b "... God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Revelation 2:23 ".......I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds."

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we often feel convicted by the Holy Spirit when our actions go against what would please God. I should know - I keep the Holy Spirit pretty busy in the daily conviction category.

Yet, we may not be as quick to feel that conviction when it comes to our thoughts - but whether we feel convicted or not, God sees straight through us. He knows what we are thinking.. all.. the.. time.  I am the first to confess that all too often, I would love to hide my thoughts from God.

For you see, He knows how much truth we have in our hearts, and how much hypocrisy we hide. He knows how much compassion we really have, and how we secretly begrudge others. He knows how much grace we give, and when we are merely pretending not to judge.

He knows how content we are with what we have, and our level of inner discontentment. He knows when we forgive with our lips, and then secretly harbor unforgiveness and anger. He knows when we smile at our 'neighbor', but curse them under our breath. He knows when we congratulate someone for an accomplishment, and then feel envious because we did not receive that same blessing.

We might be able to fool other people, making them think we have it all together or that we are all "spiritual" all the time. We might even be able to fool ourselves for a while. But God can never be fooled. Scripture teaches us that God not only knows our hearts, He "searches" them, constantly exposing us for who we really are. 

In John 4:29, the Samaritan woman ran back to her village and told everyone, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”

This woman at the well did not know exactly who Christ was at the time, and could not understand how He knew so much about her - but we do know. The mere thought of anyone, much less our Sovereign God, knowing everything about our past, present and future, including our most private thoughts, can cause even the strongest Christian to shudder in shame and fear.

Oh what a friend we have in Jesus though. A friend who does not condemn, but understands, and is quick to forgive upon the asking. A friend who does not keep record of our wrongs, but renews our mercies every day. A friend who offers forgiveness and grace. A friend who sees straight through us, but loves us just the same.

Knowing that He sees through us does not need to provoke shame, but rather should fill us with an ambitious desire to take a long hard look at our thoughts and actions, or our patterns of thoughts and actions, and determine if they are pleasing to Him.

If we were to wake up every morning remembering that God sees every action and hears every thought, do you think we would go about our days with a different perspective? Would we be as prone to sin, inwardly or outwardly, if we truly lived in an acute awareness that God sees straight through?

One of the most challenging things God calls us to do is admit our need for more of Him, and lay down any patterns of thought, behavior or sin that might be a barrier to living fully in Him. I am certainly up for the challenge today... what about you?

Let's take a moment to meditate on Psalm 139, asking God to bury the truths found in these verses into the deepest caverns of our souls, so that when He searches our hearts and sees straight through, He sees more of Him, than us.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Craving Unlimited Portions

 Psalm 16:5  LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.

If the term "you are what you eat" was literally true, my son would be a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

He is now twelve years old, but before he was even old enough to say 'ice cream', he loved ice cream. But only chocolate. In fact, when he turned six years old, he wanted chocolate ice cream for his birthday breakfast, so he got it, of course. And every year since then it has been his special birthday tradition.

Once when Michael was four years old, he pleaded in his sweet little boy voice for some chocolate ice cream. "Pleeeaaassseeeee, mommy" (with blue eyes bulging and bottom lip poked out). I could never resist that adorable cherub face, so I agreed, and pulled the gallon of ice cream out of the freezer. I pried open the lid and realized it was nearly empty, so rather than exhaust my arm muscles trying to scoop and scoop and scoop to get that little bit of ice cream out, I told Michael to just get a spoon and eat it straight out of the gallon.

I created a monster that day.

Once he discovered that eating "out of the gallon" meant that his portion would not be limited to the few scoops I put into a bowl, life changed. Never again did he ask for ice cream without taking a shot at proposing that he eat out of the gallon. If I had a dollar for every time he asked me to eat out of the gallon for the past few years, I would be rich!

I can't help but smile every time he asks me that question now, because it has become a running joke between us. That boy loves him some chocolate ice cream, and simply never wants his portion to be limited.

One day during one of his "can-I-eat-out-of-the-gallon" requests (of which I usually answer with 'no', because nobody needs to eat that many calories every day) I thought about how great it would be if I considered God's Word in the same way that he feels about chocolate ice cream.....

With a hunger that can never be satisfied. Always longing for more. And a desire for unlimited portions.

Psalm 73:26 says "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. "

This verse refers to "portion" to describe that although we will fail, God is enough to make up for our human-ness. He is our inheritance and our heritage. And in Him, we can know we are safe and taken care of, because He determines our destiny and holds our future in His hands. God offers us us the exact portion of Him that we need to get through life - not a piece of Him, but a whole portion.When we choose to rely on His portion for our strength, we have His favor.

We never have to feel hungry or dissatisfied with life, because God is our portion. And when it comes to His Word, we can always eat out of the gallon! In fact, we can have as much we want, whenever we want it!

But...... we have to want it, hunger for it, desire for its taste in our spirit, and continually consume it into our hearts, all the while knowing that we will never be too full for more.

I have been saying a simple 10-word prayer for the past few years, which goes like this:  "Lord, help me to hunger and thirst for your Word."  I can honestly say, that over time, He has answered that prayer. In fact, just the other day as I was studying the book of James, I found myself feeling like I was reading a suspense novel, sitting on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't wait to read more! When I realized what I was doing,  I actually chuckled at myself, and paused to thank God for finally giving me a sincere love for His Book.

You see, when we learn to love His Word, we realize that God can fill all our empty spaces, broken hearts, unmet needs,  and spiritual complacency, and we truly understand that we never have to feel spiritually or emotionally hungry again.

What would happen if we developed an insatiable craving for God to be our portion every day?

What would happen if we really depended on God to be our portion during the most difficult days, when we are starving for peace, comfort and freedom from pain and adversity?

What would happen if we asked God to be our portion during the happy and care free days, causing us to pause to express gratitude for our blessings?

What if we gave Him the best portion of ourselves each day?

If we did these things, do you think our perspective on every day life, and our every day God, would change for the better?  I am sure of it.

I don't know about you, but I want to eat out of the gallon of God's Word every day. He always has just the perfect, delicious portion that our hearts hunger for, and He knows just which flavor we need.  He knows the portion that will satisfy our soul, and fill us up with peace, yet leave us longing for more.

And good news.......... it is all 100% calorie free.  Smiles.

(Little Michael, 4 years old, with his beloved birthday breakfast ice cream.)

Little Things Matter After All

Luke 16:10 If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. (NLT)

I honestly did not know that such a little thing would matter.

You see, a few days ago, I had charged my daughters with the tasks of emptying the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen, including washing out the coffee pot.

Although I love coffee, I don't make it every morning, and I had not made any since my daughter's had cleaned the kitchen.  But there are days when I feel an overwhelming need to enjoy a hot cup of java before I can function, and yesterday morning was one of those days.

After shuffling into the kitchen in my half-asleep state, I switched on the light over my sink, and reached for the coffee pot,  immediately realizing that only the shell of the coffee maker was sitting on the cabinet. The coffee pot itself was nowhere to be seen.

I groaned under my breath, wondering why no one can ever put things back where they belong, and began frantically searching for the pot. I sifted through all of the cabinets and drawers, and even in some of the least expected places, and finally my eyes fell upon the beloved glass pot. I grasped the handle and turned to fill it with water, only to discover that the coffee pot lid was missing.

Houston - we have another problem.  Heavy sigh. 

Despite my meticulous search efforts, I could not locate the little black lid anywhere, and needless to say, my patience had worn thin by this point.  I momentarily contemplated tromping upstairs, flipping on lights, and abruptly waking up two sleeping girls, but then decided that my coffee-pot-lid-crisis was not a worthy reason to rudely wake them. So as a last resort,  I convinced myself that the lid was just a 'little thing', and it probably didn't even matter anyway.

I filled up the filter with coffee grounds, breathed in a good long whiff of the flavorful smell, and poured in the water. I then tiptoed back to my bedroom for a few minutes, while anxiously awaiting my first cup.

But when I walked back into the kitchen, I saw a horrible sight - no coffee was in the pot!!! Instead, all of the water was trapped in the filter, creating a dirty pool of coffee grounds which was slowly overflowing all over the counter.

Hmmmm....I guess that little black lid mattered after all.

You see, until that very moment, I had never noticed that the bulging, small, plastic bulb hanging under the filter area, had to be pushed up by the placement of the lid on the pot, in order for the water to come down properly. (You are probably thinking a big fat "duh" is warranted here, but have mercy, it was early.)

I just never imagined that one small, flat, seemingly purposeless lid, played such a crucial role in the proper functioning of an entire coffee maker.

After begrudgingly cleaning up the mess and succumbing to the reality that I was not going to get any coffee that morning, I thought about how such a 'little thing' made a huge difference. My mind wandered to how easily we overlook the little things in life, that we think do not matter, but that actually are of utmost importance.

Little things like loving our neighbor (or spouse, child, co-worker, or relative), when that person is not being lovable. Little things like guarding our heart, when temptations of the world seem alluring.

Little things like forgiveness, when we want to stay vengeful. Little things like letting go of anger, when we feel justified in being bitter.

Little things like patience, gentleness and self control.

Little things like taking time to visit someone in the hospital, even if it means fighting rush hour traffic and getting home late after a long day at work.

Little things like listening to a friend who is going through a hard time, while putting aside the urgent to-do's on our personal agenda. 

Little things like holding our tongue to keep peace, even when we know we are right, and they are wrong.

Little things like putting aside envy when someone receives a blessing we have prayed fervently for, and focusing on the blessings that we have already received.

Little things like trusting God in all His ways, even when His ways are not at all what we would have chosen for ourselves.

Seemingly little things, that when overlooked or viewed as unimportant, can have serious negative consequences that overflow out of the filters of our soul, all over our life, and even onto the people around us.

Little things that may seem unimportant at first glance, but that will actually affect the entire functioning of our heart.

The importance of many of the little things in life are often underrated because they seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of living, but it is exactly those little things that God places in our path as stepping stones to the bigger things, and greater blessings, that He has in store for us. When God can trust us with the little things, He will begin to entrust us with the big things.

I guess little things really do matter after all - sometimes more than we will ever know.

What 'little things' might God be calling you to see as important today?