the Lord does provide!

I know a woman.  For the purpose of this story she shall remain nameless.  She was pregnant for almost 4 years straight and now has children running around her, constantly yelling and asking her for food.    It sounds just miserable.  But this 'friend' once told me a story about the Lord's provision and I think I should share it here... this is a safe place to share stories, right?

So one day she went to the home improvement store with her husband and her father.  It was a blustery day and on the way they stopped at QT (QuikTrip) and she treated herself to a decadent hot chocolate.  She was midway through her second pregnancy...that means she had a 7 month old at home.

There they were, in the lighting department, gazing above at the dazzling lights, and she, being the klutz she is, knocked over her hot chocolate, spilling it all over the concrete floor.  Luckily there was only one other couple in the aisle, an older couple way down at the other end.  Disappointment trumped embarrassment over the lost beverage and she immediately began to try to clean up her mess.  She had nothing to clean up with!  She had left her purse at home!  She was at a total loss, but as she bent down to pick up the cup something caught her eye.  It was a large white rag like item. Perfect!  Then she noticed the waist band.

Immediately she recognized the rag for what it was, a pair of underwear, and thought, 'Seems legit, better use it to clean up my mess and toss it.'

Out loud she said, "I'll just use this to clean it up."

Her husband said, "No! They have people here that can do that!"

Her father said, "What I want to know is why is there a pair of underwear on the floor in the middle of the Home Depot." This was the most obvious question that needed to be answered, but according to my friend it was divine provision for such a time as this!  (Before you judge, remember she was very very pregnant.)

The older couple noticed the commotion and came to see what was happening.  The woman asked what had happened. She was advised of the accident and reassured that a pair of underwear was being used to clean the spill.  She seemed very concerned that this pregnant woman would be using a mysterious and seemingly dirty pair of underwear to clean up hot chocolate.

"Are you sure you should be doing that honey?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, it's fine." my friend said.

The woman mused, "Seems strange that there would be underwear on the floor here."

My friend replied, "Well, the Lord does provide!" and continued her wiping.  Amazingly enough the woman nodded and said, "Yes, Yes He does." Then she quickly walked away.

My friend finished her task, threw the now brown pair of undies on the bottom of her cart and quickly walked/waddled to the bathroom where she threw them away and vigorously washed her hands.

Returning to the lighting aisle she began laughing, thinking about all she had just experienced.  When she looked up at her husband she whispered,  "Those were MY underwear!  They must have fallen out of my pant leg!"  Too stunned to reply, he just let out a disbelieving scoff.  He has since confessed that he was embarrassed for her (and maybe a little for himself seeing as he had chosen to marry her).

So remember, The Lord does provide...for all of our needs!!!

I long to belong.

Have you ever felt like you were made for something big?  Something BIGGER than what you have?

I had a friend named Nathan. He was my husbands roommate for a while and my tenant.  He was a Marine Reservist.  He lived and breathed Marine life.  He would cook a big pot of spaghetti, mix in a jar of sauce and eat out of it for a few days....from the stovetop.  That spaghetti didn't need refrigeration, no sir, it just needed a thorough reheat to kill bacteria.  We gave him a mattress, he slept next to it on the floor.  He kept MRE's in the kitchen...and ate them on a regular basis.  He had found something to live for.

He couldn't wait to be called to war, was disappointed every time his unit was passed by.  But he finally got his chance.  He was called.  He couldn't wait to go to San Diego for training.

Life went on, he would call and tell Josh all about preparation in San Diego, how he had been promoted to Lance Corporal, how he had learned the language, he had found his fulfillment.

Nathan came to visit us before shipping out.  He came by the house, left his extra supplies, and said goodbye.  I remember giving him a big hug in the living room and all of the sudden it hit me and I said, "Oh my gosh Nathan, this could be the last time I see you!"  He laughed and said, "Nah, don't say that Tarah, I'll be back."   And then he was gone, off to another world.  He loved the children in Iraq, loved the people.  Loved the purpose he had there.

In the meantime our lives went on.   We were newlyweds, settling into our futures and I became pregnant with our first child.  One afternoon I was driving home from my favorite place, the library.  I had just turned out onto Elm Place and was listening to AM radio when I heard the news.  A local Marine had been killed in Iraq, "Cpl. Nathaniel T Hammond was killed today by an IED."

I was shocked.

And then I was at the same house where I had last seen him and my husband walked in and began to weep and we cried together in the same place where Nathan and I had said our last goodbyes.  Then there was the doorbell and the news was at our home.  We gave a short interview and I said Nathan had  given his life the way he would have chosen.  He had found what he was searching for, something bigger than himself to be apart of.

http://militarytimes.com/valor/marine-cpl-nathaniel-t-hammond/499407

I think we are all looking for that very thing, something bigger than us, better than our intentions, stronger than our own frailties.   And we are wanting to join ourselves to it so that our lives are not as inconspicuous and forgetful as we are afraid they could be.

We join ourselves to a cause, to global warming, to gay rights, animal rights, human trafficking, whatever we like, and then hope, if only to ourselves, that we are important.

But this is a lie, the cause can never make us significant because a cause is manmade and that in and of itself makes it faulty.  A cause can never be perfect or even good because mankind is neither perfect nor good!  Even when the cause is divinely ordained, it is still prone to the human weaknesses and imperfections of its human leadership.  We can only expect disappointment when we put our hopes in a man-run organization.

We cannot be found in a cause, we can only be found in our Maker.  He gave his only son for us, and that sacrifice makes us significant.  Do you believe that a perfect man, Jesus, would die for someone who was good?  Who is worthy enough?  He didn't, he died for us, for you and me, with all of our imperfections, and in doing so has given us worth.

He knew our addictions, our evil thoughts, our impure motives, our longing for satisfaction.  He saw our greed, our ill intent, our dirty desires.

He hung there bloody, his skin torn from his body, his face swollen beyond human recognition, naked, with a mocking audience yelling at him.  He witnessed our rejection, our betrayal of him and he did it anyway.  Because he loves us that much and HE thinks we are worth his life.  wow.

Us...worth his life.

I cannot fathom that grace. And I surely can't live up to it.  I can only receive it, and say, "Thank You, Thank You sir.  You have my life, HELP ME!!!!  Help me to live it as You wish, and in doing so, finally belong."

Me, considering moose advocacy.

We are preparing for Christmas.  On Saturday I watched as the boys put up the tree, the garland, the ornaments.  I did not fluff one fake tree limb, it was wonderful!!!  I did not direct, Josh did. Perfect!

So, a few months ago I started taking this supplement called Biotin.  It's a hair/skin/nail supplement.  It has made my skin baby butt smooth and I guess my hair is growing faster, but that's hard to tell.  One of the initial side effects is acne.  I suppose that's because it's improving skin from the inside out.  Pushing all of those imperfections up and out (in the form of oozy zits) so that the new and improved skin can be genuinely clear and beautiful.

I think sometimes that's how it is with God too.  When we go to Him and say, Here I am!  Fix me!!! Make me beautiful Lord!!  We are looking for the new and improved version of us to be forthcoming.  But what we don't anticipate is the process it takes to get there.  The nasty stuff needs to be pushed up and out of us in order to be cleansed away.  It seems overwhelming for me...when I see myself and the project God has in store.  Can he handle making me new?

Of course he can.  The trick is letting him...It's convincing myself to allow the imperfections to be revealed so they can be removed.  But the good news?  He will do it and I don't have to.  I just have to sit back and let him.

Hitler and God's intentions

Before I got out of bed this morning I was thinking.  About Hitler.  I don't know why, I'm just a little odd like that...random morning thoughts, you know.

I was thinking about Hitler and about what God's plans for him were...originally.  Do you believe that God has an ultimate plan for your life?  I do.  And I think we are the ones who interfere with it...with our doubts, our inclinations, our short-sightedness, our desires.  We ruin it for Him, but ultimately we ruin it for ourselves.

So there I was thinking about what a talent Hitler was.  How he could mesmerize crowds, encourage them to believe that they were special, unique, entitled.

How those crowds slowly began to ostracize "others" based on Hitlers encouragement.

How they felt justified in doing so.

How they stood silent when those "others" were ripped from their families, their hard earned businesses, from the homes they had established.

And maybe those crowds felt like the "others" deserved that treatment...they were wealthy...had more than some...

And then they stood silent when those "others" were tortured and murdered, becoming ashes hanging over their heads.

But how did God see Hitler?  He loved him.  Desired to have a friendship with him.  Desired to lead him, to teach him how to utilize those talents for a greater purpose.

God wanted Hitler to be satisfied at the end of his life, not holed up committing suicide.  He wanted good things for Adolf.  

But Adolf went his own way, followed his own desires.

I got the feeling that when God sees us He sees how He made us...with all the plans He has for us. He doesn't see our past, He sees our future as He planned it! And it's up to us to abandon our limited sight and begin to walk His way!
 
I am encouraged!!  Jeremiah 29:11!

Life really is all about perspective, isn't it?

I was thinking this morning about my mom.  She left her home and her parents to live in abject poverty with her newly minted husband and their infant baby girl.  She went from using disposable wipes to a washcloth, from having a well insulated home to wind blowing through the walls.  And this is no reflection on my father.  He worked hard and built a prosperous and beautiful life for his family out of ashes.

But what is it about her that allows her to float through life, unscathed by her circumstances.  I think it must be the peaceful awareness that:  This too shall pass.

This life is so temporary.  And all in it inconsequential.  Beyond is the true measure of our existence.

My mother should be a dark cloud.  She has been through enough grief in her life to make anyone fold into depression.  She could be walking around, feeling sorry for herself, saying, "Woe is me, I have had such a hard life."  But she doesn't.  And she WOULDN'T.

She is happy.  Always happy.  Sometimes mockingly so.  It's almost like she wakes up and subconsciously says, "What's the worst that could happen today?  I die!  Hooray!!!  Then I would get to be in paradise with my daughter, mother, grandson, sister, etc..."  If the worst that could happen is death, BRING it ON!!

And therein lies the perspective.   How would we look at our day if we can look it, and all the trials in it, and say, "HA!  You don't matter in the long run!"

This must be what Paul means when he says, "Death has lost it's sting."  We should have constant joy, if only in knowing that an eternity with our most loved ones awaits.  Can you believe that Jesus made that kind of peace available for us.  Thank you Lord.

Aftermath

So, 4 more years.

Of what, exactly?

During the results an exit poll flashed up on FoxNews from Iowa:  Do you consider yourself to be an Evangelical/Born Again Christian?  Yes: 32 No: 68.

I thought to myself, That is why Romney will lose this election.  Voting, like most everything, is an outward sign of an inward condition.

If we are smart enough to recognize that this type of vote [for abortion, debt, joblessness, total reliance on government for basic needs] is a sign of a spiritual deficit then we can formulate a battle plan.

God always said, SEEK ME FIRST!

I was expecting a President Romney to correct the mess in America.  How wrong I was.  I should never have looked to a mere man to fix this country.  Only God can heal our land, ONLY Him.

I have been thinking that a political battle is a spiritual battle.  How can a Christian, learning and developing in the Bible mentality, support a Liberal?  How can they be pro-choice, pro-tax, pro-welfare, pro-Obamacare?  All of those issues fly in the face of Jesus and all He died for us to live in.

Maybe instead of sending money to a political campaign we should donate to local churces in battleground cities.  They will grow, preach the gospel, show men His love, and their hearts will change along with their votes.  It would be beneficial for all involved!

Obama can do God's will in office, and I believe that God does have a large remnant left in America, but it is up to us to rise and live up to His expectations with the abilities He has so tenderly placed inside each of us.

Elections are in 2 days and I. cannot. wait.

 Finally it will be "decided".


Is there any reason I should vote for Obama?
Has he done spectacular on jobs...or even moderately well on unemployment?
Has he stopped terrorism against us? Closed Guantanamo? Decreased welfare? Decreased abortions?       Has he made energy more affordable? Fueled my personal economy?
Has he made America gleam with promise?
Is SHE more of an example to the rest of the world of how to do it right?
Is SHE more united? Less partisan?
Has he gone to Congress and convinced the left to compromise with the right and vice versa?
Has he caused the oceans to recede? Are we really better off than we were 4 years ago?
Have his economics created a path to prosperity for me?

Quite honestly, when I find myself thinking, "If I lose my job Obama will take care of us" I am afraid.

The government has grown too big, too God-like.

It's a precarious position when America becomes our Master..and we Her slaves...looking to her for basic provision.

That's why I'm voting for Romney.