May you walk in Son shine and be encouraged through the trials of life as a wife, mother and woman of faith. May laughter fill your days, courage strengthen your soul and His love light your way. May God be ever present and invited into your journey. May I refresh your spirit and cause your heart to smile.
He who . . . changes deep darkness into morning, who also darkens day into night. Amos 5:8
Looking out the window before dawn this morning I stared at the fresh fallen snow. It was as beautiful as a bride headed for church. Feeling the chill from the window pane I wrapped up and snuggled into a woolen blanket. Sipping on a steaming hot cup of coffee I gazed into the shadows of the unborn day while watching carefully as God “changed the deep darkness into morning.” It was as if the sun kissed the morning hello and all the earth blushed briefly with a pale orange thank you Father. Following an array of orangey pink hues the day shone bright and clear beneath a deep blue sky. I began to think how equally and incredibly beautiful it will be at the opposite end of this day as God “darkens day into night”. Can you imagine what it was like when God did this for the first time? His chill bumps must have been phenomenal as He watched it and said, “This is good.” God made two huge lights, the sun and the moon, to shine down upon the earth—the larger one, the sun, to preside over the day and the smaller one, the moon, to preside through the night; he had also made the stars. And God set them in the sky to light the earth, and to preside over the day and night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God was pleased. Genesis 1:16–18 TLB
A pearl to string: Oh Lord how could anyone wonder if miracles still occur today? I guess most hearts picture the lame walking, the blind seeing yet to our wondering eyes each day has a ball of fire hanging in the sky, and another hanging ball that reflects the light of the big one, and billions of twinkling ones! Oh the splendor of Your creative touch. Each day is a miracle to rejoice in. "The dawn and the sunset shout for joy". Psalm 65:8 TLB
May this Thanksgiving be a time you dwell on your blessings. Taking time to reflect and know we are all Safe in the depth of His creation, Lyndi
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident stole her joy. This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss.
Troubles had multiplied. Her husband's company "threatened" to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come on her long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra's friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.
"Had she lost a child? She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder. "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. "For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but took her child's?"
"Good afternoon, can I help you?" Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk.
"I.... I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.
"For Thanksgiving?" Sandra nodded. Do you want the beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the 'Thanksgiving Special'? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?"
"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."
Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, "Hi, Barbara... let me get your order." She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.
"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk.
Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again." She said, as she gently tapped her chest.
Sandra stammered, "That lady just left with, uh.... she left with no flowers!"
"That's right, said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."
"Oh, come on! You can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!" exclaimed Sandra.
"Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do, today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery."
"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk. "For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel."
"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.
"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I NEVER questioned Him why those GOOD things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, "WHY? WHY Me?!" It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."
Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about the thought that her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is, I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."
Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man. "My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement... twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.
"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?"
"No... I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem. The Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from "thorny" times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us." As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"
"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."
"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."
Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.
"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."
"Thank you. What do I owe you?"
"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."
It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."
Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns.
Excerpts from a devotional by Sharon Jaynes: One day Jesus traveled to Capernaum, Peter's hometown. The people had heard about how Jesus healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and cast out evil spirits. That evening, so many people came to hear Jesus at Peter's home they were crowded into every nook and cranny, even overflowing out the door.
However, Jesus' voice was not the only thing heard among the crowd. Sounds of hammering, pounding, digging, and scraping mingled with voices. Jesus suddenly felt clay from the ceiling begin to rain down on his head and sprinkle his lashes. Dust piled up around his sandaled feet and showered his now powdery cloak. As Jesus raised his eyes to the ceiling, he discovered a growing opening in the ceiling and four very determined men.
The crowd stared wide-eyed as a man was lowered through the opening in the roof and placed at Jesus' feet. Jesus looked down at the paralyzed man lying on the palette before him and simply said, "Your sins are forgiven."
But wait; is that what the man really longed for? Is that what his friends had in mind? Oh my friend, sometimes it is our sin that paralyzes us. One of satan's most damaging tactics is to paralyze us with our own emotional wounds. He wants to fill us with shame, weigh us down with guilt, and cripple our progress toward the cross, but Jesus came to set us free! He tells us to get up and walk!
Another facet of this story sets my heart to singing! The man's friends loved him enough to carry him to Jesus. Sometimes we don't have the energy to make it to the Healer alone. How blessed to have friends who will be the stretcher bearers that carry us to the Savior, risk the rebuke of digging a hole in the roof, and are not afraid of getting a bit messy in the process.
Someone once said, "A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails." A friend can remind me of God's faithfulness when my memory is clouded by the circumstances of life. God sometimes uses friends to be our "stretcher bearers", those willing to carry us through the difficulties of life and set us at the feet of Jesus. At other times, He might call you to be that willing friend for someone else.
A pearl to string:"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!". Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 NIV
My prayers for you my friend have made me one of your stretcher bearers. You are loved, Lyndi
"I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name." Is 49:15-16
"I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me." Jn 10:14
Ray C. Cone, 48, went to rest in peace with his Savior, on November 7, 2009. Ray is survived by his loving wife Trish and beloved children Daniel, Andrew, Patrick, Caroline and Stephen. Ray was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, where his family. was stationed in the Air Force. Growing up in Edgewater, Colorado, Ray excelled in baseball, basketball and football. He later became an All American middle linebacker at Colorado University, where he still holds the record for the most tackles. He later signed with the Denver Broncos. Ray shared his love of sports with each of his five children, volunteer coaching all their teams. Ray’s outgoing personality, integrity and strong work ethic led him to become a successful salesman. Ray will be remembered for his sense of humor, selfless service, love and devotion to family, and above all his love for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I will come to you in the silence, I will lift you from all your fear. You will hear my voice, I claim you as my choice, Be still and know I am here. Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine.
I am hope for all who are hopeless, I am eyes for all who long to see. In the shadows of the night, I will be your light, Come and rest in me. Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine.
I am strength for all the despairing, Healing for the ones who dwell in shame All the blind will see, The lame will run free, And all will know my name. Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine. I am the Word that leads all to freedom, I am the peace the world cannot give. I will call your name, Embracing all your pain, Stand up, now walk, and live! Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine.
A friend of mine who is going through a very painful trial in her life shared with me how she is dealing with the anger and frustration as she faces the daily unpredictable encounters. When the negative experiences collide with her shattered heart she reaches for the Lord and focuses on mercy and grace. Often repeating the words rapidly as the healing balm begins to cover the pain. How vital for our own healing it is to forgive even the most unforgivable.
While in a concentration camp in Germany, Betsie ten Boom was becoming frail. One day while doing heavy manual labor, she kindly said to her guard, “Don’t give me more to do than I am trying to do already, because I am not strong enough to lift these heavy parts.” The guard flashed back, “You don’t decide what you do. I decide.” At that the guard brutally beat Betsie. Corrie ten Boom, her sister, watched and was enraged. When the guard left, Corrie went over to Betsie who now had blood all over her face. Betsie immediately said, “No, don’t hate, Corrie. You must love and forgive.”
Corrie knew that she was unable. That night she went for a walk and told the Lord that she could not forgive “that brutal woman.” The Lord reminded her of a Scripture, “God’s love had been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) Corrie knew that what she was unable to do, the Lord, in her, was able to do.
She writes, “At that moment, when I was able to forgive, my hatred disappeared. What a liberation! Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. What a liberation when you can forgive.” - Adapted from Oh How He Loves You, by Corrie ten Boom
A pearl to string: Troubles, trials, and tragedies reveal our vulnerability and weakness. Those times strip us of arrogance making us less judgmental of others. Most of us become more accepting, understanding, and kind after we have been through a fiery trial. Finally it is from the darkness that we emerge stronger, wiser, and more resilient. It is when we are falling into the depths that we experience the majesty and power of God’s promises. In the biography film The Hiding Place, Betsie Ten Boom said to Corrie, her sister that “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” A statement of faith of God’s timeless and boundless love.
When I was a little girl I lived on the beach in Santa Monica. I loved to stroll along the ocean's edge and collect the broken glass the sea would toss out. The salt water had smoothed the rough edges and changed the color into something so beautiful. I would examine each colorful piece and imagine wonderful stories of travelers in far away places. Broken into beautiful.... wouldn't that make a great devotional. I've been waiting more than a couple of years for the Holy Spirit to guide me into that devotional. I wondered why it would not come to me until this morning when I read Gwen Smith's devotional from Girlfriends in God. It's the perfect illustration for my beautiful broken glass devotional.
Broken Into Beautiful by Gwen Smith
Today's Truth "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." Psalm 34:5
Friend to Friend I remember the phone call to my college boyfriend. Through sobs, I managed to tell him I was pregnant. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone ... and then came the speed round of questions and comments: "What are we going to do? Do you think we should get married? Oh, my gosh ... Oh, my gosh...what are we going to do? Do you want to have this baby? What are we going to do? What about volleyball? What will your parents say? What will my parents say? Oh, my gosh!"
Like trapped animals, we were frantically looking for a way out. Then we made our decision. We would take care of it. It wasn't time for us to have a baby yet.
God wasn't consulted. He wasn't invited into our decision.
Adam and Eve hid in the garden after eating the forbidden fruit. My boyfriend and I hid from God and did what we considered to be our only option. We made a plan. He would pick me up and take me to a clinic that I read about in the yellow pages.
When the day came, we drove in icy silence. I was Fort Knox. No one was going to break through the emotional walls I had constructed for protection.
You see there was never a moment that I believed having an abortion was the right thing to do. I only stubbornly and naively believed that my choice was the only ladder to grab out of the horrible pit I had dug for myself.
I was wrong. Dead wrong.
There, in the sterile room of that stale clinic, I used an alias. I wasn't Gwen. My charts did not say that I was Gwen, the girl who was raised by good parents, the girl who was raised in the Word of God to know right from wrong. The counselor I had met with said that using my name could have made me feel uncomfortable with the "harmless and legal procedure" I was having done that day. Nobody else needed to know. I was anonymous.
It was my secret. A secret of chains that bound me in silence for the ensuing fifteen years - a secret kept because I mistakenly assumed that no one else could handle the ugly truth of my sinfulness with grace and forgiveness. I was a Christian girl. Christians don't get pregnant when they aren't married, and Christians don't have abortions, right? It was all too scandalous, and I was crazy afraid of the consequences.
Most of that day was a blur. It was a dark, cold January day. Though the clinic was lit with bright fluorescent lights, the flame of dignity and hope in my heart had grown dim. I blocked out all the voices in my head as they contested what I was doing. I was desperate and scared.
I was Peter. Simon Peter was a fisherman Jesus had called to be a fisher of men. His relationship with Christ was passionate and intimate, but far from perfect. He was a disciple, one of Jesus' closest friends. Jesus called Peter "the rock," and he would eventually go on to build the foundation of the Christian church.
But before he did, the Bible shows us, in Luke 22:54-60, that the night Jesus was arrested, Peter "followed at a distance," sat in a courtyard with enemies of Jesus, and denied the Lord he loved three times. Remarkably, Jesus knew Peter would betray Him, yet still extended advanced mercy as He said to him, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32).
I imagine that when Peter betrayed Jesus on that long, dark night preceding the crucifixion, he must have felt a physical illness and emotional angst similar to the one that shattered my life the day I said yes to death and betrayed my Lord. Luke 22:62 tells us that after he had disowned Jesus three times, Peter "went outside and wept bitterly."
Peter knew Jesus, yet still betrayed Him. He loved Jesus. I knew Jesus, yet still betrayed Him. I loved Jesus too.
But that love was tucked into the icy trunk of my heart on that snowy winter afternoon.
For weeks following my abortion, I went through each day under a dark cloud of despair. I couldn't reconcile what I had done with who I was, and who I was supposed to be. My heart was broken. I felt hopeless and was horribly ashamed. I hated what I had done, and I hated myself for doing it. I was responsible for the death of my baby. It was my fault. I knew it, and it haunted me.
Voices of accusation used to scream in my head. They shouted things like: Murderer! Baby killer! Hypocrite! You can never tell a soul about this! Condemnation kept me shackled. Without realizing it, I was a captive to my own acceptance of those words. I was guilty. A wretch. No excuses. My heart was paralyzed by death. Words just can't express the depth of anguish my soul experienced.
The dark days turned into weeks, which turned into months. Although I could turn on the fake charm like water from a faucet...oh, how my plastic smile served me well in those days...I was dying inside! At night, my pillow soaked up rivers of tears. I would lie awake, wondering if my baby was a boy or girl, or if my baby had felt any pain as she was being sucked from my body.
I wept. I wept for both my baby and for myself. It was necessary. It felt right to cry. And though the tears helped my soul grieve, none were as healing as the ones I cried to Jesus when I finally turned back to Him.
Like Peter after the rooster crowed, I wept bitterly at the feet of Jesus in raw repentance. Then, as the psalmist did, I "waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God" (Psalm 40:1-3). Although I didn't deserve His mercy, Jesus forgave me. My forgiveness was immediate and complete, but the healing took time. He gave me a new song.
Hallelujah! I've been forgiven and transformed by the unconditional love of God. I was dead in my sins, but am now alive in Christ! I am free and it is my privilege to encourage you towards that same freedom in Christ. God longs for you to experience His perfect healing and hope too - no matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, no matter what has left you broken.
What's your story? Jesus came that we would have life abundantly (John 10:10). Not because of anything that we have done to deserve it, but because of what He has done. His grace is sufficient. The guilt, pain, and shame of our pasts tell us we are disqualified to move on, to serve God, to be free, and to know peace. But to believe this lie is to believe that your sin is outside the scope of God's grace. Nothing could be further from the truth. You have purpose in this life. And though you may have gone through a season of hurt, rejection, or pain, God can and will pick you up and place you back on track. I'm living proof.
There is no condemnation for those in Christ. While the enemy loves to cast false guilt, our Lord loves to extend grace and forgiveness, which is the remedy that restores all your broken pieces. Don't hold onto those pieces. Don't hide them behind a plastic smile. Bring them into the light, lay them at the feet of Jesus, and let go. Allow your wounds to be healed today.
Let's Pray Holy Father, today I come to You with the broken pieces in my life that I have been hesitant to deal with. Take my hand and lead as I walk past my fears and doubts to the refuge of Your forgiving arms. Please take what is broken and transform it into beautiful. Please free me from the lies that have me shackled in silence and that keep me from believing that Your forgiveness can be mine. Help me to trust that You can redeem and restore every area of my life.
Step outside your door and you are exposed to all kinds of ugly out there in the world. OK, some people don’t even have to step out of their door. We’re all experiencing high exposure to ugly comments, ugly injustices, ugly squabble, ugly arrogance, ugly attitudes, ugly confrontations, ugly language, ugly road rage and a few other ugly messes. There is a growing trend toward ugliness. The financial struggles this year are ugly. The job loss is ugly. Both major political parties seem to have sunk into a new level of ugliness. Public discourse is becoming uglier. As news breaks from day to day we are exposed to all manner of creative ugliness. We hear of ugly weather and ugly moods, situations, architecture, even ugly truths. "Uglyism" lives! Hidden somewhere in the middle of ugliness is blessing and beauty put there by the Creator.
Where is this beauty you query? Show me the beauty! Come on…. Just a little peek… Reveal it!
Well….. It’s you! You are the blessing and beauty God put right smack in the midst of ugly. Your love for God produces a sweet spirit that blesses all who can see you.
It starts in our own home, our neighborhood, our church, our community, our state, our country and reaches to the far corners of our world. There is enough need around the world for each one of us to be a blessing every day of our lives. Deuteronomy 8:10-15 warns us not to grow proud in our comfort and fine things forgetting those in need. The Lord has blessed us for the purpose of being a blessing. Paul wrote: "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9 NIV).
A pearl to string: The most freeing thing we can ever do is to abdicate the throne of our own miniature kingdoms. Our status is infinitely higher as a servant in God’s kingdom than a ruler in ours. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
You can make a difference every day You are the beauty the Lord sent Lyndi
They were looking for a Lion, He came as a Lamb, ...and they missed Him.
They were looking for a Warrior, He came as a Peace maker, ...and they missed Him.
They were looking for a King, He came as a Servant, ...and they missed Him.
They were looking for Liberation from Rome, He submitted to the Roman cross, ...and they missed Him.
They were looking for a fit to their mold, He was the mold maker, ...and they missed Him.
What are you looking for? Lion? Warrior? King? Liberator?
What are you looking for? They were looking for their temporal needs to be met, He came to meet their eternal need, ...and they missed Him.
He came as a Lamb to be sacrificed for your sin. ...Will you miss Him?
He came to make peace between God and man. ...Will you miss Him?
He came to model servanthood for all mankind. ...Will you miss Him?
He came that we might have true Liberty. ...Will you miss Him?
He came to give you eternal life. ...Will you miss Him?
When we submit to the Lamb, we will meet the Lion. When we join with the Peacemaker, we will meet the Warrior. When we work with the Servant, we will meet the King. When we walk with the Submitted, we will meet the Liberator. When we concern ourselves with the Eternal, we will have the temporal.
If Jesus is not fitting into the mold you have then come to the mold maker and get a new one. Submit to His plan for your life and you will see the eternal need met first - then all the other things you have need of will be taken care of as well. Matthew 6:33
