97 Days by Marc McCartney

At our RightNow Conference last year there was a huge theme to dig deep into the word of God and apply what we read. Matt Chandler even said that if he stuck you with a needle he would want you to bleed Bible! I remember going away with a renewed passion to read my Bible more. That passion stuck as the months went by and about 100 days ago I decided I would read the entire Bible before this year's conference. I figured out that if I read for 30 minutes a day I could get it done. And to add some accountability I decided to take on a Nazarite vow and not cut my hair. I hate long hair - so this was some serious incentive to get in the word!

Ninety-seven days later I finished! Reading the Bible for 30 minutes each day was a wonderful experience. Here are a few of my big takeaways:

The Old Testament is all about our faith in God expressed through obedience and marked by being set apart for God. Almighty God asked Israel to do things that demonstrated their faith and obedience in Him.

The New Testament is all about our faith in God expressed by loving one another. Jesus came and changed everything by establishing a kingdom built on love.

The whole Bible is an amazing story where God chooses His people and His people have the wonderful opportunity to glorify Him through faith and obedience expressed in love.

Jesus Christ is the savior of the world! And I love Him deeply - more than words can express!

And... I'm convinced that all good mafia movies were inspired by the Old Testament - those are some seriously epic stories - and even though I knew the outcome there were nights where I simply couldn't put it down. Cain & Abel, Abraham, Jacob & Esau, Joseph (love me some Joseph), David and the list goes on...
What a great 97 days!

And Robin is very happy that I got my hair cut on day 98!

You Are My Hiding Place - Selah

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Blessings

Ever notice that these days it takes nerves of steel just to be neurotic!

Coach Wonderful got a call from a friend the other day. When he inquired as to how life was going the friend responded angrily with, “I am bitter”. This Christian gentleman has been facing a difficult trial for some time. It’s definitely been taxing his spirit and draining his energy. He had evolved into the mode of blaming God. Raise your hand if you have ever done that. My hand is raised and there is no smile on my face. “God doesn’t care about me, God doesn’t love me”..... We all know in our right spirit … that is a pile of satan poo and we don’t need to be tracking it through our lives. But what’s the ole saying? ....... satan poo happens? We need to be prepared to guard against it. Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”

I think I’ve been watching too much Dr. Phil my immediate thought was, “You’re bitter? How’s that working for you?” Is that bringing you peace? Can the Lord touch your heart with that bitterness surrounding you? Are your arms safe and reassuring for each of your family members? Bitterness is like a bat swinging away at the balls of blessing that the Lord is hurling. The Lord has to heave these balls of blessing at the bitter person – He’s trying to hit the guy to down him so He can gently bless him. Otherwise the bitter person is just batting the balls of blessing right out of the park with the exception of an occasional miss when they whiz right by him. Ok, now I’m hearing in my head Jerry Lee Lewis singing Goodness! Gracious! Great balls of (fire) blessing! You’re hearing it too. Admit it!

Nothing stays the same but it can get worse if you hang out in the same place.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”. John 16:33/NLT


When you are hurting real bad sometimes it’s hard to get your mind around the fact that a seed just does not grow strong sitting on top of a mound of dirt. It needs to be pushed into the dirt in order to grow into something beautiful. Our suffering feels like a pile of dirt all around us but don’t worry God owns the dirt. In Him we have the peace and in Him we grow beautiful.

A pearl to string: Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up...

Leaning into His everlasting love,
Lyndi

Butterfly & Buffalo

Years ago I was sitting at a conference listening to Gary Smalley speak when he shared a story about the Butterfly and the Buffalo. Not long into the story it became apparent that he was speaking about Coach Wonderful & I. Do we know this man I wondered? I could actually hear music as I listened to him describe the Butterfly gliding about. In my head I could hear the violins, the perky piano, the flute, the harps - the strings, the beautiful strings and happy, light melodious music. Then enter the Buffalo and I heard loud drums and tubas and the percussion instruments thundering, precise, slow, low and heavy. Oh my, I always did feel the earth move when Coach Wonderful walks into my world.

Mr. Smalley continued to explain that the butterfly has a keen sensitivity. It is sensitive even to the slightest breeze. It flutters above the ground where it can get a panoramic awareness of its surroundings. It notices the beauty of even the tiniest of flowers. Because of its sensitivity, it is constantly aware of all of the changes going on around it and is able to react to the slightest variation it its environment. Thus, the butterfly would react with swiftness toward anything that might hurt it. If a tiny pebble were taped to its wing, the butterfly would be severely injured and eventually die.

The buffalo is another story. It is rough and calloused. It doesn’t react to a breeze. It’s not even affected by a thirty-mile-an-hour wind. It just goes right on doing whatever it was doing. It’s not aware of the smallest of flowers, nor does it appear to be sensitive to slight changes in its environment. Tape a pebble to the buffalo’s back and he probably won’t even feel it. The buffalo isn’t ‘rotten to the core’ just because he goes around stepping on pretty flowers. In fact, the buffalo’s toughness is a tremendous asset.

Ok, I get it – so I flit about and he has the density of a rock. So how is a butterfly expected to get along with a buffalo that kicks up boulders on a regular basis?

A pearl to string: Through the GRACE OF GOD. Sigh! Pebble pitching is out, dying to self is in. Let Scripture be your guide and learn the secret of respecting your buffalo which unlocks the love a butterfly needs to thrive and flit.

1 Peter 3:4 “Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God”.

Fill your heart with the Word and your soul will fill up with blessings and grace.
Singing in His Son shine
Lyndi

There I grow again!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:1-2, 12

Life is a struggle! It’s ever changing and a bit irritating at times. There are moments of time when life is so painful that it is hard to breathe and your heart is on edge. And of course life is sprinkled with the occasions where thinking isn’t imperative and smiling is easy.

Often observing nature we are more able to see the advantages that God created in strife. For example the Great Barrier Reef that stretches 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. On one side of the reef the lagoon looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and full of color. What causes that stark difference?

The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is continually being tested by wind, waves, and storms in constant surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy, strong and it reproduces. The result is magnificent beauty.

A pearl to string: As you look back on your life there are many places you can point to and say, ‘there I grow again’! If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Just remember He has a purpose for your growth and that is your pearl to discover and string. Try to view yourself through your Father’s eyes. God’s intended result is His child’s magnificent beauty.

Joyfully growing in Jesus,
Lyndi

FORGIVENESS

Corrie Ten Boom shares this true story in her book, "The Hiding Place"...

It was a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck.

He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there -- the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. "How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein," he said. "To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!"

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

Corrie Ten Boom
"The Hiding Place"
www.corrietenboom.com

Living in a vegetative state?

How can one tell?
For a live demo go to the family room.

Coach Wonderful and I were sitting in the family room when he said to me, "Grandma, just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

So I got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all his diet Pepsi!

I had no idea when I married him that my hubby apparently suffered from a not so rare genetic deformity in his DNA. It’s commonly referred to as The Interior Pigskin Membrane. Instead of fat cells beneath their skin they have football cells. Typical symptoms are: prolonged staring which results in drooling, excessive pontification, and a fixation on Xs and Os. To my chagrin I thought those were kisses and hugs. This genetic deformity seems to multiply in families like rabbits to the second and third generation and probably beyond. Well at least I married the Center and not the loose end……… tight end…whatever!

Ok football is beginning to get on my nerves. I think high school football is pretty cool. I especially love to watch our son Tom coach his Knights and our grandson TC send those spirals through the air. Love watching our grandson Derek smile as he flattens the opponents. College football is always exciting all day and night on Saturdays.

Paaleeze, Calgone take me away!

It kind of dwarfs the good ole` fun January 1st bowl game day of yesteryear. That has turned into “The 32 Games of Bowl Season” month! Ugg! ESPU!

Every night of the week there is some kind of football on TV. If it’s not the NFL or Big Time College or local high school then it’s Fantasy Football! All across the world you can hear women cry: “Hold me, Hug me, squeeze me, pretend I’m your remote control”!

Lord have muuur .. saaay!

I drove to the park last Saturday just to escape the sound of football and to listen to classical music while I watched the sunset and what did I spy?















Do you see that little football on the ground?


Even the prairie dogs play football around here! Sometimes there is just a whole lot of shaking going on in a person’s life. Perhaps not earth shaking - just aggravating. When life gets a pile up of annoyances I cling to Job 9:27
“… 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile." I cannot control what others do nor can I control circumstances but I CAN control my attitude and my response. Wow! God is good!

A Pearl to string: A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey....
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

Know you are made for and loved by Him,
Lyndi

ARE YOU READY?

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all
my fears. -- Psalm 34:4

PRAYER:Majesty on high, the Holy One of Israel, my Father and my God, I
seek you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. I want to
know you more completely. I want to fully respond to your leading
and your will in my life. Be near me today, and every day. In
Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen.