How Bad Do You Stink?

“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” John 11:3

Last month a group of youth, along with the youth director and his wife, went on a mission trip to South Carolina. Now if you have never been in Southeast weather in the middle of July then I am not sure I have the words that can describe it to you. Some words you might hear used are hot, humid, sweaty, sticky and miserable. Theses teens along with a few adults spent a week in Walterboro, SC walking the streets to witnessing in the neighborhood and doing home repairs on a couple different houses. Upon their return home they took an hour one Sunday night to share with the church about the work they did and the people the talked to. I was so proud to see a group of young people beam as they talked about serving the Lord. However, it was something the youth director’s wife said that made me think. She talked about how hard they had worked in the heat and how bad the smell was on the van ride back to the host church each evening but that it was also a sweet smell of love. That statement made me think, “How strong is my smell?”

I thought about when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with the oil. I visualize that once Mary had finished that she would have brushed her hair back and left the room. As she walked down the street – for days to come - the aroma of the spikenard would drift through the crowd. The strong smell would cause people to ask questions. Question like, “Where is that smell coming from.” “Why would she have used so much of costly oil?” In fact, Judas did ask this exact question because he considered her use as being “wasteful” and not of any value. I also imagine there were some in SC that questioned why a group of youth would have given up a week of their summer to work hard in the heat. To sweat. And to stink so badly. However, to God the body odor of those kids was as pleasant of a smell as the finest perfume. Both smells came from love, devotion and service.

So how bad do you stink? Do you smell strong enough that would cause other to ask questions?


AMY

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What kind of Vacation Do You Want ?

I am come that they might have life, and that they might

have it more abundantly.” John 10:10b

When my son, Anthony was about three years old, my husband and I had spent weeks planning a nice family vacation but we could not decide where to go. I wanted to go to the beach but Mike wanted to head north towards the mountains. Since I had just found out I was expecting another child, we knew these would be the last vacation with Anthony as an only child. So we decided to let him be the decision maker. When we posed the question to him that evening at dinner without a seconds pause, he yelled “WAL-MART!” He was so excited just at the thought of going to his favorite store. He knew he normally got a toy, a piece of candy or something that made his life a little happier every time he went. In his sweet little three-year-old mind, he had associated a trip to Wal-Mart with the best there was. He had no idea the great vacation plans his dad and I had for him. He had no conception of playing in the waves or standing on top of a mountain and seeing for miles. He did not know how much better these places would be than a one-hour walk around a department store.

As a family we were remembering (and laughing) over this story the other night when I God gave me a light bulb moment. Just Anthony was so willing to settle for so much less than we had planned for him, I tend to settle for less then God has planned for me. Just as the key verse above says He came for us to have life more abundantly. One of the definitions for abundantly is well-supplied, providing more have a plentiful supply. Think about that, Christ wants to give us more….

… more than you can imagine

…more than you can ask for

…more than your desires

…more than you deserve

…more than others have given you value of

Are you happy with just a vacation to Wal-mart or are you going to wait for him to give you a trip to the beach?


AMY

“Our lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are half hearted creatures fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea.” ~~ CS Lewis

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Zero-Turn Lesson

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” -- ISA 43:18-19

Since my father-in-law has a small lawn care service, we have several lawnmowers to choose from when it is time to cut our own grass. Yesterday I went to pull crank the one he calls “old faithful”. I always use that particular one because it is the oldest in the fleet and therefore, if it breaks down it would not be that detrimental to his business. However, as I turned the key nothing happened. There was not even the sound of the engine trying to turn over. I climbed off the mower and called for my husband to come check it out. He tried to jump start it from one of the other mowers and check it out from one end to the other, but he was not able to get it to crank either. He said, “I guess it is time you learn to cut grass a new way.” It was then that he stepped over to the newest mower. It was a large zero-turn mower, the type that you control all movement with joystick instead of a gas pedal and steering wheel. I was very unsure of it. It was so uncomfortable and even a little scary, so I took it very slow and easy for the first few passes around the yard. As I became more familiar with how it would react to each push or pull of the controls, I began to enjoy it. It certainly finished grass-cutting job much quicker and better than the old-faithful mower.

God used the simple Saturday morning chore of cutting grass to show me that it may be time for me to step out of the comfort zone of my old faithful service and try a new way to serve Him. We are all call to minister and share God’s love, grace and mercy with others. However, we are not all called to do it in the same cookie cutter way. In fact, I have learned that I am not to reach out to every person in the same way. Since we are all called and created differently we can’t judge the way others serve nor can we compare our service to that of someone else. Some of us at some time are going to use the good old standard lawnmower while some at other times will be asked to sit on the zero turn mower and learn to operate in new way. Therefore, we should all be aware of not only what God is calling us to do but how He wants it done. There are many times in the bible that He gave specific instructions on how he wanted thing said or done.

Dear Lord
May I always be open to hear, willing to follow and unashamed to do all you call me to without concern of others thoughts or opinions. I ask that you show me the specific step I am to take but also realize that it will come in your perfect timing. Amen

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Divine Appointments

In May 15-16,2010 a very good friend, Tricia Russell, and I attended the Extraordinary Women's Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.

IT WAS AWESOME !!!!!

God showed up in every way.

First let me tell you how we were able to attend this conference at the last minute. Since Tricia and I would be attending Proverb 31's She Speaks in July 2010 we had decided we would save a little money and not attend E-Women. The Monday night before E-Women came to town, Lysa TerKeurst, the president of P31, left a post that they would be giving away 2 tickets to a randomly drawn reply. Not really believing I would win I just left a short little comment. Later that evening I found out that I had in fact won. Of course I called Tricia the first thing the next morning. told her to get a sitter cause we were going.

We knew from the first note played on Friday night that we were there by divine appointment and we were going to see God move in mighty ways. I wish I had the time, space and words to tell you all that God did through each speaker, each song and each sponsor but I mainly want to share with you where God took us during lunch break on Saturday.

Because we had won the tickets we did not get the boxed lunch that was offered so we had to leave the complex to get something to eat on Saturday. Due to me have a little brain hiccup and not being able to tell my right from my left we ended up getting on the interstate going the opposite way than we had planned. So we decided to just make the best of it and was heading to McDonald's. As we came around the block to turn to Micky D's we were stopped but a construction roadblock. Once again we had to go to our back-up plan and we went on around the next block to Burger King. As we walking in we sort of questioned if we should stay because it wasn't the cleanest, the line was long, and the staff was no moving to quickly. However, since we were limited on time we decided we would just stay and make the best of it. After a couple of minutes of standing there and couple and their friend came in behind us. As we all continued waiting and waiting the gentleman just started joking and carrying on with us. He asked us what we were doing in town and we began to tell him about the conference. He told us that he and his wife were both in the ministry. As we continued to tell him about the speakers, we found out that his wife was the managing editor of a Christian publishing company. That just blew us away. See Tricia has been working on write a book but neither of us really knew anything about the publishing business. We decided that even though we only had a short time we were going to stay and share lunch with our new found friends. This couple was such an encouragement to us, not because she was a publisher but because they loved the Lord so much and that came through in the way they shared with us. This couple just sat with us and listened to our hopes, dreams and concerns.

At a time when both of us had begun to throw out all those questions that seem to come in a time of waiting:

Did I really hear from God?

Am I really the one He wants?

Can I do this?

Am I qualified?

An on and on and on..

God sent to us the sweetest couple to confirm what He has already done in our lives and what He will do in the future. In His timing.

And now for the icing on the cake....

Because we had sat and talked with them for so long we were late getting back to the conference. We were afraid that we had missed the concert by Mark Schultz but it turned out that they had been some technical problems and was just playing the first song we we slipped into our seats.

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Guest Post: Tricia Russell

Today I am so excited to have my friend, Tricia Russell, guest post for me today. Tricia is in the process of compiling stories of how God has brought her family from the back side of the desert through health issues with both her children among other things. She agreed to go ahead and share one of those stories here today. Be sure to leave her a comment here to encourage her in her book writing.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

One sunny Saturday in August, my 5 year old son was attending a birthday party at a relative’s house. All of the kids were running around, climbing up the steps, and jumping off the edge of the porch. He had done this a few times, but the last time he was slow standing back up. He complained about a hurting knee but went right back to playing. By Monday, he was in severe pain and complaining with his knee hurting to the point that he was crying. I made a doctor’s appointment for the next day, but the doctor was puzzled by my son’s pain. He ordered x-rays just to check. He called me to the hallway to show me the x-rays, and he circled a gray area on his femur bone. He told me it was some type of cyst but it didn’t look like cancer. I couldn’t believe it. My perfectly healthy child had a cyst inside his femur bone but it didn’t look like cancer. I fought back tears and tried to stay calm for him. We were given an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist for the next morning. We spent the rest of the day trying to absorb this shocking news. We arrived early for the appointment. More x-rays were taken. The doctor came in a sat down beside my son, looked straight at us, and said he has a unicameral bone cyst. Basically it is a fluid filled cyst inside the bone usually near a joint that wears away the bone normally resulting in a broken bone. Jumping off the porch should’ve broken his leg but God had other plans in mind. His jump was actually a blessing in disguise because if we had not found the cyst, it would’ve worn through the bone and his leg would’ve broken into. The cyst was very close to his hip joint which caused some concern that his hip could break. We were told not to let him put any weight on his leg at all, not to let him get on his knees, and not to allow any pressure at all on his leg. We were then sent straight to Children’s Hospital to be admitted and have surgery the following morning. The ride to the hospital was chaos. We were still trying to absorb all we had been told and prepare ourselves for what was ahead. All through the day phone calls came in by the dozens, many visits, and most importantly prayers. This was truly a test of faith, but God who is so gracious to us so much more than we ever deserve, sent all those calls, visits and prayers to help us get through. I could feel the strength and love coming from those people. He was scheduled for surgery early on Wed, August 11, 2004. I didn’t sleep very much the night before. I just couldn’t understand why this was happening. This should’ve been a day of celebrating his first day of Kindergarten but instead he was having major surgery. I woke up early and just started to cry. My thoughts soon switched to being upbeat for him and trying to make the best of our situation, but in the back of my mind I was struggling. He was taken to surgery and we were led to a small waiting room. The waiting was hard, but we knew God was in control. I knew God had a plan for this even though I didn’t understand why and had been watching over him all the time. God had protected him from breaking his leg and hip. Even though our circumstances had caused chaos, God had provided peace in the middle of the storm. I found this quote which fits perfectly “Peace - it doesn’t mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the middle of those things and still be calm in your heart knowing God is in control” (Unknown). Peace definitely reigned in that waiting room that day. He did come through surgery fine and recovered. We faced several other storms with his leg but God was there every time supplying our every need.

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How Are You Walking

“Train up a child on the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

My brother and I had been stuck in the house all afternoon due to a typical southern afternoon thunderstorm. We had not been on our best behavior and we were driving our mother crazy, so as soon as the skies cleared up she declared it was time for us all to go out on a family walk around the block. Dad noticed that the Jeffersons had a tree down in their yard, however as we got closer we realized it was more that just a downed tree. The leg of the Jeffersons’ beloved German Shepherd, Shadow, was pinned under the large pine. As dad began to try to free Shadow, my brother ran to get Mr. Jefferson. Soon they were gently putting her in the truck and rushing her to the vet’s office.

“Will she still be able to have her puppies?” I asked my mom.
She replied “I don’t know. I just do not know.”

See Shadow was due to have puppies just any day and we had been promised the first pick of the litter. We waited for what seemed like forever before we got a phone call from Mrs. Jefferson. She let us know that there was good news and bad news. The good news was that they had four new little fur balls to raise, but the bad news was Shadow was in surgery to have her hind leg amputated. Dr. Killen was unable to save both the leg and the puppies. He assured the Jeffersons that the momma dog would be able to teach herself to walk on her three legs. Sure enough in just few weeks after the accident, Shadow was using her front legs to walk and then hop on the one hind leg. She would get a little stronger and walk/hop a little farther each day. After eight weeks, Mrs. Jefferson called to ask if we were ready to pick out our puppy to take home. We made the short walk down to her house and she called the dogs out from the doghouse. Out came Momma with her unique stride and followed closely by her babies. The closer they got to us I notice that the little ones were walking with the walk/hop style just like Shadow.

“Why do they not walk on all four legs like they are suppose to?”
“Well, they walk the way their momma does.”

I was reminded of this story one night recently because in a little more than a month I will do one of the hardest things a parent has to do -- I have to take my daughter two and a half hours away, drop her off at college and drive away without her. As I think about this life transition, I wonder if I have I told her everything she will need to know. Have I told her all the dos and don’ts that will keep her safe? Have I told her enough that I love her? Have I told her how to iron without burning the dorm down? Have I told her this? Have I told her that? I was thinking of all the things I need to tell her when God reminded me that it is not about what I tell her but the way I have walked before her. The one thing I know I have shown her is that God loves us even when we walk on three legs instead of all four.

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Waiting

I feel that God has me in a season of waiting right now. Waiting on doors to open in my speaking. Waiting on various test results for myself and others. Waiting on answers to questions. Waiting - Waiting - Waiting. So when I heard Nancy Leigh DeMoss read this poem on her Revive Our Hearts show today I knew it was for me and that I needed to share it. I pray it speaks to each of you as much as it did to me.

The Waiting Poem

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said,"Wait."
"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I relate,
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?"
I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.
You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting . . . for what?"
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.
You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,
When darkness and silence are all you can see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love,
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask,
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.
So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see,
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

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