Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Weakness

Sometimes the very thing that propels us forward is the same thing that keeps us from reaching our full potential.

Maybe it's an independent streak, or a tendency toward perfectionism, or that we are great listeners but we don't speak up when we should.

Do you sometimes find that your strength can also be your weakness?

Perhaps it is time to trade in your weakness for his strength.

"Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."
-2 Corinthians 12:9

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Sick

Sometimes she comes on too strong. And suddenly all of her is all that's left in a room filled with people.

She feels alone.

But the tragedy is that she's not sitting in a bar at closing time. She is in a place filled with the people who should be reaching her the most.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
-Jesus (Mark 2:17)

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Blessings

Eight years ago I came to a new place. It is not a place of comfort, but a place of blessings. It seems odd to me that in the midst of my greatest discomfort, whether in weariness or in thin places, my heart longs for blessings. But these blessings do not come in the form of a dollar or a day to myself. They come with a kiss on the cheek or a squeeze around my waist or a bedtime prayer. These blessings come from a place I first came to eight years ago. A place called motherhood.

"He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young."
-Isaiah 40:11

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Trader

She grew tired of walking the straight and narrow when she felt the straight and narrow had walked all over her. So she traded in the "right way" for her own right of way and has kept going in that direction ever since.

Could it be that we are headed down the same path? Perhaps it's time to stop and figure out where we stand.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
-Hebrews 10:23-25

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Glory

It was sewn into your subconscious. It was built into your brain. It was hard wired into your heart. It's the desire to do something great. But this desire was not first planted by your parents. Neither was it first sewn in by society. It was made by the one who made you. And his design was for your greatness to shine under his light for his name. But something dark called sin has twisted this design and traded the glory of God for the glory of you and me. We dressed it up and called it fame. But God calls it fallen. We adapted it by naming it ambition, but God calls it amiss.

Whose glory are you living for?

"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
-Romans 3:23,24

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Winning

She feels inspired to lay it all on the table when she comes back to her senses. But coming back to her senses means coming back to reality after having been a million miles away. So she plays the honesty card after hiding it under her sleeve. She is now playing to win. And she discovers that the winner takes all.

Are you winning today or are you holding back?

"If you hold on to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
-Jesus (John 8:32)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Breathless

Sometimes it seems as though sanity is just an illusion I am chasing as I run around, breathless. But on the days when I am so busy I cannot catch my breath, you are always there to catch me. So instead of running head first into my crazy schedule, I run head first into the arms that can carry me through.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
-Jesus (Matthew 11:28-29)

Friday, May 13, 2011

Beautiful

She is an old soul born into a youthful frame. Her laughter is contagious. Her words are full of wisdom. And her hands reach far to touch the lives of others, while her feet travel to new places so that she can bring good news.

Do you know her? Perhaps she is the woman God is molding you to be?

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!"
-Isaiah 52:7

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Weathered

The years she wasted now leave her feeling weathered. So she tries to hide her leathery heart but she covers up what she cannot hide. And she allows the things that happened years ago to have a lasting impression.

Could it be that we have done the same?

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity."
-Jeremiah 29:11-14

Friday, May 6, 2011

A Glance Back

I started out this past school year looking to score some goals. Not the kind of goals an athlete scores on the field, but the kind of goals a missionary scores for the Kingdom. So I picked up my Bible and activated my prayer life. But when I glance back I was not nearly as prepared as I thought I was.

This year the Lord showed me even more what it means to love and serve sacrificially. When the thoughts running through my head told me, “I don’t have the strength to do this,” I countered it with the truth found in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And I saw that when my strength ended, whether in the midst of a Bible study that ran too close to midnight or in the midst of comforting a tear-stained heart, the Lord showed up and moved in ways I could not have orchestrated.

And that’s the beauty of serving the Lord. We offer all that we have and he makes up all that we don’t have.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Complacency

She does not like to let her bare feet leave the pavement but on a hot sunny day the grass feels more forgiving. She likes to gamble with inspiration because she never plays with predictability. So she banks on someone else's stability without giving a second thought to her own. And as she wanders through this life with holes in her heart and gaps in her soul, she never really knows whose life she will drift into next.

Could it be that she has drifted into yours?

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:12,13

Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Visionary

She is a forward thinker who can cast vision for the future. But today she looks through a different lens-one that allows her to see the structure of her vision in light of its foundation. And when she sets her sight on the horizon she discovers what it means to come full circle. As the memories of the past connect with the realities of the present, she gives glory to the One who gave her the vision in the first place.

“And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days."
-Joel 2:28,29