Strength Training

A friend once emailed me this:

The SIX Times The Devil is Most Likely to Attack:

1. When you are physically tired.
2. Whenever you face a major decision regarding your assignment in life.
3. Whenever you are birthing a child that is destined to become a spiritual leader.
4. When a specific miracle is on its way to you.
5. When you make an effort to launch a new ministry for God.
6. When you are next in line for a promotion from God.

I printed it out and keep it hung up on my bulletin board at home.  I have had to refer myself to it from time to time.  For a Christian to believe in God's blessings and not to believe that the devil will attack them shows a lack of faith and an unreal outlook upon faith.  Planet earth is a spiritual battle ground and the devil would love nothing more than for Christians to not believe in him or his attacks.

The book of Job gives us a kind of behind the scenes look of this battle.  The devil or Satan goes before God and accuses Job.  He is the "accuser of the faith".  Satan does not have free will over a believer, God limits him to serve His purpose.  God allowed Satan to "sift Peter" when Jesus was crucified.  If God would allow Satan to sift Peter why would he not allow Satan to sift believers today?  That is why I keep the "Six Times The Devil is Most Likely to Attack" on my bulletin board.

I read the first few chapters of Job today for my devotions.  I also was reading in the New Testament when 1 Peter 5 opened up.  When this happens I read the text to see if something applies to me, and today it did, it fit perfectly with what I was reading in Job.  1 Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  Numbers 2-6 for Satanic attack all have to do with opportunities, blessings and leadership, all of these can lead to the sin of pride and self reliance.  Sometimes we need a little help in the humility department and that is where God sometimes can use Satan to attack us.  Notice at the end of the verse "that he may lift you up in due time", a blessing is to come.

1Peter 5:8-9 "Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."  Satan is always looking for an opportunity to accuse believers.  That is why we should be self-controlled and alert.  Also note that "your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering" this is universal for all Christians.  It is not a rare thing, it is a part of the Christian life.

1Peter 5:10-11 sums up the purpose of this blog "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever.  Amen."  In order to become strong you have to have resistance.  I will not become stronger if I keep lifting an amount of weight that does not challenge me and give me resistance.  In preparing us for God's service he allows the Devil to attack us, this brings about the humility, understanding of the battle we are in and the strength we need to serve God and accomplish His purpose.  Strength training is not fun, but is necessary for warriors in a battle.  When going through a stength training session it may seem like a long time but God's timing is perfect, "after you have suffered a little while", the blessings will come and you will be equipped and ready for battle where God has placed you.  The bigger the task the more strength training required.  Keep in mind the purpose of the strength training and the blessings that follow, God, "will HIMSELF restore you and make YOU STRONG, FIRM and STEADFAST."  A battle ready warrior ready to serve his or her King. 

So do not be surprised when you are attacked by the devil and remember when you are going through strength training to stand firm, be self-controlled, alert and rely on God's grace to get you through.  His promises are true; He promises trials, suffering, strength and blessings.

Military Mom

I feel like an alcoholic or drug addict and I must confess this truth and quit denying it; I am the mother of a son who is in the military.  I am proud of my son and the military is a good fit for him.  He recently married a lovely young woman whose father was career military.  When he was stationed in England I was not happy until he returned to American soil.  The four months he was deployed in Afghanistan I was on pins and needles, only after he returned home did I realize how stressed I was about it.

Before he enlisted into the military he looked for what he wanted to do, he tried working in a warehouse, tried to get on police departments, but none of it was a good fit for him.  I think he really wanted to join the military before he tried all of those jobs, but he knew I really did not want him to join the military.  When he did sign up, I whinced.  I knew it was God's will, but I did not like it.  Since then I have prayed a lot, and I have argued with God (guess who won), and I have let him go.  I want him to do God's will, but I often go back in prayer and ask God if he is sure this is His will for my son.  

I looked up posts from other Moms who have children in the military.  Many of them have the same struggles.  I found encouragement, comfort and pride in my son's chosen career.  When he enlisted into the military I was drafted.  Now that I have confessed that I am a military mom I do feel better and can move forward.  When my son is deployed he will have my prayers for him and his wife.  Not only will he have my support and prayers, but he will have the prayers and support of family, friends and church. 

While I was looking up posts from moms in the military I discovered that Psalm 91 is a great prayer for our troops.  Please pray for our troops, in this crazy mixed up world they are put in harms way, they choose to serve our country.  Prayer does make a difference. 

We are Family

Our youngest son got married a month ago.  It was a wonderful wedding.  He has married a lovely young woman who loves Jesus as much as our son does. 

We all went to Alamorgodo New Mexico for what I thought was too short of a time.  We arrived on Thursday and met up with our soon to be married son and our oldest son and his wife.  There was no awkward silence, there were hugs, excitement and planning.  We met our sons bride for the first time on Thursday and saw immediately why he was marrying her. 

It was a wonderful weekend where we got to connect with family members we haven't seen in a long time and got to meet the newest members of our family.  The wedding was beautiful.  It went off pretty much so without a hitch (a ring was late for arrivial). 

The reception was a highlight for me.  I got to see our son wildly in love with his bride, I think they danced every dance.  Our oldest son and his wife were a joy to watch as they danced and were just enjoying each other and life.  The brides family welcomed us with open arms and we welcomed them with joy.  My sister in law and nephews and niece were there too.  It was great to dance with my nephew!  We all connected and celebrated the union of two people and two families, what a wonderful gift and blessing from God!

On the drive back home from the wedding I kept thinking of the song "We are family".  We are family, not a perfect family, but one that loves and supports each other and with great joy our family expanded on August 4th! 

Proverbs 24:3-4 "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowlege its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."

Dad

Father's Day is tomorrow and in celebration of this holiday to honor out father's I am going to honor my earthly father for Father's Day.

This is not an easy blog to write, and it is not because I had a terrible Dad, it is because my Dad died before I had very many memories of him.  My Dad died in 1970 at the age of 32, and I was six years old.  The few memories I do have of him are good.

My Dad was an Iowa Highway Patrolman, so he worked funny shifts and his days off varied each week.  One day my Dad watched me while my mom was at work.  We lived in a small town in Iowa and we walked to the Sinclair gas station.  It was a nice day.  My Dad stopped in at the gas station to visit one of his buddies.  He shot the breeze with him and I just hung out with my Dad.  After he visited his friend at the gas station we went accross the street to the small Cafe' and had lunch.  I remember french fries, but not much else.  It was a good day, I just hung out with my Dad.

Another time I went to a small grocery store with my Dad.  I was trying to help him and got a bottle of ketchup for him.  As I was walking to give it to him it fell out of my hands and broke.  Back then ketchup came in glass bottles and it made a loud sound and was a large mess.  I started crying, my Dad calmed me down and told me it was ok.  The grocer promptly cleaned up the mess and all was well.

I am the youngest of three.  I have two older brothers.  When I was five I was playing outside in the spring.  It was still cold, but most of the snow had melted.  My brothers were playing outside also.  I did something to try to get them to chase me.  I started running away from them and I slipped and fell on some ice.  I screamed and was crying uncontrollably.  My Dad was in the shower at the time, but almost immediately he was at the back door with a towel wrapped around his waist wanting to know what happened.  I tried to explain through the tears, but my Dad was sure my brothers had done something to me.  Eventually the truth came out and my brothers were exonerated.  My Dad was smart enough to notice that my arm had been broken from the fall and he took me to the hospital.

I ended up having to spend the night in the hospital when my arm broke.  They had to ice my arm and put me under to set it properly.  I had broken both bones.  I remember waking up from the surgery and my Dad carried me out of the recovery room back to my hospital bed.

My Dad would often take his 'breaks' when he had his swing shift so that he could stop by the house and see us all before we went to bed.  He would always get a quick glass of iced tea (Nestea instant).  He did not stay long, but it was always nice to see him

He loved my mom very much and she loved him too.  My mom is in her 70's now and she is concerned about dying; not because she is afraid to die, she is concerned she is going to get to heaven as an old lady and she will see my Dad all young and handsome.  It is almost like she is nervous about a date with someone she loves and she wants to look her best to see him.

It does stink that I lost my Dad at such a young age.  I will never know why he died so young, I guess  sometimes life just does not make sense. When I was 32 years old I cried uncontrolably on Father's Day. I could not figure out what was wrong with me. My husband told me I should go see my mom, maybe she could help me. I did not go see my mom or my Aunt Judy, I ended up at my Grandma's house. When I walked in her door I just cried, I did not tell her why I was crying, I just sat down and cried. She looked at me and said "Cindy, your Dad would have never left you if he had any choice." It was what I needed to hear.  I am so very thankful for the few memories I do have of him.  He was a good man who loved me and my family.  He took time to hang out with me and take me out to lunch, he made me feel better when I broke ketchup bottles,  he tried to protect me from my brothers, he made sure that I was safe after surgery and he made it a priority to see his family every day, even when he worked an odd shift.  My Dad left me at a young age, not of his own choice, but of his own choice he lived his life intentionally and left me with memories of a loving father.  Thanks Dad!  I will see you again (hopefully not too soon)!  Love you!

Lose One Gain Seven

I am blessed this year with being the director of VBS (Vacation Bible School).  As I was looking over the list of volunteers for VBS I was reminded of God's greater provision. 

A few years ago L. was a Sunday school teacher in the room I was responsible for.  She was a great teacher who was responsible, on time, prepared and always happy.  We had a once every three month rotation and I was either helping or teaching the other two months.  Because of L.'s consistency I was able to get a break one month out of three.  I would get opportunities to talk to L. and she told me that she did not feel comfortable teaching the age group she was teaching.  She felt more comfortable working with the teens. Her and her husband are high school teachers.  At the time our church did not have much of a youth group.  Our church is rebuilding and there was not much of a need for a youth group or youth leader.  When L. would talk about working with the teens her eyes would light up and she would get so excited.  The thought of a youth group looked like a far away dream for her.

Then one Sunday (the Sunday before she was supposed to teach in my class) L. came to my Sunday school classroom all excited.  Her husband had decided that they should lead the youth group.  They were going to start the next Sunday.  She could not do her month.  I was very excited for her, but I knew that her leaving meant I would not get a break from teaching for a while. 

The youth group took off like a wildfire.  L. and her husband have seen God's hand of blessing upon their ministry.  From their blessing I have been very blessed and so has our children's ministry.  By L. moving from my Sunday school class to the youth group our children's ministry has acquired 3 helpers for Sunday school and seven volunteers for VBS.

I had no power to hold L. back from leaving my Sunday school room.  By her leaving I ended up working in the Sunday school room for about a year without a break.  I knew the extra work was temporary but I never would have guessed at the blessings that would come from L. leaving.

Sometimes God wants us to give up or lose one, but that one leaving can turn into more than you ever imagined.

Ecclesiastes 11:1  Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

Mother's Day

Today the kindergarten class got to make Mother's Day cards.  As I was watching them work hard on coloring the cards and writing the words they wanted to say to their mom it just reminded me of how important mom's are at any age. 

One little boy who we very seldom can get to write anything, asked me to write something on his card for his mom.  I told him I would write it in pencil and then he could trace it in marker.  I asked what he wanted me to write, it was simple but says it all "I love you Mommy."  I happily wrote it for him and he carefully traced the letters to make his card complete.

I was also privelged to have some of the cards read to me, slowly and phonetically one little boy wrote "Mom yuo are the bst mom evr I love yuo vere much."  He wrote that and some very similiar thoughts on all 4 pages of the card.

One little boy asked for a book that the teacher had read about Mother's Day.  He wanted it so he could copy the poem for his mom.  He sat for twenty minutes copying the poem and writing very neatly.  After he copied the poem he drew some nice pictures on his card.

A little girl painstakingly went through all of the stickers available for the cards to find a bunny sticker.  She could not find the bunny sticker she wanted so she walked around the class and found a little boy who had gotten the bunny sticker, she did a major trade in order to get her bunny sticker for her card.  Her mommy likes bunnies.

I usually don't disagree with the teacher, but today I had to disagree with her.  She wrote on the board "You are the best Mom ever."  I told her that the kids mom's could not be the best Mom ever, because my Mom is the best Mom ever.  She laughed and said that could not be true because her mom is the best mom ever.

If you have to send a card that has the words you want to say, find that special sticker (present) or do something that you really don't like to do to show your mom that you love her and that she is the best mom ever, your mom will love it just as much as she did when you were in kindergarten.  As you do that just remember that my Mom IS the bestest Mom ever!!!

Proverbs 31:31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Vengence is Mine

It happens to everyone sometime in their life, they are wronged personally.  It is not easy and friends and family members often come your rescue and give you ideas of how to get back at the person or persons who hurt you.  It is nice of them to support you, but often their advice is vengeful and unethical. 

As I have gotten older I have somewhat grown from taking vengence, or trying to take care of it myself, to giving them enough rope to hang themselves.  I thought that was a Biblical point of view; a man reaps what he sows.  When I have taken that point of view I have seen people reap what they sow. 

As I walk with the Lord he gives me new insight and makes me grow a bit more.  I was hurt by some brothers and sisters in Christ, and I thought that I would sit back and watch them reap what they sow, because I felt what they had done was wrong and it was hurtful to me.  God did not let me get away with watching them reap what they sowed, instead He made me go help them to succeed.  He arranged my circumstances and made me go and help the people who broke my heart.  I will be honest I did not enjoy it to begin with, and I thought God was going to let me see them reap what they sowed, but He didn't.  Instead God changed me and taught me some things.  A follower is not greater than his master, Jesus was hurt and betrayed by his friends.  Jesus came back for Peter, died for Judas as well as me, a follower is no greater than his Master.   Reconcilliation is very important to God, and if I have a brother or sister who has offended me then I need to go to them.  I need to pray for those who have hurt me, and the prayer should not be God get them (even though it is tempting), but it should be a prayer that brings glory to God and furthers his kingdom.  It is much easier to love those who love us, but true love is often seen when I love others who are not treating me justly.

I am somewhat on the otherside of the hurts, they happened a few years ago.  As I was talking to a friend she was telling me how some people were not treating her well and so she decided to take a course that would somewhat undermine the people who had hurt her.  It was not an unethical course, but it was not a productive course.  Her course is ending up making her look bad and justifying the actions of the people she is trying to undermine.  As I listened to her I realized that God says "vengence is mine" for a reason.  God knows the hearts and circumstances of all of the people involved and when I try to take action on my part it makes me look bad, but if I leave vengence to God and love those who treated me unjustly I bring glory to God.

Psalm 37:18  The days of the blameless are know to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever.