God Knows Your Need

I needed an escape.  

I needed to feel the wind in my hair and feel free from the stress of the world.  Just for an afternoon.  Just for a little while.  I just needed an escape.

So I grabbed my headphones (after a frustratingly long search), hopped on my bike, and headed out for an adventure.  I had some ideas of where I could go but I just knew I needed to ride.  I planned to bike to a friend’s house and just decompress there for a few minutes.  I didn't hear back from my friend in time to make the turn to her house, though, so I sat at the intersection for a moment, trying to decide on my course of action. 

I could take the risky road – the one I hadn't biked before – and see what new places I could find.  Or, I could turn around and go back from the direction I came.  I needed an escape.  Adventure. I took the new road.

In my defense, I have driven this road often, but I had never biked this road.  I could tell you major landmarks, but I could not tell you details about the shops that lined it or the sights that surrounded it.  I needed to see a different perspective.  While praying for protection and direction, I was also praying for God to speak to my soul this day.  Lord, I desperately need You right now to show me things I would not normally see.

Butterflies and wildflowers lined my trail - there were so many
butterflies that I was afraid I was going to run over them as I
breezed past them! But what a beautiful sight - the fluttering
white all around me!  

That day, I had the best bike ride I have had in a long time.  I took the time to get off my bike and bend down close to the flowers, to notice the little details of the path, to explore shops and diners I had never known were so close to home.  I found a park! I drank a fruit smoothie.  I took pictures of the water. I joked with the fishermen on the bridge.  This was “me”.  This is me. 

Most importantly from that day, God whispered into my heart life. This was the "life" I needed to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

Let’s face it: there are some people in life that speak to you in a way that nobody else can.  These people know how to speak love and truth to you, and you can receive it knowing you’re safe with them.  Their words may sting but they do not cut.  Their presence may compel, but it does not overwhelm. 

This is how God spoke to me that day: 

as the One who knows me. 

My stresses.

My heartache.

My joy and delight.

My questions.

My dreams.

My need.

God knows what I need.  God knows what you need.  I was desperate enough to run away with Him to a place where He could speak to me.  And He did.  He glided with me down a path of a thousand butterflies, all the while orchestrating that a beautiful song of life would be playing in my ears. 

Are you desperate enough to push away the things that are holding you back and to run away with Him like you might a lover?  Are you that desperate?  Because He can speak life to you in that desperation.  Run to Him.  Run with Him.  Look for the butterflies on your path and listen to His promises that He sings over you.  

He knows your need.

"For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!   Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

-Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

Mangers and the Hard Stuff

It wasn’t wooden.

In fact, it may not even have been covered.

It was certainly crowded.

It most likely wasn’t winter, and most likely was sweltering.

…on the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Mangers in Israel during the first century weren't wooden.  They were stone – like this one…

Manger on the ruins of Mount Megiddo (AKA "Tel Megiddo")
May 2012

Chances are, Jesus was laid in a pile of hay (or feed of some sort).  Depending on where the manger was, it may not have even been covered, or maybe only covered with a small tent sheet.  Given that the shepherds were in their fields, it was probably late summer to early fall that Jesus was born, not the dead of winter. 

There are so many unknowns about the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus that could be debated over and over, but let me share with you my point: it wasn't wooden.  Jesus wasn't born into a cozy little warm stable on a cold winter’s night and laid in a soft wooden manger.  He came into a hot, sweaty, crowded town full of people registering for a census.  He was born to two tired parents who had just been rejected by society because of the possible “scandal” surrounding Mary’s pregnancy.  He was laid in a hard, stone manger to be displayed before visitors.  The manger never became “un-hard”, but the purpose of that manger was never greater than when Jesus was laid in it.

God took the Delight of eternity and stuck Him smack-dab in the middle of our crazy world in a hard stone manger.  He did it then, and has not changed His technique for all these years.  He comes smack-dab in the middle of our crazy, hectic lives and lays out His love on all the hard things with which we deal.  

Joseph and Mary dealt with a hard manger, a hard journey, a hard society.  We deal with hard questions, hard realities, and hard decisions every day. 

I deal with hard stuff every day.  But God has chosen to come right in the middle of those hard things and lay His Love out for me. 

...for you.

Jesus wasn't just a gift for Christmas.  He was a gift for every hard moment in our lives.  We choose to let Him stay in our mangers of the hard things.  What manger of your life can you lay Jesus in today?  The hard things won’t change, but they will finally have a purpose when we let God use them to show His love to a watching world.  

A watching world of 

kings… 

nobles… 

shepherds… 

innkeepers… 

presidents… 

children...

politicians… 

auto-body repair shop workers… 

hotel managers…

bosses...

the local deli owner...

parents...

neighbors...

The Cost of Garbage in New York

When my brother first moved to New York, he shared with me that the local town he lived in charges $2 for each bag of garbage he puts out to the street.  On top of that, if it is not tagged in a certain way, they would not take it.  $2 does not seem like much, but the cost can certainly add up.  Still, I thought it was quite comical to hear him tell of this "inconvenience".

The way my mind works, I quickly thought about how we have to pay for the garbage in our minds that we want out too.  We pay with stress, emotions, frustrations, peer-pressure, and lost friends when we choose to live a life righteously.  It's not much different from the rest of humanity, except when you make a decision to live righteously, you gain an abundance of peace in your life that you'd never thought possible.

Peace comes from being right with God.  If I'm struggling with peace in my heart, I first ask myself what I might be doing that is not honoring Him.  Everything about my peace returns whenever I make a choice to live "righteously" (in right standing with God) again.

Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

Tupper Lake, NY

Brilliantly Pure starts out Ugly

In May, I had the incredible privilege of touring the great country of Israel with some dear church family members.  We stayed in Jerusalem for a couple of days and then made our way to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, where we stayed at a beautiful resort in Tiberias.  I certainly enjoyed the entire trip, but having a thing for water, you can imagine why I soaked up Tiberias...

Looking South:  View from our Hotel in the Afternoon

And if the afternoon was not quite soothing enough, perhaps you would fall in love, like I did, with the invigorating sunrises over the Sea of Galilee....

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee - Looking due West from the Resort

Little do many from our trip know, however, that there was something even more beautiful happening within my room.  Late one evening, a woman from our tour came to my room and prayed with my roommate and I.  We talked for a while and discussed life.  And we prayed hard.  We prayed hard, the three of us, to break down walls and seek God for turning points in our life.  And we broke down walls, spiritually speaking.

My prayer that night was to see Jesus' face more clearly in my life.  I want to focus on what is right and push aside what is wrong so I can "achieve my destiny", if you will, according to God's plan for my life.

My prayer wasn't bad.  But my prayer requires an answer that is not quickly forthcoming.  How much have you lived, like I, hoping for an answer to really just slip out of nowhere?

Recently I read an old devotional entry from Smith Wigglesworth's Devotional dated May 20:

"In the melting pot, He removes the skimmings until His face is seen.  When the metal reflects Him, it is pure."  

Remember how I mentioned I wanted to see Jesus' face more clearly?  Well I finally figured out the key to this task: Give God time and expect some heat.  There's always fire involved in a purification process.

So I'm doing that.  I'm choosing to make changes in my life that will give me more focus on the One I love and that will help me develop that lasting relationship where, even when the burner's on and I'm boiling, I'm still getting brighter.  This is why I can be called brilliantly pure: because I'm choosing to face the fire for the gold.

Will you?

Things That Make My Heart Very Happy

Knowing God

World Missions 

That genuine laugh you get when something is so unexpectedly funny, and your laughter is not judged as appropriate or not - it is just enjoyed

Little surprise kisses

Holding a baby

A cool breeze on a warm day, and looking up to see sun bursting through a cloud or a group of trees

Sunsets and sunrises

Music

Playing with a child who - for some reason - just loves playing with you

Good, old-fashioned, quality time with a best friend

Fun outdoorsy stuff on a perfectly weathered day 

Picnics

Birthday parties

Finishing a good book

Gerber Daisies

Spontaneous phone calls from my very-far-away, very-important, very-busy brother

Travel

:)

(Not necessarily in that order...)

Family Vacation: Cali & Vegas 2011

Ok.  I admit.  I'm a family girl.  In case you didn't know it, now you do!  :)


My family likes to take trips, but it's not always possible to make it happen.  This past year was special because we got to spend a good amount of time together despite the huge changes with my brother's amazing Army adventure.

In January, the week of my birthday, we were able to fly out to Las Vegas to visit Myron, go to the Hoover Dam, and visit family in southern California.  Here are some fun pictures from our trip.

I love family time.  I'm looking forward to more great family times in the future - whether we can all make it to a destination or not.  And I'm looking forward to spending time with new family as they come along.  You can never have enough family!

Visiting Freemont Street, Las Vegas:  Freddie, Dad, Mom, and I.

Visiting some shops on The Strip in Las Vegas with my brother

Hoover Dam, Nevada/Arizona border

Being silly with brother by the Hollywood sign

Touring the Reagan Museum & Library on my Birthday!  Mom and I.  From the looks of it, I was probably about to pull a practical joke on someone....

Freezing at one of the Southern Cali piers - yes - Freddie is freezing.  Don't tell him I told you! :)

Stop reading this!  Go enjoy time with your family!  :)