Neighborly Waves

Two days ago, there was a moment when something happened that just kept coming back to me. You know those moments that seem to have the weight of significance to them? The ones which stick in your mind and replay over and over and cause you to search them closely to find the secret message? That was this moment. 

That day, I was driving down my sister's street and, as I passed her next-door neighbor's house, I saw the neighbor's little boy in the front yard. As I passed, this little nine- or ten-year-old black boy looked up from his work and gave a friendly wave. I waved back and went on to my sister's, but the image of that sweet innocent little face and his open and friendly wave stuck in my head. I told my sister about it and how it reminded me of riding through the countryside and how the locals all wave when they pass one another. Later, after I left my sister's, I found myself smiling and waving at people in their yards. A couple waved back; some looked confused, even suspicious.

I just kept thinking how we need to bring back that open friendliness to our world. The fact that he was black and I am white seemed significant. As I thought about it more the next morning, words started coming together and thoughts and phrases began to take shape. 

When I looked at that sweet little face, it was as if he reached out and touched me with his wave, immediately drawing my full attention. He reached across the great divide in our country and his brown hand touched my whiteness. His touch connected with me on a deep level, and everything else around me faded away.

I was reminded of an exercise I heard a few months back. I was told to imagine myself standing on the side of the road with all the traffic whizzing by. In my imagination, I was totally aware of all the cars, the noise, the "busy-ness". Then I was told to glance across the street and see that Jesus was standing there watching me. When our eyes met, He smiled, and then He waved. Suddenly, in my mind, all the traffic, noise, and busy-ness just faded away, and all I saw was Jesus. And I smiled back. And I waved. And that morning, as I imagined it, I realized that it would have been a brown hand waving at me. Jesus was a Middle-Easterner. 

I was suddenly struck by the similarity between the two incidents, and I realized how powerful a simple smile and wave can be. This child's smile and wave affected me almost as profoundly as the image of Christ smiling and waving at me. Would it be this simple to affect our world? Our nation is being torn apart by brown and white fists shaking at each other, guns pointing, and angry faces glaring, hurtful words hurling. Our nation and world are so very in need of that old habit of looking into one another's eyes and smiling and waving the friendly wave. The fists need to open into waves while dropping the guns and the glares relax into smiles. That simple act can make all the noise and rushing and stomping and crashing around fade away. And maybe it can begin to heal wounds and calm the anger. 

Maybe I'm being overly simplistic, but it's a start, isn't it?

#bringbackfriendlywaves

#wavesforneighbors

#changingtheworldonewaveatatime

Scriptures for love and peace.

Mark 12:29-31 <Jesus considered these the two Greatest Commandments.>

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with and all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

Romans 12:18 "As much as possible, as far as it depends on youlive at peace with everyone." 

#PandemicPrayers

On February, 2020, my friend Lisa Joyner asked me to be her prayer partner.

Lisa was starting a health and weight loss plan called "New Life Promise" by Isabel D. Price which is founded on the premise that God can renew our minds and create a new person in us, a person who is surrendered to God in all aspects of our lives, a person who understands that our bodies are God's temples, the place wherein He has chosen to dwell, and that it is His will that we take care of and honor His temples. Lisa asked me to start the plan with her and to be her prayer and accountability partner. 

We had no clue what was about to happen in our lives...

We started praying together by phone on February 25, 2020 at 6:00am less than three weeks before our country began to shut down in earnest. Lindy, my husband, came home from Washington, DC about two weeks later and told me that everything in Washington was starting to close down as he was leaving that morning. New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade was cancelled. Then ours in Savannah followed. This was mind-blowing enough to get my attention. I had not really given COVID-19 much thought. I was one of those who was lulled into the false security of "it's happening over there, not here." On March 21st, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson's state of emergency went into effect mandating business closures and restrictions and limits on gatherings. On March 24th, Mayor Johnson issued a "shelter at home" order for Savannah. Our entire world changed in less than four weeks.

Lisa and I started praying together to help each other stick with a weight loss plan. So we thought... As usual, God had much bigger ideas. It became so much more and has literally changed both of our lives completely. God has shown us that it really is possible with our willingness and by His power to be "...transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing, and perfect will."

We began in March to read YouVersion Bible App Bible study plans on prayer, and each more was more amazing than the last. Through these plans, God instructed us, encouraged us, challenged us, stretched us, pushed us to dig deeper, and used His Word to begin to transform and mold us. It has been a mind-blowing ride, to say the least.

Before long, another friend, Wende Chaille, and I began to pray together, too. I had never prayed so much in my life! Literally. A few weeks later, my nephew's wife Alex Lamb joined Wende and I during our prayer time.

We have been constantly amazed at what God is revealing to us in His Word. Some scriptures we've read many times but never saw what jumped out at us now. A LOT of new and less familiar scriptures that confirmed familiar promises or gave us new promises. 

One thing we all saw over and over is that God is using this COVID-19 pandemic for His purposes to turn people's hearts the world over to Him. God is, always has been, and will forever be in control, and, according to Isaiah 46:9-10, His plans WILL be accomplished.

Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV
9 "Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’"

I have always loved these verses, especially the fact that He
declared the "end from the beginning." He started writing His
story with the end already written. Before He does or allows
anything at all to take place, He already has the outcome decided and established. Does that comfort you as much as it does me?

Romans 8:28 NLT
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

We also know that it is His desire that every person - EVERY
PERSON - come to Him.

I Timothy 2:1-4
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

2 Peter 3:39 The Message
8-9 Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.

We can be confident in His Word. God is faithful. He always has been, always will be. We can have hope in these strange and scary times. He does have our best interests at heart. Always has, always will. He is the great "I AM," and He never changes. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is all that and more.
We can trust Him. He's proven Himself trustworthy. He's proven Himself faithful. And the best part of that is that it all depends on HIS FAITHFULNESS, not our measley, flimsy faith. It's ALL HIM. NONE OF IT DEPENDS ON ME! Or YOU! And I can live with that!

Psalm 27:8 NKJV

When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

Lessons From a Drifting Cloud

Just as I turned from the kitchen sink, a cloud outside the window caught my attention. A huge puffy cloud sat low in the gray morning sky with only the front of the cloud clearly visible as morning sun shone on the tall puffs, moisture reflecting the golden light. Behind that brightly shining wall, the rest of the cloud faded into the gray-blue sky. 

I watched, mesmerized, as the cloud moved slowly forward. Toward the light. I felt there was a message in this seemingly random happenstance. And, as the cloud drifted slowly forward, I saw it. As clear as the morning sun. As the cloud moved closer to the light, more and more of it began to reflect the golden light. Then, just one thin silver streak of lightning stretched down from the gray-blue of the cloud toward the ground.

WOW. What a spectacular moment, LORD! What a promise! 

If I just stay on course toward my God, I will reflect more and more of His love, grace, and mercy. HIS VERY IMAGE. I will look more and more like my FATHER.

But that wasn't it for the lesson from the cloud. No, God had more for me to see. A lot more. The next morning, I remembered thinking about the distinction between the SOURCE of the light and the light. As I reread what I had written the day before, it suddenly became clear. When I focus on things other than God - even good things like writing my prayers, Bible plans, Bible and prayer journals, discipline and organization, checking off those things in my calendar - even things of God rather than just GOD, the SOURCE, I get distracted from the main thing, the SOURCE of the POWER, and I get disconnected. 

The cloud continued to move toward the SOURCE; it didn't stop in the light and just soak up what it provided in that one place. It didn't focus on the light and sit still in it while striving to reflect more of it. It kept moving ever so steadily toward the SOURCE, its focus ever before it, not turned toward the light it was reflecting itself. And, as it moved toward the SOURCE, more and more light was reflected. 

And more and more power was added to the cloud to keep it steadily moving forward. The Lightning! That one silver streak that reached down from the cloud and touched the ground. That symbol of God's power available to me when I keep my eyes on Him and move steadily closer. 

Dear Precious LORD Jesus, help me keep this image in mind ready to pull out to remind me whenever I take my eyes off the SOURCE - YOU, the GREAT I AM, the CREATOR, the ALMIGHTY, the OMNIPRESENT, the ALPHA and the OMEGA. 

Help me fix my eyes on You, LORD. Help me remember that I DO KNOW the ANSWER to every question. It is YOU, the SOURCE, of EVERYTHING. 

As my friend Lisa pointed out to me, not one other soul saw that cloud at that exact moment from that exact location, set of coordinates, or angle. You showed it just to me! What a treasured moment with You, Father. Wow! Thank YOU!! 

#PandemicPraise

#PandemicPrayers

#1000GiftsandMoore

The Majesty, Power, and Vastness of the Great I AM

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young May 28, page 155
"This is a form of worship:  sensing your smallness in comparison to My Greatness. 
Man tends to make himself the measure of all things. But man's measure is too tiny to comprehend My majestic vastness."

After reading that, I decided to ride to the beach because that is where I can get a sense of God's majesty, power, vastness. 
On the way there, I listened to "Before the Throne of God" by Selah, and I heard something I've never noticed before. 
" A great High Priest, whose name is Love, 
Who ever lives and pleads for me."

Have I ever thought of God that way before? Of Jesus? Who ever lived for me? He LIVES for ME? Everything I know about God is what He has done for us, for me. Everything. Like His whole reason for existence is us. I can get a very limited sense of this when I think about my sons and grandsons. Even as a child, I made decisions and choices for my future children. I chose my husband based on those decisions. (Besides the fact that I just plain fell in love with him, but I thank God that I fell in love with the one who fit my choices.) 
I can't honestly claim that I live for my children, but I have a sense of that kind of love. My life would not be the same without them. They are our greatest accomplishment. They fill our lives with purpose and joy. We cry for them when they hurt. We rejoice for them when they succeed and when they are happy. I would like to think that I would give my life for them if they were in danger.
If I can feel that limited depth of love, why is it hard to believe that God feels that for His children?
The Great High Priest Whose Name is LOVE.

And then this verse pretty much sums it up:
"Because the sinless Savior died, 
My sinful soul is counted free; 
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me"

He did this for ME. The Great and Just I AM is satisfied to look at his Sacrificial Lamb, His only Son, on the Cross and accept His sacrifice and pardon me. And Pardon ME. He looks at Jesus' sacrifice instead of my sinful, unworthy self. He's satisfied with that. Because He created it - this plan for my salvation, and it was GOOD.

Lyrics:

BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD
Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea: A great High Priest, whose name is Love, 
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,  My name is written on His heart;  I know that while in heaven He stands No tongue can bid me thence depart No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,  And tells me of the guilt within,  Upward I look, and see Him there Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,  My sinful soul is counted free;  For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me To look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,  Risen Son of God! 

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb My perfect, spotless righteousness,  The great unchangeable I am,  The King of glory and of grace! 

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood My life is hid with Christ on high,  With Christ, my Savior and my God With Christ, my Savior and my God

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shane_and_shane/before_the_throne_of_god_above.html

"Places Where Grace Is"

"Places where grace is" is a line in the song "Unredeemed" by Selah. This song is one of my most favorite songs in the world, and it speaks volumes to my heart. So many times in the past couple of months my devotions have reminded me to look for those "places where grace is." I even started a section in my journal where I can write about those places. I want to remember them later, and I want to be able to pull this journal out and remind myself when it's hard to remember.

My devotion in Jesus Calling (May 7, page 134) once again reminded me that those places are there, that God can use anything to work good for us if we love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). Sarah Young used the verse from the account of Joseph's life in Genesis 50:20 "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." She said, "This is how you foil the works of evil, growing in grace through the very adversity that was meant to harm you." (Reminds me of all the times I've told kids if they ignore somebody who picks on them, they'll quit because they can't get a rise out of them.) And "Fear no evil, for I can bring good out of every situation you will ever encounter." 

Sometimes that's hard to see. Sometimes it's hard to believe. Sometimes, we don't even want to see it; we want to be angry and hurt. I've been there. I've wanted to yell at God. I've felt like I needed to tell Him what was going on down here, because He didn't seem to know. I've questioned. I've panicked. I've been anxious and unbelieving and non-trusting. I've wondered if I wanted to trust God. I've wondered if I even wanted to like Him. And, if you're honest, most of you will admit you've felt or done most of these things, too, even if only for a fleeting second before you brought your thoughts back to Him and His love and His truth. 

Those are hard times, the adversity Sarah Young was talking about. But what about those times when you know He's working, you know He's got a purpose for what's going on, but none of it looks the way you think it should look. When all you have are unanswered questions. And fear. You feel like you are hanging out over the edge and all you can do is just hang on and trust because you know there's a purpose and an answer, but, for the life of you, you can't figure it out. You can't see any way for it to end the way you think it was supposed to. All you can do is just hang there and wait. I think sometimes these places are even harder than the out-and-out trials and tribulations that have real enemies you can see. These times are sometimes scarier. It's easy to get angry and place blame during the trials and tribulations, but, when you are just hanging there waiting and you have no idea what the future holds....it can be pretty terrifying. 

So, I NEED those reminders of "places where grace is" to help me hang on and wait. To help me believe that it may not look the way I think it should, it may be falling apart, it may not be restored, but "it will not be unredeemed."

This morning, I thought about a time in my life when nothing looked the way it should, when I had nothing but questions, fear, and, at times, anger and hopelessness. When I went through a four-year depression that left me unable to work, unable to leave my house at times, unable to function normally, believe me, I questioned. I was angry. I was terrified. I felt deep, unbearable hopelessness and sadness. It took me four years to work my way back out of it, and, for awhile, I was angry that it took four years of my life away from me. It took me away from my family. It took me out of a career I loved and enjoyed. It left me bereft of any confidence or self-esteem. I could no longer trust my judgement. I felt that everything I'd ever accomplished was negated because I fell apart. I hated that I was so weak that I couldn't handle everyday life.
And then, one day, something happened, and I responded with a strength I didn't have before that depression, and a little bud of hope began to bloom. I began to see something positive in it.
So, this morning, I chose that time of my life to write all the ways God used it for good. In my journal, I wrote about all the places where I saw His grace. And, by the time I finished, my heart felt so full. I felt so free and secure and LOVED.
These are some of the ways God showed me grace and used that terrible time for good:

• It made me question everything I'd ever been taught to believe and search for the answers - the Truth - for myself, which, of course, led me to God. My beliefs are mine now. I don't claim to have all the answers. I know I don't. In fact, one of my strongest beliefs is that there's a whole lot of life that we will never understand or have answers to this side of Heaven. And, while I hope I will never stop seeking the Truth, I'm ok with not knowing everything. That, to me, is a clear sign that my trust has matured.
• I learned to value rest. I learned how to rest in God, how to sit in my Father's lap and let him take care of my worries because they are too much for me to carry. I came to understand the meaning of Matthew 11:29-30: "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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." He'll trade me His easy yoke and light burden for all that heavy stuff I tried to carry around by myself all those years. That encourages me. It actually blows my mind. That verse sustains me now. I didn't understand that before.
• I learned that resting in and waiting on Him is more important than running around trying to do everything for Him by myself. I'd had the hardest time waiting on Him for most of my life. I wanted to get my assignment and then run off and prove how strong I was by doing it on my own. And, while I was at it, I'd do anything else that looked like it needed to be done, too, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. He put me in a place where I had no strength, so I had to depend on Him. I had to wait on Him, because I couldn't fix this on my own. I learned the meaning of Ephesians 6:13 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." I learned that a whole lot of life is about standing still and waiting on Him. Didn't say I've mastered that yet, but I understand it's importance now and am SO much better at it than I ever was.
• I learned sometimes you have to let go of things, relationships, and even people who aren't good for you. During that depression, I was in survival mode. When you are in survival mode, you can't afford to hang on to people who make you feel worse. You have to protect yourself. I realized there were some people who dragged me down rather than helped me up. I realized I'd let some people control me because I'd never wanted to hurt anybody's feelings. I was a peacemaker, and, while that can be a very positive thing, it can be a weakness, too. I would go along sometimes just to keep the peace. I couldn't do that when I was just trying to survive, and I had to change or let go of some relationships. I never had to just cut anybody off, but I let go of the rules I'd played by in those relationships. I had to refuse to go along at times, and I had to limit my time with or distance myself from some people, and I learned that was not only ok, it is sometimes a very good thing. I've learned the value of surrounding myself with positive people who inspire me to be a better person but who also love me just the way I am. I have a friend who sees people the way Jesus intended us to be rather than the way we really are. That makes me want to be that person. That's the kind of people I want to spend my time with.
• It brought me birds, especially my beloved bluebirds, and photography, and poetry, and collages, and painting and drawing, and creativity. Those deep, sometimes overwhelming, emotions needed an outlet, and I discovered creative ways to deal with them and let them out. I had never been a bird watcher, but one summer I saw bluebirds going into a box in a neighbor's yard. I thought they were beautiful. I researched them, and my husband built a nest box for me. I have had bluebird nests in my backyard every summer since then. When I was at my lowest and most hopeless, I watched those birds through the window day after day. I know when to start looking for them each year now, and one day, when I glanced out in the yard to see if they happened to be out there and saw them sitting on the wire above my yard, my breath caught in my throat. I realized that morning that bluebirds represent hope to me now. I found that photography was very therapeutic. I think part of it was because I was focusing on one moment in time rather than worrying and being anxious about things. I think the other part was because I was focusing on the beauty of God's creation. I took pictures of sunsets and sunrises and the river and the ocean and flowers and, of course, birds. I also took a lot of pictures of children. I loved capturing their openness and innocence in a picture.  Just a couple of years ago, I came across a sketch journal that I'd forgotten I had. I opened it to find these pictures drawn during that time of depression.  The first one was an attempt to portray the fear and sadness I felt and the darkness that had settled over me and weighed me down. The second one was the turmoil and raging storm going on inside me. I had completely forgotten about these pictures. When I saw them, they took my breath away. I could feel the emotions I had been trying to express. The third one really surprised me. I had used a picture I saw on the internet as a model. I didn't know I could do that. 

                 
          So I wondered if I could still do it. That summer my grandsons came to visit, and I took a picture of them at the river. I decided to try to draw that picture. Those pictures of raw emotions led to this picture. Would I have ever discovered this wonderfully therapeutic                   hobby and talent if I hadn't felt those deep overwhelming emotions?   

• And last but definitely not least, I learned to pray God's Word. Beth Moore's book Get Out of that Pit exposed me to it and taught me the value of it, and then I got her book Praying God's Word Day by Day. It is amazing how powerful and beautiful using God's own words in prayer can be. If you have not tried praying this way, I highly recommend the second book. There are many books/devotionals on the market that use God's Word in prayer, and it doesn't matter which one you have. I just happen to like Beth Moore's books. The thing is, you don't even have to have anything other than the Bible. Just go to the Psalms and find one that expresses what you are feeling and cry it out to God. 

In my journal the other morning, I wrote, "Thank You, Lord, for using that time to grow me. That was definitely a place where grace is. It did not go unredeemed." 

You can't imagine the comfort I feel in knowing those four years of my life were not wasted. Or maybe you can.