Forgive That Sinner Over There!

"Why should I forgive him? He's not even sorry for what he did!" Those were my words to my mother as we were discussing a family member's hurtful actions. My wise mother had told me I needed to forgive this person. I figured that if he wasn't even sorry, I didn't need to forgive him. How silly to think I should! A couple of weeks later, I attended church. The pastor was preaching one of those sermons where you realized he had a video camera secretly following you around so he could preach a sermon just for you! He talked about how often he counsels people who have a problem with another family member. They are so upset with this person, it inhibits them from going on in life. They are bitter and it's taking over their daily living. He tells them they need to forgive this person. He says most of the time he gets this response, "WHY SHOULD I FORGIVE THEM! THEY AREN'T EVEN SORRY FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" I'm sitting in the pew ready to say, "Amen!" I could sense that there was something wise about to be said that would require a more humble response. Sure enough....our pastor cited wisdom from God's word. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8b Talk about conviction! I will never forget this sermon. The timing was incredible. Surely the sermon was directed at me. I could almost see Jesus standing behind his servant, our pastor, looking at me as he said those words. I forgave the family member and am still forgiving him. Just as Jesus forgave me and is STILL forgiving me! This family member is either a lost soul, or one that is way off the path and needs to return. As hard as it is sometimes, I stay in contact with him waiting and praying for the day I will have the opportunity to guide him or encourage him. I pray that day will come soon! "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:13-14

Blessings: I'd count 'em, but can't count that high!

Earlier, I wrote a post on this blog entitled, "God Gives Me Good Things." No...I haven't changed my mind. I'm just reminding myself that this is so true in spite of seemingly negative things that happen. I was rejoicing that the MRI on my wrist didn't show much to be concerned about. So... I returned to my game of tennis only to have a painful, weak hand the following day. How frustrating!!! One "kind" person told me to get used to it. She didn't think such injuries every really healed. Another person gave me more hope by telling me to call the doctor and tell him I want to try occupational therapy. I did and I begin next week. I'm praying that through therapy and strengthening exercises, I can fully recover. But in the meantime, this whole ordeal reminds me of Paul's "thorn in his flesh" (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The person with the not so hopeful comment could be right about not having a full recovery and I need to be prepared for that possibility. The blessings from such an experience is what is in verse 9 of that passage. Paul had asked the Lord 3 times to remove this "thorn." Jesus' response was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9. He went on to say how he would boast all the more because Christ's power now rests on him. "For when I am weak, then I am strong." v10 The person that comes to mind who exemplifies this truth is Joni Eareckson Tada . Permanently paralyzed from a diving accident as a teenager, she began a ministry that has touched the lives of thousands of people with (and even without) disabilities. Check out her ministry at this website: http://www.joniandfriends.org/ My so called "long journey to recovery" has had me in and out of a brace. When I wear the brace, people start asking questions. I tell them what happened and how frustrating the past months have been. But in the end, I tell them (as I'm reminding myself) that I am so blessed with so many other things, that if this is the worst thing that has happened to me, how dare I complain! When you begin to focus on the negative things going on with yourself, or of the things around you, try counting your blessings....if indeed, you can even count that high? We take so much for granted! "...I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 35:26b

The Destoyer of Relationships

It's inevitable. Life's going along pretty good and then someone or some people say or do something to rain on your happy day. Maybe they don't like something you do. Maybe it was something you said. You find out directly or indirectly that there is a conflict and you didn't see this coming! Naturally, feelings are hurt. Anger can set in. Maybe you want to get even somehow and hurt back. Sometimes people lash out by avoiding the person...not speaking to them. That will teach them! Step out of yourself for a moment and look at the situation from the outside in. What if YOU were the one that wasn't happy with someone and took action against the person. What if that person came to you and instead of lashing back, or ignoring you, they said, "Wow..I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had offended you. Please accept my apology." Would that not make you either sorry you had an issue over nothing, or..if it was something, be more than happy to forgive that person? Satan is in the business of destroying relationships. Especially relationships that glorify God. A marriage, a parent-child relationship, friends, neighbors, co-workers/students, etc. If the relationship is destroyed, it can no longer glorify God. When I'm tempted to let my feelings get in the way of cutting off a relationship (whether the other party is right or wrong), I think about how this is pleasing Satan and not God. I think about the purposes of life and of relationships...how I may be edifying to that person or that person is edifying to me. Do I really want to cut off my relationship with that person and let Satan be victorious? In light of eternity, what is it that really matters here? These thoughts often trivialize the whole issue when I look at the big picture. I remind myself I'm not giving Satan the victory. Unless my friend or relative chooses to cut me off, I'm in. And if I am out, then I will continue to pray for that person and treat them with respect no matter how they are treating me (and believe me...I must remind myself of this. And..it doesn't come easy). I pray I will always be this way because this is what pleases God. And this is what I get in return...peace with others, peace with God, and long, fruitful relationships. Don't let that LION devour you and your loved ones! "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. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him....!" I Peter 5:6-9a

When Silence Speaks/Remembering Mom Part 2

When my mother was in the hospital the week before she passed away, I was having difficulty believing God would plan this for such a faithful woman of only 67 years. She befriended many in need and shared her faith freely. This didn't make sense...allowing a Godly woman to die with so many needing her witness and encouraging words. I prayed and prayed and prayed for her to get well. I prayed for a miracle. But the cancer was rapidly taking over her body. It was becoming clear that a miracle was not going to take place. So I began to pray and ask God to make sense of this senselessness! I asked him why he was allowing such a horrible thing. I wasn't getting any answers. God seemed distant. Comfort and answers were nowhere to be found. Only silence with each prayer. After yet another prayer, I let my feelings be known to God..."What do you care! You won't even answer me!" Silence was finally broken with these words, "Trust in me with all of your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge me and I will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 (my paraphrase). It suddenly occurred to me why God was silent. I wasn't giving him any room to speak to me. My mind was made up that God was being unfair to take my mother so soon. Furthermore, he was turning his back on the importance of her earthly ministry. This was MY UNDERSTANDING. "Trust me...I know what I'm doing." Of course! What would my earthly, depraved mind know about the just, righteous ways of God? "Trust in me... not in your earthly understanding" I clung to these verses over the next several weeks and they brought me comfort. I am thankful for God's words which speak to me in times of need. How important it is to be in God's word. His words will break the silence of loneliness. We are not alone. Read God's word daily and let him speak to you. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

Remembering Mom

This month marks the 5th anniversary of my mother's passing. She was one of the most devout Believers of modern times that I know! Eight years earlier, my father had passed away. Even this tragedy did not shake her faith. In fact, she became even closer to the Lord clinging to the hope He promised her and all of us in the bible. That hope is that one day, we who believe in Jesus, will have eternal life with Him in heaven. No more tears, loneliness, anxiety, physical disabilities, worries, sadness, depression. All of these worldly woes have no room in God's kingdom. I miss my mother. But I know where she is and it brings me comfort. In her final days on earth, she had asked me to read a passage she treasured. One that gave her comfort in disturbing times. "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17. How beautiful is that! We have a Lord that rejoices over us in singing! I was with my mother as she left this world to be home with the Lord. When it was done, I remember the odd feeling of her being gone even though her body was still here. A nurse came in and asked if I wanted to be alone with her for a while before staff came in to take her. I declined because this just wasn't the mother I knew. The mother I know is alive! She is alive in Christ and present with him at this moment. If she could say anything to me right now about what this is like, I know what she'd say, "Ohhhhh Lynn!". "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not be sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." II Corinthians 5:6-8"

A Cure for "Mondays"

Mondays do not seem to be a popular day with most people. Most likely because it's the beginning of a long work week, a dreaded final exam, or the fun weekend with family and friends has now passed. A bad day can arise because of something we have to face that we dread. For some, the dread could be just another day of living in misery due to their circumstances at the time. There have been days and times I have struggled to wonder why I should bother getting out of bed. The phrase, "Make the world go away", has been my first thought on such dreaded mornings. It is at that time God's voice will ring out from memorizing this verse: "This is the day that I have made! Now you go out and rejoice in it!" (My paraphrase of Psalm 118:24). When I reflect on this, I begin to have hope. If God made this day, and He wants me to rejoice in it, then there is purpose in me getting up and living life out for His glory of which He has invited me to come and share in! At best, I have made a difference in this world or in someone's life on this created day. At the worst, I simply made it through another day. Most days that fall in between...I have discovered that what I dreaded wasn't nearly as horrible as my mind had imagined it. Oh if only every day I would get up and recite that verse with great anticipation! God has such big plans for us on each and every day! "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."Jeremiah 29:10-12

Lose Weight While You Sleep and Win A Million Dollars!!!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could eat and eat and eat and then burn it all off while we slept only to eat more the next day? And what about the sudden wealth of winning that multi-million dollar lottery? The trouble with all this is, if we had it, then what? Would we stop wanting more? Would the consequences of our worldly lusts matter? Would we finally be satisfied? Mick Jagger's sensational hit song, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" says it all for such desires. The spiritual hymn to remedy that song could be, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." I love that song. It reminds me to "..fix my eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." II Corinthians 5:18 Great things came to many Godly men and women of the bible who lived out this truth. For a short synopsis of such great stories, read this: BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Hebrews 11 This passage is also known as, The Great Hall of Faith. I've read it many times and have recently gone back to it in a bible study I'm in. Such inspiration! I hope it wets your appetite and leads you to find the stories of these faithful characters in the bible. May their stories inspire us to long for the satisfaction only Jesus can give us!

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim...In the light of His glory and grace." Refrain from, "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus", Text and Music: Helen Howarth Lemmel (1864-1961)

Light for North Korea

The above photo is of North and South Korea at night. What an amazing contrast!

Kim Jong II has captured world attention with his nuclear test and threat of yet another one. What doesn't get attention is the underground church in this both physically and spiritually dark land. Imprisonment or execution awaits for the Christian who is caught reading a bible or singing hymns. Please pray for this little church. Pray for light to come to North Korea through this small body of Believers. Pray for their safety and spiritual growth in this dark Communist country. And as always, pray for peace. "Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man." Psalm 112:4

Godly Resolution

Remember the commercial where a person raids the refrigerator for a snack, comes across something pleasing, but not very nutritious, settles for it and eats it...then upon returning it, bumps into the V8 container? They then knock themselves in the head and declare, "I could have had a V8!" This reminds me of how we sometimes handle life's foibles. The foibles end up turning into disasters when we try to handle the problem OUR way. We could have brought it to the Lord and had done it HIS way! King Jehoshaphat did it right. He was told a vast army was headed in his direction for a battle. His army didn't compare to the one that was now closing in on him. "Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord.." II Chronicles 20:3 Resolved - "firmed and fixed in purpose, determined" (Webster). He didn't START by trying to figure out how to deal with this problem on his own. He RESOLVED to inquire of the Lord. What an example! This is one of my favorite old testement stories.BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: II Chronicles 20:1-30; Take some time to read it and then think of some situations you might be in and follow the example of this Godly king. It is from this story and verse 15 that the song, "The Battle Belongs To The Lord" came from (see lyrics below). In the end, our King Jehoshaphat didn't even need to pick up a weapon. The people watched in amazent how God saved them. He did it right. He inquired of the Lord. He recalled his promises and faithfulness and gave God all the glory. They even began to praise God before God did anything. What trust! What an example. Read the story. Apply it. I plan to do so in a situation I currently am in. I expect great things from the One who has been faithful throughout the ages!

The Battle Belongs To The LordJamie Owens-Collins - In heavenly armor we'll enter the landThe battle belongs to the Lord No weapon that's fashioned against us shall stand The battle belongs to the Lord We sing glory and honor Power and strength to the Lord (repeat) The power of darkness comes in like a flood The battle belongs to the Lord He's raised up a standard, the power of His blood The battle belongs to the Lord When your enemy presses in hard do not fear The battle belongs to the Lord Take courage my friend, your redemption is near The battle belongs to the LordCopyright © 1984 Fairhill Music, Inc.

First Snow

Yesterday, the Chicago area had it's first and earliest snow on record. On October 12, 2006, 3/4 of an inch of snow officially landed at O'Hare International Airport! The historical event was met with mixed reviews. The children at the school where I work gave academics a back seat as they gasped in awe at the flurry fury. Some of the staff groaned and declared the word "snow" a "four letter word!" Others, such as myself, marveled at it's soft beauty. To think no two flakes are alike. If you find yourself blessed to be in a bookstore with some time (and maybe even a dollar or two), look up this book: "The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty", by Kenneth Libbrecht & Patricia Rasmussen, Voyageur Press, October 2003. The magnified photos of individual snowflakes are breathtaking! It's hard to imagine that after viewing such unique beauty a person still believes all this detail and order to our universe "just happened" or "evolved". There is NO denying the intelligence found behind our creation. And the creation testifies to God's glory: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4; cf. Psalm 97:6) Then there is this awesome fact: "He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea.... By his breath the skies become fair.... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! How then can we understand the thunder of his power?" (Job 26:7-9, 11-14) I like the last part (in purple). I look at the snowflakes falling, the sun rising in the Eastern sky, the power of a storm, the precious face of a baby, the roar of a lion and ponder..."these are but the outer fringe of his works..." What an amazing God!

God Gives Me Good Things

This isn't really me, but maybe it could be! I'm very encouraged by today's MRI results. Outside of a small cyst inside the back of my wrist, and some minor arthritis, I am A.O.K.! No hand surgery, not even therapy. I can have surgery to remove the cyst if it becomes worse or never gets better, but many times it can shrink (may have gotten inflamed from the sprain, or even was a result of the sprain...no tellin' for sure), but because it's not too painful, we will wait and see. I have no restrictions. So...P.T.L. (praise the Lord) for good health. Did you ever dwell on something or something would get you down and then feel like God used something to give you a message? With the aches and pains that had been going on, I was starting to feel old (see previous post) and the turning 50 thing was NOT fun. Today, as I'm driving to the doctor's office for the MRI results, I had WMBI on and heard a commentary from some man I never even heard of before. It was the tail end of it, but it's all I needed to hear. He was talking about "getting older" and being bothered by it. "We were designed to get older. We have to have this body die to get our new bodies. It's all part of God's plan. So enjoy life and know this is part of the plan." These were all comments I needed to hear. And before I even knew the results of the MRI, I felt better already. No coincidence but a Godincidence. Being in prayer and then being still enough to listen to God and we just may be surprised how he gives us the desires of our hearts! One of my favorite passages: "Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord all my soul and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Psalm 103:1-5

Ellie Belly

This is my pup, Eleanor Roosevelt (Ellie for short). Now who could resist a face like this! We adopted her from a place called, "Strays Halfway House." She was on the loose in the Northwest suburbs. We picked her up at a PetSmart near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL. She'll be 3 yrs. old in Jan. 2007. If you put a treat in your hand, point a finger at her like a gun and say, "BANG!", she'll roll over and play dead. This can take as long as a minute. She dies a slow death. But anything for food! I look at her and wonder who could lose a dog like this and not find her. Their loss and our gain!
"All things bright and beautiful,All creatures great and small,All things wise and wonderful:The Lord God made them all.", Cecil F. Alexander, 1848

Banning Birthdays

When I was younger, I remember people older than me saying, "Never get old!" I'd just smile as I certainly could not relate to that statement! Now as my joints begin to deteriorate and inhibits me from doing certain things, I find myself saying the same thing to younger people. Jumping into a new sport or activity was never a problem when I was younger. Now I pay the price (to M & M Orthopedics!) and realize the birthdays of my life have added up to ....well....I'd rather not say! I remind myself there are MANY worse things in life! So I am thankful for what I have and not dwell on what I don't have. After all...what's really happening here, is because I chose life, I'm drawing nearer to the day I'll be present with my Savior. No more birthdays to add up there (but go ahead and wish me a happy birthday when it's here anyway). "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." II Corinthians 4:16

Enjoy Sarah

When Russ and I went to California last June, we attended Saddleback Church. Remember, "40 Days of Purpose" with the Hawaiian shirt preacher? That's the church! There's something for everyone at that church! Pretty awesome. Anyway, Sarah Groves was a special guest that Sunday morning. We really liked her and bought a couple of her CDs. We listen to them constantly when we drive. If you like soft Christian contemporary music with songs that have a strong message, you'll love Sarah Groves. Watch the short video below (or not..I came back to this only to find on my computer it is not working!). And for more info on her and her music, you can go to her website: Sara Groves "My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul." Psalm 108:1

Sarah Groves - Just showed up for my own life

Extrait du Dvd de Sara Groves en Afrique Sarah Groves goes to Africa, then to Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina Relief...

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. I'm new at this and am trusting God for direction! In the meantime, my first post is just a Hello and welcome. Life is an adventure! Sometimes it's good, sometimes bad. But it all boils down to how we handle what we've been dealt with. In light of eternity, most of what has been handed to us is trivial. Key phrase: "In light of eternity". This usually downsizes my current "issues" almost immediately! It is something I have to remind myself of and am so glad that I do. Scripture for today: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18