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But What If . . .

For the most part, I’m a forward-looking person. The “if-only’s” might enter my mind for a brief moment, but I am grateful that it is most often only a brief and fleeting moment. Thankfully, I am one that tends to recognize that while we can learn from history, we cannot change it.

The “what-if’s,” however, are another story.

We all have those moments, they just vary in their appearance based on the present window through which we are looking. “What if there is no cure?” “What if I never _____?” “What if I have to _____?” “What if he _____?” “What if she _____?” “What if I _____?”

If one of those made you stop and silently gasp or if you were able to fill in any of the blanks, you are probably living through a “what-if,” or more specifically, a fear, right at this moment. I won’t tell you which one made me gasp silently as I typed it.

Like I said, we all have those moments.

Yet I realize this morning that I must not fear or be anxious about anything. Anything. Not because of some zen-like mantra I’m repeating from the balcony where I’m watching the sunrise as I’m typing this, but because it is a command, yes, a command, from God. I read Philippians 4:6 this morning in the New Living Translation (it’s probably more familiar to you in the KJV or NASB, but this wording gave it some simple, but fresh, clarity):

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” 

Now comes the extra really-cool part that I just had to share! Forgive me for making this post another lengthy one, but I have a “filled-up-with-happy” heart this morning.

After reading this verse, I flipped over to my “assigned” reading in Exodus 13. (“Assigned” in the little morning devotional book I use as I begin my God-and-I-Time.) I read verses 17-22:

“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.” The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.”

So often I’ve read that passage from Exodus and focused on the fire by night and the pillar by day—and for good reason! That’s amazing. He never left them wondering about where to go!

But the part that hit me this morning was that God not only led them, but on their behalf He even considered the “what-if” that they would undoubtedly face: “‘If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”

As I read that, I realized I don’t need to gasp or fill in the blanks in the paragraph of questions listed above. I don’t have to fret over the what-if’s because God’s already got those covered! He thinks of EVERYTHING!

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Thank you for taking time to read today’s post. Do have a favorite verse you turn to when the “what-if’s” begin to enter your thoughts?

By Petals from the Basket | June 13, 2012 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time |

New Release Date

I’m truly so excited about the release of THE ABC’s of T2:3 that I’m starting to count the number of “sleeps” until it is ready for distribution!!!

I tell you that for two reasons:

1. I hope you will be excited, too! The 14 lessons in this Bible study can be used for individual or group study, and have been a joy to teach and now to share in written format!

2. The second reason I’m telling you about counting sleeps is that I have had to add five more sleeps to my originally-planned release date. The project has a pretty broad scope, and in order to make sure every base is covered in the right way, a few additional days were necessary! I apologize for the delay, but I know it is the right thing to do so that it can be presented in a way that will be the most useful and helpful to all!

Sooooo…The new release date for THE ABC’s of T2:3 is Wednesday, June 20, 2012!

Of course, that also means that there will be five additional days of possibilities to win a free download! Starting this Thursday, June 14th, I’ll post a giveaway each day as we count down to the release of the Bible study ebook (completely downloadable book – no Kindle necessary)!

Thank you for your encouragement, your prayers, your excitement…and your patience! 🙂

As of this writing on Tuesday night, June 12th, there are only…eight more sleeps!!!!!!!!

By Petals from the Basket | June 13, 2012 | Books, Contests, Ebooks, Events |

It’s a Process

This is more of a personal “journal” note this morning. But since I promised to be “The Real Me” awhile back, I’m doing exactly that today!

My sister Karen reminded me recently that when your vocation involves working at a church or within a church organization, that tends to be the majority of your world. Even though you may reach out to your community and be involved in your community, your life is wrapped up in church—you work there Monday-Friday (and often Saturday for some), attend church there on Sunday, have small group activities there throughout weekday evenings, and form the majority of your friendship and fellowship circles there.

If my friend who works at the hospital were to lose her job, her place of worship and the majority of her fellowship circles would not change. However, when you are no longer an employee of the church, the nature of which means you will need to find a new church to attend (and the reason for which varies between individuals), you have lost more than just a place to worship on Sundays.

What happens after that depends on your response. . .and you get to choose what that response will be. You cannot choose what the responses of others will be, nor are you responsible for their responses. You are only responsible for obeying God’s commands to live for Him, no matter what. But regardless of your choices, your world still changes.

I have recently found myself in the situation of no longer working in a church setting, and I am take a step this morning to form some new connections. There is a ladies’ summer Bible study that starts this morning at the church I’ve been attending, and I find myself both excited and nervous.

For the last three months, I’ve arrived at church shortly before it begins, actively participated in the worship services through singing, praying, and listening to what God had been teaching me through the message of the morning, and then I’ve greeted my pastor and headed on home. Because of my desire to just listen and learn up to this point, it has been the choice I have made (and prayed about often).

But I’m ready to take the next step as I keep moving forward. So here I go, taking a step. Then another. Then another.

Some of you may read this and say “Shame on you, that’s not like you. You generally jump in with both feet and plunge yourself wholly into whatever you do.” True that. However, when a soul has been wounded (NOT destroyed!), it’s almost like when a body part has been wounded. Let me explain.

A runner doesn’t do a marathon after getting the cast off of her broken leg. No, she goes through “rehab,” strengthening the wounded body part and receiving the needed help from those who are experienced in the rehabilitation process. If the runner were to compete without taking the proper time to “heal,” she would undoubtedly risk even greater injury.

The same is true in this case for me. So today, I take the next step in my “fellowship rehab.” And my soul will be strengthened.

With regard to “healing,” I have chosen to apply a phrase my sister Marcia wisely stated recently (regarding something else, but I have applied it to this): “It’s a process, not an event.”

But I’m still a little nervous. 🙂

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Thank you for taking time to read “It’s a Process.” What advice do you have for someone ready to get involved with your fellowship groups? What steps do you take to welcome new people entering your fellowship group?

 

 

By Petals from the Basket | June 12, 2012 | Family, Friends, Life Changes |

A Fresh Point of View

The Path of God's ChoosingAs the detour of my journey enters it’s 12th week (three months), I am choosing no longer to label this time of unemployment as a “detour.” I am instead choosing to  acknowledge it as my “path.” It is the path God allowed, regardless of its origins.

Perhaps calling it a “detour” helped it to feel “temporary.” But this is only a “detour” in my book, not in God’s. He doesn’t use a yellow highlighter to re-route my life from its originally-mapped course. If I truly believe in the all-knowing character of my Sovereign God—and I do— it becomes clear that this is my life’s originally-mapped course.

But now comes the hard part: not worrying about figuring out “why.” Again, perhaps it makes us feel better, but far too often, we hear someone say, or even think to ourselves, “I’ll bet God did that/allowed that so that she/I would learn to….” Or, “God wanted him to do this (whatever “this” is in that situation) so that he would be____.” (And we fill in that blank as well.) A former pastor of mine in Michigan often reminded us in his sermons, “There is a God. . .and it’s not you.” 🙂 Yet in trying to put God into our “this-helps-it-make-sense” boxes, that is exactly what we are saying: “We know why, and we know best.”

This morning in church the message was on I Kings 18, the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. (If you haven’t read that lately, you really should – It’ll blow you away! God really is the God of the Impossible!) How incredibly amazing to see the 450 prophets doing everything, literally everything, they could to get an answer from their false god. They said all the right words and did all the right things, but to no avail.

As I thought about that, I couldn’t help but think of how in these last 12 weeks, I have sought the Lord in a way far too similar to what these unbelieving prophets were doing. You know what I mean; we’ve all done it. “Maybe God just wanted to get my attention. Now that He has it, I’ll get back on course and things will go well again.” Like those prophets of the false god, we try to “do” solely for the purpose of getting God to give us what we want. Or perhaps we cry out repeatedly merely because we think He must not have heard us the first time, or must not really know our needs. Or maybe we think that because we were totally surprised by the situation, God must have been, too.

[Yes, we are told to be fervent, and yes, there is the example of the persistent woman who wouldn’t let it go, and her prayer was answered. So, yes, there are times that God prompts us to do these things. The difference comes in the transparency of our motives—because I believe he wants me to or has prompted me to, or conversely, doing it in order to get what I want!]

So does acknowledgement of His sovereign leading mean that I will now just sit back and let the jobs come to me? No way, un-unh, no how. I will CONTINUE to use the skills He has given me to pursue every lead, every viable option, every recommendation, until God closes that particular door or until He provides the right job or area of work He wants me to pursue. I will continue to follow up on applications. I will continue to pray earnestly that I may clearly know and gladly follow His leading.

What I will not do is refer to the process as a detour. Instead, I will joyfully acknowledge each day as that day’s chosen path from which I get a new view of the incredible character of the same God Elijah served—the God of the Impossible!

Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.” After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” (I Kings 18:30-38)

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Thank you for taking time to read “A Fresh Point of View.”

How are you doing on the path God has chosen for you?

By Petals from the Basket | June 11, 2012 | Bible Reading, Life Changes |

A Pyramid of Praise!

Ephesians 3:20 states: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” The beautifully-poetic King James Version says it this way: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think….”

As I continue on my journey down the detour known as “Job Search Lane,” I have taken great comfort in this verse, committing it to memory and posting it on a little card near my computer. I had posted similar thoughts about this verse on Facebook many months ago, but it took on a new “shape” for me tonight. Perhaps it simply now has greater meaning as the uncertainty of each day serves to remind me more of the certainty of His care!

After several hours of working diligently on a freelance proofreading/editing job today, I picked up a pen and my bright yellow legal pad and mindlessly began to “doodle” this verse. I’m sure the resulting shape isn’t new with me, but as my mind began to unwind from thinking about technical verbage, my doodled verse took on a shape that filled my heart with praise!

He is able to do…

What I think!

What I ask or think!

All that I ask or think!

Above all that I ask or think!

Abundantly above all that I ask or think!

Exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think!

 

WOW! Now THAT is what I call a Pyramid of Praise – with the real source of joy coming from the very TOP of the pyramid: “He is able…” and that in itself is more than enough!

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Thank you for taking time to read “A Pyramid of Praise!” Feel free to leave a comment.

By Petals from the Basket | June 7, 2012 | Uncategorized |