Be Still

My journey has landed me in a place of ambiguity. Where I once felt God was black and white and easily deciphered-I have learned the opposite. Rather than knowing I've learned to be still and know he's God. Yet I still wrestle. My head argues. My body is restless. Occasionally, he will wrap his arms around this ragamuffin-hold me still and close. Here is where ambiguity makes sense. Here is where my breath is captured and my heart quiets.

AWE

Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. (Acts 2:43-45 MSG)  

Awe. A feeling of reverential respect mixed with awe or wonder. Noun

I am of the opinion that we, the church, have lost our Awe of God!  I am no different.  I casually place Him in my Sunday morning/daily devotion compartment.  All the while, even His creation screams He Is So Much More Than This!  This is the cry of my heart.  To be enveloped by His majesty and to be silenced in awe of Him.

Life Never Takes a Breath

   

For some of you, the business of taking your children to school has begun.  Fall is right around the corner and, before you know it, the holiday flurry will begin.  Life never takes a breath.  We move with it, at times against it, at the speed of sound.  Days slip into weeks...months...and years. 

Parenting is the toughest, yet most important job we will ever do.  Yet, we rarely take the time to prioritize and set goals as a family.  We set goals for jobs, churches, schools, etc. but rarely for our own children.

Take some time to ask God what His plans are for your family and your children.)  Begin to set priorities and goals.  Set markers to measure those goals.  Work in tandem with God as a family.  You can even make your Preschoolers a part of this as you pray, out loud, asking Him to show you how to parent them.   You don’t need Map Quest, turn for turn directions.  Only the outline and 

vision He holds for you and your precious family.  Remember, He was the one who brought you together; who knitted your children in their mother’s womb (Psalm 139.)

As most of you know, my children (19 and 28) are grown and on their own.  I would give anything to tuck them into bed and say one more prayer with them.  We can’t get one moment back. 

Enjoy each one to the fullest! 

Diane Losea; Preschool Ministry Coordinator

Wonder

The Easter eggs have been sorted and packed for next year.  The crowded sanctuaries noted for next year’s church planning discussions.  Most of us have transferred our ponderings from the man no longer in the tomb to the mundane to-do list of the day.  I don’t know about you, but I want more!  I long to exist in the wonder of the resurrection and the awe felt by Job.  I long for my thoughts to be fixed on His Word and pleasing my Daddy.  To tarry with him in conversation or to simply be still…. living within the wonder of the Empty Tomb.

Take 5

 

Twelve years earlier, my son attended Growing Tree Preschool as well as Kid Quest.  For my daughter, the numbers mystify me.  I have always made being a Mom, my priority.  While my colleges were navigating along their career paths, I was struggling, as a single mom, to make ends meet so that I could remain home with my children.  That said, there are still things that I wished I had done differently.  I wish that we would have prayed more, together.  That our devotional times had been more consistent and that I would have spent more time doing the simplest things with them.  These things I will never be able to alter.  Those memories are never to be written on the walls of my children’s lives. 

My hope is that each one who reads my words will take them to heart.  Time is unredeemable.  In time’s economy, 5 minutes is as a grain of sand on a sprawling beach.  You can utilize those 5 minutes and change your child’s life!  Fill those 5 minutes with Jesus and you.  You will make a difference for eternity! 

ducks

I am a control freak.  There I said it.  Though, if you know me this is no surprise to you.  I like to have all of my ducks ordered, named, tagged and categorized.  In this, life feels safe and tidy. I take great pleasure in coloring within the lines.  Ah, this is the life!

It seems, though, that life delights in gathering all of my ducks and throwing them in the air, allowing them to land where they may.  There I am, scurrying frantically, gathering a feather here and a dropped tag there.  Madly, I attempt to reconfigure all of my prior categories; alphabetically of course.  Symphonies of quacks reverberate, sounding eerily familiar to the resonance of a good belly laugh.

 Occasionally, I don't require life's assistance at all as I can launch the horde of them solo.  After I have feverishly scampered about, attempting to retain a portion of what was, the scenario is similar.  I end up in a heap at His feet clutching the few feathers I have assembled.  He gently reaches for my hand.  If I'm going to hold His, I must let go of those feathers.  Ahh!  There they go...

He pulls me into His lap and just holds me.  Not a word spoken by Him concerning the definition of insanity.  He quietly takes my hand and heals the indents the prior feather furry has left.  The longer I am willing to linger in His embrace the more serene I become.  Once again, I am captivated by His furious love for me.  Once again I can breathe.  Until, a yellow feather catches the corner of my eye and in true toddler-like abandon- I'm off again.



worship

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, is one of my champions.  During my quiet time with Jesus, I will often picture myself as Mary, resting at His feet.  I have no perfume of worth with which to anoint Him.  Yet, I have something to offer which is far more costly-ME.  Let's imagine the rest of her story...
Looking at Mary's narrative in Matthew 26, we are well aware of her extravagant gift and what it meant to Jesus.  What we are unable to see are the after shocks.  How this extreme offering affected Mary, as well as those around her.  If you'll recall, she undid her hair and used it to wipe his feet.
Ponder this with me....
This fragrant worship of Jesus had a profound, inadvertent effect upon her.  This fragrance satiated Mary.  For days to come this priceless bouquet of worship would be unmistakably evident in her presence.  The brokenness of her offering would fill the senses of those with whom she would come in contact.
For me, this becomes intensely personal.  What I have to offer is my life.  All of me.  Not so much the happy-go-lucky, no care in the world Diane whom I so passionately try to convey.  But the Diane who is broken and fragile with nothing to offer but the Jesus deep within her.  That is my act of worship.  That is the offering that I desperately desire to lay at His feet.
Subsequently, the fragrance of my worship would be solely....Jesus.