Why Witness? Why Hope?

I believe we are in the days, among a culture, that requires us as believers to be able to articulate our beliefs.  We need to be able to express compassion through our testimony which allows the hearer to respond freely to the work of the Holy Spirit.

God gives us each free will so we can choose for ourselves.  There is no need to make someone feel pressured or "less than" because they do not "get it" or if they disagree with us.  We must have faith and demonstrate a faith that believes the Holy Spirit is at work in the life of our loved ones even if they appear to be hostile.

We can plant the seed and trust God to complete the work.  We may be the one who gets to harvest it but we may not.  Either way I will rejoice in knowing that My God is big enough to bring my loved ones Home.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear ~ 1 Peter 3:15

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ~ Acts 16:31

BE MORE

In a world that competes for every moment, we race from one thing to the next because the world convinces us that we need to DO MORE, ACHIEVE MORE, BE MORE. In this race--in the rush, the enemy will hijack you and your purpose. Because he calls you to DO MORE, BE MORE, GIVE MORE to the point of exhaustion and emptiness and numbness.

BE MORE? Isn't that elusive?

How do you know when enough is enough?

Did you give the enemy room in your life all while "saving the world"?

Did you allow the enemy to blur the lines and muddy your purpose while you receive the approval of men?

Do you know who you are?

Do you know who you want to be?

BE MORE....

Do you hear the call to peace and quiet?

Do you feel the beckoning to slow down?

Is your body telling you it's time to rest, to listen?

O Christian, are you alert to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you?

A Holy God is calling you to AWAKE, to STOP and TO BE.

BE AVAILABLE.   BE KIND.  BE LOVING.  BE HELPFUL.  BE GENEROUS. 

BE REAL. BE HONEST.

AWAKE, MY LOVE, BE QUIET, BE HUMBLE, BE PRESENT.

BASK IN MY LOVE AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS.

This is all you need to BE ALIVE.

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." Romans 13:11-14

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound" Isaiah 61:1

Our “Faith House” Project

The Lord has given us a year to get everything in order and have enough money saved up to actually pay our closing costs (this Friday!--hopefully).  Praise the Lord!  There are so many people and things we have to be grateful for--I am sure we will miss some as I try to recap.  First, we will start by acknowledging the Lord and His direction.  We believe with all of our hearts that He has called us to this move and He has answered so many prayers and filled so many needs I wish I had kept a detailed list.  We know that He prompted us to trust Him as we have pursued this project. We still cannot fathom all He has planned for us but we know He has a plan.  We know that He is the One who orders our steps and He is the One who has sustained our faith and commitment to this journey.  If He had not been there for us, we would have thrown in the towel and walked away many times.  We have experienced disappointment, fear, lack of faith, anxiety, and weariness.  However, we have seen God’s hand at work in so many ways as He has granted us more faith and more strength which comes only from Him.  He has continued to give us hope to continue moving forward even when we couldn’t understand how it all would work out.  So again, we say “Blessed be the Lord, God Almighty!” for He is worthy to be praised and exalted above all.  We are also so thankful for all of our Christian brothers and sisters who have prayed for us throughout this process--we know that your prayers have gotten through and we are stronger because of you and your commitment to love and pray for us.  

Next, I must take the time to thank my sisters and brother for their awesome patience as we have worked on our “Faith House”.  Without your patience and generosity, our “Faith House” journey would not have even begun.  We were especially blessed by Angie and Tim’s talented workmanship:  They have invested many hours in painting and laying floor tile and wall tile among several other tasks from our things-to-do list.  They even custom-built doors for the new storage cubby in the master bedroom!  So grateful for them and their willingness to join their hearts and hands with ours to get stuff done.  Then, we have been so grateful for Marsha and Jim’s patience, advice and counsel in helping us arrange work permits and finding dependable and experienced workers for our various projects.  They have been such a blessing!

Then we must take the opportunity to thank some precious neighbors:  Mike Gilliam, our sweet cousin, has been a special blessing.  First of all, I am so grateful for the love and support he showed to Daddy over the years.  He was there for Dad when we couldn’t be there.  Mike continued to honor Mom and Dad’s memory by supporting us in the clean-up of the property and helping to install the drain lines for the guttering.  We really appreciate all Mike has done for us.  Then there is Chuck and Rhonda Lindsey and their girls - they were so loving and supportive of Dad over the years.  We could never repay the kindness and generosity they showed to Dad.  We are so grateful for Chuck as he continued to mow the property and kept an eye on things that first year after we lost Dad.  We finally starting getting “our ducks in a row” with the help of the Lord and was able to start doing our own mowing last season.  Again, we are beyond thankful and feel so blessed to have such awesome neighbors.

Along this journey, the Lord has sent others to support us in getting the real work done.  With Marsha and Jim’s assistance, we were able to contact our cousin, Jerry Joyner, to get the new basement walls put in and to get the basement floor poured.  What a difference that made--it looks so awesome!  Jerry was so persistent and figured out how to do what needed to be done.  So thankful the Lord used him to bless us.  Then there is Larry Anderson, a precious friend from church.  He is so talented!.  He was able to replace the support beam that had us so worried--he did an excellent job.  The Lord brought Larry to us just after Ed broke his shoulder.  So Larry stepped in and did so many projects for us--guttering, moving the basement steps & door, plumbing and our bathroom remodel.  What a blessing! And just at the right time!  Larry did an awesome job and we are so grateful for everything he did for us.  

The Lord has met so many needs along this journey.  We would have to say His healing of Ed’s shoulder has been the most precious.  It did not look good but the Lord came through in such a mighty way--but how could we have doubted?  He IS the Great Physician.  And He has provided the money to pay all of those medical bills too--the last payment was this month! So Blessed!!  

Last summer, the Lord led us to a great deal on a riding mower and it continues to serve and bless us this year.  We have found many of God’s blessing at the Holston Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Kingsport--we found light fixtures for several rooms, wood trim, curtain rods, great wooden doors for the master bedroom closet just to name a few.  We are continuing to visit the store anticipating our next great find.  Lowe’s has been our “go-to” store for almost everything else we have needed from our guttering to the steel support posts to sheetrock and paint.  We found great deals on our kitchen floor and wall tile among other things.  Wow!  We have spent a lot of money there this last year!  The Lord has provided everything we have needed plus some.

What a journey so far!  We are incredibly blessed and grateful to the Lord for all that He has done and we are anticipating great things in all that He plans to do with us in the future.  

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

What Is The Big Deal? It's Just Sex...

Recently I've been noticing several conversations about abstinence and sex before marriage.  The prevailing attitude among today's culture seems to be "what is the big deal, it's just sex--use contraceptives to protect from disease and pregnancy and you are good".  My first reaction:  "Woe unto us! The lies we choose to believe to justify our desire to behave the way we see fit.  Do we think that we can follow our desires and have no consequences?"

I hear people say abstinence is religion-based and I understand where that comes from.  We hear the church preach morality and those who do not see or understand the purposes behind the teaching take it as judgmentalism.  The church has a poor history in this area - choosing to judge instead of offering mercy and grace.  However, I believe the church does a great disservice to itself and those we are trying to reach when we try to impose Christian standards on an unbeliever.  Christians must step back and remind themselves that if the "offender" of morality is not a Christian then our standards do not apply.  The Bible was written to teach the Christian how to live and to be Jesus to the world.  Jesus came into the world not to judge but to offer His mercy and grace to those who would believe on Him.  This gives the Christian an opportunity to reach believers and unbelievers with Jesus' mercy, grace and love.

So if you are a Christian, the moral code in the Bible does apply to you--whether you like it or not.  If you are not convicted by going against the Bible's teaching, you need a checkup or you need to get back to studying your Bible.  Do you have an accountability partner?  Do you really want to pursue God's purpose in your life?  What kind of witness are you?  I hear you and NO, Christians are not perfect--we mess up a lot--but we should desire to please God and want His best in our lives.  That often means we must delay self-gratification for God's higher goal or purpose in our lives.  He will judge your disobedience and you may feel the weight of that judgment in your relationships and in your life circumstances.  But know this, He also rewards your faithfulness.  His mercies are new every morning so you can start over by repenting, receiving His forgiveness and getting back on track.

All right, now the religion-based discussion is covered and we can talk about abstinence and sex.  I agree that when the government (education system) is involved in this teaching, it often seems embarrassing and makes you feel like a number.  This subject is best taught by parents, family or a mentor because you can get one-on-one attention and can discuss all of the emotional and hormonal ups and downs that you experience.

First, abstinence is the ONLY guaranteed and foolproof way to avoid sexually-transmitted disease and pregnancy.  It is 100% effective and medically-proven.  Girls and guys, this decision can save you a lot of heartache.  Many say they just need contraceptives and that will take care of those problems.  This argument has been used since I was young - and it is no more true today than it was then (more than 30 years ago).  Secondly, contraceptives are not 100% effective and in the heat of the moment using a contraceptive is the last thing on your mind.  If you are not disciplined before you enter into the act, it's unlikely you will be disciplined in the middle of it.

Now I would like to talk to the girls out there.  Be warned.  When you allow the petting and make-out sessions, it is hard to change your mind and truth be told most will not because they don't want to disappoint the guy. And it feels good (it’s self-gratifying) at the time.  The guys are visually and physically turned on by you and you have the power to turn the temperature up or down.  If he respects you, he will follow your lead in this area.  If he doesn't respect you, then he is the wrong guy for you.  If you decide to go forward, know this and try to understand - you are more emotionally committed and invested than he is.  Guys can disconnect the emotional component during sex - I have not met one girl who is able to do that.  Sexual intercourse is an intimate act in which partners are committing themselves totally to one another.  It is not a casual act no matter what our culture says. The relationship is best protected and enjoyed in the bonds of marriage.

My admonition:  Girls and Guys, don’t let this decision be emotionally or hormonally driven.  Please make the decision to be pure and remain abstinent beforehand.  Stay committed to your decision-share your decision with a friend or mentor who can help you stay strong. You will not regret it--I promise.  This one decision can affect the course of the rest of your life.  It really is that important.



A Blessing Or A Burden?

How many times have I judged another person’s actions based on my perceptions?  Too many I am afraid.  It becomes so painfully apparent when I am on the receiving end of such a judgment call.  Lord help me to be sensitive to your leading more than my need to be approved or to have my opinion heard.  Although I agree that fellow Christians are to endeavor to help one another stay on the straight and narrow--we should be doubly sure that we are not being legalistic and setting forth a standard that God has not called us to.  

I know I have been guilty of judging others in the past.  And honestly I really didn’t know what my friend or family member was dealing with.  I used to be a rule-follower believing that would enable me to be a better Christian.  But I have learned the best way to be a better Christian is to be real with the Lord and with people.  That means I cannot be perfect and I need to be ok with that.  The Lord God created me so He’s not surprised by my failings and shortcomings.  In fact, I believe His mercy reaches out to minister then--and I am more able to look to Him for my strength and healing because of those same weaknesses.

Now I can be honest and I can say I am not where I want to be in my relationship with the Lord but I am not running from Him.  I’m just learning to slow down and let Him work in me and on me--healing my body, my mind and my spirit.  In the past, I was overwhelmed and in too big of a hurry to allow Him to work because people were depending on me.  I’m learning to say “no” and I’m learning to rest.  The Lord is delivering me from being a people pleaser and from a performance-based mindset.  I am trying to listen for the Lord’s direction in the things that I do and say.   Even though some difficult issues have presented themselves in my life, I am not abandoning my faith in the One who has all the answers.

So, friends, let’s be cautious about making assumptions and do not judge others when they  don’t do what you think they should be doing.   Walk beside them and show them your love, concern and support.  And above all, use your words to pray to our Father to meet the needs represented in their lives.  When our brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing challenging times, be a blessing not a burden.

Romans 14:13  Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.