Mentoring

In light of the upcoming events for the women at JPBC I wanted to repost this blog on mentoring.

I have been in ministry for 26 years. I'm going to confess that for all those years I have seen very little of Titus II operating within the local church. I haven't seen older men teaching and encouraging the younger men in the ways of LORD nor have I seen younger women teaching and training younger women. I can only count one who sought to mentor me intentionally, an older woman whose name was Carolyn Badry. One of the greatest things she ever did for me was to challenge me to read. What Happens When Women Pray, by Evelyn Christensen. She even loaned me her copy! At another time, maybe I'll share how that alone impacted my life and created miraculous events that still awe me to this day. I'm not saying that there weren't others that I learned from. There were a few, but what I learned from them I learned at a distance, by watching.

I personally didn't grow up in a Christian home. I was completely clueless when it cam to parenting and marriage in general much less in the ways of God. I fumbled and stumbled throughout. I learned too much the hard way. Oh, how I longed for someone to come along and walk with me, teaching, training and encouraging me. Listen, I know now that there was no one that would have had all the answers or would have been perfect. That wasn't what I needed or even wanted. I needed someone who loved the LORD and His Word so that it overflowed to me. Someone who knew Him longer and deeper than myself and who would share a few tips along the journey.

I wonder how many other women were looking for the same things. I also wonder if the ways of God had been practiced within the Church, if we'd have the problems we have today reaching out to the younger generations. I wonder if the divorce rate would be what it is today in the Church if Titus II were applied. What I have seen in most churches is a caretaker mentality, (just take care of ME!) Not at all the picture Christ gave us for the Church.

Ephes. 4:15-16 (NKJV)

…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Every one of us must be doing our share in edifying the body of Christ. A lot of the talking I’ve heard has been full of everything but love; critical, slanderous, malicious or empty and shallow. We are all called to continue to grow in Christ; and to do our part in helping others grow in Christ.

We have seen that we are all called to love the Church through edifying the Body. We have also seen that God specifically has told us to whom and what we women are to speak in love. We share Woman to Woman and Man to Man. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the wisdom in doing this God’s way. God also gave us some starting points:

Titus 2:3-5 (NKJV)

…teachers of good things -- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands…

The question that comes next is how. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed with love for the Lord that I can’t contain myself. I love how He loves me. I love how He knows me. As I was reading Titus II again He whispered two different verses to me. At first I responded with, “okay, Lord I will look at those later.” Then I realized He was still teaching me about Titus II. Read the following passages and then I’ll share what the Lord was saying to me.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen

Deut. 6:6-9; 20-25 (NKJV)

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son: 'We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.'

The Lord was saying that we make things much harder than they need to be. In the great commission He says that we are to, “Go.” Now a more accurate translation is, as you go. As we go we are to make disciples and teach them how to obey. As we go we are to intentionally share our faith and then continue to share our faith in discipling. In the Deuteronomy passage we see it in reference to parenting, in our case think spiritual parenting or mentoring if you prefer. We intentionally look for the opportunity to share with love as we are sitting, walking, etc. My mentor Carolyn Badry didn’t walk up to me one day and say, “I want to mentor you” or, “I want to teach you a few things.” She invited me into her home and just talked. She shared books with me that had meant something to her and helped her to grow in the Lord. She prayed with me when she knew there was a need. She encouraged me to exercise my gift that I didn’t even know I had; by asking me to teach her class. She edified me and I am forever grateful.

I see three steps in Deuteronomy. Step one: We love the Lord and His Word so much that we become one with Him and His Word that it over flows from us so that others notice it. We can’t share opinions or lead in wrong paths we must know, live and share His truth. Step Two: We intentionally look for the opportunities to share with younger women and we do so diligently. Step Three: When we are asked questions we willingly share our own experiences and encounters with the Lord, the victories and the failures. All we do, we do out of sincere and genuine love for them and our precious Lord and Savior Jesus the LORD’S Christ.

I have challenged the older to seek out the younger but you who are young in the ways of LORD, newly married or a young parent can seek out the older, wiser woman. I recently had a young woman who God has challenged to lead the women of her church to email me and ask me to mentor her and give her guidance. How thrilling for me!

I would love to hear your thoughts on Titus II. Maybe those of you who have mentored would like to share ways you have intentionally mentored others.

Lessons from Clay

Jon (P-Paw) and I (MeMaw) had the joy and delight to spend a week with our grandson Clay. He is the most adorable and charming 2-year old. If you question me just ask those who had him in nursery. I believe he stole the show or maybe controlled the show. When we walked into the nursery room, Clay was looking up at Madison and pointed to her and then a chair and said, “Sit.” To my surprise Madison sat. Clay then backed up and began tossing the ball to Madison. Definitely a “D” personality. Donna told me that he would just begin to laugh and Kendra would ask him, “What is so funny?” His response, “I do not know.” Sometimes we just need to rejoice with laughter.

Clay loves to pray! At first he didn’t want to hold hands and pray at the table…it wasn’t the praying he objected to just the holding of hands. He soon caught on though and would hold out his hands and say, “Pray now.” This happened numerous times during our meals. Now what do you say to that, “No Clay, we have already prayed?” Of course not so we prayed often during our meals. What caught my attention was how often his mind would think of praying and how often mine didn’t. I want God to be on my mind like praying was on Clays.

One day while traveling in the car I was entertaining Clay by playing with his feet. To my surprise he grabbed my hand and said, “Pray.” I prayed. Then Clay said, “No MeMaw, P-Paw pray.” P-Paw prayed. Then as I continued to play with his feet, he said, “MeMaw pray for Clay’s feet.” So MeMaw prayed for Clay’s feet, “God guide His steps and keep him from going places that could be harmful, God keep them physically safe from stings, and hurtful objects, Guide His steps to You, Lord. A while later, Clay continued to chatter away and I sarcastically said, I think we need to pray for Clay’s mouth. Clay with great excitement held out his hand and said, “MeMaw pray for Clay’s mouth.” With humility and shame I prayed, “God please give Clay wisdom to say words that are kind and helpful to people and not hurtful. Help Clay to speak with kindness; saying ‘thank-you’, ‘your welcome’ and ‘excuse me’ (like he did at Chic-Fil-A to the cow that bumped his chair); Amen.” Clay excitedly responds, “AMEN.”

How often moms are you praying for your children and grandchildren? Are you praying for their feet, eyes, mouths and hands? What kind of blessing would be placed on your children to hear your prayers for them. Take a lesson from Clay, pray often. Also, remember Deut. 6 and intentionally seek out opportunities to pray for all things.

Jesus my High Priest and Refuge

Don’t you love the Old Testament? I have learned an important lesson with the study of the Old Testament. Where the Old Testament deals with the physical it is for us a lesson in the spiritual. For example, today I was reading from Joshua 20 and found where God had provided a City of Refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone. They still had to take responsibility for their actions and there were still consequences they would pay, nevertheless they had a place they could run to for safety. When they arrived at the city of refuge they were to stand at the gate and state their case. I can imagine it would be something like this. “I have killed a man.” “I wish I hadn’t, wish I could take it all back, but I can’t.” “I am so sorry for what I have done.” “Please, help me.” At this time the elders of the city were to allow the killer (sinner) in for refuge. It was a safe place to stay until he was ultimately pardoned and set free. When did that occur? Ah, here you will see the beauty come together for you and I on this side of the Old Testament. He was ultimately pardoned and set free to go “home” when the high priest at the time died.

Ponder with me.

What was God doing? He was foreshadowing His Son, our High Priest!

We are all guilty of sin. All were born into sin; it is our nature. For those of us who experience Godly sorrow over our sin, accept responsibility for our sin and by faith accept the invitation to travel to the “City of Refuge,” we find just that refuge. Jesus Christ is our Refuge!

As I was reading I thought of two other ways that Jesus has provided a refuge for me this side of heaven. First, He gave me a church, a church family to be exact. As that killer (sinner) walked around that city you know who he met? That’s right; others just like him seeking refuge. It is a wonderful thing to be a part of a church family; a “city” of other sinners saved by a Refuge. Our church family is to be a refuge, a place where we love and help one another. I am so thankful to be apart of Jackson Park Baptist Church, they have loved and welcomed me as one of them. Second, the other refuge is His Holy Spirit. When I stay within the boundaries He has set up for me I am safe from my enemy’s attacks.

Because our High Priest died on our behalf we are free to go home. This isn’t just any home it is the home we were created for. It is a home that our High Priest is waiting to welcome us to with open arms. I probably won’t make it into His arms; I imagine I will be a complete mess at the bottom of His feet. So as we see the day approaching let’s be found encouraging each other in the knowledge that we are getting closer to our ultimate pardon; when we can go home and be completely free from the presence of sin! Hallelujah!

Take time to ponder with me today all the marvelous acts of our great and mighty God!

Bragging on God!

The following is a long summary of the events in Brian and Laura Mitchell's journey with God. It is worth the reading.
The Lord has been so good to us! He is always faithful despite the way we are...even when we sometimes lose our focus on him, he remains faithful. This year has been a roller-coaster and the only reason i am here writing this is because of the grace of God. In June, Brian was in the hospital for 2 weeks for shingles which lead to meningitis and then he had his gallbladder taken out. During this stay, his liver started to swell b/c of all the medication he was given to control the meningitis and shingles. He suffers from genetic high cholesterol and triglycerides so he has to take medication for this daily in order to control it. Because of the aggravated liver situation, they had to discontinue all his meds to let the liver rest. He came home and 5 days later, I had my gallbladder removed. I had been having problems with it for a while and was progressively worsening. I was feeling so bad that i went ahead and scheduled the surgery as soon as he was out of the hospital. I laid in bed and recovered for 4 full days which was very difficult for me. I am not one to stay in bed and do nothing for more than 1 day...you know, every now and then we all need to relax and rest for a day. More than one day, is too much for me. Well, even though i am a nurse, i don't follow doctor's orders very well when it comes to me but now i know the Lord was preparing me for what was to follow which was the reason i actually followed doctor's orders (directed to my health) for probably the first time in my life...coincidence? No...like you say, GODincidence! He knew that I needed to be physically ready for what was to come. 5 days after my surgery, we had a family night and watched movies and spent quality time with the kids. The following morning, Brian went to have blood drawn for lab work so that he could be put back on his meds the next day. Brian began to feel bad in the afternoon and he went to bed early b/c he felt a little under the weather. The next day, on July 7th, he woke up feeling awful and with alot of abdominal pain and chest pain. I called his doctor as soon as they were open and he told me to immediately take him to the hospital as his blood work results showed his cholesterol and triglycerides were extremely high. The highest he had ever seen! At the emergency room, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) as a result of his high cholesterol and triglycerides. Things very quickly started to spiral down....he was admitted to the intermediate care unit and 12 hours later he was in ICU as his health was very rapidly declining. He was in so much pain that they couldn't control it with the high doses of pain medications they were giving him and he became so dehydrated on that first day that they could not correct it fast enough. He was going into shock as his heart rate was very high and his blood pressure dropping. His lungs failed and they had to put him on a ventilator. In less than 48 hours, he went from spending time with us at home, having fun and enjoying life to being in ICU on life support. His kidneys later failed and the next morning on July 9th, the ICU doctor told me he only had hours to live...to prepare myself for the reality that he was not going to make it to see the next day. Of course i was in extreme shock! I couldn't believe what was happening. My first action was that I prayed and asked the Lord not take the love of my life, the father of our children away yet. I knew he would be in a much better place, but I couldn't come to terms with it. I begged him not to take him. In my own selfish nature, I didn't want to lose brian even though he would be in a much better place...right there with our Lord. I later began to pray that His will be done in Brian's life. If it is his will that brian be in glory with him, then how could I not want that to be done? I prayed and prayed and asked God for his will to be done even though I knew and He knew that I still wanted Brian here on earth with us, that I would accept whatever his plans were because I knew that God would be guiding me every step of the way. Well, the doctor was wrong. Brian lived to see the next day. The rest of the medical team would talk to me and tell me to pray and pray and pray because God was the only one that could save him and give him life. I would respond by telling them that i was already doing that and that we had many others praying as well. They responded by saying, "keep it up and do not stop praying!" For the next 5 days, he was severely critical. But the Lord had given me peace and I knew that he was going to make it through. I would read His word and I kept being led to Psalms 46:10..."Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Suddenly, his condition worsened even more...he developed blood clots in his legs and 2 traveled into his right lung. One clot in the lung is enough to kill you even if you are healthy. Here brian is...critically ill already in lung failure and still has 2 clots in one lung. They could not give him blood thinners to dissolve the clots because his pancreas was hemorrhaging and he could bleed to death. All we could do was sit and wait and pray that the lungs would not dislodge from where they were. Things looked very, very grim. A poor prognosis and nothing could be done to treat it. This was it...he wasn't going to make it. We all continued praying and I kept being led to Psalms 46:10. "Be still and know that I am God." I'm starting to go nuts here ya know?! I'm asking God, "Lord, you told me he was going to be okay and make it through this. What did I not understand?" Still, all I heard was...."Be still and KNOW that I am God." The next few days were very touch and go. Infections came and went, he had a total of 8 blood transfusions, they had to insert a feeding tube and became insulin dependent when he wasn't even a diabetic. They had to insert a tracheostomy because he was going to be on a ventilator long-term because his lungs would not respond. Some improvements in certain areas and worse in others until finally after 3 weeks in ICU, things started to look better. He was improving and they moved him out of ICU after 4 weeks there. He was unable to breathe on his own, unable to stand, unable to walk, unable to speak, unable to eat and had lost 50 lbs! He was transferred to a rehab hospital still on the ventilator where they had planned on him being there at least 1 month. His admission criteria to the rehab hospital was to be re-evaluated in 1 month for a longer inpatient stay. On Monday, August 7th, he was admitted to the rehab hospital. The respiratory therapists began to wean him off the ventilator and he was breathing on his own by Tuesday! They expected his tracheostomy to last several weeks until he would be able to breathe without it. On Wednesday, the tracheostomy was removed and was told it would take about 1-2 weeks to heal. His would was healed 2 days later!!!! Praise GOD! On Tuesday, physical therapy came and began their services and began teaching him to walk again with them completely supporting his weight. They expected him to walk on his own with a cane in approx. 3weeks. On Friday, 3 days later, he was completely walking on his own unassisted! Praise the Lord!! He was eating, talking, walking and breathing all on his own in 3 days! His rehab stay was expected to be at least 6-8 weeks and he was discharged one week after he was admitted there! Praise the Lord! God is so good! All the staff was amazed at how great he was doing and they saw the miracle happen right before their eyes! Brian came home and about one month later was diagnosed with pancreatic pseudocysts that had developed. He had surgery on Sept. 25th to remove the pseudocysts that were in his abdomen. The surgeon had said there was somewhere around 8-9 of them. He was in the hospital for 6 weeks because his abdomen was left open to heal from the inside out due to the complex surgery he had. While there, he developed an abscess (large pocket of pus) in his abdomen. The infection cleared up and was eventually discharged home. He came home once again on Oct. 28th and what a joyful reunion it was! I have had to pack his open wound every day, sometimes twice a day to allow the abscess and drainage to drain and the fact that it never became infected again is in itself a miracle!!! He was home for Thanksgiving and we had so much to be thankful for!! In Brian, we have a true miracle!! He was home for Christmas and we had the best Christmas ever. The Lord has been so good to us! His mercy is everlasting! Even though we are sinners, he still remains faithful to us! This summer when Brian was in ICU so very ill, my clothes dryer broke for the 4th time and as I was leaving to go shopping for a new one, not knowing how I could afford it with Brian not having been at work for 6 weeks already, my cousin called me and was bringing over her 5 year old dryer that had never had a single problem for me to have. She had recently purchased a new one just because she had gotten such a great deal on it and had her old dryer sitting in her garage. Her husband and her came over and set it up while I was at the hospital with Brian. What an awesome GOD! My sister took time off work to become my children's second mommy as I was at the hospital all day with Brian so ill! My parents, family, Brian's dad and step-mom, friends and church family were all there to support me and bring me dinner, pray for me and Brian, bring the kids and my sister dinner, and just to be there for us all! I was so amazed at how I felt God's love surround me through so many wonderful and caring people! Pam, i'm talking people from church that I never expected....those of little faith at the business meetings....you know who I'm talking about. They were ALL there at one point or another. I know that this event has brought the church family together and I just hope and pray that they see and are able to learn through this how amazing and faithful God truly is!! Our financial situation hasn't even been an issue, all praise to Jehovah Jireh! Brian would earn twice my salary and I haven't had to ask anyone for anything because when I begin to worry when finances are dwindling, he sends us a financial blessing in some form or another!! I cannot even begin to put into words how I feel! How blessed we are and how good our Lord is to us!! We have all just been in awe of his works and his glory!!

Brian will be having surgery once again on Saturday, January 5th, as he developed a new pseudocyst and that abscess continues to fill with fluid but it still remains without infection...Praise the Lord!! The surgeon will remove the abscess and pseudocyst, Lord willing. We pray that Brian will come through the surgery well but above all, we pray that God's will be done in Brian's life, whatever that may be. We are so grateful for his blessings for they are many. We have enjoyed each other, the kids and our own little family like we nerve have before. We had taken so many things for granted and we praise God that we are able to look at life a little differently now. We are much happier people and we live to enjoy each day because we really don't know how many days we have left here on earth. Most importantly, we live for Him, because it is because of Him that we are all here. We love to serve God in any way we can, even more so now after this ordeal because we want everyone to know that He still does perform miracles!! We knew it all along but now the world can know it too! When time permits later, remind me down the way, and I'll write you about my "being blameless" situation. I miss your blogs and can't wait til your next one. I'm glad that the Lord has sent you all to your new home and new place of ministry. I will continue praying for you both and I thank God for you as you have shown me his awesome love in a different light than what I knew and I thank you for being his willing and loving servant! God bless you!
Love you,
Laura

I'm Still Here!

Greetings from the great city of Kannapolis! Many of you may have thought I had fallen off the face of the earth. I have been very busy with working long hours right up till we left Dallas then driving in the rain all the way to New York.

What a great joy to spend a day with Grant in his place! I am so proud of him. When I saw his apartment, his very clean and stylish room and then the organized closet; I had to make sure it was my son, Grant. His roommate Kenny said that Grant gets on to him when he leaves things out. This is the same child that brought terror to my heart when I broke down and made him clean his room. I knew I would have 6 loads of laundry to do and a quarter of them would be folded still! I am reminded that nothing is impossible with the LORD. Grant's roommate (Kenny) is 26 and has an 18 month old child and a step daughter who is 6. He has recently been divorced from his wife and seeking full custody of his son. He found his wife doing drugs and is very concerned for his child. Kenny brought his children over while we were visiting and Destiny and KJ immediately began looking for Matt (Grant). I was very proud of Grant and his attention to these two. He has often watched them for Kenny when he has had to go to work. I have no doubt that Grant will be a wonderful father to my five granddaughters!

After I helped Grant put away all the stuff we brought him we left for Virginia. We arrived at Chad's and Amanda's on the 24th; exhausted.

Amanda has made her little apartment a wonderful and cozy home. She and Chad made us a good breakfast and a wonderful Christmas day lunch with all the trimmings. Of course the center of attention was Clay. He has great personality and is very smart. Memaw watched him as he took a bubble bath and he squirted her with water. He laughed and laughed and so did Memaw. On Christmas morning he had unwrapped two presents and opened the third to find a toy to play in the bubble bath. That was it for the day. He wanted to stop and take a bubble bath. "Clay, wants to take a bubble bath." I have included a picture of Clay pleading with his daddy, "Pleaseeeee Daddy." "Clay want to take a bubble bath." "Pleaseeee" Needless to say we had a wonderful time with Clay. And am so very grateful to God for bringing us so much closer to him. They are planning to come the last week in January for a visit.

We left Virginia on the 26th headed to our new home in Kannapolis. We had found out the day before Christmas that we would not be able to get into the parsonage as quickly as we thought. The church in their graciousness were very busy cleaning, painting and steaming the carpets. We found ourselves staying at a hotel for several days and nights. You can imagine our anxiousness to settle down somewhere. Our truck came on the 29th about fours hours late. We did a great many people who showed up to help and we thought we would do it in two days but you know Jon it was all finished within a few hours. All the boxes were left in the garage but the furniture was all in place.

The church had already voted to sell the parsonage. We love the neighborhood so much that we are going to attempt to buy. There is a Dr. and his family directly behind us. They greeted us with banana nut bread. across the side street from us is a Pastor of the Presbyterian church and his family. He and his oder son helped us unload. His gracious wife brought us milk. cereal and juice. We have also met another neighbor who told us we would need a switch for all the kids in the neighborhood. There are bookoos of kids running around. We love the neighborhood! I really like the outside of the parsonage as well. I have a great deck and a front porch; something I have always longed for. The inside is a bit choppy and needs cosmetic updating. I'm up for the challenge and Jon and I have made some plans for what we would do to the house if we can afford to buy the home. We are praying that we can. I really don't want to move again. Jon mentioned all our boxes are unpacked? Ask him who unpacked them.

Grant and Anneen arrived about an hour before the truck arrived. Poor guy didn't even get out of this move. They were able to stay a week with us. During the day Grant drove me on to get every box unpacked. He was making sure he had all his stuff. During the night we played on average three games a night. Grant and I both love playing games so we were having the time of our lives. I regret that I wasn't set up to cook more and do more special things with them both; but they'll be back this summer. We were able to celebrate Grant's birthday with him this year. I made him his traditional cake with lit candles and a song. We spend the day at the big mall and then went out to Red Lobster and treated Grant to his favorite Crab Legs. He and Anneen left on the 6th at 4:30am...just like his dad. I miss him already.

So here I sit in my Holy of Holies; the only room that is completely a mess. My bookshelves didn't take the trip too well so they wound up in the garage for storage. Jon is going to build me new shelves so in the meantime they are stacked up against a wall. So here I sit. Transition is hard. Jon of course has moved right into his office, having meetings, preaching and teaching. So here I sit. I am so very thankful for my God's deliverance and His gracious provision. I truly see GREAT things ahead for Jackson Park. Here I sit. Do you get the feeling that it is hard for me to sit? I'm about to explode. I wanna teach so bad I literally have an ache. I want to shout and declare the goodness of my God so bad, I can hardly contain myself. Here I sit, contained. God has been so active in my journey through the desert and then the valley. I have learned much. At times He was overwhelming me with all I needed to learn. Yet, here I sit. Even as I type (off the cuff) I am overflowing with love for Him and the desire that all would know HE IS ALIVE! Yes, here I sit....but I am not sitting alone. In the LORD's field of daisy's there is a small table where we sit across from one another. He breaks His bread and shares it with me. I am full yet wanting more. This is not my imagination nor am I day dreaming, He is alive. I sit with Him and I am satisfied.

From our time together today, I know that He is sending me out that eyes may be opened. He wants people to 1.) RECEIVE....His forgiveness, Himself 2.) GIVE UP.....their rights to themselves and 3.) Minister....to others. Please pray for me to know when, where and how.

Climbing up

A few years ago I prayed for God to allow me to know Him in my sleep. I wanted those hours to be centered on Him too. A few days later I awoke with a heavy sorrow and tears stinging my eyes. I had a dream with Jesus in it. Most dreams are quickly forgotten but not this one; it has been years but it still ways heavy on my heart and woos me even today. It is to me a spiritual marker for my life.

There is a tall, majestic mountain. On the very top of the mountain is Jesus. Jesus is bending, stooping over the side of the mountain with out stretched arms crying to someone, “Come up here with Me.” “You can do it.” He gently prods this message over and over and over again. There is in His voice a sense of urgency clothed with great love and compassion. His heart is known to have a longing for the subject of His wooing to come up to where He is. Below Him there is a plateau over half way up the mountain. There on the plateau is me. It is me He is longing for to make the climb up. To get to Him all I need to do is climb the ladder to where He is. I get on the ladder…then I fall. I get back on the ladder and fall again. Over and over again I try through sobbing to climb up but to no avail. I awoke crying after I fell to the ground and cried, “I can’t do it.”

Without looking at my journals (which are all packed up and stored in a storage unit) I don’t remember how many days or weeks went by before God gave me Scripture. [I have to pause because God is playing our song right now. I don’t believe in coincidence but Godencidence.] Glory! Have I said lately how I absolutely adore Him?!! Anyway back to those Scriptures:

Isaiah 40:9 (NKJV)

O Zion,

You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV)

For thus says the High and Lofty One

Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

"I dwell in the high and holy place,

With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,

To revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Since that dream my desire has always been to climb up and be with my loving and wooing Jesus. About 5 years ago I asked God why the Mountain and the climb up were important. He gave me another picture of what the mountain is about. I climbed up to the Mountain of God with my eyes fixed on Him. He placed His hands upon my shoulders and turned me around. As my eyes focused I could see below me women in all stages of life. Some too busy, others were hurting deeply, still others longing for more and on and on the women were below living daily life. I turned back to Him to see His eyes filled with tears. He then gently said, “You know My heart and love towards them; now go and minister to them in My name.” And then He admonished me, “You must make the climb up through out the day in order to know my heart and what you must do.” “You will also need to climb up when you are tired and don’t feel like it so that you can enter into My rest and joy.”

In the last few months I have found little opportunities to minister to others. I had been talking about this to the Lord a few months ago (on the mountain), and then this song came on. One of the many things God was saying to me through this song was that I had to go through the valleys in order to know intimately the hearts of other women that I can more genuinely minister to them. I have a fresh awareness of the hearts of working women!

A few other points this song resonates with me is

1. I wouldn’t trade the journey I have been on with Him for any thing this world could offer…I long for what’s in front of me in His glorious presence.
2. He has been faithful to His promise of providing us with daily manna. He has always been with us because we always turned aside to be with Him.
3. I am saddened by all I have had to leave behind (Belinda, Erin, Jeanette, Donna, Lisa, Micah, Rebecca, Miki, Carolyn, Patti, Yvette, Myrna, Patricia, Gari, Laura, Jan, Jennifer, Nancy, Jodi, Julie L., Carrie, Lillian, Julie S. Judy G., Shelly …) I could honestly go on for a page or two so please don’t be offended if your name isn’t here. Remember after I spend my first with my Savior all are invited to my mansion for some sweet tea and a slumber party. Goodbye isn’t forever for us who live for the eternal
4. Although what’s before me is all eternity with our Jesus I do believe that the days before each of hold some of the greatest adventure yet, this side of glory. “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
5. I believe God is wooing others to climb up. He wants to reveal His heart to you and send you out.

The Mountain of God

Sung by Third Day
(portions)
Even though the journey’s long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who’s gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I’ve been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again

Sometimes I think of where it is I’ve come from
And the things I’ve left behind
But of all I’ve had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what’s in front of me
With what’s in front of me

Keep on Crying Out.........He Hears Us!

In my Quiet Time for 10/17/06 I was led to Psalm 120-121. I thought someone out there may need this word of encouragement as I did. Recently this passage was brought up in an email by a friend and again God was saying I need to blog about these two encouraging Psalms.

I call on the LORD in my distress,
and he answers me. (Psalm 120:1)

When we cry out to Him in our distress; He hears us to the extent of responding to us with an answer. I wonder how many times we miss His voice because we don’t stop long enough to hear Him. Yes, cry out in your distress but then wait for His response. I didn’t say your troubles would be over because He would speak them away. I am saying that when we seek Him out as our help He will be found. Believe. Believe that He hears and helps.

After writing the previous paragraph I had questions for the Lord. I asked the Lord about the times that I had cried out for the Lord and waited for His response and “felt” only silence. I knew that silence more often than not is a result of living in un-confessed sin or tolerating a lifestyle of sin. But there have been times that I have been walking in sweet fellowship that I cried out and still felt the sting of “silence.” I sincerely asked the Lord to answers my question not only for me but for others. It was about two to three hours later while I was reading, “He Speaks to Me” by Priscilla Shirer that God answered. I heard Him whisper, “Here is the answer to your question.” Glory! I love Him! Have I told you how much I love You, Lord? I do love You!

I want to share with you what He shared with me through Priscilla. “Trust that in His silence, God is speaking to you. He wants silence to make you desperate not for a solution to your problem, but for more of Him.” “We know that we are becoming spiritually mature when God is silent and, instead of asking why, we humble ourselves before Him and persevere in prayer. It is a mark of maturity to believe that even though God may be silent, He is still in control.” Priscilla used the passage in Matthew 15:21-28, where the Canaanite woman continued with perseverance in seeking Jesus’ attention to her problem despite Jesus’ ignoring her, insulting her and giving her reason for not helping her. (I can almost imagine Jesus interceding for her before the throne, “keep asking, you have the faith;” all out of her physical sight and hearing.) She continued to petition Him for help because she knew He was her only hope. If you are crying out from your distress and hearing nothing, persevere in prayer believing God is hearing and is responding whether you are hearing or not. HE HEARS US!

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—

Where do you lift your eyes for help, man, the stars alignment, therapists, TV, food, books? Your help comes from the Lord. He alone is your help. You look for your help anywhere else but Him and I guarantee your foot will slip.

3 b he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

Take comfort that He does not sleep on the job. We are His job, His creation. In fact He tells us that we are His delight and treasure. If you knew that an enemy was stalking your child. Or that the difference between the abundant life and mediocre life was at stake with your children would you sleep? Although our earthly bodies may give out eventually no matter how hard we fight, His will not! He is continually watching over His own. He watches over you personally. He is watching over you right now. Yes, right this very minute He is watching over you. The Holy Writ tells us that, “He…shall neither slumber nor sleep.” These are two different words in the Hebrew. The first one means that He not only doesn’t sleep, He won’t get drowsy either. He remains completely alert. Isn’t it nice to know we can’t bore Him to sleep? The other word means to be slack, slow, growing old, stale or hardened. He isn’t slow or slack when it comes to us and our circumstances. Our cries do not cause Him to grow old or weary. He cares about us; “watches” means that He attends to us. So continue to pour out your heart to the Lord.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

The LORD promises to be our shade. Working under the heat of this life can be tiring. The “heat” can really take its toll on us. His answer is to give us shade, relief from the “heat”. He provides Himself as our shade from the distress. What a loving God we serve. All other relief we seek from the heat is temporary at best and only hits the surface. His relief is eternal and penetrates deep to the soul. Now this is how this is all coming together. When you are laboring in the heat and you need rest and refreshment you SEEK out the shade. You go to it! You have to stop long enough to go rest in the shade. It is in the shade you glean what you need to persevere. When you are laboring in the “heat” of your distress, you need His shade. You need to rest in Him so that He becomes your strength and then you can persevere. But you must seek Him out as your shade. His shade is His presence and His Word. God promises us that when we seek Him out as our “shade” we will not be harmed by the externals of life. God invites us to take refuge in Him; soak in these verses:

You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings Psalm 17:8

How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed Psalm 57:1

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4

7b he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

This is important, He doesn’t just watch over “us” but our lives! Wow!! This is what stopped me and caused me to really ponder then write. I think this is huge, and if we can grasp it, it will cause great faith and growth. You see when we cry out in our distress and the answer is no, wait or be still… anything but a definite yes. We can trust that He is watching over our lives and not just our current situation. He continues to move us along His bigger purposes and plans and not just moving us out a particular circumstance. There is so much more at stake than what we see with our eyes. This is why it is by faith we must walk and why it is impossible to please God without faith. His purpose and plans for us are bigger that just today’s sorrows or even this seasons hardships. It’s about a life purpose and plan…His! Yes He is watching over you now, but it is about more than what we are experiencing here and now it is about the whole, the life. The here and now is only important when seen in the bigger picture of the whole life.

So while you are in the shade consider what the bigger purpose and plan may be. Ponder His heart and mind towards you and your life. I am!

Bragging on Our God!

Jon and I know a sweet couple that has grown very dear to us; Lisa and Chris. Lisa and Chris had planned way ahead to attend a Marriage Retreat. They had made all the arrangements and were very excited about what God had in store for them. Chris is in the military and a few weeks before the retreat was told that he would be going to Iraq. Now more than ever they wanted to go on the retreat. Chris was soon told that having a weekend off would me a miracle. Just what our God does best!!. Lisa and Chris sought out all those that would pray in agreement with them for this weekend…well let me let her tell you in her own words:
“God used this marriage retreat in a mighty way and in more ways than I could have imagined. Satan must have known how much it would benefit our relationship as well as our Christian walk. He tried so hard to keep Chris from going on this retreat, but thanks to all the prayers that were constantly being lifted up on his behalf; Satan was unable to triumph. I praise God for this seemingly small victory in our lives that will carry on for years to come!”
Praise God from whom all blessing come! He is still the God who performs miracles. He is big in our midst! How can you help but walk before Him in love? Offer up your applause on our Great God’s behalf.

Mentoring

Our ladies at Jackson Park are having a Mentoring luncheon this Sunday and I am excited. I was reminded of this blog and in light of upcoming events want to republish it. It will do me good to be reminded of God's ways for women in the Church.

I have been in ministry for 26 years. I'm going to confess that for all those years I have seen very little of Titus II operating within the local church. I haven't seen older men teaching and encouraging the younger men in the ways of LORD nor have I seen younger women teaching and training younger women. I can only count one who sought to mentor me intentionally, an older woman whose name was Carolyn Badry. One of the greatest things she ever did for me was to challenge me to read. What Happens When Women Pray, by Evelyn Christensen. She even loaned me her copy! At another time, maybe I'll share how that alone impacted my life and created miraculous events that still awe me to this day. I'm not saying that there weren't others that I learned from. There were a few, but what I learned from them I learned at a distance, by watching.

I personally didn't grow up in a Christian home. I was completely clueless when it cam to parenting and marriage in general much less in the ways of God. I fumbled and stumbled throughout. I learned too much the hard way. Oh, how I longed for someone to come along and walk with me, teaching, training and encouraging me. Listen, I know now that there was no one that would have had all the answers or would have been perfect. That wasn't what I needed or even wanted. I needed someone who loved the LORD and His Word so that it overflowed to me. Someone who knew Him longer and deeper than myself and who would share a few tips along the journey.

I wonder how many other women were looking for the same things. I also wonder if the ways of God had been practiced within the Church, if we'd have the problems we have today reaching out to the younger generations. I wonder if the divorce rate would be what it is today in the Church if Titus II were applied. What I have seen in most churches is a caretaker mentality, (just take care of ME!) Not at all the picture Christ gave us for the Church.
Ephes. 4:15-16 (NKJV)
…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Every one of us must be doing our share in edifying the body of Christ. A lot of the talking I’ve heard has been full of everything but love; critical, slanderous, malicious or empty and shallow. We are all called to continue to grow in Christ; and to do our part in helping others grow in Christ.

We have seen that we are all called to love the Church through edifying the Body. We have also seen that God specifically has told us to whom and what we women are to speak in love. We share Woman to Woman and Man to Man. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the wisdom in doing this God’s way. God also gave us some starting points:

Titus 2:3-5 (NKJV)
…teachers of good things -- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands…

The question that comes next is how. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed with love for the Lord that I can’t contain myself. I love how He loves me. I love how He knows me. As I was reading Titus II again He whispered two different verses to me. At first I responded with, “okay, Lord I will look at those later.” Then I realized He was still teaching me about Titus II. Read the following passages and then I’ll share what the Lord was saying to me.


Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen

Deut. 6:6-9; 20-25 (NKJV)
"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son: 'We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.'

The Lord was saying that we make things much harder than they need to be. In the great commission He says that we are to, “Go.” Now a more accurate translation is, as you go. As we go we are to make disciples and teach them how to obey. As we go we are to intentionally share our faith and then continue to share our faith in discipling. In the Deuteronomy passage we see it in reference to parenting, in our case think spiritual parenting or mentoring if you prefer. We intentionally look for the opportunity to share with love as we are sitting, walking, etc. My mentor Carolyn Badry didn’t walk up to me one day and say, “I want to mentor you” or, “I want to teach you a few things.” She invited me into her home and just talked. She shared books with me that had meant something to her and helped her to grow in the Lord. She prayed with me when she knew there was a need. She encouraged me to exercise my gift that I didn’t even know I had; by asking me to teach her class. She edified me and I am forever grateful.

I see three steps in Deuteronomy. Step one: We love the Lord and His Word so much that we become one with Him and His Word that it over flows from us so that others notice it. We can’t share opinions or lead in wrong paths we must know, live and share His truth. Step Two: We intentionally look for the opportunities to share with younger women and we do so diligently. Step Three: When we are asked questions we willingly share our own experiences and encounters with the Lord, the victories and the failures. All we do, we do out of sincere and genuine love for them and our precious Lord and Savior Jesus the LORD’S Christ.

I have challenged the older to seek out the younger but you who are young in the ways of LORD, newly married or a young parent can seek out the older, wiser woman. I recently had a young woman who God has challenged to lead the women of her church to email me and ask me to mentor her and give her guidance. How thrilling for me!

I would love to hear your thoughts on Titus II. Maybe those of you who have mentored would like to share ways you have intentionally mentored others.

Chapter 1 Being Blameless

Titus Ponderings: As I read Chapter one of Titus I was tempted as a woman to skip it thinking it doesn’t apply to me. I’m not a man nor a Pastor, Deacon or a paid Minister. I was going to immediately go to chapter two since it is my favorite when I heard God whisper, “Think again.” Okay, what do You want me to see? Here is what He opened my eyes to.

God reminded me of my role as a woman…to be my man’s helpmate. Hmmm, since my husband has been called into the ministry this passage deals with him directly and me indirectly. So if you are a wife of a minister or deacon, mother of, daughter of, grandmother to…this indirectly will apply to you as well. Some of you are saying, “I only have girls and my husband is not called into the ministry nor is he a deacon.” I believe that these are qualities that God is seeking in every man. They are the characteristics that describe a man of God. We all want our husbands, sons, grandsons, brothers to have the character God desires for him. We also want our daughters, granddaughters, sisters…to know what kind of man to look for. Also what kinds of men we as mothers are to raise up to the glory of our Lord. So this applies to us women just as much as it does the men.

So what is He calling our attention to? We need to “straighten out what is unfinished” or “set in order the things that are lacking.” God is saying to look at the following lists and see where I may be lacking and where I may be helpful in where my man may be lacking and then work to set things in order; get them straightened out.

Twice He tells us that we are to be blameless. It carries the idea of living a life where no one can accuse you of wrong doing. He specifically tells us that the men need to be blameless in their family life. They are to have only one wife; which means that they are to work at their marriage and make it one that honors the Lord. Marriage takes a lot of work and the man can’t do it alone. Here is where we can truly be a help or a hinder. Many of you know my husbands holy conviction of not ever being alone with a woman in any setting. He says that he is making sure that no one will ever be given the opportunity to accuse him of being unfaithful; he seeks to live blameless. Recently a letter was sent to a coworker’s husband accusing her of having an affair with another coworker. The marriage is now in jeopardy. I know both of these people and honestly don’t believe they were having an affair. But none of this would have happened if the two workers hadn’t hung out so much together. They often went out to lunches and breaks together and yes probably a little flirting was involved. People were bound to talk. We live in a world full of people who are curious, jealous, busy bodies and just plain mean. As Christians we must be on guard always because we live in a fallen world where the enemy is prowling around seeking a way to bring down Christian marriages, families and ministries. God is warning us to protect His name not just ours. If we are to carry His name then we must be careful to live up to that name. Protecting our marriage is also protecting the name we carry. The other part of the family we are to guard is the raising of our children and let’s face it men need our help immensely in this area. He specifically tells us not to raise children that are wild and disobedient but children that believe. We all know that people are quick to pass judgments most unfairly. If you are a ministers wife you know how closely your children are watched, unfairly so. Again, God is saying it isn’t about what is fair but about My name. It must be protected. If our children are drawing negative attention then ministering is being hindered and therefore we become a stumbling block. I don’t think God was saying our children are to be perfect ‘stepford’ children but they should respect their parents. There is no guarantee that even if you are blameless that someone one won’t be critical. This is where knowing we are blameless (not perfect) and have peace with God. So I ask myself, are things in order in these two areas?

Then God spelled it out for me. He showed me the character traits of what one who is blameless has and the characteristics he doesn’t have. If I am to be blameless I can’t be overbearing (self-willed), quick-tempered, not a drunk, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain (greedy). Okay, here is where I had to stop and ask the Holy Spirit for His insightful and discerning help. Am I or Jon overbearing, quick-tempered, drinking too much, violent or greedy? It is important for me to take the time and sincerely ask since the Scriptures tell us that the heart is deceptive above all things. Where I found myself lacking, I asked for forgiveness and help to be rid of the sin. Where I saw possible weakness in Jon or my children, I prayed for them. If God leads I will talk to them about what the Holy Spirit has shown me.
If I want to be blameless, I am told to be: hospitable, love what is good, be self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. After studying these words I saw a pattern. God wants me to love others by giving of myself, love doing good deeds, love others by not having to have the last word or getting my way, love by doing right. Woe is me; I am a woman of unclean ways living among a people of unclean ways! Let me recap what God is saying. We are to love others by sharing our resources. We are to love others intentionally, through our actions by doing good deeds. We are to love others with our attitudes; our thoughts and speech should be loving not selfish. We are to love God by obeying, being righteous, doing what is right in God’s eyes. We are to love God by being holy; we are not to treat ourselves or salvation as something common but sacred. We are to love God by walking by faith not sight; we can’t explain everything, we won’t understand everything but we will trust Him in all things at all times. This is how one remains strong in the things of the Lord. With the Holy Spirits help I again do some self-examination. If I am to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer I MUST take the time to make the changes necessary.

Why is all this so very important to God? In one way or another we are all spiritual leaders. God has entrusted His work to us. I need to let that sink in. We should take this responsibility seriously. Sadly many who ‘say’ they are followers of Jesus don’t. I took another look at Titus 1:10-16. Here is a picture of those who are not blameless but irresponsible and dangerous to kingdom work. They are destroyers of whole households by what they are teaching and teaching for selfish gain. God says, “They claim to know God, but their actions deny Him.” “They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing any good thing.” I don’t want this be me.

O Father, I want to walk with You every moment of every day. I want to feel the tug on my hand when I am starting to go the wrong way and I want to respond with full cooperation and Joy. I want to go Your way. I so want to be blameless so that I can, yes, am fit to do kingdom work but mostly I want to honor Your great name. LORD, I confess I have many areas that need changing but I trust You and therefore I yield to You. You are my abundant life and joy.