Shipwreck

I was reading in Acts 27 this morning of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck experience. My breath halted when I realized I was saying to myself, “Yes, this ship is definitely sinking.”  The parallel…. of situations and struggles currently running rampant in my life right now... to a sinking ship in a storm, was too close. 

Your emotions can get so raw, your thoughts so scattered and tired, and it just feels like you’re going down.  

I won’t elaborate.  I don’t need to. The details don’t matter nearly as much as the Truth we both need in those times. And when it’s how I FEEL vs what I KNOW, His Truth is what I need to know.  His Truth will carry me through. It will carry you through too.  

God revealed to Paul that the ship was going to sink.  But He also told him that if everyone just stayed on board and did not try to abandon ship they would ALL survive. They all reached the island shore safely. Please take time to read this amazing account.   

The natural tendency and easiest thing to consider when life gets too much is to “abandon ship”; find a way to avoid the inevitable, escape the pain somehow.  Trusting God for the way of escape, which may mean seeing the ship go down so to speak, and just grabbing hold and hanging onto His promises, is not so appealing and doesn’t always make sense.  God told Paul in this instance it was exactly what everyone needed to do. But how do we do that exactly when life’s blows hit us hard and heavy? When decisions are weighty and we don’t know which way to turn?  

The promises of God are so very real, they are trustworthy and strong, timely and relevant.  We have to determine to hold onto them, believing that God’s way is what He will honor and is what we most need.  He could take our circumstances and certainly could intervene in so many ways. But there are so many lessons to be learned in it all.  Christ wants our full attention and obedience to His word and ways. There is always more of Christ to know and love, and our hearts and hurts need to heal.  

        “So take courage!  For I believe God. It will be just as He said.”  Acts 27:25

Do you grasp the power in those words?!  Paul was able to say, with a literal shipwreck looming, I BELIEVE GOD!  IT WILL BE JUST AS HE SAID. Those that could swim were told to jump and swim when the ship started to break apart.  Application? There may be something He equips you to DO that will make a difference. It will direct you, help you, heal you.  Do you pray? That’s certainly something we can all DO. Others that could not swim were told to find a fragment and hang on. They would float to safety. Application?  Resting in His Divine providence for us, staying in His Word, waiting for His healing work in us, will bring safety and assurance. He will carry us to the place we need to be.  

Sometimes it is pretty evident that a shipwreck is looming in a life that will change it forever --a sudden death, a terminal diagnosis, a struggling addicted child, a job loss or financial disaster, false accusations or work-place bullying, a declaration of divorce.  Do I blame God? Do I abandon God? Or do I believe God, that His good purposes in me can and will be accomplished (Philippians 1:6)?

No, we do not always escape suffering and loss. But help and healing for our hurting hearts is where God’s unfailing love is so evidenced. I have found myself at times, sitting in my front room in the quiet, with just the glow of soft light, letting Him love on me.  I can’t say anything. But I listen, and wait. Sometimes in tears, sometimes numb, His word begins to come into my thoughts, it rises up in my heart and memory, these promises and Truths I have read and cherished...and I let them wash over me.  

Let this fill you with peace and comfort and enabling grace today.  Jesus has you. We have His words to cling to. They are profound and powerful; life-saving, life-changing, soul-settling.  They are the way of escape from the torment of all the turbulence of life’s storms.  

Pray with me...Oh God, it’s time for You once again to stretch my faith, increase my confidence in Your word, strengthen my resolve to praise You in my storm, and keep me ever leaning into Your grace!  Jesus, if all is lost, You are enough. Your unfailing love is overwhelmingly enough. Your word is life and light. Your joy is unspeakable. Your presence with me is peace.   

The ship may be sinking, but there is a quiet calm shore just on the other side of this storm.  

And Jesus is already there.  

Promises for the New Year

As my faith journey takes me into another year there are some thoughts that encourage and comfort me, and I don’t know about you but I need that.  This past year was not the kindest, but it held all God allowed and His grace was sufficient to carry us through to this point. At different times yesterday as I sat down with my Bible and various devotional books, these truths spoke volumes to me.  As I move into all the tomorrows God will give this new year, I cling to them.  

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”  1 Samuel 7:12  

What a wonderful verse to end and begin the year!  The NLT says, “Samuel then took a large stone...and named it Ebenezer (which means ‘the stone of help’), for he said, ‘Up to this point the Lord has helped us!’”  He literally found a large stone and placed it in a specific location as a visible reminder that the Lord had brought them by His help to this point. I love that old KJV word “Hitherto”.  The entirety of the past is held in that one word. I can look back over this past year in its “unkindness” and yes, see the hardship, the hurt, the loss and grief. But I also see a great and good God, faithful in every way, having guided, protected, provided and answered both personal prayers and prayers for others.  I think especially of a friend that saw her Dad come to know Jesus at age 92 just hours before he died. God honored and answered prayers and broke the strongholds that had hardened his heart toward God. What a glorious work of grace! I have no reason to doubt that God’s grace and mercy will follow me into this new year because He is unchanging.  He will continue to be faithful to Himself and His Word, and that means I can count on His faithfulness and unfailing love to me. I will continue to have His help, not because of who I am but because of who He is.  

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

It was as if the Lord shouted when I read this, “Pay attention!! You need to be looking 

forward with excitement and anticipation...and faith! Because I am doing something new. And it’s going to be like a way being made in the wilderness, where there seems to be no way; or like a river of life-giving water would be to a desert.  Look back, but only to be reminded of His faithfulness to this point, not to lament and labor over things that can’t be changed now. They’re in the past. I want to be greeting each day with a keen perception of God’s presence and what He may be doing in my life at any given moment.  This year will bring change, some unexpected and even unwanted, just like last year. But not without the blessed hand of God in it all! So I will take courage and rejoice in that, and look forward to all this year holds, not dread it or fear it. It is no doubt we will experience disappointment, but God never disappoints when I choose to see things through His eyes.

“And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know His voice." John 10:4

The Psalms tell us that “we are his people and the sheep of His pasture" (100:3). We follow a Great Shepherd that leads us with care and compassion.  But in this particular verse I am comforted to know that as I move into this new year, He has already gone before me! I am not being thrust into the great unknown without a careful and compassionate Guide!  There is uncertainty for sure. Life can change and change drastically in a moment. And some change is inevitable. But He is leading. I will follow. And again...I will keep saying it!!! He is great, and good, and faithful.  

I have had His help to this point, I will have it as I move forward.  He is doing something new and I will see it as good or trust Him to bring good from it because He is great and good.  And, I can know that whatever it is I will face, He has already gone before me, and I can embrace it by His grace with courage and confidence because He is faithful.  

Find your “Ebenezer” today, and Happy New Year!  

Taking the Scenic Route

“So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”  Exodus 13:18

My husband and I determined a long time ago based on an understanding of God’s word and what He desires for us, that we would live by faith.  And the wonderful thing? God makes His great and amazing grace available to enable us to do that in His strength, not our own. This means we commit to following in obedience as He guides and directs in the path our life takes.  We just get to know Him better through His word and seek to live it out everyday, trusting Him completely. He does the rest.

The questions, however, still surface from time to time.  “What in the world are you doing God?

Why this? Why now? Did you really mean this?”  It’s not always easy to discern the specifics of His guidance, but if we wait and trust until He makes it clear..and He has His ways of doing that...He does make His path known for us to clearly follow.  He uses time talking with Him (prayer) and listening to Him (reading/hearing/studying His word) to provide the guidance we ask Him for. Circumstances and situations, even conversations with others, will line up with how He is using His Word to teach and instruct and direct.  The Spirit of God living in you will impress you with thoughts and ideas, nothing that would contradict His Word, but just quiet inner assurances of His leading, gentle proddings and promptings.

It was this process that led my husband and I most recently to make the decision to sell our farm.  It’s our desire to just be available to minister unhindered, and with both the time and attention the farm demanded, and the financial burden it had become as our situation changed, it was now proving to be a hindrance.  But why would the Lord direct us to purchase the farm, make the move to another county only to have us turn around and sell it, moving back to where we were before? Was that really His leading? We were confident of His leading when we had moved forward six years ago with the purchase or we would not have done it.   And at the time, we could not have foreseen how much our situation would change in just six short years. Yet we do know God knew, and still He directed us to do it, just like He is impressing us to make the choices we are making now. And how would we know it would even sell as quickly as we would need it to? One step at a time...first, it was time to list.  

The above passage in Exodus that details the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the miraculous and astonishing Red Sea Crossing is just one example of how God has used His word to confirm His guidance and direction in our lives and the choices we are making. It was in reading it again that these nuggets of Truth made the profound impact on me that they did. Knowing we were earnestly seeking God about our situation, my youngest son sent me a link to a message by Tony Evans on “Divine Encounters”.  The message was taken from this same passage in Exodus and he spoke about God leading the children of Israel into what appeared to be a trap. And of course that raises the question, as he explained, would God really do that to His children? Intentionally lead them into a no-win situation? A dangerous dilemma? A terrible storm? His answer was of course, yes! Because God was preparing and positioning them for a divine encounter with Him. He was going to make a way when there seemed to be no way. He was going to do something astounding.  As I listened, then prayerfully read and studied the passage for myself, these are the lessons that loomed large before me and encouraged and strengthened my heart to see them again at this time.

1. God in fact led them to the Red Sea and they had that divine encounter with God in an amazing way...but it wasn’t a “directly from point A to point B” path; no, He intentionally “led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:18).  Sometimes the roundabout way is the best way, and I prefer to call it “the scenic route”. But it’s the learning and growing and stretching route, and that’s not always comfortable. It takes longer. It’s not always the most convenient. It requires faith and patience.  When we choose a scenic route while traveling it’s because we want to take the time to see the beauty along the way. Yet when God leads us along “the scenic route” when that’s not the way or time-frame we would necessarily choose, when it doesn’t seem to make sense, when it’s anything but beautiful...that can be exasperating!  Well, it’s best to sit back, enjoy the journey, and choose to see the beauty along the way. Look for it. Use the time to rest in Him, wait patiently for Him, and trust that He is doing what He is doing...leading the way He is leading...for a VERY good reason, even though we may not understand it at the time.
2. Long before this event, hundreds of years prior actually, Joseph had been sold into Egypt as a slave only to rise to power as Pharoah’s right-hand-man.  God used this devastating, life-altering situation in Joseph’s life to in fact, bring the children of Israel into Egypt when they were just a single family, to save them and grow them into the nation they would become. When dying, Joseph looked forward in time and saw God once again leading the children of Israel out of Egypt back to the place they had come from.  It probably didn’t make much sense to most, and the Israelites had grown comfortable and prosperous in Egypt during these years. But the very thing that brought them comfort and provision, over time eventually enslaved them. Moses was reminded of Joseph’s words, “God will certainly come to help you. When He does, you must take my bones with you from this place” (Exodus 13:19).  Joseph did not say “if He does”, but rather, “when He does”. He was confident that the time in Egypt would only be temporary. One day they would make the return trip to their homeland and they would need the Lord’s help to do it. Joseph’s words reassured them they would have it. I find it fascinating that Joseph’s faith took him beyond his own lifespan, impacting future generations.  Do you see the big picture, the eternal perspective? Our life is not just about the here and now, or just about us necessarily. How we are living our lives now, the choices we are making are impacting future generations and perhaps even the destiny of many that will come after us.
3. The Lord brought about a great deliverance out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. They were on their return journey, on their way home.  God had made the way clear, and they were free. The Lord himself “went ahead of them, guided them and provided for them along the way” (Exodus 13:21).  And then something strange happens. “Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: order the Israelites to turn back and camp...between Migdal and the sea.  Pharoah will think...they are trapped in the wilderness! I will harden Pharoah’s heart and he will chase after you. I HAVE PLANNED THIS in order to display my glory through Pharoah and his whole army (Exodus 14:1-4). Wow.  They were on their way and the Lord intentionally had them “turn back”.  This was all His plan! The children of Israel were a part of God’s plan to show God’s glory to those that needed to see it.  We would need to hear of this! This great display of God’s glory and power resounds through the ages, proclaiming the awesome authority of the Creator God over His creation and His enemies!  So many lessons here...the enemy is no match for God’s power; when it looks like there are no options, there are always options with God...and there are others. But in this season, what I needed to see was that the Lord intentionally turned them back. Even if His plan for me includes some detours and backtracking, I need to stay in step!  I don’t want to miss the glorious display of His power and provision for me.

     4) Pharoah was not happy.  The children of Israel were panicked and began lamenting about

how much better it would be if they had just remained slaves in Egypt.  Admittedly, their plight

looked hopeless. “As Pharaoh approached, the people looked up and panicked when they

saw the Egyptians overtaking them.  They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, Why

did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in

Egypt?  Didn’t we tell you this would happen?” Wonder how Moses is feeling about now? In

verse 14:14, Moses speaks and says, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord

rescue you today...The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”  Famous last words,

right? Just stay calm! But in the Lord’s strength it’s possible! And did you take note in

reading this entire account that even the complainers, the panic-stricken, the

“I-told-you-so-ers”, they all got to go across the Red Sea on dry land.  They chose to follow.

They may have been afraid. They had complained and second-guessed the decision to leave

Egypt. But they could not deny the walls of water they saw opening up before them. Even

feeble faith is honored and when exercised it can see some awesome things.  So don’t wallow

in your failures. Don’t fear that your faith is too small. It’s not about that. It’s about Who your

faith is in. And the enemies of God? Those specific enemies were never to be seen again.

God dealt a mighty blow to them. Just as He intervened on behalf of the children of Israel,

stepping in and making a way, providing a miracle, He works on behalf of His children today.

He is battling the unseen for us, Jesus is interceding for us. His angels are protecting us on

every hand. And nothing happens to us apart from His divine knowledge and sovereign care,

or providential hand. Regardless of how relentless Satan’s attacks may be, Christ remains in

control.

     

How important it is for God’s children to grow in their understanding and willingness to follow the Lord’s leading in their lives. Knowing how God guides and directs us is key to spiritual growth and maturity.  But once we are aware and have that understanding, the next step is obedience...growing in our willingness to follow that leading, being sensitive to what He is doing or trying to accomplish in and through our lives at any given time.  Obedience in turn leads to the abundant life of contentment, blessing, and most importantly, no regrets.

What does that look like in our everyday life?  It means the choices we make each day are based on a knowledge of God’s word and a daily walk...a life lived...by faith.  This means we won’t always be able to know the outcome ahead of time. It means things may change and look different than they did at first. It means options may not seem logical, or make much sense especially to others, much less ourselves.  It means the eternal perspective bears more weight than this temporal existence does. It means there may be some sacrifice and suffering along the way, but following Jesus is worth it. Sometimes it can feel like we are just wandering in the wilderness of the unknown. Waiting can become a weariness if we lose sight of the fact there is purpose in “the roundabout way.” Everyone’s wait is different.  We have been waiting for three years now to see where God is taking us with all of this. And this last year has been especially trying...sickness, personal loss, health issues, transition, financial adjustments. Knowing, really believing in the goodness and faithfulness of God, is sustaining us like we have seen Him do in the past and for countless others that have chosen to trust Him and follow His leading.  

Don’t avoid the scenic route. Take it, and let Him wow you!  

PS.  The farm is under contract; trusting God with the outcome.

The Infamous "If"

I have begun my journey through the pages of Scripture once again this new year to read it in its entirety.  (If you have not, I would really encourage you to do so. My 14 year-old granddaughter read through the Bible last year and is starting again this year.  You can do it!) I have used a number of different approaches over the years, and the Lord has helped me finish my goal, and encouraged my heart with the growth accomplished even when I failed.  I also journal along the way (with a file cabinet full of notebooks to show for it!), trying to capture those moments when a truth freshly jumped off a page, or a concept became so clear, or I saw something from a new perspective.  I also wanted to cement Truth into my thinking, especially when it served to correct me in some wrong, or comfort me in some distress...and there have been lots of those times through the years. I especially remember how precious and intimate it was to have the Lord meet me exactly where I was emotionally and spiritually when I would be up in the middle of the night with one of the kids sick or unable to sleep. I would turn to my Bible, not randomly, but where I was last in my reading, only to have the Lord use that specific passage at that specific time to lift my heart heavenward, grateful that He knew about some specific concern or struggle I was having.  Its Truth would so amazingly be applicable to my situation. Have you ever had that happen? I hope so. It still awes me that God would and still does this.

Why does that awe me?  Well, in Genesis this morning reading of Jacob I found myself considering two sides of an “if”.  

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.” (Genesis 28:20).  

I must admit my first thought on reading this was that Jacob was a foolish, faithless man. “If?”  Really Jacob? You really did not understand this great God of your ancestors. You knew of Him no doubt, but did you really know Him in all His greatness and holiness?  Did you not understand that God is faithful and can be completely trusted to carry out His will and perform His Word? Why would you question “if”, unless there was some doubt in your mind that He could not? It sounds at first like Jacob is bargaining with God, much like we might attempt to do...."God, if You do this, then I'll do this."

This passage of Scripture details an encounter with God after Jacob has fled his home in fear of his life...at the hand of his own brother!  And it began with Jacob deceiving his father and stealing the birthright and blessing that rightly belonged to the oldest, Esau. Many of you may be familiar with this story and remember Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, putting him up to this scheme.  That’s a thought for another time. For now, my focus is Jacob, and he agreed to go through with it. After all, he had already taken advantage of a famished (and careless) Esau at an earlier time, gaining the birthright for a pot of beans.

Jacob, the deceiver. Lies, deception, manipulation, and whatever his motives for obtaining the blessing and birthright of the family, he did not come by them honorably. It is probable, and likely that Rebekah had told him what the Lord had told her about her twins when they were born, that the older would serve the younger, and the struggle in her womb would become a lifetime of struggle between the brothers.  Perhaps it was completely unnecessary for Rebekah or Jacob to manipulate and manhandle situations to see God’s Word accomplished. If God had already determined that Jacob would be the son of blessing, then God would see to it that circumstances and situations worked to bring this to pass. In other words, God did not need their help to see to it that His divine plan was carried out. In fact, God’s plan was much bigger than either of them realized.  

Foolish and/or faithless as he may have been, God chose Jacob, directed him, provided for him, protected him.  And for the first time I considered that maybe Jacob did understand. Perhaps his great “if” moment was not about his understanding of God at all.  Maybe it was more about his understanding of himself. When Jacob laid his head down on that rock that night on the run, God revealed himself to him in a powerful and life-changing way, promising Jacob He would be with him and would keep him wherever he went.  Jacob was probably no more sure of God’s abiding presence with him at this point, as he was of God’s protection and provision for him. His future was uncertain, and after all, he had not shown himself to be an honorable man, one that necessarily revered God and His Word up to this point.  In all of his failures, weaknesses, lies, deceit, fear, why would God care for him or promise him anything? Why should He?

Was this “if’ moment for Jacob a question of God’s ability, as in “is God able?”, or was it rather, “will God really do this for me?  Me, after all I’ve done?” God was most definitely able, and willing. Jacob just needed to choose to believe and accept it, in spite of himself.  

This is such a beautiful picture of grace.  Jacob would indeed receive something from God that he did not deserve and certainly didn’t earn through his righteous behavior.  No, he came face to face with the Lord God, was provided a promise, and all he had to do was believe and act upon it. That, is faith.  Jacob chose at this moment, even though there would be other failures, to exercise faith and say, “If God would indeed do this for me, then He will be my God”.  This seems more a declaration of Jacob’s feeble faith than a bargain he is making with God.

We don’t bargain with God about anything.  He offers the great gift of salvation, inviting us each personally to come to grips with our own sinfulness and inability to be free from the weight and penalty of our sin, and gain forgiveness and an eternity with Jesus by trusting Him.  We exercise faith, believing what God has told us in the Bible about Himself and His Son, about the death of Christ on the cross and the fact that He rose from the dead. That simple choice changes everything. It provides an everlasting life with God throughout eternity to come, instead of eternal punishment and separation from God.  It provides the chance for an abundant life now, not just an empty existence with no real and lasting purpose.

No, we don’t bargain with God about anything.  He has promised so much, made so much available to us in choosing to live for Him...Great joy, peace, provision, protection, wisdom, guidance, comfort, encouragement, grace.  But we must trust His ways, His timing, His plans and purposes that are higher than ours, not attempt to finagle and finesse our way through life. God is the one over all, in charge, ruling and reigning, even when it does not seem like it.  He is good at being God; He has been doing it a very long time….eternity. Let Him be God!

What side of the “if” are you on?  Are you struggling to decide if God is truly who He says He is and is able to do what He says He will do?  Do you see Him as the all-powerful, saving God that He is, able to care for you and all your concerns? Or, are you wondering if this great God, seeing you and knowing you for who you are (and He does see and know), would actually want to have a real and personal relationship with you? And if He does, would He care enough about what you are going through to want to come alongside and be your help and guide, never leaving you or abandoning you to yourself or your situation?  

“If” moments.  Jacob had one in Genesis 28.  I had mine. I was on the side of complete wonder that God loved even me.  I had no reservations about my sin, failures, inadequacies, weaknesses. They stared me in the face...stare me in the face...everyday.  But Jesus lives in and through me. I am an overcomer because of Him. It may not seem as apparent to others all that Jesus has done for me, but I know God is great and good and FULL of grace and mercy to love the likes of me, and to care and be involved in the details of my life.  

Oh God, even though I sometimes question why you would love me, why you would die for me, I thank you that I never have to question your greatness or goodness, your willingness to reach to me where I am.  You are able and faithful and amazing.

God is bigger than your “ifs”.  

"Fruitful in the Land of my Affliction"

Our youngest son Seth and his wife Rebecca have been on an incredible journey.  Their oldest child, one of our precious grandchildren, Ephraim Josiah, was born with….wait, first things first…he was born, and he lived.  He lived beyond what anyone had thought possible from a medical perspective.  Ephraim will be four years old on the 18^th of May. 

What a bright, beautiful child he is.  He has been through so much in his four years.  God has seen fit to sustain him with very minimal kidney function.  And even though there have been surgeries and procedures, medications and treatments, he has survived major setbacks, and thrived.  Now it is clear and a decision has been made to begin moving him through processing for a kidney transplant.  Seth, his daddy, is the first donor candidate and will soon begin the process as well. 

Rebecca emailed me today with a preview of Ephraim’s logo with COTA (Children’s Organ Transplant Association) that will be ascribed with the message “fruitful in the Land of my affliction”.  My thoughts went immediately to the Scripture in Psalm 119.

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes.”  “I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.  Let Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort.”  Ps. 119:71,75,76

Good? Good to be afflicted?  What a paradox.  But God specializes in those.  And I am so glad.  I would not want to even consider accepting the truth of it otherwise.  He is faithful, so I can trust Him.  I do that through faith, not dwelling on how I feel.  Knowing God is altogether Good, and that all He does He does with divine kindness that is beyond my ability to even understand, is the comfort that sustains. 

It is not just possible; being “fruitful in the land of my affliction” is a reality.  Ephraim is.  And he is not the only one.  God is great and God is good.  When we are confident that we are walking with Him, we can be confident He is with us in any and every affliction.  There are no accidents or mistakes with our loving Creator God and Savior, only divine appointments. 

Rest in Him.                                

 

 

'Streams in the Desert'

It was December of 1986, my last ladies Bible study. Shortly after Christmas we would be packing for the move we would make in January. So much had changed in those few years since coming to New York; Rog and I had changed. God had grown us, stretched us, and brought us to the realization that He had plans for our future that we would never have dreamed of. This small group of ladies had become so dear. I was the young wife and mother in the bunch, and they had mentored and encouraged me in ways I had not expected.

It was here I began to write for our church newsletter. It was here I began to lead the Ladies Bible Study. It was here I began to teach Sunday School and work with the teens and children in the church and Christian School. It was here I began to reach out into the community, visiting families and bringing their children to church on a church bus. I was like a sponge, soaking up all these godly women were pouring into me. The foundation had actually been laid earlier in Virginia with a Bible study I was involved in there, but it was in Saratoga Springs that I began to put into practice some of the things I had begun to understand about what it meant to really live for Christ.

As we sat around the table that snowy December morning in my friend’s kitchen, there were mixed emotions. Some people have lived in one area their entire lives. They live and work and worship with many of the same friends and family they have grown up with and known all their lives. I’m beginning to get a sense of what that is like. We have been here in West Virginia now going on 20 years! We have strong ties and bonds here now. And I enjoy this, seeing the roots go ever deeper as the years pass. But I also treasure the memories of these earlier days in my “growing up years”, spiritually speaking, as a young wife and mother. Roger had not long come to the realization that God’s desire for him was to serve as a preacher, and probably as a pastor. That of course meant that I would be a pastor’s wife!! Not in a million years would I have seen myself in that role just a few short years prior. There was much education and training before us, but after much prayer and counsel we were convinced of the direction we would be going. I was excited, but yet overwhelmed with thoughts of where this decision might take us. But God had prepared us and brought us to this point; He was going before us, and we were embarking on this journey together as a family.

Our goodbyes said in the midst of hugs and tears, we prayed together, and they prayed for me and Rog and our young family, that God’s hand of blessing would be on us. Lynn Greene, one of these sweet ladies, then gave me a gift that I use to this day. It was a copy of Mrs. Charles E. Cowman’s Streams in the Desert, a daily devotional, now a classic. How many times have the Scriptures and the articles in this collection brought to me ‘a word in due season’…at crucial times in my walk with the Lord, ups, downs, highs, lows. Even though I have used a number of devotionals through the years (in fact, I collect them!) I would find myself going back to this one over and over again on some certain, some random days. The wisdom of saints in these pages! Men and women that have gone before me that have seen the faithfulness of God in so many ways, it just always speaks volumes to me. I also will often read the note Lynn wrote to me in the front cover:


Dear Angela,
May the Lord bless you and your Bible Study. May he continue to use you in the lives of other
ladies. May He be with you and help you to uplift your husband an d family in His great work for
the Lord. May you in “all ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your path.”
Love In Him,
Lynn Green, Ps 107:29


With the Lord’s great grace and His enablement, I am trying to continue to do this, Lynn! God’s Word is even more a treasure to me now than it was then. I continue to make myself available to other ladies both old and young to encourage and teach and minister with (though I am still learning so much from so many!); I continue to strive to be the help my husband needs as a loving, supportive wife; my children and my grandchildren are still my priority and my joy to love and serve; and I continue to trust the Savior to guide and direct my every step. He has directed our paths to this point and I know He will be faithful to see us safely to His desired place for us as we keep following hard after Him.

And that Streams I was given? It is still a favorite and a faithful companion, not only in my devotional time, but any time I need the wealth of wisdom and inspiration it provides.

I leave you with some of my favorite thoughts from its pages. BE BLESSED!



The problem of getting great things from God is being able to hold on for the last half hour.-----selected
March 5, on Hebrews 3:14

He has kept you hitherto; do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. ----J. Hudson Taylor, February 8.

“Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Ex. 20:21). God has still His hidden secrets, hidden from the wise and prudent. Do not fear them; be content to accept things that you cannot understand; wait patiently. Presently He will reveal to you the treasures of darkness, the riches of the glory of the mystery. Mystery is only the veil of God’s face. Do not be afraid to enter the cloud that is settling down on your life. God is in it. ----selected; March 14

The Star

There was a star in the Eastern sky
That shone down on Bethlehem,
A few had recognized the sign
A King was born to them
Drew them to a manger
To a virgin mother's son
Who would draw us to salvation
God's gift to everyone

And the star still shines
After all this time
As a light for me and you
It beckons us to seek him
Wise men still do
Wise men still do

In these crazy troubled times
The world seems so out of tune
Sometime's it's like we're living
Without a flame to light the room
If you're feeling faithless
And you think you've lost your way
O there is a hope that's bright enough
To turn your night to day

Diamond Rio, The Star Still Shines, 10.9.2007


I was going through Christmas decorations, sorting them by what to keep and what was way past time to throw out. My son Aaron was across the room at the desk on the computer doing some homework. I had been sitting for a few moments, holding ‘the star’, a cardboard cutout stapled to a toilet paper roll and covered in aluminum foil. I couldn’t bring myself to toss it in the throw away pile. We could afford better now, and I had looked for another tree topper, but nothing seemed suitable. Should I keep looking? Maybe I would use a bow this year instead. Even if I replaced “the star”, I’d hang on to it. As I sat there thinking about the Christmas I made that star and how tough that year had been, Aaron spoke:

“I love that star!” I looked up. “You’re not going to get rid of it, are you?”
“Of course not!” I replied. He smiled and went back to work. That was years ago, and that star tops our tree to this day. It represents a precious, though difficult memory of less fortunate times but of a faithful God. Aaron was only two the year that star was made. It’s the only topper he ever remembered seeing. So when I heard him say, “I love that star,” well, tossing it out would have been like tossing out part of what God had used to reveal himself to him.

That star is more than just cardboard and aluminum foil. It is part of Christmas and the reason we celebrate. It has been re-wrapped quite a few times, but oh does it shine! It represents hope, and a God who lights our way. Because of Him we don’t walk in darkness or confusion. Sometimes we must wait for direction, but He is always there letting us know we can trust Him for our every step.

The wise men followed the Star, and as the song says, “Wise men still do."