Internet Cafe Devotions: Waves Overwhelming

I'm at the Internet Cafe today with an honest look at the waves of trials that have surged in and out of my life. Here's a preview:

I knew that if I just cried out to the Lord, His strong arm would hold me afloat and eventually land me on solid ground, but it took way too long for me to actually give it all over to Him. I felt like the man in Mark 9:24 who exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

To read more, go over to the CAFE and share how God uses this Word in your life. Also share how God has brought you through your own "stuff." I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Pause...For a Blessing in my Stormy Weekend

A Blessing in the Storm…MD messed up my life and made me whole by Lori Laws has been on my mind to read for quite some time. The moment I saw it had been published as an e-book, I purchased it. Life got in the way, though, and I had not been able to get past the title page.

This weekend, a stormy weekend oddly enough, I had some down time and was determined that this would be my opportunity to start it. Start it? I couldn’t put it down (yes, I printed it out). I finished it. It’s that gripping.

Lori’s memoir, underneath the surface, is not really about her struggle with Muscular Dystrophy, though it is the catalyst for every message in it. It’s mostly about her plight spiritually. She writes in her introduction: “This book is for anyone who is suffering with anything.” I whole-heartedly agree.

Ever wrestled with pride? Self-righteousness? Unbelief? Vanity? 

Have you ever enjoyed a destructive lifestyle?

Do you suffer with chronic pain of any kind, whether it be physical or emotional?

Do you have guilt or dysfunction from your past that clutters your heart and mind?

Have you given in to your circumstances or allowed them to identify you?

Are you convinced that God doesn’t listen or doesn’t know what He’s doing?

Do you have a hope unfulfilled? 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then Lori’s e-book will encourage you more than you could ever imagine. The instant I read the foreword written by Lori’s husband, I knew that this would not be a book of pat answers for someone struggling with disease. Rather an authentic testimony of hope found amidst the struggle.

And Hope is the paper this story was written on…

Lori is genuine, honest, purposeful and direct with her memoir. It’s filled with day-to-day stories and experiences that have carved her into a beautiful woman of God, one who is still learning how to lean and showing others how to do so right alongside her. Lori writes, “Remember that nothing ahead of you is bigger or stronger than the power of God behind you.” That God-power is what has made her God-strong even with a disease that has the potential to leave her feeling powerless and weak.

My insights on Lori’s testimony and message cannot do them justice. I encourage you to see what God has in it for you. Even if you are not a believer in the God of all hope and comfort, I encourage you to read her story. If you are someone who thinks you have it all together, there could be a jewel in it for you too. If you find yourself not knowing what to say to a friend who is struggling, or if you are a spouse or relative to someone with chronic pain or illness, Lori’s book has the potential to lead your heart to greater insight and perspective regarding these relationships.

Though a Kleenex or two is needed along the way, she will lead you to a place of Hope if you are willing to stop there. She will show you the place where, in her words, “God saw me, and in His great mercy saved me and brought the sweetest peace.”

Click here to purchase or find out more about A Blessing in the Storm. Lori gives 20 percent of the proceeds to her local crisis pregnancy center.

Pause and Ponder A Simple Life

Some go about it differently than others, but most of us, if we're honest, try to make life pleasurable and happy for our kids, spouses and friends. We work to give them a "better life," at least our definition of it.

My second child and firstborn daughter, AnaLee, teaches me so much, though, as she defines pleasure from a different perspective than most. Emotionally speaking, she's tightly wired like her mama, but in every other way she's a free bird. She's simple, practical and real. Crowds? No thanks. Hectic schedule? Not unless you want to pick her up in pieces off the floor a few days into it. She likes to keep things simple, clean and organized.

I love her.

Anyway, she wrote this Fantabulous poem, and though I don't share personal family details often on my blog, I had to here. The message in her writing is ponder-worthy, and it caused me to praise the Lord for the work of His hands, especially my daughter.

Countryside

by AnaLee Shaw

A small house in the countryside,

In front of a big backyard.

Sauntering down the dirt road,

Far from a boulevard.

Just a small school by a little church around a tiny well,

Living and working hard.

With a good herding dog, and a nutmeg horse,

And nice folks--no one a card.

This is where I want to live,

By the beautiful countryside.

I'll own what the world has to give.

One day I'll move there,

I'll sieve from the city-like ways,

And enjoy winter when the trees are bare,

And, in the summer, walk by the riverside bays.

Someday I'll get work,

And move to the countryside.

I'll have a family, and we'll avoid the skunks that lurk,

And enjoy playing in the lake tide.

Someday, One day, Now-a-day,

I dream of living on the countryside.

What are you dreaming of these days?

Do you need more simplicity in your life?

Josh Janoski Shares His Story

It's number THREE out of eleven salvation testimonies to be shared on Selah the days leading up to and just after Easter. I can't think of a better way to celebrate His resurrection than hearing God-stories of souls raised from death to life. So pause. Ponder what He has done. Then praise Him!!!!

I know you'll enjoy hearing from my friend, Josh. God's really gifted him not only as a writer, but also as an authentic communicator. I pray his testimony reaches one who is lost, letdown or looking today.

***

What is my testimony?

This is a question I used to ask myself. I never really felt like I had much of a testimony to share with people. I hadn’t been addicted to drugs. I wasn’t a recovering alcoholic. I never found myself in jail or hanging with the wrong crowds. I guess you could say that I was pretty “straight-laced” growing up. I was the shy, timid boy who was afraid to say much to anyone, let alone go out and get myself in to a bunch of trouble. I didn’t seem to have found my salvation. It sort of found me, or at least I thought that was the case.

I grew up with Godly parents that taught me about Jesus from birth. My mother has a cassette tape of me singing Jesus loves me when I was one and a half years old. I attended a private Christian elementary school, and I had first accepted Jesus Christ into my heart at the age of 6. I was then baptized in water at age 10. Nothing exciting about my walk with the Lord, it was all pretty straightforward and boring, right?

That all changed when I entered the 7th grade. I began experiencing a fear and terror unlike anything I had ever faced before. The internal scare was accompanied by physical symptoms of hyperventilating, shakiness, and dry mouth. At age 13, I was experiencing anxiety and “panic attacks.” They were something my dad had struggled with for years, and I had never understood them. I still didn’t understand them, and neither did my teachers or principal. They thought I was just a clever kid who was finding a way out of having to go to school. They didn’t know me and how much I loved academics. They didn’t realize that I thrived on going to school and learning new things. This was not a ploy to get to go home and have fun. This was a battle within my mind.

For several months I struggled with sitting in the car every morning, ducked down and sobbing uncontrollably, afraid to enter the school building. The principal decided to let me try half days to see if that would work better for me. It did for a short while, but then I began to be plagued again by the symptoms. Finally, my parents gave up and pulled me out of public school to homeschool me.

I was a failure. There was no hope for me. God had abandoned me. The Savior that I grew up praising had left me. I sat in darkness for a period of time until I finally hit rock bottom. It was at this point that I realized I needed to renew my commitment to the Lord. I asked Him into my heart for a second time, but the second time felt like the first as I had now matured enough to know what having a relationship with Him truly meant. I now realized what salvation in Him was, and for the first time, I truly felt saved. I made up my mind that I was going to get things turned around in my life. I graduated high school and decided to go on to college.

The symptoms began to hit me again during my first semester of college. I started to cower down in fear, but I heard that beautiful, still-soft voice speak into my ear “Remember 7th grade. How long will you keep running from this? Be strong because I am with you through every step of this journey.”

I now have my Bachelor’s Degree. I now have a good paying job and a lovely fiancé. Most of all, I now have my testimony and my assurance of who I am in Jesus Christ because of what He has brought me through. My salvation is in Him alone, and I cannot thank Him enough for loving me.

Josh is a 26 year old Network Administrator living in the beautiful mountain state of Colorado. When he's not tinkering with technology, Josh likes to read, exercise, play games, surf the Internet, and of course - write. He sees his writing as a ministry, given to him by God to help encourage people and lead them to the hope that is Jesus Christ. Whether it be through humor, fictional Biblical re-tellings, or non-fiction confessionals, Josh's goal is to put a smile on people's face and remind them of the love that God has for them. Please take time to visit his ministry website: Uplifting Words or his personal blog at Just Joshing.

For The Distressed But Praying Soul...

Psalm 56:8 (New Living Translation)
"You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.
You have recorded each one in Your book."

Whether you're in the middle of a disaster, greatly distressed or disturbed, disappointed or dealing with the burdens of others, know that God ALWAYS hears your prayers. I pray this excerpt from Charles Spurgeon's "Strengthen My Spirit" Devotional explains it better to you than I ever could. And may it give your heart the same comfort it gave mine today:

"Prayers are instantly noticed in Heaven. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. Often times, a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of Heaven thrill with music, that tear has been caught by God and treasured in Heaven. 

'You put my tears into Your bottle' implies that they are caught as they flow. The suppliant whose fears provide his words will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye, but 'prayer is the falling of a tear.' Tears are the diamonds of Heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah's court and are numbered with 'the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.' 

Think not that your prayer, however weak or trembling will be unregarded. Our God not only hears prayer, but also loves to hear it. He regards not high looks and lofty words. He cares not for the pomp and pageantry of kings, He listens not to the swell of martial music, He regards not the triumph and pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow or a lip quivering with agony or a deep groan or a penitential sigh, the heart of Jehovah is open. He marks it down in the registry of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up from it."

"But we are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently. Also, the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. God can see what is in people's hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants.
Romans 8:25-27 (New Century Version)

***This post is dedicated to ones I love undergoing great burdens and hardships. Laury, Jenny & Aaron, the Bensko family and Bent Tree Bible Fellowship staff, Christa & Matt, Emily & Katie, the people of Fargo and North Dakota residents, Chris and Stephanie. I'm praying for each of you and love you dearly.

***Should I add your name to this list? Please take a moment to share your burden, and I will pray for each one. I'm certain my friends in the Christian blogging community will pray as well.


If you find yourself in the position of being a burden sharer right now, I read a post today that blessed my soul. The Heart of a Pastor's Wife is the place you want to be today if you need to know more about loving and comforting those who are hurting.

new, New, NEW!

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher.

‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!’

‘What does a man gain from all his labor

 at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go, 

but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets, 

and hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows to the south 

and turns to the north;

Round and round it goes, 

ever returning to its course.

All streams flow into the sea, 

yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from, 

there they return again.

All things are wearisome, 

more than one can say.

The eye never has enough of seeing, 

nor the ear its fill of hearing.

What has been will be again, 

what has been done will be done again;

There is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one can say, 

‘Look! This is something new’?

It was here already, long ago; 

it was here before our time.

There is no remembrance of men of old,

And even those who are yet to come 

will not be remembered by those who follow.’"

Wow! What a depressing passage of Scripture! Have you ever felt this way, though? Like everything in this world is without meaning. 

The book of Ecclesiastes was written from the perspective of a man later in his life, looking back. When we’re older, what are we going to look back and see that we were chasing? What are we chasing now that is meaningless? Our efforts and pursuits outside of God working IN us and THROUGH us is completely without meaning to Him. I’m asking the Lord today to show me what it is I am chasing or pursuing or striving toward that is outside of His working in my life…will you do the same thing?

One cool thing occurred to me as I was reading this verse, though: The Lord gave me an answer to one of the questions above. Solomon asked, “Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new’?”

The Bible uses the word “new” many times, but this one is a favorite of mine:

“Yet I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, 

for His compassions never fail. 

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:21-23

His mercies are new every morning……He shows us new things in a New way at a NEW time!

Let’s enjoy the brand new mercies He has for us today, making every opportunity count for Him and not for ourselves. In doing so, our hope will be re-new, New, NEWed!

Help us to do that today, Lord. Be our Source, be our Guide. 

Be what we long for, crave and chase after this day……

In Your Name of Hope we pray, Amen.

***This is a revised reprint of a devo I sent out to my website edevo recipients in 2006. If you would like to sign up for these, click here: Lovinthearts.com Edevo Subscribe Form

Through...

Oh, how Amy Carmichael has ministered to my soul this morning, and I pray she does for you as well. The trials come, my friends, and when they do, we must put our wading boots on and grab the Lord's hand. Here's how Amy puts it:

"I want to give you a word that helped me all yesterday and will help me today. It is the "through" of Psalm 84:6 and of Isaiah 43:2, taken with Song of Songs 8:5.*

We are never staying in the valley or the rough waters; we are only passing through them, just as the bride in the Song of Songs is seen coming up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved.

So whatever the valley is, or however rough the waters are, we won't fear. Leaning upon our Beloved, we shall come up from the wilderness and, as Psalm 84:6 says, even use the valley as a well, make it a well. We shall find the living waters there and drink of them."

*
Psalm 84:6 (ASV): "Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs."
Isaiah 43:2 (KJV): "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee."
Song of Songs 8:5 (KJV): "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?"

~Excerpt taken from Candles In The Dark by Amy Carmichael

Friends, when we wade through the valley of weeping, may we drink from the Living Water. And when we come out dripping, may we also be leaning securely upon our Beloved Father. This is what I want. It is my heart's desire. Amen.


In the Key of HE,

Faith-Colored Glasses

Betsy at Just Another Clay Pot is hosting Fiction Fridays today, so hop on over there for more great fiction.

This is my fiction piece based loosely on some of my own circumstances growing up. Fiction with some truth sprinkled in...


Faith-Colored Glasses

“Hey, FOUR EYES, your mom walks funny!”

I was the only one who wore glasses in the third grade. “My name’s BECKY! And your mom would walk funny, too, if her car had been run over by a semi-truck.”

Their relentless teasing continued. “Oh yeah? Well, maybe if she’d had BIG, THICK glasses like yours, she wouldn’t have crashed!” They stuck their noses in the air, snickering their way into the school.

I hate my life.

******

Dad was in his typical after-work reclined position.

“Becky, just shut up for two seconds, you little brat. I’m tryin’ to watch TV.”

Yuck—his breath stinks.

“Hey Lynn, bring me another beer.”

Get it yourself, you lazy bum. Mom has a headache.

He glared at me. “What are you lookin’ at, Stupid? GET-OUTTA-HERE!”

I hate my life.

******

My choir director had bought me a brand new dress for the occasion--the most exciting dance in the 8th grade--assuring me that I should go.

“Hey, Becky, where’s your dad? This is a DADDY/Daughter dance.”

“He doesn’t live with us anymore.”

“Thaaat’s right. He lives at that—(finger snap)—that—(finger snap)—oh yeah, that tavern on the west side of town…orrrr is it the one on the east side?”

My face caught on fire, and I bolted out of there in tears.

I hate my life.

******


“Mrs. Connor? Hi, it’s Becky. Um, I’m going to have to miss the senior concert tonight. Mom’s in the hospital again. I’m so sorry, they’re not sure what’s wrong with her…”

They’re never sure what’s wrong with her.

“…Yeah, well, I have to get to the hospital. She’s asking for me.”

Like I can do anything.

I was ashamed of my tears. “So much for my solo.”

I hate my life.

******

“Wow, Becky—I can’t believe the way you just put a smile on that little girl’s face. No one else has been able to do that. How do you get inside these troubled kids’ heads?”

It felt so good to have someone compliment me for once. “Well, I guess you could say I understand them.”

Maybe there’s a purpose for my life.

******

I can’t believe I’m here singing in front of the whole college.

“When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way.”

Thank You for shedding Your light on my way, Lord.

“When we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
Even more when we trust and obey.” *

Lord, I accepted You as my Savior when I was six. "Now I want to obey You through ALL my circumstances."

I trust You with my life, God.

******

“Whatcha’ thinkin’ about? Earth to Mom,” asked my daughter.

I scooped her in my arms, then pushed her glasses back onto her nose. “Hi, ‘Lil Dumplin,’ I was just taking a trip down memory lane.”

“Thinkin’ about Gramma again?”

“Yeah, her, among other things.”

“Like?”

“Like the day I began to trust Jesus with my life. I hated my life before then.”

“Daddy says you had an icky childhood.”

“Yeah, it was pretty icky, Punkin’, but you know what? After I said, ‘Okay, Lord, here’s my ick in all its ickiness. Will you please make something of it?’—after I did that, He gave me a special gift.”

Her eyes twinkled with excitement. “What was it, Mommy?”

“A thick pair of faith-colored glasses. And I wore them from that day forward.”

“Faith-colored glasses? Cooooool! What did Gramma look like after you put ‘em on?”

“Different. She still walked crooked…She still had a rough time of it with her brain damage from the car wreck, but…all of a sudden, I noticed new things about her.”

“Liiike?”

“Like how she loved her Bible. How she desperately depended on God for strength. How often she prayed.”

“Wow! That sounds just like you, Mommy.” She pushed up my glasses with her index finger.

I held her close to me. “It does, huh?”

“You know, I think I got a pair of faith-colored glasses, too--at Gramma’s funeral.”

“Yeah?”

She sat up on her knees. “Welllll, I was lookin’ at Gramma’s picture, and I imagined her dancing in Heaven with Jesus. Brand new legs and everything.”

“Yes, honey, those are the same glasses.” She wiped the tear from my cheek.

“I thought so.” She decided it was time to go play.

“Bye, sweetie. Thanks for givin’ Mama sugar.”

“Sure, no problem…FOUR EYES!” Giggles.

“Hey, YOU, look who’s talkin’?”

I love my life.

*****************************************************************************************************

Ephesians 1:18-19a, NIV
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
and His incomparably great power for us who believe…”

* Trust and Obey—Words: John H. Sammis, 1887. Music: Daniel B. Towner


In the Key of HE,

Mama On My Mind

It would have been my mama's birthday today. May 7th, same as my hubby's birthday too. I find myself wishing that God had called me out to write Mom's story while she was still alive, because she has quite a phenomenal story indeed. Can't seem to get my mama off my mind.

The bottom line is that she was handicapped by a tragic car accident in her adulthood. The damage from it caused her years and years of horrific pain that I'm sure no more than a handful have experienced in their lifetime. Though it's taken me my whole life to learn, I am forever endebted to the example she set for me in the faith.

When I get disgruntled, her memory is there. When I get discontent, her memory is there. When I get insecure, her memory is always there. As Mother's Day approaches, it will be my second without her to call on the phone. I miss her. So happy she is whole in mind and body, but I miss her none the same.

God-in-her is the reason that I am who I am today. And what I am is someone who desperately depends on the Lord to get me through each day. She taught me the secret that so many Christians cannot even fathom. It is found in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NIV):

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

The photo above is the last picture my sister and I had with my mom before she couldn't sit up for pictures anymore (only six months later).

Yup, I just got my mama on my mind today...so I may just have to sing a "Happy Birthday" song to her, even if it's just for me.


Two publications have posted my mom's tribute this month, and I am ever so thankful. One is a Christian newspaper in Amarillo, Texas. The other is an online ezine that is viewed all over the world. You can click here if you are interested in reading my mother's incredible story of courage and God-strength: 

http://journezine.com/May08/LessonsShaw/tabid/1648/Default.aspx