Let Your Light Shine

We've all heard the woes of our economic situation. The waves of negativity seem to crash endlessly against our foundations, wearing us down, little by little it erodes as it washes our "hope" away.

If you haven't experienced this, you must live in a closed box without radio, tv or any modern day communication. Either that, or you are blessed with an ability to tune it out. I've found that if you even begin to feel a glimmer of encouragement, there are plenty of people out there ready to remind you of how terrible things really are.

And its only going to get worse. At least that's what they tell you. If you really think about it though, that's saying that things are going to get better. It can be a pessimistic statement, but then again, it can be an optimistic one. Its all about perspective.

After listening to a church sermon recently about our flailing economy, I really had had enough. Forget the economy. The thing that is most discouraging to me is our reaction to it. And if you hadn't guessed it by now, when I say "our"--I'm talking about Christians.

Please understand, I do not mean to downplay the loss of jobs and uncertainty that many people are facing. Our economy is not something that we can find much encouragement in these days.

But it is what it is. God promised that things would not be easy in this world, and its amazing to me the negativity I encounter among people of faith. If this life was so great, than what reason would we have for looking forward to the next one? We're supposed to hold loosely to this world, and the worse it becomes, the easier it is to look ahead.

But that also points to something else. If we truly are living in the "end times," then our divine purpose is ever the more critical-to win people to Christ.

And rather than preaching warnings about the doom and gloom of our economy, lets look to the Bible for the real "warnings" we should be heeding, and these are just a couple I found:

Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

That came from Proverbs 4:23-27. Need one from the New Testament? Believe me, its full of them. But here's a pretty significant one:

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

That's Matthew 26:36-41. Some of Jesus's last words before he was "betrayed into the hands of sinners." He knew how weak we are. His warning against this?: Watch and pray. Watch what? Watch your back? No, I don't think that's what he was saying. I think he was talking about our hearts.

Look back at that Proverb. "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

And then take a look at this one: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:7)

Did you catch that? Peace. Is a heart full of worry and fear about our economy at peace? I'm going to venture to say that its not. If our hearts are full of worry and fear, are we really trusting in a God who has it all under control. This verse says peace is what guards our hearts. When we're not at peace, our hearts are not guarded. They're vulnerable. The very things Jesus warned about "watching."

So what is my point in all of this? Can I say my heart is totally at peace amidst the chaos that seems to embody our world? No, I probably can't. But I do know this: focusing on the bad is not helping. Its hurting. Instead of heeding the "warnings of the world," we should be looking even more to the Word of God. Through devotion and prayer and with the help of the Spirit of the Lord, watch and pray.

And above all else, guard your heart. And remember, you are the light of the world. It may be pretty dark out there, but you're holding the flashlight.

Heritage of Faith

...you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psalm 61:5

If you were to look at my Bible, you would notice that I write in it. Underlined passages, side notes, highlights throughout the pages.

A few years ago, I was going through some books in my parents house and came across several bibles. Every one of them was so worn that the edges had to be taped so that the cover wouldn't fall off. As I flipped through, I noted the underlined passages, side notes, and highlights throughout the pages. Whoever had owned these had obviously spent a great amount of time in them, reading them, memorizing them, "hiding these words in their heart."

As I flipped back to the front of the Bible, inscribed on the inside of its cover I came upon the name of its owner: Cliff Allen-my Great Grandfather.

Although I never really knew him, my Great Grandfather spoke to me through these keepsakes. Several of his Bibles were passed down to my father, all weathered and torn by the years spent in the hands of a faithful man. They were given to my father because it was his grandfather that took him to church, that exemplified a heart of faith, that instilled the faith that he carried on to his own family.

My great-grandfathers faith spoke through the generations and came to rest on me as I flipped through the pages of that old worn out Bible.

Who's hands will my keepsakes fall into? My kids...my grandkids...my great-grand kids? I don't know-but I do know this: I know what heritage I want to leave, and that is a heritage of faith.

Signs of Aging

Something must happen when you get married. I really thought it would be the opposite, you know, being single and feeling old. Not so. These are some things that I have noticed since I've been married that can only mean one thing: ITS AGING ME!

1. First and foremost-I HAVE GRAY HAIR! My mother and aunt warned me about this, but I still am not prepared for the 3 strands that have seemed to appear right in the front where everyone can see--yes, that's right, 3. (I don't remember seeing any before I got married)

2. One word: cellulite. Enough said.

3. Every Saturday night we watch Gaither Homecoming reruns on Public Television.

4. I get excited on Sundays because that's the day the sale ads come out.

5. Every Tuesday I go to HyVee along with the entire population of Davenport's Senior Citizens for two for free Tuesdays. Old people aren't the only ones that like free things! I think at least 90% of the people I see are 40-50 years older than me.

6. I worry not I'm not dressing modestly enough, or that I'm dressing too young for my age.

7. I have a bad back. If I sit too long, it usually takes awhile to get up, and when I finally do, I say, "oh, my back!"

8. If I'm still up after 10, its getting late.

Now off to go work out, put on some hip clothes and dye my hair!

Lucky #7

"I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out my untiring hands
and my soul refused to comforted."

My senior year of college was not as great as the three previous ones had been. It was my senior year and I really still had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I figured I get a job somewhere doing something, and that would suffice for now. I'd figure the rest out later.

I searched and searched for a job to go to after I graduated but seemed to come up empty handed. I randomly applied for the Americorps program after a friend recommended it, which ended up being my one and only option. I didn't really want to take it, but I did.

At this point I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. Any remnant of faith that I had was quickly diminishing.

Then, one night, nearly 6 months into my senior year, I picked up my Bible. Flipping to a random passage, hoping to find some glimmer of encouragement, I happened to flip to this passage. Why this one? Well, if I remember correctly, 7 was my "lucky" number, and Psalm 7 wasn't really doing anything for me, so I tried Psalm 77.

And this is what it said:

"I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
I mused, and my spirit grew faint."
You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak."
"I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
I remembered the songs in the night
My heart mused, and my spirit inquired:
Will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never show his
favor again?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise
failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger
withheld his compassion?

This is exactly how I was feeling. "Yes!...YES!" I thought through tear-stained eyes. I was so amazed and relieved that someone in the Bible itself actually had these same feelings.

But as I kept reading, I discovered that this person had a very different perspective than I did. And it all revolved around this very important word: Then.

"Then, I thought, ''To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High.
' I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty are you redeemed your people,
the descendents of Jacob and Joseph.

"What am I doing?" I thought. I had spent all this time trying to go my own way, then feeling sorry for myself when I suddenly realized I had no direction. How did I get myself here? I had completely disregarded God's goodness, the "deeds of the Lord." I wasn't "meditating on all His works," instead, I was dwelling on my own inadequacy.

I remember very vividly (though not exactly) the words I cried out to the Lord that night: "Lord, I don't know how I got myself here, but I'm sorry, for all my selfishness, for all my feelings sorry for myself...I don't know how I got here, but I pray Lord, that from this moment on, I will surrender...to you, to your will, to all this selfish ambition. Lord, please forgive me."

That was my prayer that night, and that's the moment my life changed.

How exactly did it change?

I used to use language I shouldn't of, and with the Lord's help, I stopped, and I have never done it again. I had a terrible pattern of negative thinking that was causing me to be depressed and had been for quite some time, and with the Lord's help, it also stopped. The music I listened to changed. Three months before I graduated, I started going to a nearby church every Sunday. And I began to read my Bible every day, not just randomly, but consistently, and I've done so ever since.

He cleansed me and made me knew. He set a hope in my heart. "He knew the plans for me...plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.From then on, I would call upon him and come and pray to him, and I knew he would listen. I would seek him and find him, now that I was seeking him with all my heart. I found him, and he brought me out of my captivity." (Jeremiah 29:11-14, paraphrased)

And here's the most amazing part of all. The only door that was left open in terms of a job was to go serve in Americorps for a year. And the closest place I could go to home was Clinton. So, reluctantly, I went. I knew nobody, I felt totally alone and I was completely overwhelmed with the responsibility they gave me. I tried to find a church, but ended up going home every weekend so I could go with my parents. After a few months of driving an hour and a half home every weekend, they suggested that I try the church in LeClaire.

So...I did.

Six months after moving to Clinton, I met my husband. Where was he? At the church in LeClaire. How did I end up in LeClaire? By going to Clinton.

Was this all in the Lord's plan? Of course it was. And that whole having no job thing and not knowing what I was going to do for the rest of my life? I'm a housewife, and I believe that was God's plan all along. I had never even considered the possibility of being a housewife. It was a foreign concept to me. If you met the women in my family, you would understand why.

But here I am.

How did I get here?

By God's grace, and nothing more.

10 Blessings

Recall the gifts God has given you. Which of the blessings would make your top 10 list?

When facing discouragement, frustration, or when you just need to be reminded of God's goodness, look back at your list, pray, and thank God for these blessings. Trust me, it will help!

10 Blessings

1. My husband. In the months before I met Kevin, I prayed that God would send me a man who would respect me, cherish me, and love me for the person of faith that I was. I think he answered that prayer.

2. My home. Though we consider it more of a "first" home and hope to move to the country later, I'm very content with the house we live in.

3. Family. Not only my own family, but the family I've married into and been blessed with.

4. Provision. When I was in Americorps and supposed to be living at or below the "poverty" line, I had to learn to trust the Lord to provide. And He always has. He has never failed me in this regard as long as I have tithed faithfully. Did you know its the only place in the Bible that the Lord says to "test Him?" If you faithfully "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse (for us we take this to mean 10% of our income)," he says he will "throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (Malachi 3:10)

5. Along with #4, I am blessed as a wife by being able to stay at home. When Kev and I were dating I was working, and its amazing the difference its made in the quality of time we spent together. I consider taking care of my husband and my home my #1 priority (after God of course), and I can do that so much better when I don't have to spend the day working at a different job. Its a step of faith to rely on one income, but I believe its worth it (and my husband does too).

6. This may be materialistic, but I'm thankful for our vehicles. They do have their required maintenance (especially mine), but for the most part they're pretty reliable. What's really a blessing is Kev's ability to do the maintenance and repairs on them so we don't have to take them to the shop. I can't imagine how much money we've saved with him doing most of the repairs.

7. Along with #5, my husbands job. Although he does have to be on call every few months, for the most part he works set hours, and when he leaves work to come home, he actually leaves work. Besides the whole family rivalry thing, its not such a bad place to work.

8. Our health. I think its easy to take this one for granted.

9. My creativity. In college, I tried to utilize this to pursue selfish goals (to gain recognition), but at some point I decided that I was going to set that aside until the Lord showed me how I could use it for Him. Now I use my creative flair to do things like make or put together gifts for people, to cook, in decorating the house...its amazing all the opportunities there are in everyday life to express creativity.

10. My salvation, as well as my husbands. I can't imagine how different our marriage would be if we weren't both saved. At one point in my life I didn't think it was all that important to marry a believer, because after all, maybe God wants to use me to lead them to Christ. It can happen, buts its much easier for them to pull you down than for you to pull them up. God knew I needed someone to pull me up.