Holiday Ruminations

I'm pleased to share an entry from my daughter, Crystal's (Tali's),journal in this blog entry. 2009 could be a rather wild ride. However, I'm happy that if we ask Him to, our Amazing God will come along with us.

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Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
May this coming year bring a greater awareness of His love for you and an expansion of His greatness shining through you. Below is something i wrote today in my journal I thought was worth sharing with friends. Our God is amazing and wild!
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How out of the box.
How crazy.

You create little people – so much smaller than Your vastness, so foolish compared to Your infinite wisdom, always dirtying themselves and their world, making pain for themselves and others, yet quite proud of themselves in their fallacy.

Yet You loved those little people so much that You came up with a wild idea – take their form to create a connection with them. Take their dirtiness and pain on Yourself so they can be cleansed and healed.

Why would You want to limit Your vastness, Your wisdom, Your place of comfort and perfection and instead live in a world they have dirtied and filled with pain?

Your entrance to this adventure would mean a cutting off of awareness, and You knew Your exit would be unimaginably painful

Yet, what is a loving heart if it does not love? What is a gift to loved ones if it doesn't cost us anything?
So You gave the most expensive gift possible to the ones You chose to love.
I would think angels might be easier to love. They treat You right -- worshiping you, fulfilling your every request with joy. But we spit in Your face, ignore You, cheat on You, and deny we know You exist.

Honestly, You have bad taste in lovers!

But perhaps You see something in us that we ourselves don't see.

Some beautiful deposit You put in us that we cover up with our silly efforts to prove our value.

Some neediness in us to be filled with Your love and strength, that we try to fill with other things.

But, with all our false pride and misguided pursuits, we weren't ready to accept Your love.

It's hard for our limited minds to perceive such an immense love that would step across the vast chasm between us and love us unconditionally, despite Your perfection and full knowledge of our lack.

So You have continued to pursue.

Like some crazy love-sick God, You chase after us, making a fool out of Yourself and proving Your love in so many extravagant ways til this day.

What a wild adventurer and lover You are!

Help us to open up and receive Your love! We want to go on wild adventures with you and love like you!
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The Plaque

After my mother died, I divided her belongings among family members. There was one thing, however, that I especially wanted for myself—a simple brown plaque with gold writing. She displayed it in the various homes we lived in over the years. It’s message? Prayer Changes Things.
And where did I place it? An unusual place: above the mirror in the bathroom, directly across from the toilet seat. This reminded me several times a day that prayer does indeed change things.
About the time I hung the plaque, one of our daughters was in love with a man many years older than she. When she came home, they spent hours each evening on cross-country phone calls. A marriage seemed inevitable. As parents, we hoped and prayed for a husband closer to her age.
Despite my anxiety, the plaque reminded me: Prayer Changes Things. As I read those words, I’d say, “Lord, I don’t see how You can change this, but I know You can do anything. If this match isn’t Your best for her, change her desires.
A few months later, our daughter broke off the relationship. God does indeed change things that we humans cannot.
God has not yet brought His choice mate into our daughter’s life, but I believe He will. And He helped her avoid a wrong choice.
Now, I have a different kind of problem that to me seems insurmountable. However, I believe it too will be resolved, for I know Prayer Changes Things.

Calvary Broke the Dragon's Head

On this Resurrection weekend, I praise God for giving His son as a sacrifice for my sins. Through Jesus, I have eternal life. For a more complete treatment of the cross and what it means, please go to www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=459

I recently received this prayer, and I want to share it with you.


Puritan Prayer

"O LORD, I bless Thee that the issue of the battle between Thyself and Satan has never been uncertain, and will end in victory.

Calvary broke the dragon's head, and I contend with a vanquished foe, who with all his subtlety and strength has already been overcome.

When I feel the serpent at my heel may I remember Him whose heel was bruised, but Who, when bruised, broke the devil's head.

My soul with inward joy extols the mighty conqueror.

Heal me of any wounds received in the great conflict; if I have gathered defilement, if my faith has suffered damage, if my hope is less than bright, if my love is not fervent, if some creature-comfort occupies my heart, if my soul sinks under pressure of the fight.

O Thou whose every promise is balm, every touch life, draw near to thy weary warrior, refresh me, that I may rise again to wage the strife, and never tire until my enemy is trodden down.

Give me such fellowship with Thee that I may defy Satan, unbelief, the flesh, the world, with delight that comes not from a creature, and which a creature cannot mar.

Give me a draught of the eternal fountain that lieth in Thy immutable, everlasting love and decree.

Then shall my hand never weaken, my feet never stumble, my sword never rest, my shield never rust, my helmet never shatter, my breastplate never fall, as my strength rests in the power of Thy might."

Amen

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Lake Kasumi, Edosaki, Japan

Prayers Worthy of an Almighty God

My nine-year-old grandson, Jonathan and I were talking about one of the miracles of the Bible, and I made the mistake of saying, “And God did an unusual thing.”

“Why was that unusual?” he asked.

Taken aback, I stumbled around in my thoughts trying to find a satisfactory response, but I found none. Finally I admitted, “It really shouldn’t be, but we don’t always have the faith to believe God, as we should.”

You may have felt that way. The miracles of the Bible are wonderful, but they are so far and few between now. Dare I even ask for one for fear it won’t happen.

Lately, I’ve been asking God to help me pray prayers worthy of an almighty God. I marked a new notebook with the words, My Miracles Book and began writing prayers that I believe will honor God when answered, even if they seem impossible. I list prayers for salvation of an unsaved family member, reconciliation with relatives that are emotionally distant, healings (physical and emotional), even publication of children’s books that I believe will bless others, but are slow finding a publisher.

I started this book only a few months ago, and would you believe that one of the miracles of reconciliation I listed has already happened?

Now, as we start 2008 is a great time to begin such a book. Let’s ask God to accomplish greater things than we can even ask. Please let me know as your miracles begin to emerge.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20, 21

Lord, Send the Angels

All I can do is pray. Ever feel like that? I do, often. That’s the way I felt the day of the big crash on the curve near my home. Car wrecks there had become common. I’d prayed for crying passengers and tended cuts, bruises and called police before. “Drivers aren’t sufficiently warned of this curve,” I complained.
This time the sound shook the kitchen, and I went running. A car load of high school students on their way home—the long way. A young driver, trying out his mom’s new car failed to negotiate the curve. He over-corrected himself on the wet pavement and slammed into a tree.

The young driver wandered around the road, dazed. Five girls screamed in pain, jammed into the car. Back to the phone I ran, called 911, called the church prayer chain, put hot tea in a thermos and hurried back.

“Lord, send the angels,” I cried as I ran. “Lord, send the angels.”
Cars had stopped. Someone helped one of the girls out of the vehicle. A lady comforted the crying girls. Another prayed for the one behind the driver who seemed hurt worst. Moments seemed like hours as we awaited the ambulances. Since others were around the car, I stood back and prayed. I prayed for their lives and for their salvation. And I kept praying, “Lord, send the angels.”

Guests from a nearby home brought blankets for those chilling in the Oregon rain. And finally, the ambulance and fire trucks arrived. The one girl was taken by life-flight to the university hospital. Others went to the local hospital.

Days passed before I realized the Lord had answered my cry. Angels had come in the form of people—those who prayed with and comforted the girls, those who brought blankets, and eventually the emergency medical people. Not enough could be done, though, and one girl died, a Christian girl, and the only one using a seat belt.
Shaken by the tragedy, I took around a petition for neighbors to sign asking the roads department to lower the speed limit, put in a speed bump, give better warning. I asked the high school to limit students driving to school to those who needed to drive themselves, and ban passengers in student-driven vehicles. Not much happened, though the roads department did put up an arrow, indicating the curve in the road. I’d done everything I could. Disappointment set in. What else could I do?

A girl lost her life. A family mourned. I didn’t want it ever to happen again. So this time I prayed, “Lord, send an angel. Station him on that curve. Prevent further accidents there.”

And, you know, that was many years ago, and there hasn’t been a serious accident there since, to my knowledge. Praying brings the best results of anything I can do.