Some time ago, I was going through a box of my grandmother's photos and I ran across this piece of paper. It looks like a poem or the words to a song; it's in her handwriting. There is no title, no author. I have tried to find some information about it on the internet, but have been unsuccessful. Could it be that it was my grandmother who wrote it? If you have any ideas, please let me know.
I am soooo not a TRUE blogger!I was afraid this would happen at some point – not having the time to write.It’s not like I don’t have anything to say, I have started a total of 39 blogs (that’s 39 different topics) and have not been able to finish even ONE!Now that’s sad.
So for the sake of putting something out there, I thought we (we as in you and me) would talk about faith.Faith is something that most people struggle with from time to time.Just when you think you’ve mastered it WHAM! you find yourself blindsided by yet another faith-shaking situation.
So, what is faith?
The most quoted verse regarding faith is Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.”
Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith goes up the stairs that love built and looks out the window which hope has opened.”
What a beautiful picture!
How do we get faith?
Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
“…we fix our eyes…”What does it mean to fix your eyes on something?The word fix actually means to concentrate but it also means to attach or place permanently – well there’s the problem right there.Our eyes are not permanently attached to God.When we live in a state of communion with God, faith comes naturally.Imagine communion/fellowship with God as an umbrella of protection shielding us from the elements of anxiety, doubt, and fear; once we step out from under that umbrella, we are vulnerable.If we’re going to navigate our way through this wicked world, we are going to have to “…walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), but in order to do that we will have to master the art of fixing our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances.
How much faith do we need?
Well, Matthew 17:20 says “…If you had faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move.Nothing would be impossible.”Did you know that a mustard seed measures only about 1/20th of an inch in diameter?If it takes so little to move mountains, then why is it we struggle so with faith? Surely we can russle up 1/20th of an inch or so...
Henry Ward Beecher may have had the answer to why we struggle with faith...He said, “Every tomorrow has two handles.We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.”He understood that faith is a choice.Even as Christians it’s sometimes easier to give in to those things that challenge our faith than to fight.We would never say with our lips that we choose to believe that God is not able, but in the end isn’t that exactly what we’re doing when we give in to fear and doubt?
I will confess to you that my greatest struggles are not with the big, earth-shattering, life-changing things.My biggest struggle with faith is with the small things.Is God not on the throne in the world of small things also?Of course He is!The challenge for me is to put ALL things into God’s hands, to let Him be Ruler of ALL – my schedule, homeschooling, my thoughts, my tongue, every part of me.
What about you?Do you struggle with faith?Do you struggle with big things, small things, all things?Do you pray as often as I do, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”?Or perhaps you have a specific story of faith. I love it when we come together to share our stories; it's such an encouragement. I hope you'll take the time.
Take a look at some of these great quotes on faith:
“Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.It is the belief that God will do what is right.” Max Lucado
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary.For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.”Author Unknown
“Faith is like radar that sees through the fog – the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.”Corrie ten Boom
“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”Helen Keller
“Where faith is there is courage, there is fortitude, there is steadfastness and strength…Faith bestows that sublime courage that rises superior to the troubles and disappointments of life, that acknowledges no defeat except as a step to victory; that is strong to endure, patient to wait, and energetic to struggle…Light up, then, the lamp of faith in your heart…It will lead you safely through the mists of doubt and the black darkness of despair; along the narrow, thorny ways of sickness and sorrow, and over the treacherous places of temptation and uncertainty.”James Allen
“Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”John Calvin
“Without faith it is impossible to please God…”Paul
I didn’t grow up in the church.I didn’t know God’s Word.I was in my early 30’s before I ever went to Youth Camp; the truth is, I think I got much more out of Youth Camp at 30 something than I ever would have in my teens.Those Youth Camp trips were some of the best times of my life.There is nothing sweeter than watching a gym full of kids raising their hands in praise to the Lord, tears streaming down their cheeks, the altars full, teens of all ages rushing to the front to find out what they have to do to be saved.Imagine an entire week set aside for no other purpose than to develop a closer walk with Jesus.The energy is electric!
To this day I can’t tell you the name of the camp, the name of the speaker, or any of the texts that were used that week.What I can remember is one quote; one quote that will stay with me forever…
“When you get up in the morning you will find that God has been sitting on the end of your bed for hours just waiting for you to wake up so He can talk with you.”
Chew on that for a little while…
We’re in the process of building a new church, I’m talking about an entirely new work; it’s an incredibly exciting time for all of us.But with a new church comes responsibilities that some of us haven’t had in a while.More room means more classrooms.More classrooms mean more teachers, more students, more teams, discipleship training, prayer meetings, Bible studies, VBS, ministries, custodians, etc.The busier we get “working for the Lord” the harder it can get to carve out one-on-one time with Him.
This reminds me of an old Larnell Harris song, I Miss My Time With You.Really think about these lyrics as you read them.
There He was just waiting in our old familiar place,
An empty spot beside Him,
Where once I used to wait
To be filled with strength and wisdom
For the battles of the day.
I would have passed Him by again
But I clearly heard Him say,
Chorus:
“I miss My time with you,
Those moments together.
I need to be with you each day
And it hurts Me when you say
You’re too busy,
Busy trying to serve Me.
But how can you serve Me
When your spirit’s empty?
There’s a longing in My heart,
Wanting more than just a part of you.
It’s true,
I miss My time with you.”
“…you’re too busy trying to serve Me…”
Service in the church…When we become saved, all we can think about is serving God; we’re ready to go to work, to do something, anything for God.We find ourselves taking on any job or position that’s available because we’re excited and we want to be a part of this wonderful organization, to make a difference for God.I can’t tell you how many times I have taken on a job or a position because no one else would take it or because it was a great idea and I wanted to be a part of it. The problem with that was I never consulted God.I never considered my spiritual gift or my talents.Before long I began to find myself experiencing a kind of emptiness.My job/position would then begin to feel like more of burden than a blessing.I couldn’t quit because there was no one else to take over; so I stayed.I would then become more and more ineffective in that ministry; my prayer life would suffer, my attendance might decrease, my ideas diminish, and ultimately my ministry would fail - not to mention how much my family would suffer because of my attitude.Sound familiar?
“…My efforts have no meaning when Your presence isn’t there…”
I would begin to find myself kind of disconnected with God, my first love.We HAVE to stay connected.When we’re connected, we know what God’s will is.We know what job we’re supposed to take or even if we’re supposed to take on a job at all.When we’re seeking God’s will we know which direction to take.When we’re connected, God blesses us and the ministry.
God has blessed each one of us with specific gifts and talents needed to make sure the church operates efficiently.The problem here is, we don’t know what our gifts are so we work outside of them.We also don’t know how to say “no”.We are afraid it might make us appear somehow less spiritual, less cooperative, less _____ (you fill in the blank).
We can find ourselves, over time, just “doing” church.Serving God turns into doing “busy work” for God.We can have the best intentions; after all we’re doing honorable things.However, those particular honorable things may not be on God’s agenda or it may not be God’s timing.
When we get so busy that we don’t even notice God sitting at the foot of our bed, when we rush right past Him to get to the next task, we have a problem.
“…but You’ll provide the power, if I take time to pray.I’ll stay right here beside You and You’ll never have to say, ‘I miss My time with you…’”
This is from the second verse (which I did not print).When we are maintaining that connection with God, we automatically begin operating out of the “overflow”.No longer are we doing things our own way and in our own strength.When we surrender, our schedule becomes His schedule, our agenda His agenda.
Occasionally my prayer has been, “YOU order my steps God.”In that moment, I truly mean it – BUT – if you will notice I said OCCASIONALLY; this is not a prayer I pray daily.I am the self-proclaimed Queen of the Schedule.A couple of blogs ago, I mentioned to you that God is dealing with me on the issue of control.My schedule is one of those areas of control.When we were leading mission trips years ago, the key word was “FLEXIBILITY”.(In fact, I think I was the genius who came up with that!)I struggled with it then and I struggle with it now.“Going with the flow” has never been one of my virtues.
The bottom line here is that I struggle just like you do.I struggle with quiet time, Bible study, commitment, service, and ministry; all of it.However, experience has taught me that I don’t have to “struggle”.I can just maintain a steady connection to my heavenly Father and the overflow of His grace, and His mercy, and His love will spill over onto all these areas through me.
I just need to wake up and welcome my Father who waits at the foot of my bed.
1)ALWAYS wear a slip under a dress or skirt. Every woman should own at least 1 white FULL slip and 1 white HALF slip; 1 black FULL slip and 1 black HALF slip.White is to be worn under light colors and black for darker colors.
2)White is NOT worn BEFORE Easter or AFTER Labor Day.
3)Shoes should NEVER be a lighter color than your slacks.
(i.e. white shoes/black slacks is a definite no-no)
4)Purses should ALWAYS match/coordinate with shoes.
5)NEVER leave the house without wearing lipstick and earrings.
6) A little perfume goes a LONG way.
7)Shoes should ALWAYS be polished.Pay special attention to the HEELS of your shoes; they are the last thing seen as you walk away.
8)ALWAYS leave the house with CLEAN underwear and a DIME in your shoe.
9)LEARN to sleep in curlers and DON’T skimp on hairspray.
My daughter, Emily, is "The Queen of Flip-Flops". She is the only person I know who wears flip-flops allyearlong; it’s crazy!
April, on the other hand, is more like my mother; she is rarely ever seen without her 3 - 4" heels. She will be in my "Real Women Wear Heels" blog.
When Emily finds a “favorite” pair of flip-flops, she tries to buy a pair in every color and she wears them until they fall apart - literally - then she’s on the lookout for her NEXT “favorite” pair.
I have horrible feet!Hang on now, I didn’t say they were ugly; they just hurt all the time.I have spent hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars over the past 10 years or so on doctor’s visits, prescriptions, orthotics, and trying to find the PERFECT shoe.Merrell, Born, Clark, Acorn, Birkenstock, you name it and I’ve probably tried them. To try to stay comfortable, I usually keep shoes all over the house so I can rotate them during the day. Some days I luck onto just the right the combination; other days...
Not long ago, I bought 2 pairs of 99 cent plain ol’ rubber flip-flops for our trip to Destin this past June.The first morning we were there I woke up, swung my legs over the side of the bed, and slipped into my flip-flops--WoW!WHAT?!?You mean I’ve been paying $ XX.00 all these years for “comfortable” shoes when all I had to do was buy a pair of FLIP-FLOPS!I could have bought 80 to 100 pairs for the price I’ve paid for 1 pair of the others!What’s wrong with me?!?
Who invented flip-flops anyway?If my friend Don reads this, he’ll have an answer for us all in seconds!I could have looked it up myself I suppose, but the truth is – I DON’T CARE! My love and respect for flip-flops have been RENEWED!!Kisses and hugs to whoever you are!You have made our lives simple, comfortable, and financially manageable (unlike the guy - and I’m sure it was a guy - who invented panty hose and spiked heels).We salute you, flip-flop guy!
You know, I wore flip-flops most of my young life.Somehow along the way I must have thought I had outgrown them…no matter, I don’t have time to linger when there’s work to be done.Summer will be gone before we know it, (Thank You, Lord!) so I’ve got to get out there and buy up as many flip-flops as I can carry because once they’re gone, we won’t see them again until next May.Don’t be surprised if you see me in January and I’m sporting 99 cent flip-flops.
