Things I Learned from Hurricane Matthew

1. A flood and a storm surge are NOT the same thing. Last year we had what the weather people called “A 1,000 Year Flood.” There had not been a flood like that in a really long time, and it would be a really long time before we saw another such flood. I live on a tidal creek, so we did have a lot of water in our yard during that flood. It was the most my husband had ever seen, and he has lived on our street his entire life. The water almost came into our shed (6 inches to go). It was 20 feet from our back steps. All was well. So, as we prepared for Hurricane Matthew, we got ready for wind damage, trees falling, not water. We have almost 40 large trees in our yard. We claim the two tallest pine trees in our neighborhood, so this was a concern. We piled things in the shed at low levels, in case a tree or big branch fell on the roof: weed eaters, battery chargers, generators, things with motors that shouldn’t get wet. The shed already houses 3 freezers and my husband’s Harley – things that also shouldn’t get wet. We packed it all in, closed the door, and thought we were good. I went to my father’s house about a mile away. My husband went down the road to his sister’s. He wanted to be close in order to keep an eye on things. We had already seen what a 1,000 year flood could do, but as the hurricane force winds pushed the high tide into our yard, we realized a storm surge is NOT a flood. The water kept creeping into our yard, onto the carport, into the shed, up to the back steps. Things floated around in the sea of our yard: fire wood, buckets, dock poles, tires. Salty water seeped into every motor in the shed. My husband called me every few minutes with an update. There wasn’t anything he could do but watch and pray. In a situation like this, that is all you can do, which leads me to the second thing I learned. 2. God answers prayers! This, of course, is not a new thing I learned from Hurricane Matthew, but I was certainly reminded of it time and again as reports from my friends came in, friends I had been praying for. One friend’s house in downtown Charleston was thought to be under water. Praise the LORD, the street was a little flooded, but that was it! Another friend who lives on the beach thought her house would be demolished in the wind and water. It stood strong and she was out collecting conchs on the beach the next day, all her worries gone. Thank You, LORD! The praise reports kept pouring in. My phone kept lighting up with good news. What could have been terrible blew past us. God is good! I keep thinking about how often our LORD protects us from danger. Sometimes it is things we anticipate and are anxious about. Sometimes it is things we don’t even see. These things blow past us at the hand of our LORD. I keep thinking about David’s song to the LORD in Psalm 32 verses 6 and 7:

“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah!”

The LORD is our hiding place. He protects us from trouble. And we who braved Hurricane Matthew are singing songs of deliverance today. Selah! Praise You, LORD! Thank You for Your great love!

Sharing My Thoughts

So, here I am typing on this blog. It has been many years since I have posted anything. Life is slowing down now and I have some time to think and to write and to share. One of my very best friends is a quilter. Wanda always has a quilt, actually many quilts, in the making. She loves to match the colors of different materials, cut the pieces, sew the squares, and put all the pieces together. She finds ways to share her quilts with others. She gives them to friends and family. She makes them for foster children and homeless moms. She gives them to expecting mothers, and the elderly in nursing homes. A little bit of her love sprinkled all over her sphere of influence. I was thinking about Wanda and her quilts the other day and how she finds a way to share them with others. She doesn't keep them all for herself packed away in boxes in a closet. She shares them. I love this about Wanda. I was also thinking about me and my writing. I don't share it so much. I keep it packed away in little journals on my book shelf. What good is it doing anyone there? Am I saving it for posterity? Will it just be thrown away when I'm gone? I wish I were more like Wanda, always finding a way to share my labors of love. With that in mind, I have decided to start posting again - even if I don't feel like I have time. I wrote this morning. Here is what I have to share today: I was thinking the other day about what God has done for us – the whole “you only need faith because God has done the rest” thing. It is simple, but it is also complex. The complexity, in fact, a-mazes me! In its simplest form, a person realizes they are a sinner, they understand they can’t change that, they know that Jesus took their penalty for sin when he died on the cross, and so they are forgiven and saved through their faith in Jesus. Simple. However, when you begin to dig deeper, it is like picking one snowflake from the simple white snow-covered ground, and examining it under the microscope. The shape and beauty and complexity of that one simple flake make it amazing. Consider some of the details. God wants relationship with us. He wants us to know Him. He designed us so that we could. He has characteristics that we would never experience if life were perfect. Forgiveness, compassion, provision – these would be lost in a perfect world. We would not know God fully without knowing He held these characteristics. God is also truth. He dwells in truth. Would we truly choose Him if given a choice? This truth is, as individuals given a choice, some would choose God and some would not. He wants the truth. He gave us free-will in order to maintain the truth of our relationship with Him. No forcing, no robots, but freely choosing God, that is the truth free-will offers. Free-will leads to a whole bunch of other issues. Sin is one of them. When we are free to choose, we often choose the wrong thing. We choose to please ourselves, do what feels best, turn away from God. He knew this would happen; He is our creator. Therefore, He set in place a way to be forgiven from the sins grown in free-will. After all, is goal is to be our God and for us to be His people. He loves us and wants us with Him. But, He knew that with our free-will, we could never attain sinlessness. It just wouldn’t happen. He also knew that setting up a list of things for us to in order to win our salvation would #1 – fuel our pride and #2 – not allow us to understand His grace. Creating a works-based system would not work. In fact, it would drive us away from Him and toward ourselves. So, in His wisdom, God sent His son. Jesus did what we could not: live a perfect life, be a perfect and unblemished sacrifice, face the wrath of God, take our punishment, and rise again. God sent the Worthy Lamb! This is one of the things that so amazes me: He knew we couldn’t save ourselves, so He id it for us. He wants us. He loves us. He didn’t leave us to do this alone. Jesus came down, Emmanuel- God with us, to walk with us on this sinful earth, to teach us the truth, to be the way for us to reach our Heavenly Father. Amazing! And when Jesus had fulfilled his job and went back to sit at the Father’s right hand until his next return, God did not leave us alone. He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us. And not just to walk beside us, but to be in us, help us, guiding us. We do not have to do this alone. He is always with us. “I will put a new spirit within you . . . I will put My Spirit with you . . .” says the LORD (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Are you listening? Can you grab hold of this? As Christian people of faith, we are not alone! God’s Holy Spirit is in us! This is amazing! You know, I think many people view the God of the Bible as a condemning, over-expecting deity who stands on the shore and points at us flailing in the water and shouts, “Wrong! You sinner! Get away from Me!” This is not a true picture of God. Instead, He wades out into the water with us and says, “Here! Hold on! I can help you.” This is a totally different picture. It is grace given by an all-knowing creator who is our Heavenly Father. All the other religions in the world are works-based. You work to walk the paths to Nirvana, work to please many gods, work to obey all the ordinances, work to uphold all the laws, work to earn your righteousness, work to get to heavenly places. The burden is on you – an imperfect sinner. The outcome is based on your abilities, your obedience, your efforts. “Believe in yourself,” the world chants. “You can do it!” “Try and try again and again and again . . .” “Follow all these laws and you’ll be fine.” “Work and stay on the path.” “Follow. Work. Do. It is all up to you,” is the mantra of the world. But Jesus cries, “Come to me, all your who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus has done the hard work. We can rest from the striving to save our souls. Jesus is gentle and humble, welcoming us with compassion and love and without condemnation. His burden is easy and light because the work that we do is out of gratitude. It is work done as a thank you for his grace and mercy and for our redemption. And work done in gratitude is joyful and rewarding. People claim the God of the Bible is demanding and uncompassionate. I ask you: Who is more demanding? The god that says, “Work hard to get it done yourself,” or the God that says, “Here! I’ve done it for you. Take it”? Who is more compassionate? The god that says, “Try and try again. You might get it eventually,” or the God that says, “Here! Let me help you with that” ? The answers are obvious. The complexity of God’s plan makes it incredibly intelligent and compassionate. And yet, it is so very simple. A-mazing! I hear the strains of a Newsboys song echoing through my thoughts: Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my King, should die for me. Amazing love, and I know it‘s true. It’s my joy to honor You. In all I do, to honor You. Praise You, LORD. Thank You. You are AMAZING!

Blogging again...for now!

I am posting this to just try it again. I am also posting a picture just to see. It is one that Jeffrey likes.

Been a long time . . .

Wow! Has it really been that long since I've posted anything on this lonely blog?

That just goes to show how utterly busy I have been. But, spring break is on the way - just 9 school days away!

I may have neglected my blog, but I haven't neglected my journal. I just haven't had the time to share some of my thoughts.

But, it is a rainy Sunday afternoon and I've been itching to type. So here goes . . .

My March 1st memory verse was 2 Corinthians 1:20.
"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."

Choosing a verse to memorize is such a blessing because it gives you time to concentrate on that one thought. I chose this verse because of the idea of promises but the word that ended up catching my attention was the word "Amen".

A common word - one we use often - and one that the LORD and I have had some conversation about over the years. I started thinking about this word. What does it mean? I've always seen it as a closing and a word of agreement. I decided to look it up in my Vines dictionary.

The Vines gave me some other verses where the word "Amen" had been used in the original text but not necessarily translated as "Amen". Here are some things I found:

1."Amen" suggests God's faithfulness.
Deut. 7:9 and Isaiah 49:7 both use the word in this way.

2."Amen" suggests God's truth.
Isaiah 65:16 uses "God of truth" in place of "Amen" and helps us to understand it is a guarantee, a promise.

3. "Amen" is used as a title of Christ in Revelation.
Rev. 3:14 "...These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation."

4. "Amen" is used in the New Testament as a word of agreement, such as in 1 Corinthians 14:16.

5. "Amen" is used by Jesus but it is translated "verily" or "I tell you the truth"; so, again, we see the word suggests truth.

Imagine that . . . "Amen" means so much more than just a closing. It is faithful, true, trustworthy, a promise fulfilled.

I started thinking about Jesus on the cross and his final words. Picture this . . . a lonely hilltop, far away. The son of man, beaten and bloody hanging from the cross, head down, exhausted and in pain. He raises his head and breathes the words, "It is finished."

Jesus' work on the cross is our "Amen". He sealed up God's promises with his sacrificial blood. It is done! Our sins are forgiven. Our freedom is bought.

"So no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. So that through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."

Thank you LORD for revealing yourself to us, for giving us new ideas about old words. Your word truly is alive and active and I am so excited about that.

Thank you, LORD!
AMEN!

The LORD's Army

Here it is – the holiday season and I have been struck with grouchiness! Just about everything has gotten on my nerves lately. I’ve been feeling lonely, taken advantage of, emotionally abused, without companionship . . . My list could go on.

I really want to be in the holiday spirit and be excited but all these other things are getting in my way. I’m sure that is exactly how Satan would want it. The Bible tells us that our battles are not earthly but spiritual and I’m assuming that is especially the case with this kind of thing. It is definitely Satan. He just doesn’t want me to enjoy the holiday season.

Saturday Jeff and I were watching Crocodile Dundee on TV. It’s been a while since I’d seen it. Mick is a pretty slick character. Once he got those bad guys back on his own turf, they were done for. His battle tactic was to create a diversion and while everyone was in a panic, he would carry someone off. He called in some bats one time, fired some shots in a different direction another time and even had a fake crocodile emerge through the murky water to “eat” someone.

Simple and effective. Create a diversion, then, go in for the attack. I’m sure that battle tactic has been used many times throughout history. So, I ask you, why wouldn’t Satan do the same? Create a diversion . . . go in for the attack. Or, create a diversion to keep us off task. Really, he doesn’t even need to attack; he just needs to re-direct our focus and keep us from doing God’s will or enjoying the peace and joy we’ve been given. Just a little diversion and . . . well, he’s successful.

That’s what he’s been doing to me. I’m particularly diverted when my emotions are involved. Satan knows that. He’s used that one in the past and it works. If he can get my emotions flared up, I’m down for the count. Here are some thoughts that always get my attention:

“Woe is me. No one likes me.”
“I’m a loser. I can’t do anything right.”
“I’m all alone.”
“I can’t stand it when he or she does . . . (whatever)”
“I have to do all this work by myself while everyone just watches.”
“No one cares for me.”

My list could go on but those are some typical lures Satan uses to divert my attention. I think I’ve felt all those things and more in the past week.

But, those thoughts aren’t the truth. They are a smoke screen – a lie. If I let them play out in my mind, they will overtake me. Satan won’t have to do a thing. I’ll consume myself with thoughts of myself and how awful my plight in life. That will be the end of me for a while. Isn’t he clever?

David, our youth minister, has a saying that rings in my ears today.
“It’s not about you. Get over yourself.”
He tells the youth this all the time when we’re on a mission trip. He says, “It’s gonna get hot. You’re gonna get tired and frustrated. It’s not gonna be easy. But you are here for the kids. You are here to do God’s work. This isn’t about you.”

What he’s telling them is don’t be diverted by yourself. Don’t lose focus. Keep your eyes on the goal and do not allow little things that don’t matter in the end to keep you from serving God. He’s so right!

I’ve fallen for the diversion yet again!

I’ve been consumed with myself and things that don’t matter because they aren’t the truth. I’ve taken my eyes off serving the LORD. I’ve even allowed my joy to be dragged off during the diversion.

We’ve all got our weaknesses when it comes to diversions. What captures my attention might not even make you blink and vice versa. Be assured, Satan knows what works for each of us. He has studied us closely. Some things really are a battle and they require a spiritual fight – prayer and fasting and wielding our sword constantly. But, some things are just a diversion – a smoke screen, something to keep us occupied and not on target with the LORD. Some diversions just steal our joy.

May we be a people that know the difference between real battle and planned diversions. May we be strong enough to not even flinch at those distractions. May our eyes be so focused on the LORD that we never fall for the lure to be taken off track. Then, we will be able to do more for our LORD and savior.

Can you see us – decked out in our armor? Polished shield of faith. Sparkling breastplate of righteousness. Helmet of salvation fitted tightly. Belt of truth fastened around. Our shoes ready to move. The light of our LORD radiating from our drawn swords. We stand together . . . strong, holy, ready to fight, already victorious. Don’t you know the sight of us makes demons flee because we are His. We are the LORD’s army! Praise You, LORD!

Lord, help me . . . help us to be the soldiers you’ve called us to be - ready and able, equipped with Your word and Your righteousness. Let us stand unflinching before You. Let us not be distracted. Let us keep our eyes on You. Let us forever serve You, going out in the world to do the good works which You’ve prepared for us to do. We want to be strong soldiers in Your army. Help us, LORD! In Jesus’ mighty name . . .

Butterflies and Thanks

Wednesday of this week I had surgery on my eye to repair my damaged tear ducts.


Did you you know that your tear ducts function like a vacuum? They whisk away the tears in your eye into a duct that leads to your nose where they evaporate, I guess. That is why your nose gets stuffy when you cry. Anyway, if your tear ducts close off, your eye cannot fuction properly.

I am completely amazed at what doctors can do. Who would have figured that they could reconstruct my tear ducts to allow my eye to whisk away the tears.

What is even more amazing is my God . . . who thought of all these little details, so many details that we haven't even figured them all out yet. He is an awesome God and I am completely thankful that He has given knowledge to doctors so that healing for many things is very possible in today's time. Praise you LORD! Thank you for healing!

I was a little anxious about my surgery since I had never had any surgery before. I was in the pre-op area and was all prepped and ready. Above me, painted on a ceiling tile, was a butterfly. It looked like a child had painted it. It had colorful wings with hearts on them. I liked it and looked around the ceiling to spot some other painted tiles, but it was the only one. Right above my head it floated above me and I recalled 11 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come."

Now, to anyone else, that little butterfly might have just been a pretty little something to look at, but to me, it was God speaking. He knew I knew the verse and He knew that I had prayed for new tear ducts. Oh how sweetly, His voice sang over me in that moment that I realized that butterfly was just for me - a message from my LORD that my prayer was answered. The old tear ducts are gone and new have come. (I know that isn't what the verse is talking about, but it sure is what He was saying to me in that moment.) I laughed at the irony, or providence, of it all and thanked Him for letting me know. It was the last thing I remember seeing before I woke up.

Oh, God is good! He is there right when we need Him.

Thank you LORD! Thank you for sending little messages our way. Thank you for singing over us. Thank you for loving us! You are AMAZING!

Be Still

Have you ever been in a place in your life that felt like uncharted waters? Your world is rocking. There is turbulence all around. You can’t get your bearings because you are being tossed to and fro like someone in a boat on troubled seas. That’s where I’ve been lately. Every morning I wake to feel the storm still raging.

I started thinking about this boat and storm idea yesterday and thought about the story in Mark where Jesus calms the storm. So, I decided to read it and see what the LORD had to tell me. I wanted to know how my story is similar, even thought it is a storm of emotions.

The first thing I noticed was that Jesus was the one who suggested they take the boat across to the other side.

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.” (Mark 4:35)

The disciples did not plan to go over there and probably wouldn’t have gone if Jesus had not suggested it. It was their Lord’s idea to go. Now, Jesus knows all things. He knew there would be a storm, so he must have pointed them in this direction for a reason. The storm was part of his plan.

This is very much like my story. I did not plan for these recent events to happen in my life. They are not of my making. I’ve just been sailing along. Maybe I saw some storm clouds on the horizon. Perhaps I heard some thunder in the distance. I did not expect to be overcome by this squall, however. But Jesus did.

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped.” (Mark 4:37)

I have felt exactly this way – in a furious storm, being battered from side-to-side by my emotions. Full of compassion one moment. Full of anger the next. Waves of emotions have crashed over me so that I’ve been nearly swamped by them – unable to concentrate on anything else and unable to right my boat. Keeled over – first one way, then the other – that’s what I have been.

Have you ever felt this way? I hope you had Jesus on your boat!

“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mark 4:38-39)

Like the disciples, I have Jesus on board, thankfully. I have cried the same thing to him, “Lord, look at what is happening! I can’t fix this! Do something!”

He has said the same thing back to me, “Be still! Be still! Be still!”

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .” (Psalm 37:7)

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

“Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39)

I even heard him whispering this to me in a children’s movie at the theater last Friday. In the movie Where the Wild Things Are, the boy, Max, was very emotional. He was allowing his emotions to take control over him. They dictated his actions. His anger was about to eat him up. He had to say, very firmly, “Be still!” to the Wild Things. Reminded me of myself.

“Quiet! Be still!” The Lord told the storm and it was completely calm.

“He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (v. 40)

I have come to realize that my situation is not really my problem. It is someone else’s problem and I can’t fix it. The Lord will work that out. He has promised me He will. My problem is my emotions about the situation. That is where the storm is raging.

“Quiet! Be still! . . . Do you still have no faith?”

The Lord has assured me over and over that this will turn out for my good and His glory. I must have faith in that. Allowing my emotions to storm, tossing me from side-to-side shows I do not trust what he has promised. It suggests I “still have no faith.”

We are going to the other shore. Jesus has pointed us in that direction. He has set me on this course. It was part of his plan. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. He knew the storm would come. But he is with me and has assured me we will get there safely. So, the question is, will I listen and obey and be still?

To the disciples Jesus revealed part of who he is, “Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (v. 41b) He wants to reveal something to me as well. Will I “Be still” and listen?

Will I allow my faith in Jesus Christ to quiet my emotional storm?
Will I step up boldly each time the winds begin to blow and say, “Be still!”
Will I allow him to reveal himself to me?
What would I know about my Lord and Savior if I would stop and allow him to be in control?

I’ve decided I would rather get to the other shore in awe of my Lord instead of emotionally worn out.

I don’t know if this word speaks to you. I hope it does. We all have our moments in the middle of the storm. Let us “Be still,” and allow Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to calm the waves.

Thank you, Jesus.
Keep us pointed in your direction and on even keel.
In Jesus’ name . . .