Cheap Imitations

They were just little twinkle lights that looked like fireflies in the trees, but I thought about them often after I walked away that day leaving them on the store shelf. Little lights shining in the dark make me happy.

When I saw them the next spring, I quickly put them in my buggy. I couldn’t wait for dark when I could watch them twinkle in my own backyard trees. My husband plugged them up, and as the sun faded in the sky, we ceremoniously flipped the switch. Little green lights danced on the trees, not quite like fireflies. I acted excited, but honestly, I was somewhat disappointed. After a year of thinking about them, they didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I thought about those lights when my husband and I were out in the boat one day. He fishes. I read. We trolled into this little cove escaping the main flow of the river. It was a glorious spring day. The sky was perfect blue. The leaves were newly bright green. Fluffs of willow seeds floated through the breeze like thousands of dandelion tufts. I was enjoying the sun and my book when we floated under the canopy of trees. I looked up to adjust my eyes in the dimmer light and that’s when I noticed: thousands of lights shimmering in the trees. Everywhere they danced, moving, swaying, glittering, twinkling. I caught my breath. “Oh look!” I exclaimed. “Look at the trees!” “Yeah, that’s nice,” my husband replied, more interested in his bobber.

It was the sunlight sparkling off the moving water, casting its reflection above on to the trees. It was captivating! As I sat there in this glorious spectacle designed by God, I could not help but think: No twinkle light could ever compare to the handiwork of God. No wonder I was disappointed in my store-bought lights.

But I wonder how often we settle for cheap imitations instead of looking for the real thing. How often do we fill our lives with a continuous scroll of superficial posts from friends when what we need is the deep abiding relationship of our Lord? How often do we over consume to feel some sort of satisfaction when what we need is but a drink of the living water offered by Jesus to quench our desires? How often do we search for something to fill us up, move our hearts, bring rest to our weary souls? The idols of this world do not have what we need. They are only cheap imitations packaged and parked on a shelf for easy consumption.

Our idol-filled world can feel hopeless but our God is faithful. Cast aside the cheap imitations you are clinging to. They may sparkle, but they can never shine as brightly as our Lord’s love. Like spring overtaking winter, the Lord can overtake your idol-filled heart with a symphony of song, twinkling sunshine, green leaves, and bright flowers. So, “stop and consider the wondrous works of God” and worship Him (Job 37:14).

Momma and God

Momma died the summer of 2017. The Lord gave me the honor and privilege of walking with her through her last days. When the Alzheimer’s first set in, and the reality of it stared me down. I was scared. It all seemed so complicated and overwhelming. I know that God can use all things to strengthen us, so in the beginning I came to the conclusion that when Alzheimer’s strikes, it is His way of building perseverance in the caregiver. I was thinking, “Momma’s mind is gone; whatever the Lord does with this will be for those helping her.” After all, He tells us in James 1:2-5:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

I needed lots of wisdom to deal with this disease: how to care for her, how to deal with money, how to deal with her property, how to deal with the personalities in my family. I called on the Lord – a lot. I needed physical and emotional strength to persevere through this long disease. He answered my prayers, but my eyes were on how He was helping me with all of the complicated things. I never noticed what He was doing for Momma – until one spring day.

I picked Momma up for lunch at my river house. When we arrived, and she was seated in the rocker on the porch, she looked around and exclaimed, “Oh my, look at what God has done! Isn’t it beautiful! The trees . . . and the river! Just look! God is so good!” And Momma began to sing. She sang one hymn after another, praising the Lord with all her soul. Her voice was shaky and she often got the words wrong, but she sang sweet praises to her Lord.

I stood there crying. How simple. How sweet. It dawned on me that God was with her just as much as me. He helped her in simple ways her mind could understand: beautiful scenery, hymns, music, visitors, good food, and sweet caregivers. I know the Lord was helping her even at the end as she talked to the carpenter standing beside her bed – the carpenter I couldn’t see, but I’m sure was there.

Never did He leave us. Never did He forsake us. Our Lord was with each of us in the way we needed most. I learned that day that even when things seem complicated, His presence is simple. Simple and sweet. Momma was right. God is so good! Whatever way you need Him most today, He is simply there. It may be the smallest thing, but it is strategically placed right there just for you. Praise Him!

The Vacuum Cleaner and the Revealing Light

The Vacuum Cleaner and the Revealing Light

I got a new vacuum cleaner about a month ago. I hate it! It has a light. That is the worst part. The light, which should give me a better view of the floor so I know where to steer the vacuum, only reveals what I’m leaving behind: dirt, dust, dog hair, people hair, leaves, and other floor trash. The vacuum sucks some of it away – in little strips, but it leaves a huge amount. It just can’t dust mop hardwood floors. I should feel good about vacuuming and how clean my floors are after I’ve spent all that time on them. But I can’t. I don’t. The revealing light has shown me what I’ve left behind, and even though I can’t see it when the light is gone, I know.

For a while I would dust mop and then vacuum, but that felt like I was doing two jobs, and I soon got tired of that. So, I just quit vacuuming unless I really, really had to. I swept or swiffered or picked things up with my hands, just so I didn’t have to break out the dreaded revealing light.

You know God and His word are compared to light.

Psalm 19:8(b) – “ The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

Psalm 119:105 – “ Your word is a lamp unto my feet and light for my path.”

Psalm 119:130 – “The unfolding of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

John 8:12- “ When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 1:5 – “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”

The God of all creation is light. His commands give light. His word gives light. This light gives understanding. It brings life. The light reveals God’s commands. We understand them, and we understand we are sinners in light of them. We cannot possibly follow those ten commands and get it right all the time. The revealing light of the LORD shows us exactly how dirty we are. That is a fearful place to be – in the dreaded revealing light looking at all the dirt.
So what do you do? Do you work really hard doing all kinds of things to clean yourself up? Do you clean up this or that . . . because all is too much? Do you just quit trying – put up the light of the LORD because it shows you too much? Is it too overwhelming? What do you do? The dirt doesn’t go away. Just because you don’t pull out the dreaded revealing light doesn’t mean it isn’t there; you just can’t see it as clearly. And, you know, its stacking up – all the that ignored dirt. Its growing.

I was feeling pretty hopeless about my floors, knowing all that dirt was there and knowing the vacuum I had wasn’t really doing that job I needed done, when one night, while watching tv, I ran across an infomercial for a vacuum. Now, I don’t normally pay attention to those things. I flip, flip, flip, right past them. But this one – ah! This one was something I needed. The longer I watched this informercial telling about the two rollers and no loss of suction, the more I knew I needed it. The front roller was the secret. Its soft, red, velvety construction picked up all the fine dust, dog hair, and particles that a one roller vacuum leaves behind. The light on this baby reveals, but the red velvet roller cleans it all up. What a wonderful vacuum! I knew this was the answer to all my floor woes. I ordered it!

Now I have a new, new vacuum. It works wonderfully, and does exactly what the informercial said it would do. My floors are clean – and my ceilings and my walls and my curtains! In fact, I will find a reason to bring the vacuum out for some cleaning. I’m so excited to both know how dirty my floors were, and to know how clean the little red-velvet roller gets them.
This is where Psalm 27:1 comes into our “The LORD is my light” story:
“The LORD is my light, and my salvation – whom shall I fear?”
Yes! The LORD is my light. His commands reveal where I sin. His word unfolds, giving light and understanding. But, He doesn’t leave me trying to clean things up on my own. The velvet, red blood of Jesus washes away my sins. Jesus cleans up the dirt – the drifts and eddies and piles of dirt. He wipes them clean and takes them away. I am left knowing how much dirt the light of the LORD revealed in my actions and my heart, and, most of all, knowing that my precious Jesus took it away! What a marvelous thing!

No longer do I have to struggle to clean it all up myself or pick and choose what to clean or even ignore it. Now, I can look over my life and say,
“The LORD is my light, AND my salvation – whom shall I fear?”

My friend, you can say the same thing too. Jesus is your salvation as well. Know that he has done the work you cannot do. Jesus has taken away the sins of the world. Rest in this! Live in joyful obedience to a savior who has washed you white as snow.

Thank you, Jesus, that You both reveal my sins and take them away. It is the gift of knowing - knowing what was there, and knowing that it is not there any longer. It is the gift of grace, for I do not deserve your great and generous forgiveness, but you give it to me anyway. You give it to me out of love. And all I can say is “Thank you . . . Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The Dance

I have a friend who is a single mom. She gets very little help from her ex-husband financially or otherwise. In fact, he causes more stress in her life than is necessary. My friend works two jobs, maintains her home and finances. She parents a teenage daughter and an elementary school daughter; a huge task by yourself. She juggles their school activities, their extra-curricular activities, and their personalities. She volunteers at church, leads a small group, heads numerous committees at work, and is completing her masters degree. She does this all with a smile on her face, and while reaching out to others. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it all.

She called me the other day to tell me about a dream she had. She was dancing with a man. They danced for a while; she was enjoying it. Then he said, “Let me lead.” And she let him. A huge burden was lifted from her as she allowed him to take the lead. Relief and relaxation flooded into her being. Surely this was representative of her life. In her waking thoughts, she longed for this release of responsibility. She needs someone to share the responsibility of taking care of her family and home. In God’s economy, a husband is the leader of the family. That is what she is craving – some God-ordained leadership. She knows He will provide in the right time. Meanwhile, she will continue to take care of things.

I was pondering all of this as I prayed for her this morning. I was thinking about Jesus. I was thinking about our God-ordained roles in this dance of life, and how Jesus is the leader and we are to let him lead. We are part of this dance, but each partner has a role. That’s what makes it work. That’s what makes the dance beautiful.

Imagine if the leader didn’t lead in the dance. Then the two would be bumping into one another, not going anywhere, not knowing what comes next. Imagine if both dancers tried to lead. There would be a power struggle with jerky moves that wheeled each partner one way then another. Neither of these scenarios would work. There needs to be a clear leader. In our dance of life, it is Jesus.

Many times we don’t let him lead. We try to be the one calling the moves, not only in our everyday lives, but also when it comes to our redemption, our righteousness. We try to take the lead with our good works, our obedience. We think, “Oh, I”ll do this today and God will surely think I am good.” We think, “If I do this and this and this, surely I will go to Heaven.” Friend, this kind of thinking is futile: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Of course good works are part of what we do, part of the dance, but our leader, Jesus, has already done the thing that makes us right before the LORD: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus satisfied the wrath of God over our sins through his death on the cross because “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He paid the debt, now offers us redemption.

Listen, there are some dance moves we just can’t do. There are some solo moves that only Jesus can accomplish. On the cross, the Heavenly spotlight was on him as he performed the moves no man can copy. Watch and be amazed, and when he holds out his hand and invites you to the dance, hold on and let him lead. It will be far more beautiful than anything you could do on your own.

Fully Free Films

It finally arrived! The premier of The Atheist Delusion was last night.  I had been waiting for months for this new Living Waters video to arrive.  The premier was live from the Ark Encounter, a theme park in Kentucky that is part of the Creation Museum - a very cool place.  The live premier included back stories, Q and A, and a peek inside the Ark.



If you're not into apologetics (the defense of your faith), or even if you are, the video was great.  It offered real life conversations that Ray Comfort had with professing atheists.  He was able to use the Socratic method of asking questions to help them see the shaking ground on which they place their faith.  The movie could give you some new insight into how to approach and converse with those who don't believe in any god, let alone the God of the universe.



You can check out all of the videos made by the Living Waters ministry at FullyFreeFilms.com.

There is a link below.  Enjoy!



Fully Free Films

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!