He reigns

Mercy Me sings it - He Reigns! Psalm 93 proclaims it - He Reigns! The interesting thing about this particular psalm is how the author begins "at the beginning" and recalls just how significant it is that He Reigns. The children of Israel are reminded of the many times that He has Reigned in their adventures to Him.

Have you ever thought about just sitting down and reminding yourself of (just the highlights even) how God has Reigned in your life? I decided to do that and you will have to just bear with me on it. These may be the most boring posts I've ever written and you will just skim them and go on to something more important. OR just maybe, it will remind you of some way that God has Reigned over your life.

To start my own psalm here goes:

Lord, we bless your wonderful name. You are more wonderful than any words could express and the object of our worship. You created everything and gave it purpose. You filled the heavens with so many starts, they are too numerous to count. You gave life to all living things including us and for that we are truly thankful.

You were reigning on your throne the day that Rick and I met. I had just graduated from Blue Mountain College and had come to the big city of Memphis to a new job teaching Chemistry, Physics, and General Science in a private school - Towering Oaks Baptist School. I attended Towering Oaks Baptist Church that first Sunday and was escorted into the "College and Career" Class. Rick was still attending Memphis State University. I didn't know it, but that day Rick "set his cap" for me and although it was a few years later that we actually started dating, YOU were on your throne.

Rick and I both had a strong calling to serve Him somewhere overseas. we both felt that we needed to be in a place where there not much "Light".

I know that the belief that there is are two people especially made for each other is shunned by most but I believe that YOU were Reigning when Rick and I found each other and fell in love. You gave us a sweet home at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains and an absolutely wonderful first year of marriage. That foundational year has made such a difference in our lives. It was during that first year that you melded our hearts together.

Lord, Your thoughts were so much greater than ours. You put us in a position to learn how to study Your Word during our first year of marriage through Kay Arthur's Precept method. This served to strengthen our relationship and the foundation of our marriage. You had all of this planned out - and we honored You as You Reigned!

Your plan included us moving to New Orleans. In our minds, we thought we were there to get twenty hours of seminary so that we could fulfill the requirements of the International Mission Board. But your plan was much more vast. We ended up staying at New Orleans for eleven years! During that time, we would both gain experience that would be utilized throughout the rest of our lives.

You Reign!

My mini-retreat

On the theme of "Quiet Time" the Lord has given me a unique opportunity this weekend. My husband has gone on a business trip for the weekend and I have decided to have "mini-retreat" with the Lord. Have you ever done that? Do you ever have a time where you can just get away with the Lord for an extended length of time? You know we take vacations all the time (well, some of us do!) They may be for a whole week or just a few days. They may be to the beach or with family in other states or countries. But getting away from the normal routine is good for what ails you. And getting away with the Lord for a weekend is just what the doctor ordered for me.

So yesterday after Rick left, I got all of my "quiet time" materials, plus some other stuff, and settled on the dining room table. I have been trying to wade through several books by Chip Ingram (Good to Great, God as He Longs for You to See Him) that have been incredible encouragements to my family so I stacked those up as well. I have also been working through A Heart Like His by Beth Moore so it is here, too. The spiral notebook that I keep my quiet time notes in as well as prayers and prayer requests is also here. I have some great music - Chris Tomlin, Nicole Nordeman, etc. Three DVDs that I highly recommend by Louie Giglio (Indescribable, How Great is Our God, and Hope) are also something I wanted to watch this weekend.

After I got all of my materials together, I sat down and began to just read through Psalm 88 which is where I am right now. I read out loud (which is always so good and so effective in keeping you focused and keeping Satan away). Within moments the Lord was speaking to me and I thought of the song I heard at my oldest daughter's church recently:
Beautiful are the words spoken to me
Beautiful is the One who is speaking
Come in close, come in close and speak
Come in close, come closer to me.
He is so real. He is so awesome. As I watched the three DVDs I mentioned, I was reminded of just how BIG our God is and what a privilege it is to be in a relationship with Him. He is the Creator of all things and yet He knows my name and desires to have a relationship with me. How stupid of me NOT to meet with Him in a concentrated way daily knowing that He is IN ME and WITH ME all through the day. Amazing.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that the first 8 hours of my mini-retreat were awesome! He wants to speak to us so much but we just rarely ever give Him the chance.

I know many of you are getting ready for your kids to go back to school or back to college or whatever. Can you imagine how a mini-retreat would jump start your fall? Think about it.

Facing the Truth

Confession is good for the soul "they" say. I'm not sure how "good" it will be, but it is necessary. Since I have been sharing about all of my wonderful quiet times with the Lord - part of the journey hit a big valley this week. If you read my last entry you know that our "goods" from West Africa arrived last Saturday. As you read of my frustrations and emotional struggles, I'm sure you felt pretty sorry for me. You may have even prayed for me and for that I am truly thankful. What you didn't know was that I allowed all of that "stuff" to rob me time with the Lord every day last week! Because of that, I was leaning on my own strength and as you might guess - it ran out. Isn't that just the way it is? We just think we are SO strong and can manage anything. And the funny thing is - we can handle alot. But eventually, that strength runs out and we are left lacking - frustrated, emotional, and not very good company.

Every day last week, I felt so low and even depressed. Going through all of that stuff was so emotional for me. Even though I knew I didn't need 3/4 of it, or want it, or had space for it - each piece I picked up carried with it tons of memories and it was the MEMORIES that I was having a hard time letting go of. IF I had spent some time with the Lord on those days He would have reminded me then what HE reminded me of this morning when I finally set my mind to BE with Him for awhile. I STILL have all the memories - no one can take those away from me. But all of that stuff was just that - STUFF! Material things that had no eternal value. Downsizing was something that the Lord had been telling us to do for years but this week we were forced to do it. (No way you can fit 1600 square feet of stuff into 900 square feet!)

And now looking back on it - even after just these few days - I'm glad. This morning I spent some time with the Lord and apologized for keeping Him waiting every day last week. My goodness, imagine ME - keeping the King of Kings waiting every morning. I passed by Him every morning and just kept walking.

This morning as I talked with Him about how I let all of those "things" come between us, I was reminded that He doesn't like ANYTHING to come between us.

Is there something between you and the King of KIngs? Has He been waiting for you every day and watched you pass by - not stopping to spend time with Him when He so much wants to spend time with YOU?

I confess...I'm certainly not perfect. It is all part of the journey.

Three years of dust and mold!

Hello, friends. Sorry it is already July 10 and I am just now writing. Things here have, to say the least, been hectic! Our things from West Africa arrived last Saturday, and to be honest, we have been overwhelmed and nearly paralyzed! Our cute, clean, little 900 square foot apartment has been invaded with 150 cardboard boxes covered with mold, mildew, and full of memories! These things have been packed up in the hot and humid climate of Ivory Coast for over three years! They were things that filled a 1600 square foot, three bedroom house in Abidjan! So, as you might guess, there is NO ROOM to put most of the stuff.

Rick and I managed to go through all of the boxes in about four days. We piled up 3/4 of it to be thrown/given away. Some of the stuff was usuable - but no room for it. I had about 50 boxes of just KITCHEN stuff. Remember, our apartment here doesn't even have an oven! And if I stand in our kitchen, I can touch the cabinets on both sides of the room!

Anyway, we have several boxes of our kids' things that we will let them go through at Christmas. I feel like it is important for them to go through them and have the memories before they toss them. It has been quite an emotional week for me and for Rick. I don't need any of the stuff that I tossed and I don't even want it and there sure is no room for it. Still, I have grieved over getting rid of it because of all the memories attached!

Rick and I concluded that the Lord had been telling us for some time now to downsize and we just put that off. So when you walk into our apartment and the smell of three years of dust and mold hits you - that is the smell of disobedience!

Today we hired a man to come and take away all the boxes we had ready to get rid of. It is not so overwhelming now, although we still have lots of boxes that will eventually go to our new office (when we find one).

Pray for us as we try to find places for the stuff we decided to keep and that His grace will cover us as we "let go" of these things!