Evil

Evil: "Profound immorality, wickedness, and depravity, esp. when regarded as a supernatural force."

We saw evil's awful power on display long before our world began. It reared its ugly head and angels fell from heaven. It has been with us ever since.

It slithered into Paradise and set a chain of events into motion that would ultimately cost the Son of God His very life. It flexed its muscles when one brother murdered another and then boldly walked into every phase of human history.

It has taken mankind to unimaginable depths. We read of its dark journey on the pages of scripture. History is replete with its malicious deeds. It thumbs its haughty nose and walks into our homes in a myriad of seemingly innocent ways - seeking to satisfy an insatiable appetite for power.

Evil has had its victories, but when that One came to redeem what it sought to destroy, the war was over. His death and resurrection sealed evil's fate, but it battles, in its death throes, to take all the territory it can.

We have a Savior who has not only won the victory for us, but He gives us everything we need to fight the battle with evil we all face. Most of us don't see it in its vilest form, but it is there just below the surface of our neat and tidy lives.

I have been doing some writing for an organization that confronts some of the very worst of evil's handiwork. It is called Freedom Youth Project and is an anti human trafficking organization. You can read about their work here at their website. The enormity of this evil is overwhelming. They are working to help the victims of this horrific crime.

My part is a small one. They are developing a website to inform both youth and parents about the dangers. I am given one of the true stories of a rescued victim of human trafficking. I then rewrite that story in the first person - giving them a voice that serves to warn others. The stories are not easy to read. Evil is never pretty when exposed to the light, but it doesn't thrive when it is.

They are looking for writers. Might you pray about it and see if it is something the Lord would have you do? You will find a form on their website where you can volunteer (just click the volunteer button at the top of the page). Please pray for this organization and others who are doing this good work. Especially pray for those who have been and still are victims of this horrific crime.

Thank you so much.

"Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:21

Linking to Emily's imperfect prose today.





With love,
Linda

Memorial Day

Yesterday we decided to drive the country roads not too far from home and search for some things for the new house. We began the hunt in Comfort - a small town filled with lovely shops. The streets were nearly empty, and we strolled and looked to our hearts' content.

 We enjoyed the looking but couldn't find anything that quite fit the size of our pocketbook (Old things are really expensive!). So we traveled a bit further to Fredricksburg. It looked as though everyone else had the same idea! We could hardly find a place to park.

Same story here, but we did buy a couple of chocolate chip ice cream cones. Then we slowly made our way home.

It was a perfectly lovely day.

 Blessings, Linda

P.S. I am becoming increasingly disenchanted with blogger. Why can't I get some decent space between the pictures? I've redone it three times, and it insists on setting itself up this way. Yikes!!

Sabbath Rest

"Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, 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 shall find rest find for your souls."

Matt. 11: 28, 29

Joining in community with Deidra:



Blessings,
Linda

Our Shepherd

"God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
   You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
      you find me quiet pools to drink from.
   True to your word,
      you let me catch my breath
      and send me in the right direction. "
Psalm 23: 1-3

May you find rest in the One who cares so deeply for you.

Joining Sandy for Still Saturday:



Blessings,
Linda

Opportunity

Fridays roll around so quickly - don't they? It's time for Five-Minute Friday and today's word is:

Opportunity

start:

How many times have I walked away from a conversation wishing I had taken the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus? What is it that makes me so timid? I don't have to look too deeply for the answer. It has been just below the surface all my life - this fear of offending, of being thought less of.

I type those words and feel the same sense of shame wrap itself around me. But I'm learning; I'm making baby steps toward doing what seems to be so difficult for this inward looking heart. I find myself praying for words - for openings that will lend themselves easily to giving a word of encouragement hemmed by faith.

When I am faithful to do it, it is always the same. This sense that it is not so difficult after all, and although the words may seem weak and inadequate there is the sure knowledge that He will use them in ways quite apart from anything I can conjure up on my own.

He places people and opportunities gently into my life. He is all sufficient to be all that I know I cannot be in my own strength.

stop

Please come join the community at Lisa-Jo's. You will be encouraged and blessed.




Blessings,
Linda

The Enemy

"I'm watching you."  The words sent in an email to our precious daughter when she was a freshman in college quite literally sent a chill down my spine. There were other words, more email. We went to the Campus Police and were pleasantly surprised at their professionalism and concern. They listened, gave council, and promised to do all they could to find the one - this evil one - who was watching our dearest girl.

The awful notes were written on a computer in the college library. It would be next to impossible to find the person responsible. We bought pepper spray, told her to never walk around campus alone and prayed.

I was filled with such anger at this unknown person who would dare to harm my daughter in this way. I asked my Bible Study group to pray for justice. I wanted him found and punished.

My dear, wise friend Mary gently reminded me of Jesus' admonition that we pray for those who persecute us. He tells us to love our enemies and to pray for them. I sat there weighted down by bitterness wishing the words away.

His gentle, persistent whisper can't be silenced by anger even when it screams at the top of its lungs. It takes up residence in the heart and woes us with unrelenting love. It reminds us of sin forgiven, grace unmeasured and a sacrifice so undeserved.

So we prayed blessing on the one who had invaded our lives with such darkness. Asked the Father to send  someone  into his life who would point him to Jesus.

They never found him. The letters simply stopped.  It wasn't what I had originally hoped for, but something happened in my heart over the course of those weeks that is unexplainable apart from the grace of God.

As I prayed for this one whom I thought of as my enemy, I began to experience the unexpected. I felt myself drawn closer to the One who holds all things in His hands. Fear took flight and peace moved into my heart like a gentle balm - a peace that truly passes all understanding.

How is it that I am always surprised by grace - always surprised when the very thing He has promised comes true? He is so good. His word is true. His promises never fail.


"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty."
Matthew 5:43-45

Joining my sweet friend Emily at imperfect prose:





Blessings,
Linda

Happily Ever After

I have never outgrown "happily ever after." Fairy tales live in my head and heart and to this day I want the story to end well. No angst ridden endings with issues left unresolved for this girl. I confess, if it looks like the story is heading in that direction I go straight to the back of the book. I'm not reading it if my favorite character isn't riding off into the sunset with Prince Charming on his perfect white horse.

Life has put a bit of a tarnish on my bright shiny idea of "happily ever after". I've been knocked around by circumstances that fly in the face of all my best laid plans.

I've been reading slowly through the Old Testament - stepping inside the old stories and trying to put myself in the place of some of the people who populated them. Joseph is one of my favorites. He had great dreams of what his life would look like, but sharing them with his older brothers proved to be his undoing. Circumstances beyond his control took his life in a direction he never anticipated. It all worked out in the end, but oh the heartache in the meantime.

I am captivated by the truth that the great Author wrote the story of my life long before I was ever born. He has a way with words, and surely hasn't made any errors in the writing. I was delighted with the early pages, but as I have gone deeper into my life story the chapters have gotten weighty.

Like a bossy little editor, I want to make some changes because things are not going according to plan. There are whole chunks that I want to delete and so much I want to add. I stand with my critical feet planted in my "happily ever after" and beg for change.

What parts would Joseph have edited in his story? When he came to the end of his life and read the final chapter he looked back and saw the way it all fit together. Had he crossed out the part about being sold into slavery, or the one about being falsely accused and thrown into prison,  he, his family, and a whole nation would have perished in the devastating famine. His story was perfectly written just as it was.

As is mine - and yours. We can't skip to the end of the book and see how it all ends, but we can lean into the One who has written it all and know it will be good. And do you know another wonderful thing - some day the Prince really will come. He will be riding a perfect white horse - and we who are His will all live with Him ....."Happily ever after."


"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them."
Psalm 139:16 

Blessings,
Linda

The Gift

The gift he selflessly requested,
wisdom to lead his people
in the right way,
was given
with so much more.
All that was asked in return -
faithfulness and trustful
obedience
to the Giver.

He walked faithfully
but obeyed only in part.
Surely the Giver
didn't mean to
deprive him of this
one harmless thing.
It was, he admitted,
a weakness,
this love for beautiful
foreign women,
But it would be all right-
just this one little thing.

He loved them
and wanted to demonstrate
that love.
What harm to tolerate
the worship of their gods,
to built an altar or so
just that they might worship
as they chose
What harm?

His toleration of a little,
his slight bending of the rules,
drew him away
from the One he said
he loved.
His toleration of a little,
his indulgence of
this weakness,
led to his loss of
everything.

It was, after all,
just a small thing
Just a little disobedience,
a little turning of the heart
done with every good intention.
Until the day of accounting
when the true gift
was exchanged for the false
and all was lost.

Blessings,
Linda

The Poor

Often the heart embraces the unexpected, and when it is gone it leaves a little aching space behind.  Over the days and nights of twenty-eight years, those gnarled old oaks put roots down deep inside of me. I miss them, will always miss them. They held a little girl with pony tails as she reached for the sky on her swing. They carefully embraced children and then grandchildren as they climbed the branches. Silent sentinels, witnesses to the swiftly passing moments of our lives.

To look at them you would never guess the secret hidden deep inside. Battered by winds strong enough to break limbs they stood upright, and I marveled. Because, although to all appearances they are strong and invincible, I knew that they were rotting from within. When you get close, the gaping holes are visible, revealing the decay within.

We have beautiful oaks at the new house. I am getting to know them . We are surrounded by open fields and distant houses. It is a lovely neighborhood, and I have been getting to know our neighbors too.

I've been reading with great conviction and hope the words of Christians who are out to change our idea of church. They are reaching out to the poor and needy outside the church walls and being to them the hands and heart of Jesus in practical, loving ways - reaching out to people in their neighborhoods who have overwhelming needs for the simple basic things of life. It isn't until those needs are met that we can begin to address the spiritual ones.

I thought about that today as we drove through our neighborhood. We are blessed to live in a place where there are no apparent needs. No one seems to lack for a good home, food, clothing or any other material thing. Like my old oaks, they are, to all appearances, doing just fine.

But what about deep inside? Might there be a deep huger underneath the well-fed, well-dressed surface? Are there poverty stricken people living right next-door in the nice house with the beautiful landscaping?

He has placed me here for His purpose. I feel that deep inside. We have done our best to help others (I am married to the most selfless, giving person I have ever met.), but I must be careful not to miss the "poor" right under my nose.

 Help me, Father, to be Your hands and heart. It doesn't come naturally to this shy introvert, but there is grace.

Blessings,
Linda

Enter His Gates

^"Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
    and His courts with praise!
    Give thanks to Him; bless His name!

For the Lord is good;
    His steadfast love endures forever,
    and His faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 100: 4,5

Joining my dear friends Sandy and Deidra this weekend:

 

May your weekend be filled with the sweet peace of His presence and the joy of knowing you are loved.

Blessings,

Linda

Your Name

Engrossed in the books lining the shelves of my favorite book store, I didn’t see  her standing there. Truthfully, if I had, I may have timidly turned and gone the other way before she spotted me.

 The leader of our very large Bible Study group, she is  a woman I deeply respect and admire.  The depth of her wisdom and her ability to communicate it have  ministered to me in ways that can’t be measured. Our eyes met. She smiled, “Hi Linda. How are you?”  My dumbfounded response was, “I can’t believe you remember my name.”

I believe there  is a yearning in every heart to be known – a recognition of our worth. How else to account for this counting of comments and followers, the posting of videos and pictures, the recording of even the smallest of events in our daily lives. A simple record of our family’s history can suddenly take on a life of its own – a competition with huge numbers the reward.

For the rest of this devotional please come visit me at Laced With Grace . I love you guys!

Blessings,
Linda

The Storms

When we lived up north, I didn't give rain too much thought. As long as it didn't rain when we had an outdoor event planned, we were happy.

Having lived through a couple of very devastating droughts since moving to Texas, however, rain has taken on new significance. I pray for it and rejoice when it comes.

It didn't rain for a whole month when we first moved into the new house. I prayed fervently, dreading another summer like the last one. We sweated our way through  one of the worst droughts in Texas history. We watched lakes and rivers dry up. The earth cracked open and foundations moved. Ranchers sold their livestock and farmers simply walked away from the barren soil.

It has rained a lot in the past week. We have a surplus - a surplus. I am so thankful. As I thought about what a blessing rain is - the refreshing, the growing, the filling - I realized that it can serve another purpose too.

I plan a flower garden in that little area that looks like a pond. My husband dug under the sidewalk and installed a pipe so that it wouldn't flood, and it worked well - until it really began pouring. We realized that we would have to dig a little deeper to keep any flowers we planted from floating away.

I've been so anxious to plant flowers, but I'm thankful now that we had to wait. Sometimes the rains come and show us areas that need shoring up. We walk around in the sunshine thinking all is well, and all the while there is something hidden that only a storm will reveal.

When we know where the weak area is, we can use the time in the sun to make it strong - to lay down a sure foundation that will stand up to any storm that comes.

Blessings,
Linda

New Mercies

I sensed it there before I even opened my eyes this morning, that little black cloud hovering somewhere close to the ceiling. It comes without warning, announcing its arrival with a little twist of the heart. There is no reason to feel discouraged and defeated, but then it doesn't need a good reason. It simply is.

It begins with a tiny vapor and gathers to itself all the failures and disappointments, the fears and the doubts of countless yesterdays. It hangs sullen and somber - calling us to defeat - to just pull up the covers and refuse to set one foot on the floor.

Having put off the inevitable for as long as I could, I slowly opened my eyes.  The sky looked gray and cloudy, but there it was anyway - a shaft of sunlight reflected in the old lamp.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3: 22,23

The gentle light dispelled the cloud. The reminder, from the hand of the great Creator, of His limitless love and unending mercy lifted the weight.

I am so grateful for:
- mercy - an endless succession of new days
- the whispers and giggles of little granddaughters
- four generations of family together
- a phone call from a far away son
- bright colored tulips
- beautiful, thoughtful words
- grace
- all the seats at the big table filled

Joining Ann and Laura today:






Blessings,
Linda

Wishing all of You

                                                   Happy Mother's Day!



Blessings,
Linda

Such Love

I open my eyes to morning light
and You are already there
waiting, listening -
I have only to whisper
within the stillness of
my heart.
I give you the day,
the one You
penned before I was born,
And You stand
with outstretched hand.

I walk with heavy heart,
discouraged and confused.
You listen, with infinite patience
 to the words You've
heard so many times before,

and send the answer once again.
No well-deserved condemnation
or  reproach,
simple grace that embraces
this troublesome child,
and gathers up the tears.

How to say, with simple words,
what such love means.
The heart cannot speak
clever lines and perfect prose;
it's language is the
giving of itself to the One
who gave everything.

Joining Emily today at imperfect prose: 


Blessings,
Linda

Contentment

We headed out the door for our morning walk, my husband with empty hands; me with my hands filled with the Sermon on the Mount and the little transistor radio we searched high and low to find. I like to listen to Chuck Swindoll as I make my way down the street. When he is finished teaching, I turn off the radio and work on memory verses.

This morning I felt a little nudge to turn the little dial to our other Christian radio station. The program was one geared to new mothers. "Oh - not for me," I said in my Grandmotherly voice. "I'm all finished with that season of life."  But the little nudge got a bit more forceful, and I kept listening.

The conversation began to focus on contentment, and I felt that little stab in the heart. Somewhere, in all the talk of sleepless nights and defiant toddlers I heard them calling my name. I've been sighing a lot lately. The truth is, I've sighed in every season of life (when I wasn't actually saying it all out loud) impatiently waiting for things to get just the way I thought they should be.

Season followed season and somehow life handed me things I simply hadn't planned on. My expectations went unmet. I learned to watch my tongue (to some extent), but the sighing continued. To the ear of my Father it spoke volumes.

He began to show me things I hadn't seen before. It was in those moments, when life was at its most difficult, that I drew closer to Him. In one of my darkest moments He lovingly told me that He really wasn't all that interested in making me happy. His greatest desire was to make me more like Jesus.

I understand that, but somehow it is in life's little irritating moments I have the greatest difficulty remembering it. When the same little things begin to get under my skin until they become so big they obliterate all that I have to be grateful for, I forget that there is grace for those too. Instead I sigh and contentment is lost in the big exhale. He longs to use those  moments, too,  to draw me close to Him and to conform me to the image of His Son.

I think of the Children of Israel whining and moaning about having to eat manna every. single. day. - all the while forgetting the walk on dry land between walls of water.

He reminded me this morning, that there will always be things (terrible suffering or little irritants) to make me wish for "other than." Instead of sighing and complaining, I need to let grace use those very things to do some major overhauling or perhaps just some minor adjusting, to make me more like Him.


  " My grace is enough; it's all you need.
   My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become"
II Cor. 12: 9,10 The Message 


Linking to Jennifer's blog today:


Blessings,
Linda

The Gift

There are those special days we know they are waiting for us - gifts chosen and given with love and care.


There are moments that take us by surprise, when grace holds out the unexpected, undeserved gift, and it takes our breath away.

Romans 5:15-17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ 
provides?




 Joining my sweet friends Sandy      

and Deidra:




 Blessings, Linda

Tossed

When I bought her, she was beautifully centered - masses of blooms in three different shades of pink. She stood straight and tall, confident in her identity.

As soon as the hook and chain was ready, I hoisted her to her new home. She hung proudly between the porch columns and swayed gently in the breeze.

A day passed; all was well. She bloomed and preened and danced with delight. The wind picked up and the gently swaying became a wild roller coaster ride. She had no control over force or direction - helplessly pushed in the direction of the prevailing wind.

Before long, her once proud, straight body gave way to the pressure. She was no longer centered but instead leaned lopsidedly in her pot.

In an effort to help, I took her down and turned her the other way. It didn't help. She wasn't able to stand against the force of the wind and simply leaned in the other direction.

Her plight is a good reminder to me these days. I have often felt driven by winds that would seek to get me going in the wrong direction. I stand quite well when the breeze blows gently and all is well, but let the winds of adversity come and I am libel to find myself helplessly leaning out of control.

The irony is, He stands there with all that I need to withstand the forces that would come against me. He calls me to come, before the wind begins to pick up, while there is time to take them and nurture them in my heart. If I wait for the storm to come, I am ill prepared to stand strong.

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"
Ephesians 4:14,15

Joining Emily at imperfect prose today:





Blessings,
Linda