Too Late?

"When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years...Then one day he disappeared, because God took him."
Genesis 5: 21-24

 We walked quickly from the choir loft, eager to settle into our customary seats (Does anyone do that - sit in the exact same seat every week?). I am always in a hurry- not wanting to miss any part of the sermon.

I slid into my seat, picked up my tattered NLT and listened as he began to read through Hebrews 11 - the great faith chapter. The list of the giants of faith is familiar to me.....but there is always something new the Holy Spirit wants to whisper into listening ears.

Our Pastor pointed out that all of these "giants" were ordinary people. Consider Enoch - he didn't' t begin to walk closely with the Lord until he was 65. It was after the birth of Methuselah. It was as though someone had turned up the volume. I could hardly think about anything else. This man who walked so closely with God he didn't see death didn't begin that walk until he was a senior citizen.

The words came like a gentle arm around my shoulders. I have been feeling the weight of my years. Not in the usual way of bemoaning wrinkles and lines. I have come to terms with them (although I confess I sometimes wonder who the elderly lady in the mirror is.).

No, it isn't the physical. It is the wondering what I have done with this one life I have been given. Have I laid up treasure that cannot become ashes at my feet.? Have I been all He created me to be? And if I haven't, is it too late?

Enoch' s story says, "No; never too late in God' s kingdom.  He specializes in New beginnings."

And so I carefully, prayerfully consider the days recorded for me - longing to live them well. Not knowing exactly where that will lead. Knowing I am His.

Blessings,
Linda

He Guides Our Steps

Morning light sifts in around the edges of the blinds. I'm wide awake, but I lay still trying not to disturb my sleeping husband. I close my eyes and try to settle my heart to listen - to quiet the voices that persist in planning out the day, in reheasing the failures of the yesterdays, in fretting about the tomorrows.

I whisper to Him, asking that He walk with me and give me His peace. I ask what His plans for my day are. I fight with the doubts that stalk the fringes of prayer, breathing deeply, remembering who He is and what He has promised.

There are those who would read these words, some whom I care deeply about, and with raised eyebrows and a shrug of the shoulders dismiss them. How, they wonder, can you live a life in this way? How can you believe there is God who hears unspoken words and takes them into His heart? And, honestly, how can you believe He walks with you and cares about the details of your every waking moment?

Because He said:

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly you will find me."
Jeremiah 29:11

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."
 Psalm 37:23

"The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'"
 Psalm 32:8

My husband stirs, and I step into my day - knowing I am His.

Blessings,
Linda

His

Every year, for the past several years, I've had a "word for the year." I haven't chosen lightly. I've prayed and listened and given it a lot of thought. However, to be perfectly honest, a few months into the year I've not only forgotten to write about my word, I've forgotten I even had a word. Ridiculous...I know.

So this year, I considered not bothering with a word at all. What would be the point if I was just going to lose it somewhere in the nether regions of my little mind? But there was this persistent little whisper I couldn't quite ignore. So I began to pray about a word.

"Humble" came to mind. I have felt this pull to "smallness" - to more of Him and much less of me.
"Balance" was another. I have struggled to find balance in my life for as long as I can remember.
"Selfless" certainly applied. There has been far too much of self - too much seeking after the approval of others.
"Small" was the one I nearly settled on. I desperately want to become smaller - especially in this place where I've tried for far to long to be other than small.

All similar and yet none quite said everything my heart was feeling. As the days passed, there was one constant refrain in my heart. It came with words and a melody. The words burrowed deeply into my heart and would not be silent.

Our church Christmas Program this year was titled "Love Came Down," based on the song of the same name. It was this song that kept playing over and over again in my heart. When we sang the words, "I am yours..." something in me broke. It was the same every single time.

They answered every longing of my heart. If I am His, truly His, then everything else falls into place. I will find the humility He modeled. I will live my days holding tightly to His hand - losing myself in Him. The balance I long for will come as I follow hard after Him. I will see with His eyes; I will listen without interrupting or nagging or complaining - because I know He is there to hear every silent word without judgement or condemnation. I can serve secretly and with a heart toward Him, because He sees in secret.

Most of all, whatever comes into my life in the coming days - I am His. 

I am forever His. We have all the time He has given me to do the necessary work in my heart and life.

My word for this new year - and for always: His.



"Love Came Down"

"If my heart is overwhelmed
And I cannot hear Your voice
I hold on to what is true
Though I cannot see

If the storms of life they come
And the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe

I'll remind myself
Of all that You've done
And the life I have
Because of Your son

[Chorus]
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours
Lord I'm forever Yours
Mountains high or valley low
I sing out and remind my soul
I am Yours
I am forever Yours

When my heart is filled with hope
Every promise comes my way
When I feel Your hands of grace
Rest upon me

Staying desperate for You, God
Staying humble at Your feet
I will lift these hands in praise
I will believe

I'll remind myself
Of all that You've done
And the life I have
Because of Your son

Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours
I am forever Yours
Mountains high or valley low
I sing out and remind my soul
I am Yours
I am forever Yours

I am Yours
I am Yours
All my days
Jesus, I am Yours"

Kari Jobe 

Blessings,

Linda 

Happy New Year

From our home to yours, we send wishes for a Happy New Year. May you breathe deeply and step from the old into the new with a sense of joyous anticipation. We are most blessed who can wake each morning to fresh beginnings - to old things passed away and all things made new. Who can wake free from fear and worry, knowing there is One who loves us unconditionally and holds us tightly - close to His heart.

"I do not advise that we end the year on a somber note. The march, not the dirge, has ever been the music of Christianity. If we are good students in the school of life, there is much that the years have to teach us. But the Christian is more than a student, more than a philosopher. He is a believer, and the object of his faith makes the difference, the mighty difference. Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation."
A.W. Tozer - The Warfare of the Spirit

Happy New Year dear friends,
Linda

What Will We Do With Jesus?

"How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is give."

There is no question that He came, this wondrous gift. Reliable witnesses tell us Jesus lived on this earth over two thousand years ago.

For years He quietly worked at the trade his earthly father taught him. At the age of thirty, he put down His carpenter's tools and began His ministry as an itinerant preacher. He gathered a group of young men around Him and traveled the dusty roads healing, teaching, performing miracles, raising the dead.

All of that almost paled in comparison to the things He said. He declared that He was the Messiah - the Son of God. He had come to restore the relationship between God and man; to bring us the gift of eternal life.  It didn't sit well with the spiritual leaders of His day.

Three years into His ministry He was arrested on trumped up charges, tried and found guilty. They beat Him and hung Him on a cross between two thieves. His friends put His lifeless body in a borrowed tomb and mourned the loss of the One on whom they had hung all their hope.

Three days later He appeared to them. Witnesses tell of seeing Him, the scars of crucifixion still fresh on His hands and  feet and in His side. For forty days He once again walked this earth talking, forgiving, preparing. Then these same people watched in awe-struck wonder as He ascended into heaven with the angel's promise of His return ringing in their ears.

No, there is no question that He came. The question is what will we do with Him? Will we dismiss Him as a figment of the imagination of hundreds of witness? Will we, with a shrug of the shoulders, call Him as a good man - but just a bit delusional? Will we shake our heads and say He was truly the worst deceiver ever to have walked the face of the earth?

Or will we, with open hands and heart, believe He was who He said He was? Will we accept this most precious of gifts, given with more love than we can possibly comprehend?

"Unto us a Son is given." To us - to you and me. What will we do with the gift?

Praying this Christmas finds your heart filled with the wonder and love of a Savior who came to redeem us.

Blessings,
Linda

The Magnificat

"Oh how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He took notice of His lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy
and He has done great things for me."

Thanking Him for the Gift He so lovingly gave to us all. 
Thanking Him for all of you, my precious friends. Words cannot adequately express the blessing you are to me. You are a precious gift.

With love,
Linda

His Plan

They were living in difficult times. The oppressive boot of Rome had come down heavily on Palestine. The people staggered beneath the weight of poverty and unjust taxation. To make matters worse, the Emperor, Caesar Augustus, had  issued a decree that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. Quite a proposal even for one who considered himself to be a god.

It would require everyone to travel to the city of his ancestors to register for a census that would enable Rome to tax them even further. For one young couple, it would mean traveling seventy miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem – a difficult journey under the best of circumstances, nearly impossible for a teenage girl only days away from giving birth to her first child.

What went through Joseph’s mind as he looked with tender eyes at his young fiancee? Did he question God’s timing in all of this? Did his mind reel with  imagined scenarios of what could go wrong? Suppose Mary’s labor begins on the road to Bethlehem? Suppose she has complications? How will I keep her safe?
Or did he remember the words of the prophet – words he had surely read:

“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”  Micah 5:2

Please continue reading at Laced With Grace. Thank you so much kind friends.

Blessings,
Linda