How Deep Do Your Roots Run?: The Story of Two Tiny Seeds

            "I am going to get ahead of the game." I thought.  "We are going to have FUN!" I thought.  We did.  I had each of the smaller kids, Olivia and Daniel take turns planting seeds in cups I found at the dollar store the night before.  I thought I could kill two birds with one stone-begin some seedlings at the end of February just in time for spring planting and make it a science lesson for the kids.  "YES! I am ON IT!"  Sometimes I admit I have those feelings of accomplishment as a mom.  Well the sense of accomplishment lasted for a day when I realized I had no where to set the newly planted seeds inside so that they would receive enough light.  It dawned on me it would take a lot of work to build a shelf in the midst of an already hectic day.  Long story short, the seeds ended up sitting outside on a table fully exposed to all the elements . . . for three weeks.

         Life went on.  We left on a five day trip.  Temperatures spiked and dropped, as they do at the beginning of March.  Storms came and went.  Winds howled across the yard.  All the while the little seed cups were tipped over on the tray which was now filled with water.  Another failed mom project . . .

  "Mom when are we going to plant these?"  The kids asked.
  "Uh . . . I think we might have to re-do them." I explained.
  "Mom what happened to our seeds?"  They kept probing
  "Yeah, I gotta get to that. Gotta get more cups and seeds."  Which really wasn't going to happen as the pace of our life picked up.  Soccer started.  Other school projects took over.  Deadlines and details flooded our lives after we returned from our trip.

    The little tray lay a mess, with tiny vulnerable seeds exposed to storm after storm and gust after gust of wind.

    Maybe you have felt like those little seeds?  Forgotten.  Left out there to fend for yourself.  At first you were planted so snuggly in your seed bed.  Life was good.  Things were cozy.  You were soaking up the nutrients and moisture, getting fuller and fatter.  And life was starting to grow on the inside of you.

   But then the storms came.  The winds let loose on you.  You thought you wouldn't make it.  You felt exposed, vulnerable, shaken and forgotten.  The environment you thought was protected suddenly became the seed bed of testing.

    Maybe someone betrayed you?
    Maybe your expectations got crushed?
    Maybe finances are depleted?
    Maybe an unexpected event left you breathless and bewildered?
    Or maybe you have experienced the ache of loss and loneliness?

   Whatever it is I say there is hope little seed!  Do not despair! All is not lost.

   Let me explain.  We finally cleaned up the ravaged seed tray as we did some purging of the backyard to get ready for Spring.  I went outside to throw out the failed seed project.  But, as I studied each tiny seed cup I saw something remarkable.  Two little seeds had started to grow!  All was not lost.  These hardy little pearls had sprouted, even thriving!  They had actually produced life in the midst of harsh temperatures, wild storms and heavy wind.  How?

   They put down their roots.  They clung the earth around them. They soaked up the sun when it shown to warm them and soaked up the rain as it pounded upon them.  Even though they were lashed by the stormy winds they still had the GRACE to cling.

    As I contemplated these little marvels, a question came to mind:  What kind of a seed will I be?
When storms rage and testing comes, will I cling?  Will I sing?  Will I thrive in the midst of testing, even bearing fruit?  Or will the elements prove too much for me?  Will I let offense overtake me?  Will I recoil in unforgiveness?  Will I believe the lie that I am forgotten?  Or will I believe the truth that though tested, I am firmly planted in His hand?  Or Will I give up and give in and let the wind have its way?

    Apostle Paul prayed:

  "For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.  I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith, I pray that you, being ROOTED and FIRMLY PLANTED in LOVE, may be able to comprehend what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love.  and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD. "  Ephesians 3:14-19


    So go on, soak up His love!  Whether you are in the seed bed of rest or the soil of testing, go deep.  Search out His LOVE.  Reach out for His affection.  Soak up His glorious light as you choose to worship.  Hang on to ancient time-tested truths.  Cling to soul saving nutrients found in His Word.  Don't let go.  Don't give up.  Don't give yourself up to the direction of winds of this world.  Refuse to be pulled out.  Don't let the season of testing uproot you.  Know deep down that you are Beloved.  Believe that though you are shaken, you are not removed from His loving, firm grip.  Because little seed, if you stay snug planted, you will soon produce worthy and glorious fruit.  You will be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

 
  On the left, Olivia's Sugar Snap Pea seedling and on the right, Daniel's Little Marvel Pea seedling

Beat Fear by Walking in Love

    A week ago I was singing in our little amateur Friday morning worship and prayer set when I got ambushed.  Basically, I sing for selfish reasons.  I admit it.  I am not the best singer and only learned what singing "on-key" was in my 20s.  But that doesn't even mean I do it well or do it all the time.  No, I sing because I want to see what God is going to do and say when we sing His songs and His Word.  Something unexpected usually happens.

     Last week, we were reading and singing and praying out of I John 4 starting at vs. 16

16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 

17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 

19 We love, because He first loved us. 

20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 

21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

  And of course I realized some things as we sang and examined this portion of scripture.  I saw LOVE being more like a circle.  I know, you might be picturing scenes from the Lion King, but that is not quite what I am seeing.  

   First, we get saved-we fall in love with Jesus for the first time.  He is glorious.  We feel totally different.  But then as time goes on, we can lose our Love.  Fear starts to creep in.  Hidden thoughts of criticism towards others flood our minds.  Bitterness tries to take root as we get hurt along the journey.  Pride-The "I am better than them" syndrome-sneaks in there without us even realizing as we pull ourselves up by our own boot straps (so to speak).  Trauma tries to take hold as we pass through difficult life events.  Lies try to move in and set up camp.  And then finally fear tries to cut us off from others.  Fear we will be criticized, rejected and unforgiven.    Fear we will get what they get or become like "them" if we reach out and just  . . . show love?  

  At this point, the enemy has us where he wants us.  We are paralyzed.  We didn't finish or complete the circle.  Somewhere something tried to choke out and harness the unending, pervasive, persevering LOVE of God.  We DID receive it, right?  So where did it go?

    " . . . the one who fears is not perfected in love."  Not completed.  Unfinished.  Half-way there, but definitely NOT there.  Filled with fear.  Stuck.  Compromised.  

    We've all been there.  ALL OF US.  Because we are all in a battle.  And we all have an enemy who wants us unfinished and paralyzed.  But the Spirit within us urges us ON.  The One who COMPLETES the Work He started in us beckons us to follow Him.   He is the One saying to our Spirit, "keep going".  He is the One who meets us in the midst of trauma and darkness and says "This won't destroy you.  You will LOVE again."  He is the One who exposes our inner hidden thoughts of pride, criticism and un-forgiveness.  He gives us the power to forever take them captive and shove them off the plank of our weary shipwrecked lives.  

     If we want to leave the prison of Fear, we HAVE to complete the circle.  We have to get rid of our hidden critical thoughts and "take them captive." as it says in II Corinthians 10:5.  I remember years ago my YWAM leader saying that many times a person feels constantly criticized because they are constantly critical.  At this point, the fear of man takes hold.  I was so convicted.  When I really examined my thought life it was filled with criticism towards others.  And, I also had hidden bitterness, which along with all my critical thoughts left me feeling condemned and ostracized.  God wasn't doing it.  I was.  

    Ooh and the hidden pride.  It tip toes in the back door of our thoughts so stealth you hardly even know its there.  It quietly, but emphatically says in our minds in first person, "I am better than you."  But the funny thing is it has a flip-side that also tells you "You aren't as good as everyone else." Somehow it says that you are unworthy.  Both sides of the coin are lies.  Both cut you off from knowing your security in Christ ALONE.  The circle is cut short again.  You are afraid to be loved and to love.  

    So was I convicted?  . . . YES.  And more than that, I was convinced.  "We love because He first loved us."  That undying, unending, stronger-than-death love is REAL.  We can rediscover it.  We can re-ignite it.  He can clean us up.  He can set us free.  We can be COMPLETE and PERFECTED in love again.  We can receive His love again and GIVE IT AWAY.  Fear can be driven out.  Boldness can be our name once more.  He can be our song.  

    

When the Waves of Disappointment Come Crashing on Your Shore

    Have you ever felt the searing pain of loss?  Have you sat shell-shocked when something or someone has been taken from you out of no where?  Or are you waiting on a desire of your heart to be fulfilled but the waiting feels eternal?


    We have all been there.  In our minds, believing we are headed down one road, even a road of promise, when suddenly the road takes an unexpected hair-pin turn.  We are left breathless and numb, dumb-founded by what has occurred.  Or we are waiting on a promise and starting to think it will never happen.  Its been too many years.  Everyone has forgotten.  Sometimes it even feels like God has forgotten . . . if that is possible.


    I have been there too.  I have been on both sides of that coin.  Either, waiting for what seems like a life-time for what God has promised. I have watched others attain the same thing I was promised and have had to continue in my lonely trust-walk.  And, I have been riding on the road towards a promise, almost able to grasp it, nearly in the palm of my hand and then WAM, out of nowhere, everything falls apart and I am left standing, wondering what happened.  The story line of loss and disappointment is real.  It can crush you.  But thankfully, we know The One who re-writes stories and won't let it destroy us.

                                       His blood speaks a better word.
 
       He writes a better story, a new one.  One that has an outcome far better than we imagined.

I think of the disciples like Peter, and Mary Magdalene.  I think of her and her companions.

   There they were sinking, flooded with their grief and disappointment, standing shell-shocked at all that had occurred.  Sure, some had finally acknowledged He was indeed who He said He was-The Son of God.  But they were so sure He was gone, these faithful women were on their way to anoint His body for burial.

          And God meets them here, in shadows of their overwhelming grief and despair:

"And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as they women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the LIVING ONE among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen."  Luke 24:2-6


      They were in shock, again!  The story wasn't over at the grave.  It took another, even better twist.

     He re-wrote the story.  But it turned out FAR different than maybe they originally thought.  They maybe never imagined this.  He became redemption for them, for us, for the whole world.  The effects of this story were even more far-reaching than they could conceive!     He has the power to bring "abundant redemption" as the Psalmist knew in Psalm 130:7.  Right in the midst of heartbreak or lonely waiting, he can offer us redemption.

                  "Oh Israel, hope in the Lord; 
                    For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, 
                    And with Him is abundant redemption."

     But sometimes we can stop short with the heartbreak, or get comfortable in the waiting.  We can easily think that someone else's story is more important than the one God is writing with us in mind.  Envy can creep in.  Time can steal our faith.  We can start to believe that God hears others but He doesn't hear us.

      We have to battle against our apathy and wage war against the thoughts that tell us we have been forgotten.  The truth is we are very much on His mind.  The truth is He collects all our tears in a bottle.  He hears every cry, every sigh.  And, ultimately the truth is He is still writing our story, HIS Story.  For His glory.  It may not come in the time or the way we would think, but He is faithful to keep His promise.  He will have His way.  So don't give up.  Keep looking for the Living One.  He will surely come.  We can stand on this -He will surely bring "abundant redemption".

   

     
 


                               

The Fragrance of My Father

         

               It seems all the great lessons God teaches me these days come from interactions with my children.  For the last few days, as I have given my little guy Daniel hugs and cuddles, I have smelled a certain fragrance.  At first I thought it was the soap we were using on his hair, but I realized it doesn't smell like coconuts at all (our current "flavor").   It smelled very familiar.  And then it hit me.  It was his Dad's smell that has transferred to his son.


    You see lately Daniel has been quite the "Daddy's Boy".  He just HAS to be with Daddy.  At church, in the house, at night as he goes to sleep.  He just has to have him.  Nothing else will do.  Yesterday Dad wanted to get some alone time and outfitted himself for a bike ride.  It would just be 20 minutes or so to get a break.  He put on his helmet and got his bike ready.  Daniel was right behind trying to get his helmet on just like Daddy.  But when he found out he couldn't go because Dad would be on streets that were unsafe, he began to ball.  Streams of tears poured down cheeks and his chubby bottom lip popped out.  It was a touching moment.  Son longed to be with Father.  Nothing else would distract him or fill the void.


    And this morning when I finally realized what this familiar scent flowing from my son's soft hair and skin was, it hit me.  When we want to be with the Father and nothing else will satisfy, we spend time with Him.  When we spend time in Him, we start to smell like Him.  When we get a glimpse of goodness and His tenacious love for us, His fragrance exudes from our life.  And sometimes we may still feel dry, or feel weak in our commitment, but even then His sweet aroma is still present, still reminding us and those around us WHO we belong to.

    When we worship Him through a hard season, pour out our true heart to Him, spend time consuming and pondering His Word, His fragrance is released like incense.  When we put Him first, or tell someone about His love or encounter Him in the place of worship, He is anointing us with a contagious and unstoppable aroma.  When we let Him heal our wounds, erase lies we have believed that have hindered us and just want to be near Him, He fills our life with a penetrating and healing scent that can literally change the atmosphere of a room.  

    So maybe The Gospel is more simple than we thought. Its more about falling in love with a Person than satisfying a long list of "do's and don'ts". When we spend time with our Father and receive His prevailing, unending, unfailing and tender love He marks us with His fragrance, as it says in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15:

    "But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ, and spreads through us in every place the scent of knowing Him.  For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."

     

Sometimes It Takes a Burning Bush

     Here was Moses, finally getting some peace in his life.  God had brought him to a well, a place of refreshing-in so many ways (Exodus 2:15) In Midian, he was no longer living in the deep chasm between two separate and opposing families.  He was removed from those who knew him as the King's son and also those who knew him as the son of a slave.  No one was trying to kill him.  He had taken on a new identity of sorts.  He was now in a "normal family", with a wife and sons.  Not only this, but he had come to be known as a son to Jethro.  He was so much a part of the family he was tending Jethro's sheep (Exodus 3:1).  He was thriving, being refreshed,  and maybe even resting . . .


  Maybe you have been there?  Everything seems- ahhh- right.  And perhaps you even know its a God given gift? You have faced hard ship and you have persevered through difficult seasons, but now you are in the place you have always dreamed of.  And, It seemed to take  A LOT to land here.  Peace is yours.  It might be simple, but its yours.

     And then there was this . . .

"There [Mt. Horeb] the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush." Exodus 3:2

  Right when Moses is quietly tending his sheep, God speaks.  
Its miraculous, awesome, and holy.  He is required to shed his shoes, as God declares that where he is standing is Holy Ground.  Many dream of such an encounter-to be known, to be seen-as Moses was at the burning bush.  But, how does Moses respond to such a sight?


    He argues.  God announces His heart to rescue Israel.  Moses squirms.  God calls Moses near.  Moses tries to convince the LIVING GOD that His plan is flawed.  God allows Moses' hand to activate to more miracles.  And Moses' request?  "O Lord, please send someone else to do it" (Exodus 4:13).  Its quite pathetic really.  But we can also relate.  Moses was a man, just like us.  And yet the LIVING GOD does not draw back or give up.  He perseveres with Moses.  He knows Moses' heart.  He knows what's best.

    Maybe you have been here too?  You know God is asking something of you and yet you don't want to do it? 

   The stakes are too high.
   The road is too long.
   The task is too hard.




It can be like this with Jesus, our Heavenly Bridegroom.  We can receive the invitation and even love Him, but love our comfort zone even more.  Yet He is merciful.  And He is waiting and He is watching for us to arise.  And He knows we will.  He paid a high price for us to be "with Him where He is and to see His glory."  John 17:24  

And Just like Moses we will go with God and see His glory, and our heart will be satisfied.







                 

                 

 
       


 

A Well, A Place of Refreshing: Exodus 2:14-15

    As I started to sketch my way through the book of Exodus, I came to the well known portion in chapter 2 where Moses kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew slave.  He hid this Egyptian's body in the sand thinking no one saw him.  But, later he realized he had been found out.  It would only be a matter of time before Pharoah would have him killed.  So he fled.

     Can you imagine the grip of fear on Moses as he fled (v.14)?  Can you imagine the mix of emotions?  Was he experiencing guilt? If he wasn't feeling guilt (because he was defending one being mistreated) was at least second guessing his actions?  This was a huge game-changer.  In one moment, he was in a position of prominence and then the next, he was just a brother to slaves, and now with a possible bounty on his head.  Where would he go?  He was leaving all he knew.  He left his family, both Egyptian and Hebrew.  He left everything.  He was all alone with so many unknowns.


     We've all been there, and maybe if we haven't we know someone who has.  A traumatic event we didn't plan for.  Maybe its an accident, sickness or loss of any kind.   Maybe it was something we even caused.  It can look like the most awful kind of awful.  The situation is bleak.  The road is dark.  The fear is gripping.   But then . . .

      It hit me.  God met him.  In this traumatic twist of events that Moses had caused, God met him.  God cared for him.  God showed him mercy.  God brought him to a WELL.


     "But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian, and sat down BY A WELL."  Ex.2:15


    It was here at this well everything changed.   The game changed again.


       He sat.   He rested.  There was provision.  God provided.  Jehovah Jireh came through again.


  A well is a place of provision, a place of refreshing. In Moses' life at this moment it became a place of  redemption.


    As my eyes were opened I saw it.  God's tender mercies.  In Midian, God cared for Moses.  He not only gave him water to care for his tired body, but he gave him spiritual water as he encountered God (at the burning bush, Exodus 3).  Not only this, but he gave him a new family here.  Moses had lost those he loved.  He couldn't go back, not until it was safe.  It was at this very well, that Moses met his wife Zipporah.    In one fell swoop he had not only a new wife, but a whole new family.  He gained a father (Jethro), and his sons.   Its apparent that no matter the situation, God's mercy tracks us down, hunts after us and overtakes us (Psalm 23:6).  He treats us with undeserved kindness (Psalm 103:10)  In Psalm 130 its confirmed again, "O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows."

     God can take the most life-alternating events and when the road looks the darkest, He shows up.  He surrounds us with mercy.  He abundantly redeems.  He overwhelmingly provides.  In our broken down state, He can bring us to a WELL, a place of refreshing, a place of redemption.    

 
   

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"-Meditating on Scripture

     In my first post, I mentioned adding "sketching it" to Bible reading.  I started doing this really out of desperation.  I knew where I was . . . I was about to head into the pages of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, where I had always lost focus and quit.  Some had warned about reading the whole bible because it can cause guilt if you don't do it.  I get that, but I think there has always been this desire in me to read it from front to back.  It feels like I have only gotten snap shots here and there, but when we read it through, we get more of "the big picture".    So, I am not putting a time frame on it.  When I get done, I get it done.  Its not about speed or efficiency, but really knowing and retaining what I am reading.  It could take me 5 years, but I think I have stumbled on a way to keep me enjoying it.  


     I needed something to help keep my focus.  So I started sketching the pictures the Scriptures created in my mind as I read.  This was not a vision I was having, just to be clear.  It was just the pictures the words created as I read.  So, at the beginning of Exodus I started sketching.  And, they weren't pretty.  They were quick.  Just so I could make sure I was understanding what I was reading and seeing the details.   I surprised how much The Bible began to unfold as I simply sketched!  I was gripped and hungry for more.   God was using my little scribbles to reveal more in Bible than I had ever seen before.


    We do this same thing in our kids' ministry at our church.  Below I have attached a photo of my son's sketch of a popular verse, Ephesians 1:7.  I am including it because I think its important to see although this is about the visual dynamic,  simple works!  Its more about the unraveling of key details in Scripture and hiding His Word in our hearts than incredible works of art (though those are nice too).   Do not be intimidated.  Even kids can do this.

 

      In the end, I did end up "tidying up" a couple sketches and turning them into small, acrylic paintings on paper.  I really didn't have the time in that season to create huge, oil paintings on canvas (though sometime soon it would be fun!).   Even though they may seem simple to some, what God spoke to me through them personally is so meaningful to me.   I wasn't as much focused on the "elements of design" but more what I took from the Holy Spirit as I thought about the Word while creating them.  They are very special to me and I will be sharing a few of them in upcoming posts.


     Also, I am happy to share a link to one of my favorite artists, Grace Carol Bomer.  If you visit her gallery, you will notice how many of her pieces are focused on just one verse, passage or concept.  I wonder all that God is disclosing to her as she creates? Enjoy!

Noah Plants a Vineyard by Grace Carol Bomer
In the Beginning (Bereshith) God . . . Creation Series by Grace Carol Bomer
 Seed Series by Grace Carol Bomer