FOLLOW YOUR DREAM!
A craftsman in medieval times would work for months on a special piece that displayed his finest artistic skill. Finally, when the work was finished, he would present it to the craftsmen's guild in hopes of achieving the rank of master. The work was called his masterpiece.
In Psalm 139 we see God, the master craftsman, lovingly at work on His masterpiece - a precious child! This Psalm has a profound impact on the way I view myself, especially when I realize that I am not only His child, but His artwork as well!
In instructing Moses about how to proceed with creating the Tabernacle in Exodus 28:3, God says, You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom... The term "skillful" persons here means the "wise of heart" whom God has endowed with artistic skill. This passage clearly states that God gifts His children with a unique contribution or kind of wisdom regarding their place in His world.
My faith rests on Scriptures like these, which tell me God has a unique plan for me. He has given me "a way of seeing" which is a form of wisdom to stir my heart and lift me to fulfill His purposes. He even keeps me motivated by placing dreams, His dreams for me, in my heart.
God placed a dream in my heart to move from Iowa to California where I married a man who committed his life to ministry. He placed a dream in my heart to raise two strong sons. Who, but God, knew that the rearing techniques I learned in my home were His training ground for teaching me how to minister to an ever-widening circle of men and women. God also placed a dream in my heart to reach out to single women, professional women, women alone at church, by providing a safe harbor called Women of Substance.
A recent dream God has placed in my heart is to give myself away in mentoring women in deep and substantial ways through my SoulWork curriculum. What is the bottom line? His dream for me keeps me pressing forward into each new day with a clear vision and grateful anticipation for all that lies ahead.
What about you? Do you have a dream? If not, have you asked God for His dream for your life? When you know it, I encourage you to follow it with all your heart!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
I"ve been thinking about believing...
Our Children See Their Future in Our Eyes
I was sitting with a friend recently who was describing her frustration with one of her children. She was in the throes of the teenage years when it seems our kids take three steps forward and two steps back as they grow toward adulthood.
As I listened and related, I thought back to my own frustrations and inadequacy in raising our two sons. So many times I came to the end of myself! What I mean is, I suffered an inevitable loss of patience. Of course, that is exactly when I became moldable clay in God's hands.
After times of soul searching and coming up empty for the challenging task of parenting, I would come humbly before Him. He graciously placed His vision for my boys into my heart and soul. As a mother, the effect of this change of vision makes all the difference! He exchanged my limited resources and narrowed vision of their future with His limitless ones. Then, when my boys looked into my eyes, they saw their future as bright and hopeful.
"Picture a crown a few inches above your children's heads, and then watch them grow into it, " someone has said. What a helpful word picture! We do produce a picture of their future for them and if our relationship with our kids is strong, they will respond positively to being loved, trusted and believed in. After all, doesn't it bring out the best in each of us?
Internal attitudes become tangible through the window to the soul - our eyes! The Biblical principle is that I become like what I focus on and what I want to focus on is that my Father God loves me, trusts me and believes in me. So fellow child of God, focus on Psalm 46:10 which says, Be still and know that I am God because the future of our kids depends on it!
I was sitting with a friend recently who was describing her frustration with one of her children. She was in the throes of the teenage years when it seems our kids take three steps forward and two steps back as they grow toward adulthood.
As I listened and related, I thought back to my own frustrations and inadequacy in raising our two sons. So many times I came to the end of myself! What I mean is, I suffered an inevitable loss of patience. Of course, that is exactly when I became moldable clay in God's hands.
After times of soul searching and coming up empty for the challenging task of parenting, I would come humbly before Him. He graciously placed His vision for my boys into my heart and soul. As a mother, the effect of this change of vision makes all the difference! He exchanged my limited resources and narrowed vision of their future with His limitless ones. Then, when my boys looked into my eyes, they saw their future as bright and hopeful.
"Picture a crown a few inches above your children's heads, and then watch them grow into it, " someone has said. What a helpful word picture! We do produce a picture of their future for them and if our relationship with our kids is strong, they will respond positively to being loved, trusted and believed in. After all, doesn't it bring out the best in each of us?
Internal attitudes become tangible through the window to the soul - our eyes! The Biblical principle is that I become like what I focus on and what I want to focus on is that my Father God loves me, trusts me and believes in me. So fellow child of God, focus on Psalm 46:10 which says, Be still and know that I am God because the future of our kids depends on it!
Keep me so focused on You, Lord,
that when my precious children and grandchildren
see their future in my eyes,
they will be inexorably drawn to You
and the difference Your presence makes in a life!
Amen.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
I've been thinking about belonging...
Where, Oh Where, Do I Belong?
belonging: a sense of a close or intimate relationship
A friend shared with me her experience with a famous lady in Christian circles, Vonette Bright. My friend did not know Vonette personally, but when they found themselves standing together in a lobby of a hotel, they began talking. Vonette volunteered that she planned to meet friends for lunch and then, moved by a desire to include my friend, she promptly took her by the arm and exuberantly said, "COME WITH US!"
We can all imagine the joyful surprise and delight of belonging even in a situation where we are not known. How much more do we long to belong where we are known? Especially when we believe we are known and loved deeply?
intimate relationship: a relationship marked by a warm friendship developing through a long association
When God commissioned Joshua to be the military leader of the Israelites in chapter one verse five of the book of Joshua, God said, I will not leave you or forsake you. In Hebrews 13:5, we are reminded that God makes the same promise to each and everyone of His children, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
So when times get tough and I struggle with belonging, I must remind myself that there is one place where I do belong without a doubt. I belong with my friend, Jesus, and with those who keep company with Him. Jesus, moved by a tremendous desire to include me, continually calls out exuberantly, "COME WITH US!"
belonging: a sense of a close or intimate relationship
A friend shared with me her experience with a famous lady in Christian circles, Vonette Bright. My friend did not know Vonette personally, but when they found themselves standing together in a lobby of a hotel, they began talking. Vonette volunteered that she planned to meet friends for lunch and then, moved by a desire to include my friend, she promptly took her by the arm and exuberantly said, "COME WITH US!"
We can all imagine the joyful surprise and delight of belonging even in a situation where we are not known. How much more do we long to belong where we are known? Especially when we believe we are known and loved deeply?
intimate relationship: a relationship marked by a warm friendship developing through a long association
When God commissioned Joshua to be the military leader of the Israelites in chapter one verse five of the book of Joshua, God said, I will not leave you or forsake you. In Hebrews 13:5, we are reminded that God makes the same promise to each and everyone of His children, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
So when times get tough and I struggle with belonging, I must remind myself that there is one place where I do belong without a doubt. I belong with my friend, Jesus, and with those who keep company with Him. Jesus, moved by a tremendous desire to include me, continually calls out exuberantly, "COME WITH US!"
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