Switching Majors: Plan B
This is one of my favorite coffee mugs.
You see,
Plan A is usually my plan. It’s my great
idea, my brilliant scene, my timing, my To Do list, my my my.
Plan B is
God’s plan.
At least it
should be. Sometimes Plan B is mostly mine
and a little His. Sometimes Plan B
morphs into Plans C,D,E,F…
However,
as I continue to fall more in love with Jesus, as I consciously and purposefully
choose to trust His love and His way and His word, I come to Plan B much
sooner. My plan may be Awesome, but His
is Better. Even Best. Okay, His plan is Bester. Always.
He always
has the better ideas (mine seem to work out...okay...). He always has everything under control (I
very rarely have anything under control).
He always works everything out for my good (I wish I could do that). He always does all of these things in perfect
timing (I’m usually way too early.).
It’s amazing
how much less stressful my life is when I go with God’s plan. You see, if it’s HIS plan, it’s up to HIM to
make it happen. Now, I do my part for
sure, but the details, the success, the blessing, the protection, the timing, the
whatever, are totally up to Him.
After all,
He is the one who “is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at
work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)
Knowing all
of this makes it easier to go with Plan B from the start.
Care to join
me? I’ll bring coffee, but you’ll have
to bring your own mug.
Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
|
Read more...
Simply Ephesians
I ask him to strengthen us by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in us as we open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, we'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.
Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
God can do anything, we know—far more than we could ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams!
Ephesians 3:15-20
Thursday, May 02, 2013
|
Read more...
God’s Grace: An Old Story with a New Twist
Forgive
me for borrowing this story from
myself, but it fits here, too…updated with a twist.
He
stood outside the bank that frigid night.
He had sold all he owned, even his coat, to pay his debt, but it was not
enough. He had nowhere to go and no way
to get there.
Across
the street, the wealthiest man in town was in his favorite restaurant, savoring
his favorite meal. He noticed the poor
man and made a quick phone call to the bank’s president. Upon learning the man’s story, the wealthy
man decided to pay the poor man’s debt in full.
The
bank president immediately found the poor man and explained that the wealthy
man had paid his debt. The poor man,
beaming, relayed his tremendous gratitude.
The
bank president told the man that there was more and handed him an envelope. In it was a note from the wealthy man. “Please also accept this gift card. It bestows on you the privilege of being
forever loved and taken care of in my mansion.”
What
do you think the now debt-free man did with his gift card?
What
have you done with yours?
You
see, Mercy pays our debt, bringing us to a zero balance. Grace is the gift card Jesus paid for with His
Blood, and it has no expiration date. It’s
the unlimited love, wisdom, forgiveness, strength, purpose, compassion,
freedom, courage, provision, healing, blessing, from the One who loves to
provide for His Beloved. It’s the offer of
eternal life with God in Heaven AND full life here on Earth (John 10:10).
All
we have to do is graciously accept the card and live it.
In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with
the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7,8
Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
|
Read more...
Once upon a Worship
At least, this is what I felt God speak to me one day during worship. When my eyes are closed, God tells me the best stories.
It always reminded me of Jeremiah's exchange, where God asks him a time or two, "What do you see?" Jeremiah sees pictures and God begins to explain the meaning behind them.
"The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."
-Jeremiah 1:11, 12
When I close my eyes in worship, I invite the Holy Spirit to come and use my imagination to show me pictures and tell me stories so that I might know Him better.
More than anything, its these pictures and stories that I take with me from worship. I try to discipline myself to write down what I "see". And time and time again as I go on with my life I'll see God breath on these pictures and show me their meaning through scripture or revelation.
One of the first pictures God ever gave me during worship was of an army. I saw a worn-out army standing on a hill and Jesus rode up to them on a white horse. He began to encourage the army and handed them each a "weapon" for the battle. Curiously, everyone was given a white rose to fight with. It's here that God said to me, the white rose means intimacy, and he began to speak to me of the overcoming power that comes from intimacy with Christ - that it was, in fact, the church's greatest weapon over darkness in our world.
I bought a white, fabric rose from Michael's that sits in my room to remind me to always make knowing Jesus my priority and remember it's from this place that I gain my greatest strength.
I pray that if God has formed you to also see stories unfold as you worship, that you would follow His lead to close your eyes and "see".
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." -Ephesians 1:18
Thursday, February 28, 2013
|
Read more...
Clean Slate
Ancestry.com, be warned, has the potential to suck hours of
your life away. I discovered this last year when my dad uncovered an old letter
amongst my grandmother’s things. This
fragile letter, dating back to the Civil War, sent my sister and I into a
tizzy. We painstakingly transcribed the
script in a Word document until we had enough information to attack Ancestry.com
with a fury and see what stories lay dormant in our family history.
The letter was written by my great-great-great grandfather to his
wife, Wilhelmina Bradford. Her name triggered in me a ferocious hunt to see if
we might be related to the incomparable William Bradford, the governor of
Plymouth. I’ve always been fascinated by
his story. Sleep took a back seat as I
searched records that journeyed back closer and closer to the man in
question. I convinced myself that this
would explain why I loved forging new territory, and pioneering new visions- I
was a Bradford at heart.
It was an incredible moment when that little green leaf
showed up and low and behold…we were direct descendants.
For a few weeks, at least.
Until my dad tried to get us into the Mayflower society and
the fact checking revealed a misidentified son in the line. Back to the family
tree drawing board, I began to journey through other branches and discovered a
far sturdier link to the Mayflower. Though Bradford was not on the other
end.
Miles Standish was.
Do you know him? Perhaps not. He was in charge of the defense
and military operations of little Plymouth, and best known for his brutality
towards the Native Americans. Um,
yay.
It’s easy to accept your woven tale of legacy when your
ancestor is the father of a nation, less so when he’s the one remembered for
being a trite too bloodthirsty.
But here’s what I’ve discovered in Christ.
Your past does not dictate your destiny.
He likes to wipe our slate CLEAN. Clean from the mistakes of our ancestors – or
the mistakes we made yesterday. He is
making all things new, and His mercy is fresh every morning. I’m a daughter of the King, and that’s the
best lineage around! And because of this
sweet gift, I am forgiven, I am clean, and I am free to forge a destiny with
Him.
And so are you, my friends. So are you.
"...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." Ephesians 5:25-26
Thursday, April 26, 2012
|
Read more...
Diversity Diversion
I met a man today who told me my whole life. And He’s a Jew.
Wait.
Please.
You must allow me to continue. He wasn’t like I thought they would be – the Jews. He was different. Kinder.
I had always grown up believing the Jews to be so hateful. That if one even stooped low enough to talk to me – a Samaritan AND a woman, I should expect a good scolding.
Of how we worship wrong.
Of how our bloodline was impure.
Of how we were a disgrace.
Of how we were different.
History had torn us apart, the Samaritans and the Jews, and set us as enemies.
But he did not scold. In fact, when I offered him a drink, he offered me living water- he told me I would not be thirsty again. He must know how I tire of my trips to the well.
He told me my whole life. But he did not mock me, though there is much to mock.
I took him for a prophet.
He said he was the Messiah.
Imagine that. The Messiah – at our well, asking ME for water?
He did not lecture or debate who was in the right or the wrong.
I think he just wanted to love me, really. Just love me right there, just as I was. He spoke words I still wonder about – I have this feeling, though, that He means to teach us how to be one again.
As we celebrate diversity this week, I am reminded of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Jesus boldly crosses cultural and social boundaries to minister to this woman – as always modeling the ministry of reconciliation. I am in awe today of how God’s Words continue to draw people from every tongue tribe and nation together. We celebrate with the Father our differences which display the glory (goodness) of God, and the truth that knits us all together.
"For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future."
Ephesians 4:4
Jesus' love knew no boundary. I pray that ours would do the same.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
|
Read more...
Soaking
My object lesson on pruning was about to take a peculiar turn. I understood thus far how the Gardener pruned the flowers to make room for more flowers and cut back the branches to make the bushes stronger allowing light into the center of the plants. I could see how Him pruning me was accomplishing the same feat – strengthening me to bear more fruit, and releasing light in the hidden places of my heart and mind. But when Papa handed me a water balloon, I was confused.
His eyes twinkled. I saw Him rise from the bench and walk behind a thick wall of bushes. I heard something drag along the garden path. He emerged pulling a big plastic tub along the ground. It was full of water balloons. He placed it with intent at one end of the row of bare bushes. Then he returned behind the bush and emerged again with a second tub full of water balloons. He pulled this one to the opposite end of the row of bushes.
“Which tub do you want?” He asked pointing to the two at either end of the pruned bushes.
I shrugged my shoulders and approached the one nearest me.
“On the count of three,” he instructed, “soak something!”
I had barely repeated His directions to myself when He reached the number three and I felt the gush of the first balloon popping on my knee. He got me.
“…to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” Ephesians 5:26 (NLT)
In a moment I grabbed a balloon and took aim. He almost looked shocked when the first balloon clipped his shoulder.
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" John 7:38 (NLT)
Within five minutes, the battleground lay bare. Strips of balloon could be seen dangling on the barren rose bushes like ornaments, and they along with Papa and me – were soaked.
“Well played,” Papa encouraged. He pointed to the bush nearest to me.
I blinked, wondering if what I saw was true. A single flower bud appeared on the pruned branch.
“The water I pour out to you, and the water you pour out to me has abilities beyond your imagination. Be with Me, talk to Me, play with Me – and see how your garden grows.”
Sara Rust is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
|
Read more...
Think “More”
I am losing my mind.
Don’t worry about me, though. I’m happy to be losing my mind. It’s filled with doubt, limited thinking and debilitating fear. Quite frankly, it needs to go.
I’ve heard about a newer model, one that thinks bigger, imagines greater and challenges human frailties. It’s The Mind 2.0 and it thinks Philippians 4:8 thoughts in a flash and has an imagination that’s stamped “Ephesians 3:20” in bold, block letters. It’s gonna take me far.
That is, if I choose to hold on to it.
I’m so used to the older model. I’ve been comfortable thinking it’s lazy, been-there-done-that thoughts and quite used to the status-quo induced sleep it’s lulled me into. It’s not going to be easy to let it go. Yet, I’m pretty eager to see what it feels like to think big yesses instead of little nos; to think in terms of possibilities rather than impossibilities; to think more is available even when little to nothing is staring me in the face. That’s right, I think I’m ready.
And, I hope you’ll join me this week as we discover what it means to think “more” and to ultimately experience how big our God is and how little our challenges are in the light of that truth. If you’re up for it, I’ll “see” you on Monday. Until then, I leave you with this:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20, NIV
Anitra Elmore is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
|
Read more...
Inheritance
2:33 a.m.
Before looking at my phone, I knew the text message would be bad. No one sends good news at that hour. Somewhat reluctantly, I rolled over and reached for my phone. It was a message from my sister. The nursing staff had called for my parents and Pawpaw to come quickly. My Nana didn’t have much time left.
As morning stirred, I faced the strange reality of a beloved one slipping away and the beginning of a new season in my own life. It was my 30th birthday.
My oldest brother sent me an email that evening, knowing how difficult it might be to celebrate in light of the situation. He shared an unfamiliar memory with me. Thirty years earlier, he had come home from school to meet Nana at the door with the news that he had a new baby sister. The thought warmed my heart as I bravely tucked myself into bed in an attempt to rest. As I drifted off to sleep that night, miles away, my Nana went to be with Jesus.
Even today, only a few months later, I grin remembering my grandmother's infectious laugh or ache missing her generous hugs. I am encouraged in this season, though, of discovering a quiet truth - that the manner in which she lived her life has bequeathed to me a great inheritance. Her love of dancing, her ability to never meet a stranger, her value for family, and celebrating the small things have become treasures I desire to claim and walk out in my own life. As I take hold of this inheritance, I realize that those I so wish could have met her (my future husband and kiddos) will meet her – through me.
In Christ, we too receive a great inheritance. His life bequeaths to us great treasures. Imagine, then, who might have the pleasure of meeting Him as we embrace the gifts we have been given.
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” Ephesians 5:1 (NLT)
Beloved, join me this week as we embark on a little treasure hunt.
Sara Rust is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
|
Read more...
