A New Year Note

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year! We look forward to 2016 even as we reflect on what God has done for us as this year closes.

This year has been one of blessings , challenges, changes, and perseverance.  As a family we have witnessed God's love and mercy, His faithfulness and patience with us, and His reminder to us that He is real and that He cares about every detail of the plans He has for us.

Bryan and I celebrated our 25th year of marriage all year long.  We enjoyed sunny Orlando and even sunnier (except when we were there!) Jamaica as quiet get-a-ways from our busy daily life.   It has been wonderful to reminisce and remind one another of the beginning of our love life together.  How far we've come and how much our lives have been shaped by our love for each other and by the love of God in our lives.

Justin graduated from Grove City College in May and secured a teaching position for the 2015-2016 school year at a Classical Christian school in Beaufort, SC.  We see him (and make room for him) every weekend as he travels 3.5 hours to and from the coast.  It may sound like he's had a hard time separating from us, but in reality he comes home every weekend to see Sarah, to whom he is now engaged! (Yay!)

Joanna started her college career in January at University of South Carolina Lancaster.  She is a teacher's assistant and is balancing classes, work, piano lessons, and teaching Sunday school.  She has been blessed in all her endeavors and truly enjoys life as a college student right now.  She wants to study history and possibly minor in music and will have to decide if she will continue her schooling at USC or transfer to a smaller private college in the next year or two.

Aaron works at Chick Fil A, has been accepted to Liberty University next year, and is in choir, has a garage band, and plays soccer and rugby.  He is in his senior year of high school , always a challenging year trying to figure out what comes next and what to study in college.   He has grown in his faith this year and is a blessing to us as we help him work through all the possible ways he feels called to serve the Lord.

Abigail is in Year 8 in our home school.  She plays soccer, enjoys choir and has good friendships near and far.  She is learning to play the ukulele along with her piano lessons.  She is such a good help to me regularly in the house and a joy to teach.  It will be strange to have only one student in our home school next fall but I look forward to it.

We've seen both sets of our parents this year deal with health stresses that they have faced.  It has been such an encouragement and testimony to us and to our kids to see older saints who are facing life-changing news by trusting in God and calling on His mercy and His healing.   My parents and Bryan's parents are living out their faith and trust in their Savior and do not hesitate to show how much God has cared for them in the big and small things.

It has been a year of reconnecting with family even though we may not see them face to face.  We have had our ups and downs as a family, but feel the love and encouragement even if we can't be with each other in the same room, house, city, state, or even country!  We know that prayers and Christian love surrounds us as we share our lives with one another, even at a distance.

Our hope and comfort has always and continues to be in our faithful Saviour to meet all our needs.   Through disappointments, trials of faith, suffering for Christ's sake, blessings, and trusting in what is unseen but sure, we will face the new year as we did the last: with confidence and joy. 

Pray without ceasing

Have you ever prayed for a complete stranger?  I don't mean praying for someone who you don't know personally.  We've all prayed for the missionary family in Africa or South America whose prayer letters are dispersed through our churches.  I mean someone who you see in the grocery store or on the street, who you will most likely never see again, have no relationship with except a one-time sighting.  Or maybe you haven't seen the stranger, just know he or she exists.

When I was in high school I remember clearly something my history teacher said.  She was my favorite teacher; she made history come alive by talking about people and events in the past as if she were telling her class a story.  But the only words I remember clearly from her now 30 years later told me something about her own life that she probably didn't realize she was revealing.

She gently ridiculed Christians as she taught us about early Western civilization,  the Crusades, or the era of Renaissance and Reformation.  But her words one day are seared into my brain, probably because I had so much respect for her as a teacher.  She spoke in a mocking tone.  "There are people who believe that God has a plan for everyone and that He does plan and carry out His purposes in circumstances as mundane as whether they will be get a red light or a green one while driving, or what they should eat or drink, or whether they should wear this dress or that one.  As if God cares about each person on such a personal level or that He controls the world in such a minute and detailed way.  That kind of blind faith has been the cause of some awful events in history. "

Her comment stuck with me.  I think because I felt she was targeting me personally (she was, whether she meant to or not).  She thought that kind of faith was naive and even dangerous.  But you may be wondering what this has to do with praying for strangers?  Well, as I wrestled with her view of Christians, I realized that my relationship with God was based on just such a 'naive' faith.  In my mind, it was reassuring and a comfort, in her mind, it was simple, silly, and child-like. I prayed for her that day and have prayed for her again and again over the years when that incident is brought to my mind.

Even while I was ridiculed indirectly for my 'child-like' faith, I was exercising that same faith through prayer.  I think that incident helped to contribute to my habit of praying for people I don't know who may be facing situations that are stressful.  When I hear an emergency vehicle barreling down the highway or on the streets of my neighborhood, I pray for the person who is waiting for their response.  I don't know what is happening, but I can hear the siren, so I ask God to be there and to be glorified through it.  I don't have to know what effect my prayer has; what I do know is that I am hearing the distress call and that I can ask for help from the One who sovereignly ordains all that will come to pass.

Today on my walk I saw a woman packing up her car and noticed that her garage was full of boxes, like she was moving.  Her house is not for sale, but someone is leaving it.  I prayed for her situation, asking God to work in the lives of those who live there, that His will may be done and that they would submit to Him and come to Him if they don't know Him.  After praying, I wondered if I am presuming on God in some way.  But I know that even though I don't know the person or situation, He does.  Is it ever the wrong time to pray?  I know I can pray for the wrong things.  I know that my prayers are as imperfect as I am; but I also trust that God will use the intercession as He sees fit.  And that I am called to intercede through prayer when I know someone is in trouble. 

A friend shared with me years ago that she prays for people who the Lord brings to her mind throughout the day.  I have used that model as my own, praying for people that I think about when I think about them, and praying for people especially when I've told them that I will pray for them.  It's not just about words or good intentions.  It's an act of obedience to ask the Lord to govern and intercede in this world so that He can further His kingdom and His glory.  I know that He is using my quick prayers throughout the day to strengthen my faith, if not for any other reason. 

We are to pray without ceasing.  I see prayer as a dialogue with my creator, as an open communication with my heavenly Father.  I am trying to cultivate a prayer life that reminds me in whom I put my trust and "I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." (I Timothy 1:12)

A Mother's Prayer

This post is a devotion I gave for a baby shower.  The young mother is waiting for her firstborn to be introduced to this world.  I've blanked out the personal references to her (names).  I thought maybe other moms could relate to that unique experience of becoming a mom for the first time.

There are no written, step-by-step instructions for raising and caring for a newborn.  What you do to stop crying at one time, may not be what is needed or will work the next time.

Every baby is unique.  You will respond to  your child in a unique way that may not be how I would respond, or how your mom would respond, or how your sisters would. You will have an emotional/physical attachment to your baby that is truly unique to you and him; that’s why the old saying has truth in it: mother knows best.

That doesn’t mean you won’t be full of questions, anxieties, or fears about whether what you are doing is best or not.    You are not alone as a mother. You can seek counsel, guidance, old-fashioned help from other women: your mom, your sisters, your church family, even your doctor.

But first, during, and after those questions or anxieties are addressed, ask God to tend to your heart and your needs.   There’s a whole lot of crying that goes on in a house with a new baby, and it’s not just the baby that’s doing all of it!   So when you ask the question to yourself or to others: What do I do when . . .

Accompany and cover your questions in prayer. PRAY!

Pray for yourself and your husband as parents, as I know you are already doing and for your children, even right now as you await the arrival of little ‘Jack’.

Pray for daily grace, energy, peace, patience, wisdom, love—basically, the fruit of the spirit: Gal:5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Pray for your child: his growth physically, his growth spiritually, his life in the Lord, his calling in the Lord, his purpose in your life, his purpose in God’s kingdom.

Nothing is too small or too big to ask the Lord to handle:

One more dirty diaper: pray for perserverance

Loads of laundry threatening to overtake the house: pray for energy and patience

Conflicting needs of your son and your husband: Pray for wisdom, love, and graciousness

Another sleepless night: pray for peace and a quiet heart

Anxiety about the baby: pray for peace and wisdom

Just plain tired, tired, tired: Pray for strength that only God can give.

Pray the Word of God:

 I Peter 5:7          Cast all your anxieties on Him because He care for you.

I John 4:18          There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear.

Psalm 46:1-2       God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives, way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Isaiah 40:29-31  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men(women) shall fall exhausted; But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles;

They shall run and not be weary;

They shall walk and not grow faint.

Matthew 6:34    Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (or, Every day has enough trouble of its own.) (NIV)

Phil. 4:11b-13     …for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the

Secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.

When you pray and leave all your fears, worries, frustrations, and troubles at the throne of grace, your perspective changes, even if your circumstances don’t.  You will receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and you will be equipped to know what is needed and what you must do.   Jesus says: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29-30

There are three women in the Bible whom I especially admire and marvel at their sacrificial love for their children.  One of them is Moses’ mother who is only briefly mentioned (and I will only briefly mention her).  I admire her because she tried to save her son, and then nursed him for Pharaoh’s daughter.  She had possibly 3 or 4 years to teach him about who the true God is and who he was as a child of God before he was raised in the Egyptian royal court.  It comforts me to know that the Lord uses every moment we have with our children to prepare them for the life they will be called to live.

 I want us to look briefly at two mothers who prayed to God.  One mother is Hannah, who prayed that she would be allowed to become a mother.  Her longing was fulfilled, her prayers answered.  She gave birth to Samuel, and dedicated him to the Lord as she had promised to God.  She knew her son was not really hers, but given to her by God, to be used by Him for His good purposes. Her prayer was a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the God of Israel who heard her humble desires and exalted her by making her a mother. 

The other mother is Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Her circumstances were very different from Hannah’s.  She did not pray to become a mother; she wasn’t even a wife yet!  But she listened to what God told her she would become, the mother of the Saviour, and she responded in faith and obedience, praying a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, just like Hannah.

Both of these mothers prayed before their children were born and after.  They both accepted that their sons would be raised and nurtured by them for only a short time.  They both knew that God had appointed the birth and life of their sons.  Their sons were not theirs, but God’s.  They both put aside any fears they had (remember that Hannah lived during the time of the judges when ‘everyone did what was right in his own eyes’; and that Mary was visited by angels and told, ‘do not be afraid’; she also throughout Jesus’ life ‘treasured up these things, pondering them in her heart’).

As we read these prayers, notice the similarities between them.  See the themes of praise and rejoicing, the adoration of God as mighty and holy, the attributes of God’s mercy and strength, and the personal feeling each woman expressed as being chosen by God to give birth as they recognized their own humble condition that was exalted by God. 

Hannah’s Prayer

 I Samuel 2:1-10

And Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;

my horn is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

2 “There is none holy like the Lord:

for there is none besides you;

there is no rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so very proudly,

let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble bind on strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

The barren has borne seven,

but she who has many children is forlorn.

6 The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low and he exalts.

8 He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,

and on them he has set the world.

9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,

but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,

for not by might shall a man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;

against them he will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Mary’s Prayer

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

55 as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Consider and reflect on these prayers as you pray for your new gift from God and your new calling as a mother.   Remember as these women did, that God is using you for His glory even as He hears your prayers and answers them in His perfect timing and will.