February 17, 2014 Genesis 40-42, Military Monday, Memory Review, Peace in the Proimse

It is hard to believe it’s been two weeks since I’ve sat down and read and written. I’ve been writing and reading, but I have missed the methodical reading and letting the Lord speak as He wants instead of looking something specific up for my purpose. There is just something incredibly amazing about hearing the Lord whisper His heart. You know?

PRAYER

Military Monday. One of my favorite days. J

Lord,

I ask special protection over our military in active hotspots today. I ask that your presence would be obvious to them. I ask that prayers of their loved ones would come before you as a beautiful aroma and you would honor them. I ask you to give wisdom to the leaders, divine revelation concerning danger zones and strongholds. I ask you to open their eyes to see he enemy even before physical contact is made.

I ask you to give them peace, and, Lord, make their aim true. May the bullets that leave their firearms hit the target for which it is intended, and may your hand guide them in the day of war. Be the perfect marksmen in them and through them.

Confuse the plans of the enemy. May their intelligence be mixed up and contorted. May they find chaos instead of clarity. Be the judge who judges against them and wreaks vengeance upon those who stand against you and your purpose.

Release the Spirit of holy revelation among our troops for the purpose of the salvation of their souls. I ask you to build unity of heart and purpose for I know you bless unity of hearts committed to you and your purpose.

I ask you to empower the chaplains with words of wisdom and courage. Give them insight from your word to speak directly to the hearts and minds of these men and women serving to protect our country’s people. I ask you to embolden them with truth and give them words of healing when comfort is needed.

Accomplish your purpose among those serving in the military. Be glorified in them that they would be an army serving you for your purpose to protect, defend, take ground, and exact judgment. Be their rearguard and the one who goes before them. Encompass them round about with your power and your presence. May they know their victories are not their own but handed to them by the hand of an Almighty God.

Thank you, Father, for being a warrior who fights for His own.

To you be all glory and honor.

In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen

 

BIBLE READING

Genesis 40—Anybody else in the room ever feel forgotten? Yeah. Me either. <insert eye roll> Okay, the truth is I want to make this some major comfort thing. You know. One of those “you’re in good company” rah rah speeches, but the truth is, if you’ve ever been forgotten, you know there is no comforting bright side. It’s just miserable, and you can know God’s timing is perfect, and you can know logically you are fine, but emotionally, it hurts horribly. And if you are feeling forgotten, I’m so sorry. I know it is hard.

Genesis 41—“He has made me forget all my household.” Except Joseph obviously had not forgotten. When his brothers came, Joseph clearly remembered. So obviously he hadn’t mentally forgotten. I haven’t done a word study on this because we’re just reading through, but I’m wondering if Joseph meant God had filled the hole left because of his family. It is a hard thing having no family, having no place to belong. Perhaps this son fills the longing for family and the longing for the family he lost. Not saying it is, just thinking maybe.

Genesis 42—So much goes through my mind with this chapter. I cannot fathom how Joseph felt looking on his brothers and watching them bow down to him. Sure he’d had the dreams, but to see these people—HIS BROTHERS—who had treated him so cruelly bowing to him. I cannot imagine.

 As for his brothers, shame and guilt are heavy burdens to bear.

 And Israel, what unbelievable grief and fear he must have had.

 Talk about a family steeped and overflowing in dysfunction, but even in this mess, God was paving the road for the Messiah. Amazing.

 

MEMORIZATION

I’ve done very little memorizing the last two weeks, so today I am reviewing what I’ve learned, making sure it is still with me.

 
A noble man makes noble plans and by noble plans he stands. Isaiah 32:8

Each one will be like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from the storm;
Like streams of water in the desert
And like a great rock in a thirsty land. Isaiah 32:2

Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be glorified throughout the earth.
Psalm 46:10
Gotta check this one. It doesn’t feel right.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

OH! So close. You would think I could remember the exalted thing twice, right? Gonna run this through my head a few times and move on.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged.
For the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go.
Joshua 1:9

My mind has gone blank on the beginning of Jeremiah 29.

“When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. You will seek me and…I will bring you back to this place from which banished you….”

Gotta refresh myself on this one.

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

 BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

 Daddy, I don’t even know what to say. I am trying to find something deep in this that isn’t cliché, and really, it all just sounds…it sounds like what has been said over and over and over. The truth is I don’t feel like I’m in a dungeon or a slave. I feel okay with where I am, but sometimes it is hard to figure out how to live in right now when I am waiting for the promise. How do I live in the truth of what is this moment without letting it negate the truth of the promise that seems utterly impossible from here?

That is where I am right now. I know one of the promises you’ve given me, and I’m struggling with it. Right now, it seems a million miles away, or maybe the more accurate thing to say is I feel a million miles away from it.

 I know you tell me not to fear or be discouraged. You say to be bold and courageous, but I confess, I feel neither bold nor courageous. I feel…like hiding in my closet. And right now, I am trying to summon everything I know about taking down giants and vast armies and city walls that fall because people have the faith to keep walking, but none of it is really helping me. So, this is what I am going to do. Instead of trying to make me be what I think I need to be, I’m going to take a deep breath and focus on all I know you are.

 You are my Daddy who loves me.

You are faithful.
You are kind.
You are gentle.
You are loving.
You are fulfilling.
You are tender.
You give blessings without regret.
You are good.
You tend me with gentleness.
Your thoughts are for how you can walk me through this path.
You are my peace.
The way you love me is my peace.
Your whole devotion to me is my peace.
You are my peace.
You are my peace.
You are my peace.
You are my peace.
I will be still and know…you are my peace.
I will be still and know…you are.
I will be still and know…you.

February 2, 2014 Genesis 37-39, Jeremiah 29 Finished!, The Promise of the Hard Road

PRAYER

 Lord,

Show me how I need to live so you can fulfill your promise. Show me any place where I seek your hand and not your face. Forgive me for my selfishness. I ask that you would give me my heart's desires because then I know they are your desires as well. Change my heart and mind to an eternal mindset, not a temporal one. And, Lord, remind me that the promise is not who I will become but who I am and who I get to live.

 

Thank you for your goodness to me.

Amen

BIBLE READING

Genesis 37— A promise of ruling…that led right into slavery.

Genesis 38—Have you ever wondered how God can take such an unholy mess and make something good out of it? I read chapters like this and wonder, but it also gives me hope. I read these chapters and think, “Surely if He can make something beautiful out of this mess, He can still do good things with messes I’ve made.”

Genesis 39—“² The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. ⁵ So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.”

Do you get this? Joseph is a slave. This is not the promise. Joseph wasn’t living God’s promise, but he promised to live God. I’ve known, and still know, way too many people who aren’t living the promise who make the lack of promise their identity instead of making their identity one that allows God to keep His promise.

Joseph didn’t live as though he were in lack. He lived as though he were living in the fullness of his identity—his identity was a leader, a man of character, a man of God. The circumstances, social status, and living quarters didn’t define him or he chose to be. The promise wasn’t so much about circumstance as it was identity. He understood the promise wasn't about what he received but who he was to live. His identity is one of greatness, and he chose to live that greatness where he was.

The question I have to keep laying before the Lord is:

Have I chosen to live the promise of greatness no matter what the situation or circumstance, or am I living an identity of lack because my identity is about what I get from about a situation or a circumstance?

 MEMORIZATION

“When seventy years are complete for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to do you good and not harm, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and bring you back from captivity. I will bring you back from the nations and places I banished you, “declares the Lord. “I will return you to the place from which I you into exile.”—Jeremiah 29:10-14

YES!!!!

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

So often people tell the story of Joseph and focus on his slavery, ability to interpret dreams, and his restoration, but the big picture gets lost. I think we don’t like the pattern of promises in the Bible. We like to think promises are made and kept quickly and easily, sort of like sitting on Santa’s lap in early December, dreaming wildly for a week or two, and waking up to find what we want wrapped in pretty paper and bows. But God is not Santa.

God is not about a childhood wish but an eternal purpose, and His great gifts don’t come wrapped in pretty paper under a tree by a warm fire but instead wrapped in swaddling clothes in a cold stable in a manger.

As I’ve been reading through Genesis this time, I’ve noticed a pattern. God gives great promises, and they come with great cost.

No promise comes without the training to hold it and keep it.

Joseph had the promise of being a great leader, and I’m sure being the youngest and being hated made those promises seem like steak to a starving man. Maybe he even told his family about his dreams because he knew what they meant and he hoped to intimidate in some way. I wasn’t there. I don’t know.

All I really know is God gave him a promise and confirmed it. Then God took him through training to hold that promise, and in that training, he was stripped of all he was in order to become all God needed him to be.

Except, was he?

His situation changed. The circumstances changed.

But the promise was never about those.

The promise concerned who he was, and can who we are at a core be stripped from us…or is it simply uncovered when everything in life that might hide it are removed?

January 27, 2014, Military Monday, Genesis 22-24, Jeremiah 29, All Captive Places

This morning early I was unable to sleep and thought of a friend of ours whose husband is away for Army training. She had to make a long drive, and it was raining, and like me, she hates driving in the rain, so she asked for prayer. God answered in some really neat ways that made it easier, but still she has to drive those two hours. In the time I was awake I lay here and prayed for her.

I think sometimes we try to make prayers so pious that we forget they are personal. Yes, our men and women in uniform are warriors who deal with things most of us hope to never see, but they also deal with stuff that hits us every day. They are married. They have parents who are ill. They lose friends. They get home sick. They worry about their kids.

When we pray for our military personnel, we don’t have to pray some official sounding prayer. All we have to do is look at our family and our friends and ourselves and know what to pray.

PRAYER

Lord,

I lift up our military personnel to you. For whatever reason, I keep thinking about the important days at home they miss. I think about the birthdays—and the births…and the deaths. I am thinking about the anniversaries that are celebrated with a quick skype session if they get celebrated at all. I keep thinking of the time they are gone and the things they miss that there is no way to get back, and while these men and women are committed warriors, they are human, and I know these things hurt them. I know their hearts ache.

I ask you to comfort those aches. Somehow give them peace. Only you can, and they need it.

I pray for the family and friends who are missing them. I pray that you would comfort them as well. I ask you to help the couples and the families to find ways to connect, even if it is so far away. I pray that you would give them special things to bind their hearts together, whether that be a special code or signal or word. Maybe it is a wink or a hand sign. Lord, help them to find a way to be one and to be connected even when they are so far apart.

Keep their hearts steady and faithful and give them strength to get through these hard times. They need you. Be everything for them.

Thank you, Lord.

 Amen

 BIBLE READING

Genesis 22—I have heard this story since I was little. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it then. I now have kids, and I realize how much faith it took for Abraham to do what he did. Okay, so I’m not impressed with the way he treated Sarah, but this is hardcore. This man had faith on a scale I can’t touch.

 Genesis 23—Sarah is dead. I’ve heard different sermons on this passage and the negotiating that went on, but the simple fact is Sarah is dead and buried. Moving on.

 Genesis 24—Faith. “So what if the woman won’t come back with me. Do I take your son there?”

 “No. The promise is HERE.”

 The answer wasn’t based on circumstances or what Abraham could see. It was based on faith. He knew his son would have descendents. He had to for the promise to be fulfilled. Abraham’s servant was ready to do what had to be done to make the promise happen. Abraham knew God would do what He had to do to keep the promise. Abraham did not have to make things happen. He just had to let God fulfill His promise.

 

MEMORIZATION

Working on finishing this up.

Jeremiah 29

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

I memorize, and I meditate. Yesterday I got through, “I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

Then today I was going to finish this, but I got caught up in the next sentence.

“I will gather you from ALL the nations and places I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.

All the places of banishment. All the places of captivity. All the places of rejection.

All the places where the true identity was lost and a false identity was taken.

You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart…and I will bring you back from all the places where you’ve gotten lost and lost yourself….

 

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

 I’m pondering….

January 26, 2014 Sabbath, Genesis 19-21, Jeremiah 29, Restoration and God's Perfect Timing

PRAYER

Lord,

Today is the day I choose to rest in you. I choose not to take up concerns about the nation, the world, or next week. Today I simply want to breathe. I want my mind to rest and my soul to rest and my heart to rest. I want a break from all the stuff. Help me today to focus on the moment. Today I have time in your house. Let me focus on the worship and giving you my praise. Help me to focus on how worthy you are and how good you are. Help me to tune out everyone else and just pour myself into you.

 After church, I have time with my family. I know Sunday is usually seen as “my only day off”, but, Lord, it’s the day I have when I can focus on my family. Help me to really hear them and really see them. Help me to think of ways to show them I know they are gifts.

 Help me to rest from everything I can do nothing about today. Help me to lay it down and just enjoy today with no thought of tomorrow, just to enjoy the moment.

 Thank you for this Sabbath to rest in you and worship you. May you be glorified in me.

 Amen

 

BIBLE READING

Genesis 19—What a mess! It is really easy to look at Lot and wonder where his brain was. I mean, God was trying to get him out of there, and he was doing everything to stay. It’s always easier to see in other people’s lives. But how often do I stay in friendships, stay in commitments, or whatever when God is saying, “Get out! This is BAD!”? How often do people stay in jobs or even marriages long after they should have left because they can’t see past the walls or people around them? Yeah. Suddenly Lot doesn’t look so stupid. Suddenly Lot looks a lot like the person looking back at me from the mirror.

Genesis 20—I like how Abimelek “vindicated” Sarah and said in front of everyone, “This isn’t your fault.” Good man.

Genesis 21—A promised baby arrives.

A human fix was sent away.
A man of God was recognized.

MEMORIZATION

Working on finishing this up.

Jeremiah 29

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

In the Bible, the word “restore” means to return to the point of departure.

In Jeremiah 29:10-14, the Lord keeps saying, “I will bring you back to where you left.”

I will restore you.

Today the kids picked a movie to watch, and they picked the new one we have, “The Book of Daniel.” It started with a soliloquy of Daniel praying, and he quoted this scripture. It makes me wonder.

When we moved here, it felt as though the Lord said the days of loss and sorrow were over, that this was the new beginning. Then so many things happened that were so hard. It felt like all of last year was just hard.

Then at the beginning of this year, the Lord gave me a word for this year, but then He also told me to memorize this scripture, the whole passage. The whole passage isn’t the too often incorrectly applied great plans part. The whole passage is about restoration. When the time of punishment and correction are done, I will bring you back to this land.

The land was their inheritance. It was their promise of good things. It was more than that, though.

The land was their identity…as tribes of Judah, as God’s chosen people.

When the time of correction and discipline is over, I will come and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. Then you will call to me and come and pray to me. You will find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, and I will bring you back from captivity. I will set you free from the lies that hold you imprisoned. I will set you free from what keeps you from living all you truly were created to be.

I have to really just sit in this. Not only is the passage I have just memorized, but we’ve had that video over three months and just watched it today. The Lord leads my path. The timing of those two things are perfect in Him. I really just have to sit in this.

January 23, 2014 Genesis 10-12, Being the Blessing in Our Community, Jeremiah 29, When Everything Changes

Pretty chilly in my neck of the woods this morning. On mornings like this, it is easy to curl up under the covers and hide. While you’re hiding, hide in Him, and while you’re at it, hide some other folks with you.

PRAYER

Thursday morning and we are hiding our communities with us in Him.

Father God,

This morning I am lifting up my community to you. I know several of them but certainly not all. Of the ones I know, a few truly follow you. A few attend church, and some know you exist but nothing else. I am asking you to bless my community through me. Show me how to strengthen friendships and love them like you do. Show me how to be a support to them. Give me the right words, not my words because they come from my small human knowledge, but your words because they come from your knowing all. Help me to love them like you do. Even when I don’t agree with their choices or lifestyles, strengthen me not to judge but to love, and, Lord, work in me to be an example of a Christ-lover and Jesus-Liver so they see you and know the power you have in a life.

Holy Spirit, be at work in my community to prepare hearts to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. I know there will opposition in the spiritual realm to the advancement of your kingdom, and I am asking you to fight on behalf of these people. I am asking you to protect my family as we seek these hearts for you. Give me courage and strength to never back down from the right thing, to never stop loving, and when someone slaps me on the cheek, because we both know it’ll come, give me peace to love them anyway.

And, Lord, forgive me if I grumble because it seems too hard. Thank you that some folks I’ve known fought for me and my soul and didn’t find it too hard. I pray I would have the same tenacity as they had. Thank you for loving every single soul in my community. Thank you for the chance to love them and serve them. To you always be the glory. Amen

BIBLE READING

Genesis 10—About the second or third time I read this through, I decided to do a family tree to see where all these people went because I knew they were important. I knew they were not just random names but had impact on the future generations. I couldn’t make it big enough. However, I am still fascinated, and every once in a while, the idea crosses my mind again.

Genesis 11--⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” I want to keep this thought in front of me. I’ll talk about why in a minute.

Genesis 12—

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

² I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…

I really need to add this to my memorization list. This is so rich in promise and challenge.  For me, this is very personal right now. As some of you know, a little over 3 ½ years ago, our life changed radically. At one point, I told someone, “I still live in the same house. I still have my kids. Everything else has changed.” It was true. Now, we have moved and are not even in that area. It seemed like God was just destroying everything we knew and cared about, but that is not God’s nature. God is not a thief. God is a giver. He started the world with giving. He gave the perfect environment. He gave an amazing garden. When mankind blew it, He gave them covering, and eventually, He gave them a road back in through Christ. God is a giver. It is the essence of who He is. What looks like God taking Abram out of all he knew is really God giving him a new place to flourish. He’s giving him a new way and place to be blessed. He’s giving him a great name, a great life, and a great promise.

In our lives, God did the same thing. Yes, a lot was taken away, but we’ve been given a new life here, a place to bless people, new relationships that bless us. He has given us promises for this place that are just as real and certain as the promises He gave Abram.

I’m telling you this because 1) I have had a few mentally challenging days, and I need to hear this. I need this in MY journal in capital letters, and believe me, it is, but 2) I think there are some out there who are watching life changes in radical ways, ways you would have never chosen. I understand. I wouldn’t have chosen ours either, but I want to encourage you that change and having what has always been taken away isn’t always punishment for something you’ve done, and it certainly isn’t because God is just cruel and likes to see if He can wreak havoc in your life. If He is taking you out of something or away from something, it’s because He is taking you TO something, and His intentions for you are always good. His heart for you is good.

It may not look like it is good or His plans are good, and I’ll tell you one woman at a previous church said that to me at the wrong time, and my response was raw and ugly. Right now, you may have a raw and ugly response, too. That’s okay. I’ll take it. I’m not asking you to love this or the process you are in at this very moment. Sometimes those moments are hard and excruciating. All I’m asking is for you to ask Him to show you something good about where you are and where you are going and keep looking for the answer. It may not come in a second, but if you keep looking, you’ll find it. If you seek Him, you will find Him because right now, at this very second, He is seeking you because He wants to be found.

In Abram’s case, he was offered the easy choice move. Some of us don’t get it easy, and we don’t get a choice. The floor is totally jerked out from under us, but the promise is the same for both: I will turn this into a good thing. I will bless you. I will make you a blessing.

This is where we do have a choice. We can trust Him, follow Him, and let Him bless us and make us into a blessing, or we can hold onto the hurt and anger and close our hearts to Him. This is where the temptation to do it our way likes to take a foothold because if that is the best He can do, we can do without Him. Trust me on this. You will never see the best of anything from a place of anger or rage. You will only see the best of Him when you follow Him and trust Him and let Him give you the good things. This is the place where our faith is tested. Abram believed Him and look at the results. A nation was created…a Savior was born.

The question then becomes: do I trust Him to bless me like that even when all I see is what it looks like I’m leaving or losing? Do you?

 

MEMORIZATION

Why do we memorize? Because God is one big picture, not a 10,000 little pieces. The verse I’ve been working on this week is the same thing God could have told Abram back in Genesis.

“Abram, I know you are leaving everything you know. I know this looks crazy. I know you always assumed your future was here, but trust me. I know the plans I have for you, Abram. I plan to prosper you and not do you harm. I plan to give you hope and a future.”

 Who knows? Maybe if Abram had really understood that middle part about not doing harm, he wouldn’t have asked his wife to life to save his bum. Why memorize? Because when the hard things come that knock us to our foundation, our foundation had better be Him.

 This is what the Lord says,

“When seventy years are completed for Babylon,
I will come back to you and fulfill my good promise
Bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you,”
Declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
Plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call to me and come and pray to me
And I will listen to you.
You will seek me, and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
 

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

I think it is safe to say, I covered this part already. And so you know, the above is being posted without edit. I don’t edit when I journal, and I am not editing here. This is not about my being a perfect writer or getting bogged down in words or delivery. It’s about being real, and sometimes, it’s about being really raw. I know I said I wanted to get back to the verse about their being one and nothing being too hard. I will see about writing about that on Undaunted Reality later today or maybe I’ll write it up and post it here. I do want to get it written because it is powerful, and it is a concept our world doesn’t comprehend. Marriages, families, and the body of Christ in general are coming apart because we don’t understand the importance or power of oneness. Stop! I’ll end up writing another page for you to read. Don’t worry. This is too important not to discuss, but I don’t want it competing with the power of the promise of blessing we just discussed with Abram. So for now, thanks for hanging out with me while I spent time hanging out with Him. Hope you take Him right into your day with you.

Blessings,

Jerri

January 22, 2014 We the People...Who Give Lavishly, Genesis 7-9, Jeremiah 29

Today as I write this, I don't want to be writing it. What I want to write is about the loss of a beautiful man. Jack Clark taught agriculture (AG) and shop classes for decades where I went to school, and today he passed on. I have no idea how many of us are feeling the gaping hole tonight, but honestly, I just want to think about him and what a blessing he has been to so many and how much better our lives are, and I've been trying to figure out how to shift my gaze from Mr. Clark to our nation, and how do I pray for our nation when I hurt for his family? I think I know.

PRAYER

Dear Lord,

Today you chose to take home a man who loved like I believe you love. He didn't teach a subject. He taught young people. He taught them the power of patience by giving it. He taught them they can do great things if they stick to it. He taught them needing a second try was normal, and he taught us to not give up on ourselves and not to give up on others.

He taught us so many things about living well.

Lord, this country is built by people like Mr. Clark, teachers, mentors, leaders, neighbors, folks who step in when parents aren't there, people who give of their lives so living is made more clear. I ask today for your blessing on these people. I ask that you would bless them for how they strengthen this country with their lives. Thank you for their selfless giving. Lord, bring forth more of them.

Thank you for Mr. Clark and Kay and all they poured into each of us. Thank you for the other men and women that other young people say the very same thing about. Thank you for the impact they had on this country through the impact they had on our lives.

Tonight, I ask especially for Mr. Clark's family, for their comfort. Only you can comfort them and carry them through this. Be with Kay as she lives without her best friend's presence. May you comfort those who mourn, and with time and your healing, may they dance again.

With deepest gratitude for those who love like you,

Amen

BIBLE READING

Genesis 7--Did you notice? He didn't take one pair of each animal. He took seven pair, which happens to be the number of pair needed to develop a new population of animals that are healthy.

 

And the very day Noah and his family entered the ark, it started to rain. God's precision timing always leaves me amazed, and sometimes it leaves me annoyed. Just keeping it real.

 

Genesis 8--Instead of grumbling about the smell or the chore or the conditions of life in the ark, instead of walking out the door and bellowing, "It's about time!", Noah made an altar and sacrificed to the Lord. No wonder the aroma was pleasing. No wonder it reached His heart.

 

Genesis 9--God blessed them and told them to increase. Does God ever bless and it not come with increase or obvious fruit? Seriously. Anybody see that in the Bible? I can't think of any instance where that happened. Anyone have one?

 

 

MEMORIZATION

This is hard to focus on today, so I am making sure my verse for the year is solid, maybe because I feel helpless with knowledge of how Mr. Clark's family is grieving. Maybe I need to remember even in the worst places, I can offer a safe place.

Each one will be like a shelter from the wind,

and a refuge from the storm,

like streams of water in the desert,

and the shadow of a giant rock in a thirsty land.

Isaiah 32:2

Lord, grant me wisdom to know how to be a comfort in hard places.

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

 

Today I find it interesting that I read about Noah and the ark. For the first time, I saw the journey we were on as a trip in the ark. God said, "I'm going to destroy everything as you know it, but I've got you," and He did, and He has. Just like the new life He gave Noah, ours is blessed and fruitful and good. It has aspects of what it used to be, but for the most part, it's all new, and we have to learn to live in it differently.

Today the Clark family enters into an ark they will hate, just as we hated ours, and they will ache for what was, but it is gone. They will have to do like all of us. They have to find life on the other side of the destruction. It is a hard thing, but it can be blessed richly.

I wonder how many of you are sitting in an ark knowing what you knew and loved is gone. You can't imagine the future yet. You just know it isn't what it used to be, and the transition to get there stinks and is hard and uncomfortable and miserable, and does it really matter if you get out of bed? I mean, this ark sort of floats itself, you know.

If you are in the ark, I want to you know, I spent a few years in an ark between the life with a husband/dad, mom, extended family, and hopes for a happy ending and where we are now. I hated it, but I realize it had to happen for me to get here. No. I am not trying to candy coat or cliche' comfort.
Some of you are wondering if their is any hope at all, and I want you to know, yes, there is. I know it is hard. I know it hurts. I know this is not the ride you would have asked for, but I also know God is good, and on the other side of this are blessings and fruitful life and increase...and a rainbow with your name on it.

You see, that rainbow wasn't just about the flood. It was a promise for everyone who ever steps into an ark. It's a promise that the rain will one day stop. You'll walk out of the ark, and life will really happen again.

May God grant you strength for the journey and courage to believe in your rainbow.

January 21, 2014 Praying for My Church, Genesis 4-6, and Jeremiah 29

Technically, we are on day 2 of this adventure, but if you are just joining us, jump right in! Yesterday we read Genesis 1-3 and prayed for our military. Today we are going to pray for our churches and read Genesis 4-6 and give some general thoughts about anything that catches our eye. Ready? Alrighty then. Let’s get going!

PRAYER

You ever try to pray for your church and not pray to fix something? You know what I mean. The pastor who has the bad delivery or the secretary who has the bad attitude. Sometimes all we can see in our church are the things that we want God to fix. Well, maybe today, I need Him to start making my church better by fixing me.

Daddy, we are new to our church, and really everything is shiny and wonderful. Honeymoons are glorious things, but I know honeymoons end, and it is easy for things to become tarnished and dull pretty quickly. I’m asking you to keep my heart open to the joy of my church. Help me to see the ways it blesses my family and others. Help me to see the good things, like the way the way our campus pastor always greets us with a smile after service.

Help me to be a good thing.

 When someone is sitting alone, turn my eyes to them so I see them. I’ve sat in too many services feeling unseen. Please, let me see others.

Give me words to encourage our pastor and volunteers and let them know I appreciate them. When they needed it, prompt me to drop a note or even a small gift of gratitude to let them know their service is being fruitful and making a difference.

Show me where you want to use the gifts you instilled in me to be a blessing to people who attend. I want to be a producer and not a parasite.

And, Daddy, when I am petty, because we both know I can be, give me wisdom to keep it to myself, to deal with it with you, and to let it go. If something bothering me can bless the church by making it better, give me courage to speak to the right person and grace to speak kindly, but if my words only cause problems, I pray you would convict me to deal with my own issue and my own heart.

Daddy, help me be the kind of person I would want to see and speak with every week. Help me to be an answer to someone’s hard week or rough day.

Thank you for my church and the great people who serve and attend there. May you be glorified in us all. Amen

BIBLE READING

Genesis 4—I will not drown in all those names. I will not drown in all those names.
The big picture information:
Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel.
Can killed Abel, and Cain was sent out of God’s presence.
There is a guy name Lamech who decided two wives were better than one and killed someone, too, but not because of the wives.
Adam and Eve had Seth.

Genesis 5—Don’t drown in the begats. They do serve an honest purpose, but right now, for our purpose, it’s just filling in a long blank until we get to important stuff, like Enoch, who was no longer because God took him. Can you imagine?! Then we get to the next major piece of our story: Noah.

Genesis 6—First, no, I don’t know what it means by the Nephilim and sons of God. Right now, I’m not digging into that. Maybe for a personal study, I might, but for this purpose, I’m simply reading. I might highlight it or note it in my journal so I go back and look later, but remember, this is not a deep study, just an overview.

God was sorry He made mankind because it was so wicked. It is hard for me to wrap my brain around that, and it does contradict some theology I was taught growing up, but for me the primary take away is so simple: Dear God, may I never be so wicked that you are sorry you made me. Maybe I always bring you pleasure and not regret.

Noah. I tried to actually draw the ark out once. Then I found a picture in a book, and it had all the dimensions and such already. I felt a bit silly, but I was hoping by drawing it, I would keep getting lost in the description. Finally I realized the importance of the description to me is this: God had a plan. It was a detailed plan that had to be followed to perfection because God does not waste resources. He didn’t waste space, food, animals, or timber. God knows what He wants done and what it takes to get it done. It was that way with the ark, and it is that way in my life.

And why did this ark thing work? Because Noah did everything God told him to do. That alone will sink me to my knees asking, “Lord, am I doing everything you told me to do? Is there anything I’m missing?”

MEMORIZATION

Still plodding in Jeremiah 29:10-14.

This morning I wrote in my journal:

This is what the Lord says,
“When seventy years are completed for Babylon,
I will come back to you and fulfill my good promise
Bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you,”
Declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
Plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call to me and come and pray to me
And I will listen to you.
You will seek me, and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Okay, that last part doesn’t seem quite right. Let me check that very quickly. Slight fix.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Do a few words make a difference? I am tempted to say they don’t, and yet, some words really do matter, and for me, this is also an exercise of excellence. I memorize quotes from books or movies being careful to get them correct word for word, and they just fit my whim with no eternal significance. If I give such diligence to something that ultimately means nothing, how much more diligence should I give to something that means everything?

 I also reviewed previous verses. I try to do that at least one a week to keep them fresh. I write them all in my journal, but my kids type theirs.  

How is your memorizing going today?

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

I’m still fixated on that tree in the garden. When I’m done rolling it over, I’ll pour it out for you to see. For now, anything you want to share that has been roaming around your mind?

Thanks for sharing this part of your day with me. I pray it is a great day for you! And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Blessings,

Jerri

January 20, 2014, Military Monday, Genesis 1-3, Jeremiah 29:10-14

I still have yet to figure out the details. I know how I would LIKE to do this. I would like to have multiple posts with prayer, Bible reading, memorization and journal, and a whole digest that you can subscribe to according to interests. However, I don't want to drown you in four different posts, and I can't figure out how to set it up so you can subscribe to individual ones. I have an idea, but I need to research it some. If anyone has any suggestions beyond a website I have no clue how to do, I am listening.

BUT, for now, let's get this party started!!!

PRAYER

I try to always start my morning with prayer. Usually before I'm out of bed, my Lord and I have started chatting. I've been asked a lot about how I pray. Simple, I talk to God. Nothing more complicated than that. I'll do a longer post on this some time in the future, but for now, let's get to our prayer strategy topic: Military Monday. One thing you need to know. I take out military very seriously. They are not a nebulous group out there fighting bad guys to me. To me, these are the guards God puts in place to protect the life I value for my children. These men and women keep people with destructive mindsets and plans from destroying our lives by destroying the way of life we have  and the values we hold. In my mind, these are our personal guards set in place by my God, and I speak to Him about them as such.

You can pray these words or pray your own. Up to you. This is just how I pray...

Daddy, thank you for the men and women who stand for my children and me everyday. Thank you for the families who hug and kiss them goodbye and sending them to dangerous places to guard us by protecting us from terrorists and those who would destroy us and what we value. Daddy, today I ask that you would  be with every man and woman serving my children and me in harm's way. Give them courage to believe for good things. Give them strength when they are ridiculously exhausted in every way. Give them comfort when they lose one of their own. Daddy, be with them in a way only you can. Be the brother in arms that holds onto them. I ask for your supernatural protection over them. I ask that plans of the enemy would come to nothing. I ask that bombs and IEDs and grenades would detonate in the hands of those who would attack the men and women you have assigned to protect us. I ask you to be their guard before them and after them. I pray that a thousand would fall at their right hand and then thousand at their left. I ask you to be crazy good to them. And, Daddy, let them sleep peacefully. Still the nightmares. Still the memories. I know you have given them this assignment. Give them peace in the fulfilling of it. I ask for your miraculous healing on the minds, souls, and spirits of these men and women to stop PTSD and other battle related problems so these men and women are not victims to the war but victors over the enemy. Set them free from what would torment them. Bless them with peace, Daddy. Bless them with peace. Lord, you are a God of war. War for them. They need YOU to be the one fighting for them. Thank you for your faithfulness. To you be all the glory, Amen

Do you have a Monday topic? Want to share with the rest of us?

BIBLE READING

I am too ambitious sometimes. I wanted to do three different Bible reading plans: 1 chapter a day, 3 chapters a day, and 5 chapters a day. However, I simply cannot figure that out, and if anyone ends up on a different pace, I want them to be able to easily find thoughts on the chapters they are on, so I think the easiest way is 3 chapters a day. That will get us through the Bible in a year. Since we aren't going for deep stuff here, this is a pretty good pace. Even my teenagers are doing this with me, so, let's jump in.

Genesis 1--Okay, I love this part. "In the beginning, God created." It's totally dark. Nothing is there. No reason to expect anything new. Looks dead as a cosmic tomb. Then, this voice speaks to the tomb and says, "Let's light this place up," and He does. I have no clue how many times in the last 3 years I've meditated on this and flat out clung to it because it looked dark and dead, but my Daddy can take a tomb and create a universe exploding with life. He can make a new life for me too.

Summary of chapter 1: Perfectly ordered creation that God declared was good.

Genesis 2--Whoa! I'm slow! All these years, and I just got this. Check this out. "God planted a garden." He didn't just speak and plants pop up. This was a well-planned, intentional garden. He planted it specifically with these that look good and taste good. This was designed JUST FOR MANKIND. Talk about an attention to detail!! OH. MY. GOODNESS. It is like a suitor preparing the perfect setting for the perfect date!!! If I stopped right there, it would be enough for me to chew on for awhile. God Almighty set up the perfect date. Just wow....

"And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." So God sets up this perfect date, and then says, "But  I will give you the option not to choose me. Despite how much love I pour out on you and how obvious I make it, I will give you the option not to love me back." My breath has caught in my chest, and I am trying to wrap my mind around this kind of sacrificial love. Someone who loves this wildly and fully...who is willing to not be loved at all...What kind of God is this? Once again, I am...just rendered speechless by the crazy depth of His love and selflessness.

By the way, I'm not afraid of the "helper", man and woman topic, but I'll tell you, this is something the Lord is really speaking to me about right now. The concept of "helper". I won't get into it here because it is a discussion of great theological entrenchment, but maybe I'll talk about it on Undaunted Reality some time.

Chapter 3--Folks wonder how Eve could have been so stupid. How could she trade paradise with God for something so stupid? I don't know. I look myself in the mirror and ask how I do that very thing almost every day.

Some of my thoughts. Yours?

 

MEMORIZATION

Jeremiah 29:10-14 is what I am working on. My goal is to have it done this week. Right now, I have verses 10 and 11 done.

This is what the Lord says, "When seventy years are completed for Babylon,
I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to you
to bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you,"
declares the Lord,
"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you."

I plan to work on verse 13 tomorrow. By the way, this is how I memorize things. I break them down into thoughts or sections of verses or sentences.

What are you working on?

BIBLE STUDY/JOURNAL

 

So much going on in my head right now about Jeremiah 29:10-14. On one hand, I want to be disciplined and cover everything I said I would. On the other, I don't want to get in trouble for being proud of how I perform again, and I'm still thinking this through and trying to listen as I memorize and meditate, so for today, you saw a big bit of my journal on the reading part. I didn't mean to comment so much, but prayerfully, it'll bless someone. For now, I'm going to go meditate on this some more.

What are you meditating on?

Wow. It's done. The first REAL blog post for Gypsy Ponderings is done. Honestly, I could stay right here and spend a few hours, but I don't want to bog you down. I know you are busy, and I am going to spend some time considering Jeremiah 29.

I hope you enjoyed our first day together and come back tomorrow!! Let me know how you are doing on this journey, too. Okay? Praying for you!!!