Giving Thanks

I suppose there is one Thanksgiving that is harder for every one of us than others. Maybe the empty chair around the table or the innocence lost that makes it so. You may have never experienced it...or this might be your year. Whatever the case, I believe we all have one. A time where thanks comes a little harder. It's not that we aren't thankful. It's just that tears often replace the nouns and verbs that once so easily fell off our tongue. The sparkle of the Christmas lights intensifies every emotion in the winter of our souls. And the cold wind that once made us huddle close together reminds us of the absence in our hearts.

In that moment, is where I believe we discover true Thanksgiving. When we can't connect all the dots and see the answer. When life doesn't fit in a neat little package trimmed by a bright, crisp bow. When we can't smile for the Christmas picture. When all we can do is whisper our thanks, the God of heaven, bends low to read the intent of our heart. And somehow He knows, that we are thankful for the most basic things. The next breath. The strength to get out of bed. The promise that the darkness won't last forever. Somehow I think He designed it that way. To get us all back to the basics of life. For in losing it all, is where we find the only things we ever really had. And for that, we can give thanks.

The 9 year Bible Study

I start strong. Really...I do. It's the finishing that I have a problem with.

9 years ago, my mentor, Bonnie brought me a Bible Study called Breaking Free by Beth Moore. She said, "I think this would be really good! Let's do it!!!"

I jumped in with both feet. I highlighted, I filled in the blanks. I even took time to memorize the Scripture. And then....

It got hard. I mean really hard. It asked hard questions. It challenged me to let go of things I had held onto for YEARS. It made me mad at times. All in all...I didn't like Beth Moore very much because she was, "eating my lunch." (That's southern for...she really had my number.)

So, I quit. I would show her. I would make lame excuses like being too busy, have overcommitted, had to wash my hair, refill my ink pen....blah, blah, blah. Anything to keep me from getting back into that study.

But, God kept putting it in front of me. (He is very persistent.) Over the last nine years, I would do a chapter here and there...a day or two....and then I would get to another hard place and quit again. I know. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. I agree wholeheartedly.

So, I just had to laugh when a couple of months ago, I was talking with a new friend, Luann and she asked if I had ever done the Breaking Free Bible Study. "Well...part of it..." I answered.

She was on her head for me to finish. And so I set out again. 9 YEARS LATER.

So, I am happy to report that today, I finished Breaking Free. I think that ought to at least get me a phone call from Beth Moore. Don't you??

And, if you doubt that God has a sense of humor....I got a postcard in the mail the other day telling me that there was a NEW Breaking Free Bible Study available!!!!

Which you can order here:

Seriously...if you haven't done Breaking Free, I would recommend it. I think one of the reasons I had such a hard time finishing it was that I always thought that being free meant a life of ease...that I would come to a point where I would never struggle or experience heartache. Not so. You can be free. But, it's a daily battle...but in the end, we win a prize that nothing on earth can compare.

So...dive in. Order. And see if you can beat my record....a ten week Bible study in 9 years. I am sure you can....

Alone

Have you ever been alone? I mean desperately alone?

I am a people person. I don't really like being alone. But, it seems to be something I am doing a lot lately...and I think God might be behind it all.

One day this week, I found myself in a rough spot. Struggling just to keep my head above water. I was going under...and I knew I needed someone to help me. I called. I text. I twittered. I e-mailed. Nothing. Everybody was busy. I fell apart. I was desperately alone.

I cried. Then, I cried out. "Why, God? Is it too much to ask?? I need help, here."

"I AM."

Yeah. I know. Doesn't seem intensely profound or intelligent, but, it's where I found myself.

God designed the day for me to be alone. To busy my rescuers so that I would look to my one and only Deliverer.

Think about it. The paralytic had friends that carried him to Jesus...but, the miracle happened when he was face to face with Christ. The woman with the issue of blood was surrounded by a crowd but had to reach out and touch the hem of His garment...all by herself. Even Jesus, in His last hours before the crucifixion, went to the garden to pray...by himself.

There are truths that God certainly speaks through friends. But, there are deeply intense personal things that He wants to work out with me when I am by myself. But, to tell you the truth, I often keep my appointment calendar full to avoid quiet time when He can speak. Because, I know what He's going to say...and it's not always what I want to hear.

So, today....I am turning off the cell phone. I am spending time away from work. I am not texting or tweeting for awhile to simply be quiet. (Hard for a loudmouth like me...)

Shh...I think there is something He would like to say to you too.

You are loved.

Meeting New Friends

From Today's Streams in the Desert

Lie Still and Trust
"I had fainted unless…!(Ps. 27:13).
"FAINT NOT!"
How great is the temptation at this point! How the soul sinks, the heart grows sick, and the faith staggers under the keen trials and testings which come into our lives in times of special bereavement and suffering.
"I cannot bear up any longer, I am fainting under this providence. What shall I do? God tells me not to faint. But what can one do when he is fainting?"
What do you do when you are about to faint physically? You cannot do anything. You cease from your own doings. In your faintness, you fall upon the shoulder of some strong loved one. You lean hard. You rest. You lie still and trust.
It is so when we are tempted to faint under affliction. God's message to us is not, "Be strong and of good courage," for He knows our strength and courage have fled away. But it is that sweet word, "Be still, and know that I am God."
Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he wrote a dear friend: "I am so weak I cannot write; I cannot read my Bible; I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust."
This wondrous man of God with all his spiritual power came to a place of physical suffering and weakness where he could only lie still and trust.
And that is all God asks of you, His dear child, when you grow faint in the fierce fires of affliction. Do not try to be strong. Just be still and know that He is God, and will sustain you, and bring you through.
"God keeps His choicest cordials for our deepest faintings."

I got the most wonderful gift in the mail yesterday.

If you are looking for a gift for someone who has had a rough year, let me suggest the necklace you see...

You can order it by clicking here.

It's the Remember Me "Whole" necklace from DaySpring. It came with a beautiful scroll bookmark to explain the necklace. Here's what it said...

"Whole"

This symbol represents

Hope to the hurting heart.

'Run to ME, I'll hold you close, curing your heart's ache

with My tender knowing touch, I'll sew up every break

memories...scars they fade,

like the end of day

when My love is planted there

the pain is washed away

I am your Prince of Peace,

the Lover of your soul

let Me in, I'll mend your heart

My love will make you Whole

Luke 4:18

A great tangible reminder of the promise I am hanging onto.

Noise

My first car was a 1980 Honda Civic. I loved it. What was lost on "coolness," it made up for in character. I didn't care what it looked like, as long as it ran. And it did...most of the time.

I remember one time it began to make a horrific noise. I was not ready to face the fact that it might need to go into the shop. I had things to do, places to go, people to see. So, instead of dealing with the noise, I just turned up the radio.

Eventually the noise stopped. Because the car stopped. It broke down because I avoided the problem.

I still do it today.
When trouble comes, instead of being still and listening for God's voice, I turn up the sound of life. I get busier. I sign up for more stuff. I agree to do more. All the while God is begging me to be still.

This past week, God not only turned down the radio...He ripped it out altogether. In a potentially fatal situation, I was forced with a choice. Instead of listening to God's voice, I went with what I felt was right. And my life...broke down again. So, I am forced to bring the broken pieces of life back to God and once again ask for His forgiveness and redemption.

Psalm 119:25-32 (The Message)
I'm feeling terrible—I couldn't feel worse!
Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember?
When I told my story, you responded;
train me well in your deep wisdom.
Help me understand these things inside and out
so I can ponder your miracle-wonders.
My sad life's dilapidated, a falling-down barn;
build me up again by your Word.
Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;
grace me with your clear revelation.
I choose the true road to Somewhere,
I post your road signs at every curve and corner.
I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me;
God, don't let me down!
I'll run the course you lay out for me
if you'll just show me how.