God Doesn’t Call the Equipped -- He Equips the Called

Many times I have felt inadequate to fulfill the call of God on my life. I sincerely wanted to be the picture of a dutiful homemaker (okay, I know you women libbers out there are gagging at the thought), but that was my desire. I married young and I wanted to be a model wife for my young husband. I was woefully inadequate when we started out. I could cook the recipes I learned in Home Economics. Once “my calling” was given some time, I was equipped to be a devoted, washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning-machine wife. I also worked a full-time job and served at my church. My young 17-year-old self could do all that, plus – just a year later, become a mother, who by the time our little guy showed up on planet earth, I had nipped the childcare role in the bud. After all, I had been a baby sitter since the age of 12, so I knew the ropes…well, except for when he was sick, and God equipped me to handle those challenges. He “called” me to be a wife and mother. He equipped me. I yielded to His instructions -- sometimes. Other times, I’d regrettably take matters in my own hands – only to rewind and let God do what He does best – equip me with His special, handcrafted abilities.

Within each of us are all the tools we need to fulfill God’s call on our lives. I didn’t realize how equipped I was for widowhood until I became one. This girl could actually live life to its fullest on her own. She could run her business, sell her home, then, buy and build a new home, do her own accounting, become a blogger, repair many things in her home and car, take to the road travelling many miles to see family and friends. This girl, ME, was called to widowhood. I was equipped to handle it.

It’s like a bird – God gave them wings; He equipped them with what they need, but they don’t use them until they have to. I witnessed that with the little cardinals and doves that nested around my home. Initially they clung close to the nest, waiting for mama or papa bird to bring them what they needed, but before long…..they found that within them was the equipment they needed to soar.

We often find ourselves wondering what God has equipped us with – only to discover that we weren’t choosing to use what we had been given unless we absolutely had to. Maybe you find yourself struggling with purpose or fearful to take a step in the direction that God is nudging you towards. God has already equipped you to serve Him wherever you are right now. He will give you the strength to use all you have been given, so get ready to step up to the task. God doesn’t call the equipped, Child of God. God equips the called. And you have been called.

"Now may the God of peace.....EQUIP you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20)

That Filet Knife Can Sure Slice and Dice

All that blood! On our fishing trips, I am the designated cook. It’s my pleasure. I love rustling in all the fisher-people for their next chow-down. My son, Larry, is the fish-filet-er. He uses the sharpest filet knife to get the perfect, boneless filets for our big fish-fry. It was that knife that was laying on the counter when I needed something sharp to open a plastic bag. I grabbed it and sliced open the bag AND the palm of my hand. All that blood! Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep cut, but still in an area where a band-aid just couldn’t keep the blood from flowing.

I thought about that "bloody" scene when I read my devotion scripture from Exodus. Imagining my scene with the filet knife was minor compared to all the bloodshed in those sacrificial offerings. It makes me squirm a bit, but I get it. Blood played such an important role in the everyday life of the Israelites. When Moses splashed the blood of animals on the altar and sprinkled it on the people, everyone saw it as a beautiful, moving gesture. Can you even imagine – ALL THAT blood? But, that blood, the substance that gave life, sealed their covenant with God. It connected them with the altar of His presence.

We know the rest of the story. God lived up to his part of the covenant by making the Israelites His special people and by giving them the Law. But they didn’t always live up to their part. Sure, they promised to obey God’s commandments, but they often failed. Nevertheless, in the face of their failures, God remained faithful to them. He wouldn't give up on his beloved people! But that just wasn't good enough to God. Over time, He prepared for them AND us a new, better covenant, one that would be sealed not with the blood of animals but with the blood of his own Son, Jesus. Now, Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, has the power not only to cleanse us from our sins but to give us the grace to live in holiness and blessing. Through His blood, we are forgiven, healed, and protected. Thank you, Lord, for YOUR blood sacrifice for us.

Jesus initiated this new covenant at the Last Supper when He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which will be shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Every time we receive communion, we relive the Last Supper. God reminds us: “I have made an eternal covenant with you. I have given myself to you, all of myself, so that you can live with me forever.” What a GIFT!

This is our God, a God who continues to pursue His people, even when we stray. This is our God, who renews His covenant with us every time we receive the Body and Blood of His Son. What a gracious Father we have!

This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you. (Exodus 24:8)

When it Comes to Fishing – Anything Goes

My grocery list in hand, items checked off, coupons pulled and I’m at check-out with a brimming grocery cart. Only two cashiers? Ugh! I patiently wait in line. All those unnerved folks waiting behind me must be thinking: “Great! There’s THAT lady who is going to take FOR-EVER with all those groceries! And to make matters worse – SHE HAS COUPONS!”

I’ve been behind people like me. I try to grin and bear it, but it definitely calls for pulling the fruit of patience out of my Holy Spirit fruit basket! The elderly lady behind me is amused as she watches the total to $200, then $210, then $235!! She exclaims: “I’ve never spent that much on groceries!” I reply “Oh, I don’t either, but this is for a family fishing trip!” Then she sees the cashier’s final total of $175! Oh, yes, this girl coupons. I apologize to the grocery buyers behind me with their meager-filled baskets and thank them for their patience. They smile at me with clenched teeth. The little lady right behind me assures me “I enjoyed watching this show!”

This kind of shopping is not for the faint of heart. It is a quest – a feat of monumental proportions and it takes time. I ease into the entertainment value of imagining my family’s excitement when I pull out some of the goodies. Hostess chocolate cupcakes! Chocolate-covered mini donuts! BBQ potato chips! Essentials! Family favorites we rarely indulge in, but this is our annual fishing trip and anything goes! So as not to cause you, veggie lovers, to implode – the bounty does include fruits and veggies. It takes precision and quality management to get these groceries home, unloaded, sorted and temporarily stored until we load up the cars and head out about 8 am!

This annual fishing trip is a tradition that started with Papa and me when we took the grands to a fishing location each summer. That tradition continues. We have carried on Papa’s love for fishing. We are serious fisher-people. We get to our favorite fishing spot by daybreak. A picture of heaven (at least in a fisherman's eyes) as we arrive at those quiet, calm, peaceful waters. The fish are jumping and saying (in our imagination) "Come get me!” We are fish-whisperers. They'll be greatly disappointed by the breakfast they’ll go after because tomorrow they'll be in our tummies!

I enjoy fishing but “somebody’s gotta’ be the chief cook and bottle washer. I know the rest of the diehard fisher-people would rather fish than eat so I think of myself as sustenance-provider. I love it. I’ll fish in the mornings, but I return to the cabin for my call-of-duty. Hopefully, this crew brings in lots of fish. It’s a staple: Beer-batter trout. Yum!

So what is my encouragement for today as we make our way to Beaver's Bend in Broken Bow, OK? This scripture comes to mind: John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I totally get it. The enemy of our souls wants our thoughts to be on everything but peace. He wants us all consumed about matters of the world and matters in our little worlds, rather than taking to the words of Christ to heart "I CAME to give you life and have it to the full". My life is full and running over with God's abundance and blessings. That's what I purpose to fix my mind on -- and NOT those things that the enemy purposes to use to steal, kill and destroy my good thoughts and good attitudes!

So, until next time, I’ll finish loading up all the cold rations into the coolers and get over to my kids’ home where they have all the fish tackle, poles, and everything needed for a few days of celebrating my grandson’s 19th birthday and living the abundant life Christ came to live us! I’m not sure what the wifi ability will be in this very remote spot…..so, just in case I have to be off the grid for a few days – be sure to come back on Saturday when I’ll be back home in My Peace Zone!

Born to Create

Our Creator continues to inspire me daily. All of His creation is masterful! I'm so proud of Him. I'm like a child when I say, "THAT’S MY DAD!”

Honestly, I cringe when I hear people say: "I'm not creative. I can't cook. I'm not an artist. I’m not a crafty person. I can't sing. I can't sew. I'm not technological. I could never blog like you do. I can’t play an instrument." I continue to be amazed at the talents and abilities of those who activated their creative abilities! Those who realized that with training, studying, practicing and pursuing, are the ones who are doing what we wished we could do. It started with a desire and a dream and they put those desires and dreams to task when they turned their “I can’t” to “I can”!

Case in point….Marco! I met this brilliant and talented master chef last week while in Mexico. His culinary abilities were outstanding and his attention to detail inspired me. Oh, I know we are all busy and it takes time to master a skill as Marco has done, but he took the time to learn and it has served him well around the world.

My 96-year old friend in Tulsa recently took up watercolor painting. She was delighted to show me her works of art displayed all around her room. She followed in her Creator’s handprints and created.

Erwin McManus, author and speaker, says: "God designed you to design; He created you to create; He imagined you to imagine; God dreamed you to dream; When you were born, you were not an ordinary child. Someone made you feel you were ordinary. You are the essence of your Creator. You are the reflection of God, Himself. You are extraordinary. Now it's time to BE the genius He created you to be -- you are both a work of art and an artist at work."

The CREATOR of the universe made us in His image so we have the goods to do WHATEVER we set our heart and mind to do. I, for one, didn’t realize I could write and blog eight years ago, but I let the creative juices that were already in me, placed there by MY Creator flow and I began to write. Here I am, eight years and 1,898 blogs later and I am creating!

Maybe someone convinced you that you are not creative. Someone spoke into your life to make you LESS. And it's time someone spoke into your life to make you MORE. I’m doing that today. I’m encouraging you to create. We are WORKS of ART.....and we are ARTISTS at WORK. Our homes should be like Picasso's attic -- where we are dreaming and imagining and creating. I'm speaking into your life RIGHT NOW and telling you...."Silence the voices. Get out that paint brush.....and start painting! Get out your pen or computer and start writing! Get out your cookbook and start cooking! Take a class. Buy a “How-to” book. BE a Creator!”

Let's Get STARTED!

Yes, I still love some reality show and watching real people achieve real success because of their God-given abilities, survival skills, ingenuity, creativity and good old hard work. One of those shows is "America's Got Talent". Most impressive this year were the extraordinary young people who competed. They were just normal kids, but they took what they had to a level of remarkable abiities. One of my favorite acts was the magic show provided by a 10-year old boy and his younger sister who performed in ways that boggled the judges and viewers. A 14-year old contortionist had perfected her inate abilities to a performance beyond description. There was a 13-year old stand-up comedian who bowled the crowd over with her hilarious comedy routines. Amongst the many talented adult and young performers, the one who won it it all was a pint-size, 12-year old singer, songwriter and ukulele player, Grace VanderWaal, who stunned judges and viewers alike, singing in a style of her own. She won $1 million and the opportunity to perform in a Las Vegas Show, which, by the way, is already sold out. Can you even imagine? That young girl beat out the likes of years of experienced talents.

Each one of those kids and adults started somewhere. Maybe the kids who were magicians watched their dad, who is a magician, perfect his routines. They caught the desire to do the same. The comedian girl started her routines when her dad was suffering from cancer, and she wanted to make him laugh. The contortionist was self-taught in perfecting her abilities -- she started and didn't stop until she was an incredible talent on the show. Grace was just 4 years old when she started singing. She saw a friend play the ukulele. With her own saved money, she bought herself a ukulele.

All those kids AND adults STARTED......and didn't stop. The most significant decision they made was to START. What is it that we would really like to achieve? Maybe be an accomplished musician? START by taking lessons. An artist? START by buying paints and a canvas. A writer? START by blogging. A doctor? START by going to school. A great cook? To be a great cook....one has to START cooking. Denise Gerrich, my daughter's friend, "sister", assistant, household everything -- didn't cook at all in the beginning of her 22 years with the Wallace Family. But she STARTED....trying new recipes, experimented, practiced, trained, and is now a Master Chef in her own right. My goodness, yesterday, I enjoyed one of her incredible gourmet meals -- Red Thai Curry Chicken. So yummy! She STARTED.

The point in my today's post is to encourage us all to move from Point A to Point B. Point A being the place of "want to" or "I wish I could" to Point B....GET STARTED. That's what I did today here in Frisco, TX. I STARTED my quest to find a home here. I had written out my vision, made plans for when, pondered the location (between Tulsa where my mother-in-law, other family and friends are and Austin where my son and family lives), decided on Frisco Lakes -- a 55+ community like my Tulsa community. Lots of thinking and pondering and looking at properties on the internet. I've been in Point A for quite some time -- but there comes the time to leave Point A and GET STARTED in Point B!!

What are you thinking about accomplishing today? Something as simple as cleaning the house? Get STARTED. It all starts with one step, one pushing the button, one getting up and moving. Let's GET STARTED! On your mark, get set.....GO!