No Matter What -- God's Got This School Year

In spite of the face masks, rules of hygiene, social distancing, on-line or in-person school – I’m asking God for His favor on this year with so many blessings and great accomplishments for our children AND even for you moms and dads. What a breath of fresh air it has been to see such optimism on my FB feed lately of photos of kids going back to school.

Those precious children make me smile with great hope for the beginners, the teenagers and college ones in their dorm rooms. Wide-eyed wonder and excitement about a new year of meeting new friends and having great adventures. No doubt, there will be certain challenges along the way, but I choose to believe it will open their minds to all the possibilities and rewards of being a winner and an overcomer.

I loved my dear friend’s comment to me that of all the concerns she had, her kids are so optimistic, contented and settled into their dorm or school already. Now, she’s optimistic, contented and grateful to God and expecting to be an overcoming mom! I’ve seen many optimistic parents making bold confessions of faith for their kiddos. I’m praying that the first of this school year reveals tremendous resolve and determination because of how last year’s school-year ended – with resolve and determination of you stay-at-home parents who CONQUERED! I loved one mom’s prayer: “My prayer tonight as my boy takes his first steps into high school -- above everything -- that being a Christ-follower is at the top of his desires."

That’s the attitude we should all have for our children and grandchildren. Of all the knowledge they acquire, all the common sense experiences that they will learn from -- the single most important achievement is to be devoted followers of Christ in their friendships, in the decisions they make and their problem-solving with God’s wisdom leading the way.

Luke 2:52 mentions four areas Jesus grew in as a young boy: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” Our Lord grew wiser and He physically grew. His relationship with His Heavenly Father continuously grew and was strengthened. Jesus even gained favor with people who saw Him day to day. I love the simple sentence that precedes this: “His mother kept all these things in her heart.” We never see Mary worried and anxious. She pondered about her son, but she didn’t allow her heart to become rattled. And neither should we.

May we all strive to be like Mary, turning our anxious thoughts into treasured prayers, kept safe and held fast by our loving Father — the One who knows our hearts and loves our children even more than we do. When a concern pops up in our mind, we carry that concern to God. When we start to fear for our child’s future, we petition the One who knows what the future holds.

Heavenly Father, I pray for all these precious children that are starting a new school year. Protect them, encourage them and fill them with strong minds to learn and grow. Help them to be a great friend and to have great friends. I pray moms and dads can turn their concerns and worries into prayers, knowing You are in control. Please help them to treasure each moment with their children as they grow in wisdom and stature and favor with others and You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving; let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Are We So Spoiled Because We’re So Blessed?

I am here for my volunteer work at Children’s Hospital and it starts out slow this morning. The radiology techs give me a sweet card of thanks and a great set of earbuds. I am blessed. I have time to read my scriptures for today and then have an “aha” moment.

In Acts 3:26, Peter was speaking about when God said to Abraham, “In your offspring, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” I begin to think “What did “blessing for his offspring” really mean to Abraham back then?" New and more well-crafted tents; stronger, faster and more trustworthy camels; more tolerable winds in the sandy deserts; wives that are more sensitive the needs of their husbands; obedient children; fruitful crops and clean water?

As I type this post in this bright, fluorescent LIGHTS reception area, using WIFI on my COMPUTER, at this state-of-the-art HOSPITAL, responding to text messages on my CELL PHONE, sitting at a clean and sterilized DESK, in a ergonomic CHAIR that I can move up because the last volunteer was a shorty, take patients back to RADIOLOGY where their fractures and broken limbs are X-RAYED. I’m drinking coffee poured from my Keurig COFFEEMAKER in my YETI MUG guaranteed for 12 hours hot or cold liquid. I’m hearing the sounds of the HD resolution TELEVISION in the waiting room. There’s a HAND SANITIZER machine near me. And, the restroom, complete with indoor, self-flushing TOILETS is just down the hall. I am smelling the mouth-watering popcorn that is popped from a huge ELECTRIC popcorn machine that, by the way, I must always take some with me as I’m leaving for home in my CAR!

Did I make my point? We are BLESSED! We take so much for granted because we missed out on having to deal with life without our modern conveniences. We are so privileged that we are spoiled. We don’t know real hardship. We aren’t being persecuted and we aren’t living in a poor country. We don’t know what it’s like to live in a country where we can’t drive to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. We don’t know what it’s like to live through the bombings in Syria. Our country isn’t in shambles!

Bottom line, my dear friends, we need to stop being so melodramatic over all the "the stuff" going on in our lives. We need to take a deep breath and express how thankful we are for the century we are living in and that God, in all His sovereignty, deemed us to be here NOW!

Back to Abraham and the blessings that God was pouring out on him. The actual definition of the word “blessed” is “made holy; consecrated; endowed with divine favor and protection. I find it encouraging that the primary definition of blessing is not wealth or comfort, but rather “being made holy”. I think that’s what Abraham and we -- have in common. In the midst of all our conveniences and privileges, may we become people of holiness as we make Dad proud of how we live out our faith in gratitude and in praise to Him. Yes, we are privileged HOLY people.


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What Does Favor Look Like? ·

FAVOR -- approval, an act of kindness beyond what is usual; good deed, act of kindness, courtesy, honor, gratify,

Ever heard these words "Will you do me a FAVOR?" More than likely they're asking for an act of kindness. Then there's the party FAVOR -- a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance or a memento of the occasion. More than any other FAVOR, that I seek on a daily basis, is the FAVOR of GOD aka THE FOG! We pray for God's favor in both good times and bad -- that we'd sense the reality that we're one of God's children, one of God's favorites, and wait expectantly for what God will do for us.

On this "mission" that Karen and I have been on -- we have sought God's FAVOR for the timing and the wisdom on advertising, organizing, among the zillions of other "have to's" to put on an estate sale for our dear Mother. Right from the get go, we were awakened to a sense of divine expectation. Though God always works in our lives in countless ways, revealing so many wonders -- there's just something about living each day with holy anticipation.

Praying for God's FAVOR instead of wishful thinking has certainly made way for His favor over the last two days. We expected to have a 3-day sale but our first day exceeded our greatest expectations and then yesterday, Day 2 -- which seemed would be rained out, only proved that rain doesn't matter to diehard Estate Sale goers. A prayer marked by faith is never about what happens on our terms or timelines, but God's. We prayed throughout the preparation of this sale for the Favor of God. And we found God's wisdom AND favor -- His goodness and mercy not just following us, but chasing us down.

For just the ideal person to stop by that needed that one item we had. Or the one little item that completed a set of something or that school teacher going through the Oklahoma Teacher's Strike that found exactly what she wanted for her children, or the next door neighbor who had her five grandchildren this weekend -- and what a great place to take each one, individually, to the sale and give them $5 each to buy what they wanted, or the lady who just HAD to have a freezer quickly, and our ad popped up. Or the Mom and daughter whose washer & dryer were beyond repairs and ours was priced right for them. Or the couple who was in for the Gun Show that just happened to see our signs and stopped by, only to find items they had been looking for.

Really? God's goodness and mercy are following us? His FAVOR is chasing us? Isn't that just like our Heavenly Father -- pursuing us and chasing us with His desire to bless us and do good things for us? It's not just enough to be followed by His goodness and mercy. No, He is relentless in pursuing us -- every single day, and He wants to catch us. So, let's look for Him. We'll surely find Him as we notice those times when God's goodness and mercy catch up with us. Let's slow down enough today.....so goodness, mercy and God's favor can catch us.....and never let us go!

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

Time to Register for Cross Training

On New Year's Day, I heard this said:: "This is going to be your best year ever, but keep in mind, though you may be going in with a clean slate, you're still taking some of the "old" in with you. You still take YOU!"

That's a wake-up call, isn't it? It's awe-inspiring to think that the old stuff -- the negative circumstances, the mistakes and failures, the overwhelming and the underwhelming situations are over with, because we think "2017 is going to be different. Good things are coming my way this year! 2017 is going to be MY greatest year EVER!" But, once again, what has changed in you AND me, that guarantees a better year?

Bottom line...we probably need to undergo some tweaking with our attitudes, our outlooks, our overspending, our carelessness, our tempers, our giving (or the lack thereof), and our heartfelt appreciation for how blessed we really are.

The way for the most guaranteed-for-success-outcome, is to lean into the ONE who will make the most significant difference in our 2017. Rather than God being simply a casual acquaintance to us and only when we need Him that we call on Him, we should make Him the CENTER of everything...our finances, our relationships, our health, our character, and our devotion. To be fully devoted followers of Christ, makes the difference. How often do we just "sprinkle" a little Jesus into our day by a mere glance at Him. But when we understand that He is the difference maker in everything about our lives. When it really dawns on us that He lives inside us and, when we rely on Him for the best decisions to make, the kindest attitude to others, the character that does the right thing when no one is looking, and seriously consider our actions by submitting our emotions to Him, saying "I'm not responding that way any more.

Luke 2:52 says that the young Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Now that's what I'm talking about. Though we leave the past mistakes and all the negatives in the past, because we bring ME, MYSELF and I into the new year, wouldn't it be a great idea to determine that "THIS YEAR, I will do some CROSS TRAINING and grow in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man." We do that -- not just by sprinkling a little Jesus on our lives....but all out making Him the Lord of our lives and purposing to surrender our "old" selves to Him, obey Him and His Word, and live with all out gusto of being, not sprinkled, but FLOODED with the Great I AM!!!

Goodness & Mercy Following & Favor Chasing

Really? God's goodness and mercy are following us? His FAVOR is chasing us? Isn't that just like our Heavenly Father -- pursuing us and chasing us with His desire to bless us and do good things for us? It's not just enough to be followed by His goodness and mercy. No, He is relentless in pursuing us -- every single day, and He wants to catch us. So, let's look for Him. We'll surely find Him as we notice those times when God's goodness and mercy catch....like just feeling that kiss from heaven when a prayer has been answered, or being hugged (REALLY hugged) by someone that God used to do the hugging for Him, or getting a sweet surprise phone call, or winning an unexpected prize, or maybe it was the extra patience we were given when dealing with a difficult situation. Let's slow down enough today.....so goodness and mercy and God's favor can catch us.....and not let us go!

We are No Surprise to God

Did you know that you, and your circumstances, are no surprise to God? It took me a while to get that, but, now that I know that, it's how I roll these days. Maybe it's a pain in a place where we never had a pain before, a flat tire, a friend's call for help, an unexpected bill, a disappointing phone call, a job loss, a leaky faucet, and so many other "surprises" that may interrupt our day -- though it may be a jolt to OUR plans, it's not a jolt to God's plans. And here's the consolation.....the "knowing" that whatever comes our way, and whatever we may encounter, God's got this. In fact, He knew about it before it got to us....and guess what? He knows how it's all going to turn out.....and, in fact, He has special plans for turning it for our good. What a relief that is! And, He sure surprises me with His favors.....but I just can't "one up Him" -- I can never surprise Him. "We know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God, and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28

The Flood Effect

We've talked about the "ripple effect" and the trickle down effect, but God wants to release a "flood effect" of His power into our lives like we've never seen before. This means we may have difficulties that look extremely large, obstacles that appear impassable, or dreams that seem unattainable. But when God releases a flood of His power, nothing can stop it. If we'll pray bold prayers, and have bold and big faith, we can expect God to work in our lives. We can receive the flood of God's favor -- the flood of healing, the flood of financial blessings, the flood of wisdom, the flood of business opportunities, the flood of friends. God's "flood effect" is when we see Him do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all we can ask or think! It's time to get on our hip waders and launch our boats......THE FLOOD IS COMING!!!