Have Thine Own Way, Lord

That was the title of a classic hymn that speaks to the importance of an attitude of surrender to the Lord – allowing His Way to be the only WAY! We’ve been having to surrender many things in the last couple of months during this quarantine period. Surrendering hopes, dreams, time, gathering together in churches, schools, meeting places, gyms, restaurants, weddings, parties, and on and on.

Many of us submitted to the "surrender" while many of us held on tight like the reins of a runaway horse. We weren’t about to let go of control until there were no more options. That old hymn was a prayer of surrender. I know I need to make it my theme song and sing it with undaunted trust in my Potter.

“Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way. You are the Potter. I am the clay. Mold me and make me. After Your will. While I am waiting – yielded and still.”

That hymn was written by Adelaide Pollard when she was a discouraged missionary. It became a prayer of surrender and yielding to God’s way instead of her way. Her words depict the clay – to be molded into whatever the Potter chooses to be the exact representation of His Master Potter’s hands -- yielding to His fine design, intricate details with expertise and brilliance – as the Master Craftsman.

Although it may be challenging and uncomfortable when we submit to the Potter's touch, we experience the joy of His perfect will. We’ve had to do a lot of laying down our wills during this pandemic, haven’t we? We may have willed to go to work or go out to eat in a fine restaurant or get together with friends and loved ones, but our will had to yield to the laws of our land.

Just maybe we’ve been forced to comply to yielding our wills, so that yielding to God could become easier. In fact, if we had learned to yield to God’s will before all this “forced yielding”, then maybe the forced yielding would not have been so difficult. To say “Yes, Lord” when He asks us to relax and "be" instead of always "doing" or when He asks us to surrender our time to give time to encourage someone or to gather our kiddos in our arms and realize how precious are the gifts He has given us, is surrendering our wills to Him. And, in that loving our own, we understand our Heavenly Father’s love for us – wanting the best for us – to make us vessels of honor that display His likeness in love, character and honor.

We have the opportunity and privilege to partner with God during His sculpturing process. Maybe in our surrender to Him, we can help decide the end result -- that vessel of honor, humility, faithfulness, compassion and one who bears a prayerful, peaceful spirit in the midst of chaos. Have Thine Own Way, Lord! I surrender all!

Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

The Divine Tag-a-Long Changed Their Lives

As I was walking yesterday, basking in the freshness of the early morning, I said, “Open my eyes to see you, Lord.” I knew I was already seeing Him in the beauty of His creation, but I sensed a true desire to open my eyes to His presence – right now!

After I posted my blog that described my 6:15 am early morning walk on Friday, a friend cautioned me about walking alone in the darkness and recommended I get a stun gun or another protective device. I appreciated his concern and told him I live in a safe 55+ community. I asked if he knew the old hymn “In the Garden” that went like this: "I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear falling on my ears, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there -- none other has ever known!" Oh, the sweet early morning encounters! I am so not alone.

That “open my eyes to His presence” made me recall the huge statute at Emmaus Church in Austin and the story of the two disciples journeying home to Emmaus after the death of Jesus. (Luke 24:13-35) They didn't believe the rumor that Jesus was alive and were in doubt and despair. Then, out of nowhere, the Divine Tag-a-Long, the Risen Jesus, began to walk with them. They didn’t recognize Him even when He shared many Old Testament stories. When it came time for dinner, they invited the stranger to join them. Jesus accepted and when He blessed and broke the bread, their eyes were opened and they saw that their guest was Jesus.

Suddenly those two disciples went from doubt and despair to faith in the Risen Lord. And, I think Jesus was walking with me yesterday, specifically to open my eyes to the truth of the matter. He is ALWAYS walking with me – with us. Especially when we are in doubt and despair and concern – right here, right now in the middle of these COVID-19 times to acknowledge we're not alone and to stand strong in faith in OUR Risen Savior. Yes, it feels like we’re walking through a strange land and are traveling down a road of wondering why this is happening – why so many people have died or are suffering from the pain of loss of a loved one or the loss of a job or the loss of a dream. "Why is God permitting things like this to happen?"

Just like the two disciples, we are sometimes caught up in our doubt and despair and we can't see Jesus as He travels with us. They couldn't see the Divine Tag-a-Long Who made their hearts burn as He shared scriptures with them. But, right in the very moments of their doubt and despair, Jesus was working on their hearts. He had a plan all along to reveal Himself to them. They would be two of the first disciples that He would prove He was alive and well. And so it is in our lives. God is at work in the details of our lives. He chooses our everyday doubts and despair to open our eyes to Jesus Who is with us.

The Risen Jesus wants to be invited to walk alongside us in every facet of our lives -- in the craziness of our kids running rampant, in the painful times of a loved one's passing or unable to be with our loved ones. He walks beside the frontliners. God is a good, good Father and any good that is happening during these times -- is from God HImself. He is walking with us and talking with us and telling us we are His own -- and He would never leave us or forsake us. May we allow Him to remind us that wherever we are and whatever we're going through, He is with us. Remember, just as His disciples recognized Him in the simple breaking of bread, His Holy Presence is with us in the simplicity of our every day lives. Lord, please open our eyes to You, today! You are here with us right here, right now!

His Mercies Are New -- But What About My To-Do List?

His Mercies Are New -- But What About My To-Do List?
My faith journey goes way back to when I was a little girl. I remember almost every verse of so many of the old hymns that we would sing. Those were the days when we still used a hymnal and we sang those old songs that were birthed out of hardships, losses and illnesses. One of my favorites was “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. There’s a line that continues to describe my life as each new day brings new hope AND new concerns about this and that, and how will this and that turn out? The line that resonates within me as sweet assurance comes for this day and tomorrow is: “Morning by morning new mercies I see . . .”

I was thinking about that line yesterday. I woke up, headed straight to my closet, stepped on and off my scale! “YAY! I’m down a pound. I’ll go to Weight Watchers (my monthly weigh-in that keeps me accountable to healthy living and weight control)!” Most mornings when I wake up, after the bathroom call, I head to my office to post my FB message and blog and then send a text message of love to my children. My post and loving on my children already has me thinking about Christ’s mercies and faithfulness, but very quickly after that, I’m already going through my “To-Do” list.

“I must find someone to repair my sprinkler system. Why is that fingernail healing so slowly? I must go to the grocery store. I must pay my bills. I must get my blog ready for tomorrow. I must google Youtube videos to figure out how to install that water filter. I must get the garage cleaned out. I must get gas today. I must finish editing my daughter’s manuscript for her new book. I must. I must. I must.

Oh, I know my little list cannot be compared to you mamas who are overloaded with "To-Do's" -- car pools, school lunches, laundry, businesses to run, and on and on. I think we can all relate that our mornings don’t involve a list of God’s mercies as much as they involve a list of our own concerns. I’m sure we can all boast about how good we’ve become at checking off our “To-Do” list.

But, then, in a sweet moment, that old hymn rolls around in my head and, instead of obsessing over all the “To Do’s”, I start to hum the tune I’ve known since childhood. And it reminds me of the God who has loved me since long before that.
“Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided —
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

That “All I have needed” part is what makes me stop. I come to a complete standstill. Right there in the middle of my kitchen in front of my host of vitamins I NEED to take and I think….. “Do I really believe that? "All I have needed Thy hand hath provided." Do I live like I really believe that?”

His faithfulness is new every morning in a hundred different ways. In the stormy and sunshiny days and in the hectic and calm days. It’s the one thing that doesn’t change. I desperately want to become an expert at believing that…..don’t you?

GRACE…..so AMAZING!!

GRACE is a word I’ve heard all my life because I heard my sweet Mom singing “Amazing Grace” throughout our home and I heard it sung worldwide as an anthem of praise. Why would that old song still be relevant, especially when there are so many wonderful songs of praise that are written and sung today?

My word for today is GRACE. My godson’s 16-years-old, big sister's name is Grace. One of the definitions of grace is simple elegance with refined movement, which fits our tall, slender, elegant GRACE to a tee.

I remember when we had a loan due at the bank and they gave us a GRACE-period. Then there's the tabloid article about the politicians or actors who fell from GRACE. We’ll describe a dancer as GRACEFUL and people who devote their time to the needy as GRACIOUS. Then there’s that meal-time prayer when someone says “Who will say GRACE for us?" No wonder when a foreigner tries to learn our language, they are confused about so many definitions for one simple word GRACE. But, the greatest of all definitions is the one that speaks of "Amazing Grace"– the one, saved by GRACE. That is God’s amazing GRACE -- the free and unmerited favor of God, demonstrated by His great love for us in sending His Son to die for sinners (you and me) and pay the debt He did not owe. GRACE is getting what we do not deserve.

Back to that beloved hymn, "Amazing Grace", that was written by John Newton, a former slave trader in 1772. It is estimated to be performed over 10 million times annually and has appeared on over 11,000 albums. It has been an anthem of hope and faith for generations. Why does that hymn still have such an impact? What was it that John Newton pointed out about God’s GRACE that resonates with us so strongly? It probably has a lot to do with the truth that the Apostle James expresses here: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16). This hymn is a prayer! We pray together as we sing. We confess our need for God’s grace to one another, and look with eyes of faith to the glorious future for us who are "found". The power of this prayer-song transcends time, culture and place. I’m quite sure this song will last right on through eternity. The more we enter deeply into prayer, the more beautiful and stronger our soul becomes and we are able to resist evil and do good.

I attended a large dinner banquet at my church and one of the men at our table told how he knew he had been touched by God and received His "amazing grace" two years' ago in a dramatic way. Though he is still waiting for a liver transplant, he uses his story to speak out to young people of how he seriously abused his body with alcohol and medications. His story was amazing, but then we looked around our table, and we all realized we have our own AMAZING GRACE story of how God's grace kept us, delivered us, spared us, healed us and restored us. We are on the same road.....coming from all directions.....but we are all here to grab someone's hand and help them through because "we've been there, too". God's grace is given TO us, so it can flow THROUGH us to build others up in faith and trust in Him.

Think about God’s GRACE in some of the Bible character’s lives. Moses, whose hot temper led to murder and rebellion against God, and David, who committed adultery and murder. Then turn to the New Testament where a former traitor, SAINT Peter, leads the Church and a former “human rights abuser”, SAINT Paul was the author of one third of the New Testament. Indeed, God’s GRACE is amazing. We can never sink so far that God’s grace will not reach us. At the same time, GRACE does not leave us there. It raises us to new heights, causes us to demonstrate that grace to others in words and actions, and THAT "grace that brought us safe thus far? THAT "grace will lead us home"! THAT GRACE, my friends, really is AMAZING!

Train Up a Child in the Way He Should Go

My husband and I grew up as “church” kids. Our parents made sure we were in church every time the doors opened – Sunday School, Sunday morning and night services, Wednesday night service, Thursday night youth services, and when an evangelist came into town, church was every night of the week. My best friends were those that I grew up with and hung out with at my church. Back in those early years, we learned every Bible story, every hymn and chorus (and the actions), and memorized a lot of scriptures. As children, it was so sweet to know God. Our needs were met, and our wants were provided for, and pressures only came with a big test or exam, or maybe a friend that disappointed us.

Even in those early years, we learned what it was to call upon the God of those Bible stories, scriptures and songs to be our "help". And, the older we got, the more we discovered that all of those years of “child training” established us in life. In fact, we carried those same principles on, and into our children, who are leading their own children by that example.

Now, I realize that our faith was built upon those principles – for example – the same God that kept Daniel in the lion’s den and the three Hebrew boys in the firey furnace, that helped David slay the giant, that opened the Red Sea for Moses, and more than all that, the same God that gave us His only Son who went about doing good, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, died on a rugged cross, was buried and rose from the dead....is the same God who loves us and desires to perform His good works in us today!

That’s what our moms and dads really gave us -- they were instilling in us the fiber, the fortitude, the tenacity, the unwavering faith and strength to draw from, and to know that our God loves us unceasingly, and that when the going gets tough and pressures seem insurmountable, we have a confidence in knowing God is able and willing to meet our every need. We know our hope and trust was, and always will be, in the One whose steadfast love never ceases and His faithfulness will always carry us through. I sure hope these words impress you enough to train your children and grandchildren in the ways they should go. I promise you...it is worth the effort!