Memorial Stones for Remembering

Thank you for your indulgence as I have been in inspiration overload from VBS this week. The end of Day 5 brought mixed emotions: “Aw! We Made it!” and “Oh no! It’s Over!” The latter are my words as this joy-filled week is over and I return to my quiet and peaceful home. The former are words the volunteers (most of who are parents of the children and they’re worn out). I was amused at them yesterday. Most of those mamas who were volunteering have young and teenage children and their lives carry on each day after VBS is over. They aren’t afforded my sweet spot of R&R.

Yesterday was the big finale of our Israelites wandering 40 years in the desert. They wound up at the Jordan River, where, on just the other side was their Promised Land. It was precious to see a re-enactment of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant up to the edge of the Jordan by kindergartners. When their feet touched the water, the waters parted and they went across on dry ground. Our teen volunteers pulled back the “plastic” waters where there were stones that would be the memorial stones that marked bringing God’s people into the Promised Land. How appropriate for the conclusion of this week. The entire week was a “memorial” indelibly imprinted in their minds and mine. I won’t forget those little faces of wonder and awe.

It may be now, or it may be years down the road, but those memories and memorials that we create in our children DO have an impact on those bright-eyed faces. God Bless you, VBS leaders, crews and volunteers for the eternal investment you are making in the lives of these precious children!

While VBS is a summer staple for families every year, it’s certainly not the end-all. This scripture describes what I see in the labor of love that these families and volunteers provide – way more than just this one week: “You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Let these words that I’m commanding you today be always on your heart. Teach them repeatedly to your children. Talk about them while sitting in your house or walking on the road, and as you lie down or get up. Tie them as reminders on your forearm, bind them on your forehead, and write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) That panoramic view is much more descriptive of an endless process of training our children in the way they should go – not just for a week – but every day of the year.

The lessons I learned early on, the scriptures I memorized, and the stories of faith and trust in God carried on into my life today. The stories and scriptures are what sustained and strengthened me in my toughest times and have given me joy and peace in my faith journey. I promise you, teaching your children about God and His Word, will carry them through to adulthood and even beyond to the families they will have some day. When you see them teaching their children one day, you'll be ever grateful for the seeds you planted. That's how I felt this week when I witnessed these children shouting out answers to questions in our Faith Station – that came from more than a week at VBS. Those little eyes and ears were watching and listening this week. They also watch and listen in your homes. Keep laying the foundation that will keep them standing strong. That’s a constant, never-changing message to continue sharing and one that I’m willing to stake my life upon! How about you?

Set Apart and Consecrated

The word, consecrate, stood out to me in my devotions yesterday. Consecrate: to make something or declare something sacred, blessed, sanctified, make holy, dedicated to God, devoted, reserved, anointed, set apart.

In Luke 2, we read that Jesus' parents took Him to the temple to be consecrated to God. We took that seriously as the template for consecrating our children to God when they were babies. We verbally, from our hearts, consecrated them to God and we prayed that they would be set apart by God, for God.

Often we attribute that word to only religious connotations when we're in church or to those "religious" people who are becoming pastors, priests, deacons, evangelists, nuns, etc. But Joshua told the Hebrews in Joshua 3:5 "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." Israel needed to remember what kind of people God was calling them to be. They were moving into the Promised Land to establish a nation that would display God’s character and will that fulfilled God's promise to bless all nations through His people (Genesis 12:1-3). God was setting them apart as His holy people for His work that required holiness in their lives.

Yesterday morning as I read about "consecration", the words to this old hymn by Fannie Crosby, "Draw Me Nearer" came to me:
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

What if that were the prayer we prayed, not just for ourselves, but for our families, our marriages, our children, and our businesses? "Lord, I ask you to "consecrate" (set apart, make holy, bless, make sacred) my family, my children, my business, my marriage." That prayer means stepping away from things and actions that are outside of a "consecrated" life, like the way we manage our personal funds, the way we treat our husband or wife; the way we dress and the way we use our time and talents; what we watch like questionable internet sites, movies, literature and from the priorities we set for ourselves to the way we love and respect each other -- in our homes, business and the marketplace. Consecrating our families means building homes of integrity and honor that will build a legacy; giving God priority in decision making; making God CENTER of everything.

We live in a world when it's often difficult to distinguish whose side we're on, but when we take Joshua's words seriously from Joshua 24:14,15 "Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," then there's no question whose side we're on. We've been consecrated and we're on the Lord's side.

Does Your Heart Need a Defibrillator (Your Spiritual Heart, that is)?

A few days ago I shared about the rhythms of our lives and if we trust God, He will set the tempo and even when there's ups and downs, we'll understand all the various rhythms can be by God's design. I knew I was supposed to move to Texas when my home in Tulsa sold with little effort. Maybe I was disillusioned into thinking I was moving to my Promised Land, to a "land flowing with milk and honey" instead of giants in the land. (Okay -- I'm thinking about Joshua and his spies checking out their Promised Land again.)

While I've had my share of "milk and honey", I've also run into some distractions (like the hail damage to my home, property insurance issues, a misjudgment on how close a car was in front of me that led to a collision, a flu bug that landed on me, indecisiveness about some other decisions, etc.), that my mind went into a "tilt" mode and I actually started thinking "Is this all because I moved to Texas?" Hmm! That also sounds like Joshua's crowd "Yes, there's milk and honey there, but we're like grasshoppers compared to them!" This "side" was supposed to have been the "greener" side. Wah! Wah! Wah! Doesn't that sound like Debbie "Downer"? LOL!

It wasn't long before I knew I was exactly in the place God wanted me to be OR the enemy wouldn't be nagging at me so much. I needed to heed my Father's words, from the outset, "Trust Me!" Those adversities had me out of rhythm. It occurred to me -- I wasn't handling the adversity the right way, because adversity can actually restore our prayer and praise rhythm and resurrect our relationship with our Father Who loves us, cares for us and knows what's best for us. When we apply the "defibrillator" of praying AND praising, those dead emotions and attitudes of defeat will be destroyed and replaced by unstoppable and audacious faith in God's Word and promises that we MUST HAVE in the days we're living in!

I shared that my car had to be towed into the Buick dealership because it wouldn't start. Of all things, it wouldn't start because the gas tank was empty, even though the indicator said there was gas in it. I was facing an $1100 repair. My heart got its heartbeat back when I started praying and praising AND when I was told "The $1100 will be taken care of by your extended warranty!" It was like the Jericho walls came tumbling down. Yes, I prayed, but I needed to praise after I prayed -- because I could trust in Him who said "Trust Me!" Prayer is asking God to do something (future tense) and praise is believing that God has already done it -- past tense -- just like when God told Joshua (before the walls came down) "“Look! I have given Jericho over to your control" (Joshua 6:2). The defibrillator of prayer and praise set Joshua and his troops to walking, and my feet dancing and my heart pumping strong on God's unfailing love and grace.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."