Remind Me, Dear Lord

Remind Me Dear Lord
I’m in my cozy chair. I’m a little dozy. I take off my glasses, shut my eyes, and a few minutes later, I’m awakened by this old song in my mind: "Roll back the curtains of memories now and then. Show me where You’ve brought me from and where I could have been. Remember, I’m human and humans forget. So, remind me. Remind me, dear Lord!”"

I was giving a talk a few days ago which included many times of the faithfulness of God in my life. I told the ladies about the tough times my husband and I had early on in our marriage. Two “young sprouts” we were at 17 and 18 and getting married. That should have been the first clue that the future might be bright – but it was on course for some ups and downs – most of all because we were such novices at the “game of life”. Three months in, he declares: “I’m ready for us to start our family!” And, bada-bing-bada-boom – nine months later our baby boy was born and 2-1/2 years later our baby girl was born. Both children had serious illnesses and both children survived and thrived. Thanks be to God!

We had all kinds of financial woes but we also had times of plenty. At the time, it seemed that the storms of life were enough to cause us to cave – but we stayed the course. So here I am these many years later, sitting in my cozy chair and I tear up as that old song comes back to me. “Roll back the curtains of memories now and then. Show me where you’ve brought me from and where I could have been!” BUT, God! Our Anchor and Stabilizer is what brought us through. How well I remember those tough-times and God-carrying-us-through-times memories.

I remember the "I'm going home to my mama" times and my mama's times -- "No, you're not coming home" times. "Donna, you two love each other and you can work it out." So, we did work it out. We always came back to our Center. We remembered our vows, our commitment and we worked it out through the laughter and the tears of growing up and being BIG KIDS now! But it could have all been so much worse. We could have gone our separate ways. We could have given up and thrown in the towel. We could have lost our faith and trust in God. We could have fallen and never gotten up again. Oh, but the amazing grace of God. God reminded me to look back and remember how much we learned in the worst of times -- that carried us through. God is with us through it all.

I can't say it better than the chorus of another old song that I recall as I'm typing this. "He'll do it again. He'll do it again. Just take a look at where you are now and where you have been. Hasn't He always come through for you? He's the same now as then. You may not know how. You may not know when. But, He'll do it again!

Maybe you should roll back the curtains of your memories and recall the faithfulness of God, too. I'm sure you'll find how far you've come, too! "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Weathering the Storm

We’re stoked about the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon being given by the downtown Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital which includes our North location volunteers. It’s going to be a great way to spend a Saturday with some other volunteers going with me. We are decked out in our 50s and 60s outfits because, after all, a prize is going to the best dressed.

First thing, I see an email from Sally: “It looks like the weather is going to be too bad for us to go to the luncheon.” My optimistic, no-worries, "What’s-a-little-storm-anyway?" reply was: “I don't mind taking my car and driving in the rain (I'm used to it. I'm often on the road to Austin or Tulsa in the rain). And when we get there, we'll be parking in the garage. I'll be happy to pick you girls up and we go for it! Let's be adventurous and live with no regrets!” So the girls were onboard for “dragging Main”, until heading out, opening my garage door and a gust of tornadic winds and rains blew back at me. My granddaughter texted me “Tornado!” I went back in and we canceled our outing.

I remembered this photo of a bird weathering the storm and the words: “Sometimes, you just have to bow your head. Say a prayer, weather the storm and trust that this too shall pass.” Many of us handle the challenges in our lives like that bird. We stand in the rain soaking wet with a smile on our faces in our cute pair of galoshes and say, “I’m dry, really, I’m dry.” I know what that’s like because I’m a “STORM-move-out-of-the-way" kind of girl. I can grin and bear it when the weather channel maps are covered with red and sending warnings to take shelter immediately. There were terrifying tornadoes that took the roof off our barn, our parents lost their home in a tornado, ice storms caused a loss of electricity for days, snow storms kept us homebound for days, hail storms devastated our home's roof, and, now, wind and rain storms kept us from a great luncheon. But, I could grin and bear it through most of them!

But, there were times when the storms of life prevailed in my life that brought hurt, disappointment, fear, concern, and pain, unlike those literal storms. Those storms were slow in passing. Those torrential storms upheaved my comfort and security. Those storms shook me physically, mentally and spiritually. I had to admit that my optimistic, no-worries, "What’s-a-little-storm-anyway?" reply didn't work those times.

But, in the midst of some of my darkest hours, LOVE showed up in the form of family and friends who encouraged me with comforting words, but most comforting that I heard within my heart was God's whisper, “I’m here with you.” I also realized I wasn’t the only one who was soaking wet from the storms. Others began to open up to me. It seemed I wasn’t the only one with a storm in her life. Many of us were drenched from the rain and I found out we all had some type of rain in our lives. We were great, big, beautiful soggy messes, and God loved us all.

Maybe you’re muttering under your breath, “I’m dry, really, I’m dry” but your soaking wet from the storms in your life. It's okay to admit it. When we open our eyes to the Peace-Maker and Storm-Chaser walking on the water to us, we’ll finally be free to discover that LOVE is waiting for us right in the center of our storms. Along with this brave little bird, we remind ourselves "to bow our heads, say a prayer, weather the storm and trust that this too shall pass.” I assure you, I’m proof positive that we can weather any storm when we know God is with us and we are safe, sheltered in His loving and sovereign arms. Forecast for tomorrow? Blue skies, sun shining, calm winds.

We Need ANCHOR Stores AND We Need an ANCHOR.

Anchor Store: a department store that is the principal tenant of a mall or a shopping center.

When I was buying and moving into my home here in Frisco a year ago, I was elated because a new Wal-Mart was being built within minutes of my home. And since it opened, I can’t begin to know the number of times I’ve made a quick trip there to pick up that one missing ingredient I needed to complete a recipe. Or, for that last-minute item I needed before I headed out on a trip or to fill up my car with gas before I headed out. So, I’m very thankful for this “anchor” store that is so close to me. Then within a few minutes are a Lowe’s, Kroger’s, Aldi’s, Hobby Lobby, Target, Best Buy, Staple’s – all so conveniently located to me. How wonderful to be living this close to services, stores, restaurants, and medical facilities.

I'm quite self-contained when it comes to being able to take care of my daily needs. I can dress myself, cook and feed myself, wash my own clothes, drive to where I need to go, handle everyday surprises that come up, but when I can't do for myself what needs to be done, I take it to the place that can do it for me. I am so grateful I live in such close proximity to all those stores that pretty well carry everything I need to take care of my necessities.

And, when I come to the end of my rope or when I need a place of comfort from the storms of life or when I need assurance that "everything's gonna' be alright" in my little world.....I have THE ANCHOR -- not the store -- but I go to the ONE Who is the ANCHOR of my soul. God is that HOPE ANCHOR. Hebrews 6:19 " We have this HOPE as an ANCHOR for the soul, firm and secure."

God is Our Very Present Help in Trouble

I read that a tornado battered southern Mississippi last weekend and ripped apart homes, classrooms and buildings at William Carey University in Hattiesburg. Staff members from the university spoke with CNN and explained that while sifting through the damage, they discovered an open Bible on the pulpit of the otherwise-badly damaged campus church. An adjunct art instructor at the private Christian college said, “No building was left untouched, and many appear to be total losses. Tornadoes can be frightfully destructive events, yet the Bible lay perfectly untouched and opened to Psalm 46, which reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The story has since gone viral, boosting campus morale and inspiring awe across the nation.

That story made me recall the tornado that brought devastation to our International Faith Bible College 26+ years ago at Lake Keystone, OK. They heard the reports that they were in the line of the monster twister, so Dad and Mom (Dad was the President of the Bible College and they had an apartment in the West wing of the complex), made their way to the commercial showers and stalls in the middle of the building. The twister hit strong and almost leveled the entire one-story building, save the area where Mom and Dad were standing in the commercial shower, praying for God to be their refuge and strength, knowing He is a very present help in trouble. It seemed the tornado skipped right over the area they were in. They came out without a scratch. I called Mom yesterday and we talked about that day. I asked her if there were any specific items that she remembered in the debris. She remembered a hymnal that was perfectly fine, except that it had been shot into a wall in the sanctuary. It was opened to the song, “It is Truly Wonderful What the Lord Has Done”. LOL! That 1897 song written by Barney Warren had words like these in it:
He keeps me every moment by trusting in His grace;
He brings me through affliction. He leaves me not alone;
He’s with me in temptation. He keeps me for His own.
He prospers and protects me. His love I do enjoy.

Mom and Dad knew where to go in the time of trouble – to a centered room in the building AND to their God who was their refuge and strength.

In reality, there seems to be no certainty in anything, anywhere, EXCEPT that our God is stable, secure, and is our ANCHOR that holds in spite of storms, conflicts and any other force that comes against us. Bottom line. We don't need to fear. God is our rock, our refuge, our shelter in the time of any kind of storm.

It's time to rise above the storms of life and come back to our CENTER and find our peace in Him. Our peace is an incredible testimony in hard times and will help those around us to find Him as their Prince of Peace. He wants to make Himself known in the middle of the present shaking.

Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

TRUST GOD!

Day 70 of Photo Inspirations -- TRUST GOD
Enroute to Dallas yesterday, I saw a man joyfully dancing down the street and waving a sign that said, "TRUST GOD" on it.   This isn't the photo.  I wish I could have gotten it because I would visually be able to show his unabandoned joy to you, but way too much traffic held me back.   Nevertheless, he inspired me.  The first impression of passer-bys was probably "That guy's a 'looney-tune'!"   But, when I saw him, I gave him a big thumbs up as I passed him.  I recognized that joy from personal experience.  Maybe he was deliriously happy because of some great answers to prayer and he was wanting everyone to experience what he was experiencing.  On the other hand, maybe he was acting in faith, TRUSTING GOD, for something that seems almost impossible in the natural.  Either way -- he had the "goods" on trusting.

Think about what a "looney-tune" Noah must have been to those who watched him building the ark for over 100 years.  How about the little shepherd boy, David, standing up to Goliath!   What about Daniel in the lion's den?   What about those of us that trusted God in the storms of life and we came through it all?  Actually, maybe it’s the people who don’t trust in God that are the real "looney tunes".   Maybe people who never take a risk,  never face their fears, and those who don't know how to dance in the storms are the real "looney-tunes".

Honestly, there are days that I am so profoundly overjoyed at the answers to prayer, the blessings that come my way, and sheer delight in my relationship with God -- that I could be that guy in my desire for others to see that TRUSTING GOD truly pays off!   Yes, there are prayers that don't get answered the way we'd like them to.  Often we get a "No" or a "Not yet" answer, and, even so, we learn that total TRUST with complete certainty that He will work it ALL for our good, just becomes our way of life.    TRUST GOD!