My Fear Doesn't Stand a Chance When I Stand in Your Love

My morning routine -- make my daily blog post, check emails, scroll through my social media, encourage and pray for those who reflect they need “team” support and prayer. A valiant, warrior mom’s post stopped me in my tracks yesterday.

This most amazing wife and mom has fought the good fight of faith for her precious son for many years. She is typically in full on battle mode as she keeps him comfortable, celebrates his victories (often a smile does that), dotes on him and does everything she can to help him thrive. But this day, she says (in an excerpt from her post): “Today was one of those days that I feel like I’m in a shoot for a movie that I never signed up for a role in. The doctor is talking...I know he’s looking at me and saying things that I’m supposed to remember but all I can feel is the storm. Three people all looking at me in a doctor’s office. Waiting. Waiting for me to make the call. I can’t even remember what the choices were. If that’s what you even want to call them.
Why do I have to make the choice? I’m not ready. What did you say? My husband isn’t here. Why? Why us? Why more? All the while looking around the room in a half daze like where are the cameras? There must be cameras here because this doesn’t happen in real life. Touché. Oh, how I wish this cup could pass us. I feel like I’m starting to lose hope. I feel like this war we have been faithfully waging will never be won. I’m tired of having bad days more than we have good days.”

Early this morning, I was hearing (in my head) Josh Baldwin’s song: “Stand in Your Love”. I thought about the lyrics when I read this friend’s post so I commented: “I know why I was thinking about this song this morning before I read your post. Sweet girl! You are such a valiant warrior and a most amazing mother to this precious little man! We continue to stand and when we've done all to stand -- we keep standing because we're standing in God's love! Listen to this song because I know it will minister to you! Love you so much!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2tMt0Ky6g

I don’t typically pass along someone’s post, but this day I sensed there are others who feel just like my friend. You’ve been given news that has jolted you. You are overcome with pressures and concerns about what today and tomorrow will hold for you and your loved one. You are ready to throw in the towel and give up. The strong faith you once had feels like it has drained entirely out of you. You, too, are ridden with starting to lose hope and you think the war you are waging will never be won.

I tell you what I told this sweet friend. STAND!!! Don’t give up! God is saying “Hold on, My child! Weeping lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

I believe Josh Baldwin’s song lyrics are for you today, too:
When darkness tries to roll over my bones;
When sorrow comes to steal the joy I own;
When brokenness and pain is all I know;
Oh, I won't be shaken, no, I won't be shaken.

My fear doesn't stand a chance;
When I stand in Your love.

The good news is this sweet mama put her combat boots back on and she is standing strong another day – for a miracle. I love her Facebook banner. It says: “Expect a miracle. All things are possible.” And I speak that to you, too, mighty warriors! You and God have got this! You are an overcomer and are equipped for victory! Tough times don't last, but tough people, with God's help, do!

What is Your Foundation Built Upon?

Is Your Home Built on Firm Foundation?
I heard a riveting sermon yesterday about foundations – of buildings, homes, AND people. When prevailing winds and storms come (and they will), what is it that keeps structures firmly standing? What is it that gives the strength, will, and determination to outlast the storms of life?

Remember the story Jesus Christ told about two builders in Matthew 7:24-27? One builder made the decision to go the easy, less time-consuming way and simply build his house on sand, while the other wiser builder, made the better decision to build his home on rock foundation. The rock was probably difficult to chip into and level off a footing for the house. It probably took a long time to attach the structure to the bedrock. A rocky terrain would take time, patience and hard work. But that wise man seemed to have considered such factors and to have believed it would be worth the effort.

Built into the rock, his house could endure the inevitable storms that would come. The other careless builder may have had too much to do or was in a hurry to have a house and get on with "more important" matters. But what could be more important than a FIRM foundation?

Yesterday, in that sermon, parents and teachers were encouraged to ensure that their children were having strong foundations built in their lives. It is in their early years, that their core values, their faith AND their faithfulness values are being built that will guarantee strong, weather-proof houses in their future.

My personal “ROCK-solid” foundation came as a result of having parents that loved and served God with all their hearts and modeled that love to me daily. Sure it took methodical training and teaching and living the example before me.

My husband built several homes. It seemed the foundation part of building those homes took forever. But, he was ensuring that those homes were being built on firm foundation -- so much so that he reinforced those walls with steel and poured concrete into the footings. That's what my parents were doing when they took me to church to reinforce everything they were teaching me at home. I learned and memorized scriptures that supported my faith and God's love for me.

Yesterday, at church, we sang this song over and over, and the more we sang it, the more it felt like a "foundation" anthem and the more inspired I was with this post for today: “I will build my life upon Your love; it is a firm foundation; I will put my trust in You alone, and I will not be shaken".

I remember Robert Schuller’s book entitled “Tough times don’t last – but tough people do!” I've known some tough people that weathered some of the greatest storms of life and they did so because of their Anchor, their Rock, their Fortress Who was their FIRM foundation. Maybe you're feeling a little shaky today -- in your faith and in your emotions that are getting the best of you, and in truly believing that you will survive the storms that surround you. The first part of Jesus' parable about the builders goes like this: "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock......" Begin to reinforce and build that firm foundation of Jesus Christ. He is that ROCK-solid foundation that will give you the stability your heart and life needs now and in the future. Trust in Him and His ability to carry you through the toughest of storms and that in doing so, you will never be shaken but will stand....and stand strong!

"Prepare for the Worst; Pray for the Best"

Those are words we've continued to hear during the anticipation and preparation for Hurricane Irma as it "barrels toward Florida". At 6:30 am, Florida time, I'm watching Fox News and I'm thankful to hear "we're praying" over and over. So many people huddled up in their homes, storm shelters, packed airports with all flights grounded, and many evacuated to safer places. Dear God, we pray for all those who don't know what today or tomorrow holds. May they call out to You, Who knows, for mercy and strength and may "It Be Well With Their Souls".

"It Is Well With My Soul" is a hymn written by Haratio Spafford, that I've sung during some of my own darkest hours. It tells me through my tears, God is the only ONE that sees the beginning from the end and that I must stand, though the pain seems unbearable. I know God will somehow make a blessing come out of any tragedy I might find myself in because out of the ashes and pain, I can say “Even so, it is well with my soul.”

Spafford a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a loving family — a wife, Anna, and five children, were no strangers to tears and tragedy. Their young son died from pneumonia in 1871, and in that same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire. Yet, in God's mercy, the business flourished.

On Nov. 21, 1873, the French ocean liner, Ville du Havre, was crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe with 313 passengers on board. Among the passengers were Mrs. Spafford (Anna) and their four daughters. Haratio would be joining his family a few days later. Four days into the crossing of the Atlantic, the ship collided with a powerful, iron-hulled Scottish ship. Anna hurriedly brought her four children to the deck. She knelt there with them and prayed that God would spare them if that could be His will, or to make them willing to endure whatever awaited them. Within approximately 12 minutes, the ship slipped beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic, carrying with it 226 of the passengers, including the four Spafford children.

A sailor, rowing a small boat over the spot where the ship went down, spotted Anna floating on a piece of the wreckage. He pulled her into the boat and they were picked up by another large vessel which, nine days later, landed them in Cardiff, Wales. From there she wired her husband a message which began, “Saved alone, what shall I do?” Horatio booked passage on the next available ship and sailed to join his grieving wife. With the ship about four days out, the captain called Spafford to his cabin and told him they were over the place where his children went down.

According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born later after the tragedy, Spafford wrote this anthem ,“It Is Well With My Soul”, while on this journey. Can you imagine the broken heart of a loving father who found his solace and comfort in God and was able to pen it so that you and I can rise out of our darkest hours to sing along with him, "It is well with my soul."

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Chorus:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul

PSALM 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."

We’ve heard the quote “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” Tragedy can strike when we least expect it. Some crumble during suffering while others triumph over tragedy. Somehow they become better, not bitter; they rise to the occasion of hope and faith and without question, they recover much faster than others.

We’ve heard the quote “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” I'm praying for tough people this morning and I pray they triumph over whatever comes their way today. Oh how I pray that during these difficult times, God will draw especially close to them. May these experiences with our all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful Heavenly Father, teach us all that nothing is worth more than our relationship with Him. May God’s nearness be the most precious thing to them. Spafford knew this -- he knew soul-wellness—even in the midst of heartbreak. I pray that Floridians and all who face a crisis today come to know that Christ is WITH them and strengthens them. We we all sing the anthem of “It is Well With My Soul” today.

What a Difference Perspective Makes

Six years ago, I knew God had me on a mission. I knew I was mandated to "rise to the occasion". In spite of the challenging times we were in during that entire year, I knew God had given me a mandate that included finding the blessing in every situation we were encountering – to find the rainbow in the many rainy and cloudy days we were going through. Then, to write about it and live out “tough times don’t last but tough people do”. Help others see that in the worst of times, God will shine His bright light to penetrate the darkest nights. It was during those times that I begin to write blogs about our experiences. In the worst of times, with God's help, we prevailed and, in fact, found the silver lining in every one of those clouds. We realized that our perspective made the biggest difference. Rather than the perspective of "Why me? Why us?", we lived in the perspective of "being safe in the middle of the storm".

Along with my blogging, I was intent, each day, to find the “just right” photo or picture that would help me illustrate my point. I’d go through hundreds of photos before finding “the one”. That photo might have ended up being way too pixelated to use – especially when I enlarged the photo and added text to it. Could you have been able to tell that this distorted photo here was this girl and boy? When we are in the midst of a difficult season, it becomes overwhelming because we can’t see a way out or see what the purpose is or see when it will change. We want to know why and we want to make sense of it all. But when we take a moment to remember Who is painting the picture, we can rest in our faith.

When we let our own limited perspective get in our way, we miss Him in the middle of it all. When we dwell on the outcome, we miss what is happening now. He is right there with us. He knows the way. Isaiah reminds us that His ways and thoughts are beyond us. There are things we just can’t see or know. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’ {Isaiah 55:8-9}

Perspective. You know the saying "You can't see the forest for the trees." Oftentimes we're so caught up in the middle of it all that we forget that we are smack dab in the place where God can fulfill His destiny and purpose in us the best. I know we all can look back on a time with a different perspective and see the hand of God at work.

Even though we may not see things clearly, just hold on. Time will pass and we will see it as clearly as He had planned. It will be like seeing with new eyes. Seeing things through His planned perspective. ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ {Jeremiah 29:11}

The first photo here is almost incomprehensibie, but once I tweaked it, it became perfectly clear -- two adorable kids (the youngest in each of my two children's families). Now we can sing that song " I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, it's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) SON-Shiny day..

What a difference the proper perspective can make. Keeping our eyes focused on the Storm Chaser, the Burden Bearer, the Safe Shelter -- keeps our perspective in focus!

What a Difference Perspective Makes

Six years ago, I knew God had me on a mission. I knew I was mandated to "rise to the occasion". In spite of the challenging times we were in during that entire year, I knew God had given me a mandate that included finding the blessing in every situation we were encountering – to find the rainbow in the many rainy and cloudy days we were going through. Then, to write about it and live out “tough times don’t last but tough people do”. Help others see that in the worst of times, God will shine His bright light to penetrate the darkest nights. It was during those times that I begin to write blogs about our experiences. In the worst of times, with God's help, we prevailed and, in fact, found the silver lining in every one of those clouds. We realized that our perspective made the biggest difference. Rather than the perspective of "Why me? Why us?", we lived in the perspective of "being safe in the middle of the storm".

Along with my blogging, I was intent, each day, to find the “just right” photo or picture that would help me illustrate my point. I’d go through hundreds of photos before finding “the one”. That photo might have ended up being way too pixelated to use – especially when I enlarged the photo and added text to it. Could you have been able to tell that this distorted photo here was this girl and boy? When we are in the midst of a difficult season, it becomes overwhelming because we can’t see a way out or see what the purpose is or see when it will change. We want to know why and we want to make sense of it all. But when we take a moment to remember Who is painting the picture, we can rest in our faith.

When we let our own limited perspective get in our way, we miss Him in the middle of it all. When we dwell on the outcome, we miss what is happening now. He is right there with us. He knows the way. Isaiah reminds us that His ways and thoughts are beyond us. There are things we just can’t see or know. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’ {Isaiah 55:8-9}

Perspective. You know the saying "You can't see the forest for the trees." Oftentimes we're so caught up in the middle of it all that we forget that we are smack dab in the place where God can fulfill His destiny and purpose in us the best. I know we all can look back on a time with a different perspective and see the hand of God at work.

Even though we may not see things clearly, just hold on. Time will pass and we will see it as clearly as He had planned. It will be like seeing with new eyes. Seeing things through His planned perspective. ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ {Jeremiah 29:11}

The first photo here is almost incomprehensibie, but once I tweaked it, it became perfectly clear -- two adorable kids (the youngest in each of my two children's families). Now we can sing that song " I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, it's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) SON-Shiny day..

What a difference the proper perspective can make. Keeping our eyes focused on the Storm Chaser, the Burden Bearer, the Safe Shelter -- keeps our perspective in focus!

Are You Planted Firmly on the SPOT?

Are You Planted Firmly on the SPOT?
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be LIKE A TREE planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7,8

Living in Oklahoma, we know what those violent winds, lightning, and even ice can do to a tree. The winds threaten to uproot the tree and carry it away. The lightning and the ice breaks off branches. And when the storm is over, whether it’s a summer storm or a winter ice storm, things can look quite hopeless for that tree.

Yet, if we look closer; the same storm that opened crevices in the earth around the trunk of the tree helped the roots go deeper. And now, the tree has access to new, deeper sources of nutrition and water. And it has been purged of all its dead branches. We witnessed that with a tall tree in our own yard. When the winter’s ice storm stripped the tree of so many of its largest branches, it looked as if that tree would surely die, but we determined to wait, and sure enough, that tree returned to full foliage and even more beautiful than before.

Metamorphically speaking, if we would be like those trees that crave being planted by God's river of life, we, too, would weather the "faith challenging" storms that come to us. Those opposing winds can sure blow hard against us -- even shaking us violently. We even wonder if we'll even make it another day. But when we stand firmly in our faith, trusting in the Lord, with our confidence in Him, then we'll be like that tree that is planted by the water. We won't need to fear. We'll embrace the winds, because we'll know they come to only make us stronger. Just like the tree's roots that run deep, our "faith" root system will run deep and we'll be nourished and strengthened to stay STANDING on the SPOT! Tough times don't last....but tough trees do!

In my case, the "Donna tree" is soon to be physically transplanted to a whole new city and state, but it doesn't depend on where that will be, because my root system is "non-transplantable". It is FIXED on the SPOT where it was planted in the first place. This tree will never lose touch with the source of its strength. This tree trusts in the Lord and my confidence -- in the storms and in the sunshine -- is in Him!

It Was So Good -- We Did It Again!

Day 363 of Photo Inspirations -- It Was So Good -- We Did It Again!
These photo inspirations are near and dear to my heart.  This day, 14 years ago, my Sweetheart and I resaid our wedding vows during our 35th year of marriage.  I'd like to say it was 35 years of wedded bliss -- all sweet, rosy and delightful times that caused us to want to repeat our vows, and there were plenty of those, but in reality, there were plenty of ups and downs, times we were just not on the same page. There were lots of challenges and struggles.  So on this 35th year of marriage, we were celebrating that we were two tough cookies that believed when we said our vows....."To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part", we meant it.  We stuck together like glue.....and as the years passed by, the bond we had became more precious.

Some of the vows I said were Ruth's words to her mother-in-law, Naomi, when Naomi told her to return to her roots after her husband, Naomi's son, had been killed.  But Ruth said to her, and I said to my husband, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." Ruth 1:16.   Who knew (we sure didn't) that I would follow my Sweetheart as he fell in love with the Catholic Church after having been a Protestant evangelist, pastor and teacher for most of his life and having had parents who were Protestant pastors for over 50 years.  Those vows rang true as  where he went, I went.   His love became my love.  The beautiful and loving Catholic people became my dearest friends.  The spiritual renewal that ignited the Charismatic Catholic Renewal in the 60s, and continues today, caused our hearts to burn with love for all of God's kids like never before -- wherever they place their love and commitment to Christ.  Today I am more active in evangelism and spiritual renewal than ever before.  Honestly, leading people to Christ and the abundant life He promises and gives, is my greatest goal in life.

These photos were taken at the "resaying of our vows" in a lovely Catholic chapel in San Diego, CA -- where we had just opened a Food Pantry to feed the hurting and broken people in that area.  The icing on the cake after that, was our sweet and tender time of recommitting to those beautiful vows we had spoken 35 years before -- this time we did it in full knowledge that the roads could be very bumpy ahead, but it didn't matter because our devotion and love for each other was worth it all.

I shared all this with you, my dear FB friends and family, before this year ends, to share with those of you who are married and are experiencing some tough times -- challenging times, but I urge you to be TOUGH and steadfast to your vows before God, because tough times don't last, but tough people, tough marriages, and taking tough stands on what commitment, love, trust, and devotion are all about, do.  It is worth every effort, because the toughest journeys make the sweetest victories....even greater.   Trust me. We proved it!