Where is God?

I see the moon, and the moon sees me,

God bless the moon, and God bless me!

When we were children, we were told, “God is everywhere.”

Ps. 139:7-10

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Where shall I go from your Spirit? ESV

That seemed pretty nice – if we ever needed God’s help, there He was, right there. On the other hand, if we didn’t want Him to see something we wanted to do, that wasn’t so convenient. But, generally, those verses have always seemed pretty general to me. They aren’t, of course. They are amazing.

Do you ever want some “down time,” when God isn’t looking over your shoulder or into your mind? When you don’t have to guard your thoughts or “be good” all the time? No, you don’t, really. One millisecond away from God would be worse than our worst nightmare. We NEED His right hand to hold us!

A couple of weeks ago, our “through the week” reading in the bulletin included Isaiah 57:15, an absolutely mind-blowing thought. Read slowly, to “get” Who God is. Then read the “and also.”  Does that look like an offhand aside? Or more like the most astonishing thought of the day, today and always?

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.” ESV

--Lynda Shenefield

You Are What You Eat

When I was a little girl, I used to love reading a poem about "Miss T." The recurring line was this: "Whatever Miss T eats/Turns into Miss T!"  (Walter de la Mare).

I am still amazed by the idea that all the toast and broccoli and peanut butter I put into my mouth becomes my own skin and hair and freckles. It's an amazing design of God that uses the nutrients in food to fuel our cells and give energy to our steps. I have a habit of reviewing my daily food intake as I get ready for bed at night. I like to have a balance of foods and prefer to eat mostly plants. This daily review helps me keep mental tabs on myself.

It occurred to me recently that the common metaphor for God's word as food makes this old saying relevant to my spiritual life as well.  I'll bet I'm not the only one who has found a morsel of scripture or a tidbit from a sermon coming to mind at just the right moment. On more times than I can count, a hymn or praise song has run through my mind and out my mouth, bringing unexpected joy and comfort. Obviously, if I had not taken in these words and songs, they wouldn't have been available when I needed them.

It's not a new concept at all, but that doesn't make it any less powerful.  Paul's admonition  to "be transformed by the renewing of [my] mind" (Romans 12:1 ) means that I need to find a way to get the good stuff into my head for that transformation to happen.  Someone has said that people are like tea bags; when we get into hot water, our true nature is revealed. I want my response to stress to be godly,  so I need to be consuming godly material.

As Amy has pointed out for us recently, taking care of the body gets a lot of attention these days--and certainly that's not all bad. But if my concern for toast and peanut butter outweighs my concern for Psalms and Romans, I have bigger problems than an unbalanced diet.

--Sherry Poff

Terrified

"Why didn't you tell me that parenting was so terrifying? lol"

I chuckled as I read the text from my sister at Selah's 4:00 am feeding.  My sister was up feeding her six week old at the same time, and we had been texting back and forth.  When I shared her text with another friend of mine who is a new mom of a two month old, she said, "I completely agree with your sister.  This is the most terrified I've been in my entire life." It reminded me of a quote from one of my favorite choral composers, Eric Whitacre: "The terror of performing never goes away.  Instead, you get very, very comfortable being terrified."  Being entrusted with this helpless little life is terrifying.  If you aren't even the least bit scared, you might not completely realize the immense responsibility that has just been given to you.

If there is anything in life that strips away the illusion you are in any way in control, it's parenting.  You carry this baby for close to forty weeks, hoping and praying she is growing strong and healthy because you can't see what's happening inside. Labor is one of the most unpredictable and inevitable events ever.  I mean, you know you have to go through labor and delivery in some way, shape, or form in order to get this baby out of you, but don't you dare Google or WebMD "labor and delivery" because you will then begin to imagine the hundred and one things that could go wrong. Then, the baby is finally here and for one euphoric moment you think, "That's it! I've done it!' before all the worries and fears about "Is that normal? Should she be doing that? Is that enough diapers?"  Plus there is  our personal favorite, "I don't know why she's crying! Why is she crying? Is something wrong?" :)  Let's not even talk about the actual raising and shepherding of a child or teenager's heart and the worry and unpredictability that brings into your life!

Much of my daily struggle in walking with Jesus has been in trying to direct my own path instead of trusting that He knows the way. As I look at this little baby next to my keyboard, I'm reminded of Paul David Tripp saying, "We are all born into this world as sinners desiring to be God.  Wanting to speak, and it will happen."  I'm a first-born, extroverted educator, so I naturally like being able to plan, predict, and "speak" what is going to happen next. But, parenting is the real life lesson God has given me to teach me to trust and rely on Him. I'm not a big fan of stepping out into the unknown without having my bullet-pointed travel itinerary in one hand and the steering wheel in the other. However, when I truly trust Him, giving all my worries and fears over to Him, those experiences are the sweetest times I have had with my Lord.  Yes, parenting is one of the scariest paths Nathaniel and I have ever undertaken(twice now), but it is also the path that encourages me to walk a little closer beside my Jesus.  Because He knows the way (and why she's crying) even when I do not.

--Gabrielle Haston

(There should be an adorable picture of Selah alongside the computer to accompany this piece, but your blog manager could not get it to transfer properly. So sorry. It's truly the cutest thing ever!)

A Practical Idea to Encourage You to Pray

                                          

My dad and mom believed in praying about EVERYTHING. That is what they taught the four of us...”God wants to hear your prayers and He is interested in EVERYTHING about you.” It was nothing for my dad to stop and pray in a grocery store for a friend who was hurting...or for a cashier who had a burden...or even for my stumped big toe! He was full of adventure and full of faith...that is why we helped him, right along with my mother, in building a church “from scratch” or revitalizing dying churches...mostly in Pennsylvania.

After my mother went to Heaven and Dad was getting older, I thought: “Who is going to pray for all these people like Dad does?” The Lord said: “How about you, Maylou?” Whoa! I had better get busy!

My prayer lists, up until that time, were odds and ends of 3x5 cards, or an occasional paper list. I needed more than that. So...I began a prayer journal. I will be glad to share it with you, if you want. Trust me, it is VERY simple. Basically, lists of dates and names with “ans” for answered...then highlighted in yellow.  It has motivated me to stay on track with my prayer time.

A HUGE help is to have a “distraction sheet” close by. This is just a plain piece of paper to write down any distracting thought (“Did I send a birthday card to Susie Q?”) and focus on my requests.

In the front of my prayer journal, I have written many verses that encourage me to pray even when circumstances seem insurmountable. Just a few...

One of my favorites - Psalm 5:3: “In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before You and WAIT in expectation.”

A verse I pray for my family - Isaiah 41:20: “That they may see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this.”

Mark 9:29 - “...This kind can come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Psalm 31:24 - “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”

A dear friend of ours in England was telling us how she longed to help her son who was having huge financial challenges. Ann told us her son looked at her and said, “Mum, don’t put your hand in your pockets...put them together.” We knew what he meant...”Pray, Mum, pray!!!”

--Maylou Holladay