"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Emerson

Sunday, August 29, 2010

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." - Victor Hugo

I needed that...

Here's to a never slumbering God...

Until next time,
-C.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

It takes a special person...

"It takes a special person to do what you do" is a comment I get over and over when people find out I am a military wife. They don't mean it to be an insult, but so often it ends up becoming one. It is almost as if they are insinuating that somehow I have some special features in my make up that make the loneliness, fears, isolation and anxieties of military life that much easier. Believe you me, I don't. In fact, those who knew me before I joined this crazy, mixed up life (who gets married and spends more time apart than together???), can testify that I did not hold the qualifications of a good military wife. I am fearful. I am anxious. I hate change. I abhor moving. I cannot stand being alone. I don't like doing things on my own. Military wife extraordinaire, I was not built to be!

But, the greatest part about God is He likes to use the ordinary, the ones who were not meant for the tasks at hand, in extraordinary situations. He likes to put the meek, timid ones in charge of spreading the gospel. He likes to take an unwed teenage girl and use her to bring the world redemption. He likes to use the stuttering, babbling man and deliver His commands through him. Yeah, our God likes taking the ordinary and using them for the extraordinary.

So, if you ever see a military wife, a single mom, a widow, a minister, a teacher or just anyone you think God built with some super special powers to do super special things, remember they were not. In fact, they are probably just ordinary, just like you, doing what God has set before them. It is so easy to not see ourselves in the people of God's word. We somehow think they held some key or knew some knowledge that we don't possess. Yet, usually the only difference between us and them is their willingness to answer His call.

"Elijah was a man just like us..." -James 5:17

Here's to all the ordinary ones...

Until next time,
-C.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Note to self...

I thought I'd repost a blog I wrote last year. It is one of those things I need to remind myself of constantly, how about you?

The Gentle Whisper

Man, I couldn't even go a month without writing. I sure did try, but words have been trying to leap out of my heart for days now. I guess the only thing to do is share them with you.

This scripture just pierced my soul and I am wondering if it will pierce yours.

"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."
-1 Kings 19:11-12 (NIV)



Elijah's story is that of a most faithful servant, who but in the same breath almost lost His faith altogether. In his inhale, he was amazed by God's faithfulness to him, yet in the exhale was struck by paralyzing fear as he faced adversity.


And as wind, earthquakes, and fire erupted before his eyes, he kept looking for his God. Yet, it wasn't in the loud, powerful promulgations that God made known His presence, but rather, through a soft, gentle whisper.



How often do we find ourselves like Elijah? Believing wholeheartedly in the power of our God in one drawed in breath, and then, watching that belief all but disapear in the next. Then, as God comes to reveal Himself to us, we become so fixated on monstrous, palpable demonstrations that we miss the faint sound of His voice saying, "Here I am!"



Can we get our respiration to reflect the truth of God's character? Can we find belief when circumstance entices us towards doubt? Can we focus our ears and eyes not on the sounds of the disasters that whiz by us, but on the gentle whisper that comes afterwards?



Faith is not for the meandering charlatan, but rather for the persistent pathfinder, who blazes through the unkown towards the sound of a simple hushed utterance.



Here's to hearing the gentle whisper...


Until next time,
-C.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Military Wives Bible Study

Military Wives!!!
Looking to start a Bible study in your area? Or do you already have one going? Here is a topical study (meaning every week is different and self-contained, no traditional "homework" style assignments!) I created for Jocelyn Green's Faith Deployed site/book:
Click HERE to download your FREE copy!!