Category: Columns

I spent the morning filling bags with clothing that other people could wear. My closet had grown too full of things that I have enjoyed but no longer need. (My friends would tell you I tend to hang on to things a few seasons longer than I should!) It felt great to hand bags to Goodwill and drive home knowing my closet was a little easier to navigate in the days ahead.

As the seasons change, there is something fulfilling about bringing some of that change into our surroundings as well. Soon I’ll pull out the fall decorations, the sweaters, and the winter shoes. I’ll put away the summer things and look forward to the time I pull them back out of the cabinet. I actually like most changes because they give me a chance to renew and refine life just a bit.

A few years ago we remodeled our master bath. I have to admit I got tired of the mess before the job was finished. But, every day I walk into my remodeled surroundings and I’m glad we went to the expense and effort to get it done. Some changes are easy and quick ways to improve life. Others can be tough and require a little more patience and endurance. Occasionally change is drastic and painful to endure. One thing is certain: change is going to happen for our entire lives.

As you know, I’m a big fan of Fixer Upper on HGTV. In fact, I enjoy a lot of the programs on that network. It amazes me to watch an old, smelly, rundown home become new again in just one hour. In reality it takes months, but on television it only takes moments. I think that is how God views our lives from his perspective. We see our lives in seasons, or one room at a time. God sees the entirety of our lives as the finished product. They might look like a torn up mess, but he already sees the full remodel revealed. I recently found a quote by C. S. Lewis that painted a picture of change I hope to remember. Lewis wrote:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Each of us is a fixer upper and God purchased us anyway. Some lives need more work than others, but all of us need more work than we realized. Our master “remodeler” is the perfect contractor who brings in the right workers at the right time. Sometimes the job is just a “cosmetic fix” as they like to say on that show. But other times there is a sledgehammer necessary because a wall needs to come down. Lewis was right when he said we thought we were “a decent little cottage.” I think most of us would settle for being less than who God wants us to be.

But God purchased us with the intention of doing a full remodeling job. We would like for our lives to be a “quick fix” but most of the time it will take a lifetime to turn us into the final product God has in mind. So, the next time change comes our way, let’s try to see it from God’s point of view. He is building us into a palace because, after all, Jesus lives within.

I think Paul and C. S. Lewis must enjoy hanging out together in heaven. From what I can tell, they were similar personalities. Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

God was compassionate enough to purchase our lives even though he knew we would take a lot of remodeling. I know there are some awful rooms he looks at and determines are “total gut jobs.” Other rooms he chooses to refine and redecorate. Joyfully, he continues to refresh and update our lives, as long as we live. Change doesn’t seem as difficult if we realize it is just part of a larger remodeling job. We might be cottages now, but our final blueprint is for that palace!

I think I’ll tackle another closet before lunch! I’m sure I have a lot more stuff around here that I should give away. I hope it will be a blessing to someone else. Change is good, necessary, and always for a greater purpose. Look around your home. Do you have any closets, rooms or even floor plans that need some remodeling? Invite the “Contractor” into your life . . . even if He is carrying a sledgehammer. It will be worth it in the end.

Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: How do you manage the level of your child’s participation in extra-curricular activities?

Wesley Noah Denison, the son of our youngest son, was worth the wait. He was due August 19th and wasn’t born until the 31st. He is a strong, beautiful, healthy boy and instantly loved by his family. A newborn baby is a reminder of the perfection of God. It is good to hold a baby and remember that God holds each of us with the powerful and abiding love a parent has for their child.

Wesley’s mom, Rachel, spoke of the immediate love and compassion she felt for Wesley as soon as the nurses laid him in her arms. Rachel had a long wait and the last days were difficult, but Wesley Noah’s arrival quickly replaced those memories with joy. I watched my “baby” hold his baby, and enjoyed the look on his face as he watched his son. Wesley will teach Craig and Rachel even more about God’s love in the days ahead. Perfect joy is worth the wait, and waiting is one of God’s perfect lessons.

Why is waiting such a big part of our earthly lives? We probably all have something we are waiting on, waiting for, or waiting to happen. We wait until it is time to leave and then wait to arrive where we are going. We wait in traffic, wait for doctors to call with a report, wait for kids to grow up, wait for jobs to change, and wait for our hopes to become realities.

Some studies suggest the average American spends about an hour a day waiting. Of course there are a lot of variables, but an hour a day seems about right. I was thinking about the days we spent waiting for the phone to ring telling us that Wesley was born. We continued to do the normal things of life, but his birth was always in our thoughts. Sometimes waiting is something we sense we are doing even while busy with other things.

I had a new thought last week while waiting for the phone to ring. I checked Scripture and I checked with my “live-in commentary” otherwise known as my husband, Jim. I could not find one reference about waiting in heaven. I considered the idea that waiting is only something we do on earth. Imagine never waiting for anything ever again. The more I learn about heaven, the more perfect it becomes.

James began his letter to the congregation he loved saying, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Perseverance is produced through the things that test our faith, but the “full effect” is an existence that is “perfect, complete and lacking in nothing.”

The hardest moments, the longest waits, the most difficult trials are the things that refine our faith and teach us perseverance. A few verses later James tells us: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). The crown of life is the last thing we will ever wait for. Once we receive that crown, there will be no more need to persevere or wait for anything.

We will be standing next to Jesus when God rewards us with our crowns. We will be in the presence of God and our Savior. We won’t wait for knowledge, direction, or good news. We won’t wait for peace, health, or joy. We won’t wait for satisfaction, success or safety. We won’t wait for anything because we will have achieved everything.

Oswald Chambers said, “Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen.” Perseverance is waiting with assurance because our hope is in God’s word. Some of what made the wait for Wesley seem difficult was the desire to see him safely born into this world. Now that Wesley is here his mom and dad will persevere just like every mom and dad before them. Raising children is a wonderful, challenging, and joyful act of faith and love.

We will wait to see Wesley smile, sit up, crawl, walk, and say his first words. We will wait to see him reach all of those early milestones and then we will wait to see what kind of man he will grow to become. Most importantly we will wait for the day he receives Jesus as his Lord and chooses to live with Kingdom purpose.

Perseverance is more than endurance . . . it is knowing God will work in the lives of the people we love. But one day, we will be done waiting—because God’s work will be complete. Heaven is perfection, and when we receive our crown, we will have nothing else to wait for, ever again.

Let’s remember Jesus’ word to John on the island of Patmos. It is our word of encouragement today. Jesus said: I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown (Revelation 3:11). That crown is the last thing we will ever have to wait for. Until then, we persevere with confidence.

In the meantime, we will persevere in prayer for our sweet grandson, knowing that God has a wonderful plan for his life. Wesley Noah Denison has been a wonderful reminder that the perfection of God is always worth the wait.

Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: How do you manage the level of your child’s participation in extra-curricular activities?

Colossians 4:5 encourages us to make “the best use of the time” God has given us. Psalm 90:12 tells us to “number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Our grandparents told us to slow down and enjoy our lives. Their grandparents probably told them the same thing. Why do we spend so much time looking down the road, around the corner, or at our personal schedules for the week ahead? What if the best moments of life are found by enjoying whatever you are doing in the moment?

There are some interesting statistics available to us about the way we spend our time. According to one article, the average person, who lives to be seventy-five years old, will spend his or her time as follows:

— Twenty-six years will be spent sleeping and seven years lying awake, trying to fall asleep.

— Eleven years of our life will be spent in front of the television set.

— Eight years will be spent shopping.

— Three years will be spent doing laundry.

— 10.3 years will be spent at work.

— 4.4 years will be spent eating.

— Five years will pass as we surf the Internet.

— The average American will only spend seven years outdoors.

— Forty to sixty hours a year are spent in traffic; one in three teens sends more than 100 texts each day.

— Women spend 136 days getting ready to go somewhere while men need 46 days to do the same thing.

— We spend six minutes a day laughing; in the 1950s people laughed for eighteen minutes each day.

The survey estimates that most Americans have about six hours each day for discretionary use. How do you want to use that six hours today . . . that forty-two hours this week . . . that 1168 hours each year? Are you enjoying your life as much as you should? Are we accomplishing as much for God’s Kingdom as we could? Are we laughing often enough?

Ephesus was one of the fastest paced, most metropolitan cities in the first century culture. Located on the sea, the streets and harbor were constantly filled with travelers from around the world. Paul spent a great deal of time in the city and so did the Apostle John. The Christian church there became one of the most influential in the first century. And Paul admonished them saying, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17).

It is hard to know what Paul meant when he said “the days are evil,” but many theologians think he was speaking about the culture of the city. The Roman government, the Greek philosophies, and the Jewish legalism were all opposed to God’s plan and purpose. But Paul encouraged them to be wise and make the best use of their time.

I think Paul would say the same thing to each of us. We can know God’s will because we have the Bible and his Holy Spirit to guide us. If we understand and walk in God’s will we will be wise and make the best use of our time. And I imagine we will laugh a lot more, watch television a lot less, and enrich the twenty-four hours God has given us each day of our lives.

Jim and I lost a good friend last week. He was only a few years older than we are. We have spent a lot of time over the past few days asking ourselves and God if we are “making the best use of our time.” It is a good exercise.

The next time you are spending some of those minutes stuck in traffic, lying in bed waiting to fall asleep, or getting ready to go someplace—ask yourself and God if you are numbering your days according to his plan and his will for your life. God would enjoy giving you that answer. I’m sure about this: he wants me to laugh more than six minutes each day!

Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: Share Your Best Strategies for Back-to-School Success

Paul told the Galatians, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (6:9). I’m not giving up—but I am taking a break! I’ve written a Bible study for next year. I just finished the Advent book for the Christmas holiday. I need to edit my book so it can be reissued. But, I’m tired. I need a workcation.

Hobby Lobby is stocking their shelves with pumpkins! It is time to enjoy some summertime downtime before the fall arrives. So, this is my “see-you-soon” blog. I’m going to take a couple of weeks and enjoy watching the grass grow. When I get back to work, I expect to have a tan, a smile, and a new grandbaby! More on that later. . .

Life is good, but we all need to stop for a bit and remind ourselves of that fact. We are blessed and happy, but we work a little too much. It is hard to take a break when the news and the needs don’t. There isn’t a day that people don’t need to consider God’s word and apply it to our culture. There isn’t a day someone doesn’t need something. But God is on his throne today and he will still be on his throne when I get back to work.

They call these the “dog days of summer”, so I’m going to eat what someone else fixes for me, nap when I feel like napping, and do whatever else I feel like doing. I might even bark at anyone who knocks on my door.

I hope you all enjoy the next couple of weeks too. It is hot, the days are long, but the fall season is coming. We will be putting out pumpkins before we know it! (Hobby Lobby has some nice ones.) Now, time to make some iced tea and find a good book!

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).

Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: Share Your Best Strategies for Back-to-School Success

A lot of Christians are walking around worried and disheartened these days, but truthfully, that isn’t a great witness for our Lord! I do believe we are living in an era that most closely resembles the time of the prophets in Scripture. I have been that worried and disheartened Christian, but I don’t want to be. I’ve been working to fix that problem in my own life and thought I would share my journey with my readers.

God never stops revealing his pleasure and his displeasure to the world. He wants us to know him, obey him, and be blessed by him. So, Christians need to remember that our joy, happiness, and security are found in him alone. The world has always been the world, and the prince of this world has always been opposed to the ways of God. That won’t change until Jesus returns. But, Christians don’t serve the prince of this world; we serve our King. Christians can be faithful residents of a country, but our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Our God is still firmly and forever on his throne and nothing will ever change his eternal position of power and authority.

A friend sent me an interesting article entitled, What if God doesn’t want to make America great again? The premise: What if God plans to make America great—for the first time?

How does God define “great?”

— A great nation: Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Our nation is the body of believers who have placed their faith in Christ and chosen him to be our Lord. The universal body of Christ is God’s nation.

— A great focus: Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. If we are worried or disheartened we need to change the focus of our thoughts. That focus will be reflected on our faces and in our attitudes. What can we “praise?” Let’s think about that for awhile!

— A great ministry: Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Is there something you are holding onto that God wants you to give? What can you do today that will please God? Whatever that is, consider it your ministry and your privilege to accomplish.

— A great witness: Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Listen to yourself. Are your conversations drawing people to God, or pushing them away? The Lord is our rock and our redeemer. Let’s allow our words to flow from our confidence, rather than our concerns.

— A great prayer: Colossians 1:9–10 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Paul wrote the letter of Colossians to an infant church that stood alone in a culture of anti-God beliefs. He prayed that those early Christians would be filled with knowledge and understanding of God’s perfect will. That wisdom would enable them to walk in a manner worthy of God. We need to pray Paul’s prayer for the Christian population of America.

Pleasing God is the best definition of greatness in Scripture. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The history of our nation includes slavery, wars, corruption, division, plagues, depression, recession, and oppression. Our nation’s history also includes hope for immigrants, help for the helpless, prosperity, and opportunity for those who reach for it and work to achieve it. According to God’s standards, America has had moments of greatness—but we have never been completely or fully great.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Christians know how to make America great. How does God want you to serve?

Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: Share Your Best Parenting Wins

Do not fear. Love your neighbor as you do yourself. Do not gossip or slander. Love God with all your heart. Forgive like you have been forgiven. Do good to those who hate you. Don’t judge. Don’t be greedy. Don’t worry about your life. Pray and give, but no one should notice. Do good to everyone. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Later, the apostle John told the church, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

God’s word is miraculous and impossible to fully comprehend. Sometimes we read a familiar Bible verse—for the first time. A person can grow up in the church, teach Bible studies, read Scripture every day, and still look at a familiar verse as if it were the first time seeing those words. That is how I felt when I read, “His commandments are not burdensome.” Read More about Why Does God Ask The Impossible?

Recent events in Dallas have been a reminder that prejudice is a very real part of the human existence. I was trying to remember a culture or nation in Scripture that lived in harmony with the rest of the world and finally decided that such a nation didn’t exist. I did find a passage that spoke to the issues of racism and prejudice in Romans, chapter 12. Paul wrote, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:16–18).

Everyone is going to read that passage a little differently, based on his or her personal perspective. But objectively, what does that passage say to us today? Read More about A Holy Harmony

Peter hopped out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. But the waves were high and it was dark in those predawn hours. Peter looked around and started to sink. “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31)? If it were anyone but Jesus the answer would be, “Uh. . . have you looked around us?” Let’s be honest, it is a little easier to side with Peter on this one!

James wrote to his church saying, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5–8).” Is there such a thing as a single-minded man? Is there ever a prayer that God can answer, if our prayers require zero doubting? Read More about Debunking Our Doubts

We are almost ready to turn another calendar page and face the heat of July. It is the middle of summer and it feels like it! Everyone is looking for a place to cool off and get comfortable. Sometimes I think about what it was like for people in the Bible when July rolled around. It is important to read the Bible in its proper context. During biblical times when a person was suffering in the heat, he didn’t turn the A/C down; he found a shadow.

We were privileged to spend some time recently with our granddaughter while her mom and dad enjoyed a few well-deserved days of vacation. It seems like she was just born, and now she is talking, doing puzzles, and drawing pictures that could hang in a modern art museum. She recently discovered the wonder of shadows and had fun running and chasing them with her grandpa. I am smiling as I think about that sweet laugh as she tried to catch her grandpa’s shadow and stay inside its shade. It was a warm evening, but she was safe from the sun inside that shadow. What she didn’t understand was this: Grandpa was using his shadow to guide her back home. When they opened the front door, she stepped out of the shadow and into the rush of cool air. Read More about God’s Shadow

Did you call your dad, “Father?” That would have seemed too formal a title for me to use. I used the word “Dad.” He was the man who taught me to fish, to work on a car, paint a room, install an electrical outlet, plant a garden, and countless other practical things. My dad also taught me to work hard, laugh, and make a commitment. Dad didn’t grow up in a Christian home and his journey to the Lord occurred later in his life. He was fully active and fully committed to God for most of his life, but I bet he often wished he had known the Lord at a younger age.

Jim’s dad was a good man, who had once trusted in God, but God wasn’t an active, important presence in their home. Jim was taught to be a person of high character but not necessarily a person of godly character. Jim had to discover God on his own. His dad never came to a place of including faith as a high priority for daily life. We were in college when Jim’s dad passed away. I think Jim will always grieve the fact that he didn’t get to see his dad walk with the God who loved him.

My sons grew up with a dad who wanted to make sure they knew God from the moment they were born. Jim had prayer and a Bible story with the boys every night. Once Ryan came home from our church’s children’s camp, frustrated. When Jim asked why, he said, “You have got to quit telling us Bible stories. Camp is boring because I already know it all!” Jim and I had a good laugh with that one! Read More about We call God ‘Abba, Father’