Unfeigned Faith

   There are women in this world that I greatly admire.  They seem to have it all together.  They have a great spirit, they love the Lord with all their heart, they seem to have perfect homes and perfect children and perfect peace!   I love to be around them and to learn from them.  I try to copy them and do what they do to achieve what they have achieved in their lives.  I am certainly not one of these people!  I do not have it all together and sometimes I find that my spirit is in pretty bad shape as well.  I DESPERATELY, DESPERATELY, want God's blessings and wisdom, strength and peace.  I know that these women that I so admire are not perfect.  I also know that at one time they were in my shoes, standing on the brink of the decision to either let Christ be Lord of their lives and have His way, or live for self.

   I recently delved into my Bible, seeking, searching, and BEGGING God to help me.  I NEED His help every moment for my sake, my husband's sake, and my children's sake, and my friend's sake!  I would just like to share some of the truths He gave me over the next few days.

Unfeigned Faith

“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”   II Timothy 1:5

Faith= unquestioning belief in God; complete trust, confidence, or reliance; allegiance to; loyalty.

…the just shall live by his faith.  Hab. 2:4

   Sometimes it seems like the hardest thing in the world is to trust God.  Why do we think that God can’t handle our problems?  Often times I believe that God CAN answer my prayer, but I don’t always believe that he would WANT TO  answer my prayer.  By faith I need to believe that God loves me and wants the best for me.

   It is so vital to be real, or unfeigned.  Don't fake it!  Live it!  Your children see you, your spouse, your co-workers are watching, and most importantly, God knows you inside and out!

Demolition

  Several months ago there was an auction at an old farm house in a nearby town.  A few weeks later they began to strip the house, a few boards here, a couple of windows there, the beams off the porch.  Yesterday, the house was completely demolished and a back-hoe was busy digging out the rubble.  How sad!  I just hate it when they tear down old farm houses!

  Have you ever said something critical or harsh to someone, particularly a family member or a close friend, and watch their countenance, seemingly bit by bit, almost crumble.  First you see it in their eyes.  They are still smiling, but the hurt is evident.  Slowly the smile fades, head lowers, shoulders sag.  The spirit is being torn down.

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: But the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."  Proverbs 14:1

   Let's be builders.  Not a demolition crew.

A Strong Foundation

  Every building has a foundation.  My Bible says, "Add to your FAITH..."  Faith is our foundation.  Faith in Jesus Christ.

   Sunday evening, my five-year-old daughter went forward with me to pray at the altar.  Usually she just snuggles with me and tries to climb on my lap and pretty well distracts me from my prayer.  This time, however, she kneeled next to me and I could hear her just a praying away!  I stopped to listen for a moment and I heard her say..."and Jesus, please come into my heart."  I was so excited!  I didn't interrupt her and she continued to pray about other things that were on her five-year-old mind like asking God to help her find a particular toy she had lost.

   After the service was dismissed I said, "Honey, did I hear you ask Jesus into your heart?"  She shook her head emphatically.  "And did He come in?"  Again an affirmative head-shake and a big smile.  I proceeded to make a big deal out of it so that in the future she would remember her special day.  We told the preacher, who is also her daddy, and everyone else who was still hanging around the church!

   It was a real learning experience for me as a mother.  I had a gripping fear in my heart that perhaps my children would never get saved.  When is the "age of accountability" anyway?  I was saved at a very early age and really don't remember how much I understood, but I have no doubt in my mind that when I asked Jesus to come into my heart, He DID! 

  Years ago, during my first Christmas break home from college I had the wonderful opportunity of leading my much younger sister to the Lord when she was only four.  I was reading my Bible in my room and she came in with her new Bible and began looking at some of the pictures.  She turned to a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross and began asking me questions about the picture and who were the other men (the soldiers.)  I very simply told her the plan of salvation and said, "...and all we have to do to go to heaven is pray and tell Jesus that we believe in him and that we want him to save us from our sins."  Her eyes were as big as saucers when she said, "Oh!  We should do that right now!"  At that moment it seemed the Lord said to me, "See, you understood at that age too!"

  I heard a preacher once say that one sign of the "age of accountability" is when the child shows a sense of modesty and doesn't want to be seen without clothes on.  That is when you start pumping Scripture into them.  I began teaching my daughter, as well as my other children about Christ and His reason for coming to earth.  She seemed to understand everything, but I never did ask her to pray with me.   I didn't want her to pray with me just because I had asked her too.  I wanted her to WANT to be saved.  I pray fervently for my children to thirst after God and to learn to love him more each day; and I have learned to trust the Lord with their souls.  After all, they are His children!  Sunday was an answer to my prayer!

  My daughter has laid her foundation of faith for building her life in the Lord.  The earlier you do this the better, but it is not too late to begin if you haven't already.  It is my duty as her mother to be a good example and see that she learns the Bible and Learns to love her Savior.  What an awesome responsibility!  If I only succeed in one area of my life, I pray that it is this one!

   What about you?  Do you have a sure foundation of faith in Jesus?  If you are not sure I would love to help you and to pray with you.  Just send me a message and I will be in contact with you as soon as I possibly can!

Pardon Our Dust

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: But the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."  Proverbs 14:1

   This past summer, my husband did some remodeling in our  basement.  We were going to put in a nice large room, our bedroom, with a NICE walk-in closet.  The planning for the room actually began the previous fall.  Sketching, planning, buying the material, changing our (my) mind about things, re-planning, buying the building material...Finally, the project could really begin.  To save time, my husband brought all of the power tools into the basement, he cut boards, dry-wall, ceiling tiles, wire and numerous other things.  Walls went up, lights  and electric went in, ceiling, paint, carpet...you know what?  There was a LOT of dust!  We hauled out bag after bag of scraps and dust.  So it is with any building project. 

   Life is no different.  We begin planning as little girls.  (I did, didn't you?)  We decide what kind of man we want to marry, what kind of job he will have what kind of house we will live in, how we will decorate each room, how many kids we will have, what their names will be, where we will live...the decisions are endless.  We soon realize that we are not the Contractor; that there is Someone out there that has been planning our lives since the beginning of time!  A choice is made.  We either gathered up our own armful of cheap building supplies and started off on our own to make our own mess, our we wisely took the blueprints, and the supplies given us by the contractor, followed His directions and His plan, and begin to build our house.

   When I was fourteen, I surrendered, the best I knew how, my life to the Lord.  I remember that I wanted His will more than anything in the whole world.  I wanted to serve Him with my life and do great things and see miracles!  In my heart, I knew that I would marry a preacher!  As a junior in my christian school, I began to consider Christian colleges.  I wrestled with the decision (for I knew that this would be the place I would locate a good Working Supervisor for my building project) and suffered many sleepless nights.  I cried and prayed and begged and pleaded with the Lord to show me his direction.  Did he give me the answer and a view of the future?  No.  He gave me a song,

                           "Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
                            Look full in his wonderful face. 
                            And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, 
                            In the light of His glory and grace."

   Such a peace filled my heart and the burden was lifted!  I was beginning to realize that my God knew the path I would take, and that when it was time, He would show me the way!

  Through a series of events, God led me to the right place at just the right time.  His direction and leading were so clear that I had NO doubts that He was in control.  When I got to college I certainly kept my eyes peeled for "Supervisor" that I would marry.  I picked him out myself several times!   But, alas, my Contractor had other plans!  I graduated from college and served on staff for over a year before He revealed that part of the plan to me!

   Now, I've been married for just over six years.  My Supervisor (husband) and I have four beautiful, healthy children that keep us so busy our heads are spinning.  My husband IS a preacher and pastors a quaint country church in the cornfields of Indiana.  We live in a sturdy little house in a small farm town and we are very happy and content!

   You know, sometimes I am still tempted to take a crayon (red is my favorite)  and add and edit the blueprints my contractor gives me each day.  You would think that after the beautiful way he has handled my life so far that I would easily trust him with my daily plans, and with my future.  Each day, I have to meet with the Contractor for my day's instructions, and submit myself to the will of my Supervisor.  Thankfully the two of them are pretty close and both are crazy about me!  Each day I pick up some tools (Bible, prayer, a meek and quiet spirit, to name a few) and get to work.  There's no cancellations for bad weather and no calling in sick!  And yes, there is a LOT of DUST!  I'm not perfect.  I make MANY mistakes, sometimes I don't use the right tools, and sometimes I get rebellious and try to do things my own way.  Several times my Supervisor and my Contractor have to undo some of my mistakes for me, but it's the BEST JOB I'VE EVER HAD!  And I love it.