I just finished reading your story in the book of 1 Kings, chapters 17-19. I imagine you standing at the entrance of the cave in Horeb watching the LORD pass by. What was that like?!
Your story has me reflecting…
Dear Elijah,
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Mombasa…Thanksgiving…Welcome to RECIPES!!
OK, so WELCOME to the FUN section of my blog!! I LOVE to eat, have people over to EAT, cook to EAT and create memories around, yes, EATING! Recently, on our last trip to Kenya, the team brought to my attention that I was mostly taking pictures like these…
To Love Like Him
Sitting on my bed in Kenya I was overlooking a glorious sunrise over the Indian Ocean. I couldn’t believe it… I mean, I remember the plane ride and all, but to wake up to THIS view was unbelievable! It was so beautiful, breath-taking, HOT and amazing. Yesterday I held a crawly starfish and a spiny sea urchin in the palm of my hand. But today, my encouragement came from 1 Cor 13. Starting with verse 4, it reads:
Dead Fish Smell
Have you ever passed by something dead? You know you have by what? Yes, the smell! Sometimes you can’t even see it, but the smell takes your breath away. I was jogging by a fence with a pond on the other side of it when this powerful rotten smell nearly choked me – which is not good when you’re already out of breath! Death stinks.
By Faith Pt 2
So when I choose faith, does that mean I should have an end goal in mind and just KNOW (have faith) that God’s going to work “all things together for good” and come through for me?
I’m sorry, dear friend, but the answer that that question is NO. Fortunately, though, faith is so much deeper and richer than hope for all answered prayers our way! Oswald Chambers says, “Through these doorways (pain/trials/struggles) God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son.” Hebrews 11 is full of examples of people who lived “by faith” and there’s also a paragraph nestled in-between these heroic deeds that requires our attention.
By Faith, _____
I imagine entering the gates of the Heaven – as our name is found in the Book of Life, we take our seat among the patriarchs – David, Moses, Elijah. Then a scroll is passed to us. On it reads Hebrews 11:
By faith, Noah…
By faith, Abraham…
By faith, Joseph…
In His Steps
When Adam and I steal an opportunity to dash off by ourselves – leaving the kids with my parents– we usually find our way to some sort of hiking trail. As we’re either climbing up the rocks or cascading down the slope, I like to place my foot in the exact footprint that Adam just left behind. Then I don’t have to think. He’s still standing so I should be fine. We can now freely carry on a conversation because I’m not worrying about my next step.
That’s what I think of when I read 1 John 2:4-6…
“The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Slow Down, Children at Play
I realized mid-way through my jog yesterday that I’ve not been surrendering my course to the Lord. I’ve just been setting out running my usual route without even thinking about it. Yesterday’s cool and cloudy weather reminded me to ask the Lord where I should run to. Passing up my usual 3 mile mark, I wondered how far this run would go and what was in store.
I finally came to a sign that stood out to me to be my turn around mark. It said, “Slow Down, Children at Play.” Those words tingled as they processed. We ask cars to slow down and watch for playing children. Do I slow down and marvel at my children playing? I used to during the preschool years. Looking back, those days seem slow-paced and peaceful, compared to school schedules, play dates, martial arts, guitar lessons and don’t forget gymnastics that fill my days now. On second thought, maybe these times are just DIFFERENT rather than harder or easier. However it goes, the question still stings a little. Do I slow down and allow my children to play…play with each other…play in nature, exploring…play with legos, engineering…play without hearing me hollering “ Come on, put that away! Why do you have to make such a mess?”…
Before I saw that sign I’d prayed that the Lord would show me what to focus on with my kids. Sometimes I can be so near-sighted, I see TODAY going well according to my schedule, but what’s going on underneath it all? Well, thank you Lord, I see it now. I FEEL it – Slow Down Julie, Children at Play. But how do I do that? What does that look like? There’s so many choices today of things to be involved it. Homeschooling seems to add more options to the table rather than decrease them. How do I know what to say “Yes” or “No” to?
Pondering that question led me to think about our family’s priorities and goals. Have you noticed that some people are more goal driven than others? I happen to be one of those people who NEED, MUST know where we are going and why we are going there! JGreat to travel with! I don’t want to be side-tracked and I don’t want to waste time! So why do we homeschool? An even better question is what is our purpose as a family? We choose to homeschool to make disciples of our children through providing a solid, life- equipping education, opportunities to grow using real life scenarios to strengthen our faith, and practice all these things TOGETHER. We do not fulfill this perfectly every day, or every other day, but this is our GOAL. You may have another one! You do not have to agree with mine or feel the need to take on mine as your own.
So, if an activity enhances and fulfills this statement, I should say YES to that. However, if the activity is good, but does not help us grow, I may need to say NO, for it might pull us away from the goal. Whew! I wish I could report my excellence in choosing the right answer. But I am still learning. Writing this is proof I’m working through it. Why is it my tendency to over-stuff-cram-quickly-hurry,-one more thing into life? Then I wonder why the kids are arguing, jockey-ing for position, acting like ungrateful spoiled brats…while I’m feeling worn out, frustrated, drained, confused and probably hungry!! There is definitely something wrong with this equation. We have a wrong variable somewhere.
Don’t misunderstand me…there is no formula for life. No magic pill to take. Life naturally takes on a fast pace when more than 1 person live under a roof. So let’s not rush it more by adding needless extras that detract from the beauty of the family.
Slow down mom…the kids are playing! And they say, they won’t be kids forever…
Prideful Flying Snot (no picture needed!)
Have you ever tried to swallow some spit that just wouldn’t stay down? Then you swallow REAL hard but it still keeps coming back up! So what do you do then? Yep, spit it out!! I think the same example can apply to our PRIDE. Swallow your pride and it might keep creeping back up. Maybe we actually need to spit it out instead!
You know those “secret places” of our heart and mind that no one knows about? Yes, those things we’d like to keep it that way! I’ve found that sometimes those places pose a perfect breeding ground for enemy strongholds. He likes to creep in through a skewed thought and then widen that crack through repetition until finally we’re actually listening to him. But what would happen, if when that first ugly head of ________ (pride, deceit, envy, malice, rage, theft, self pity…) showed itself we grabbed a friend or spouse and confessed that instead of stifling it? Saying to them, for instance, “I’m really struggling with this right now. Would you help hold me accountable/ encourage me in this area?” Just some act to spit that nasty lugie out before it spreads anywhere else. In doing that, pride has to leave, because confession takes humility. First Peter 5:5 says “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” That humility is a choice. Being proud comes more naturally!
However, a walk of humility can sometimes be humiliating! I’d rather keep on the mask that says I’ve got it all figured out and am implementing it daily, can’t you tell!! Humility means admitting, smiling, giving grace because I need grace, extending mercy because God extended it first, asking for forgiveness . . OUCH and OUCH. Then there’s the flip side. If I share these things, they can come back to bite me! My friend may think differently about me… may not like me any more…honestly, I may lose my image! Yes. But is it really “MY” image?
At the turn around mark one day on my run I saw a “For sale by owner” sign. This reminded me of the fact that I am not my own. I was bought with a price- the precious blood of Jesus. In exchange for that, I’m asked to surrender the right to myself. The “RIGHT” to be my own boss…to make decisions for ME…to have the RIGHT to ___because I deserve it! Have I got to the point of placing a “For sale by owner” sign on myself? Can I resign to the fact that I am no longer my own master? Now, the life I live, I live for my new Master Jesus Christ who actually knows what’s best for me, even though it may seem difficult at the time to walk through.
Well enough deep talk about for sale signs and snot…. But food for thought until next time…..
Watching Pt 2
My daughter was the flower girl in my cousin’s wedding this year. In my eyes, this wedding receives the “wedding of the year” award. It was carefully planned for a whole year. From the engagement pictures to the bridal shower, to the flowers, the cake, the day of groom-bride gifts, to the reception and rehearsal, it was PLANNED and then EXECUTED with precision. I think the bride and groom can look back with wonderful memories of their exquisitely special day.
Have you ever thought what the wedding banquet will look like when Christ returns for US, His BRIDE? Can you even picture yourself as the Bride of Christ? Well, believe it you shall, and think on it you must, for it is TRUE!
Revelation 19:6-8: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar or rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)’”
Have you ever thought that events in this life are preparing us for Heaven? I don’t mean physical things like houses and cars and clothes. But spiritual things like, hardships, struggles, disappointments, death, divorce, broken hearts, etc do a work in our hearts with the goal of purification. One day, when our work here is completed, we will meet Jesus at the other end of that isle. We will leave behind all flesh and bones and finally be united in perfect purity to our Creator. I believe that’s what the meaning of “his bride has made herself ready.” We talked about being prepared for his coming, and what that looks like. One way, is to allow the trials in life to purify ourself.
1 Peter 1:3-7: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kind of trials. These have come so that you faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
My favorite part of that verse is that my faith is of greater worth to God than gold. He will go to any lengths to refine me until I’m proved genuine. I see that as the getting ready process for the wedding banquet to come! In today’s world, 1 year is along time to wait and plan the wedding ceremony. Preparations beckon, and great expectations await. However, The Lamb of God invites US to a wedding ceremony that will surpass it all!
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Are you ready?
Julie Steck 