There Is No Lack

All through the night I kept hearing this verse over and over again:

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (not lack any good thing)." 

Psalms 23:1

Especially the last phrase stood out to me: NOT LACK ANY GOOD THING!

And then I saw the number 3468. I immediately realized that 68 is double of 34. I asked God what 34 means. He directed me to Psalms 34. (That has been one of my favorites ever since Dad passed away. It was the one that Mom was reading to him when God called him Home. It was the Psalm that was preached at the funeral service.) I opened my Bible and eagerly began to read. Suddenly I was struck with verse 9 and 10:

"Fear the Lord you his saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."

Wow! There it was again! I wondered, to myself, just what God was trying to show me. No lack can mean many different things. It may be concerning money, health, relationships or work. As I continued asking I spent some time praising and worshiping Him and declaring no lack in my life. I wanted one more song before I had to get ready to leave. He gave me "King of Love" by I Am They. That whole song is about Psalm 23. The phrase that stood out to me was: 

I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever...

I felt such an overwhelming sense of His presence and love that all I could do was sit there and cry. 

That night I went to a Christmas party with some single friends. Instead of exchanging gifts, we had decided to pool our money and send it to some people in need. I felt God telling me to give a certain amount (significantly more than I usually do). And so I did. 

When I arrived home I stopped at the mailbox to get my mail. There was a Christmas card from a friend and when I opened it up, out fell a check. A few minutes later my sister called. She said that she had received Christmas money in the mail and part of it was to be divided with me. I was blown away! In one night I had received 3x the amount I had given away!

So what if my rent goes up $100/month. He's already got it covered! But even that is another story for another day. 

In God's Kingdom...THERE IS NO LACK!

Control

We all want it...

There are two sides to control and neither one is right. Sometimes we try to control others. Sometimes we let them control us.

This has been a huge issue in my own life. I'm only now realizing HOW big!

I could never stand to have people upset at me. I thought they didn't like me and I felt rejected. I went to great lengths to keep that from happening, even to the point of doing things I knew were wrong. I didn't realize who I was in Christ and that I have a voice.

I am no longer living out of fear. I can have boldness and confidence because of who God says I am! He always calls out the goodness in me. As my eyes are turned back to Him I see how his heart yearns after me.

God is NOT controlling. He gives me freedom of choice. I can choose Him or otherwise. BUT it doesn't matter what MY choice is, His is always to love me.

It isn't so much what you did, as why you did it. When you understand that, you can be healed and it will never happen again!

My Story

As I listened to a friend tell me her story, my heart was stirred. She said that the way we share Jesus is by sharing our story. THAT is what touches hearts.  THAT is the way we connect with people.

Am I willing to share my story? Am I willing to let Him use it to touch lives? Even the ugly parts that I wish had never happened? How can I wish for things to be different when He so clearly used it to teach me love, His unending forgiveness, the depths of His heart for me, His ability to redeem. That nothing is wasted! How He keeps pursuing me even when I run the other way. That He desperately longs after my heart!

After all, it's not MY story, it's HIS! And He is good at writing stories! He likes surprise endings.

I wonder, if my story was in the Bible, how would it read? How would yours?

It doesn't matter what your story is: God wants to use it. And He will. If you let Him.

Today...

...is Thanksgiving. So much I have to be thankful for and, yet, this year there is a hint of sadness. It is the first Thanksgiving without my Dad. I miss him. I wish he was here. Our family seemed so small - Ann, Mom and I. We had lots of food - turkey, mashed potatoes and the whole bit. It was delicious but we will have leftovers for days to come. Not all bad!

I have found that you don't have to have a big crowd to have fun. A thankful heart goes a long ways. I am so glad for my sister. She has helped and encouraged me through many a hard time. She has a generous heart and likes to share from her garden. She likes her chickens and cats and one day dreams of having a dog. She takes good care of Mom, who is heading towards 88. One day last week found her with Mom in the ER at an unearthly morning hour. It was discovered the cause of excruciating back pain to be a broken rib. How and when and where is a mystery yet unsolved.

And Mom, my dear little Mommy! Such a brave soul! She has lost much this past year and yet she continues on. I love her and I am glad for every day that she is still with us.

I am glad I live so close to Mom and Ann. I can drive from my house to theirs and never get out in the cold and rain. It was lovely to spend the day with them and lovely to come home to my own little house tonight, safe and warm from the rain/ice/cold outside.

And then there was the fly:

And to that fly
That fly said I
Prepare to die
Fly, oh, fly!

(Sorry for that side note, but a fly in November really is TOO MUCH!)

Oh, yes! Here is a picture of some of the fun we had today!

God is good! I just can't quit without bragging on Him a bit! When I think of this last year... all I can say is, "Wow! Wow! Wow! He is amazing! The better I know Him, the more I love Him. And the better I know Him the more I realize that He really is for ME! He never forces His love on me. He never asks for my love but it is His delight when I turn to Him.

He has turned my darkness into light. He is the joy of my life. He has come to set the captives free. I've experienced it for myself and had the incredible privilege of seeing Him do it for others. Some of the best times in my life have been when the enemy is exposed and God wins! YES!!!

Socks

I have long loved the stories about "Winnie-the-Pooh". The favorite character for me has been Eeyore, the old grey donkey. I guess there were lots of ways in which I could identify with him. He was always gloomy and sad, expected the worst, thought he didn't have any friends and other such "cheerfulness." I know it sounds strange to like something/one like that but, the fact is, misery likes company. Feeling bad, in a sense, made me feel good.

The other night I had a dream. In the dream I was wearing "Eeyore" socks. I took them off when I was inside but thought I needed to put them on again when I went out. Eeyore, as I already explained, means doom, gloom and sadness. Socks have to do with your walk. God so patiently showed me what I was "walking" in. I said to myself, This is not what I want! I determined right there to quit agreeing with the "Eeyore" spirit.

I asked God what socks He wants to give me. He said pink and yellow. Pink stands for child-likeness (trust) and love. Yellow stands for hope. Wow! What a difference!

So don't be surprised if you see me walking around with pink and yellow socks! It's a reminder of the lesson God taught me one night not long ago.

Change (or not!)

The last 6 months have been a season of change. I used to hate change and strongly resist it. It didn't really matter what it was, I just didn't want to change. It sounded uncomfortable and scary.

But God's been showing me that change is an important part of life. Sometimes in order to keep growing a change is necessary. The changes He asks of me are always for the good. Often it has to do with ways of relating or attitudes of the heart.

Sometimes there might be outward changes like a new job, church, location or relationship. These can be pretty scary because the question I often ask is: "What will others think?" (I'm not saying that is a good question. I'm just saying that is where my mind often goes.)

As I have opened my heart to change, it has been exciting to see God at work, making me more like Him. He is for me and not against me! He wants my life to prosper in every way.

So, after all this talk of change...I was surprised today when God clearly showed me, through scripture and a dream, something I don't need to change. I didn't really want to but thought I'd probably have to. What an incredible relief!

God is full of surprises! Don't put him in a box. Listen closely to what He is saying to YOU for this particular time and place and season in your life.

He loves you much more than you know...

Saturdays

I like Saturdays. Typically they are a day to sleep in, kick back, relax a bit from the fast-paced week. A day to catch up with odds and ends at home, sometimes washing up a week's worth of dishes while jamming out on Pandora.

This was not a typical Saturday. Let me tell you what I did:

(To start with I'm not even at home but staying with Mom while my sister is away.)

- Was at Red Rock Auto before 8 a.m. to get my car serviced. (Unfortunately, they didn't have time to do it.)

- Took a brisk walk in the park in the crisp morning air. (This wouldn't have happened if they would've had time to service my car.)

- Returned home, washed and hung out a load of laundry, baked a cake

- Sped over to MSF and sold wheat to many and sundry farmers for 2 hours

- Heard a new song on the radio - "Call It Grace" by Unspoken

- Rushed "home" and grabbed a bite of lunch with Mom.

- Went to Fairview Service for new windshield wipers.

- Took Mom to visit a neighbor lady who had a birthday.

- Took a nap

- Gathered the eggs

- Paid car registration

- Signed up for a new healthcare plan

- Fed the cat

- Made supper

- Played games with Mom

And then Mom and I rolled and braided our hair and pretended we were "little ole ladies" and had a tea party (only it was hot chocolate with marshmallows because Mom doesn't like tea) and sat and talked "little ole lady" talk.

And that was a lovely end to my day...