Testaments

The Old Testament recorded that the Israelites built small stacks of stones on the road to the Promised Land. These stacks were a testament of something that God had taught them or a difficulty that He had seen them through. A few years ago, Jim Darnell (one of the greatest preachers I have ever heard) took us through the testaments of his life. His salvation, his encounters with the Holy Spirit, etc. He felt that we are too quick to forget these moments that can change the courses of our lives.

This picture is one of my own testaments. My parents brought me to this church when I was a baby. My father had received a calling to First Baptist Church of Aberdeen, MS. We left when I was five years old, only to return as he began an evangelical ministry. We were there for four & a half years. Needless to say, I knew every corner and alcove of that church. It is the church of my childhood. People are still there who knew me as a baby. For someone who has moved every four years, it is rare for anyone other than family to have known me that long.

It was in those classrooms that I first heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was introduced to mighty men like David, Joseph, Noah and Moses. Ruth and Esther became real women to me. I sometimes forget the legacy that I was given in that blonde brick church.

It isn't perfect, but God is there. I guess you could say the same about myself. I'm not perfect, but God is with me.

Lara

Unexpected Sources

I'm sure that Balaam was not expecting anything from that donkey! Have you ever had the Lord speak to you in an unexpected way? I remember when He was leading me through a very painful time and I had a question. I wish that I could tell you that I asked this question in a humble and contrite manner. I didn't. I couldn't understand why I was on that path. It was NOT one I had chosen. And I had a legitimate question. It came from the depth of my heart and I cried it out to Him. And I mean that I cried out literally, with anguish and pain. How gracious is the God we serve! He answered my cry. Have you ever read those words in the Old Testament and truly thought them through? HE ANSWERS YOUR CRIES!

He answered mine in an unexpected way. I worked with a woman who took His name in vain just about every day. I wasn't sure she was a Christian. But I loved, and still do, her. She has a beautiful sense of humor. You guessed it... She spoke the word of the Lord to me. She shared out of her heart and relieved my fear and pain. Did she know that she was sharing Him with me? Probably not. Does it even matter? She spoke out of her own experience and through that my question was answered and stilled.

Don't miss those unexpected moments. Don't forget His voice is still and small. He speaks through many vessels. He is unexpected.

Lara

Mary Tyler Moore

There is a movie that my sister & I love. I know, I know, you're shocked! Anyway, the female lead is very funny and very normal looking. She's not stick thin, not too tall, just normal. The male lead, in a romantic moment, mentions that she reminds him of Mary Tyler Moore. Giggling, she says, "Oh, I am SO not Mary Tyler Moore!" I love that line.

How many of us just long to be Mary, when in actuality we are Rhoda? For those of you who are too young to know who I am writing about & have never watched the reruns on Nic-at-Nite or TVLand, here is a description. Mary is tall and thin. Rhoda struggles with pesky pounds. Men frequently fall in love with Mary while Rhoda continually looks for (& never finds) Mr. Right. Mary catches her cap every time she throws it in the air. Poor Rhoda has to pick hers up off the sidewalk. Getting the picture, yet? Mary had her hard times, but life always seemed to work out right--not so for Rhoda. She was the comic relief.

Sometimes I want to be the lead, not the relief! In a class I began last night, the teacher said this, "God can and does use every pound (& self imagined fault)!" What a relief! He doesn't want a bunch of Mary's! He wants all the Rhoda's, Phyllis', Mr. Grant's & Ted's! (The show had a lot of comic relief!) So, pick your cap up off the sidewalk and have a good day!

Lara

Self Esteem & Chocolate Chess Pies

I went to a bridal shower on Saturday. The purpose was to stock the bride-to-be's kitchen. We served lunch and enjoyed all sort of yummy 'chick' food. My sister volunteered my Chocolate Chess Pies. While these pies can taste like heaven, they don't always present a pretty picture. The mixture frequently spills onto the crust before baking, and the top almost always cracks. As I was mixing the pie filling, I prayed, "Lord, please let them turn out pretty." Now before you think that I was praying that because I wanted them pretty for the bride or hostess, just stop. My reasoning was not that self-less! My thoughts up to this shower had been on myself. I just knew that everyone there would be thin, beautiful and married. Everything that (I feel) that I'm not. I started two weeks before in planning my outfit. I even had a pedicure so that I could wear open-toed shoes. I was afraid people would look at my not-so-perfect pies and say, "You know, that overweight girl over there, who isn't married? Those sad looking pies are hers." So, with that in mind, I prayed that God would make my pies pretty.

Shallow, huh? Well, that struck me as I prayed, so then I asked if He would help them to be a blessing... But I knew that HE knew that I didn't really mean it... Confused, yet? So, I laughed, asked His forgiveness, and prayed that He would be in charge and help me to overcome my shallowness.

The pies were a success and the shower was full of beautiful women who loved God with all their hearts. Not once did I feel judged or left out. My worries and struggles were for nothing. I felt silly and still do as I write this. But I can't be the only one who acts and feels this way, so here it is. You are not alone, we are silly together.

What silly things are in your thought patterns?

Lara

Mine, Too

Almost 20 years ago, in one of the darkest moments of my life, a great man told my father something beautiful that I still hold to today. My brother had broken the hearts of his family and his wife. His father-in-law, Bob Warner, called us and showed us the very heart of God when he said to my father, "Don, he's our son, too." Through the pain his own daughter was feeling, this man of God recognized our pain. Even now, almost 20 years after God's mighty restoration of my brother's marriage, those words resonate with me. Especially yesterday...

My beautiful sister-in-law, who allowed God to restore her marriage, called yesterday with a frightening diagnosis. Cancer had been found in one of her own family members. Disbelief, fear and nausea were my immediate reactions. There was no, and still is no, reaction of, "Thank God it's not my family member!" Because, you see, this woman is my family member. We have since found out that the cancer is still at Stage 1, which is a great relief. But cancer is still cancer, and I can have a hard time remembering that God is bigger than cancer.

You see, she's 'mine, too' and I'm still a little afraid.

Lara

Pride

I just read a blog from a college friend of my sister's, Bobby Lepinay. He is pastor of Harvest Outreach in Pensacola, FL. The website is http://harvestpensacola.com. His blog-site is http://bobbylepinay.typepad.com/ Today's post really hit home with me, so I've added it for you all to read. If you get a chance, check Harvest out, it's an incredible ministry.

Spiritual Pride
Many moons ago, when I was in my mid to late 20's, I went through a period of deep disillusionment with "church". I had begun to read alot of 'deeper life' Christian Classics, great in their own right, but for me, they worked discontentment in me concerning what I saw as the shallowness and superficiality of most churches.
This went on for quite some time. Without question, the Lord used the books I was reading to create a deeper thirst in my heart. But likewise, something sinister grew in me as well: Spiritual pride.
I could hardly be in a church service without this horrible attitude of "this is so shallow"......or "this is nothing but a religious pep rally" filling my mind. A critical spirit had filled taken control.
And the fruit of a critical spirit began to invade my life.
Even as I write, I am embarrassed by the fact I ever went here. But the Lord is merciful. Through a period of about 2 years, He delivered me from this 'toxic waste' of the heart, convicting me of allowing spiritual pride into my life.
I humbled myself and rather than criticizing the church, I began to just serve as a simple brother. I determined to be a blessing to my pastor. I determined to be a blessing to my fellow brothers and sisters. I determined to grow in my giving, to, as the Scripture says, "think of others as better than myself".
When that old feeling of criticism began to creep in, I resisted it and renounced it, 'crucifying' this work of the flesh.
That is what it is, folks. Spiritual arrogance and pride is a nasty, gross work of the flesh. It produces bitter water in us. Rather than being a free, joyful, buoyant life-giving personality, we separate ourselves.
We give less. We serve less. We love less.....
......We in effect make ourselves "little judges".
I see this more and more working in many 20 somethings. It is troubling. They have no idea how severely the Lord deals with spiritual pride, the sin of Satan himself. When I see it at work, usually in a younger person, I pray, as the person is so full of themselves and their own ideas they can no longer listen. Honor and respect for their elders has vacated their hearts.
It truly is a most dangerous place to be."

I don't know how many times I've allowed my pride to dictate my impression of people, circumstances & churches. Just wanted to send this your way, in case you recognize yourself, as I have.

Lara

Could you? Would you?

My home is neat, clean and very quiet. It is a 'sad' thing. The NY crew have headed home, and while they are happy to be back together, we B'ham crew are having our lonely moments.

Now we are trying to get back to our own brand of 'normal'. My pastor & worship leader have asked for a vignette to wrap up the final Sunday of a series on Noah. This part of the process can be easy, but I find myself wondering what his life was like. 'Evan Almighty' has given me plenty of funny and poignant ideas. While Evan's journey only lasted me two hours, Noah's lasted for years. What monotony, what nausea, what smells. In spite of how God brought the animals to him, in spite of how God, Himself closed the door, in spite of the rains, I know myself well enough to realize that those miracles might not have been enough against my doubt. The reality might have overwhelmed me against His plan. I guess that's why He has never asked me to build an enormous boat...

Lara