What do you do?

What do you do when it keeps on hurting? What do you do when someone you love keeps making the same mistake, over and over? How can you 'forgive and forget' and move on when the offence is still ongoing? Several years ago, Lisa and I had a beautiful prayer time with some old friends. Bobby and Debbie Lepinay, along with Jacob and Jennifer Head. They are from Harvest Outreach in Pensacola, FL. I've mentioned Bobby's blog in the past. The church website is http://www.harvestpensacola.com/ & if you're ever in Pensacola, be sure and visit, it's a great ministry. Anyway, Bobby prayed over Lisa and asked the Holy Spirit to remove the sword of offence. To heal her wound with the salve of His comforting presence. It was an amazing thing to hear prayed! Unfortunately, this is just how I feel today. That sword just keeps swinging back and there's no where to run and hide.

And what about suvivors? Those who live daily with scars, internal and external. I know one who went to her pastor and asked him why she was struggling again, she thought she had overcome the old pain. He explained that she had dealt with it, but that she was working through another level of it. In dispair she asked him just how many levels there were. Wisely, he cried with her that he didn't know.

I don't know either. I honestly don't know the answers to any of these questions I posted. Because I'm there, too. I was walking along, just whining to my co-workers about how much I hate daylight savings time, when BAM!!!! I run into another level. Or I found out something new about an old pain. Or I see the cause of that pain. Or the enemy pushes it back into my face.

What do you do? The ringer on my new phone is the Mercy Me song 'Hold Fast'. Sometimes that's all I can do.

The one thing greater than my strife
is Your grasp.

Hold fast!

Hold fast, dear friends.

Lara

Tap Dancing on the Edge

Sorry y'all, I've been out of the 'blog-o-sphere' for the last few weeks. I feel as if I've allowed the busy-ness of life to interfere with the necessary things of life. Then, when time has moved on, I find myself reluctant to pick back up on the things that matter. Things that need to be done. Why is that?

Last night, the Truth Project volume was on "Who Is God?" I can't even begin to put into words the ways my heart and spirit were moved upon. Suffice it to say, I was overwhelmed with a glimpse of how much He loves, longs for and pursues me. Another thing He revealed to me was that in my 'busy-ness' is how far I move away from Him. Oh, I'm not back-sliding, or rebelling. I'm just... concerned with other things. And that is how we begin to back-slide or rebel. The title of this blog is "In the Shadow: Thoughts from the shelter of the Cross", but I feel I've been tap dancing on the edge of that shadow.

What a gracious God we serve! He's so faithful to draw us back when we become enchanted or drawn away by things outside of His shadow! What are the things that have drawn MY attention away from Him? The ever ringing telephone at work. Angry salespersons. Shared grief at the loss of Bronner Burgess. The diagnosis of cancer in a brilliant doctor I used to work for. Colds and flu. The car that cut me off in traffic. The comfort of my recliner in front of my TV. What draws your attention?

Welcome back to that beautiful, annointed place. The foot of the Cross.

Lara

William Bronner Burgess

Several posts ago, I made mention of 'Rick and Bubba'. They are a Birmingham morning radio show who are now syndicated all over the south, east coast, and some of the mid-west. I have been 'in the loop' for several years now. Bubba & his wife 'The Lovely Betty Lou' have had two children during my years of listening. Rick and Sherry have had three. 'Speedy', the program director has married and had two added to his family. When you listen to these folks every morning, they become like family. I have laughed and cried, empathized and argued with them. I have enjoyed the way that these people lift up the name of Jesus in their humor and human-ness. The last child born to this show is the angelic looking child in the picture. Rick and Sherry's youngest, who is anything but angelic! There's too much Rick in he and his brothers to be angel children, but they sure do give us a lot to laugh about each morning.

For the first time, Bronner (or 'Cornbread' as his dad calls him), gave us something to grieve over. Saturday, January 18th, Bronner got away from his mom and brothers and drowned in the family pool. Rick was preaching in Pigeon Forge, TN to thousands of teenagers when he got the call. Amazingly, in such a grievous time, the Burgess family has responded in the best way possible. They praise God for Bronner's life. What the evil one has meant for destruction, our Lord has turned to a great victory. God tends to do that, you know. Since Monday morning, Bubba & Speedy have been spending the 6 - 10 hours lifting up the name of Jesus and encouraging the 'army' to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ! This morning, they played the speach that Rick gave at Bronner's memorial service. How mighty it is to see and hear the Word of the Lord! You might not know this, but these guys are on secular radio stations! Yesterday, Bubba spoke to the hosts of the morning show Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel. He preached the Gospel to them!

Because of this beautiful child, the Good News is being proclaimed on the radio, the TV, and the internet. Rick mentioned yesterday that Jesus is looking at Bronner right now and telling him, "Well done, Bronner!" How beautiful is that?! Talk about beauty for ashes! Just in the response of the folks on the show alone, God had stolen the victory from the evil one. But now... That victory is one that won't stop! It continues with each telling of Bronner's story. How's that for an eternal reward?!?! If you want to learn more about this, check out the website http://www.rickandbubba.com/ . Join the Rick and Bubba army and pray for the families of Rick, Sherry and all the crew.

Fasting, Prayer & Obedience

Liberty Birmingham, my home church is in the middle of a Daniel Fast. Lisa & I participated it one almost ninteen years ago in NC. I had forgotten how beautiful this fast can be. While others seem to be struggling with the lack of food, Lisa & I are enjoying this healthy way of eating. Lisa is a type 2 diabetic and, according to my latest blood work, I am skating close to that line. Having done this before, we have some recipes that came back to us and there are some great websites and cookbooks that weren't around in 1989. Even last night, we were able to meet a friend for supper & enjoy restaurant food that met the Fast standards. We really have enjoyed this time & hope to include these ways of cooking and eating into our daily lives! There have been times in the last week and a half, that I've wondered if I were suffering enough. But Lisa spoke God's word into my life when she relayed to me that He told her that 'it's not about suffering, but about obedience'. Unfortunately, I did take a little bit of pride in how well this is going...

On Monday - Friday mornings, the church is open for prayer from 6am to 7 am. As we live on the other end of Birmingham, I can't go to prayer and make it on time to work. So, while Lisa is getting up and gone by 5:30, I'm still in bed. And those of you who know me know that I am definitely not a morning person!!!! On Saturdays I so love curling up in my bed until about 9 or 10am. Lisa asked me a few days ago, if I would get up and pray at 6, so that I would be in unity with the church body. Let me just say that my obedience is not very strong at 6:00 in the morning. Unfortunately, I've only done what He (through Lisa) asked of me a few times. Do me a favor, will you? Don't take pride in something that comes easily... The other part of His request might not be so easy.

Now, if I can get past all the pharmaceutical reps who want to give me chocolate!!!!

There's Only Grace...

There's only grace.

There's only love.

There's only mercy,

and believe me it's enough!

Have you ever worked at something just to be told that there is no grace? That all the grace was used up on the person who worked this task before you? Maybe you haven't been told it, only made to feel that way?

On the way home yesterday, I heard this song. I don't know who sings it, or even what CD it's on. But I do know this, I can sing every word of the chorus. It resonates with me. I have actually been told by a former employer that no grace was available to me. Do you know that it's impossible to work without grace? Maybe it's just me, but I am incapable a perfect performance! This is not to make you feel sorry for me! Not at all! Just to let you know that there are folks out there who truly expect perfection.

Our Lord and Saviour is NOT one of those folks! Just think, every morning, every dawn, there's a fresh batch of grace and mercy! It's like those biscuits both my grandmothers used to make. You don't have to do anything to deserve them, they are just there for the taking. All I had to do, was walk into the kitchen, pick up the bisuit and eat it. All we have to do is walk up to Him, pick up all that mercy and grace and carry it with us. We can't help Him whip it up and we can't use so much that there's no more. He doesn't get so tired of forgiving me, that He can't forgive you. There are no penalties for using more than you did yesterday.

There is nothing we can do to over use or use up

His grace!!!

Pretty freeing isn't it? I may need to read this in a few days, just to remind myself!

Happy 2008!

Lara

Family at Christmas

Last night, Lisa & I were able to give something to our Liberty Church Family. Our parents were able to attend the church Christmas meal & the variety show afterwards. Even better, we were able to share some of our own family Christmas traditions with our church family. My father, Papa to those of you who know him, sang O Holy Night. I was bursting with pride and had to wipe more than one tear from my eyes. Then, as a gift to Liberty, my mother took the stage and read the beginning of Luke 2. We arranged a chair for her and had all the children in the audience come and sit around her. I have to say that my mother was made to be surrounded by children! It was truly a beautiful way to prepare for the days before Christmas.

I so enjoy sharing my birth family with my church family. They both are sweet gifts from God into my life! As Paul so eloquently said, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you..." May you have a rich, beautiful and merry Christmas whether you are with the family you were born with, or the family that has been given to you.

Lara

Music

Of the many beautiful things that my parents have sowed into my life, music is one of the greatest. My father has one of the best tenor voices I've ever heard. And no, I'm not biased, why do you ask? Honestly, though, people are have always loved to hear him sing. Lisa and I both sing. Richard can, and very well, but prefers to preach. Mother has sung in each of my father's choirs, but listens, smiling, from the audience as we sing. Growing up, I believed that music had no color or race. I grew up listening to Christian music from Andre Crouch, Truth & Bill Gaither. My father brought music from all of these artists to Baptist churches in Mississippi and Louisiana where they might not have been heard otherwise.

Shown here is the official Moore Christmas favorite! As children, each school morning in December, our mother woke us up with the first song on this album. As each one of us went to college, she couldn't do so each morning, but on December 1st, the payphone in the hall would ring. Sure enough it was our mom, playing 'Ching-a-Ling'! Now, with part of the family in NY, it's still played over the phone on 12/1. Those of you who know us, know that we are a bit fanatical about Christmas, with each room decorated. Yes, even the bathrooms! This is one of our precious traditions. May you hear our 'Ching-a-Ling' someday! Merry Christmas!

Lara