Transitions

Thank you for a much-needed sabbatical.  I haven’t written for several weeks as we have faced (and continue to face) a whirlwind of transition.  

Christopher, our oldest child, completed his career as a baseball player this month.  When he was 3 years old, we gave him his first ball and bat as a birthday present and he never looked back.  He used to beg, every day, to be 5 years old so that he could play on a real team.  It was truly a God-given passion for him and after nearly 20 years, his career ended as his college team lost a tournament championship game that would have led to the World Series.  I realize that nearly every team and every player closes on a losing note, but that fact does not ease the heartbreak that shrouds the final score of the final game.

Jessica Taylor, our youngest, graduated from High School on Saturday.  There are many mixed emotions with this momentous occasion.  She has the excitement of new independence but the struggle of saying goodbye to many companions.  There is the anticipation of a life that waits, coupled with the uncertainty of what God is calling her to do.  There are teachers and others who have poured into her life that she will likely never spend time with again.  She is thrilled, but her heart is broken at the same time.

This momma has struggled watching my kids struggle.  There is a great deal to look forward to, I do realize, but as I say goodbye to things we have cherished, I ask the Lord, “Where is our path?”  I can’t see it.  And when I have no idea what the future holds it becomes hard for me to see transition as a beginning rather than the end. 

Our Lord reminds me, however, that He is the path.  He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).  When we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean on not on our own understanding, when we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will make our path straight.  (Proverbs 3:5-6).  With a burdened heart, I am once again challenged in the worry / fear department, but I know, and am gently reminded, Who holds us all in the palm of His hand.

We wait on the Lord to see what He has planned for each of us.  We wait together, strengthened in His love. He restores our joy in His presence and for the next 3 months, I have the gift of both of my kids at home!  Thank you, Jesus!  I eagerly wait to see what our futures hold and trust that Your plan is perfect

Do you feel beautiful?

We were working together to get the last load of laundry folded before bed and Mike asked, “Are these your jeans or Taylor’s?” My man, working on the day’s final task that kept him from sleeping, had no idea what a flattering question that was to me. I am MANY sizes larger than my beautiful daughter, so logically there is no room for such confusion. When my brain kicked in with these practical thoughts, I made myself push them away. “Just enjoy the moment,” I said to myself, and so I did.

Mike sees me as his wife, and while covered in dust from a hard day of work around our “farm,” my hair in a messy bun and lacking even the tiniest crumb of makeup, I am beautiful in his eyes. Oh, I doubted this for many years of our marriage but have come to believe it as truth. Michael makes me feel like a beautiful princess, even when I feel and look my worst.

Even better, my Lord sees me as His child, holy and blameless in His sight. Feeling scorned and cast out, covered with sin and regret, I have spent many years doubting this truth, too, but His Word is clear. Let’s take a little Scripture journey together. Will you join me?

• “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14 NASB)
• “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-” (Colossians 1:22 NASB)
• “all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22b)
• “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NASB)
• “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9 NASB)


This is the message of the cross! I am covered with sin and shame and in my flesh there is nothing good. Yet, because He caused the iniquity of all of us to fall on Him (Is 53:6), shed His blood on the cross, and conquered sin and death through His resurrection, I have been cleansed, forgiven and redeemed! The sin that separates me from My Lord is pardoned, removed as far as the east is from the west, and remembered no more! Praise His Holy Name!

May you enjoy your week, knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ cherishes YOU as His beloved child whom He set free from the bondage of sin! Even when you feel unworthy, God’s truth is still truth, and as His child, you have been washed and made whiter than snow!

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16 NASB).

His Yoke is Easy

Whew! What a busy week! Ministry opportunities abound and there are hurting hearts everywhere we look. Easter is fast approaching, as is our children’s Easter egg hunt, one of our biggest outreach programs of the year. Our church held a special baptism service on Sunday night with our largest group ever in attendance. (How exciting is that?) Our precious Amariah (who is six, I think, and is the daughter of our Children’s Ministry Coordinators), broke her tiny elbow on Sunday afternoon while our families were moving church storage locations. Our annual church business meeting is just 2 weeks away and I am having technical issues with some of the information files that must be distributed this week (please pray!). Our women’s ministry team met in preparation for our mother-daughter tea and this month’s fellowship event. Our income tax returns are filed thanks to the extremely generous help of a sister in Christ! In addition, I found myself the victim of identity theft this morning.


I was close to tears for most of the week, truth be told. Part of the reason was stress related, I won’t lie about that! Mostly, though, they were tears of gratitude for the blessing our Lord is pouring into my life. This week I saw specific prayers answered in mighty ways. I had the opportunity to wrap my arms around a struggling sister, I witnessed 7 people affirm their faith through baptism, shared coffee and laughter with an amazing group of women and, tax related, saw first-hand how God has woven the last few years together to guard our family. I can’t express to you the generosity of our friend who tirelessly researched some complicated tax issues. Thankfully, Mike noticed the identity theft within a few hours of the first fraudulent transaction and our credit union handled the situation beautifully.

I was running crazily behind schedule. Before church on Sunday morning, I had just a small slice of homework to complete and also had to find an important tax related document to discuss after service. As my alarm went off, I prayed, “Lord, should I look for the paper first?” He whispered to my spirit, “Just sit with me a while and I’ll show you where the document is.” You would understand the significance if you could see our lack of a filing system at home. Sure enough, after quiet time and homework I literally went straight to the exact box I needed and found the document within 30 seconds.

As I have grown in my faith and learned to lean on the Lord for my strength, trials and stress are much easier! The Lord tells us to take His yoke upon us for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I have never truly grasped this encouragement, but this week, it came to life. I suddenly understood that the yoke is fitted for two! Honestly, I feel a bit foolish for not figuring this out earlier! I finally envisioned a yoke that a team of oxen might wear. Jesus is wearing half of the yoke and inviting me to share His yoke with Him. As we are strapped together and moving as God the Father leads, Jesus carries the bulk of the load. Wow, did this ever mean something to me this week!

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:29-30 (NASB)

Subscribe by E-Mail!

Hi there!  I would like to bring something to your attention.  I've added a new gadget on my blog that makes it VERY EASY to subscribe to posts by e-mail!  I hope you'll sign up!  You can do so on the right side of your screen - just type your e-mail address into the white box under "Follow by Email" and click SUBMIT.  You'll then be asked to type in a verification code.  When you receive a confirmation e-mail in your inbox, please open it and follow the links to verify that it is really you that made the request.  Blog posts will then be delivered right to your e-mail box!  How easy is that?

Please also consider becoming a traditional follower of this blog.  It would help me in a big way!  (That gadget is located on the right of your screen just below "Follow by Email.")  I have some work that I would love to have published.  It's a long process, of course, but one thing that agents and editors look for is some form of public following.  It seems silly, but the more followers I have, the more seriously I may be considered by publishers.    Following this way won't bring any junk e-mail or unwanted communication from me.  It's something similar to "like" on a Facebook page!  :)  If you already are a follower, please accept my thanks!

Thanks for reading, and for encouraging me through your e-mails.  I love and appreciate you all!

Blessings,
Cathy

The Truth

I feel a little “soap box” coming on this morning. I apologize for what may seem preachy, but from the heart, the mouth (or typing fingers) speaks! My recent personal devotions have focused on finding God’s truth. Hang on, friends, and remember that this rant is directed toward me!


We are subject to lies that we believe about God, ourselves, the way we think our lives should be, relationships, our eternity, etc. In addition, we have an enemy who desires to deceive and keep us in a perpetual state of confusion. Yet, many of us refuse to arm ourselves with the only weapon we have. WHY is it so hard to spend time in God’s Word equipping our hearts and minds with everything He wants us to know? WHY, if there is full truth recorded just for us, do we refuse to take the time to learn it? God’s Word is fully available to us in written form, on the Internet, smart phone apps, e-book downloads and even audio for our I-pods! WHY is it so unimportant, even to Christians?

Remember, there is an enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). How can we fight such a battle without the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph 6:17)? How can we rely solely on our experiences and our faulty, human emotions to be our guide?

OK – that is enough yelling and I believe it is time for some grace. Each of us is in a different season of life. God knows that perfectly. I am preparing to become an empty nester. My friend, Carmen, just adopted infant twins and a month ago had no idea that motherhood was in her immediate future! Our lives and schedules are completely different but we must each take steps to be purposeful and diligent in carving out time for Him. Jesus did.

Empty nester – stop relying on your old excuses! Turn off the television, step away from the Internet, and dig deep in to the truth of the Word!

New, sleep deprived Mom – during naptime, ask the Lord to show you one verse that you can write on a note card each week. Post that card in a highly visible place and meditate on that one verse as you’re nursing.

Career Woman – purchase an audio version of the Bible and listen to the truth as you drive to work. It doesn’t have to consume your entire commute – just a few minutes of focused listening to His Word can completely change your day!

Soccer Mom – a pocket-sized Bible is perfect for reading for a few minutes on the bleachers. Think of the witness you will provide to those around you!

All of us – how about reading the Word to close our day? How sweet would our sleep be if God’s Word were the last thing our eyes saw before sleep?

You get the picture. If you can, dive in and dive deep. If you simply can’t at this season in your life, take a purposeful step to get the Word of God in you somehow, some way. You won’t be sorry. Knowing Him through His Word will bless and equip you for the battles of life.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth (NAS).

A Beautiful Transformation

We had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Taylor’s final high school spring break with a girl’s trip to Disneyland. My good friend, Sherry, and her family happened to be there at the same time and we spent an afternoon together in the park. Her youngest, Carlie, was not excited about our intrusion but agreed to let Mom and Dad enjoy a tall people’s ride while the rest of us flew with Dumbo. Big sister, Cacie, had much to share about her Disney experience but Carlie said barely two words as we waited in line. She kept an apprehensive eye on Taylor and me.


Once awarded a magic feather and allowed to choose which Dumbo to ride, Carlie decided to ride with “Her,” pointing at Taylor. There wasn’t much of a smile as she boarded, but they slipped into a green Dumbo and flew up into the sky! Cacie and I had a grand time flying higher than the buildings.

Carlie was a new girl when the ride ended. She chattered to Mom and Dad about the fun she’d just had and over lunch told Taylor every detail about falling out of her bed at home the week before. She told us all about her pets and her friends and before lunch was over, said she wanted to ride the next ride with “Taylor.” Suddenly, my daughter had a name!

Soon, Taylor was no longer “Taylor,” but “friend.” They played hard and while belly laughing, Carlie looked at me and said, “She’s funny!” When it was time to depart, Carlie hugged Taylor and said, “Goodbye, best friend.” It was a heartwarming transformation and one I won’t soon forget.

It made me think of how it must thrill the Lord’s heart when we stop keeping him at arm’s length and start considering him “friend” or even “best friend.” Perhaps you’ve always known Christ as a friend, but maybe you’re like me and had to learn to trust Him first. I once referred to Him as “The man upstairs.” Over time, I became bold enough to use His name, “Jesus.” Now, He is “Lord,” “Master,” “Friend.” Yes, He has become my best friend, the One with Whom I share everything and hold nothing back.

God has moved no closer to me. He has always been close enough to wrap my arms around and stood still, solid as a rock, drawing me nearer to Himself. As I accepted His invitation, I believe it warmed His heart. He does not need a relationship with me, but He desires one. I add nothing to His perfection and when he holds me close, dressed in the filthy rags of my stained righteousness, he remains holy and blameless. My sins don’t rub off on Him; rather, His glory rubs off on me. Miraculous. The fact that he would desire relationship with the likes of me remains a great mystery, but I am blessed beyond measure that He, indeed, does.

John 15:15 NIV

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Rest For My Soul

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 (NASB)


The Lord gives us many choices, but He does not leave us to our own devices to decide which path to travel. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a Counselor and Guide. He has given us His Word, which shines a light unto our path. He has surrounded us with Godly counsel – those who have traveled a greater distance than we have and are available to share wisdom. The Lord goes before us and draws us to Himself.

When we stand at a crossroads, we do not stand alone. We have the freedom in Christ to ask where the good way is. Through Christ, we can approach the throne of grace and ask for the Lord’s discernment. He will answer and provide the counsel that we need. Heed it, and we will find rest for our souls.

The Lord’s way always bring peace, even when everything around us looks chaotic. When we seek His will at every turn, we can walk through a war zone feeling peaceful, content, and comforted by His love. Most certainly, we will not enjoy every experience that we face, but even when life is not pleasant, it can still be peaceful.

Application of Jeremiah 6:16 is for every aspect of our lives from daily task prioritization to deeper issues involving relationships and wounded hearts. When we lay everything at His feet – all of it – we can find rest for our souls! I don’t know about you, but I desire to live with a fully rested soul!

Stand – be still. Slow ourselves to the point of stopping so that we can sincerely seek and listen for His will.

Look – search out the way that the Lord has for us. Look for it with intention and purpose.

Ask – recognize that we do not hold all of the answers and seek counsel from the Holy Spirit, from God’s Word, and from Godly people in our lives.

Walk – Once we have received instruction, walk in it. Do as instructed; obey the Lord’s leading.

Find – as our journey continues, we can find His blessings that await us and enjoy the rest that He brings to our souls.

What crossroads do you face today? How will you proceed? In your own strength and wisdom or by His power and might?

Father, give me the strength this very day to humble myself and seek Your ways above my own. Allow me to find the rest that only You can bring to my soul.

Here's Hoping!!

Oh, girls! God has just laid an amazing opportunity at my feet!


I have been dreaming of and hoping to attend an incredible conference (She Speaks by Proverbs 31 Ministries) over the summer, but finally resolved – just this week – that this is not the year for me. Finances are simply too tight with Taylor’s graduation and college tuition right around the corner, the struggles that Chris has had, etc. I know that God will provide in HIS perfect time and I will wait on Him.

In my e-mail this morning, I found a blog post from Lysa TerKeurst about the She Speaks conference. I have to tell you that I almost didn’t open it, fearing it would deepen the disappointment of what I would be missing. Something made me click on the e-mail and guess what! There is a scholarship contest for the conference! Woo hoo and praise the Lord! Entry into the contest requires a blog post telling about the conference and reasons why I would like to win the scholarship. It’s due today! TODAY! Oh, my! (Lord, I do praise You that it wasn’t due yesterday!)

Many of you know that I feel a direct call from the Lord to write, teach and speak. Whom He calls, He equips and gives opportunity to use such equipping for His glory. The Lord has confirmed His call repeatedly through His Word, through the people in my life, and in the opportunities of His mighty hand. I have to share a brief story: John and Bobbe Fischle, both writers and both beautiful, loving people, attended our church for a time. The Lord pressed into me to share my calling with them. Bobbe asked to see my work, which I had never shared with anyone outside my home so my knees were knocking! She and John read it during their quiet time and encouraged me to continue writing and to pursue publication! After picking myself up off the floor, I became a real writer in my heart of hearts that day upon receiving their beautiful encouragement. It was a gift from the Lord Himself.

Last fall, our church Elders blessed me richly by sending me to the LifeWay Women’s Leadership Forum. I pushed myself way, WAY out of my comfort zone and shared the Lord’s call on my life with Chris Adams the senior women’s ministry specialist in LifeWay's church resources division. I stood in line to see her, which was something like waiting for an autograph from Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. It was actually more fun to speak with Chris! She highly recommended the She Speaks conference. She Speaks Conference Information

This is the conference of conferences. Not only does it offer strong, practical training for speaking (from developing a message to keeping an audience engaged to increasing speaking engagements), but also encourages and equips writers to emphasize their unique writing voice and work toward being published. Appointments are available to pitch a book proposal to some of today’s top Christian publishers. The conference does more than offer tools, but also equips attendees to put those tools into motion, learn from others in the field and get to work for God’s kingdom! It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Oh, how I would hate to miss it!

Here is the icing on the cake. I am still a newbie in my position as Director of Women’s Ministries for our church. The She Speaks conference also has a track just for Women’s Ministry leaders that helps them build a team and share a vision so that it becomes contagious. Such training would be invaluable for not only me, but also the women in our congregation and in our community.

I am already writing, speaking and teaching through doors and venues that the Lord continues to provide. I know that I can learn to be more effective for His glory and for the furtherance of His message. My desire is to give my Lord everything I have. This is why I have such a deep desire to attend the She Speaks conference.

Three tracks are available at the conference, and all three pertain to me. The more I learn, the more I believe that those Proverbs 31 gals created this conference just for me! Without the scholarship I cannot attend, so yes, indeed, I am praying to be one of two selected for this honor. It is in the Lord’s capable hands and I surrender all to Him, trusting in His sovereign plan.

Isaiah 45:3 “… In order that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” (NASB)

Would you like to enter the contest too?  Please click here:  She Speaks Scholarship Contest  Maybe we can go together!

The Simple Things

On Thursday, Taylor and I drove 4 hours to Colby, Kansas to see Christopher. I was feeling more than a bit foolish for planning such a trip – 8 hours of driving just to have dinner with someone seems excessive. But we are talking about my son here, so I decided that even if it were foolish, I was doing it! When she heard of my plans, my dear friend, Doreen said, “That’s a God thing!” That was just the encouragement I needed to shift my focus and see it as a gift from the Lord rather than an excessive outing. I’d love to share with you how the Lord blessed the trip (thanks for indulging me)!


The first blessing came when I told Chris I was daydreaming about coming to see him. His baseball schedule is a bit restrictive to say the least (it’s eat, sleep and breathe baseball around there), and at first it seemed like a visit wouldn’t work out. Then Chris said, “If you can just come a couple of hours later, Mom, I can spend some time with you.” It was music to a Momma’s ears! He looked forward to a visit too!

Several weeks ago, I was in a car accident where the vehicle next to me lost control and collided with the side of my car. Praise the Lord no one was injured! Last week, we finally got my car in for repairs and the insurance company provided a rental car. I received permission to drive it out of state and kept the wear and tear off my own tires and engine. Not only that, the little Ford Focus got nearly double the gas mileage of my SUV!

Taylor was originally scheduled to work on Thursday so I’d planned to make the trip alone. On Wednesday, a school project was delayed so she rearranged her work schedule and was free to ride as my co-pilot. Many of you have never met Taylor, but any time spent with her is just like a party! She’s fun and playful and, truly, there is never a dull moment when she’s around. We laughed, giggled, sang songs at the top of our lungs, and ate the required quantity of junk food for a road trip. At one point, when she didn’t know the words to a reallllllyyyyy old song, she sighed and said, “I’ll do the dancing,” and she bee-bopped down the Interstate. Just me and my girl, making a beautiful memory!

When we arrived and I saw Chris, he was smiling!! I’m crying as I write this because it had been months, literally months, since I saw a smile cross that child’s face. He has been in such turmoil since his world fell apart in October and all through Christmas break, I wondered if depression were setting in. I never imagined the hope that a simple smile could bring on an ordinary March afternoon. He was relaxed, and playful, and genuinely happy to see us. I thought my heart would burst, I really did!

Now what does a Mom do when she visits a child in college? First things first, she takes him out to eat and then to the grocery store. Right in the middle of the produce section, I received an enormous, unsolicited, 2-armed hug from my very tall son. He pretty much swallowed me up with his arms and I just let it soak in. God is SO good!

All in all, it was just an amazing visit. But wait, there’s more! The last thing a Mom does when she visits a child in college is fill his gas tank. We pulled into the grocery story gas station side-by-side to get fuel… and received a $.90 per gallon, loyalty-card discount on both tanks. That’s not a typo – we got nearly a dollar off the price per gallon of our gas. We don’t get deals like that in Colorado so I was shocked! I told Chris we needed to “get the ham sandwich outta there” before someone realized who we were and sent us a bill!

We made it home to our beds before midnight then it was back to work on Friday with a huge smile in my heart.

James 1:17

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (NASB)

Thank you, Lord!

One May Be Overpowered

I feel very thankful today for a group of women who surround me with prayer when I’m falling apart. God revealed some hard truths to me last week. While He works to bring the good out of what He’s revealed, I am working to be obedient to Him and to choose faith and joy over fear. This must be a deliberate choice for me because in my flesh, I would default to fear and giving up every single time. It is only through the strength of Christ that I continue to stand! The prayers of my sisters spur me on.


Last week when my emotions nearly overtook me, I sent an SOS message and the response brought incredible peace in the midst of my storm. We have to walk in truth, not as our emotions dictate, and I was not doing well on my own! My sisters in faith helped me to know… and see with my eyes… that I was covered in prayer. As the day progressed, I began to feel it, and become sure of what I could not see.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken." I was in danger of being overpowered and I am oh, so thankful that I did walk through my struggle alone!

I have prayed for each of you this morning, asking the Lord to provide a prayer support system. I pray that you have someone in your life that you can call, e-mail, or Facebook message with an “SOS” and that you will have full assurance those friends will be on their knees for you! It is one of the greatest blessings of all.

I’m just going to put this out there: If you need prayer support, I will pray for you. Please keep in mind that this blog is on the Internet so please use discretion if you comment with a prayer request. Only provide information that you are willing for the whole world to see (that’s how I try to use wisdom in my Facebook posts).

I know some of your names, but this blog is beginning to reach many readers who I do not know. It has now spread to 10 countries and if that’s not the hand of God, I don’t know what is! I would LOVE to get to know you – will you please sign up to be a follower? See my November 18, 2010 post to learn how. I look forward to praying for you by name!