God's Economics

I am constantly amazed by God’s provision.

 Not just in the economics of Finance – but in His economics.

We have seen God provided for the monetary needs time and again.  Bills paid on time when there seemed to be no money in the bank.  Food on the table.  Heat in the house.  That little extra we find in the budget that buys a pizza for a special meal.   God’s provisions are never late.  They may not always look or taste like we want – but they are there nonetheless.

 But God is more concerned at our Spiritual Status than our physical comforts.

 The Economics of the Spiritual

I was reminded last night about the importance of hiding God’s word in our hearts so that it’s there when we need it.   As a teenager, my dad would give me a quarter before leaving on a date.  It was to use the pay phone to call him.  Any time.  Anywhere.  No questions asked.  He’d come get me.  It was there as an insurance against the unthinkable.

 Memorizing Scriptures is much the same.

 

Psalms 119:11, “I have stored up (hidden, memorized, meditated on) your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

When I memorize, meditate, commit to my heart the Word of God, I am banking against hard times!  Like that quarter in my pocket, I have God inside of my heart for those “just in case” against the unthinkable.

Sundays are long days for us.  Yesterday began a 7:30 with a Prayer and Worship for Children’s Ministry Leaders.  I’m not a morning person.  Far from it.  I’d love to watch the sunrise – if it happened about 9:00 am every day.   Then we worked as a Greeter / Hallway Monitor and Security during 1^st service – 8:30 – 10:30.  The family that takes over for us had a sick child.  So, we greeted, monitored and secured during 2^nd service while popping in to worship, hear the sermon and loving on kids.  I picked the wrong day to wear heels!  Then it was home for a quick bite;  fold laundry;  put away yard stuff before the snows then back to church at 5:00pm to fix dinner for ReFrame (our young adult ministires – which we love!!!), worship service, bible study and then dinner and game night.

 

Whew.

Before the ReFrame service, I received one of those calls that folks with difficult family situations expect and dread.  Just another piece of the pie.  Another nail in the wall.  Nothing new.  But hurts all the same.

But in the God’s Economics of the Spiritual – I was ready.  In Worship that morning, I heard God repeating, “Heal” to me.  Not just physical but the spiritual and emotional.  I don’t remember the song, but one line kept repeating in my head, “I have found a Love.”   In Church, I was reminded of the Year of Jubilee – God has come to set us free!  In the afternoon, there was peace in sitting with my husband.  Just being in his arms.  Being loved.    At ReFrame, I was reminded, that I have a God’s word in Me!  It’s alive and living and it binds up the broken hearted!  In Worship, I wept as God poured His healing in my wounded heart.  I served those young people with gladness. 

Their hugs were payment back into my Economics of Love account!

 I am reminded of Matthew 6:8, “for your Father knows what you need before you even ask Him!”

He knew what I would need yesterday.

 

And He has today covered.

 

And my Tomorrow is banked as well.

 

Invest in His Spiritual Economics Today!  Every Day! 

 

The rewards are great!

What Does the Lord Require?

When walking through tough times, it's easy to get too focused on the problem.

It starts out as ground fog in front of us.  Then we watch it, talk about it, talk to it until it grows into a giant storm cloud.  Soon, we are standing in the middle of the maelstorm and our very breath is being sucked from our existence.

Admittedly, there are times, when we just wake up in the middle of a storm not of our own making but we are forced to live there.

That happened to Jesus.

Jesus had been teaching and walking and helping people all day.  He was tired.  He got in the boat and went to sleep.

We read in Matthew 8:24, "Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping."

Storm raging.  Master sleeping.  He wakes up - what is going on!!??!!!

His disciples were scared!  They woke him up!  They pleaded, "save us!"

Jesus woke up, looked around and spoke to the storm, "Be still."

Verse 26 says, "there was a great calm."

Not a slight subsiding of waves.  Or a decreased in thunder.  But a GREAT CALM!

The disciples were focused on the storm.  The waves.  The POTENTIAL for calamity.

Jesus spoke to the storm.

He spoke to their fear.

"Be still."

In the midst of hospitals and diagnosis and death and pain and suffering;  worries of medical bills, medications and monthly payments;  when family members are clammering and the din of discension overwhelms you with a crashing cacophony of sound, speak to your storm, "Be Still."

Be Still.

To the storm - but mostly to you.

Be Still - rest in God's word - hide yourself in His promises!

Be Still - he's got this!

Waiting

Never have tears come so easily. This is the 12th time I have put a child in an operating room. The 10th time for Ashley.

There are tears of relief that this could possibly be the last surgery.

There are tears of grief for all she has been through.

There are tears of dread for the psi that awaits her post operatively.

Tears of fatigue.

Tears of release.

And so we wait.

Expectantly. That the Lord will perfect his work in her today. That he will be our shield and strong tower. That our God is mighty to save today.

Sitting in Hope

On August 20 I finished a 30 day printed media fast - no newspapers, magazines or books.  Hard for someone who looks forward to the daily paper, reads Newsweek and Time magazines from cover-to-cover; devours Christianity Today each month and loves to read most every genre of literature ever imagined.

The hardest day to abide by this fast was Ashley's surgery day - August 8.  I usually grab magazines or occupy myself with a book during the endless wait.  

Two hours.  That was the scheduled time for this operation.  I could do it.

Two hours became four and a half.  

My Four Hour Waiting Room View

But by not burying myself in a book, I was able to share Jesus through Ashley's story two times.  

By not numbing my pain with distraction, I was forced to face it, go through it and learn again of God's faithfulness.

When walking the hallways both day and night, I was able to pray for those around me.  To be present.  See pain.  Give Hope.

The view did not change for 3 days, but my viewpoint has bettered in the past 30!

When escaping into a world of books, movies, drugs, alcohol - whatever your favorite distraction - we rob ourselves of feeling emotions - the good and the bad - and receiving the Hope God wishes to bring us.

Ashley goes for surgery again on August 30 - this time in Durango, CO.  For her hand.  Her second hand surgery.  I'm not looking forward to her pain or the wait.  But I am looking forward to seeing where God uses us this time!

Oops

That would be RUN for the prize but train in Integrity!

Hope for Today

We returned yesterday from 3 days in Children's Hospital of Colorado - 3 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes to be exact.

It was surgery #9 for Ashley.

And may I say it was full of excitement. Nothing went smoothly. Longer surgery, hospital problems, med problems, breathing stuff, personnel complications, house keeping issues - you name it, we battled it.

When asked how I would rate the trip, I said A+. We made it through successfully! Sharing Jesus in waiting rooms, with nurses, with each other.

Before you enter a battle, you must decide what you want to look like when it is over.

Like an athlete - envision the end result. Victory. A gold medal. A smile. A gracious loss even.

What do you want them to say about you when the race is over?

For this is a race! A contest. And the enemy of your soul wishes to distract you while you are racing. To make you so focused on the hurdle in front of you that you cannot see the finish line.

"Run in such a way to win the prize,". We learned this in sports camp. Rub for the prize but train in integrity.

Growth

Growth hurts.  Asking any kid who is experiencing those nasty growing pains.

Ask any child who has pins in a bone to prevent growth.

The same is true with Christ.  In fact, often what we experience in the physical has a corresponding lesson in the spiritual!

We recently had a Sports Camp / VBS in our community.  I taught the Bible lessons each night.  And it wasn't a week I wanted to be teaching Bible lessons - extended family issues, physical issues, spiritual issues - you name it!- were in play.

Basically, any area that I had ever had an issue or insecurity about in my entire life was gutted open.

"Only you (Jesus) can turn me inside out," the children sang each night.  And that's what I felt like.  Inside out.

Gutted.

Growth.  Some things were truth, some things were chaff.  Some things were God and some where man.  Some things were me and some things were other peoples, well, things.

My sweet Daughter-on-Loan prayed for me to accept those things God had and to let the others things, issues, words fade away.

The pains of growth are real.  They are fact.  But they are revealing a greater good in me.  Often they happen in times when the enemy throws everything he can at you to distract you from the potential the situation has for you.

Stay in the fire.  Face it.  The pain won't last and the growth is good!

Power

Sometimes powerful statements come from the most unlikely of places.

Ashley has been having some tests done the past few weeks.  Routine stuff.  Triennial review things - which we are a year behind in doing.  Neuro-Psychological profiles, educational norms.  Real fun stuff.  And we top celebrate it all with an EEG!

That means sleep deprivation for her.  And Me.  And Chris.  and David.

This time we headed to a late movie.  We saw The Hunger Games.  A tale of post-apocolyptic America where the nation is divided into districts which send two children from each area to an annual competition to fight to the death as a means for reminding them that rebellion is futile.  The children are offered as a sacrifice to the nation for the peace.  (okay, that'll preach.  To what do we offer our children as sacrifice?  Popularity? Media?  Fame?  Money?  Ahh, another day.)  

I've read the books.  Time for the movie.

Sidenote:  This is NOT a Children's movie.  It is PG-13 for a reason!!!  There is violence.  Children are killing each other!!!  Please use wisdom in taking your children.


At one point, the villainous President states, "The only thing more powerful than fear is  Hope."

Wow.   I grabbed my phone to type that down.


The only thing more powerful than fear is Hope.


That Hope is what keeps us going.  Allows us to take our kids for testing knowing that the results may not be what we want to hear but we HOPE it's better than we think.   We HOPE that the meds will work.  We HOPE that surgery will fix this problem - this time.  We HOPE.  We BELIEVE>

HOPE.

An Anchor for the Soul.

Place your HOPE in God today.

Meds will fail.  Tests will be inaccurate.  Only Christ will be sure and steady each time.

Keeping Hope Alive

Hope - the greatest gift ever given to us.


We have HOPE in our Salvation through the work Jesus.


We have HOPE in healing through the blood of Jesus. 


We have HOPE for a better tomorrow - the sunrise will start a new day.


But how the heck to you keep HOPE alive?  Somedays, the reality of the today, tomorrow and the next;  the list of decisions we must make;  the prognosis of doctors;  the diagnosis of specialists;  the reality of where we live in this fast continuum of space and time - all defeat that little spark of HOPE!


I don't have an answer today.  I'm not discouraged.  I'm just wandering.


I do hurt today.  Hurt for my child who heard me say the same lesson 5 different ways over 2 days and still didn't get it.  Hurt for her frustration.  Making tough decisions - must she know a predicate nominative?  What in her future will require that knowledge?  If she writes correctly and descriptively, what does it matter if she can name every part of speech in one of de Tocqueville's 500 word, grammatically correct sentences?


Probably doesn't.  Not at all.


Lord, give me the words to keep HOPE alive in my child's heart.  When she sees only the wall, let me show her the staircase.  When she sees only the failure, let me show her success.  When she hurts, let me show her healing.


Thanks God.

Home Again, Home Again

We returned yesterday from 9 days in Florida.  Beautiful.

We so needed the rest!

And I truly believe, on family enjoys each other as much as we do.  We laugh and giggle together.  We talk about God openly.  And we talk about our pain and hopes as well.

It was a hard trip for Ashley.  She will NOT use an assistive device.  So she walked every DW park, keeping up with us.  At night, her ankle was swollen and required ice.  But she did not complain.

One evening, she and I were alone in the Magic Kingdom, doing our own thing - shopping.  She told me she loved the trip but it was physically and emotionally hard on her.

Physically I understood.  But emotionally?

"Yes, I see the kids my age and how they can walk and move and I can't do that.  It hurts my heart."

This momma hurt too.  I walked through the park in tears, so thankful for the darkness.  She held my hand and we watched the theatre show, "Wishes do come true."

Her wishes have not come true - cerebral palsy still there.  Myoclonus dystonia still plagues her body.  Toes are better, and we are so thankful.  But the hand surgery seemed to make things worse.  Pain is a huge problem.

But we keep going.

Tonight?  She has dance.

Tomorrow?  Gym time;  a good workout followed by a steam and hot top.

Friday night?  Cast Member for the Daddy Daughter Dance.

And we keep going.  And going.  And going.

And God's grace keeps growing.  And growing.  And growing.