In the Bleak Midwinter, Run to the Father!

I am a mess this morning with a headache, sore ribs, and anger. I am angry because I overslept and my much anticipated plans are blown up. I was angry when I went to bed and now I wake up angry again.

It would be so easy to focus on my challenges and I do, for a while. My morning melancholy feeds my Anne-rchy. But then I notice an unformed song running around in my head like background music for my anger. It was in my head last night and now again.

I don’t know the song’s name or even many of its words but the choice it gives is clear.
“Come to the Father; Fall on His grace; Come to the Father, again and again”
My demanding spirit pushes it away until I am in the car waiting to take Joe to school. Still angry, I turn on the radio and there it is again only it isn’t “Come, to the Father”, it is “Run, to the Father”.

I listen this time, at last. And as is God’s way, (and promise, in I Corinthians 10:13), He gives me a way out; a way out of focusing on myself and on my anger. He gives me the repeated opportunity to refocus through the simple words of a half remembered song.

He knows I am far too likely to ‘come’ to my anger, ‘come’ to my feeling bad, as I have proven this morning. I have been allowing my challenges to define my day and my own self, all the while God has been coming to me, again and again. He has been coming to remind me to allow Him to define me instead of giving that job to my circumstances. He doesn’t leave me alone in my stink. He provides the way out and into thanksgiving.

As Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied at his son’s birth:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us…to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:68,79.

And so He continues even to this Christmas season. I who was bent on sitting in my own darkness have been guided to His way of peace. It can be as simple as a matter of focus.

What is it that has your focus this holiday?

God is calling. Will you listen?

Merry,
Anne
12/12/2019

AbIde
October, 2019

I am one year out from my motorcycle accident and I still hurt physically, relationally, financially, almost every day. Last week was a particularly brutal one with ongoing pain, fatigue, and an overwhelming, unspecified hopelessness that pushed me to the edge of a panic I haven’t felt in years.

I was brought back from the edge by the simple words of a scholarly man applying God’s Word to life. My friend, Mr. Chambers, reminded me that God uses the dark times to take me to a deeper trust in Him. He reminded me that when my relationship with God is deepened, God brings His vision for my life into reality. Mr. Chambers said: “’If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)-that is the way to keep going,” These words were my lifeline.

I saw anew that during a struggle, a deepening, it is crucial to ABIDE. It means to stay with expectancy, to remain, to endure. It is not passive. It is active.

To Abide requires me:

To acknowledge my difficulty, to turn to Him and to endure until there is movement in my spirit again.

Requires me to 2 Corinthians 10:5:
“Demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

To endure when times are low by not assigning meaning to the darkness, by resisting the tendency to blame, to refuse to feed the distress, to interrupt the cycling negative thoughts until they are taken captive and quieted. ABIDE

Taking captive every thought by shining God’s light on each one. (“In His light, we see light” Psalms 36:9) and replacing the darkness with Philippians 4:8,
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

ABIDE: Not just once but every time the darkness swirls around me. Restart, reboot, recommit to “whatever is…” until the swirling abates.

Abide also means standing firm in the truth I do know. I may feel hopeless but I am not hope less. My hope is full and Living.

Abiding in the truth of I Peter 1:3, “God…has caused me to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

AbIde.
Look closely and you will see that when you abide you meet the Lord at the point of your need.
Do you see?
Right in the middle of AbIde is the I of “I AM”,
the name of the one and only sovereign Lord of the Universe.
He’s there, wait til you see!

Blessings, Anne

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God.” Hebrews 12:15

Oswald and the Landlord

There once was a landlord who had extensive holdings in the hearts of people but only one holding with a tenant.

The landlord wanted to be gracious and kind but as she struggled with her own financial strain, she was unable to bear the tenant’s financial strain.

As was her usual way, she scurried about trying to fix it herself but in the end could see no solution.

The morning her sorrowful anxiety seemed untenable, she sat on her porch, praying. Hoping the cool, bright day would ease her heaviness.

Her friend, Oswald, a learned, holy man, was out for his morning walk and found her there.

As she looked up, he could see the strain on her face and he sat down quietly next to her, taking her hands in his. They sat silent for a long moment.

“Tell me, child, what troubles you so?” he gently asked.

She intended to hide her struggle but his clear and certain perception of her need broke her tenuous hold and her struggling flowed out in waves of quick, sharp words and tears.

As her bursting ebbed, she wiped her eyes and haltingly managed to say, “I was praying for guidance when you came.”

After a breath of silence, Oswald responded, patting her hand,

“It is good you asked for help,” he said. “We are not made to live this life in our own power. We are made for connection with God,” he paused, “His guidance gives the strength needed for the journey.”

“Yes,” she nodded wordlessly, still feeling the emotions of her tale but also understanding that Oswald offered his words, not as a scolding, but rather as the gentle reminder she needed.

Oswald continued, “Jesus tells us in His book of John, verse 16:33, ‘In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Suddenly ashamed and before she could control her words, she blurted out roughly, her hands shaking, “But what if my ‘tribulation’ is the result of my own doing?”

“Oh, how you struggle so, my child,” he said softly, nonplussed by the force of her words, “Our God is not a God of blame, dear one. Our God is love and uses our weaknesses to show His strength through us.”

These familiar words, somehow, calmed her shaking. Oswald looked into her wide, blue eyes. “God gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life, whether through our own weakness or not, is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength.”

After a time of silence together, her fear subsiding, Oswald continued, “Overcoming your own timidity, as you did when you prayed, was your first step. Now God is able to give you nourishment.”

“Nourishment,” she considered this.

“Yes,” she said to herself. “There is nourishment in the living water of God’s Word, especially when shared through the kindness of another.” She began feeling hopeful, lighter, as gratitude filled her.

Seeing her soften and relax, Oswald added one more thought.

“Our temptation, always, is to face adversity from our own common sense. But Jesus says ‘be of good cheer’ even when we are seemingly defeated by our adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible for everyone, except God.”

With this, he patted her hands and smiled as he got up and silently continued on his way.

~~~~~~~~~
AMRB, 8/2019
Flagstaff
Activated by O. Chambers’
My Utmost for His Highest:
August, 2 entry.

Friday Night

It is our last night in Cooperstown Dreams Park. The cool darkness of the night is accentuated by the brightness of the lighted field as the ninth-seat Michigan Motor City is up against the fourth-seat California Tri-County for this week’s championship game.
The stands are full. The excitement palpable as a fly ball clears the stadium only to be called a foul. The bleachers erupt with animated booing, reminiscent of some old time baseball movie but the Umpire does not budge.

Joe races up the steps past us chasing his own teammates to the top. There is uncontainable joy shining from his face; that smile is the reason we have driven so far. Roaring up from his toes, consuming every fiber of his being as it irresistibly bursts from his face.
Winning or losing is beside the point. The team, the game, these are the only points that matter and he relishes every moment.

It may have been a week of ups and downs but the smile that just whisked by me proves that the connecting power of teamwork is worth every drop of sweat, every challenge, every victory.
Thank you, Cooperstown Arizona Fire!

AMRB

“Wait on the Lord and he will work.”
Psalm 37: 34.

“Don’t wait just because you can’t see one inch in front of your face. Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.” O. Chambers

And we are told to wait on the Lord and He will work. It’s a promise. He will work.

He may not work in the way we want Him to…thankfully, because He will work in far more abundant ways than we can even ask or imagine. (Ephesian 3:20)

It is His way and His promise.

✨🥳✨
AMRB!

The Homerun

The day held overcast skies, cool breezes, and fresh forest air as the batter took his place at the plate.
He is one of the few of his teammates who have not yet managed to breach the 200 foot fence. Though his team rallies around him, their fierce hope and the force of their wanting will not,alone, carry the batter’s ball to victory.

There is a slight sweat on his brow as he feels the pitcher sum him up. He knows the feeling well having just left the mound himself after pitching several no run innings. He wipes those thoughts away as he wipes away the moisture on his brow.

He focuses. Looking first into the eyes of the pitcher then solidly back at the ball. His eyes follow it, like a shell game, never wavering, as it is released into the shining gray day.

His decision-making is lightning-fast though it is a slower pitch than some. When he does swing, the crack of the bat is unmistakably sharp. For an instant, he thinks, “it was too low, I shouldn’t have swung!” but, nonetheless, instinctively, he drops his Marucci and begins his flight to first.

Running hard, the roar of the erupting crowd enters his perception and he turns his eyes toward the ball. As if in slow motion, he watches, amazed, as the ball sails high over the green outfield wall into the field beyond. Then, as if time suddenly catches up, exhilaration speeds up from his toes and rockets out of the top of his voice, breaking uncontainable joy all over his face and the faces of his teammates. He has done it!

“It seems,” he says to himself with a smile,
“it was a good hit after all.”

Wednesday

The overcast skies of the morning, lend a brilliance to the many colors of green that surround me in the forest. There is a captivating little creek along the edge of the thickness of the trees. As I come near, I hear the gurgling of the brook and just barely see the tadpoles as they dart and hide under the rock shelving. They are so swift in their retreat it is hard to get a good look. I find that if I stand just right and still enough, for long enough, they venture back out. I can then see that among the tiny tadpoles are also a marvelous little school of small fish.

I breathe deeply of the fragrant forest air and consider the fish. I think of myself this week darting to and fro, in and out of fear for my player.
He is such a relational person. When the coach doesn’t play him, he feels disconnected and doesn’t play as well, so coach doesn’t play him… round and round it goes. It’s the personal connection that fuels his game of both baseball and life.

Yesterday, he was mightily challenged. It was hump day and fatigue was high as was my concern for him. But, it turned out that his struggles opened up communication with his coach and the next game was the best of his Coopertown experience. My player was back, energized with his diving catches, rifling throws to first, his racing slides to third. I suspect it was the connection to coach that turned him around.
So as I stand still and watch the fish who now come out to play in numbers, Psalm 46:10 comes unbidden: “Be still and know that I am God.”
It makes me consider how He takes my darting thoughts, my in and out of fear and brings clarity to calm my silly soul. When I stand just right on His promises and am still enough, for long enough, I can know that He is God. And when I stop to know, He opens me to the stillness of His beauty alongside a gurgling brook and the fantastic greens of His forest.

Tuesday in C-Town

“Behold, he is coming in the clouds”
Revelation 1:7

“God often manifested Himself in an energized, blazing light called the Shekinah or Glory cloud. No one could see it fully and live so it had to be veiled, but when Christ returns the glory will be completely visible.” -MacArthur

How fitting that a day of clouds is followed by a morning devotion about God’s glory cloud. As the clouds rolled in yesterday and granted me some relief from the heat, they also covered the baseball field where Joe was pitching. Close your eyes and imagine God coming on those clouds.

Imagine Him present as Joe pitched and the batters hit home runs. Imagine God lending some of Himself to Joe, though we, and especially Joe, did not recognize it. Imagine God coming on those clouds to empower Joe to extend His mercy and grace through Joe’s weakness; through the opportunity for Joe to give out of his own need to others in need thereby meeting everyone’s need.

And finally, imagine, if God’s present glory can be veiled in the weakness of a struggling 12 year old pitcher, how, then, will He show it through your own?