"Whatever you need, He is."

Have you ever been in a crowded room, or at a football game and everyone is talking or yelling at once? Can you really understand anyone? Perhaps that person closest to you, but what about the little girl across the room, or the elderly man on the other side of the stadium? Can you understand them? Or even hear them in the chaos?

I've been thinking about this for the past 10-12 hours, crazy I know, but I wasn't able to sleep much and kept pondering on this one basic fact...God can. 

We had a precious little baby born into our church family last week and while baby Morgan is an absolute doll, she does have many health issues. She has driven many of people to their knees these past few days. Does God hear all of those? Absolutely!

While there are many prayers going up for Morgan, there are also prayers going up for the single mom raising children alone, the man battling cancer for the third time, a friend in California who's husband is battling ALS, my nephew who is having problems with his one and only kidney, he's 11, the missionary all alone in a foreign country just trusting, the victims of Hurricane Irene, and yet while these all seem like major prayer requests, God hears each and everyone of them. And answers with only the peace, comfort, mercy, grace and love that He can give. 

And before we think it has to be a major health problem or a catastrophic event that we can go to Him, think again!  The same God that hears the prayers over the major things, also hears the prayers over the minor things too. He hears the prayers of a worn out mom about to lose control. He hears the prayers of a little six year old girl that just wants to have a good night's sleep. He hears the prayers of an almost 11 year old boy who just wants to say "thank You" for a fun day. He hears. He listens. 

Do we need to keep things in perspective? Absolutely! We are human, we know no other way, but God, only He can handle the major with the minor. He can handle the prayers from the ICU pleading for answers and He can hear the pleas from the interstate of "Lord, please don't let my husband kill me over another speeding ticket!"  He's God.  He hears the prayers of those who can pray words over you and for you that would rival any fine work of literature and He also hears the moanings from a heart that has no idea how to pray or what to pray. He hears the prayers from those on their knees in suburbia, USA or those on their knees on a dirt floor of a third world country. He hears the prayers for the trivial to the prayers of the tragic. He hears. His heart is huge! He just doesn't love us, He can't not love us. He is love, the very epitome. Wow!

Our Associate Pastor spoke Sunday night and said something that has really stuck with me, "Whatever you need, He is."  WOW!! Isn't that amazing!?!!  He is the great I am. He was. He is. He always will be. 

Mirror, Mirror...

Warning: This is not for the faint of heart. If you're under 20 and still have the flawless skin of a newborn and the abs of an Olympic athlete, well move along....you wouldn't understand. For the rest of us, the other 99.9% of us, lets get real! Growing old is not for wimps!

As I stood in front of the bathroom mirror (not the big one hanging on the wall, but the must-have light up magnifying one) earlier, clarifying, exfoliating, masking, de-masking, moisturizing, plucking, etc etc etc, I cracked up laughing! Sometimes we laugh to keep from crying, right??  And no, I didn't dare ask the age old fairy tale question, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"  Because frankly, right now, I love my light up, magnifying mirror and if it had answered me, well, I'm afraid it would have gotten ugly!!

I have a birthday looming around the corner, so I suppose that is why I'm looking closer at myself..and let me just go ahead and say it....44! I have a friend that says "you just can't say '44' and smile, its just not possible!" I remember being able to smile and say it then, when she was turning 44, but what about now? What about next month? Will I smile then?

When did gravity begin to take such big pulls on my skin? When did the metabolism slow down to the pace of a snail crossed with a tortoise?  When did those coarse, dark hairs start growing out of my chin?  When did smiling begin to make my eyes look like tiny slits that sprout wildly on the outsides? When did I have to start worrying about the way I hold my head in pictures for fear of all the chins appearing?  When did I begin creaking when I get out of bed? When did I start moaning in just the attempt at getting out of bed? 

Are you laughing yet? Have you found yourself there? If not, hang tight, honey, 'cause its coming for you! A great hair stylist can keep you looking younger for many years. Laser treatments may fix you for a while. Botox is temporary. A little tuck here and a lift there will defy gravity for a while longer, but in reality we are all aging.   Don't get me wrong, I'm not against any of those things; I am very much in love with my hair stylist!  As for the other stuff, well honestly, I can learn to embrace my wrinkles, stray hairs, and gravity pulled  parts over needles, knives, and pain!
So, will I smile come September 8 when I hit the big 4-4?  Well, how can I not? God's grace has set me free. God's power sustains me. God's faithfulness comforts me. God's mercies are new every single morning. God's plan for my life excites me. God's promise of eternity with Him gives me a hope like no other. And God's blessings I will enjoy....with wrinkles, growing pores, sprouting hairs, sagging parts and all! So call the fire department and light up the candles and bring on the chocolate cake! 44. Yeah, I'm good with that! I'm smiling!

Filled in the Philippines

The City of Smiles is where I found myself the last week of July spending time with some special folks.  I feel tremendously blessed to have been given this opportunity and though I really don't know exactly why He wanted me to go, I do know that He worked out every single detail. How could I say "no"?

I was rerouted from my original flight and met some interesting folks along the way. One man I met was heading to Texas to fight the wildfires in west Texas. I had to smile as we parted ways and he hollered, "Hey! You go change the world while I go save it!" Another was a retired US House of Representatives man from Kansas heading out to Malibu to meet his new grandson.  He was kind and a proud grandpa and even told me he'd be praying for me as I continued on my journey. Then another guy is an agent for several actors and actresses in Hollywood. He had been in Texas for two weeks to be with his dad. He teared up as he said that he felt it would probably be the last time he saw him, as his dad was struggling with cancer and near the end. I was able to talk to him a bit about God and church and told him as we headed different directions at LAX that I would be praying for his dad.  There were others I met along the way, a retired Catholic priest heading somewhere to speak at a mass getting sponsors for children in third world countries, a business man from Austrailia excited to be heading home after three weeks in the States, and the sweet little Filipino lady who was actually heading back home...to Bacolod! 

If I had been on my original flight, I would not have met a single one of these folks, I believe that was a God thing, if not for anything other reason than to open my eyes.  I thought, as I flew home, sitting with two young men from China coming to Iowa to attend school that truly every single person does have a story. Too often I just get caught up in my own little world to reach out and just say "hi" and allow His light to shine, if only for a moment in the life of someone along the way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v0RhvZ3lvY

While in Bacolod, I stood at a third floor window while the world came alive beneath me one morning and God opened my eyes to new wonders all around. The neighborhood I looked out upon resembled nothing of the neighborhood back home, but I had to wonder were they just as happy? Perhaps happier?  I tend to get caught up in the things of this world when I'm home and surrounded by all the "things" that are to bring comfort in life. The every day ordinary things I don't give a second thought to, and often complain about: actual floors that have to be swept, mopped, and vacuumed; laundry that has to be done in a washer and dryer; a sink full of dirty dishes that have to be loaded into a dishwasher; windows that are in need of some Windex; and even air-condtioning that has worked some major over time this summer.  All of my comforts that I complain about much more often than I give thanks to the Lord for.



After a trip like this, I come back and, literally, I'm almost in mourning for a week or so as I recover from jet lag and process all I experienced. Bacolod served as an oasis for me. I fully believe it was something God wanted me to experience to give me a renewed perspective on life.  Did I do anything extraordinary while I was there? Lol! Not. At. All. I just did "life" with a friend for a week and He blessed that time.  I had sweet quiet times with Him, even while listening to the ever crowing rooster outside the window. I wasn't the "mom", the "preacher's wife", the "PTO President", the "Sunday School teacher" or any of the other labels I wear. I was just there, to hear, to see, to be touched by Him in ways, that perhaps, He knew I wouldn't slow down here long enough to allow it to happen.

I'm thankful for the time with Him and the fellowship and friendship that was enjoyed along the way. He is good. He is faithful. He is God in the chaos and God in the calm. He is God of the broken and God of the weary. He is God of the impulsive ones of us like Peter and God of the meek and loving ones like John. He's really not looking for those who have it all together, but those that will run to Him when they don't.  It may be said that I stumbled often in my walk with the Lord, but may it never be said that I failed to follow Him.