Everyone strives for success.

As I was thinking about this today, I had to wonder exactly what 'success' means. Webster's defines it as 'favorable or desired outcome' and also 'the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence'.

Mmmh, somehow this seems in direct contrast to what Scripture tells me to pursue -

In Mark 9:35 Jesus gathers His disciples and tells them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."

Proverbs 13:7 says, "There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches."

Isaiah 66:2 "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word."

James 2:5 "Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"

Author Henry Nouwen writes, "Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame." He goes on to say, "Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds...true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness."

Jeremiah 17:7 says, "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."

'Success' breeds confidence in ourselves - but those with confidence in God and His strength and abilities and not their own will be "like a tree planted by the water" ( Jer. 17 v. 8) who '"never fails to bear fruit."

Are you looking for successfulness or fruitfulness? Success in the world's eyes - or 'success' in God's eyes - which may look like nothing at all to the world!

I think I would rather be a 'doorkeeper in the house of my God' or as the Message puts it, "I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin." (Psalm 84:10)

All for Him,

Missy

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My friend Beth is great at giving word pictures that depict wonderful spiritual truth. The other day we were talking about forgiveness and she said it was a little like stretching - it loosens us up and frees us to move on. I like that.

In fact, I think we are often stretched in our spiritual lives. We can get stuck in so many areas of our life - the difference between knowing what we need to do and learning to do it.

There was a wonderful lady in one of our first congregations who, when she was in her mid-seventies, crawled under the wooden pews and scraped gum from underneath the seats. Even in my early thirties I couldn't do that - to say she stayed flexible is putting it mildly!

Stretch, grow, flex - have you ever thought of these as spiritual disciplines? We are often resistant to change - the very thing God wants for us ('be not conformed to this world, but be transformed' Rom. 12:2). Just like the transformation of our physical body when we are disciplined in our diet and exercise, so this is true of our spiritual lives as well.

My husband reminded me of this recently with one of his sermon illustrations. He talked about a time when he and I took a canoe out on Lake Huron and jumped out and swam in about twenty feet of water, then got back in and canoed back to shore - all without tipping the canoe over (yes - that was a few years ago - I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be physically possible for us now!) We've failed to maintain the balance and flexibility we had in our younger years and it will take a great amount of discipline to get that back.

I used to be able to jump on a horse and ride bareback. Now I think it would be a stretch to get my foot to the stirrup! Again - it would take the discipline of working and stretching my physical body to be able to accomplish that same task.

We are all growing older (if you aren't here yet - just wait!) but my point is that in order to maintain the flexibility of being able to be free to move on to other things in our life, or to continue to change and to grow spiritually, we need to continually be putting spiritual disciplines into practice.

And the good news is - it's never too late! Physically or spiritually. We can start today - and every little step toward that goal is an improvement. Feeling stuck in a rut spiritually? You can begin stretching those spiritual muscles - prayer, reading the Word, meditating and listening to God - and you will find that in your spiritual life you will begin to look like a new person - a transformed person.

The key, as my good friend Beth likes to say, is making sure that God's Word is getting in you. You have to read it, study it, meditate on it - then obey it.

That's when you're stretched and you find that maybe those things you thought were impossible - with God, they're not!

All for Him,

Missy

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Just in case anyone needs my opinion on the matter - I hate shower doors that are attached to the tub. Just sayin'. You know, if you're out there today and you're trying to make a decision - should I get my shower doors attached to the tub or not - Not.

I'm not sure whose genius idea this 'convenience' was - it's anything but. They restrict access to the tub, collect mold and gunk in their cracks and attract soap scum like magnets. And the worst of it - they pop out of their tracks as you slide them back and forth.

Yup. It's my latest frustration. My husband is gone and the shower door popped completely off its tracks. It's easy to fix (so he tells me over the phone) but of course it doesn't work quite that well for me. So I've given it a temporary fix until he gets home and can take care of it.

I'm queen of temporary fixes. Don't like the look of shower doors attached to the tub? Cover them with a shower curtain. Kids' rooms messy? Shut the door. Company coming? Sweep stuff in closets and move on.

Temporary fixes are fine - but they catch up with you. Eventually the shower door, the messy room or house - they all need the proper attention given to them.

So it is in our spiritual lives. A 'temporary fix' isn't good enough. Oh, it may keep you going for awhile, but you won't be, as my friend Beth would tell you, spiritually 'healthy'! It's like those TV commercials where the guy's hair is on fire and his co-worker is trying to get his attention and he's laughing it off as unimportant.

Webster's says that 'temporary' means 'Lasting for a limited time". So our efforts to fix something 'temporarily' are just that - limited.

The Scriptures talk about something else that's temporary. It's on the other side of this coin - we fix things 'temporarily' because we don't want to go through the hard work and inconvenience (and sometimes pain!) of fixing something properly. It takes time and effort we don't want to put into it. The flip side of that is looking at our inconvenience and hard work as temporary.

I once heard it said that short term dissatisfaction (the hard work of getting to the root of a problem) brings long term (long lasting) satisfaction - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 puts it like this: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Don't we get that backward? Our 'fixes' are temporary - and we think of our trials as never-ending. If we do the hard work - getting to the root of our spiritual problems - we can appreciate the benefits - which are eternal.

So I guess 'temporary' can be good or bad - it's all in what you do with it.

All for Him,

Missy

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Don't you love how children seem to throw themselves into everything they do?

Their wonder of discovery of new things never fails to delight me.

Jesus calls us to come to Him as a child, to welcome the kingdom of God with childlike exuberance and faith. (Luke 18:17)

Have you run to your Father lately and danced in His presence?

Have you embraced the sheer joy of all that He gives us through His Son Jesus?

Maybe it's time you did.

All for Him,

Missy

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I want to be here. Warm tropical breezes, waves caressing my bare feet, squinting at the gorgeous sky as the sun sets slowly over the water.

Instead I am wiping up melted snow and mud on my kitchen floor that has been tracked in from outside. I'm throwing on another sweatshirt and huddling under blankets. Scraping ice off the windshield and digging out from several feet of snow.

Winter has settled in. Spring and Summer are mists of a leftover right-before-waking dream. Even shutting off the alarm and snuggling back under my covers doesn't work to bring back my wonderful illusion of playing in the waves and relaxing on a beach somewhere.

Isn't that just life - with all it's inconveniences and uncomfortable elements? But if I'm focusing on the negatives, I may be missing the beauty of this season of my life. Truly.

Recently as I got out of bed much too early one morning (you can read about my aversion to early mornings here and here) I was grumbling not just about getting up before daylight, but leaving my nice cozy bed to shovel snow. Gritting my teeth, I went outside and got to work.

But when I paused for a break and actually looked around me I was halted by more than my bursting lungs and panting breath. It was beautiful. So serene and quiet. No one was moving on the streets and everything was blanketed in a beautiful down quilt of snow. And then I heard them -

A family of birds were lifting their song to the skies. It sounded like spring! In the midst of winter? Yes! Hope can be found in every circumstance of life because of the One who is our Hope.

God gives us great blessings each day. We just have to look for them. In the meantime, I'm headed back to my nice comfy bed to dream of warm tropical breezes - with birds singing somewhere in the background.

All for Him,

Missy

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As a part of Circle of Friends Marketplace Ministry Pastor Bruce Hamsher teaches character development classes to area businesses. The other day I had a unique opportunity to participate in a drama at one of his leadership seminars.

The skit involved three women discussing their everyday lives. I got to play the obnoxious one - you know, the whiner and complainer. I even got a laugh when I complained about how the people of the church were always criticizing each other and talking behind each other's back. (I was obviously leading the way there!)

I joked later that I was 'type-cast' - but the uncomfortable truth is - it was an easy part to play because I've been there, done that. It was way too familiar to me because I have been in that situation again and again.

Whether it's listening to others complain or even taking part in conversations that drag others down, I have seen the effects of criticism and complaining. I've even talked about it in a prior blog 'Toxic Waste'. Once you start down that path it's a slippery slope - everything goes down hill from there!

The thing that struck me about it was how comfortable I felt - how easily the words rolled off my tongue - how quickly I slipped into the role I was playing. Like I wasn't even acting!

Just shows you how quickly we can get off track and veer onto our own railway line - usually ending in a dead end or worse - remember the old cartoons where the tracks went straight over the edge of a cliff...

I am reminded of Jeremiah 21:9 where the prophet proclaimed, "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?"

It is a constant fight against my old nature to be shaped and molded into His image.

Time to find a new character to play.

All for Him,

Missy

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Did you know that they have actually done research to prove that dogs really do look like their owners?

Really.

It's out of the University of California, and they say it can only be proven with purebreds.

If you're interested in the scientific data you can read about it in the journal Psychological Science.

In order to discover if this phenomenon were true, they approached random dog owners in several parks and took pictures of the owners with two dogs, one of which was their own.

Then 'judges' looked at the photos and matched the owners with their dogs.

And voila! The judges made a majority of matches.

The study out of California concluded that "it does appear that people want a creature like themselves."

All this fascinating reading made me think of how God created us 'in His image' (Gen. 1:27) and that His desire is that we are 'conformed to the image of His Son' (Romans 8:29).

And it made me wonder, do I look like my Master?

All for Him,

Missy

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You've seen the commercial that asks, "What's in your wallet?" that leads us all to believe that only that specific credit card will fulfill all our needs and bring happiness and prosperity to our lives. There's so much wrong with that thinking that I won't even go there! But it reminded me of a conversation I had recently.

My friends and I were discussing the power of the tongue. James warns us that such a little member of the body holds the power of life and death - that it is full of 'deadly poison'. With it we praise God, then curse people - whom He made in His image. He also warns us that praises and curses coming from the same mouth just shouldn't be!

Probably for most of us struggling with our tongues isn't a new concept - but our conversation went beyond restraining the spark that can grow to a wildfire. We have to get to 'the heart of the matter'. In Mt. 12:34 Jesus tells us that. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

What comes out of our mouths - what our tongues speak - is exactly what is in our hearts and minds.

So, what's overflowing out of your heart? Fear, insecurity, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness - any of these things can cause us to speak what James calls 'evil' - negative speech, criticism, cursing, lies, off-color jokes and innuendos.

Our conclusion was that it takes discipline to tame the tongue - a discipline of looking at what's in our hearts and recognizing the root of our problem. In order to speak life and not destruction we must do what Phil 4:8,9 tells us -to think on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - whatever is excellent or praiseworthy.

In other words, if I find myself being critical of others, I need to check my heart attitude and see what's lingering there. Once I recognize and confess the root issue, I have to discipline myself to speak what's right and admirable instead of criticizing. It's a re-training - first of the heart and mind and then of the tongue.

Struggling with your tongue? Join me each day and say with the psalmist:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart. Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." Ps 19:14

All for Him,

Missy

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• What hair color do they put on the driver's license of a bald guy?
• Does fuzzy logic tickle?
• If I'm unique, doesn't that make me like everyone else?
• If a tin whistle is made from tin - what is a foghorn made out of?
• Do Lipton Tea Company employees get coffee breaks?
• Is there another word for synonym?
• Where do forest rangers go to get away from it all?
• Isn't it scary that doctors call what they do "practice"?
• Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?
• Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
• Would a wingless fly be called a 'walk'?
• Is it possible to be totally partial?
• Shouldn't the word abbreviation be shorter?
• If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?
• Do they use sterilized needles for lethal injections?
• Can you be a closet claustrophobic?

All kidding aside, there are tough questions in life that just can't be answered this side of heaven. When I look beyond my own telescoped vision of my own life and see the great big world out there - I only have more questions. Questions I don't have the answers to - like what about the people of Haiti who are suffering? Or children, women - around the world who are starving or being abused? With free will comes great responsibility - just ask Eve! (I think I'll have my own questions for her when I get to heaven.) Okay, so I can't say I wouldn't have made a better choice. My own life proves that.

Recently I had a discussion with a friend about this very thing - how can a good God let bad things happen? Her response was that we often blame God for things He never caused, and fail to thank Him for all the good He brings into our lives. A little lopsided, isn't it? The Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Mt 5:45). The Message puts it this way: "This is what God does. He gives his best-the sun to warm and the rain to nourish-to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty."

God created the perfect world, gave man a choice to live in it or not, and when sin entered the idyllic garden God created - it messed everything up! And still, God chooses to give us good things. James tells us that 'every good and perfect gift' comes from God.

So my questions - and yours - may not be answered this side of eternity. But we can trust in a good and loving God who is there through every difficult challenge of our life - and brings good things from it. That's just the kind of God He is!

All for Him,

Missy

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Sometimes life takes an unexpected curve. Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." We map out our lives and expect them to go according to plan. And then -

You lose a job,

have to move

or abandon a dream,

You learn you are pregnant or that you can't have children,

or you face unexpected health issues or take on a new challenge,

or run into some other unforeseen development in your life.

Life is like that, always surprising us. While I sometimes wish I knew what tomorrow held, there are more moments when I'm thankful I don't know what's coming because I am able to enjoy the moments of the day without worries of tomorrow. That's my new motto -

Hey! I think I've heard that somewhere - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Mt. 6:34)

All for Him,

Missy

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I was talking the other day with my good friend Beth (see her blogs 'Confessions of a Peace Lover' and hear her weekdays at 10 am on the radio WNPQ 95.9 or www.thelight959.com). We were discussing the parable of the sower and the seed (found in Mt.13:3-23) on our Circle of Friends radio program and she posed a question that has continued to drift around my thoughts and heart.

"How's the soil of your heart?"

You remember the story of the farmer who planted his crop and his seed fell in different types of soil - some fell along the road - never even made it into the soil and the birds came along and ate the seeds. Some fell on rocky ground - it grew quickly because the dirt was shallow - but it died quickly because there were no roots going down into the earth to support the crop. Some of the seeds fell into thorns and weeds that choked the crop until the weeds overtook the good plants.

And then there was the seed that fell on the good soil - but even there the crop was multiplied better in some instances than others. In some places it was a hundred times more, some places it grew sixty times more, and some places the seed only multiplied thirty times as much. Jesus goes on to say that we need to 'see with our eyes' and 'hear with our ears'.

What does all that mean? The explanation of the parable is found in the latter verses of that portion of Scripture. The seed along the road that never even makes into the soil is like a person who has no understanding. He 'hears' the message, but doesn't 'see' what it means. The birds represent the Evil One who snatches the seed right out of our hearts before we have a chance to cultivate it into the soil of our understanding.

The rocky soil represents the person who takes in the message of Christ's kingdom with joy, but that's as far as it gets. It doesn't 'take root', change his life, make any real difference. He can't handle trials or persecution or even inconvenience.

And the seed among the weeds? That's the person that is consumed with this world instead of eternity. That worry and focus on themselves keeps the seed from growing. It is only the good ground - the cultivated soil, the fertile heart that produces fruit. And how much fruit? That depends on what Beth calls the 'fertilizer' of our life. The muck and the yuck we don't like to deal with - in a nutshell, it is how we are transformed into the image of Christ through trials and struggles that we allow God to use to change our attitudes, which leads to a change in our actions and behavior.

Her point was that - whether we realize it or not - we are sowing seeds into our life everyday. Those seeds will someday reap a harvest - the question is, what kind of harvest are you reaping? The good news is that even if we're reaping a harvest of bad habits and wrong attitudes, we can start today to sow a good harvest for tomorrow!

Farmers don't cultivate a field once and then are done with it. Soil needs constant attention - fertilization for maximum growth. How's the soil of your heart today? When you are presented with a teaching about God's kingdom from His word is your heart ready to let it go deep into your life? Will that teaching produce fruit or be snatched away, set aside as not that important, or choked out by the world?

Maybe this question will linger for you as it has for me.

All for Him,

Missy

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Today when we came into work there was a message left on our business' voice mail. It was an irate customer. A lady who was furious over an oversight on our part. She had cause to be dissatisfied, and in the end she changed her tune because we made things right with her, but in the meantime she left a long tirade that spilled over onto the entire office.

It got me to thinking - I wonder have you ever considered your words may be toxic? If we replayed that message to her would this precious lady feel justified in ranting and raving (not an over-exaggeration) or would she regret them - the tone, inflection, the words and meaning conveyed? I'm sure it was hurt and wounding in another area of her life totally unrelated to the issue at hand that caused her to lash out and over-react to the inconvenience she experienced.

I hate to confess it, but I've done the same thing. Recently. And not with an indifferent answering machine to a room full of strangers. Sometimes we dump our worst on those closest to us. Maybe even more than 'sometimes' - more like 'often' or 'mostly'. Is your home the place you let go of what should be eliminated in a safe place? Anger, frustration, disappointment, hurt - all these emotions are real and we need to acknowledge them, but pouring them out on our unsuspecting families is like unloading hazardous materials with no protection.

Psalm 140:3 speaks of those who plot evil and says, "Their tongues sting like a snake;the venom of a viper drips from their lips." I'm sure when I let go of my anger or other destructive emotion I don't consider myself as 'plotting evil' - but stinging and venom sound pretty close to the results. James says that our tongues are "a flame of fire". Verse 6 goes on, "It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself." He tells us that if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and control our selves in every other way. He goes on to say that no one can tame the tongue - it is restless and evil and full of deadly poison. Yikes!

'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks' (Mt 12:34) and we know from Jeremiah that above all things our hearts are deceitful and 'desperately wicked' (Jer. 17:9). It just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?

The only solution is found in yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit's control. His fruit is the opposite of toxic, it gives life, wholeness, healing: 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control'. I know left on my own I would choose foolishness over wisdom every time and lose control of my tongue.

Did you know that the same tongue that can 'promote health' (Prov. 12:18) also 'break a bone' (Prov. 25:15)? Proverbs goes on to say that 'life and death are in the power of the tongue' (18:21) and whoever guards his mouth keeps his soul from troubles (21:23).

Jesus, in Mt. 12:36-37, warns us, "And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you."

Okay - enough of the word study on the tongue - I'm starting to squirm!

I think I will say with the psalmist:

I said to myself, "I will watch what I do
and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
when the ungodly are around me."
But as I stood there in silence-
not even speaking of good things-
the turmoil within me grew worse.
The more I thought about it,
the hotter I got,
igniting a fire of words:
"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered-
how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath." (Psalm 39:1-5)

All for Him,

Missy

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Old Chinese Proverb

"A water-bearer in China had two large pots.

She carried them on the long walk to and from the stream to collect water.

One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I'm ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value for your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table.

In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway."

All for Him,

Missy

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A new year brings endless possibilities.

Is it this longing for things to be different that makes many of us set out with resolutions for change?

Resolution: the act or process of resolving, the act of determining, to resolve - to make a firm decision about, to deal with successfully, to clear up, to find an answer to.

"This year I will..." read my Bible every day, pray more, start a diet, exercise, be kinder, more loving, learn patience, clean out my closets, eat healthier, write and call my loved ones more often, get better at communicating God's love with others.

Oh, we start out with such good intentions! What happens along the way that makes us drop the ball?

Recently my son shared with me that he has been reading Erwin McManus' book, Uprising. He told me, "There's a character matrix that the author describes - essentially that courage is born of integrity which is born of humility, generosity is born of wholeness which is born of gratitude, and that wisdom is born of perseverance which is born of faithfulness."

When we pursue any of these characteristics (courage, generosity, wisdom) without going through the process of practicing integrity, becoming whole, and learning to persevere we fail in the areas of being humble, grateful and faithful.

Are you making resolutions for the New Year? Do you want to see changes begin to happen? Start by recognizing that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness" (1 Peter 1:3). And then "add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (1 Peter 1:5-7).

For - "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v.8). A New Year resolution takes determination - to change from the inside out.

Verse 10 promises 'if you do these things you will never stumble'.

All for Him,

Missy

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I'm so glad that even though I'm getting older, exciting adventures can still happen to me! Not too long ago I had the wonderful opportunity to fly in an airplane piloted by my son's father-in-law.

My son wanted to know if I was nervous or scared of flying in a small plane - but honestly, I didn't feel any concern at all! Maybe because Mark is an experienced pilot, or perhaps it was his wife Ruthie's relaxed calm (she slept on the way home!) or maybe it was just that I didn't have time to be nervous because I was so excited I wanted to bounce up and down on the seat like a little kid and ask about a kajillion questions. I managed to restrain myself - (by sitting on my hands and staring and staring out the window!)

With the engine noise, props, and wind speed it was pretty loud inside the cockpit so we wore head sets the whole way. It was sort of overcast when we started out, but when we rose above the clouds we were flying in the sunshine. And then we were right in the clouds! It was like a cotton candy ride at a carnival - surfing the top of the clouds, flying through them - awesome! We finally dropped back down where we had less wind resistance and turbulence and could get better airspeed.

After spending the day in Indianapolis, we flew back that night. Oh. My. Goodness! The lights below - the clear night sky with brilliant stars above - and a black horizon straight out in front of us. And then we were in the clouds again. At night, surrounded by a thick bank of clouds, the airplane's strobe lights bounced off the wall of white like lightening rods in a thunder storm. It was a little disconcerting not being able to see anything and knowing we were 5000 feet in the air. We could have been flying sideways, upside down, even straight down and I wouldn't have known the difference.

I found myself thinking that life can be like that impenetrable fog, not knowing what's ahead, what you might run into. As a trained and experienced pilot, Mark wasn't flying by sight - he used all the instruments on board that gave him the information he needed to keep us flying level and in the right direction.

Our guidance comes from God and His word. Without that 'instrument' to help us, we could end up flying upside down and sideways through life.

The view from the air is so very different than the one from the ground! When we can't see our way, or the journey gets difficult, we can struggle with not being able to see the end of the difficulty or the solution to the problem.

From the air, your whole perspective changes. God's view is not like ours from the ground where we see only obstacles. In His sovereignty, God knows the whole picture and sees the outcome long before we do.

When we rose above the clouds, we saw the sun that was hidden from those below us on the ground - a totally different perspective! Even watching the automobiles and traffic from the air gave new insight into seeing 'the big picture'. I could see miles ahead of the cars below while their view was obscured by hills, distance, and other vehicles.

Are you traveling some difficult pathways? Trust the One who can see where you are going!

All for Him,

Missy

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In this wonderful season of giving, I am reminded of the Greatest Gift, Jesus our Savior, from the Greatest Gift Giver, God our Heavenly Father, brought to us by the Greatest Gift Bearer, the Holy Spirit. Are you a good gift giver?

Here's a few ideas for gift-giving that you may not have thought of:

Time - Our world seems to move at techno lightspeed, and we can find ourselves so busy doing that we rush from one thing to another. Do you have a child tugging at your pant leg for attention, a weary husband who wants a conversation while you are busy with the kids and getting supper on the table, a boss with projects and deadlines to keep, extended family obligations and errands to run - I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it! Sometimes it takes setting aside everything else and making time for those we love to give one of the best gifts we could offer anyone - ourselves. Our time.

Acceptance - We all have preconceived notions of how people should behave and live - even down to their appearance and speech. Did you know that we can't actually 'fix' anyone - except ourselves? If we are willing to accept the people in our lives just as they are without trying to change them we have given them a great gift. I'm not talking about compromising your own beliefs, I'm talking about unconditional love. A love that allows people to be themselves, to live their own life, to travel their own journey. You might be surprised at where they end up - and be blessed with a wonderful relationship along the way.

Seeing the Best in People - This may go hand-in-hand with acceptance, but when we focus on the positive, instead of the negative, we allow people to develop and grow and mature into their best. Recognize and accept the positive - and you more than likely will see positive results!

Encouragement - Everyone responds to a word of praise or appreciation. And it doesn't take much to think of things to be grateful for and to speak those words to others. Complaints spread like a bad virus, but 'a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver' (Prov. 25:11) Giving the gift of encouragement to someone else will lift your own heart.

Listening - I don't know about you, but I feel especially loved if people remember what I've said to them. I know they've listened. I know they care. It makes me feel special. Undivided attention and active listening are gifts that never get old or wear out.

Fun and Laughter - "A merry heart doeth good like medicine" (Prov. 17:22) When was the last time you spent just enjoying those around you? Making the ordinary extraordinary by bringing joy and laughter into the every day of life. You will not only enjoy yourself, but you will make memories that last a lifetime - you will give the gift of a 'merry heart that has a continual feast' (Prov. 15:15)

Give the best gifts this year - gifts like forgiveness and prayer that are eternal rather than temporary.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Mt. 6:38

All for Him,

Missy

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I confess, in years past Christmas was an anxious time for me. Wanting my children to know the real meaning of Christmas and yet longing to give them gifts they would like and enjoy... wondering if we would have money to buy gifts on a pastor's salary...

Though I struggled with falling into the world's trap of glitter and lights - longing for what seemed to be just out of my reach - in the end I discovered that it was the simple things that give the most lasting pleasure. The eternal things. And you know what? Even through the anxious years, it always seemed to work out just fine - despite my worries there was always something under the tree for the kids and lots of laughter and love. Though it took me awhile to learn the lesson, eventually I gave up being anxious and learned to trust God to handle the details.

And my children? Like most of us, they don't remember the 'stuff' they got for Christmas - they remember the times spent together as a family. The candlelight services, the reading of the Christmas story, and celebrating Christmas with their church family.

Several years ago my children and their spouses were all newlyweds (all three of my kids decided to get married within a year of each other!) We declared 'no gifts' at Christmas so there wouldn't be any financial strain on the young couples (or on my husband and I who were in transition and 'homeless' at the time).

It all sounded good, but I didn't want to miss out on the specialness of giving gifts - so 'Mom' declared that everyone would make gifts. (Yes, I hear the groans - but hang in there with me) Which is exactly what I told the kids - we would draw names, pray for the person whose name we drew, and create a gift for them. Once we got over the 'are you kidding me?' stage ideas started flying - You could draw a picture, write or sing a song, frame a favorite photo, share a memory, do a special job for someone...

On the day of our gift exchange, we were all actually pretty excited. And when we began to share our gifts we realized how wonderful an idea it really was. My daughter kept a prayer journal for her sister-in-law - and then she gave the journal to her as her present. My daughter-in-law downloaded guitar chords off a free site on the internet for songs off a new cd and gave them in a notebook to my daughter's husband - he was thrilled! The boys made up songs that had us falling off the couch with laughter, I wrote a child's story book for my son whose wife was expecting their first child. My gift from my son was a wonderful poem which he framed and sits on my dresser. A corn-hole game, a video, a worship cd by my daughter and son-in-law, and a framed drawing are some of the other gifts that have been created and given.

The whole 'make your own gift' idea that was met with groans ended up to be one of the best traditions we've had as a family! It has moved us away from the temporal towards the eternal. It has given us a rich sense of connectedness and wonderful memories of fun and a surprising amount of excitement and anticipation.

Try giving gifts of the heart this year - they last forever, you know.

All for Him,

Missy

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I don't know a more difficult subject to address (and live out in obedience!) than forgiveness. Just when we think we have it all figured out - someone comes along and hurts or betrays us and we have to go back to the Word. Let's face it; what the Bible has to say about forgiving others is sometimes difficult for us to swallow. And even more difficult for us to put into practice.

In Ephesians (chapter four, verse thirty-two) Paul urges us that we are to be "forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" and in case we missed it, he says the same thing again in Colossians 3:13. How can we measure the forgiveness of Christ? Hasn't He forgiven us not once, but over and over again? When we take what God has given us (forgiveness, grace, mercy) and refuse to share it with others we throw God's gifts right back in His face. It makes light of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Anyone unwilling to forgive does not understand the heart of God - it is who He is! Are we going through the motions of belief, of accepting what God has given us, but denying it to others? In Luke 6:38 Jesus warns us that the measure we use for others will be the same one used for us.

Refusing to forgive has serious consequences. In Matthew 18:21-35 when Peter asks the Lord how many times he should forgive someone Jesus tells him the parable of the unforgiving servant. I've heard it said that perhaps when Jesus tells Peter to forgive 'seventy times seven' He means to forgive that person over and over again for the same offense! That puts a whole new twist on things, doesn't it?

Our human hearts resist this thought. Isn't dealing with it once enough? Why am I the one who has to give over and over, when I'm the one that was hurt? When your heart cries out, "It's not fair!" Remember that God sees far beyond this moment in time - each person has been given free will as you have. Ezekial 33:20 tells us that God 'will judge every one of you according to his own ways.'

"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?'" Ezekial 18:20, 25. The Lord is a righteous judge - a holy God who is fair to all. We are a people full of prejudice and selfishness, blinded by our own desires and woundedness. This is a hard teaching but one we need to grasp - God is the one who will judge, not us. Whatever offenses have been committed against us - we still need to respond as the Lord would have us - with forgiveness. But how?

1. Be honest. Acknowledge your hurts and the wounds others have inflicted. 'Stuffing' (ignoring or denying pain) does not resolve it, contrarily, it puts it in a pressure cooker and one day it will explode. Our emotions are real and are a natural consequence of simply experiencing life. It is not wrong to have emotions - the key is what we do with them. Acknowledge them to yourself, and to God - bring them back to Him (again and again if necessary). The second part of being honest is being honest about yourself. Recognizing your own sin first will keep 'the beam'(Matthew 7:3-5) out of your eye and help you not to knock anyone out with it!
2. Pray for those who have hurt you. It is surprising what happens when we pray. Prayer doesn't change things - it changes us! Our attitude and perspective change when we focus on God and His Word - when we put ourselves in the posture and position of seeing other people through His eyes, not our own skewed perspective. Understanding ourselves and others comes more readily when our focus is off ourselves and onto other people. The Word tells us to put others first, to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us - this is not a natural human response - this is supernatural and can only be done through His Spirit. Remember - this is more about obedience than about what we feel. We are not going to feel like praying for someone who has betrayed us - but we can be obedient to God and pray for them. He will change us (and our feelings) and help us move beyond the wall of hurt and pain that is blocking us from an intimate relationship with Him.
3. Remember this is not a one-time deal. There is no 'blanket coverage' in forgiveness - it takes work! Often times hurts re-surface and some things need to be dealt with again (and perhaps again and again). The good news is, the more we exercise the process of forgiveness (giving it to the Lord and praying for His unconditional love for that person) the less time it will take us to work through the hurt. Many people think that forgetting must come with forgiveness. This is a misconception. We choose to forgive, and in choosing we must remember the offenses and forgive in spite of them!
4. Don't go there. Once you've made the decision to forgive, don't allow yourself to dwell on the past. This is very different from denial of pain, or pretending the hurt never happened, or even trying the quick-fix-cover-up 'forget about it'. This involves acknowledging the wrong done, and choosing to love the person anyway. Love is an action, a choice, a verb, an act of our will. Not only will hurts resurface because of circumstances, but we can sometimes be like small children with a scab that we just won't quit picking at and consequently won't let it heal. It takes some practice, but you can change your thinking patterns. When you find yourself re-hashing the hurt, use Scripture to bring your mind back to the truth and re-focus on what God has done for you, and what He continues to do.
5. Move past the 'poor me' stage. Sometimes we like the role of victim because it is a handy excuse to bash the other guy and let ourselves off the hook. Who of us has never offended another? How is it possible to 'turn the other cheek'? The reality is if we try we may get slapped on the other side! So how can you bear the pain? Christ will bear it for us. The consequences of our response to what others do rest on our shoulders. God's standards remain true across the board. They don't change just because the hurt becomes personal.
6. Continue to confess your own sin. It is tough to admit we might have had a part in broken relationships (made bad choices, held wrong attitudes, acted out of anger, spite, etc.) Few problems are totally one-sided. Even in cases where they are - our response is critical if we do not want to move into a sinful attitude of our own. The root of bitterness grasps the soil of our heart very easily - and is difficult to weed out once it has taken hold. Then we find ourselves in the position of the offender, and possibly having wounded someone else.

Forgiveness is important not because of what it will do for someone else, but what it will do in our own hearts and lives!

All for Him,

Missy

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Healing is fractional - it comes bit by bit, not all at once, unless God works a miracle. But don't look at the slow healing time as less of a miracle. If in that time we allow God to do a work in us, the miracle turns out to be even greater than an instant healing!

If God heals instantaneously, everything returns to the way it was, as if it never happened, but if we take the more painful journey of a step by step walk we have many hours of intimate moments with our loving Father.

That time is always available to us, but in our busy lifestyles when do we slow down enough to enjoy Him? I can picture a loving Father, seated by the bed of His child. The child is hurting, wounded, limited to the small chamber of emotional, physical, or spiritual healing, a 'soul hospital' if you will. Nowhere to go, nothing but time on his hands, the child is incapacitated in a way that is totally foreign to him.

Have you ever seen a sick child in a hospital crib? Some of these cribs look more like cages then beds, but they are necessary for that child's safety, so he may heal without harming himself further. I have seen parents all but stand on their head to keep a sick child still so that healing can take place. It is not a pain-free process - procedures, needles, tests - sometimes it seems to get worse in order to get better.

Sometimes we have to do our own diagnostic tests to see where the healing must begin. Painful? At times. But always with the goal of health, and always, always with our heavenly Father right by our bedside.

It is not that He isn't always there - It is usually that we ignore Him, simply too distracted to notice or take time with Him. We're so focused inwardly on our pain that we forget He's there! Hosea 13:5, 6 puts it this way, "I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled. They were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me."

The sweetness we miss! The long hours of discourse - the laughter over private jokes, the comfort of His tender hand stroking our foreheads and reassuring us it will be all right.

I hate being sick, having to heal, going through the pokes and prods of soul diagnosis. But I love this time with You, Lord. I love curling up on Your lap, Abba Father, and having You rock me, knowing that in the security of Your arms, everything is going to turn out fine. No matter what happens.

All for Him,

Missy

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Dear God, In school they told us what you do. Who does it when you are on vacation? ~Jane

Dear God, Are you really invisible, or is that just a trick? ~Lucy

Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? ~Norma

Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want you to know but I am not just saying that because you are God already. ~Charles

I love kids' honesty. They just tell what they see, ask what they're thinking. Believe me, I know this can lead to embarrassing and difficult situations - but after years of admonishing my children what is 'right and proper' to say and do - I am to the point of wishing I were more like they were as children!

Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. Then he said, "I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child. Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me." Mt. 18:2-5 NCV

Aren't you glad we can talk to God about anything?

All for Him,

Missy

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I am convinced - according to 1 Peter 4:12-13 - that we look at the burdens of our life in entirely the wrong way. "Beloved do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."

Look what Peter tells us -

• Don't think it strange ( or ask 'why me')
• Fiery trials WILL come ( heartache and pain are certain - what we do with them is another matter)
• You can rejoice - to the extent that you partake (share) Christ's suffering.

Christ's suffering? Now that was a fiery trial - mocked, beaten, betrayed, publicly shamed and humiliated, abandoned by friends and family - Do you feel far from God? How about knowing you would be eternally separated from Him.I don't think we can imagine the torments of hell Christ suffered for us.

So where does that put the trials in our life? Our heartaches are real - I don't mean to imply that we don't - or shouldn't - feel pain. Christ readily admitted His, crying out to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have that access, too (through Christ's own sacrifice for us, I might add).

But this pain, this earthly suffering, this daily trial we call life - I think we fail to see the purpose in it and that is what throws us off, skews our vision, if you will.

If we are to live like Christ, I first have to ask (myself!) - Where was His nice home, closet full of clothes, new car, steady income, three week vacation - all the 'comforts' which we North American Christians seek so desperately.

While we may agree that the daily pettiness sometimes becomes an imaginary mountain (the right perspective makes it disappear), what about the really tough things - divorce, abuse, death, betrayals, the evil we see in the world - It all brings pain and destruction at the hand of our enemy.

And perhaps that's our first mistake; we fail to realize we are in a war, not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers of darkness - with Satan himself.

Our distortion of our spiritual condition causes us to see people, and circumstances, even God himself, as our enemy, as the obstacle to that which we desire most - self love, power, control.

And that brings us back to the beginning - if we are to share Christ's suffering - the first thing we have to do is to die to selfish wants and desires, to shatter the blinders Satan has put on our eyes and see everything as God sees.

Just a little thing! That takes every moment, every breath, every drop of will power we have to put ourselves in our place - Seeing who we are without Christ and who we are in Christ is the key.

The real trials, or challenges, in my life are not the circumstances by which I am surrounded - it is my attitude toward them!

All for Him,

Missy

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Feeling overwhelmed?

Sometimes it's the little things that make us feel like we're hanging by a thread.

Bad hair day.

Nothing in our closet fits

We're exhausted

Or we just really, really need a friend

Life has a way of piling on top of you at times.

And we're always happy for a bit of good advise.

2 Corinthians 12:9 puts it this way:

My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

All for Him,

Missy

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