how I came to be...expect a mystery

Ellis Island Interior

 


Ellis Island Exterior

In many ways, it’s still a mystery...how I came to be. During a visit to Ellis Island's American Family Immigration History Center, I was delightfully surprised to be able to locate and obtain an authentic copy of the ship manifest page from the ship, Princess Irene, which brought my maternal birth grandparents, Olympio and Vincenza from their home in Scontrone, Italy, through the port of departure in Naples to Ellis Island on August 30, 1906. Just seeing their two names listed one underneath the other on the ship manifest page gave the mystery such a tangible basis in reality. She was only 16 years old, he was just 24, and they were on their way to live with cousins in Chicago. What compels a 16 year old girl to board a ship in Italy, facing days on the ocean in most likely uncomfortable, even dangerous, conditions for a destination yet unknown to her?

Vincenza

Somehow she and her fiancé, Olympio, were so motivated to start a new life in a new country that they left their home in Scontrone, Italy, and traveled to New York City, eventually settling in Chicago. They married and had a daughter, Lydia, in 1911.

Olympio



Lydia

Lydia & Vincenza on Mother's Day, 1953

beth 1953

beth and Lydia 1983

I met my birthmother, Lydia, in 1983, when I was 30 years old, and Lydia was 72. Lydia explained to me the circumstances of my conception, birth, and adoption. During a Memorial Day holiday get-away weekend with a gentleman in 1952, Lydia, at age 41, became pregnant with me. When she realized she was pregnant, she told the gentleman with whom she had spent the weekend and he was unwilling to help her. Her mother, Vincenza, did not want her daughter, a single mother at age 41, to disgrace her family with an illegitimate child, so Lydia left Chicago to live with a relative in Miami, Florida. In October, around the time of Columbus Day, she went to a back-alley abortionist to abort me, but when the abortionist examined her and realized she was over four months pregnant, he told her the abortion might kill her, and he refused to do it. Lydia made arrangements with the Salvation Army hospital in Jacksonville to give me up for adoption. On Friday the 13th she gave birth to me, and signed the papers giving me up for adoption on Valentine’s Day 1953.

I was adopted by loving Christian parents. I grew up in church, active in Sunday School and missions organizations. I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at the age of 10, and was baptized by immersion following my salvation. I have a Master's degree in Education, in curriculum, instruction, and supervision. I write articles on a variety of topics to inspire and encourage others. My expertise as a creative and critical thinking specialist is steeped in years of experience as a writer, presenter, educator and former Florida Department of Education State Consultant for Gifted Education. Seeing others' lives transformed by the truth of God's Word is my passion and purpose. I am married with two adult children, and two adorable grandsons.

During an awe-inspiring trip to Israel in March 2000, I was baptized in the Jordan River as a recommitment of my faith. I grow closer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ every day through prayer, worship, and the study of His Word. I believe there are no “accidents” and every conception and every birth is part of God’s Sovereign Plan. I rest and find comfort in these life verses: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:13-16) 

My prayer, the desire of my heart is, “Lord, I want to delight in you! Center my heart in knowing you more and loving you more day by day. Help me to discover that there is fullness of joy in your presence and to take great delight in my relationship with you. May my heart desire you above everything else.” It’s been many years since I first began to pray this prayer in March 2000 after returning from my trip to Israel in which I walked beside the Sea of Galilee and on the Mount of Olives, to all the historical sites in Jerusalem, Capernaum, and Bethlehem. During this time in my study of the Scriptures, I came to a place in my life where I wanted, more than anything else, to love God more. I began to pray, “Lord, I want to delight in you!” God is so inconceivably good. He’s not looking for perfection. He already saw it in Christ. He’s looking for affection. That’s why every lasting change will invariably be a change of heart. He’ll even supply the heart, if we’ll ask him.

My daily prayer continues to this day, “Lord Jesus, give me a heart which yearns for Your Presence, a yearning for You that draws me over and over into Your Presence, a yearning that makes only a few days without time in prayer and Your Word seem like an eternity. Give me a heart which is motivated first and foremost by a desire for You, not for what You can do for me, but a yearning for Your Presence. Give me a heart that wants You more than anything else You could give, to love You and know You more than anything in life. Give me a heart that takes what You have made known to me and makes You re-known to everyone else, a heart that makes Your name and renown the desire of my heart. Give me a heart to feel Your Holy Spirit woo me once again to the place where I meet You. In the simplicity of my prayer time, give me a heart to be suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer—the One Who is responsible for any good in me. Lord, each morning, give me a heart that seeks Your forgiveness for past sins, and welcomes Your fresh mercies which fall like manna from Heaven, and once again move my heart. I surrender all. Morning after morning.”

My daily relationship with our living Lord Jesus reinforces my belief in the sovereignty of God, that nothing comes into my life that is not filtered through God's hands of love. I believe there are no “accidents.” I believe God planned who my birth parents would be and who my Mom and Dad would be, and both influences, plus His, are needed to help me become all that He created me to be. I believe that God sees the end from the beginning. He knows me intimately, He knit me together in my mother's womb, one day I will see Him face-to-face and I will know as I am known...until then, I will expect a mystery. It is His plan that’s important, not my desire. I didn't bring myself into this world, and I can’t take myself into heaven. I really don’t know what is best for me or for those I love. I ask God to make me sensitive to the reality that He is in control, and that He is using this--even this--to conform me to the image of His Son. I want that most of all. I train my mind to acknowledge God’s hand in whatever it is I'm living with. I practice words like, “I don’t know,” “I will trust,” “I can’t explain,” “I release it all,” because God is sovereign. He is the beginning, He will be the ending, and in between, by His grace, He lets us be part of His perfect plan, for His glory and for our good. In the meantime, I will expect a mystery.


Was this encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below. I’d love to hear from you!

day 31 of 31 days of encouragement...

5:30am beside the Sea of Galilee...

5:30am March 20, 2000, beside the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, Israel

It is 5:30am, still dark as I settle down on the rocks beside the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias, Israel, on a cool Monday morning in March, 2000. I turn on my video camera and set it down on the rock beside me to record the sunrise and then I steady my 35mm camera for this first still shot of the pink glow beginning to peak over the eastern hills.

5:40am March 20, 2000 beside the Sea of Galilee

Then it hits me...He was here, He walked here, He may have sat on this very same rock on that early morning after His resurrection as He prepared a breakfast of fish and bread on a fire for His disciples. Right here where I am sitting right now. I am in awe. His Spirit Feet shod with flesh left footprints in this sand.
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He is here now, with me. Emmanuel, God with us. His Spirit dwells in the innermost part of me, taking authority over my soul, the seat of my emotions, and my body, my fleshly desires and appetites. El Shaddai, my all-sufficient Heavenly Father, my Abba Daddy, speaking to me through His Word from Jeremiah 1:5, Beth, before you were born, I knew you.

6:00am March 20, 2000 beside the Sea of Galilee

My video camera on the rock beside me hums, and I begin to sing, My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine, for Thee all the follies of sin I resign, My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou... and then suddenly, at the exact moment when the first golden round edge of the sun peeks over the distant hills, my voice can be faintly heard on the video recording singing the closing words of the hymn...If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

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My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now

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I love Thee because Thou has first loved me

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now

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In mansions of glory and endless delight

I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now

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John 21:1-6…Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there--Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

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Lord Jesus, Thank You for Your peace today. You are our Peace. I ask you to help me to do these things: to lean on you, to meditate on your character and attributes, and to trust you with all my heart. Thank You for Your promise that Your perfect peace will guard my heart and mind. In Christ, I am relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life, because I trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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Look Up—meditate on John 21:1-6 pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on John 21:1-6  pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on John 21:1-6   pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

day 30 of 31 days of encouragement...

transforming the atmosphere...

Physicists and scientists agree that even an apparently insignificant event such as a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa can affect the atmosphere in Alaska.

Isn’t it true that even a small thing, such as the beautiful hymn, Be Still My Soul, can transform the atmosphere in the room where it is being played?

The same is true for words…just a few encouraging words of Truth from God’s Word can transform the atmosphere of our thought-life.

Read these words out loud and see what happens to the atmosphere…

You are who God says you are…

In Christ, you are...

   BLESSED with every spiritual blessing,
      ACCEPTED in the Beloved Son of God,
         ADOPTED as a child of the King,
             CHOSEN before the foundation of the world,
                REDEEMED by His Blood,
                    FORGIVEN by His Grace,
                        LOVED with an everlasting love.

When you feel betrayed, God says: You are BLESSED

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph. 1:3)

When you feel ignored, God says: You are ACCEPTED

According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:5-6)

When you feel abandoned, God says: You are ADOPTED

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Eph. 1:4-5)

When you feel inadequate, God says: You are CHOSEN

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. (Eph. 1:4)

When you feel rejected, God says: You are REDEEMED

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. (Eph. 1:7-8)

When you feel condemned, God says: You are FORGIVEN

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. (Eph. 1:7-8)

When you feel forgotten, God says: You are LOVED

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. (Eph. 1:4) 

Take a few minutes to enjoy Kari Jobe’s rendition of Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest)…

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

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Heavenly Father, may we yield to the power and authority of the Spirit of Christ, Who dwells in the innermost part of us. May we submit and surrender to the authority of the river of transforming power from the Holy Spirit flowing through us, washing away our doubt and unbelief, our pride and self-focus, our self-absorption, our idolatry of any person, place, or thing we put ahead of or instead of Jesus Christ, our prayerlessness, and our legalism, and filling us to the brim with Your presence—believing You, glorifying You, finding our satisfaction in You, experiencing Your Peace, and enjoying Your presence. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Ephesians 1:3-8... pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on Ephesians 1:3-8... pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on Ephesians 1:3-8... pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

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Was this encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below, I'd love to hear from you!

day 29 of 31 days of encouragement...linking up with Holley Gerth...

Love that will not let me go...

One year my Daddy, Eston Willis, who was a wonderful Bible teacher, led a small Bible study in our home. Each week, we would gather, open in prayer, open our Bibles, and he would begin by quoting the same Scripture, Romans 8:1, at least seven times before we began...There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Something about the repetition of those God-breathed words moved God’s Truth from my head to my heart. The eighth chapter of Romans begins with “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation”… For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord—Romans 8:38-39

The verdict is final. The case is never going to be re-tried—irrevocable. On that we can rest—we are accepted on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Take a few minutes to enjoy the Gaither Vocal Band’s rendition of the classic hymn by George Mattheson, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go...

O Love that will not let me go

I rest my weary soul in Thee

I give Thee back the life I owe

That in Thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be

O Love, that will not let me go.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain

I cannot close my heart to Thee

I trace the rainbow through the rain

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be

O Love, that will not let me go.

O Cross, that liftest up my head

I dare not ask to fly from Thee

I lay in dust life's glory dead

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be

O Love, that will not let me go.

  

Was this encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below, I'd love to hear from you!

day 28 of 31 days of encouragement...

feeling stuck? imagine...

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.—Ephesians 3:20

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When I am feeling stuck, engaging in what some call, “analysis paralysis,” I find it helpful to apply the power of our God-given creative imagination for inspiration and problem-solving.
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Imagination is a powerful entity. It can cause the hair on the back of our neck to stand up, our spirit to soar, or our face to blush. Imagination is the power that holds our beliefs together; we believe with our imagination. Imagination is the wellspring of faith and hope. Our biggest and best dreams for ourselves and others rise from the imagination.
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When we have been hurt, our imagination is wounded. As a result, alienation and belief in bad news replace belief in good news. We may have...

• a feeling response that can become frozen into resentment.
• an anger response that can become frozen into negative reactions of rage or passivity.
• an interpretation response that can become frozen in negative attitudes, perceptions, biases, and beliefs.

As a result, our imagination becomes paralyzed. Attending to our wounded imagination is a path through forgiveness. Forgiveness expands our horizons and invites us to retrieve the positive and work through the negative. Is the glass of water half-full or half-empty? The answer depends entirely on how you see it. “How you see it” is called “perception.”
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There is the story about the blind men and the elephant. Each man named and described the animal according to his experience of touching only one part of the elephant’s body. The man who held the trunk “perceived” the elephant to be a large snake; the man who held the leg “perceived” the elephant to be a sturdy tree. In the same way, we “perceive” life—depending on what our experience is.  Our experiences generate our expectations and our perceptions. We interpret life experiences, and we form expectations and perceptions, attitudes, and assumptions.

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All of this activity is the work of the imagination.

It is also the work of the imagination to reinterpret and reform repeated assumptions and expectations. Forgiveness demands that we take another look so that our imagination can reframe our narrow interpretations. Forgiveness includes the decision to refocus or enlarge the context…walk a mile in another’s shoes. When we enlarge the context, we refocus, or we see it through a wider lens.

Imagination is the work of seeing through a wider lens.

If we remain stuck in a negative interpretation of an old offense, we will experience resentment whenever we think about it, or about the offender. We will never be able to grieve and let go; we will seesaw between rage and resignation; we will never allow anger to surface and put us back on the journey of forgiveness. If we insist on telling and retelling our bad news stories of the past, we simply recycle the bad news and pass it on to the next generation. We pollute the emotional environment; we remain stuck in lifeless memories instead of looking for a more positive side of things long past.
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When you enlarge your perceptions using your creative imagination, you at least allow for the possibility of healing. You give yourself the opportunity to turn from the negative aspects of your past, to get rid of the excess baggage, and to face the journey into the future with hope.
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When I served as the Florida Department of Education State Consultant for Gifted Education, I was frequently asked to provide technical assistance to school districts regarding strategies to improve creative and critical thinking skills for students.  I have identified some of those strategies here to inspire us to think creatively using our God-given imagination.

The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.—Albert Einstein.

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The formulation of a problem determines the range of choices:  the questions you ask determine the answers you receive. Write the problems you want to solve as a question. Use the phrase, “In what ways might I…?” to start a problem statement. This keeps you from settling on a problem statement that may reflect only one perception of the problem. Keep asking this open-ended “In what ways might I…?” question allowing your creative imagination to flow.
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You will be amazed at how your continual re-wording of the "In what ways might I...?" question will increase your creative thinking skills of Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration—the four primary strategies for developing and improving creative thinking or imagination:

• Fluency is the ability to think of many answers to a question, to list many possible solutions to a problem, or to generate a number of responses. Fluency is being able to think of lots of plans or ideas.

• Flexibility is the ability to change your way of thinking about a problem or situation. It is the ability to think of alternative ideas and to adapt to different situations.

• Originality is the ability to think of fresh or unusual designs, ideas, responses, or styles. People who are original are independent and creative in their thoughts and actions. They create things that are new, different, or unique.
• Elaboration is the process of expanding an idea by adding detail. To elaborate, you must understand the original idea and see a way to clarify or improve it by adding specific details. You are elaborating when you add to, enlarge, enrich, or expand descriptions, designs, drawings, explanations, instructions, reports or stories.

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Jesus used parables to help people imagine what His point was. Bible-centered imagination paints a picture of something new. It shows you the potential of what could be. Imagine how you will feel as a result of kicking a heart-hurting habit to the curb. Use the blessings of God’s Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) as a carrot incentive to act differently...even more than what you’ve imagined, God can do. Imagine God smiling down on you as you trust Him with the scary things of your day. See yourself leaning on Him when you feel you can’t stand. Praise His name and feel Him smiling back at you through your difficulties. Imagine who God has created you to be and what He has created you to do. Imagine how you feel as you let go of all that has held you back.

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Lord Jesus, I can only imagine what it will be like to see Your light fully for the first time and bask in the light of Your glory. Your light has changed my life, given me wisdom, and helped me find my way out of dark places. It has illuminated Your Word and comforted me and taught me. I can only imagine what it will it be like one day to walk in a city where You are the light! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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Look Up—meditate on Ephesians 3:20 ... pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on Ephesians 3:20 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on  Ephesians 3:20 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.  

standing on holy ground...

Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.—Exodus 3:5

It was one of those moments…my senses were more alert, more intensified, more attuned to the mysteries that swirl in and around us, more aware of God's presence. It was about 7:30 in the morning, when I opened the door to go to work, the brilliant rays of the morning sunrise came bursting through our neighbor’s tree, directly into my eyes. 

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I paused, amazed at the beauty, I moved slightly to the right and I couldn’t see the sun’s rays, moved slightly to the left and I couldn’t see the sun’s rays, but as I returned to the center point, for what seemed to be several minutes, those rays shown straight into the eyes of my heart, and I suddenly became conscious of His Presence. I stood very still, almost frozen in time, actually not wanting the moment to end, thanking the Lord for the beauty He created, and for drawing my eyes and my heart to appreciate Him all over again. 

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I shared my experience with a few people…they just laughed it off, kind of made fun of me for thinking it was anything special, but in the innermost part of my heart, I knew it was the Lord. I was totally captivated by the stunning beauty of those rays, perfectly symmetrical, glowing so intensely. I even spoke out loud saying, Lord Jesus, Thank You, Thank You, You did that for me! Just for me!

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The memory of that moment makes me crave Him more, remembering the experience makes me yearn for more of His personal touch in my life, makes my senses truly alert, more attuned to the mystery that is our Savior. I'm looking forward to experiencing Him more and more, alive and active in my life every moment of every day...Praise His Holy Name!

Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore.—Psalm 105:4 Amplified

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I am always encouraged by the lyrics to the anointed hymn by Bill and Gloria Gaither, “We Are Standing on Holy Ground”...

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When I walked through the door I sensed God’s presence…We are standing on holy ground and I know that there are angels all around…

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Spend time contemplating the awesome majesty and splendor of our Creator and sustainer of the universe, Who has spared nothing to reveal His Father’s heart. Recommit yourself to Him and to living according to His ways. Ask for the empowering of his Spirit to delight in doing what God commands. In prayer, lift your voice in extravagant worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, singing praises to His name. Worship Him because He is the perfect, holy, almighty Creator and king of the universe and yet calls you into intimate relationship with Him. Jesus has opened the way for us to experience communion and harmony with our Creator. This is what we were made for!
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The majesty and brilliance of our God fills the earth. The glory of God is higher than the heavens. Even children and infants give him praise. He set the sky, the moon and the stars, and all the galaxies in place. He is truly an awesome God!
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From the time we were conceived and born into this world to the very end of our lives, our Creator, who knitted us together in our mother’s womb, the same eternal, unchanging One who created the heavens and the earth, is the One who has been caring for us all along, through the hands of parents and others who have loved, nurtured, and taught us.
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It is He who will sustain us—throughout our childhood and youth, in our active years of working or parenting, and into the elder years when our hair is white with age and we can no longer care for ourselves but are dependent on the care of others. Our Creator, our Heavenly Father is our God of everlasting care.

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Lord Jesus, help me to realize that You are everlastingly my Father, intimately acquainted with me and with every moment of my entire lifetime. Help me to rely on You through every season of my life and to rest in the knowledge that even when I am old, You will still be caring for me. Grant me the grace to enter into true praise and to experience Your delight in me. I want to be lost in wonder, love, and praise. I want to sing songs that lift Your name high. Give me fresh revelation today, Lord, of who you are. Inspire me so that I will sing of your greatness and glory forever! You are the king over all the earth. I love you, Lord. We praise You for who You are. Your glory is higher than the heavens. Your majesty fills the earth. We worship and adore You. Help us to walk as Your children, giving honor and glory to you and never losing sight of Your power or Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

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Look Up—meditate on Psalm 105:4 Amplified ... pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on Psalm 105:4 Amplified ... pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on Psalm 105:4 Amplified ... pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

this day and that Day...

four-sided clock in Grand Central Terminal in New York City

It was almost 9:30pm on Saturday, December 22, 2007, when our family first stepped into the beautiful Grand Central Terminal in New York City and snapped this photo of the famous four-faced clock over the Information Booth, which dates from the original opening of the building in 1913. Little did we know, but we were about to be amazed and in awe as the eight-minute Grand Central Kaleidoscope of Lights Show began to unfold its fantastic musical sights and sounds to the delight of everyone in the building that night. 

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Looking up at the vision of lights on the massive ceiling and walls was so inspiring. Watching the famous four-faced clock ticking off the minutes of “this day” and the heavenly vision of lights and sounds lifting my heart to “that Day,” I was reminded of this quote:

There are two days in my calendar: this day and that Day.—Martin Luther

We all have “that Day” ahead of us…that Day when our hearts will stop beating…that Day when our families and friends get the news that we are gone…that Day when we see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ face-to-Face. Our blessed assurance of the certainty of “that Day” dramatically affects the way we live “this day”…in the light of eternity. 

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.—Psalm 139:16 

If any time can be conceived that can be divided into no further parts of intervals, or into only the most infinitesimal parts, that time alone can be called "the present." That time, however, flies past so quickly from the future into the past that it isn't stretched out to even the tiniest interval. If it is stretched out, it's divided into the past and the future, the present, in contrast, has no extent.—The Confessions of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Book 11, Chapter 20. [A New Translation by Sarah Ruden, 2017]

If an instant of time be conceived, which cannot be divided into the smallest particles of moments, that alone is it, which may be called present. Which yet flies with such speed from future to past, as not to be lengthened out with the least stay. For if it be, it is divided into past and future. The present hath no space.—The Confessions of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Book XI, Chapter XX, There Is Only A Moment of Present Time

When we step out of time and into eternity everything will be one big panorama. We will see the past; we will see the present; we will see the future—perfectly unfolded and it will all work together for good to those who love God—and it will make sense.—Pastor Ray C. Stedman

How prone we all are to keep our troubles pent up in our hearts until we’re driven to despair. We show much anxiety and ingenuity in seeking to escape our troubles without God. But in so doing, he says, we only get ourselves into “a labyrinth of difficulties.” 

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The answer is to pour out our hearts before Him, taking refuge in Him, because He cares for us. In the Psalms, David has shown us that we can be composed or at peace if God alone is our salvation and refuge. He has reaffirmed it, showing that it is usually a battle to get to this place and remain there in the face of difficult trials.

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The main reason that we should “fight” for God’s peace in threatening times is not so that we will be at peace, but so that God will be glorified and others will be drawn to Him through us. God’s peace comes to us in life’s threatening times when He alone is our salvation and refuge.

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Heavenly Father, I praise you for your amazing sovereignty. You wove me together in my mother’s womb, saw me before I was born, and have already recorded every day of my life. You charted the path ahead of me and laid out every moment before a single day had passed. I don’t have to fear because you are with me, before me, behind me, surrounding me. Help me to live this day in the light of eternity, amen.

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How about you? In what ways do you seek to live each day in the light of eternity? These Casting Crowns lyrics: When I’m lost in the mystery...to You my future is a memory, from the song, You’re Already There, gives me a wide-angle view of my life...a little glimpse of what it will be like when we step out of time and into eternity and see the panorama of the past, the present, and the future all-at-once...He's already there...

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For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.—I Corinthians 13:12

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"When I’m lost in the mystery...to You my future is a memory,"

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Look Up—meditate on I Corinthians 13:12... pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on I Corinthians 13:12 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on I Corinthians 13:12 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

Jesus...He loves me, He loves me, He loves me...

The praise and worship time in the evening service was coming to an end. I had my eyes closed, lost in the music, feeling the presence of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so real, as if His arms were wrapped around me. I opened my eyes and looked down at the Bible book cover on the seat in front of me. It was as if my Savior was speaking to me through the words I was reading on the cover. There was an embroidered daisy with three small petals gently drifting down, and beside each petal were the words...
                    “He loves me”
                                  ”He loves me”
                                                ”He loves me”

...usually a girl playing the daisy game alternately speaks the phrases, "He loves me," and "He loves me not," while picking one petal off a daisy for each phrase. The phrase she speaks when picking off the last petal supposedly represents the truth about the object of her affection loving her or not.

As the music faded and I sat down, I knew I had just experienced one of those moments. There was no doubt in my mind or my heart, I knew it was real, it was the Truth, my Savior loves me with an everlasting love and underneath are His everlasting arms...He loves me...He loves me...He loves me...

In his book, The Ultimate Conversation: Talking with God Through Prayer, Dr. Charles Stanley writes, “Your intimacy with God–His first priority in your life–determines the impact of your life.” Stanley goes on to say there was a time in his life when he wrestled with knowing God more deeply. He couldn’t identify what the encumbrance was, no matter how much he sought the Lord and prayed. Then, he called his four closest friends, who were all godly men, and said, “God is trying to teach me something, but I don’t know what it is and I need your help to figure it out.”  He says they conversed for several hours.

Finally, he writes that one of the men said, “Charles, put your head on the table and close your eyes.” Stanley says he did this and quietly the man asked him, “Imagine your father just picked you up in his arms and held you. What do you feel?” The friend knew Dr. Stanley’s father had died when he was nine months old and that his loss had had a tremendous impact on Stanley’s life.

Dr. Stanley says he immediately began crying, and he continued weeping for a long time. Still, Stanley says, he did not understand what was causing so much emotion. The friend again asked, “What do you feel Charles?” Stanley writes, “The feelings were so overpowering, it was a long time before I could answer him. At last I replied, “I felt hugged, like I was warm and secure. I felt…loved.”

He realized that until that day, he had never really experienced God’s love. He said he told others about God’s love, but had never truly sensed it for himself. Stanley says, “That day changed my life. The time with four of my friends transformed my ministry and everything I felt about the Christian life; the Father’s love had become real to me and extremely powerful.”

Dr. Stanley invites us to do the same, writing: “I challenge you to do the same. Put your head down and imagine the Father holding you. You may be surprised by the emotions you feel. You may, as I did, realize His overwhelming love for you. You may realize that you’ve been running away from Him all of your life when all you’ve wanted to do is feel safe in your heavenly Father’s arms. Be still and allow God to deal with whatever emotions and issues arise. He will draw you into a deeper, more intimate relationship than you have ever known. Trust Him.”

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.--John 3:16

Take a few minutes to be encouraged by Chris Tomlin's new song, Jesus loves me...

Jesus, He loves me, He loves me, He is for me, how can it be?

Was this encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below, I'd love to hear from you!

day 24 of 31 days of encouragement...

slowly, steadily, surely...

It was spring break of my senior year in high school. My friends from Sebring and I drove to a camp near Ocala to attend a Young Life retreat along with several other students from inner-city Jacksonville. We shared our testimonies and prayed together. My heart was open as we went outdoors to find our individual places for prayer during our quiet time. I took my Living Bible and sat down under a tree. I looked up to the heavens and began to pray. When I looked down, I saw that my Bible had fallen open to Romans 8, and a bright ray of sunlight shining through the tree seemed to highlight verses 24 & 25. It contained a powerful message to me that day, but even more so as the Holy Spirit inscribed it on my heart for years to come…leading me to this word study on the word “trusting” from Romans 8:24-25:

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Living Bible: We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.

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Amplified:  For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.

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NASB: For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

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Phillips: We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.

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Wuest: For we were saved in the sphere of hope. But hope that has been seen is not hope, for that which a person sees, why does he hope for it? But if that which we do not see, we hope for, through patience we expectantly wait for it. 

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Young’s Literal: for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for [it]? and if what we do not behold we hope for, through continuance we expect [it].

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Trusting, then years later, the same message from this Scripture in the same Living Bible...

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But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! Habakkuk 2:3 TLB

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The word, trusting, comes from the Greek word elpízō, the verb form ofelpís, which means to hope, to hopefully to trust in, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. It means to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. It is in the present tense which expresses continuous action, constantly, habitually. It pictures this attitude as the believer's lifestyle, which is one of hope, where hope is defined as the absolute assurance that God will do good to us and for us in the future.

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It is interesting that elpízō and elpís do not appear in the Gospels. And yet the concept, this truth expressed in the word elpis does appear in First Timothy 1:1 as the Apostle Paul writes, it is "Christ Jesus our Hope." Hope is not just an ideal, but is a Person, Jesus Christ, our Peace, our Life, our Hope.

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Pastor John Piper explains: “There is no sweeter message of hope in all the world than to hear God announce that when you get up in the morning miserable and depressed with a sense of guilt and estrangement before a holy God, you can go to bed that very night—this very night—with a quiet and peaceful heart knowing that every sin you have ever committed and ever will commit is forgiven, and you are reconciled to the Almighty by the death of his Son. That’s the free offer of the Gospel!"

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Pastor John Stott has said, “We wait for it patiently, that is, for the fulfillment of our hope. This whole section is a notable example of what it means to be living ‘in between times,’ between present difficulty and future destiny, between the already and the not yet, between sufferings and glory. ‘We were saved in hope’ brings them together. And in this tension the correct Christian posture is that of waiting, waiting ‘eagerly’ with keen expectation, and waiting ‘patiently,’ steadfast in the endurance of our trials. The combination is significant. We are to wait neither so eagerly that we lose our patience, nor so patiently that we lose our expectation, but eagerly and patiently together. Yet it is hard to keep this balance. Some Christians overemphasize the call to patience. They lack enthusiasm and lapse into lethargy, apathy and pessimism. They have forgotten God’s promises, and are guilty of unbelief. Others grow impatient of waiting. They are so carried away with enthusiasm that they almost try to force God’s hand. They are determined to experience now even what is not available yet. God give us a patient eagerness and an eager patience as we wait for his promises to be fulfilled!”

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Pastor Charles Spurgeon writes, “This is our present position, patiently waiting for “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” patiently waiting for “the manifestation of the sons of God,” for “it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” If we could be all we should like to be, there would then be no room for the exercise of hope. If we had all that we are to have, then hope, which is one of the sweetest of the graces, would have no room in which to exercise herself. It is a blessed thing to have hope. I believe the New Zealand word for hope is “swimming thought,” because that will swim when everything else is drowned. Oh, happy is that man who has a hope that swims on the crest of the stormiest billow.”

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Pastor George H. Morrison illustrates, “One might take the instance of Zacchaeus, that outcast from the commonwealth of Israel. He had been taught there was no hope for him, and he believed it until the Lord Jesus came by. And then, like the dawn, there came the quivering hope that his tomorrow might differ from his yesterday, and in that new hope the saving work began. In the movements of the soul, hope may be the forerunner of faith. And our Lord, bent on evoking faith, that personal trust in Him which alone saves, began by kindling hope within the breast. That is how He often begins still. He does not begin by saying, "Trust in Me." He begins by kindling these hopes of better things that are lying crushed in every human heart. Despair is deadly. It is blind. It cannot see the arm outstretched to help. Our Lord begins with the quickening of hope.”

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Thank you, Lord Jesus, for kindling these wonderful words of hope in my heart that day under the tree at the Young Life camp, I have never been the same . . . We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently . . . I am trusting You . . . just as i am . . . presently, actively waiting—patiently and confidently—looking forward to Your return and my eternal Home with You. In Your precious Name Above All Names I pray, amen.

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Look Up—meditate on Romans 8:24-25 … pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on Romans 8:24-25 … pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on Romans 8:24-25 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

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Take a moment to ponder these wonderful words of life from Selah’s version of the song, How Deep The Father’s Love For Us

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Was this encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below, I'd love to hear from you!

day 23 of my 31 days of encouragement...