PERFECT PEACE


Last February marked the beginning of our fourth year of finishing our basement. We temporarily stopped the work a while back while my husband was unemployed. And yes, I am more than ready to have it done. Our furniture has been stored and the dust has been never ending. A few months ago we discussed with our remodeler that our goal to be completely finished was the first day of summer, which also happens to be a big birthday for my husband. For some reason it seemed fitting to me to have things in order before Chuck began a new decade.

Finally the painting was done, the carpet was tacked down, the furniture was out of storage and the curtains were hung. It brings a smile to my face each time I travel down the steps and see the finished product.

For those who have read my book, God’s Gentle Nudges, you know I used to live in a 150 year old farmhouse on 53 acres. Prior to that nine year experience, I never cared much about owning a new home. But after the first year or so of living with uneven floors, limited counter space, few electrical outlets, and a laundry room located in an old, dingy cellar; I couldn’t stop daydreaming about a new house. More than five years ago we sold the farmhouse and built a ranch. Now with the deck added and the basement finished, it feels complete.

Getting to this point, though, was wrought with many choices and some heated discussions. My husband and I had different visions of the finished product. He wanted a man cave and I wanted a pretty apartment for when our kids and grandkids came over. In the end, we compromised and we are both very happy with it.

There’s something about having restoration in your life that brings about a level of peace and contentment. After spending more than a year on my latest book I took a few days off from writing to bask in its completion and to rest. And—I found I missed it. Just pondering the next project was enough to get my creative juices stirring again. It’s the same with the basement remodeling— I look at these upstairs walls that are five-years-old and realize it is time to repaint some of them, too. I’m daydreaming about colors….

As much as I long for complete restoration and perfect peace in my life to stay, I know there will always be some project that needs tackled. And that is how it should be. God planned for us to stay busy; it is part of His design that things on earth rust and wear out, needing replaced and repaired.

We are not supposed to be content here—for the Believer, lasting contentment will come someday—in another time and another place. But for now, there is much to do. It’s time to get back to work.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:20).

PUT OTHERS FIRST

In previous posts I’ve shared how each week God gives me a recurring theme—a topic that He wants me to write about. He usually gives me at least three separate nudges and then I pray about it to make sure. This week the topic has been exceptionally clear and exciting. On Monday, after taking a several day sabbatical from writing my latest book, I received the first nudge. I had been praying about what my next writing project should be, and also about our finances. I opened a devotional book and my eyes went straight to a specific paragraph—the words seared my soul: When we make a point of putting others before ourselves, God will bless us. Now, like most of us, I know the Bible says to do that. But this time it was as if God was saying, Something is coming up where you need to remember this. That night while preparing for bed I had a Christian talk show on the television. My ears perked up when I heard an author talk about the theme of his book: “When we are interested in others, helping them to meet their needs and achieve their goals, our own needs will be met. God will bless us and doors will be open to us that were previously shut.” Again, my ears perked up and my soul was seared. The next day I met a man for coffee who is a successful businessman. This man, like me, has a heart for prison ministry and also has a few moving stories in my upcoming book. Not long into our conversation he said he had a powerful life story and asked if he could share it with me. It took an hour. At least three times in that hour God spoke to my heart to stay quiet and listen. (For those of you who know me, you know what a struggle that can be for me!) Then, when he finished, he said that God had been nudging him to get his story written into a book. I had to agree. He liked my writing style and—would I consider writing his book? I had several writing projects that I longed to get to after dedicating so much time to the prison devotional book. I really wanted…. Put others first. “Yes,” I heard myself say to this man. “Let me get with my agent and see what she says, but yes, I would love to help you.” I had tremendous peace and even joy after agreeing to help him achieve his goal. To confirm the decision, my agent really liked the idea, too. But that was not all. Two days later I received an email from another person whose short version of their story is also in my prisoner devotional book. He asked if I would help him get his full story into a finished manuscript. He would send me the chapters and I would edit them. Again I heard, prefer others before yourself. I love how God takes a basic Christian concept and makes it powerful and personal to us. And I also love how creatively He answers our prayers when we seek Him. Often His answers are something we had never considered (when I prayed over how to increase our income.) The joy and peace I have from helping some brothers in the Lord to achieve their dreams is hard to describe. And when these dreams involve glorifying God and pointing others to Him, it makes it all the more worthwhile. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10). In His Grace Alone, Connie

Everyone Has a Story

I look forward to the CBS Friday evening news segments for one main reason; to watch “On the Road,” by Steve Hartman. The series was originally hosted by Charles Kuralt and ended in 1980. I am glad it’s been resurrected, but I have to admit I miss Steve’s previous Friday evening segments, “Everybody Has a Story”. I enjoyed watching Steve throw a dart over his shoulder at a map, travel to the city it landed on, and find a phone booth. Once inside he would open their local phonebook, close his eyes and call the phone number his finger landed on. I, like millions of others who watched, was repeatedly amazed at the unique story he could pull out of one of the family members. Most of his stories were heartwarming and ended in such a way that I couldn’t help but exclaim out loud, “Awww.” Sadly, the show had to end. After all, who can find a phone booth these days? I love learning about the personal life experiences of others. Everyone has a story – and no two stories are exactly alike. I frequently get asked for help in writing those stories and in getting them published. I truly wish I could help each person who asks, but the bottom line is, there are no shortcuts or “secrets” to getting published. It simply boils down to hard work. Most often that hard work refers to a lot of re-writing, but it can also mean being able to take constructive criticism from those who know the business, including those who know how to write. Time is money for all of us, which means if you want lots of help with your writing, including a good critique of your work, expect to pay for it. Writer’s conferences are usually worth their weight in gold for all that you receive: the educational classes, the networking with other writers, the handouts and samples, and especially the face-to-face meetings with editors. I have inadvertently offended many people by responding (as nice as I know how) that I was not able to help them with their book. My prayer is, if God is calling them to write, they won’t give up. Discouragement will be part of the process, but as with most things in life, if it is worthwhile it will involve perseverance and it will come with a price. When we think of the many scribes who labored over the creation of the Bible, the time, energy, and even negative comments they must have endured, it should encourage us to persevere to share what God lays on our heart, too. What if those scribes had decided it was too hard part-way through and given up? Or it interfered with their “real” job. Yes, the Author of the greatest love story ever told would have found others, but what an eternal privilege the quitters would have missed out on. Never forget that the One who calls you into His service, will also equip you with all that you need, in His way and in His timing. “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others,’” (Habakkuk 2:2, NLT). Writing for Him, Connie

When God Puts Us in “Time Out”

A few columns ago I shared that we had acquired a yellow lab puppy. Cleo is now four months old and full of energy. Our other dog, Colby, is a two and-a-half year old mid-sized mixed breed. They are fun, exhausting, and frustrating, all wrapped into one.

Some days the “frustrating” aspect is at its peak. Colby is bigger (for now), and very dominating. He won’t share anything with Cleo, who seems to want whatever Colby has. The dogs run through the house rough housing, growling loudly and yipping constantly. Last week the stress escalated to a point where I knew I had to do something. I said a quick prayer for help and was suddenly reminded of my four-year-old granddaughter, Elaina. At our last visit, while she and “PeePaw” put a puzzle together, she showed him her time out chair. “It’s where I go when I don’t obey,” she explained.

I realized that if time out works for kids, it could work for dogs, so I put Colby outside in the fenced yard for a while. Then, right before I let him back inside, I put Cleo in her crate for a nap. Ahhh, peace at last.

I heard another reference to “time out” this week that, at first, was funny. During our jail ministry board meeting, another board member mentioned that sometimes God puts people in “time out” when they go to jail. It can be His way of getting their attention, especially when they “don’t obey”.

It made me stop and think, because God has ways of getting the attention of law abiding adults, too. Sometimes it takes something serious, like an accident or illness, for us to slow down. In those times (jail time or physical impairment), we need to remember that what Satan means for harm, God can turn into good (Genesis 50:20). God may choose to stop us in our tracks to keep us from going down the wrong path, and in the process hopefully turn our heart to Him. Sometimes God allows “a time out” in our life for His divine purposes.

When kids are put in time out, the goal is for them to realize they have made a bad choice. We want them to learn from it, and, if warranted, apologize. God hopes for the same reaction from us. He is not being mean when He puts us in time out; rather, He is showing us how much He loves us. If we are making wrong choices (including not choosing to have Him in our life at all), He sometimes goes to extremes to get our attention…even sending His innocent Son to the cross…on our behalf.

Our parents trained us for a little while. They did what they thought was best. But God trains us for our good. He wants us to share in his holiness. No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does that for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:10-11 NIRV).

Taking "time out" for Jesus,
Connie

Fresh Starts

A while back I wrote about “do overs”, how we can’t go back and do any part of our life over, no matter how much we desire. I went on to say that the secret to wanting fewer “do overs” in life is to keep Jesus in the forefront, living with the end in mind.

Recently, while praying over what to write in my weekly newspaper column, I realized that we all need reminded (myself included) that, while we can’t “do it over”, we can have a fresh start every day, no matter our past. When we confess our sins and truly repent, God wipes the slate clean. He forgives and forgets, and expects us to do the same; forgive ourself, forgive others, and get on with serving Him. To stay “stuck” in our past is to say that we don’t believe God is who He says He is. We are actually saying we don’t believe He is a redeemer and a restorer.

The word “restore” is mentioned over one hundred times in the Bible. Often it refers to giving back what the enemy has stolen. It can even mean restoration of our inner peace: "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake” (Psalms 23:3). Not only can God fill us with His hope, peace and tranquility, He can also nudge us to get back on track and go in the right direction.

When my son was young, around eight or nine years old, he would sometimes wake up saying, “Mom, I am excited about today, but I don’t know why.”

It wasn’t Christmas or his birthday. As a matter of fact, there usually wasn’t anything on the calendar for that day. He was facing the day like we all should, with excitement and anticipation of the good things that could happen.

"Do you ever feel that way, Mom?” Chase asked once. “Like you know something good is going to happen, but you don’t know what?”

Yes, yes I have.

Oh, to wake up everyday with the excitement of a child! To begin our day wondering what is in store for us, keeping our eyes open to the awesome way God might show up in our life; looking for Him and expecting to see His works around every corner.

The prophet Jeremiah knew the secret: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” (Jeremiah 29:13).

This year is still relatively young; why not commit to having a fresh start every day by pursuing Jesus with all your heart. Come to Him with the simple faith of a young child, beginning each morning with excitement and expectancy.

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly,” (Psalm 5:3).

Seeking Him,
Connie