Are you ready for some football?

 Welcome back to unseen.  Sorry for the delay.  This time the problem was not technical difficulties, but working like a dog.  I have several coworkers out sick, so the load has been heavy. 
     Football playoffs are winding to a conclusion and we had Thanksgiving day with lots and lots of football. In honor of this, today's post is about the lessons we can learn from the gridiron. It also honors my uncle, Greg Sherwood, who was an amazing coach.

Are you Ready For Some Football?

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Cor. 9:25

In West Texas football is not a game.  It is a way of life.  My family lived it, too. My dad seldom missed a high school game in our town, unless it was to go to see my uncle coach a high school game in another town. Greg was a phenomenal coach, and his 23-year coaching record was 174-64-2. Coaching was not a job to him. It was a ministry. He used the time on the field to teach much more about life than he did about football. Nothing could get in the way of Dad getting to football games. One night he had left with my grandmother to go to a game, and my brother and I were home with Mom. The phone rang after they had been gone about 15 minutes, and this is the conversation that took place.

     DAD: “Stella, you need to bring me the other car. I am out by the pizza place.”

     MOM: “Why? What’s wrong?

     DAD: “Well, I am sitting here watching this one burn, and I have to get to the ballgame.”

      MOM: “OK, I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

            There are spiritual lessons to be learned from football. In football there are two teams. Each team has an opponent, a coach, a goal and a group of cheerleaders. There are rules and there are rewards.  The same things are true in our Christian lives.

 We as believers are a team.  We must work together to win.  Many verses speak to this idea, but one that comes immediately to mind is Galatians 6:2. Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. We definitely have an opponent, and he is not just playing. According to John 10:10, he comes to steal, kill and destroy.  In 1 Pet 5:8 he is described as a lion seeking whom he may devour.  We have a coach or a leader in God.  Our goal is to bring salvation, restoration and healing to others.(2 Cor. 5:18, Mark 16:15, James 5)  In Hebrews 11, the writer describes the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on.  Yes, there are rules to be followed. Some people get focused on the rules and forget the goal, and some people forget the rules and focus on the goal of eternal life. Think how this would work in football. Suppose one team decided they were going to get a touchdown regardless of how many people got hurt or run over. Another team might get so interested in following each rule to the letter that they never got around to scoring or found any joy in the game.  It takes a balance of both, in football and in life.  As a reward in football, a team will receive a trophy, a write up in the newspaper, and fame. As Christians, we are promised a crown of life. This is what we read in 1 Cor. 9:24-25

 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in     such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

            God meets us where we are and teaches us from the things we understand.  Like Uncle Greg did with his players and coaches, take the lessons from the gridiron and use them every day. The most meaningful thing Greg ever did for me was to send me a telegram when I went to state track meet. It said, “We are all the same. We all have arms, legs, eyes, ears and a head. The difference is in the heart.”

Operation

Welcome to Unseen today.  Living unseen is difficult. For those in caregiver roles, it can be especially difficult.  We need help but are reluctant to accept it, either from God or others.  Read on for a lesson from the operating room.

Operation

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

 

            A man is going in for an operation. The nurses start IVs and clean the incision site. The transport aides move the man onto the gurney and begin rolling him down the hall. His wife follows, holding his hand. They reach a pair of swinging doors and she kisses him and goes to the waiting room. Inside the operating room, the doctors and nurses perform a well-rehearsed symphony in the sterile environment. They move together with few words needed, each one doing his or her part to complete the operation efficiently and safely. In the waiting room, the wife prays and waits. She fidgets and paces. She drinks coffee and chews her nails. Finally she gets up and when someone runs out of the operating suite she pushes her way in. She comes up behind the doctor doing the surgery and says, “Do you need some help? I think the incision is too big. Are you sure those stiches are going to hold? They look a little long. You know, while you’re in there can you do some liposuction? Why are you taking so long?”

            What would you do if you were the doctor? You had gone to school for years. You had practiced your skills. Here was a woman coming into your sterile, safe environment, bringing germs, advice and demands. We would never do that, would we? Unless it is to God. Do you have a loved one that God is working on? Perhaps it is a stubborn teen or a family member or friend opening a heart to God. How hard is it to sit in the waiting room and let God do His job? God informed me that my job while He was working on my loved ones is to pray, sing praises and love them. I would much rather tell God how He should hurry and suggest things He could fix while He is at it.

            I love and hate the verse in Isaiah that says, “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31) I love it because it reminds me that God is faithful. I hate it because it is so hard to wait.  I am a good West Texas girl and was taught to pull myself up by my own bootstraps, even if I don’t have any boots. I have to rely not only on God, but on friends who bear each other’s burdens. The waiting room is a hard place to be.  If that is where you are, take courage. The Great Physician has your loved one in His mighty hands. If you are not there now, you probably have been and can bear someone’s burden.

 

 

Welcome to Unseen today. Pray for the return of the guest bloggers. This has been an up and down week in many aspects. I have dealt with some disappointments and decided that God and I were not communicating well. (Translation, he did not do what I wanted). Read on for what I learned.

Interpreter

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Rom 8:26

            I have a friend who is hard of hearing. Sometimes she does pretty well at understanding what people say to her. When she is close to them and there is not a lot of extra noise, she can usually get the message. However, if she is in a noisy environment or she can’t see the speaker well, she needs help. She has good coping and social skills and can usually “fake it” even when she misses the message. Because we have been together a lot, I can recognize the look of confusion and uncertainty underneath the proper social responses.  I have often interpreted for her. I translate what the speaker is saying into sign language for her. She can understand and be sure to get the message. This is very important when you are dealing with doctors or attending a seminar. I also interpret for her at church, which can be difficult because of the complex nature of sermons and the length. She enjoys the signed music, especially. I am able to interpret for her because I understand both what the speaker is saying and the language that she can use to make sense of it.

            We are all like my friend in some ways. We come to church and we know the right movements to make and the right words to say. We know when to sing and when and how to take communion, but when it comes to communicating with God we are at a loss. This can be true in talking to God and hearing from him. We may read the word or hear a sermon and on our own we cannot make sense of it. Also, when we pray we may be unable to think of what to say. I have sat in my “thinking chair” and said, “God I don’t have any idea what I need to ask for.”  For example, when my dad was so sick, there was a point where even though I believed God could heal him of the physical ailments, I didn’t know if it would be compassionate for him to be well but live with the confusion and loss he had experienced. Sometimes I have been so hurt that all I could do was to sit in His presence and cry. You know, not only is he OK with that, He has already provided the solution.

            Jesus tried to explain this to the apostles before He died. In John 14:26, He said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” He does the same thing today for us.  He translates what we hear into a form that we can use to understand it. For me, one way he does this is through the use of analogies like this. Then in Rom 8:26, we read this: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

            God loves us so much and wants to have relationship with us. He didn’t just say, “Find Me if you can!” He left us a map (the Bible) a guide (Jesus) and an interpreter (the Holy Spirit). Realize that we have these tools and use them. I can’t wait to see what treasures we will find when we get there, especially the treasure of being in the presence of the living God.

Evidence

Welcome to Unseen today. As difficult as it is to live unseen, it gives us a rare opportunity to be witnesses and a force for good. Read on for some thoughts on being a witness.

Evidence

Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and {saying,} "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." Acts 17:5

    Lights flash. Sirens scream. The camera pans the area and than zooms in on the back of a jacket. CSI. I love to watch them solve baffling crimes based on evidence they collect. Suspects are caught and victims are avenged.

    What about our lives? What is the evidence that we have been with Jesus? Let me suggest a few things. See if you could be convicted. People are often convicted because they are placed at the scene. Are we found in the places Jesus would be? I don't just mean in church either. Jesus tells the story of the people who come before God. One group he dismisses, saying depart from me, and I never knew you. The other group he welcomes, making mentions of the times that fed him, visited him, and gave him a drink. "When did we do these things?"They questioned him and he said, "As much as you have done it to the least of those you have done it to me." If we are about the business of ministry to the least of these, we may be convicted of being with Jesus.

    Sometimes suspects are convicted because of clothes they have been wearing. What do we wear? In baptism we put on Christ. We also, according to Isaiah have received the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. To stand against the enemy we must put on the whole armor of God.

    Many time the crimes is solved by blood found at the scene. There is nothing more powerful than the blood of Jesus. When we are “washed in the blood”, as the old song says, we needed forgiveness. Once we received forgiveness, we are able to pass it on to others. Once we receive love, we are able to give it. Love and forgiveness are not natural and stand out, evidence of blood splatter in our lives.

    It is tempting to walk in fear and not show our faith. When we have been with God, though, it is evident. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, his face glowed. We need to stand against our fear and share Jesus. A lost world needs our conviction.

Cree's Tree

Welcome to unseen today. Living Unseen requires getting our resources from reliable sources, even in hard times. Read on to see a lesson from an unusual place.

Cree’s Tree

He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. Is 61:3

The Texas Panhandle is a desolate place in many ways. The first settlers said that there was no way that trees could grow there.  Houses were usually dugouts or sod houses called soddies. The stereotype that Texans are bullheaded has its roots in fact. In 1888, a settler named Thomas Cree and his wife came to West Texas after working on the railroad. Since there were no trees for wood, they built a dugout. His wife wanted a tree, so he drove 35 miles in a wagon to get a sapling. He decided that for her sake he would get a tree to survive, by George. He watered it from a lake he dug from a buffalo wallow and it lived for many years, through blizzards and droughts. Although it has since died, in 1963 the governor dedicated a historical marker there, celebrating the first tree in the Panhandle. What was the secret of Cree’s Tree, as it is known? In a word, roots. What the early settlers did not know is that deep under the prairie grasses and dust ran an underground river. It is known as the Ogallala Aquifer, which I still find fun to say out loud.

The Bible has a lot to say about trees. In Psalms 1, we read this about the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord;

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Psalms 1:3.

Isaiah says that we are the trees of righteousness planted by the Lord for the display of His splendor. (61:3) The parable of the sower compares different types of soil that seeds grow in the seed that fell in the shallow soil grew up quickly but because it did not have deep roots, it died quickly too. The seed that fell on the good soil took root, grew strong and multiplied thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold.

I have mentioned before that I grew up in a family “well-versed” in the word of God. (Pun intended.) From my earliest days I was taught stories and memory verses. They took root and my faith has held trough the wind storms and drought in my life. This is what I hope for you. Water your seeds of faith with prayer, study and fellowship. Take heart when God prunes off dead leaves in your life. Take joy in being a tree of righteousness created to display God’s splendor.

               

Friendship

Welcome to Unseen today. Today's post is a two-for-one. A very dear friend of mine died this last week. He was Unseen, suffering from chronic illness and depression, and was one of my earliest supporters. Friendship is critical in living unseen, but it is hard to let ourselves be vulnerable. I have included a story about two friends who were priceless, and also a tribute to my friend.

Two of a Kind

Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God through Christ has forgiven you. Eph. 4:32

            I had two precious little aunts. They were roommates in college and never lived more than a mile apart after that. They used to sing together on the radio in the days of the Stamps Baxter Quartet.  They were as different as chalk and cheese, but they loved each other dearly. Lita owned a variety store for many years and had a passion for Christian education, music and loving people. She never had children so she borrowed everyone else’s. If you were in Dallas and needed a place to stay for the night, the weekend, the summer or the semester, Lita’s house was always open. Mildred was an accountant and just as passionate. She had a glass eye because of an accident. One weekend she and Lita were staying with my grandparents in Amarillo. I was about 7 or 8. I had gone into her bedroom to look for something. I don’t remember what I was looking for, but I remember what I found. THE GLASS EYE! It was sitting in a bowl on the nightstand. I never again went in a room where she was sleeping. 

            When Lita and Mildred were in their 50’s, they decided to help take care of a widower at their church. Mildred thought he would be a great match for Lita and did her best to arrange it. Unfortunately, Lita had been left at the altar when she was 18 and wasn’t interested in being matched again. Despite Mildred’s best efforts, Claude fell in love with her and not Lita. They were married 19 years before he died.

            Too much togetherness brings trouble. Lita and Mildred would come to Austin for Thanksgiving. They often got lost and would come in fussing at each other about whose fault it was. There was one surefire way to stop any argument between them. Someone would say, “Come on. Let’s hear you two sing.” They would put their arms around each other and by the end of the song they had forgotten they were ever mad. How much we can learn from them.

            It is easy for us to get offended. It may be something as simple as arguing over whose fault it is that we got lost. Offenses and fights start with the littlest things.  Unfortunately, if we have not learned the secret of forgiveness, we can let them fester and grow into disagreements that sever relationships. How many arguments do you have with your family members that you later realized were silly? Two that stand out in my family were about leaving twist ties off of the bread bag and cutting butter off at a 45 degree angle instead of straight.  It is unfortunately easier to get offended and upset by someone you love because you care about what they think.  If a stranger took me to task about twist ties I would just think they had gone round the bend.  It is not just individuals that are at risk either. I have known of churches that split because of disagreements over the color of the carpet installed or which songbook was the “right” one.  Knowing how vital fellowship is to our spiritual survival, how sad that it is so often broken over trivial issues.  The enemy uses strife and dissension to his great advantage.  If we are busy fighting each other, we don’t have the energy left to fight him. 
            As we see in Ephesians 4:32, we need to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you are bringing your gift to the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go be reconciled.” The book of Proverbs is full of advice on dealing with resentment and strife, including Prov. 17:1, which says, “Better is a crust of bread with contentment than great feasting with strife.”  Since there are so many verses about this issue, God knew that it is a big issue for us. The secret that Lita and Mildred found was the idea that God, through Christ, has forgiven us.  That makes all the difference in being able to forgive each other. Sometimes I can picture Jesus walking up to them in heaven, putting His arms around them and saying, “Come on! Let’s hear you two sing.”

Tribute

My heart is heavy with the loss of one that I held dear,

One that I could laugh with and also shed a tear.

He said I was God's precious child and I shoul never fear

And though he's gone I know that this one thing is clear

 

His voice that had been silent is lifted up in praise

With all the saints and angels, a glorious song they raise

On legs, now strong and whole again he's walking streets of gold

Clear eyes are filled with wonders which here cannot be told.

 

God captured him with stubborn love and saved him by His grace

And now he can at last see his saviour face to face

He would not want my heart to break but rather look ahead

To that day I will join him and my loved ones, alive, not dead.

Flyaway

Welcome to Unseen. When we live unseen, either as caregivers or as people with chronic conditions, we are in special need of the traits discussed today -, strength, balance and courage. Read on for today's insights.

Flyaway

 

 Exd 15:2 The LORD [is] my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He [is] my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.

 

The Olympics were a thrill to watch. People enjoyed the Fab Five and the way they bounced and twisted their way to gold medals.  I also love to watch my teenager compete in gymnastics. He has come a long way in a short time.  It takes three things to excel in gymnastics – strength, balance and courage. It requires tremendous upper body strength to support your weight, and even more to support your weight while twisting and turning. Balance is a key part in all the events. As exciting as the flips and handsprings are to watch, the slow, deliberate moves are just as impressive. Balance beam comes to mind, of course, with girls executing intricate moves on a surface less than 4 inches wide.  When it comes down to it, all the strength and balance in the world are useless without the courage to put them to work.  My son says that he is completely capable of doing a handstand on the parallel bars but that it is terrifying to look down and see the floor six feet away.  There is one particular move on the high bar called a flyaway. This move involves working up momentum by swinging and then letting go of a perfectly good bar to go hurtling through the air backwards. I confess that I watch through parted fingers while holding my breath. Fortunately for the athletes, and the parents, there are coaches, spotters and mats to increase safety.

In life we also need strength, balance and courage to be successful. In West Texas we are notorious for “pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps”. We are self-reliant which makes it hard to rely on God.  God understood this and addressed it. The word strength is mentioned 230 times in the Bible. God does not endorse bootstrap pulling. Many of the verses follow this theme;

 Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Exd 15:2 The LORD [is] my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He [is] my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.

2Cr 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is actually a little scary to get our strength from God either because we feel unworthy or because we have to let go of control. It is much more effective than relying on ourselves, though.
             
                Jesus is our example when it comes to balance. In Luke 2:52 we are told he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Man.  When things got chaotic in his ministry, He was able to go and be alone with God. I am not sure if it is a function of our society or just our human nature, but balance is so difficult to find. We have to make the effort, though.
                Courage is where I often fall short.  Peter gets a bad rap, but he is the only disciple who got out of the boat and walked on the water. Many times when God asks me to do something, I am afraid to start. I may be afraid that I will fail and I may be afraid that I will succeed.  A good example is when I started writing in earnest.  I have mentioned before that I had seven really good reasons that I should not  or could not write a book and almost as many why I couldn’t write a blog.  Yet here we are, 3 years and two books later. Honestly much harder than letting God take care of my stuff is letting God take care of my loved ones’ stuff. Just like I watch the flyaway stunt with parted fingers and held breath, I watch my sons take flight in their lives the same way. What if they fall? What if they can’t get up? What if they don’t need me anymore? Well, they have fallen some. I watched my older son fall hard into addiction and rage, but God was faithful and caught him in the safety mat of grace and the Holy Spirit. My younger son has had different and less visible struggles, but God has been faithful to him too.
                Let God and His joy be your strength. Keep your life balanced as much as you can and have the courage to let go of your perfectly good bar. You can trust God to keep you and your loved ones safe in His grace and love.

 

 

 

Just Keep Swimming

Just Keep Swimming

            Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? Psalms 139:7

Imagine a fish swimming through the ocean. It swims through calm tidal pools and into underwater caves. It swims through reeds and kelp and darts past predators. It takes its food and its oxygen from the water. It would be absurd for the fish to ask, “Where is the water”? The water is all around and even in the fish. If the fish said, “There is no water here”, it would not make it true. The water provides the nourishment, refreshment and hiding places the fish needs.

Similarly, God is all around an even in us. He gives us shelter from the storm. He is with us in the hard times and the good times. Today was one of the hard times and I just wanted to crawl into a spiritual underwater cave and not come out. I was tempted to believe that God has left me in my pain, but I  know that He has not. The psalmist says,

            Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.   Psalms 139

                If you are swimming through dark, murky waters right now, take courage. You may be tempted to question where God is, but he is in you and all around you. Ask Him to give you eyes to see and ears to hear.

Do You See What I See?

Welcome to Unseen today.  Today's post takes a different angle of looking at things.  Instead of looking at ourselves as unseen people, we take a look at the things that are unseen. Read on

Do You See What I See?

 

We fix our eyes on what is unseen, not on what is seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor 4:18

 

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. Many Friday nights I would spend the night with them. They had an amazing assortment of interesting gadgets. These often occupied my attention while they were watching Lawrence Welk and Heehaw.  There was a covered wagon made out of pewter, a box of “rattlesnake eggs” (a noise making gag toy), and an Emmet Kelly doll. One of my favorite things at their house was a triangular prism. I loved to hold it up to different kinds of light and see the colors it unlocked. The window, the light fixture and the television all had their own special rainbows. I would walk around the house with the prism up to my eyes just to enjoy the interesting perspective. It showed me things that I couldn’t see otherwise.

            The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. We look at the things we see around us and often see hurt and injustice. This is a fallen world, and whether through consequences of our own actions, spiritual warfare, or whatever reason, there is a lot of suffering. It is much more difficult to find the hand of God in these situations. This Sunday was the day after Christmas, and in church we read about Herod’s murder of the innocents. The preacher admitted to sometimes skipping past this difficult passage, and I understand. It raises some difficult questions.  What kind of monster kills hundreds of children just to eliminate one? Why would God allow it? Where was the justice? He went on to show how God did work through the situation, not only in sparing Jesus life, but also by working in the bigger picture. One of the things that he said is that even in terrible circumstances, God is present. Also, there are forces at work that we cannot see.

            I know that in my life there are things in my life that are not as I want them. I am personally dealing with hurt and injustice. I can see though, that God is blessing me even in the midst of my trials. In many cases, the blessings are not in material things or in circumstances changed that I can see. Instead, they are the blessings of watching my teenagers learn to reach out to God and accept the faith that we have tried to instill in them. They are the blessings of God’s sustaining grace in my storm. Looking back I can see how things lined up for God’s glory and my good. The storm is not over yet, but God is still in it with me. 

            It is so easy to look at the mountains in our lives and become discouraged. Instead let us remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17 and 18:

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more     exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

            Just like the prism was able to reveal things I could not see due to the physical limitations of my physical eyes, so the Holy Spirit can reveal things that I cannot see because of my limited spiritual eyes. Take heart and learn to see the things that are unseen in your own life and the lives of others

Good morning. Today's post goes to the heart of the feelings of living unseen - the fear and loneliness we experience. Read on.

Remember Me?

	"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:15 When I was little I had a good trait that worked against me. I didn’t make a lot of noise. Consequently, I tended to be overlooked. One of my family’s favorite stories on me happened when I was about 2 or 3. We were at my aunt’s and I had gotten locked outside. I knocked and no one heard me. I called and no one heard me. Finally, I stomped my foot and yelled, “Somebody let this poor baby in!” I got in then. A few years later we were at my grandmother’s house. In the carport she had a great walk-in storage closet. It smelled like dust, turpentine and musty fishing nets. My brother and I were playing jail. We would lock each other in the closet and then come back in a minute to unlock the door. The problem was that my brother was in preschool and his attention wandered. He went into the house, got a drink and promptly forgot about our game and about me. After waiting a few minutes, I called out, and then started knocking on the door. The problem was that when he went in, he shut the storm door so no one could hear me. I thought I was knocking hard but apparently not. If I remember correctly, I was trying to figure out how long the air in the closet would last. After what seemed like half an hour, but was probably only a couple of minutes, someone went to the car for something and heard me. I can’t describe the joy and relief of hearing that lock turn and seeing a familiar face. Apart from the obvious lesson of “never play ‘jail’ with a four year old”, what can we learn from this? How many times have you felt like your life was a game where God and everyone else had gone for a snack and forgotten about you?  Do you feel that way today? This month has been very frustrating and the harder I tried to fix things the worse they got. Today was a rare lazy day. I spent some time just being and some time being still. (Psalms 46:10) God reminded me that he has been with me all the time and showed me how he has brought good out of my latest trial. Most importantly, he showed me that he has not forgotten me. At a time when I didn’t feel that God was personally interested in me or my life, he sent a preacher I barely knew to our Sunday School class. In front of the class, he took my hand in both of his and said, “God has not forgotten you and he has more for you than you ever dreamed of.” I cried, because that is my MO, but I was also encouraged enough to look for promises. Besides Jeremiah 29:11 and Is 43:1, I found this verse in Is 49:15. "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! The enemy would love for you to believe that when the good shepherd was counting the sheep, he said, “98, 99, oh, that’s close enough for government work.” Don’t you believe it. You are his precious child and he will never leave you or forsake you.

Empty Tanks

When we live unseen, we often run low on emotional energy. It is easy to try and get our tanks filled from places that are less than effective at best and downright dangerous at worst. If God can speak through a donkey, He can give us a lesson from a car. Read on.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Rom 15:13

     The gas gauge on my car is a little cantankerous. For the first ¾ of a tank it drops slowly and steadily. Then, it takes a nosedive. I have left town before, thinking I have plenty of gas to get where I am going. Along comes the nosedive. First the light blinks on. If I am paying attention and if I am where I can, I should fill up at this point. If not, after a few minutes, the light comes on and stays on. If I am not where I can get gas soon, my stomach starts to tighten. Then I notice I am gritting my teeth. I may start to grip the steering wheel tighter. If someone is with me, they notice I am being short with them. If I still have not heeded the warning, the car stutters. By this point, I either need to find a gas station in the next few feet or a place to pull off the road.

    Probably all but the most organized of us have been in this situation. We know how to prevent it (keep the tank filled up) and we know how to deal with it when it happens (call for help). Some of you have been on the receiving end of those calls from me. What about our spiritual tanks, though? How many times do we try to minister, or even just live, with out spiritual tanks empty?

    Just like with gas tanks, there are warning signs. Maybe temptations are harder to resist. Maybe it is harder to be joyful. Maybe is it harder to meet with the body or to read our bibles. I hear the familiar chorus from my youth. “Who cares what you do? You are not making a difference anyway?” the reactions are often very similar. My temper is shorter. My tightened stomach and gritted teeth show evidence of worry. Just like our cars can end up on the side of the road, if we ignore the warning signs we may end up in the spiritual wilderness.

    We need to learn to see the signals that show us we are running out of spiritual fuel. Just like with our vehicles we also need to know how to prevent the problem. We do this by operating in God's power and not ours. We need to be in the word regularly and we need to be in fellowship.

    In care we run out of spiritual gas we need to go to the right source to get it. A few weeks ago I pulled up to a roadside station to feed the car. It was 5:59 when I pulled up to the pump. They close at 6:00. Seeing me pull up, the owner closed the door and locked it. Fortunately I made it home. We are just as likely, though to try to meet our spiritual needs using unreliable means. We may try to fill an emptiness that is from needing God with drugs, chocolate, or people.

    Let's help each other stay filled up. Pray for each other and encourage each other. If you get a call from a friend who is stranded in the spiritual wilderness, please answer.

Lord, help us look to you for our spiritual and physical strength and not to things that cannot satisfy.

THINK ABOUT IT What are the signs for you that your spiritual gas tank is running on low?  or  What unreliable gas stations have you used to fill your tank?

Freedom

Welcome to Unseen today. This has been a week of dealing with spiritual warfare, a common thing among people who live unseen. Read on to see what I learned about freedom and victory this week.

Freedom

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph 6:12

My sister told me a story about an adventure her friend had as a little girl. She and her siblings grew up in Perryton, Texas and had sweet family dogs. One day the kids and the dogs were out  in the front yard playing. The dog catcher pulled up in the truck and whistled for the dogs. The unsuspecting dogs ran to her whistle and she locked them in the truck and took them to doggy jail.  The children were devastated, but the family did not have enough money to bail the dogs out. The pound in Perryton had a fenced run for the dogs so the family could visit and pet the dogs, but not get to them. The dad was fond of alcohol and the night before the scheduled execution for the dogs, he was fueled up. At midnight, he turned on the lights in the house and said, “Kids, let’s go get them dogs!”  He loaded the kids up in the pickup and drove to the pound. He attached a logging chain to the gate and pulled it off its hinges, setting free not only their dogs, but all the dogs in Ochiltree County.  The next morning, the dogcatcher was at their door asking if they knew anything about a break in (and break out) at the pound. They steadfastly denied any knowledge of it and said that the dogs had just showed up.           

            Have you struggled to free yourself from damaging thought patterns or habits? Do you have a loved one who is in need of deliverance from a spiritual struggle?  Maybe you have tried to use logic, threats, bribery or will power to deal with these issues. These may have been successful for a while, but more than likely, the issues crept back in before long.  These efforts are ineffective because they are not aimed at the root of the problem.  Would it have been successful if the children had tried to break one chain link at a time in the fence? How about if they had tried to burrow through the concrete in the dog run? What if they had tried to plead with the dogs to come out or threatened them if they didn’t? Even though it was technically a bad idea to tear the gate off the dog pound, it was effective because it addressed the underlying cause of the problem.

            Ephesians talks about the struggle we endure in our spiritual life. In Ephesians 6:12 we read, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Is it any wonder that our best human efforts are ineffective in this battle? Fortunately, Ephesians does not leave us there. It goes on to tell us about the armor we have to protect us, including the belt of truth and the shield of faith. It also tells us about the very powerful weapons that we have at our disposal- prayer, and the sword of the spirit. Don’t go into battle for yourself or your loved ones without your armor or your weapons. The final instruction in Ephesians 6 says, “Then having done all, stand. Let’s remember today to fight the right battle with the right weapons and the right commander.

Frog and Toad

When we live unseen, we get a warped perspective of growth, both ours and others. Today's post show's lessons that I learned from two of my favorite characters in children't literature.

Frog and Toad

I planted. Apollos watered, but God gives the increase. 1 Cor.

            In my family we love the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. They are funny and have good lessons. In one story Frog and Toad decide to surprise each other by raking the leaves. They each secretly go to the other’s house, rake the leaves and come home unseen. On the way home, the wind whips the leaves around and each friend returns home to his own yard full of leaves, but happy in the knowledge that the other will not have to rake. Another cute episode involves the two friends making cookies. They eat several and decide it is time to quit. Then they need one last cookie, one very last cookie and one very, very last cookie. I can relate to that. Probably my favorite Frog and Toad story is about the garden.  Frog decides he wants a garden. He plants the seeds, stands back and says, “Grow, seeds. Grow.” When that doesn’t work he decides maybe the seeds can’t hear him and yells, “Come on, seeds. Grow.” Toad informs him that the seeds need water and sunlight. He waters them and makes sure they have plenty of light. He sings to them. He talks to them. He reads poems to them, and even takes the torch out at night so they won’t be afraid to grow. Finally he is worn out and falls asleep in the garden. When Toad wakes him up, there are tiny seedlings poking out of the dirt.

            I know we don’t do that to our gardens, but what about our spiritual life? Are we impatient with ourselves when we do not develop or grow as quickly as we should? One of the enemy’s favorite taunts is, “You should be further along than this by now.”  How about when we are working with others? Do we become frustrated with those we are witnessing to, or with baby Christians, when we don’t see change? Have you ever watched your children and thought, “Grow, seeds, grow!” Even worse, I have worked with people before and they either just didn’t get it or they slid back into old behaviors. Then someone else comes along and works with them, and they get it. I am tempted to wonder what the second person had that I didn’t. Did I not explain it well enough? Was I too easy or too hard on them?

            The truth is that with plants and in life things take time and development. Plants have to be planted, have water, sunshine and fertilizer. Sometimes the same gardener does not do all the work. The Corinthian Christians were having tension because some of them had been taught by Paul and some by Apollos, and felt they should follow one or the other. Paul explained to them that it was God who produced the growth, no matter who was involved in the process.  When we hear the gospel the seed is planted. As we spend time in the word, in fellowship and in prayer, we water the seed and it grows. Trials in life provide fertilizer that God can use to help us grow. We cannot measure our growth or others’ growth by someone else’s progress or by a timetable.  We measure growth by how much we look like Jesus. Also, we cannot take blame or credit for someone else’s growth or lack of growth.

 God is the master gardener. He knows the exact amount of sunshine, rain, fertilizer, songs, poems and torches we need to grow.  

Grace notes

Welcome back to unseen. I hope my technical difficulties are under control now. Today's post is an excerpt from my new book, Grace Notes. It is available on Amazon and at Author House bookstore. (Shameless plug). When we live unseen, dealing with the struggles of daily life can blind us to God's surprising blessings. Read on to see the lesson I learned about this from music

Grace Notes

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

I love music. I love to listen, I love to sing, and I love to dance. Music can take to places that nothing else can. It can calm your soul when you are hurting and it can give you a way to celebrate when words are not enough. There are different elements of music. The first is melody. This is the tune or the lead line.  The second is harmony. This consists of notes that are different than the melody but work together to make it richer.   There is a third element that not everyone is familiar with. These are called grace notes. They are “extra” notes. They are not even written into the main line of the music. They are smaller and are often found at the top of the staff. They consist of runs and descants that make the music even more full and rich.

Our lives are like music. They too consist of melody, harmony and grace notes. The melody of our life is our walk with God and the purpose that he has given us. The rhythm varies and the key may change from major to minor and back again, but God has written the music of our lives and directs it. Harmony in our lives consists of the people we walk with through our lives.  Other people bring fullness to our lives and make it more exciting, even though there may be discordant notes. You may wonder if God really wanted you to play with the people he put in your family or church. Again, God directs the symphony of our lives. Then there are the grace notes in our lives. These are the surprises that God has for us. They may be times when we are down and a friend calls out of the blue.  It may be a friend you meet unexpectedly who turns out to be a mainstay in your life. It could be that something you do for fun, like music or writing or drawing, turns out to be used by God to touch others. Even better are the times when you are spending time in worship or prayer and the God of the universe comes to meet with you. There are so many things in my life that have been more than I imagined.

In this life we have an enemy. The word says he comes to steal, kill and destroy, but God says that He comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10) In Ephesians He tells us through Paul that He can do exceeding, abundantly beyond all that we can ask or even imagine.  The God of Heaven and earth is our Father. He has chosen us as His children and wants to have relationship with us and lavish His love on us. Let’s look for the grace notes in our lives, whether in sunsets, phone calls, or other ways that God chooses to speak to us and point them out to others, too.