What's in a name?

When we live unseen, we can feel uncared for and unsupported. Read on to find out how untrue that is.

Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name and you are mine. Isaiah 40:31

We all have different names that we go by. i have been Susan, Susannah, SusieQ, Mrs. McCabe, Miss Mac,(by students who could not pronounce my last name) Honey and Mama. How many of you look up when a child calls "Mama", even though you know your own sons are grown and now have bass voices? I have also been referred to related to others in my life. I was Marshall's daughter, Brother and Sister Carver's granddaughter, and Stella Marie's little girl. I spent years as Sheryl's sister and was unduly excited when she told me that she had been referred to as Susan's sister. Then I was Joe's wife and Rob and Heath's mom. I have also ben referred to as what I do. People at church see me as on of the singers and at work, a resident asked me, "Aren't you the social lady?" I laughed and said yes, I was the social worker.

What a joy it is to hear your named called in a crowded room by someone who loves you. How about getting off a plane and scanning the crowd for a familiar face, then hearing someone call your name excitedly. There is a since of accomplishment in hearing your name read in front of crowds as you walk across the stage to get a diploma or an award.

There is an even greater honor and privilege, though. the God of the universe, who put the stars in place, knows your name.(Isaiah 40:31) He knows the number of hairs on your head.(John 10:22) He has chosen to be your father and set you apart before you were born. (Jeremiah 1:10) More important than being Marshall's daughter or Stella Marie's little girl is the privilege of being a child of the king, a daughter of God. When this life is hard, remember that someday we will hear him call our names. Let us pray that he says to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant. enter into the joy of your master.

Go first

Children do not have to be taught to go first, but somewhere we learn to hold ourselves back even when we shouldn't. Perhaps that is especially true for those of us who live Unseen. Read on.

Go First
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1John 4;10 -11

When the children were young, we were over at a friend’s house visiting. Her son was  between mine in age and they enjoyed being together. Usually. He and my older son were best friends, except when they were being mortal enemies. On this particular day, it got quiet, which is a red flag with 3 preteens. I went looking for them and found the two older boys on the balcony with a length of rope. My husband was right behind me and asked what they were doing. “We’re going to rappel off the balcony.” Eyes full of challenge, he looked at my husband and asked, “IS that OK?” My husband took in the situation and said, “Ok, but the knot is wrong on your rope, you need to hold it behind your back and the railing is not going to hold. He looked at my son and said, “You go first, Rob.” It’s not just scary thing we don’t want to go first at. Dr. Dobson told about a group of women who all really wanted donuts but refused to be the first on to get in line for them. In our lives whether it is something scary or just something uncomfortable, we would rather someone else make the first move. Even if we know there will be a blessing, like mending a broken relationship, it is hard to go first. Once, God was prompting me to do my part in making up with my dad and I was arguing that i didn't have to because he had done, this and that and he always had to be right. I turned the corner and saw,(I'm not kidding) a billboard that said, GET THE LAST WORD IN. APOLOGIZE.I wrote the letter and the restoration started.

God did not wait. He went first. Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In John 15:16 Jesus says, You did not choose me, but i chose you. God, knowing we were broken and helpless made the first step and what a step it was! He had already planned our salvation and how he would accomplish it, One of the verses that has meant the most to me is in John 4:10-11 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. and verse 19 says We love Him because He first loved us.
Because God went first we both love him and are enabled to love each other. Take courage to step out. meet someone  new. Invite someone  to church. Be a blessing or mend a fence. Go first.

Guest spot

Welcome to Unseen today. God is faithful. He has solved my 4 "absolutely impossible situations" in as many weeks. I want to share something that helped me through this time that was written by a co-worker, Christy Dodson. She works with both youth and elderly people, and we love her. Read on.

As things are changing in our lives and workplaces, I’m sure that some of us are really starting to feel the sense of impending doom because of the unknown…where will I work, do I have a job, can I relocate, how is this going to affect my family…have those thoughts crossed your minds…to be honest I know that I do not do well with not having a plan of action…that’s when I have to reevaluate my priorities…when we get that heavy dark out-of-options feeling, it is because we are trying to do things on our own…whether you are a spiritual person has no bearings…it is human nature that when we are struggling with anything, handling it ourselves makes it even harder…am I right? We all feel better after talking it through with a loved one or friend or even your dog…it helps to just get it out…aloud…for me I drown my stress in music and art…how do you drown your stress? Who do you talk to? When I am stressing or feeling heavy my faith has to take over and I have to let go of the wheel…and if you know me, you know I am always in the driver’s seat…because that is where I am most comfortable…and not having a plan and having to wait to find out where my next step needs to be can be brutal…I am one who needs a plan of action and a few backup plans…all I can do is keep faith that HE will comfort me and keep me…HEBREWS 11:1 says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Take the drought for example. We all have been hoping and praying for rain, right? Our land was parched and cracked...our plants and animals were weak and fruitless…then the wind began to blow…we couldn’t see the wind, just the effects of the wind…some of those effects were rain clouds that brought rain for almost 4 days! We couldn’t see the rain coming for the several days that the wind was blowing, but when the clouds rolled in with that wind, we felt relieved. Faith is the same way. We may not see it at first but the blessing or solution to our situation is coming…it may just be a while…HE’s got our backs! I’ve got your back too! I’m sure if we look around we can find at least one person who has our back…”so do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your GOD. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ISAIAH 41:10…see I told you…all we need to do is let HIM know where we are at, how we are doing…give HIM our stress, if you’re like me you’ll have to give HIM your stress at least once every few hours!!! But that is ok…HE doesn’t mind!! Take a sec today to just stop and think about your blessings so far in life…then take another sec to be thankful for what you have…don’t stress about what you don’t have or what may happen…GOD GOT U!!! 1PETER 5:6-7 “humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of GOD so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he loves you.”

I know that may sound preachy, but I just felt that I needed to share something…I know that a lot of folks are feeling anxious and this is gives me peace and yes, because I am human, it is hard for me to accept grace because I am an earner and protector and servant, so I have to remind myself CONSTANTLY that HE is my refuge…not me…HE has his ever strong arms around us and his embrace is unwavering…take a sec to feel HIM today.

All I have to say about the last few weeks is God is faithful. Read on.

Can you hear me now?

Yet he took note of their distress

    when he heard their cry;Psalms 106:44

Technology is a blessing, and a curse. We have access to vast amounts of information, provided we can access it. We can contact anyone at anytime, yet we spend less time communicating with each other. We have internet friends, but we are desperately lonely. There are glitches and hitches involved in the technology. One weekend we went to a retreat off the beaten path. I looked out and saw my friend walking around in a circle outside. I didn’t see her phone in her hand and wondered what she was doing. When I asked, she pointed to a stick stuck in the ground and said that was the only place in camp that she could get cell phone signal and she was trying to call home.

                Do you feel that way trying to communicate with God? Whether you are trying to pray or meditate, do you feel that you have lost signal? Maybe you feel that you have to go through elaborate rituals to have your prayers answered or have to check all the boxes. Maybe you feel that you have to follow the rules and say the words right for God to hear you. Maybe you just can’t think of what to say to God, especially if you are upset. Sometimes it is easy to feel that we can’t hear what God is telling us. Back the technology train up and think back to walkie-talkies. If you were talking and had your button pushed down, you could not hear if the other person was talking to you. This may be one part of our problem with God. We tend to not be very good at being still and listening.

                The last two weeks were really hard for me. I had battles on several different fronts and I was tired of fighting. I asked God to fight for me and he kept sending me verses like  Be still and know that I am God (Psalms 46:10) and Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31.) I was looking for the ones like strike my enemies in the teeth.  (Still haven’t found that one but I know it is in Psalms.) We quote Jeremiah 29:11-13 a lot and it is true that God has plans for us that are to give us a future and a hope, and plans for welfare and not for calamity, but the rest of the passage is just as important. It reads, you will come and call to me and I will answer you. You well seek me and find me when you search with all your heart.  We read in Psalms     I cried to the Lord in my distress and he answered me. Psalms 106:44. He hears us. He answers us. He tells us to come boldly before the throne of Grace that we may find help in our time of need. Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made, we have access to God and his mercy and his provision. No passwords, no complicated formulas and fear. Can you hear Him now?

Welcome back to unseen. It has been a difficult few weeks and i have learned a lot. Read on to see what god has taught me.

Knots

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, even as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Bowline, clove hitch, 2 half hitches, monkey’s paw, and tautline. If you these words ring bells in your head, you are probably a former boy scout or a mother of one. They are a few of the many types of knots. These knots are each useful for different things. I couldn’t tell you what, though. You could ask my boys and they could tell you.  They learned these knots and how to make them. They did their very best to teach me, but were mostly unsuccessful. There is one thing the scout leaders tend to not teach, though ; how to get the knots undone.  If you are a mother or a teacher, you have untied or tried to untie thousands of knots in shoe laces, jump ropes, fishing line and necklaces.  Sometimes the harder you try to untie a knot the worse it gets. You usually have to trace back through the tangles and find the end of the string or rope. Knots and tangles can make the object difficult or impossible to use.

This is a lot like life.  Today there are 3 particular knots in my spiritual life. Worry, resentment and fear. I wish I could tell you that I can untangle my own knots because I am so wise and spiritual, but that would be a lie. I know the truth, that God calls me to forgive and be merciful, but some knots of resentment are too tangles and deep seated for me to undo by myself. I know that God is faithful.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    when I look at the things that he has brought me through just in the last few weeks, I am amazed. I have a human heart, though, and when I look at what I need this week and what I have to accomplish, I slip into worry. Then if I am not careful, the same enemy that tempted me with worry come against me with guilt for worrying. The point is, I cannot untie these spiritual knots any more than children can untie complicated physical ones. What did we do as children when we had a knot that we couldn’t untie? We went to our parents. We need to do the same thing in our spritual lives, and take them to our father.
1 Pet 5:7 says "Cast your cares upon him for he cares for you." and matthew  6 tells us the folly of worrying.  These should  remind us to let God untangle our knots of worry. Ephesian 4:32 says  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, even as God through Christ has forgiven you. In the sermon on the mount, we are told that if we have anything against our brother to leave our gift at the altar and go and be reconciled.

We need to let God take our tangled situations and emotions and untie them. Thank him for his faithfulness and his provision and let him love others through you when you can't do it yourself.

Super Power

This week we had a friend who passed away. He loved superheroes. In his honor I want to share what I wrote for him about the lessons from superheroes.

Super Power

2 Corinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Superman swoops down out of the sky to rescue the girl from the nefarious villain.

Batman sees the Bat signal and urges Robin to run to the Bat-mobile.

Spiderman’s spider senses start tingling and he swings to the rescue on his web.

The Green Lantern uses his lantern to signal for help from the other guardians, facing a threat that is more than he can handle alone.

In America, we love superheroes. We spend millions of dollars on lunch boxes, action figures, comic books and movies.  We like the thought that someone bigger and more powerful can save the day. We love their superpowers. We like being sure that good will triumph over evil. Who can blame us? There is a lot of evil in the world and we are in a battle for our lives and our souls. Unfortunately, superheroes are in short supply, but that does not mean we are helpless.  

No superhero swooped down to rescue my child the first time a drug dealer offered him a quick fix for his hurts. You know who was there? Christian brothers and sisters who told him to make good choices, but also helped keep him busy doing appropriate things. They listened to him scream and rage while he was trying to get clean, and picked him up when he lost a battle. They pointed out his strength and value and assured both him and me that we could get through this, even when I asked if we had to go through every possible temptation with this one child.

.I have more trouble meeting my needs the last week of the month than I do with dr. Octavius or the Joker. I do not have a magic lasso or a web to swing away from danger, but I have something much more powerful

We are encouraged to put on our armor in Ephesians 6.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
We forget that we are in a battle and we do need our weapons. 
I do not have a magic lantern to summon help, but  I do have Christian family who sometimes surprise me with helpful gestures just at the right time, like the friend who would call and offer a protein packed meal in exchange for a ride to the dr. There was the man who stopped me in the parking lot to give me a card to get my squeaky brakes fixed. No guardians come to my resue but my sisters will pray with me ( even in the middle of the store), cry with me ( or make me laugh at myself) and just love me. 

Life is hard, and we do not have super powers, but we do have a Super Power available to us through the holy spirit. We also have powerful weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4) and powerful allies (Galatians 6) 
Don't be afraid to use these or to help when someone else does. 

Behind the scenes

Do you ever feel like God is not paying attention? We are asking for things and nothing is happening. If you reading this, it means you are alive, so you probably have. Read on for a lesson from my past.

Behind the Scene

My ways are not your ways, neither are my thoughts your thoughts. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8

In high school, I had the chance to be in some plays. From the audience everything looks calm and smooth. Actors enter and exit flawlessly and the scenery is changed at the appropriate time. From the other side of the curtain, though, it is a completely different picture. Tech people are bringing lights up and down. Make up is being touched up, and costumes are being changed. When the curtain goes down, prop managers scurry on and off stage. The props and scenery from one scene are often completely different from the one before. Places may be marked with glow in the dark tape. Think of the hours of practice that have taken place beforehand, with movements mapped out and practiced.

Can you imagine an actor making an entrance onto a dark or semi-dark stage? He has made the entrance dozens of times before, but this time something is different. The prop manager did not get a piece of scenery off the stage from the previous scene. It happens to be right in the way and the actor trips or even falls. The audience gasps, or maybe snickers.

There was a time recently when I was waiting for something from God. I was doing everything I was supposed to do. I had confessed every sin I ever thought about committing, fearing that the reason I was not receiving what I was waiting for was because I was being punished. I begged. I pleaded. I cried. I got angry. I told God that He was not paying attention, and He apparently wasn't doing anything about my situation. Finally I got a picture of a scene backstage, with prop managers scurrying madly. God reminded me that He is in control, and that I would not want to make an entrance until the stage was set, because I did not want to fall over something.

I received what I was waiting for, and it has been fantastic. I see some of the things that were worked out, but I know there were many more that I will never see. I have no idea what God is doing when He appears to be doing nothing. We need to have faith, because God has seen the end from the beginning. Nothing surprises him and he is in control. Take courage as you wait for what you ask for. God is faithful.

LORD, Help us to remember that there are things we cannot see and that you will never leave us.