Valley of Vision: A Disciple's Renewal

May this resonate with you today, as it did me.

One More Thing...

I'd love to hear from you on the line that touched you the most.

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

Dreaded Words

"I've ordered some tests."

I heard those words during a routine physical last week. 25 years ago I heard those words and I was in surgery three days later, only one month before my wedding. I wasn't pleased to be hearing them again.

This was my response.

"I'm okay, they're just checking something. I'm not going to tell anybody unless there's something wrong. God's got this."

"I should probably let my husband know." 

Sent him a text. While typing that out, I started to worry.

"I'll text a few of my closest friends that are my prayer support."

I sit and think about what's probably wrong. Then I Google the keywords the doctor used.

"I'll just text a few more of the people near to me, and the staff, that would make sense."

Google some more.

"I'm likely going to die." Tears. Prayer...again.

"Why did I tell anybody? Nobody cares, I'm such a nuisance. It's going to be okay. Nobody has time for this. I should have waited until it was a real health concern."

"How humiliating. Now people know something's up. I NEVER should have said anything. Well, if I have to have surgery, or if I'm dying, I'm not telling anybody."

"God, I don't want to deal with anything. I'm scared, I'm helpless and I really want you to take care of this so I don't have anything wrong. But, I truly am okay with whatever your plan is. But, please, please, please don't let me be sick!"

In the meantime, I've received a few e-mails and texts back from friends saying they will pray. 

This was all within the first hour.


I then received one message that called me out and that's what I want to focus on here. I have a person in my life that speaks boldly and with my best spiritual growth interest in mind. Here's his response to my message asking for prayer...

"You may not completely understand, agree with or even like what I am going to say to you.  Here goes; stop praying for what God tells us he provides through his grace. In doing so, you are missing the best part of your trial...growth!

You might be sick, you might not be. You may have to go through some more tough times. Great! You will be much more developed if you do. Stop trying to get out of trouble.  Embrace it and pray for God's wisdom and understanding.  If you do die...how great to be with our King! Now that would be terrific.

Your life is no longer yours..quit taking it back and enjoy the ride."

"Uh...okay." But then I read through it again, and again, and again. Then I thanked him and told him I loved that he was a part of my life. He had the right perspective and the courage to share what likely wouldn't be the popular thing to say.

This was all on Monday. One test was done that day, a second test was Tuesday and the "big" one wasn't until Wednesday. I read those words repeatedly. I prayed those words repeatedly. Tuesday morning, my prayer had changed and I didn't even know it until I heard the words come out of my mouth. Sunday's sermon reminded us that it's okay to tell God what we're really thinking and my prayer Tuesday was something like this. "God, I don't want to be sick or face surgery but if you need me to do this, it's all yours, and I will happily follow you to where I need to be and what I need to go through. I trust you completely and I'm submitting to you...again."

The fun part? Today's sermon referred to this same amazing grace that is sufficient. I found peace in God and He surrounded me with reminders all week that He's got this covered. Lesson learned...again. My prayer now is that when my next "crisis" hits, I will remember this before the human tendency to panic sets in as it did. Enjoy these words from Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

"...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 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."

One More Thing...

The tests came back without any concerns. However...THAT'S NOT THE POINT. It didn't matter what happened physically, it's what happens spiritually for each of us that truly matters.

Your life is no longer yours..quit taking it back and enjoy the ride. (Does anybody else wrestle with this one?)

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

Walking on the Sea

This little gem entered my life this morning via a Facebook post from an area church I have connections with. God's timing was remarkable as I read these words. They touched my life today, may they resonate with you as well.

"God's purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. What He desires for me is that I see 'Him walking on the sea' with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see 'Him walking on the sea' (6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God. God's purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now." 

-Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest

 

One More Thing...

Do you believe He can handle your storms?

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

Through Painted Deserts, Part 2

Our road trip is complete. My reading of Donald Miller's book, Through Painted Deserts: Light, God and Beauty on the Open Road is complete. I didn't realize this when I started the book, but his story ended in the same city our road trip ended in. Perhaps it was meant to be that this was my chosen road trip book, and perhaps I needed these reminders.

If you recall from Part 1, the introduction emphasized the theme of leaving. Read Part 1 Here

During his journey, Donald ponders a good deal about the idea of security and the feelings created by society and advertisers. His travel companion, Paul, seems to take things in stride and live unaffected by others and this intrigues him. He questions things. How does a person stop caring about the opinion of others? How does a person stop caring about money to pay rent? Where will the food come from? Do I sound like an idiot when I speak in public? Do people like me? Donald's questioning resonates with me. 

Life can be about the panic of having the right things, knowing the right people, etc. or it can be about the beauty in the sunrises, the glory of leaves changing colors, fresh air, and people. He had this to say about his friend, "Paul had become a human who no longer believed the commercials are true, which, perhaps, is what a human was designed to be."

Two options: 
1. "You will feel what you were made to feel if you buy this thing I am selling."




2. "Feel what a human is supposed to feel when he stops believing lies. And maybe when a person doesn't buy the lies anymore, when a human stops long enough to realize the stuff people say to get us to part with our money often isn't true, we can finally see the sunrise, smell the wetness in a Gulf breeze, stand in awe at a downpour no less magnificent than a twenty-thousand-foot waterfall, ten square miles wide, wonder at the physics of a duck paddling itself across the surface of a pond, enjoy the reflection of the sun on the face of the moon, and know, This is what I was made to do. This is who I was made to be, that life is being given to me as a gift, that light is a metaphor, and God is doing these things to dazzle us."

One More Thing...

Maybe this pilgrimage we're on really IS in God's hands and He is simply waiting for us to let him take control. I believe that. Go watch a sunrise or sunset. Go stand where the ocean meets the sand. Go stand in the rain. Go stare up at the trees...and let go.

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

Open Hands

A friend of mine preaches a few times a year and I finally listened to his sermon from June. It was a great sermon about Zacchaeus, a tax collector, and I wanted to share a few thoughts that resonated with me, with the hope you might also relate.

Growing up, the focus through the kid's song was always on him being a "wee little man, a wee little man was he." He climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus, and Jesus went to his house. That was pretty much my recollection of the story.

In this sermon, we were reminded that a tax collector was considered to be an outcast. An outcast would be considered to be poor in spirit. Poor in spirit means understanding our spiritual bankruptcy, understanding that we have nothing to offer to God.

Now at first, I was a little taken aback by the thought that we have nothing to offer God. Of course we do. We have our love, our devotion, our selves to offer. However, I realize that we simply have nothing to offer God that isn't already His. I really liked that perspective of spiritual bankruptcy, everything I am and everything I have is God's. I really do come to Him empty and bankrupt, with nothing.

I also appreciated that Jesus publicly declared that he was going to Zacchaeus's home. He was not concerned that this wasn't on the "approved list" of places to visit. He declared the value of Zacchaeus as a child of God, and simply a sinner like all of us, and yet worthy of hosting Jesus himself. Are we so concerned about our image that we fail to love others?

Another note I jotted down was about approaching God with empty hands. He wants to give to us, but we must be empty before we can run to God and receive anything. We need to let go of our pride, our possessions, our feelings, our misplaced sense of entitlement, our anger, our bitterness, etc. so we can approach with empty hands and an empty heart and be able to receive from God.

Challenge: Do you know Jesus in only a saving way or in a trusting, dependent, joyful way? Do you FULLY trust Him?

I must confess...this has been a challenge for me. I am growing immensely in this area thanks to some amazing friends who lead by example and are not afraid to challenge me. If this is a tricky area for you, I'd love to talk with you and share my story.

This was a fantastic sermon and there are many more noteworthy points. You can follow the link below to enjoy the full sermon and see what resonates with you.

One More Thing...

Are you willing to let go of that one thing so you can approach God with open hands and fully trust Him?

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

NOTE: This link may not work, but I'm looking for a new source.

Listen to the full sermon here

Through Painted Deserts, Part 1

I began a road trip yesterday and thought it would be a great coincidence to finally begin reading Donald Miller's book, Through Painted Deserts: Light, God and Beauty on the Open Road. It seemed fitting since it's also about a road trip and a personal journey. However, I was forced to pause early in the author's note pages as I already found something that required time devoted to deeper pondering. I'm curious to hear from my readers what you think about the following quotes.

"I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently."

"It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you: Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

One More Thing...

Is there something you need to leave? 

Leave me a comment and let me know if you've read this book. It was previously released as Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance: Finding God on the Open Road.

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

Shine

Are you trying to do it all? Do you get your identity from your job, your spouse, or the random opinions of strangers? Do you believe you must shine in order to be accepted and loved? Do you fear failure because you fear what people will think of you?

I want to challenge us all to break this mold, this terrible but comfortable habit that keeps us from living a full life, the life God intended for us.

There are so many reasons we may hide our cracks, pretend that all is well, and not allow anybody to know we don't always shine. Pride, feelings of inadequacy, emptiness, history of abandonment, or selfishness. No matter the cause, I invite you to join me in the challenge to stop and allow others to see who you really are. 

I am confident there is somebody waiting to discover ALL of you and love you regardless. I know that God loves us unconditionally, and exactly the way we are. I hope you know that also, and a deeper hope is that you can accept that love and stop worrying about looking like you have it all together.

One More Thing...

Being 100% authentic is far more valuable than shining all the time. I dare you to show your true self one time this week. I will if you will...then tell me about it.

Take care, and I'm always here to pray for you if you have a need or request.
Lois Lynn

"Shine" by Jan Krist