Thanksgiving...In All times

Thanksgiving….in all times, even when imprisoned….

One of my husband’s favorite Bible passages is Philippians 4.  I understand why.  It is a passage of encouragement…from an author who writes while in Prison….PRISON….as in chains, bars, dirt floors and dank circumstances.

And, he does not write to encourage himself; he writes to encourage others….and, through time, to encourage even us….his “brothers and sisters” many generations removed from his actual pen to paper writing.

And, he does.

We have a passionate Bible teacher at our church who is an actor…well, who was an actor in his former life.  Prior to beginning any study (and, I have been in many of his classes, buckled up and ready for the ride of my life), he takes us on a little walk mentally, framing his story in picture-words that enable us to “feel” what we read in the Bible.  When he describes Paul’s prison…it is not pretty. 

Prisons in Paul’s time were called “houses of darkness” for a reason.  They were storage-houses for the accused and not just a place of punishment - for back then, you were innocent and set free or were guilty and executed.  “Being kept alive in that condition was a greater and more humiliating punishment than death.”

So, it is amazing  to me that he could write so encouragingly to us while he was in such a damp, cold, dark, stinking, rodent infested, bug inhabited, nasty, terrible, horrible, awful place….

And not only did he write encouragement to others.  He wrote in truth that we all rejoice in our sufferings.  He wrote of his personal commitment to live as he wrote.  He wrote as one who shares his own personal sufferings.  He does not encourage us from a……..distance…….but as one who is up-close-and-personal with suffering.

I love the Bible via The Message.  It is an easy to read version which I use in conjunction with my other favorite the NIV..In it, you find Paul’s letter….

From Paul, A letter...to all of us….

My dear friends,

I love you so much. …I do want the very best for you. ….Don’t waver.  Stay on track, steady in God.” “Celebrate God all day, every day.  I mean REVEL in Him! Make it as clear as you can to ALL you meet that you are on their side, working with them and not against them.  Help them see the Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any minute.

Don’t fret or worry.  Instead of worry pray.  Let God know your concerns. It is wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Do your best by filling your minds and meditating n things TRUE, NOBLE, REPUTABLE, AUTHENTIC, COMPELLING, GRACIOUS – the best, the beautiful, things to praise.

I am “glad in God”, far happier than you would ever guess (yes, I know, hard to believe while in prison, but it is true), I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally (I’m in prison), I have learned to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I have found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry….

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the ONE who makes me who I am.”

And, he was right.

What is amazing to me even more than his joy during his suffering is that Paul….the very one so positive in his suffering FOR Christ was once a person who caused suffering AGAINST Christ and His followers.

The Jesus Storybook Bible tells Paul’s story very sweetly in words which melt the heart..(paraphrased)

“Of all the people who kept the rules Saul (name later changed to Paul..hang with me, there is an explanation at the end) was the best!  He was very proud…but, he wasn’t very nice.  Saul/Paul hated anyone who loved Jesus.  He wanted to catch them and put them into prison.  He wanted everyone to forget about Jesus.  You see, Saul never met Jesus.”

So, one day, Jesus met Saul.

Saul was on his way to a town when a light flashed like lightening.  It was brighter than the sun…too bright (Saul was blinded).  He heard a loud voice which said, “Saul! Saul! Why are you fighting me?”  “Lord?” Saul answered.  “Who are you?”

I am Jesus, said the voice.  When you hurt my friends, you are hurting me too.  Saul’s whole body trembled.  Go to the city, Jesus said and I’ll tell you what to do.

When Saul opened his eyes, he couldn’t see.  His helpers had to hold his hand and lead him like a little child.  Saul was blind for three days – and yet, It Was As If He Was Seeing For The Very First Time!

A man named Ananias who loved Jesus prayed for Saul and through his prayer, Saul was able to see again and was used by God to tell the world about Jesus.

Yes, the man who “wasn’t very nice” to Christians was now VERY nice to Christians, because he had met God and had seen the error of his ways.

I love this, too…from The Jesus Storybook Bible

“Suddenly, Saul could see again, but he saw everything differently.  He wasn’t mean anymore.  He even changed his name from Saul TO Paul, which means “small and humble” – the very opposite of proud”, which is what Saul was before.

Interestingly still, was that the man who prayed for Paul, Ananias’s,  name meant “The Lord is full of Grace”.

And, GRACE is what Paul spent the rest of his life sharing with others.

The Grace of God which comes to all of us, through God.

“It’s  not about keeping the rules! Paul told the people.  You don’t have to be good at being good for God to love you.  You just have to believe what Jesus has done and follow him.  Because,

Its not about trying, it’s about trusting.

Its not about rules, its about Grace

God’s free gift – that cost him everything”.

So, Paul changed.

And, because of his ability to change, we can be encouraged to change.

He writes to us, “God loves us!  Nothing can ever- no, not ever- separate us from the Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love of God he showed us in Jesus!”

My husband’s love for this Philippians passage has inspired me many times during this past year.  It inspires and encourages me….

It does so because you can see in how Ian lives his life that he tries hard to do what Paul encourages, and while Ian would tell you he struggles with doing so, it’s the effort in his walk which I have come to love and respect…I have seen him fall down, but, I also see him pick himself back up and strive….

To “let your gentleness be evident to all…..not to be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God…and the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus….whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

So, In Paul, I have hope which he tells me God promises to all of us…

If Paul can find joy and peace and encouragement while suffering in prison, how much more can we find same in the freedom of our lives?

Blessings and Thanksgiving,

Lesa

To Everything There is a Season

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace.

I made a mistake today.

And, I am so sorry.

I was ready to speak with someone, I needed to speak with someone, I had to speak with that someone,

So, I did…..

But, it did not go well.

This is a person…the one person with whom I have had a very intimate relationship for the longest in my life, but no more.

The one I used to share many of my inner most  thoughts, feelings, fears…

I was ready to talk.  I have been preparing and readying myself for this ability to talk for over a year year….I had made my peace, said my prayers, sought His wisdom and prepared.

As a warrior who goes into battle, I have battled to strengthen my resolve, my spirit, my heart.

For talking with this person has long cut at my soul and so,

I counseled prior to speaking to this person, made a list of what needed to be discussed and prepared in every way I knew how.

But, what I didn’t fully take into consideration was that even though this person said they were ready to speak as well, they were not.

God tells us there is “A Time for Everything”….and, a season for every activity under the heavens…

But for this person, that time was not yet….

So, while my healing and brokenness has scabbed over into a manageable scar, this was not the case for both of us.

I sat there listening to the hurt, and anger and scorching words come out of a mouth which I no longer recognized.

And, a little piece of me died.

For, I should have known.  They were not ready.

Their time had not yet come, and I realized as I sat there, it may never come.

That does not make me good and them bad.  Or, vice versa.

God calls us to recognize there is a time for everything – to be born to plan to heal to build

To laugh to dance to bind to embrace to search to keep to mend to speak to love to seek peace

BUT, He also tells us there is a season to die to uproot to kill to tear down to weep to mourn to scatter stones

To refrain from embracing to give up to throw away to tear to be silent to hate and to go to war

God understands that life is a process of healing…we are constantly healing from something

Either we are healing from growing in Him….growing with Him…growing toward Him, a soulful healing…toward God

Or we are healing because of life….with life…through life….a broken kind of healing …..by ourselves

I think God gives us permission to understand that life is full of seasons for a reason….and, that just as sadness can pull us into darkness, joy can draw us into His Holy light…

I also believe God calls us to listen to Him…to be still….

For it is in this stillness that we can step ourselves back and others forward….to let go of selfishness and to gather close compassion.

I missed the mark today.

Because while I have grown into a season of healing and forgiveness and compassion, I had not taken into consideration that the other person had not

And, that that is okay….

God does not call us to be cookie cutters of one another,

He allows each of us to grow in our own time, at our own pace, into that person HE wants us to become

I made a mistake today, but this time, my mistake was made with a right and trying heart.

I am learning.

And, as God pulls me up and out and forward, I pray I never forget the seasons He has walked me through…painful as they have been, they have broken my heart and drawn me closer to a Father who promises that just as earthly seasons come and go, so this season, too, will pass and I will walk more humbly, more tender, more compassionate and more grateful….

Blessings,

Lesa

Hope Is A Thing With Feathers

Hope     

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson’s HOPE is one of my favorite written pieces, second only to God’s found in Psalm 62:5

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from HIM.”

I am learning.

That things which I crave to grow within myself come more readily when I allow my hope and faith to exceed my doubt and fear.

I wonder why it is that we seem to naturally gravitate to the negative, scary, and fearful when God would have us run to the positive, peaceful and fearless?

What is it about this earthly life that keeps us nailed down to the dark?

And, what does it take to be loosened to the light?

I believe it is HOPE.

A feeling or expectation that something will happen…

And, authentic Hope can truly be found in one place.

Or, with one person.

The creator of Hope…which comes from HIM.

In my forty-nine years, I have experienced and witnessed examples of hope that changed me.

My prayer for a sister when I was young and my mother not so much

My daughter’s prayer for twin brothers

Precious friends faithful prayers for the healing of their daughter

A brother and sister who gave over their family to God’s provision, and which God blessed immeasurably through adoption

 A mother’s faith that God would win the heart of her wayward daughter

Committed prayer to the baptism of a parent

There is no end to the hope I have witnessed.

Hope is more than a simple plea from the soul of a person to our creator

Hope is the commitment to belief

And, not that things will go “our way” but rather, that things will go His Way, and knowing that that will be the best way

Hope is a thing with feathers…that perches on the soul

For it is at our soul’s foundation that we can rest in the nest of God’s love where Hope and Faith and Love are laid…

Blessings and Hope,

Lesa

Faith In Our Leaders of Tomorrow

Faith in our leaders of tomorrow….

When someone shares with you an experience which causes you to pause …..and think…that is a good thing.

When someone causes you to pause…and think….and they are younger than eighteen… that is a very good thing.

I had the opportunity last week to experience not only a “GHOST OUT” with our local high school, I had the privilege of witnessing several of our young Scott County High School leaders doing just that…

Leading.

For those of you like me, who are unclear what a Ghost Out is….

A Ghost out is where you have a student dressed as the GRIM REAPER go to the first am class of a cross-section of your school’s students and “lead the chosen students  from class…to death”.  For example, Our Grim Reaper went to the first period class of fifteen (15) of Scott County’s students and used his authority to draw them out of class, placing an X on the seat where that student normally sits.

Having allowed one of my sons to participate in this event, I can tell you….it was GRIM.

Watching Mr. Reaper as he went  from classroom to classroom gathering up “dead” students was a parent’s worst nightmare.

But, it was powerful.

Grim…placed an X at fifteen different seats for each of the student’s six classes that day…

The purpose of this was to let the “dead” student’s presence be felt in each class by the “X marks the spot where _________ sat” reminder.

Grim.

But, it didn’t end there.

At a school assembly, these same 15 students were walked into the school gym….one by one….candle of life in their hand…until the Grim Reaper came to lay them to rest….literally…on the floor. 

As each student “walked to their death”, their obituary was read.  Each student’s “death story” was explained…this one died from a drug overdose, that one died from getting hit by a drunk driver.

It was painful to watch, the loss-representation of fifteen of our youth…laid out on the gym- floor/morgue.

It was painful to see some of Scott County’s finest, its brightest, its most athletic, its most musical, most talented, most kind, most generous, most courageous

Dead

On   the   floor   of    our   gym

Powerfully dead

A poem was read….explaining how one student died unnecessarily at the foolishness of another person’s hand

And, the Grim Reaper looked on…

As it came my son’s time to “lay it all down”, I could barely watch, and yet, I had to….

My whole life’s energy has been spent on raising a Godly, strong and courageous son.

And, he was gone

Covered by a sheet

On the floor

I had to look away, as any mother would.

The loss of one single of our Scott County’s students is unacceptable to me.

Is it to you?                                                                                                                      

Watching the gym-morgue grow as each student “died” was painful.

Many of these kids I knew and loved.

Many I didn’t know, but now want to.

Our greatest asset….our greatest treasure….our greatest source of joy in this life

Lay dead on the floor of our gym….

I had to get up and walk away.  It was too painful.

The most painful part….

What was I doing to help prevent this unnecessary loss?

What was Lesa personally doing to help prevent a SINGLE loss of our future generations?

And then, to my great relief, the assembly ended.

And, the fifteen came back to “life”.

I will never forget my son walking up to me post-death and hugging me.

And, I was grateful…

For his hug

For his life

For the life of his sister and brother

For this day

For the pain I felt watching this assembly

For my first exposure to GHOST OUT

For Morgan

For Morgan and her group of friends who so faithfully and purposefully put on such a display of the realities of what life, drugs, alcohol, foolishness can do

For Morgan and her group of friends who put on such a powerful event because their care for their fellow students was greater than their fear of being made fun of.

For a body of students who were BOLD

But, Bold in powerful ways rather than in foolishness

I am not sure who all was touched by GHOST OUT, Scott County High School, Friday, September 30^, 2011, But I was.

I was touched by the assembly, by the students who were willing to participate, by the students who chose to witness Ghost Out by paying attention.

I was touched by the adults who came to participate, by the school leadership who assisted Morgan and her team in organizing such an event.

I was not only touched, but I was grateful….

At Scott County High School, our future is made secure by the talent of those who were brave, strong and organized in their effort to steer other fellow-students from those things which can kill…

Morgan told me early on (I hope this is okay to share) that each year as her group prepared for Red Ribbon Week (our week-long anti-drug campaign) that her fellow students would laugh at their anti-drug message.

In her face

With reckless abandon

And yet, Morgan looked me in the eye and said, “but, I don’t care.  I know something that they have yet to figure out.  Life is precious.  Friendship is precious.  Drugs and alcohol can destroy what years of living tries to grow”.   “I take this stand in the face of ridicule….because I/we care about our Scott County students.”

I am not her mother, but I could not be more proud.

That, in a dark Grim-Reaper world, we have shining lights like Morgan and her friends leading their peers to better choices, better living, better decision making.

I am forever changed by Ghost Out

Had you been blessed by attending, you would have been too.

Blessings on your day,

Lesa

Bible in Hand....

My husband comes to our bedroom Bible in hand and asks to share a few minutes with me.  I know it is important.  He lays his Bible gently in front of me and says his words…thoughts he has had on his mind for a few days.  I sense this is more than just important, it is paramount to his life that I listen.

He directs me to a passage and waits.

He waits for me to read and then re-read what only God can say to me but that which my husband wants me to understand he feels as well.

It is a powerful passage….it speaks of my and Ian’s journey.

It speaks of how we are to live the balance of our days.

It conveys a message...important words

Which carry weight because of their author…..God.

I have lived on the milk of God’s word for too long, far too long.

I am called to live on the meat instead, but it is a difficult thing to do.

Simple it is to do what a person’s heart wants to do and hard it is to do what the heart of God would require.

A sibling told me recently that “God does not promise us happiness, Sissy, in our life”….and, he was right.  I agreed with him right there and then.  I knew already.

I still know that God does not promise us happiness.  Nor does God call us to happiness…He calls us to Holiness.

But, how does one know Holiness when one sees it?  It is tangible?  Can you grow it?

satan delights in blinding us with our fears. It is his great joy to pull us into a venue where we rely on self and not on HIM.  It is satan’s job to grow doubt, and fatigue and worthlessness.  satan beats us to the point we are desperate and yet do not know for what.

That is why laying down your Bible in front of yourself is vital.

That is why sharing your Bible with your wife is important.

That is why seeking HIS will in the word is crucial.

It is the only way to shield yourself from growing away from what is Holy.

I am grateful for a husband who challenges me to grow as a Christian. 

When I think over my life and my mistakes and my failures…as wife, as mother, as daughter, as sister…there is much I have to learn, much I would re-do…forks in the road I would take differently.

 I fully relate to that portion in the movie “Live, Eat, Pray” where Julia Roberts kneels on the floor, tears streaming down her face and begging God to tell her what to do.  “I’ll do whatever it is you want me to do, just TELL me.” 

And, HE does. 

There is not a single question we have which God does not answer.

Which is why it is important to lay open the Word and read it.

That is why it is important to be the kind of person who not only reads for yourself, but who also shares with others…

Like my husband did for me.

And, for that, I am grateful.

Blessings on your day,

Lesa

I Love the Fall....Never Do I Feel More Close to God

I Love the Fall….

Never do I feel more close to God than as I watch him paint our world with colors come from heaven.  I don’t imagine He shares all of the available colors with us for I suspect we could not take in the depth of them.  I always consider that He shares just enough with us to birth in us a longing….

In me, He has succeeded.

Fall also wells up in my heart great gratitude…sheer thankfulness for all of the many earthly blessings He has given my family and me.  But, even moreso, I am made aware of His Heavenly Blessings, which is where lies our real home.

I think I love the Fall because, while in it, I am slowed down down long enough to appreciate in full splendor the glories of this world and the promised glories of His world yet to come.

It slows me down long enough to hear better…the wind in the trees, the whispers of my children, the freezing cold feet running to jump into bed.

It slows me down long enough to hold a hand a little longer, hug a little harder, whisper prayers a little longer.

I feel God’s presence in all seasons, but there is something about the Fall which draws my heart like no other does…

My senses are heightened as I watch the colors of Fall explode into all their splendor…reaching deep into my heart and pulling out the best of my thoughts…love, compassion, joy, tenderness, gentleness…peace, patience, and genuine desire to make a holy difference while here on earth.

A friend and I were talking last week about this world…its joys, its pains, it purpose.  She said she thought that God gave us beauty in this world to help us as we journey through to grow in us a hope for what is yet to come.  I like that thought.

God gives us the beauty of family, friendship and flowers to anchor our lives. He Gives those things to us which remind us of Him.  As we traveled this year as a family, we were blessed to see God’s handiwork frequently. He threaded the quiltwork of our lives with color, love, laughter.  He wove the patterns of our days with friendship, joy and compassion.  He let us soar with great joyfulness and he let us fall in great sorrow, always beside us, never leaving us and allowing us glimpses of His glory as we journeyed…using his soulful brush to paint for us a picture of hope and faith and trust that just as He promises, He will do.

For me, all of that becomes very clear in the canvas of the Fall.  I can see HIM in the colors which the wind blows all painted by the Master to remind me.  To remind us.

He is with us.  He is guiding us. He is loving us. He is preparing for us.

Blessings on your Fall Day,

Lesa Sheryl Young

I Love The Fall…