All Eyes on Earl

"Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."  Proverbs 16:20  (NIV)

"God's intent for us is never anchored in tomorrow---

His purpose is for here and now. . . .today.

God wants this life to be a grand adventure, not a blueprint.

Our part is to trust Him and obey."

Author Unknown

Just wanted to touch base with everyone to let you know I'm still "out here."  Been missing checking in on y'all.    Since I've been so wrapped up in studying I just now found out about Hurricane Earl.  We're on the coast of Virginia....the Virginia Beach area.  When Isabel hit in 2003 I told my husband "if another one of that magnitude or worse comes through here, I'm outta here."   Well.. . you guessed it, I'm watching The Weather Channel right now.   Things are still too early to determine the exact path, but it's looking scary.  So we're all "staying tuned."   Already Ocracoke Island is being evacuated...We like to go to Hatteras, on the Outer Banks, whenever we can "get away" since it's so close to us.  We will feel the affects on Friday. . hopefully they won't be anything major---Lord willing.  I'll try to keep y'all posted though.

This goofy pic is of me, my bro, and my sister, back in 1988.  We were on a sand dune in front of the Coast Guard Station on Hatteras Island, NC.  Hurricane Isabel tore through that Island, even cutting it "in half."

So we're staying tuned...That makes me think...are we still "staying tuned" to the One Who keeps us running smoothly?  Are we tuned in to His still small voice?  When the noise and mayhem of life become too loud, can we find a quiet place to listen to and FOR His voice?  Whew...it's not easy to find that quiet place, 'specially when you literally can't hear yourself think.  I know.  But it's important.  . . .so with that, I'll leave you with another special poem my grandmother shared with me. . .

A Quiet Place

by Belle Sandefur

There is a quiet place for the child of God.

It's simply trusting in His Holy Word.

This cushion is given by God above

When we learn to lean on His arms of love.

This quiet place of peaceful rest

Provided by the One Who knows what's best.

This lovely place where all is well,

Of which no mortal tongue can tell.

A place where broken hearts can mend.

Put back together by our dearest Friend.

A place of beauty beyond compare-

It's where Jesus meets His child in prayer.

Dear Father, You want us to see life as an adventure, on a daily basis, and not look at tomorrow.  When we look at the "What may come tomorrow's" we tend to get overwhelmed, scared, depressed--all of these emotions are not Your desire for us.  You want us to trust You, in the here and now, preparing the road, building up and removing the obstacles that are in the way. . . yet never worrying over what may (or may not) come.  So, we humbly ask for Your forgiveness whenever we worry, or keep holding on to our burdens instead of releasing our grasp and letting You take control.  You're waiting for us to let go..and just come to You for rest. . .Trusting You, trusting IN Your Word. . .and resting in and ON Your strong and loving arms.  So we do just that right now Father, and for the ones in Hurricane Earl's path--You know the path it will take--You control the storm.  Blow it out to sea, Father, if that be Your will.  If not, help us on the East Coast to prepare, and keep us safe. . . .Thank You Father for the promise that You are with us in all of our Tomorrows, and even TODAY! 
In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

P.S.  Just wanted to ask if any of y'all have been through any hurricanes. . .we've been through a "bunch" over the years. . .however, I have to say Isabel was a "doozy."    No matter---literal storms, emotional or spiritual~~we know Who is the Master of these Winds. . . .I'm trusting Him!  :) 

H.E.L.P.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 

Psalm 102:1  (NIV)

The King James Version of Psalm 102: 1 is "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee."  But I wanted to use the NIV because of one word:  "help."

Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely at the end of yourself?  Maybe your heart was broken and your spirit was crushed.  (Psalm 34:18)   You knew you needed to pray, but actually were unable to find any words to express your lament.  The only word you could cry out was "HELP!"  That's a desperate place to be.  Well, maybe it will 'help' to know that I've been there.  And if we're all  honest, we've probably all been there at some point in our lives. 

One word...HELP.   A cry out for intervention, deliverance, guidance, strength.  You name it, "Help" is desperation in one word. 

Psalm 102:17 says, "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." (KJV)  The word "regard" means "respond to."   We all know of His promise to "hear us when we call."  How many people "hear us" whenever we unload our burdens to them?   Certainly anyone we talk to "hears us."  But how many of those same people actually RESPOND---and DO SOMETHING about it??   Well, here we have God's promise to respond to the prayer of the destitute.  

Destitute in Hebrew is "arar" which means "naked, poor."  Completely stripped down to nothing, we bare ourselves before the King---with nothing to hide. 'This is where I am..I'm in a desperate situation!" 

The first step to getting help is to recognize you have a problem and need help, right?  Notice whenever God dealt with His children He always asked them a question.  Several times that question was:  "Where are you??"   "Adam where art thou?"  God knew exactly where Adam was.   He wanted ADAM to know where ADAM was.   Adam had to recognize "Uh oh, I'm in trouble...and this is where I am....I blew it."   When Cain slew Abel, God asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"   God knew where Abel was..but He wanted CAIN to admit where Abel was..."I murdered Abel."  

In order to have God respond to our cries for help, we need to remember a few things:

H.E.L.P.  --  Humble ourselves.  ( I can think of nothing less humbling than to be stripped down naked before my God, can you??)  But remember, that's the first step to GETTING HELP...recognizing where you are...admitting it..removing all masks and baring all before the Throne of Grace.  I Peter 5:6 says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time..."  

Then the next step is to Expect God to hear us.   How many times have you and I gone before the Throne of Grace with an attitude of "Oh well, I wonder if He even listened??"  (bad attitude, I know..but let me be honest...I've been there.)  One of my favorite promises of God is Micah 7:7--"Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." (KJV)  Take that one to the Bank of Faith and cash it in!   Cha-Ching! 

Not only should we expect God to have his "listening ears on," but we also should have our listenin' ears on too!   Listen to His voice.  Matthew 17:5 clearly states God the Father's desire for us:  "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."  In our desperate cries for help, we need to take time to be still and listen for His voice.  Surely He will tell us something in order to guide us through our moment of need!  

The last part is particularly special to my heart tonight.  Praise Him in advance.  The Lord showed me this weekend, in the midst of a "storm," when the "rug was pulled out from under me" and I had no idea what to do.  I reached for my Bible Promise "Bread Box" and He gave me these two scriptures:  Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."   "The Will of God??"  What IS His will for me in this??  Hello?   I Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  Aaahhh!  I get it now!   For this very moment, we are to Praise Him. Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."  Even if you can't muster up the "cheery" spirit to praise Him,  it's okay, because David says, "HIS Praise will be in my mouth."  The Holy Spirit will produce the praise from within you by putting a song in your heart.  

This is the best way I can think of to ask for HELP.    No need to dial 911 in this situation.   :)   Don't forget to praise Him, continue to pray and have a joyful spirit (by staying in His presence)---because it seems to me He is saying that "after you have done this, you will receive the promise."  He will announce to you something specifically for YOU and your situation.  H.E.L.P. is on the way!

Father, Thank You for my times of distress.  Yes..I praise You for my need for Your Help.  For You have revealed to me a strategy for getting a response from YOU.  May You uplift all my sisters and brothers who are in dire need of Your help as well.  Turn Your face to us, for we humbly bow before You now, baring all to You---our hearts are in desperate need of just a glance from You.  In Jesus' Name we pray..Amen.  

What an Answering System!

And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear.    Isaiah 65:24


I was thinking again about Isaiah 65:24.  Have you noticed the significance of the order in which this verse tells us God works in regards to our prayers?   Before we call He will answer.   Whenever we want to call someone, we have to pick up the phone and dial the numbers first... THEN, if they are available, they will answer.   But here God tells us that BEFORE we even call Him, He will answer us.  Wonder why this is?   Because He is in our Tomorrows already.  He has already worked it out according to His plan.  In His sovereignty, He knew our need, He knew we'd be calling, and He knew our thoughts. . . I can not fathom HOW He can do this, except I just accept this by faith that HE can and DOES, because He IS. 

The last part of this verse though caused me to chuckle because it reminded me of a typical "busy Mom Moment."  I'm sure you're familiar with it---either as a mom, or as a person who remembers your mom.    Mom's fixing dinner, phone's ringing, cat's meowing for food, the two older children are bickering, and the youngest one says, "Mom!   I've been talking to you...don't you even HEAR ME??"   Or the scene may not even be that hectic.  It's just a Mom who's got a lot on her mind, thoughts are heavy, and a child approaches her, only to find thoughts have distracted her and the undivided attention he needs is just "not available at this time...please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. ---beeeeep!"   Ever been there?  Yes.  Me too.  Oh how wonderful to know that when we are STILL SPEAKING, HE WILL HEAR US!  

When the Wind Stops Blowing

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?   And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?  Mark 4:40-41

During my quiet time this morning, I read something interesting that applies to my particular situation, but thought I'd write about it, in case you find yourself "there" either today or one day too.

What I read was a Latin Proverb that says:  "If there is no wind, row."    But I felt compelled to write beside it: "But what if you have no oars?" 

I'm sure you're familiar with the old saying, "Put some feet to your prayers."  Or how 'bout this one:  "We must pray as if everything depended upon God, but work as if everything depended upon us." 

Well, it's true..."Faith without works is dead."    The Lord knows our situations.  Maybe this economy has proven to be too distressing and taken its toll on your family finances. . .and now you're faced with having to get a job...get a second job...or just "up and move."    So....the wind has stopped blowing.   Everything has come to a stand-still.  

How can we ROW, just to keep things moving along, especially when we don't seem to have any oars?    I guess the best thing to do is remember: "When all else fails, read the Instruction Book."  That's it.  The Bible.  Go to the Source of all information and guidance.   God has promised to provide us everything we need.  He has equipped us (pre-packed us) for the journey He intends for us to take...as long as we realize that journey is one of following Him, serving Him, growing more like Him.

So..today, Father....I ask if You've equipped me with "oars" or abilities to get this boat moving again because there is no wind.  There is no other way to get us moving.  I pray for Your Dear Holy Spirit to BREATHE new life into the sails of our vessel.   Move us where You would have us to go. . . and, as we look to Your Word for Guidance, we find to our amazement that WE NEED NO OARS!!   We have YOUR Word to guide us, to steer us...as long as we look to YOU, commit each day, and its problems to You, You will guide our thoughts and direct our steps along each and every wave, be it BIG or small.  Guide us Oh Thou Great Jehovah, for our eyes are on You.  We praise You for the fact that the WIND has stopped blowing and we feel stranded at sea!  For this gives us time to CHECK our vessel to make sure we are REALLY READY to move forward.  Check us, Master.  Are there any leaks in this vessel?  Thank You for Your infinite Wisdom.  We trust You even when the wind stops!  In Jesus' Name, Amen.