Worship in the Waiting

FFH had it right when they said: " I will worship in the waiting." We have been waiting for so long. Some times we didn't even know what we were waiting for anymore. A new job, a new life, a new place to live, a new church, a new beginning, an ending, and change.

But was that what we were really waiting for, could we have been waiting for something more? Matthew: 24 36-44

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^abut only the Father. ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Then it makes sense that what I am waiting for is not the same thing that Peter, Paul, and so many others awaited. They believed it would happen in their lifetimes and they lived their lives as a testament to that. Do I live my life as someone who believes Jesus is coming back not someday, but maybe tomorrow? How about you? Do you worship in the waiting?

It is always worth the wait

Waiting is so hard. Not knowing wanting to be in control, but not being in control, and just waiting. In the end though the waiting is always worth it.

So in essence this is all about waiting.........................................

The Grass is Always Greener

You know what I am talking about. You look at your life. Your hopes, your dreams, your successes, and your failures all laid out on the table. Then you find yourself looking over the fence. Maybe it is your sister, your brother, your best friend, or the neighbors whose fence you glance over. The grass is lush and green. You think to yourself why? Why do they have the house of my dreams, the job I always wanted, husband, children, car, etc? Isn't it exhausting to want what you don't have? All that time spent on wishful thinking!

Look to God's word and you will find that he too agrees that this is not a healthy habit:
Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
God wants you to know that the grass may not be greener on the other side. Life may not be better just over the fence, and all that energy that you put into wanting something that you don't have is wasted. You waste your talents and your time wanting the blessings that God has provided to someone else.


Let me paint a picture for you. Just over the fence lives a family with 3 kids. They have a beautiful house, a dog, and new cars. They both have jobs and in this economy that is saying something. They have smiles on their faces and wave to you over the fence. They wear nice clothing and their children are well behaved. The husband is very attuned to his wife. He opens doors, carries groceries, and can be seen smiling lovingly at her. He plays ball in the backyard with his kids, and she bakes pies and cookies weekly. Sounds like the perfect family. I bet you could easily find a piece of their life that you want in your own life.

However, when they go inside their house and the doors are closed their life is very different. What you don't know about this family all the little things beneath the surface, those are the things that shape who they are. Every person on this earth experiences both blessings and hardships. God created this life so that we could truly appreciate the amazing joy of what awaits us in heaven.

God gives us an abundance of blessings. Each moment, day, and hour is blessing from above. He designs each blessing with you in mind because he knows you as no one else knows you. God knows every deep secret of your heart, and he loves you despite all your faults. Psalm 139 says:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

His plan is so much greater than you can imagine. He formed you in his image. He created you to do great things. You were created for a task that no other person can fulfill. Whether the task is mighty or small it is a task that God chose for you. He hand selected each and every blessing you receive and he will be with you through everything you experience in your life, so don't look over the fence. Instead, look onward, move forward, and most of all trust God to lead you.

There is a saying one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Have you ever thought one man's blessing is another man's hardship. God knows what we can do, who we are, and how much we can handle. He will never give you a task to great, nor too little. And most of all, he will never abandon or desert you in your time of need. Even as Jesus carried the cross God was with him, and when it became to heavy God provided someone to help.
Matthew 27:32
³²As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

There will be so many Simon's in your life. God will send them when you least expect it, and they will help you along the way. Just like Simon you too may find yourself lightening the burden on someone's shoulders. Take blessings and hardships in stride, trust in the Lord and he will lead you home.

"Walk On Water"

Simon Peter won't you put those nets down
follow me I'll lead you out of this town
to a place where no boat has ever been
I will make you a fisher of men

Jesus walked out on the water
said take courage it is me
Peter trusted and he wanted to go farther
so he stepped out on the sea

If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on water
If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on water

Just do NOTHING

Sometimes things jump out and scream unfair. Numbers that make you take a breath. Sad stories that bring tears to your eyes, or this: quarterly averages taken of household data for the months of August and September show, -571 jobs in the civilian labor force. The US average for unemployment hovers at 9.8% with little change on the horizon. Oh yeah and it looks like that number may be on an upward trend. That's right no end in sight.

Or how about this one: world hunger rates in 2007 showed 36.2 Americans lived in what are considered food insecure households. In 2007, 3.4 percent of all U.S. households (3.9 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times. One in every eight U.S. residents is living in poverty, according to the last official count conducted by the Census Bureau. But this data reflects conditions through 2007, well before the current recession.The United States has one of the highest poverty rates among industrialized countries, while U.S. government spending on anti-poverty programming as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product is one of the lowest among industrialized countries. Where is all the money going?

You can't ignore those numbers. World hunger, starts right in your backyard. I wonder does your next door neighbor have enough food to eat. Did you know that half of the children in many U.S. schools with two working parents and no federal assistance qualify for free and reduced lunches? Did you know that it isn't getting better? The working poor is a growing part of our society, and while the rich get richer the middle class all but disappears. Did you know that since Obama has taken office things haven't gotten better? Already more than 15 months old, the current recession will soon match the average length -- and average job loss -- of the last three postwar downturns. What goes down will come up -- unless destructive policies interfere with the sources of potential recovery.

So what's new you ask? What is new is the unveiling of Mr. Obama's agenda and his approach to governance. Every new President has a finite stock of capital -- financial and political -- to deploy, and amid recession Mr. Obama has more than most. But one negative revelation has been the way he has chosen to spend his scarce resources on income transfers rather than growth promotion. Most of his "stimulus" spending was devoted to social programs, rather than public works, and nearly all of the tax cuts were devoted to income maintenance rather than to improving incentives to work or invest.

But you don't want to hear about Politics do you? You, like me just want to know why? Why aren't there jobs? Why are home prices still falling? What is my Nobel Peace Prize Winning President doing? Really ask yourself, what has he done for you? Is the health care plan designed for you? How about all those bailouts? I didn't get one penny, not a week at the spa, no big CEO bonus for me.


Hey, if you voted for change how does this sound. Pay higher taxes, but get less. Staggering unemployment rates cripple the economy. Bad Global policies threaten U.S. trade in the global market, and us the little guy, we just checked a box on a ballot. A vote for change................

Never Happy

You meet them every day. Some on the street others in a store. They are every where and nowhere. I call them the never gonna get it right pessimists. You see they are the people who no matter what you do for them they will be unhappy. No matter how hard you try you won't ever get it right. There food is too dry, their clothes are too tight, their hair is too something, and their life just ain't right.

No one can fix it for them. They use so much energy every day building it up. The horrible terrible things that consume their lives are always there and they want to tell you about it. Your troubles are never as great as theirs and they can top any horror story you have. If I have painted the picture of someone you know then you also know the trials of dealing with someone like this.

How do you go about being a positive and happy person when every time you turn around the sky is falling? How is it that it is raining in their cubicle and the sun is shining in yours? What makes the difference? I will be the first to tell you that the world is not all sunshine and roses, but it is what you make it. You must get up every day and determine how your day goes. You are not in control of your life. If you let God take the wheel and pray through each all consuming doomsday thought you will find the weight on your shoulders just a bit lighter. You might even see a ray of sunlight peeking from behind yonder cloud.
A butterfly is an amazing example. Did you know that some butterflies only live for 1 hour. They spend all that time in a cocoon, wake up, and have one hour to lay their eggs. Imagine knowing you had one hour to live and waking up to a blistery cold rainstorm. What would your outlook be? I believe that it is all in how you look at things. Those of us who choose to make our own happiness can find it wherever we go.
My recipe for happiness is:
3/4 cup of love
1 cup of trust
1/2 cup of patience
10 cups of prayer
1 teaspoon of stubborn perserverence

and the unending grace that God gives freely to those who trust in him. What's your recipe, and how's your outlook? If you are starting to sound like Chicken Little you may need to sit back and ask God to help you change.

Bittersweet

So many things in life are bittersweet. You look forward to them and yet when they arrive you find yourself wondering where did all the time go? Am I truly ready? Do I really like this? So often we put so much effort into planning for and waiting for something that is in the future that we forget that the present here and now is such an amazing gift. For example my daughter has been looking forward to preschool since the end of last year when she graduated from her 3 year old class and we moved from MT to OK. Sure I too look forward to it, because this year it is free, but as I am looking forward I also realized that it is one step closer to her being all grown up.

Bittersweet, today the first day. One step closer to 5. One step closer to kinder, to high school, and college. I still remember being in grade school like it was yesterday. I remember recess and snack. I remember the alphabet and Christmas pageants. I remember each passing year and oh how I looked forward to high school. Then it was on to college, and now here I am. Too soon the leaves will turn and the summer will shed its sunshine. The winter winds will blow and another year shall pass. With each passing moment time will leave her marks. The wrinkles and gray hairs are but the passing of another year, and soon she will be all grown up.

One day I will get up to a child who no longer needs me to help her fix her hair. Potty training will be a distant memory and my sons will not want to talk about it. There favorite snacks will no longer be caramel rice cakes and honey bees. Soon they will not beg to sit on my lap and cuddle. You see time is a friend and a foe. As it passes it leaves us with great memories, but it changes us. It shapes us, molds us, and forever leaves us different.

So in my wistful wonderings I realize that time holds little sway over what is important. In thousands of years the truth will be as it was today. God's word will withstand time and his message will not be changed. Time will mold and shape the world through his will, but in time he will achieve his great plan for our world. So I will try not to plan too much. I will try not to worry and I will choose to sit back and praise him for the time that is at hand.