100 Verses - Week 18- Anchored

Congratulations! I want to congratulate every one of you who has been participating in the 100 Verse Challenge. Whether this is your 2nd week of our 18th, you are making a wise decision to hide God's word in your heart. And whether you have all 33 verses firmly established, or some smaller amount, there is NO failure when it comes to learning the Word of God. And I applaud you for your effort. And I suspect even if you don't feel confident that you have learned every scripture, chapter and verse, I am confident that it has been hidden in your heart for the Lord to draw upon in the moment He requires it. Your treasure box is getting fuller, and with it you are getting richer!

We are entering into a new division in Robert J. Morgan's 100 Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart this week. The new portion is titled "Promises: Verses to Stand On." And truth be told, that is EXACTLY why I started the Challenge. I think having verses to hold onto, or "stand on" in life make all the difference in our "walks of faith."

I had a conversation with a friend earlier this week. It's someone I have "kept my eye on" consistently since we met not long after his conversion. As a new young believer there have been times when I have tried to direct him toward the Word in his struggles with his new found faith. Often I have been extremely maternal toward him, one of my "spiritual kids." He told me about some changes going on with him. When I responded that I wasn't worried about him, he seemed surprised and found it to be a "new experience." I told him he seemed anchored to me, to which he replied, "I feel shaken up, but I know what to do." And I know what he meant, he's finally grasped that his answers are in God's Word.

That really is what "anchored" means. It does not mean that you are not tossed about by the waves, it just means the waves don't have the power to move you away from where you need to be. When you are anchored to the Word, standing on the promises of God, you can be secure in any circumstance. Taking God at His Word is a major faith empowerment. (And He does, after all, deserve that confidence.)

I'm going to be honest, I already have both of this week's verses established firmly in my heart and mind (which is convenient also because I need a little more work on the verses from the past 2 weeks while the kids were on break, but I digress.) Both of these verses are very dear to me. The first verse is one I have recited continually during financial difficulties and during seasons where I have battle anxiety attacks (specifically along with the first verse we will be working on next week.)

The 2nd verse from this week is one of my life verses. It's a verse that I have held to, and seen proven in my own life since my return to Christ in 1992. This verse has been constantly intertwined throughout my entire testimony regarding the spiritual healing of my abortion, my infertility struggles, and through Ethan's adoption. It is one of the first anchors the Lord ever gave me in "My Walk of Faith."

I suspect both of this week's verses will be familiar to you, if not, I am excited for you! But even if they are, and you already have one or both of them memorized, I encourage, meditate on them this week, think about how they have proven true in your own walk, and allow them to remind you of the goodness and faithfulness of our God! So here we go:

Verse 1:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Matthew 6:33

Verse 2:

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
emphasis mine

Thank you all who are continuing on (or joining in) this journey on the 100 Verse Challenge with me. God bless you as you grow your hearts by filling it with God's Word!

Heart Surgery

Submission, worship and prayer.

These are the three areas I feel (know) I need work. So I am carefully contemplating asking for it.

It feels like a dangerous prayer. And if I am honest, I've already prayed it, because in the moment of revelation where God is showing me that's what I need, I actually want it. But when the process is happening, I find myself less certain that it's what I want. As soon as the discomfort is there, I'm ready to bail.

It's only about 60 hours or so since I prayed it with confidence. And although the Lord has already shown me He was listening, I find myself wanting to take it back.

It's sort of like having heard the diagnosis from the doctor. He's said, "your heart is sick, and the only answer is surgery." The problem is, I don't feel "sick." At least not all the time. If I'm resting, and not trying to exert myself (spiritually) I don't notice the weakness in my heart. If i sit back and relax, I feel fine, in fact, that is if I willingly ignore the need to get off the "couch" to live the abundant life God has called me to.

But the truth is, the diagnosis isn't in what I feel, it's in what the Physician sees. He knows the signs, He knows the dangers, and He is a good doctor, and so if He says I need "surgery," He's right. And because even getting to His examination room required enough heart effort to feel the weakness and sickness inside, I agree with his diagnosis, and I sign up for his treatment plan.

So I show up for surgery. Showing up doesn't require a lot of effort, and as I wait to be wheeled into the "operating room," I find myself leaning back, comfortable, and not feeling the stress or strain of my weak heart at all. Even as I am wheeled into the operating room, I'm feeling pretty good.

As I lay waiting, I find myself thinking maybe I don't need surgery after all. I mean the fact is, the surgery is likely to be painful, the recovery a slow and even difficult process. Maybe I'd rather just live with the weak heart. It's not killing me today, so maybe I'd rather just wait, and make the best of my weakened condition. And that's why I want to climb off the operating table, run out of the operating room and never look back.

I am tired of being torn between living with this weakened heart and suffering the process of God fixing it.

It's been a long dang season. I thought I was finally seeing a season of change up ahead, and now I feel like what I thought was going to be different isn't going to be different at all. At least not unless I finally get up on that operating table and let God do the work He needs to do.

There's that first part of that list, submit. And the situation comes full circle.

I am tired of loss. I am tired of loneliness. I am tired of feeling like an outsider. I am tired of feeling stuck. But I am terrified of the process of change. But I am even more terrified of things never changing.

I want to know every detail of the surgery. I want my Surgeon to tell me exactly what He's going to do. I want Him to tell me all the what's and the why's. I want to know how and I want to know how long, but He's not talking. And I know why- it's the one thing I am certain about.

It's not for me to know, because I'm not the Physician, and I'm not in charge of the surgery. Just as I can't fully know what the problem with my heart is, neither can I know or understand what is required to fix it. And I need to just trust the One who does.

Honestly, I wish it was my physical heart that needed fixing. There would probably be clearer answers about the healing process then. But no, it's not that simple.

I need to just face the diagnosis, and let the Doctor do His job (submit); I need to focus on the One who knows what He's doing and give Him the honor and respect to trust Him to be who He is, and accomplish what He can (worship); and I need to just ask Him to do the work that needs to be done, and to help me through the healing process, whatever it may require (prayer).

I've never felt so alone, but that's the thing about surgery, there isn't anyone there who can hold your hand. Laying alone on the operating table is a lonely and scary place. But what's the risk if I don't allow the surgery to be done? That needs to be the scariest question of all.

100 Verses Week 17

Happy New Year!

One of the best parts of 2011 for me was starting the 100 Verse Challenge, and I'm excited to continue it here in 2012. Welcome to those of you who are continuing with me, and welcome to those of you who are just going to begin. Hiding the Word of God in our hearts is one of the most important things we can do as Christ followers. There is no better way to "follow Christ" than to know which way He is going, and being in the Word (remember from one our first verses Jesus is the Word) is our best bet.

Last week during our worship service, I could hear the Lord speaking quietly to my spirit about my need to grow in the area of worship. When it comes to Sunday morning worship, attention is a battle for me. I am easily distracted, and I struggle to focus on the Lord. My own voice and "how I sound" is often one of the worst culprits of distraction. I am chewing on the reality that it probably stretches beyond my singing where my own voice often stumbles me. I'm heading into 2012 with a heart to grow in the area of worship.

So I am excited that this week's memory verse is about... (drumroll please)... worship!

I heard a teaching once about worship where the speaker shared that worship is the one thing we do n this life that we will continue in eternity. There won't be prayer, there won't be witnessing, there won't be reading the Word (in their supposition) but there will be worship, and lots of it. In eternity, worship will absolutely be a lifestyle.

In his commentary about this week's verse, Robert J.Morgan, shares the following in our text 100 Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart about worship and this week's verse:

"Worship is the gyroscope of the soul. A person without personal patterns of worship is like a ship or an airplane without any stabilization or direction. When we worship, we our aligning our minds to God's truth, our imaginations to God's glory, our emotions to God's stability, and our souls to God's songs. When we worship, we are approaching a glorious throne, joining an eternal chorus, praising a triune God, and glorifying a worthy Lord..."

Morgan highly recommends the extended text of Revelation 4 & 5 as the "primary text" on the subject of worship. This week we will be meditating and memorizing the one verse from the passage. Morgan recommends as you do so, think of it as a "summary of the whole scene around the throne" of God.

Here's this week's verse:

Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
Revelation 4:11

Was 2011 a Success?

I've been pondering 2011 a lot these last couple weeks. And as I sit down to write this blog, there are just under 37 hours left in the year.

Last New Year's Eve all five members of my family sat down and wrote out a letter to the Lord- a list of our hopes and prayers, of our goals for 2011. Tomorrow sometime we will open them and see if and how things were answered. I suppose in a way we could use it to evaluate whether or not we consider 2011 to have been a successful year.

Honestly, I have forgotten a lot of the things I wrote in my letter. I do remember three goals. I wanted to lose 75 lbs, the term "epic failure" doesn't begin to express how bad I dropped the ball on that one. Another goal was to journal to the Lord every day. I didn't make it. I started out strong, but it didn't last, but I did fill two journals full of prayers and conversations, and am into my third. It's not a failure, it's just not the success I was hoping for. My third goal was to read through my entire Bible this year. I'm very excited about the fact that that goal will be accomplished by tomorrow evening. I've never done it before, but this year I will have (in Jesus' name.) One thing I didn't dare to hope I also accomplished, I wrote my first book in 2011. It's not much more than a stack of papers right now, but the potential for God's purpose is there. I know He was with me in the process.

Last New Year's Eve at a church service I was given a Bible verse, just as I was practically every year for almost two decades. It was Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. And I'm going to be honest, I wasn't thrilled, the only one I liked less was when I got Psalm 23:4 a few years before (Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...) But as always, even with Psalm 23:4, I saw the Lord was in fact speaking into the year ahead.

My reaction was eyes rolling and a heavy sigh of "not again!" My family laughed that once again I got one of THOSE scriptures. I was focused on the afflictions when the Lord was all about the deliverance, but I just could not know. I tried to rebuke the verse, but it was just a couple weeks into the New Year when Victoria came home with a Bible card she'd earned at school. She was reading it to me from the back seat of the van on the way home. "And the Bible verse is Psalm 34:19, Mommy, do you know it?" she asked. I told her I did, and I asked her if I could keep the card.

My prayer for the year of 2011 was a prayer for "jubilee." I was praying for freedom from financial debt, but the Lord answered it in His own way- truly a better way, that I could not have foreseen. I'll keep praying for freedom from financial debt, but I am grateful for better kinds of freedom, like freedom to hope again.

I lost my voice over the Christmas season this year. Funny thing about induced silence, it makes you a better listener. I was disappointed not to be able to sing Christmas carols with my church family. As I stood silently though, the Lord reminded me how often I get distracted by the sound of my own voice. I lose its purpose, giving honor to the Lord, when I become too consumed with how I sound. It's not just true in signing in church, it's true in life. I need to beware of becoming so consumed with "appearances" that I lose track of what the heart is supposed to be behind them. God was able to move my heart when I couldn't move my lips. It's a fact I am continuing to ponder.

This picture represents the best parts of 2011 for me (not counting people.)



My mom bought me the "Unlocking the Bible" series and my Kindle for Christmas 2010. I used the reading plan in the back of "Unlocking" and read through the books as they corresponded and it was life changing. My Kindle became a constant companion, and as a formerly avid reader, the e-reader re-Kindle-d my passion. I read probably two dozen books (after the prior year of not finishing two) and two of them I would consider life-changing: Anonymous by Alicia Britt Chloe and A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards (read that one in just the last two days.)

The 100 Verse Challenge was birthed our of the 100 Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart, we started it in September and I've memorized 30 verses already - awesome. I had the privilege of facilitating not one, but two bible studies this year. Who could foresee the irony of "Becoming a Woman of Freedom"? And the transtion represented in "Duty of Delight" has been an ongoing theme this year for me. The women I shared these studies with have established themselves firmly in my heart.

My journals represent a year of finally fully striving after the right thing in my life, a closer walk with the Lord. My new church, and particularly the "Hole in the Gospel" series we went through has has an impact on my life I could never have foreseen. And my Max Lucado Bible has been a gift, and my best companion in 2011.

This New Year's Eve I won't be pulling a card with a scripture like I have all these years before. So I asked the Lord to show me what the scripture was for me to hold to. After I asked I opeened my Bible to check out what reading was coming up in my plan, and the book of Habakkuk stood out to me. The next morning at church my pastor shared a verse from it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3

When I asked the Lord for my scripture, I prayed He would help me be sure. I have been asking Him questions of "when?" and "how long?" all throughout this year. Some He has answered, some I stillwait and wonder. When my pastor read this verse the next morning, he read it, and he said, emphatically, "wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it..." I knew the Lord was helping me be sure. And just to confirm it, a mom at Victoria's birthday party brought it up again later that day. I feel confident this is the verse I am to hold to in 2012.

I am waiting with hope and expectation, confident not in the answer, but in the One who answers. Because I have learned in 2011, even if it isn't the answer I might imgine, the Lord's way is alwas the best.

For the first time in a very long time, I can say with all honesty that I feel like I am in a very different place spiritually than I was a year ago. And in all honesty, that makes 2011 an absolute success. I look forward to what 2012 will bring.

100 Verses- Week 16

Merry Christmas!!!


Hey all! Jake here. Mama's up to her elbows in prime rib right now so I'm gonna give you this week's verse aaaaaaaand here it is!!!





Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulnes endures through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5

100 Verses - Week 15 - Easter

Christmas is just a week away. We are about to head into one of the busiest weeks of the year. If you are like me, there is still shopping for gifts to be done, packages will need to be wrapped. I have a special meal to plan, and all the shopping and preparation to do as well. I am grateful that the calendar is somewhat open, the kids' Christmas program is behind us, and our church Growth Groups are on a break, so evenings are open, but there is still much to be done. And of course we want to spend time together enjoying family, and most of all remembering the Reason for the Season, celebrating Jesus.

For those of you participating in our 100 Verse Challenge, you'll be relieved to know that we only have one verse this week. So in the midst of the busyness, the Challenge might be a little easier, only one verse to meditate on and commit to memory.

When I got up this morning and turned to the new chapter in 100 Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart to see what verse we would be learning, I was kind of excited to see the verse we're learning could actually be considered an Easter verse. Why would I be excited about an Easter verse in the week leading up to Christmas, you might ask? The answer is simple, because without Easter, Christmas doesn't really mean much at all.

Without Easter the Christmas story is just a tale about a young woman giving birth in a difficult situation. If it were not for Easter, the Angels would have had nothing to proclaim, the shepherds would not have been drawn to the stable and the wise men would have had no reason to come and worship. Without Easter, Christmas isn't anything special at all.

Easter is the reason the Baby was born. Easter is the reason Jesus came. He came to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins, and on Easter morning when He rose again, Christmas became a day that mattered more than anyone could have fully realized as the Baby was laid in the manger that night. We never would have realized the Gift we were all given that night from the Father of Lights.

Here is our verse for memorizing this week:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3

One thing it does not look like I will be getting to do this week is sing. I woke up yesterday morning with almost no voice, and now it's pretty much gone. A good hoarse whisper is about the best I've got. This morning at church I listened as Christmas carols were sung. They sang my favorite, "Joy to the World."

I would like to leave you with one final thought with the words to this beautiful song:

Joy to the world
the Lord has come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room.

Think about our verse this week, and take heed to the invitation in this song. Prepare your heart to receive the Gift your Heavenly Father gave you on Christmas- a Savior who came to save your soul by giving His life as a sacrifice for you, and conquering death that you might have eternal life. Jesus is indeed the Reason for the season, and if you know that, then your Christmas will surely be Joy-filled, for you have much to celebrate!



Merry CHRISTmas!!!