Category Archives: Strength

Posted on

Thoughts From the Beach Pt. 3

Riding the Waves

by

“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.  Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.  Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.  And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:4-7

Last week I suggested to my wife that we go on a WaveRunner tour which we did.  To understand the significance of that statement, you need to understand that while I love going to the ocean, I’m not a fan of venturing very far out into the ocean.  When I do, I like it to be on a very large boat, e.g. cruise ships, ferries, etc. and I prefer to have land in sight at all times because, in a word, I’m fearful. 

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Point of View

by

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”   2 Corinthians 4:16-18

In 1996 I was evaluated for a pain management clinic.  At the end of our meeting, the doctor stated that he thought that I was depressed.  As my wife and I left his office, I looked at Marie and said something like “Do you think?”  I had been struggling with severe pain for five years and seizures for two with no clear cause or treatment plan for either; eating was a struggle causing me to be significantly underweight; and a few months before, my mother had died.  It was a bit much to handle all at once and I was more than a little depressed.  A few years later as God began to educate me with respect to reconciling my illness to His promised love for me, I had a major hurdle.  I had recently read that a woman with symptoms similar to mine had live to be 89 years old.  I was only 39; the thought of living like this for another 50 years was overwhelming to say the least.  I felt like I was being tortured.  But when I yielded to God and began to open my heart to accept His plan for me, the weight of it all began to lighten.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Savior And Lord

by

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.  Colossians 3:23-24

Ever since I was a child, I have hated conflict of any kind.  Even though I know that it is not real, conflict in a movie or TV drama can cause me to pace or stress eat.  Even a useful debate causes stress.  That does not mean that I do not engage when I perceive the need, but even when I am firm in my conviction, I do not enjoy the process.  However, there are two conflicts in which I engage on a daily basis.  The first battlefield is my health.  While I do my best to appease my health issues and mitigate my symptoms, there are times when they interfere with my life on some level or severely hamper my ability to function for a period of time.  When I find I can’t win the battle, I am forced to retreat and let the symptoms run their course allowing Christ’s grace to be sufficient.  As godly as that may sound it’s not easily achieved because the other war that I’m fighting is my nature to sin. 

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Praying With Hope

by

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:7-11

Several years ago, a friend brought balloons to a study that we were co-leading.  As an object lesson, she had each of us write our prayer request on a balloon then we took them outside and released them together.  It was an excellent way to visualize how to present our needs to God then let go and trust Him to do what is necessary.  As a result, I’ve started to look at my prayer life differently.  More recently, I was praying about a fairly substantial concern.   As I began to pray, I was convicted of the need to pray with confidence.  I don’t know that I’ve ever done that quite this way before.  Rather than telling God what I needed, I started thanking Him in advance for His provision in response to my request.  As a result, I was filled with hope and praise.  It’s not that I wasn’t confident of God’s provision beforehand, but praying in this way took away the desire to “micromanage” God…that kind of prayer that is more like drafting a legal document rather than a making a request of my Lord.  Since then, my mind keeps returning to the topic of prayer and the attitude we should take when praying.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

I Don’t Feel Like It

by

 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James 4:17

For those of us who live with chronic illness and/or pain, it’s often a real balancing act trying to figure out what we can or should do and what we need to avoid.  We must be careful not to exacerbate our problems by being reckless, but we don’t want to stop living either.  Unfortunately, too many times, it’s easy to avoid doing something we are called to by saying that we don’t feel up to it.  However, this isn’t just about our illness.  It goes much deeper to our attitude and what’s important to us.  Whether we are ill or not, we all face life’s challenges, physical limitations and mood swings.  Too often we find an excuse not to do something and that’s what James is referring to in this passage.  Today is one of those days for me.  I need to write to be faithful to God’s calling, but I don’t feel like rising to the occasion.  Between the weather changing and traveling over the weekend, my body has been crashing and I’m just worn out.  It’s not that I am unable to write, I would just rather not do anything…and there’s the rub.  I’m able but would rather not.  To write will not threaten my wellbeing or overall health so there really is no risk.  So here I am, writing, because it is the right thing to do.   In that light, let’s consider overcoming laziness, using discernment, facing risk, and looking for strength.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Relax

by

“‘Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”  Psalm 46:10-11

We have raised two daughters and have the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with our grandsons.  As a result, we have plenty of experience with children fighting sleep…especially when they are overtired.    They fight and fight until that moment that they are so worn out, that they can no longer stay awake and suddenly their little bodies go limp. 

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Fighting the Chameleon Within

by

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness    2 Peter 3:17

I was blessed with a mother and maternal grandparents who had very strong convictions about not letting people and circumstances move them from what their ethics and beliefs dictated.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

The Blessing of Social Media

by

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:18

When I sang in our church choir, there was an unexpected benefit to facing the congregation.  Sometimes it was while singing and at other times it was while waiting for the announcements to be completed. 

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Our Rock, Our Fortress and Our Deliverer

by

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

As I look over my life, there have been many ups and downs.  However, it is my belief that there have been two decidedly tempestuous times in my life that have shaken me to the core.

Continue Reading »