Overflow

My education pastor finds the coolest stuff...Last night we looked at how music can be a part of our quiet time.  He points out that lyrics are basically poems that contain deep truth in compact packages.  This one really hit me (I even bought it for myself):

She could have been spying on my own journals:

Fill my weak with strength
Fill my full with more
Fill my soul with hope
And fill my faith with Yours
I'm desperate for You...

 

 

Consume every part of me
For I'm missing nothing
The more I seek You I find that You are here

I see my weakness.  I see my fullness.  Together, they amount to nothing.  If I don't have Him, filling me to overflowing I am nothing.  I have feared every day that He would leave me to my own, substantial, devices--but it wouldn't be even close to enough.  Once you have tasted Him, nothing comes close. 

 

 

Over the last few months, the Lord has been gently reminding me that He is and has been here the whole time.  As desperate as I am for his resources, I have never been without them--I only needed to look up.  I am still frantic at times.  I am terrified I will forget and rely on my own resources.  He reminds me both in my journal time with Him and by the gentle orchestrations within my own life that He is always here.  He is always laying out good work for me to do and He is always providing the resources I need to do it.  I am beginning to exhale.  I am beginning to trust. 

It's about time.  

The prayers God loves to answer!

About 9 years ago, my good friend, Will Blaine asked me to pray for him every Monday. He was the children's pastor at our church then and I was more than eager to to do that.  I checked up with him every week to see what was going on and since we were together often as we worked in church, I could usually pray very intentionally for the things he needed--though I would ask anyway.  To help me remember, I've used the online application Echo Prayer for about 7 years now.  I schedule reminders like his throughout the week at consistent times and pray when I get the text or e-mail.  In fact, I pray every time I see it so sometimes that means I get to pray about it multiple times during the week.  As long as I have had some personal time with my Father and Friend for the two of us each morning, He provides the power to pray for those on my list as a part of my everyday routines. 

This year, my friend Miki, challenged me to pray more intentionally and with more accountability for those in my church, family and circle of influence, in ways that are similar to how George Mueller prayed.  George Mueller would list all of the things he needed God to provide for His work in a ledger and update the ledger, detailing the answers God sent, whether they were large or small.  Rather than having FBC/O come up daily at lunchtime, I rescheduled them to early morning and broke it down into each of the major ministries in the church.  This was scattered in with various pastors and ministers that are close to my heart.  Each day as the reminder comes, I forward the request to that person to ask if there's anything specific they need.  I ask them frequently what they would like to see God do and how would they know when He had?  That keeps the requests specific and gives us the chance to praise Him when He answers--and He does.  I try to keep a spreadsheet of how God has answered the prayers we've asked.  What a joy!

This morning, I got a response back from one of our youth pastors regarding the in-town summer missions trip that the youth department is leading.  He asked that the kids get a heart for always being on mission rather than just going on a mission trip.  What a great request!!!  The verse that immediately came to mind was: 

^"14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. ¹⁵ And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for."--I John 5:14-15 

Now, I'm not only excited to see what is going to happen with them during the mission trip but excited to see what God will be doing with them over their lives because of it.  That is a prayer request I will delight in laying before the Father over and over!!! 

Dreamscaping 10-Timing is everything

Moses was 80 years old when God came back to him with the dream of freeing his people from their slavery.  At that point, he didn't even remember the dream.  When God finally laid down the law and refused to let Moses out of his own dream's fulfilment it happened suddenly--over a matter of a few months. 

Last night I opened to Isaiah 60--a passage that speaks of the new Jerusalem.  At the very end in verse 22 is this promise: 

"I am the Lord;  in its time I will do this swiftly."

I called a friend this morning to check on her.  Her circumstances are difficult and not likely to change without a miracle.  Her instructions from the Father are to wait on Him--He has it all under control. 

Mom and Baby PJ--12 years ago!!

It bears repeating that when God works it's more like pregnancy than frantic action.  When it comes time to deliver, then things happen swiftly, but otherwise the changes consist of a gradual stretching.  After the delivery, the work is a joy as you care for a child you deeply love.  Our sons are entering their teenage years and we are both so astounded and proud of the Godly young men they are becoming.  Neither of us remember all of the work through the years that brought them to that place.  Even their painful deliveries are no more than a faded memory.  Neither of us care about the continuing work that goes on with them to this day--it is our priviledge, not a burden. 

Jesus came "in the fullness of time."  We had 3 years of His ministry to us out of 7,000 years of recorded history.  His death and resurrection came and went in a matter of days.  Yet, even though it was a pinpoint in history, the impact remains and His nurturing care continues in us and through us. 

The point is, whatever season you are in, do the work and enjoy the company!  If it is a season of carrying an unborn dream, nurture yourself well.  Accept the stretching.  Revel in the Father's support.  If it is delivery time, then work with all your heart.  It won't last long and He's by your side.  If it is the long season of nurturing and care, revel in it as well--we are but a vapor, but what God says and does will be eternal.  Rejoice in the Lord of the conception, the birth, the growth and the harvest.   Move with His timing for He is the one who sets times and seasons.  Most importantly, pray continually so you can understand the time you are in and enjoy His company along the way.

Dreamscaping 9...Search out a plan...

Saw this today...love it.  Sometimes the dreams God gives us are so large and scary we don't know where to start.  Start today.  Start together.  Start by breaking things down into small pieces.  Get help breaking things down. 

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.--Pr 21:5

Dreamscaping 8...You have a purpose

Today Katie and I got to go to see Hugo at the Milk Money Movies at the Garden Theater in our little town.  It was an amazing movie about life purpose.  The quote that caught my heart was near the end.  Hugo takes his friend Isabel to the top of the clock tower to show her the Paris skyline at night:

Isabelle: I wonder what my purpose is.

Hugo Caberet:   Right after my father died, I would come up here a lot. I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine.  Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.  And that means you have to be here for some reason too....Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do... Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose... it's like you're broken.

They go on to talk about her Godfather and how he seems "broken" in that way and how much they would love to "fix" him. 

Dreamscaping is not just about fulfilling your own dreams, it's also about helping others remember their dreams--to find out or remember what part of creation they were made to fulfil and help them do it.  It reminds me of a description Paul often used for the church:

^"4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."--Romans 12:4-5

Everyone needs to be needed.  Everyone needs to receive too.  How can you help others find their place this week?

Dreamscaping 7...Surprise!

We can make our plans,
but the LORD determines our steps. 
--Pr 16:9

Did you know that desipite the hundreds of thousands of children he tenderly cared for with his show and his ordination as a Presbyterian minister, Mr Rogers still thought of himself first as a musician?  He had a degree in musical composition, composed hundreds of songs throughout his life and continued to collaborate with musicians all the way to the end of his life.  Still, if you were to ask what God did with his life, it would be his tender gentleness to children that stands out.  If you haven't seen it, the musical remix is a fitting tribute.

God's work is amazing.  One of the wildest things about God is that His plans for us don't always match what we think they are going to be.  Lots of people in churches pass out spiritual gift surveys that look more at a persons' inborn tendencies than what supernatural gifts the Holy Spirit may have provided for the encouragement of the Body.  It's not that those inborn tendencies are useless--He often uses them.  In a sense, they are a gift to us and the Body that we received when we were born.  It's just that He more often uses our weaknesses, not our strengths, to bring Himself glory.  Jesus once gloried in this very idea:

At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. --Luke 10:21

As you work toward exploring God's dreams for you, be careful not to just look in the obvious places.  Ask Him what He desires and you may be surprised. 

Dreamscaping 6--God sized dreams need God sized love

“The LORD will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” Psalm 138:8 NLT

  

This verse contains one of my favorite words in the Hebrew language, Hesed.  It is the essence of the love described in I Corinthians 13--the Love chapter.  I love that it's in this particular verse because it is His lovingkindness--His Hesed--that reassures me that God's dreams are worth pursuing, because He is the one who will work it all out. 

The cry of the psalmist is honest.  Sometimes, as we move forward into the planning stages for the dreams God has given us, it suddenly becomes obvious that God only does God-sized things.  Without Him doing it, it won't get done.  We get the joy of joining Him in it, but make no mistake:  only God does miracles.

 

 

He created us to join Him in the miracles He does, no less than He made Peter bold enough to ask to walk on water with Him.  Something strange happens then...we realize we've stepped into something much bigger than we can do--and it's scary.  That's when Jesus grabs us, pulling us out of the wind and waves that scared us and chuckles, "Why did you doubt?"  His tender mercies could never let us drown.  He made us for this. 

For those who love to read as much as I do, I have a couple of book recommendations:   

You Were Born For This and The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson.  Both are outstanding and talk candidly about the decions we have to make when we realize that this dream of God's is beyond what we can do. 

Dreamscaping 5...A dream becomes a plan

Nehemiah gives a great example of a dream becoming reality.  Here are some of the steps he experienced: 

Compassion: "They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. "  Neh 1:3-4

A need shared:  So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”  Then I was terrified, ³ but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  ⁴ The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” 

A Joint request:  With a prayer to the God of heaven, ⁵ I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” Neh 2:2-4

Team reconnaissance:  I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding.--Neh 2:12

There's much more to seeing a plan come to fruition, but I love the way that God directs all that He leads us into...

Dreamscaping 4...Visioning as a guide to action

"Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
--Pr 29:28 (KJV)

The vision alluded to in this verse is God's perspective of what is to come, of what He desires to come to pass--it is His dream for us and for those we impact.  As a parent this concept has been foundational to everything I do, but for awhile I lost that vision.

When my first son was born, I had an idea--a vision--of the kind of man I wanted him to grow to be--the kind of man that would make God proud.  Everything I did as a parent was framed in light of that vision.  Correction was loving and consistent because I wanted him to understand the nature of God's laws and character.  Immediate obedience was always the goal because I wanted him to grow to obey God immediately, with loving trust that His rules were for PJ's good. 

When Katie was born with Down syndrome, one of the most disorienting issues was that I couldn't envision who Katie would be as an adult, and every attempt on my part just brought up more pain.  It was a devastating time.  Without that vision, I lost the will to correct her and demand of her behavior and attitudes that would befit a Godly future.  I floundered.  Many times, she floundered.  PJ was in the middle of a neurological crisis I couldn't see at the time but my hesitancy as a parent didn't help. 

A few years ago, I was at a conference put on by the local DS support group where one of the speakers gave a passionate talk about the vision she had crafted for her son when he was just two.  From there, all of her actions and planning were guided by that vision.  Nearly all of those goals have been achieved by her son who is now in his 20's and he is wiser, stronger and more popular than any would have believed possible. 

Her talk reminded me of the vision I had lost for my own daughter.  I can't say that I have completely regained that vision yet, but yesterday PJ and I worked together to create a daily schedule and a list of goals for him and his sister that will help her move toward them.  It's a start. 

What is God's vision for those you impact?  Have you asked?

Dreamscaping and waiting...

"Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character."
--Psalms 105:19

Two thoughts come to mind here...

1. Whose dream was it?  Was it Joseph's dream or God's dream given to Joseph?  Or both?

2.  Dreams take awhile. 

Continuing my series on Senior Dreamscaping, some may question, "If it was God's dream, why did it take so long?" 

When God gives a dream, it may involve work, but it's not you doing the work.  Since I'm not driving, it's easy to say, "Are we there yet?" 

God's work is more like pregnancy than a do-it-yourself project.  The dream may be implanted by the Father but it's yours to carry.  It's slow.  It stretches you.  It moves from uncomfortable to downright painful.  You are not likely to ever be the same.  You are tested by it and the test imprints itself on you. 

A dear friend of mine just had her third child.  We met every week throughout the time and I watched as she got big (early) and then bigger and bigger.  Her son had a nasty habit of stubbornly pushing on her ribs.  Before the baby came, she cleaned and prepared. That's really all she could do. Once it came, there was even more to do, but she still has no more control over her child's growth than when she carried it. The growth is God's to do.  The care is ours. 

She had wanted a natural childbirth, but ended up with a C-section--and the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck twice.  A natural birth would have killed him.  Things didn't work out the way she wanted--she knew it might not--but after all that waiting she had a wonderful son and it was worth every minute, every pain, every irritating shove. 

Dreamscaping...

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.--Joel 2:28

Today I joined a couple of ladies during their normal prayer time at my parent's church.  They always have a team on duty during the service to pray--but this was no ordinary prayer time.  During our time, we talked with each other in a prayerful attitude and as the conversation wound its way around, we began to talk about a new kind of Senior ministry. 

Both these women are retired and though their bodies can't quite do what they have in the past, their hearts and minds are as active as ever.  I related how my dad, who has always been active and engaged in ministry, is struggling right now in his retirement because he has so little to do.  I asked him earlier this week about what he has always dreamed of doing but never had time to do and he couldn't remember.  Then as we were talking this morning, I remembered that I catch the best ideas when I meet together with my colleagues and friends.  They also help me remember the ones I've wanted to follow. 

The Holy Spirit, my great friend, then congealed an idea He had implanted earlier in the week.  It involves a weekly or biweekly meeting of seniors to dream again--dream of opportunities not yet gone, dream of ministry needs and solutions, dream of God's dreams for them.  This group could then support each other as they plan and implement the dreams God has laid on each one's heart.  Meeting frequently would give them the chance to keep each other accountable for making progress on their dreams.   One of the women said they often felt pushed aside or unneeded.  This was the kind of idea they wanted and needed to help them move forward when no one else was pushing them.  We prayed together for God's wisdom and will--for courage to move forward and stamina to see it through.  We cried together in gratitude and expectation as we prayed.

These lovely ladies live in Georgia, where my parents live.  I live in Orlando--6 hours away.  I can't make this dream come true for them.  In truth, I couldn't even if I did live here.  As a daughter, I could prophesy it over them, but they will need to dream.  It needs to be directed by seniors, for seniors so that they can minister together for all of us.  We still desperately need them. 

This afternoon, I looked through the Bible to get a vision for what God dreams for us.  Over the next few days, I'll post the scriptures I found and some thoughts about each one.  I hope it will excite you as much as it has me.