Conversations with God

Sunday at church, at the end of the worship set, I was praying about what was on my heart, which included bringing some desires forward. We had been singing about God being enough, or something along those lines, when I prayed, "Lord, I know you are enough, but it would be really nice to have ___." Then our worship leader began to pray - "Thank you for being a God who says yes..." That was odd; not a common prayer. Was God telling me yes? It sure felt that way. So, I was thinking later, if God is telling me yes, that often comes with action from me (I'm getting it!), so what do I need to do? I'm not going to share what the answer was here, but it lead to one of those conversations with God that happen when the Lord speaks for me to do something out of my comfort zone.

If you were to listen to just my side of the conversation it would go something like this:
I could do this, but what about ___ ? ... oh yeah, I guess that's true. but what about ___ ? ... hmm, yeah I know that too. Then there's this complication.... I know, I know. guess I know what I need to do here.

Then God's side of the conversation:
(Insert string of appropriate Bible verses/ideas based on verses here) Some common ones: Matthew 6 "I will provide" ... Isaiah 55 "My ways are beyond your ways" ... "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5

I find it amusing how common this conversation is. and although one might think that I should stop second guessing, I find comfort in these conversations. First, it reminds me how important that verse is in Psalms about hiding the Word in your heart and makes me grateful for growing up in a family and church where God's Word was valued. Secondly, I can recall the conversation and find assurance that God is behind this idea and is there to support me during those times when I or someone else question my actions.

God never stops teaching

This has been an interesting week. Saturday was my first training day for fostering and Sunday I was an emotional mess. By Wednesday I had gathered my thoughts and had enough time and conversations to process everything and see more clearly. I wrote about Saturday’s training on my foster blog and in doing such God revealed a new lesson he has for me. Since then my mind has continued to process and it seems God has quite a set of lessons.

Here they are in no particular order:

Lesson #1: Community. When I decided to be a foster parent I knew that I would need support from my friends and family, but I had no idea how much. Already I have been asking friends for prayer and support. It is a very humbling thing to do. I also knew that I would need God, but I wasn’t putting these together. God told me that he is part of the community/network of support that I need, interwoven into it and head of it. I need to get back into daily devotional time. I don’t know how I will make it without my ‘daily bread’ to give me strength.

Lesson #2: Love. This is a continuation of what God has been teaching me. Now the challenge will be to love the parents of the foster children. It has been easy to be appalled at people, but difficult to feel love. I couldn’t express it appropriately in words Sunday, but God has called me as a follower of Jesus to love the birth parents. I was struggling with how to view them, and this week God has shown me that it is through His eyes. These people are broken and hurting and in need of God’s love and prayer.

Lesson #3: Identity in Christ. I thought I had this down. Really I did. Guess I shouldn’t be so proud. There are many things that people find their identity in, but I have been content and confident with my identity as a child of God for years. This last fall I was faced with the possibly of not being able to continue my masters program, but I knew that whatever the outcome it didn’t change who I was. I was excited to face a test of my identity and feel like I passed. But one thing I have never faced is the parent role. I have prided myself in my ability to care for children and have expected to be a mom since I was a little girl, so I can see how this could be an area where I might struggle with who I am. In thinking through the foster situation, my role became confusing. I am not the child’s mother, but I will be acting as a mom and feeling love towards the child like a mom. But the child will (probably) have a mom; so I wondered: “what does that make me?” God’s response: my child. Guess I am not done learning that lesson in finding my identity in Christ.

So if you are reading this, please pray for me. Pray that I will find my strength in God and take time out each day for Him. Pray that when I need help, I won’t be too proud to ask for it. Pray that God will help me to see the birth parents as people in need of love and that He will give me words when I have to talk to the children about these complex relationships. Pray that I will not lose sight of who I am in Christ. Thank you, God bless!!!

Change long-coming

The people that know me well, know this – I relate to music. Well, as a member of the worship team I suppose that is not all that surprising, but many lessons and whatnot I find expressed in song. So as I craft this entry, I am going to try to mold my testimony around the songs in my life.

This is something long coming… I don’t remember when this song came out, but it was probably high school – “History Maker” by Delirious. I said to myself – I want that – I want to be a ‘history maker,’ to leave a lasting effect on my world. In 1999 I went to Colombia for 10 weeks and worked with street children – and really enjoyed it. While there I asked God if that was in his plan for me – and he answered ‘no’ that there are children in the US who need love just as much. I thought about taking in teens who were close to running away or in a bad situation. But as a single female, that was not something I was comfortable doing alone; so although it has come to mind over these ten years I have always said later.

That following school year I began attending a church who, as they say “do the stuff.” This was a great time of support and growth and I wanted to take that back with me (to Vacaville) after college. Doing so was much more difficult than I thought and after a couple years I stopped trying. Although I was heavily involved in church ministries, it wasn’t quite the same. And by the time I moved away, most of it was routine than heartfelt service. There were moments in my last couple years in Vacaville of rekindled desire to live a ‘dramatic’ or ‘radical’ Christian life – usually brought on by songs like “Brave” by Nichole Nordeman and “What Are You Waiting For” by Natalie Grant. These songs echo the deep desires of my heart. Unfortunately those desires were so buried that they never saw the light of day and never lasted long enough to change my habits.

So for years I wanted more but never took any real steps to get where I wanted to be. I hoped that a new location would bring new life, and while that did not happen overnight, walls have been crumbled and the rubble is being removed. What hit me hard about Crazy Love; it asked if our lives would really change or if we just had kind-hearted words and feelings. I felt I was being called out; I could no longer pretend that my good intentions were enough.

So here I am - only a couple steps away from being a foster parent. (including a good month’s worth of training) I am not really nervous about it, and it seems like this is what I am meant to do. I feel like - why didn't I see this before?

It ties in well with what God has been teaching me about love too; about caring for others. Much of my time in San Diego God has reminded me about the importance of community. So often I try to do things on my own- being independent comes both from my own character and from my circumstances. It is hard for me to ask for help. But I know that I am going to need help and this experience will be a good lesson: in living in community, asking for help, developing friendships...

I really expect a lot from God- to see Him move in mighty ways - and that is really exciting.
...some verses that are resonating: James 1:22,17; Ephesians 2:10

The Now What

We finished reading Crazy Love for our small group. I still have so much to process. I am a thinker and often get so distracted by my thoughts that I don't take action. Listening to everyone talk about how their lives are going to change made me realize that even if I am not done thinking I need to start doing. Really.
(So thanks everyone from small group for encouraging me. I know I sat there in silence, but I appreciated the discussion around me.)
When an idea comes to mind repeatedly I can tell it is God. What has been on my mind and heart for years is the desire to take in children who need a loving home. My thoughts have always been either, "maybe someday if I'm married," or "when I have a home and good income." But why not now? Any excuse I come up gets shot down. So I am going to look into fostering children. It's kind of crazy - I'm single, working full time and going to graduate school, but so what. It's not as if other people aren't doing that out of necessity. If it is God's will, He will provide. I have no doubts about that.

Processing life

After talking to a friend whose life is ministry, it has made me think about ministry in my life. I don't expect to spend my life in full time ministry, but I can do more. One of the ways her family blesses others is through hospitality. Later in the week, on the video clip we watched in small group, the same thing was spoken of. And with a new perspective for me: this house is not my home, it belongs to God. As I am hoping to buy a house (condo), this made me consider how I will treat this dwelling. I want the place I live to be a place where people can come and be welcomed. But the more I think about this, the more God reminds me that I don't have to wait to own a place to do this. It is like my view on exercising, if I want to be in shape later, I should get in shape now. -- This reminds me of the message Sunday: be ready for Jesus to return now. I need to be who I want to be, not just hope I will be different some day. (I've heard that before.)
Well, I think God is saying something here, now I just need to ask what action to take.
...anyone want to come over for dinner?

Saturday morning light

God is love.

   to know God ... is to know love.

   to be like God ... is to be love. 

Doesn't that sound more challenging, more fulfilling, more real - to be love - 

than to be loving?

I keep hearing, from God & His children, that compassion is not compassion without action, that loving God and loving others (being love) necessitates action. Not just words or feelings. And it isn't supposed to be just big events. A 2-service/year visits to church doesn't make someone a church-goer, and neither does the occasional act of kindness make us "love."

I am challenged.

...and he will give you the desires of your heart

This Christmas, my mom gave Shutterfly calendars to everyone in the family and I helped her create them. One of the things I added to this 2nd annual tradition was Bible verses. I put a verse on one page, and my mom loved that and asked me to do so for all. I did some and left the rest up to her. So I don't remember who added February's verse, but I think it was Mom.

I flipped the calendar page last night and read this verse: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

My first thought was, Ah, February, the month of love, with Valentine's day right in the middle of it.

And although this might have been the reason for the placement of this verse, I felt it timely for my life. God prompted me to stop and think about it. I wondered, "What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord?" I pulled out my old Student Application Bible in the New Living Translation to see what it said. "Take delight in the Lord." A little clearer, but I was hoping for a different word. Delight. Hmm.

As I was going to bed I was thinking more about this concept. I have always looked at this from a future perspective, as if this verse is always YET to come true. Then I realized that God has already fulfilled this promise in my life. Yes, there are still -- and will always be -- things my heart desires, but that makes this promise even better. It is this ongoing process: continue to delight yourself in the Lord and he will continue to give you the desires of your heart. So what desire has God given me? I have mentioned it before: grad school.

This new perspective helps me to understand the verse; I can change my question from this abstract thought of "what does it mean...?" to "what was I doing in my life... how was my perspective at that time... when God gave me the desire of my heart?" I know the answer to this question! (If you have read this blog, you know too!) I was living with hope and the knowledge that God would do what was best in my life.

Living with desires for something specific, but trusting God --that His will is best, not knowing if His will includes this specific desire. That is how I have been living. It is new. It is almost paradoxical. It is great!