by Amy | Apr 29, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
I teach the high school Sunday school class at my church. For the past few months we’ve been going through the book of Revelation. A task that was pretty intimidating for me as a leader…since the book itself isn’t exactly a summer beach read. My co-leader, Ben, just finished our last lesson yesterday. A few weeks back, though, I taught a lesson on Chapters 15 and 16. I hadn’t known exactly what to say, or what portion of the text to focus on. But as I studied the words the Holy Spirit took hold of my heart and showed me what to zero in on: Responding to bad times.
If you ask me there is no book of the Bible that describes worse days than Revelation. As my Dad would say, “Sounds like a bad day at the office.”
There are plagues and beasts and wars all over the place. If you haven’t read it in a while, I’ll refresh you. After a short bit the believers are taken away from the Earth, leaving those who have not put their faith in Jesus. Time goes on and things really take a turn. Angels line up with bowls of wrath…ready to be dumped on the world. Yeah, not a good day at the office.
So the wrath starts coming. Boils break out on the skin, salt water turns to blood, fresh water turns to blood, the sun’s heat is unmasked from the Earth making things hot and dangerous.
From the text it seems obvious what is happening. God is working. He is making known His greatness. He is bringing the justice He has long promised. In my mind, the natural thing to do would be submit under the wrath. Acknowledge the Lord and repent. If I didn’t believe in God…you bet your burnt buns that’d get my attention.
But that is not the reaction we see in Revelation. Chapter 16 tells us that the people blaspheme His name. They refuse to repent. Others curse the name of the Lord.
I can just imagine the world…going to hell in a hand basket years from now. Technology that we’ve never dreamed of is in the works, science has come leaps and bounds. And between the two…science and technology, the people of the Earth can explain away everything that is happening. They can blame the water on red algae, the heat on weather patterns. They take these awful hardships with an even stonier heart.
As much as I wish this was true, being a Christian does not mean your life will be sheltered from trouble. There is no easy fix for hardship. Difficult, draining, even tragic moments will crop up in this life and there is nothing we can do to stop all of them from happening. What we can do is control our view of trying times. We can allow tragedy to turn our attention back toward the Lord. Let it soften our hearts. We can trust that evil, awful thing that happen in this life are not always created by God…but they can always be used to glorify Him.
At then end of a day full of hardships we have a few choices to make. The first is whether we choose to grip on tight to the trouble, own it and make it our own…or whether we will turn the hardship over to God with open hands. Knowing that He can spin even the darkest of moments into an opportunity to show His glory.
The second choice kind of wraps its tendrils around the first. We chose how to respond. With anger, lack of faith, and curses toward God, like the folks in Rev. 16…or with a grateful heart and a submissive spirit, allowing even natural disasters to cause us to wonder at the hands of God. If we believe the latter, we can take heart, knowing that we serve a God who is just and merciful to those who love Him. Because at the end of it all, at the end of Revelation, the plagues, the beasts, the hardships…they all had to happen to bring about a greater end: a restored world where nothing will ever separate those who love God from Him again. An Earth where we dwell together with our Savior and hardships no longer exist.
Amy
by Amy | Apr 12, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
I often have wondered what life would be like if my schedule allowed me to pursue the use of all my God-given gifts. While I can be decisive when it comes to picking a restaurant, travel plans, or say…a new cake stand, my life’s work is up in the air. Maybe that’s not the best way to phrase that. What I mean is, I wasn’t very good at choosing a career. I thought I would be, but there are just so many, many interesting things in the world…how is a girl supposed to choose a favorite?
My days are filled with adventure. Some things stay the same…a few things are stable {I do like stability} but my lifestyle allows for lots of flexibility. I like that.
I work as a fitness instructor at a local gym. It’s perfect work for me because I never have to do the same thing twice. I also work as a photographer. Which is also perfect because no two images are alike, no two sessions are the same. Outside of those two things I really let my mind and heart roam free. I wonder a lot, which is odd, since Google kind of took away the need for wonder. I wonder about random things, people things, adventurous things, future things, past things. Wondering is fun.
Anyway, back to my original wonder. What would life be like if I could pursue the use of all my God-given gifts?
I’m finding out.
This month I have “yessed” my way along. When I’ve heard someone mention the need for help with something that I can do I’ve said “yes.” These weeks have been busy…but the promise of an adventure filled season is on the horizon. And the craziest part is that somehow as I offer up my skills in service to others it’s all fit in. I am feeling a little tinsy bit stressed, but it’s good. I wanted to fill up my lonely evenings and boy have I.
This is a season of pursuit. A season of adventure. I can feel it.
So my question to you is this: How can you use your gifts? What are you wondering? Sometimes we think…”There aren’t enough hours in the day.” I think there are just enough. Twenty-four seems to be just the right amount, any more and we’d all be more burnt out than we already are. Any less and our schedules would feel even tighter. I think Goldie Locks said it best when she tried out momma bear’s bed, “It’s juuusst right.”
There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you are insanely talented and gifted beyond measure. Ask God to open your eyes to opportunities to share your awesome. He will. It won’t cost you anything…except maybe an episode or two of your favorite prime time shows.
Think about the wonderful things He has caused you to wonder about…put feelers out and find out something new. Over the past few years I’ve learned that the thing that holds us back strongest is usually ourselves. Take yourself off the leash and be amazed at just how much you can experience/accomplish/do. As I tell my fitness classes…”Try it. If you hate it, you can always stop and modify.”
Amy
by Amy | Mar 20, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
I’ve been feeling on the weak side lately. Not physically, but emotionally. I look to the future and see a string of hard times on the horizon and it really makes me nervous. I have this ability to look ahead and anticipate. Which is good when I’m packing, or going camping, or creating a schedule. It’s not such a good ability when I anticipate anxiety…because you know what happens? It makes me more anxious.
And, if you know me…you probably know I’m a bit of a nervous bird as is.
Derek, on the other hand does not have this certain charm about him. Which, on the downside, is annoying when he packs for the camping trip…but on the upside keeps him very calm and level. I guess that’s one of the reasons we work so well together.
In the midst of my anxious flare-ups I was doing some cleaning a few days ago. Under a stack of magazines I stumbled across a note that I had made at church a few months ago. I remember writing it. The Holy Spirit had spoken to my heart and I wanted to remember what He’d said, so I reached for the only paper I could find: a tithe envelope. The note was simple, but enough to jog my memory. It read:
God will give strength to us like Manna.
Here’s what I meant.
Are you familiar with the Biblical tale of Moses, the Israelites and the Manna? If not, you can read the full version here. Otherwise, I’ll just do a quick paraphrase to get us all on the same page.
After the plagues had come and gone and Moses led his people across the Red Sea the Israelite people found themselves in the desert, losing the adrenaline rush of saying “Adios” to Pharaoh. They were hungry and thirsty, so they began complaining. Moses appealed to God, who told them that He would solve the problem.
Every morning God would provide “manna” {which literally translates to mean “bread from heaven”} to the camp. It would appear with the dew and each family was to collect only what they would consume that day. No more. To make this deal even sweeter, God provided quail for them in the evening. Same deal: gather only what you’ll eat. Keep none of it until morning.
Well, what the Holy Spirit impressed upon me is that God doles out strength like manna. Why? Doesn’t that seem a bit cruel? Why not just give us all the strength we need for the rest of our lives today? I can’t answer all of these questions as well as I’d like, but what I can assure you is that God wants us to trust Him and to love Him. He wanted to test the Israelites to see if they would follow His instructions and depend on Him. The same is true in our lives. God does not need our money or our good works. One of the greatest way we can show our love and devotion to Him is to take Him at His Word; to lean on Him…not our own understanding.
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 40:29 that, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” This is a promise. When we grow weary He will give strength to those who love His ways and wait upon Him.
I have a hard time with that.
I’m pretty sure my attitude and insistence on being anxious about things that are still to come would have gotten me kicked out of the Israelite camp. I probably would have been one of those obnoxious people who collected more manna and quail than I needed for that day {looking to the future…to that big dry spot ahead}. But, as the Bible tells us…that didn’t work out so well. Those who tried to keep food for the next day woke up to a rotting mess of maggots. Woof.
I’m so happy God has reminded me of this. I really want to wake up to confidence and hope…instead of a lump of buggy bread. I’m human, so I know I’m inclined to get nervous and anxious. In those moments I’ll remind myself too look at the worries of today {only today} and know that God will give me enough manna for today.
And he’ll give you enough manna too.
by Amy | Feb 27, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Derek and I work with the youth group at church. I don’t feel especially qualified, but I do feel especially blessed to be around those teens every single week.
This year we’ve slowly been working our way through the Book of Acts. A few weeks back we discussed this passage: Acts 14:21-28. You can click over to Bible Gateway to read it…or just read my paraphrase.
Basically what is going on is this. Paul and Barnabas {a killer ministry duo} have just finished a multi-national evangelistic tour. They could circle around, cut a corner and go back a different way than what they came, or return along their same path. Cut a corner, get home sooner…or take the long road, revisiting towns that attempted to kill them.
Doesn’t seem like a tough choice.
But Paul and Barney decide to return the way they came. They wanted to go back and check on all the new believers that had heard the Gospel on their first pass through. They wanted to follow though.
And that’s the message we tried to convey to the teens: follow through. The importance of following up, especially when it comes to new believers. In my mind, I find it important to follow through in all of our relationships. Sometimes I’m not very good at it, especially if it means following up with someone I don’t know very well. You trackin’?
Tonight someone followed through with me. It was someone I didn’t think I’d hear from again, but she called me up and left an encouraging message.
A few weeks back when I was visiting Dallas for the Strip Church training conference I recieved some startling/unexpected/emotion-rolling/hard-to-handle news. If you know me, you know that sometimes I can go over the edge with emotions. I just need to cry it out. So I was in the car, driving 70 mph down the highway, crying my eyes out. I decided that wasn’t the safest choice, so I pulled off at the nearest exit to collect myself. When the tears had stopped, I went inside to buy a drink. {I had that thick post-cry slobber clogging my throat.}
An older lady {I put her at mid-60’s} was working the checkout. She {out of habit} asked me how I was doing. Now, mind you…my face was a wreck. We are talking smeared mascara, puffy red eyes, pink nose, swollen lips…the whole nine yards. I didn’t have the energy to lie, so I told her I’d had better days. At this point she took her hands off my Aquifina and looked at my face. Then she sincerely asked how I was and what had me so upset.
I told her. Then she held out her hands and took hold of mine. She closed her eyes and prayed over me. In the middle of the gas station, with a line behind me. She prayed the Holy Spirit would be on me and give me peace. That I would have joy in my heart, strength and patience to endure. Then she asked how she could follow up with me. I had a business card in my wallet, so I handed it over to her.
I was fine for the rest of my drive. And I have had a certain amount of peace ever since. Honestly, I never thought I’d hear from her again.
Until tonight.
She {DeDe from the gas station in Texas} followed through. I missed the call, but I’ll call her back. I’ve never had a small act of encouragement touch me in this way.
The point is following up matters. Interacting with one another is a good first step. But the joy, peace and love that we plant at that initial moment will wither if we don’t follow through. As humans we need support. When we reach out to one another we need to take the long road back…to check up on our people. Lucky for us, it doesn’t mean we need to face the threat of being stoned. Just a phone call, or a text, or a facebook message. Just to check in and let them know that our meeting was sincere; not just habit. You can even be more basic than that: actually pray for the needs a friend expresses to you. {How often do we say “Oh, I’d love to pray for you,” only to forget? I know it’s happened to the best of us.}
This week I challenge you to follow up with one person. Friend, family, stranger…whatever. Someone who you connected with. Follow through, see how they are doing. Allow God to bless them through your encouragement. If that’s not enough to convince you, just trust Gavin DeGraw:
“You have to follow through
You’re gonna have to follow
Oh, this is the start of something good
Don’t you agree?”
Amy
by Amy | Feb 18, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Faith
Pretty bold graphic, right? But read the bottom…don’t get crazy, and please don’t leave the blog. I assure you I haven’t lost my mind.
If you’ve been around a while you know that my life can be some what unpredictable. I’m a hobby/skills/learning/adventure junkie, so I tend to try all kinds of things. Let me be perfectly clear: I’m not going to be working as a stripper. (more…)
by Amy | Feb 2, 2013 | Blog, Prayer, The Art of Faith
We think of prayer as a safe place. Am I right? I know I am. It’s tranquil, peaceful, reflective. Prayer makes us feel like we are actively doing something when the world give us situations that are straight up out of control. And we are. Prayer makes a difference. I’ve never been more serious about anything than I am about prayer. It’s so legit.
Think about it. Prayer allows us to speak our thoughts and concerns, joys and praises to the One who created everything we’ve ever known. Or will ever know in our lifetime or eternity. Pretty crazy thought. He created the universe…which we have yet to find an end to…yet He allows us to speak to Him. There are mortals who have accomplished much less that wouldn’t let me chat their ear off about my anxious heart. It just blows my mind.
But if you read the title of today’s post you may be wondering what I mean by “dangerous prayers.” Isn’t prayer a safe haven? When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and in contact with our Savior what can be dangerous? Please let me elaborate. The danger of prayer is that it is, without a doubt, real. God hears the prayers of His followers and He answers.
And that my lovelies is the danger. He. Will. Answer. Dangerous prayer are the prayers that change your life. They require you to do something, to commit, to be active, to work.
When we go to God in earnest, sincerely seeking Him, seeking His will, He is more than willing to answer us loud and clear. Not to say that the answer will always come in bolts of lightning and messages in the stars…but when we seek Him out {without clouding our hearts with our own agendas} we will get answers.
Which leads me to dangerous prayers. Are you really ready to hear what the Almighty has to say? There are many dangerous prayers we can pray. Maybe someday I’ll write about them again. However, for tonight, I’ll focus on one. Maybe the most dangerous prayer of all:
God, I’m here. I want to do your work. Can you use me? How can I use my life to bring you the most glory possible?
A prayer like this is only dangerous if you mean it. If you really are willing. If you really are ready.
The danger is the answer. Are you ready to accept the answer? The answer could be anything. Literally anything. God has used His people in some wild ways. They’ve gone far from home. They’ve died. They’ve run in to trouble. They have lived in poverty. They have sacrificed comfort.
Again, I tell you prayer is real. And God knows when you are serious. A dangerous prayer like that could change your life. It will change your life.
About two years ago I discovered the meaning of life in its most simplistic form. Although I’ve been a follower of Christ for more than 10 years it wasn’t until then that I really got it. The meaning of life is this: using our existence to glorify God. Giving our lives fully to Him to accomplish His purposes. Simple as that. Difficult as that. For us humans this is a difficult way to live. Accepting that our lives are not created for our own happiness is confusing. It is so tempting to be comfortable and make a beautiful life here for 9o years or so.
But I’ve got a secret…our souls are created to be never ending. When our 90 years is up we’ve still got an eternity to live through…in comparison our time on Earth–in these bodies, with these things around us –will seem like the blink of the eye.
Dangerous prayers are scary. We have no idea what will come of them. But they are vital. When we pray a dangerous prayer we accept the meaning of life, the meaning of our existence. We accept that we owe our lives to the one who gave His to save us. It’s scary, but oh-so-worth it.
God rejoices in these prayers and answers them in profound ways. He loves a child who is brave enough to earnestly pray a dangerous prayer. He loves a follower who is courageous enough to be used. He adores a follower humble enough to say, “I could never have done this. This is God’s work.” When we ask God how He can use us…He will take matters into His hands and use us to accomplish works that could never be done on our own.
That way when people see our work they will be forced to recognize that God is true, He is glorious. Others will understand that the LORD we follow is the one true God. And that’s just how He likes it.
Six months ago I prayed a dangerous prayer. God answered. He answered in a way that I never saw coming. He had something in mind. A way that my tiny life in Practically Canada could bring Him glory. The answer was scary. It took me nearly half a year to come to terms with it. But I’ve never felt better. Braver. More certain. More protected. More in love with my God, my Savior.
This is my challenge. Quiet your agenda. Set aside the hope you have for yourself. And embrace the honor of serving the God of heaven and earth. Pray boldly. Pray dangerously.
Your soul will never be safer.
Amy
PS…more on my dangerous prayer next week. And thanks to all of you who know my prayer and have been supporting me in this new adventure. I love you deeply my family in Christ.
by Amy | Jan 9, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Faith
As I’ve told you before, its quite snowy here.
A few days ago I set out to do a routine shoveling. You see, I’d {we’d} slacked off a bit and let things pile up. A flurry here, a dusting there. Barely seems like enough to clear off. Eventually…the flurries and the dustings piled up. And they needed to be moved. The thing is, even after sitting for a few days, it had just stayed so cold the snow was still light and easy to move. So I started in.
It’s lovely to live on the corner lot. There are lots of perks. The drawback? Shoveling. Clearing the space all the way around the house. All things considering it was a nice day, and fairly easy work. So I didn’t mind.
After the driveway was clear I moved on to the sidewalks. I noticed that my slacking had indeed effected my neighbors. There were lots of tracks. Evidence that people had gone for walks, taken their dog on a stroll, went jogging…down my stretch of snowy walkway. Ugh. Now I felt bad. I’d just put it off because it really wasn’t effecting me…and because I’d barely had enough time at home to do it. But here is was, and I was a jerk. Just thinking of the poor mailman out doing his on-foot deliveries…bringing my mail–to my doorstep, mind you–through all the snow that I hadn’t had the common courtesy to move. Woof. I’m so lame.
So anyway I shoveled on. It only took about 15 minutes {isn’t that the way our most dreaded chores usually go?} to get to the end of our property line.
Then something weird happened. Instead of going inside to a cup of peppermint tea and a cuddle with the cutest cat in the world…I kept shoveling.
Because I was able. Because I had time. Because it needed to be done. Because I really do want to live my life doing as much as I can, for as many as I can, for as long as I can. Who knows what my neighbors’ excuses are. Maybe they are old, or sick, or tired, or lazy, or busy. Who cares? Why not help…even the tiniest bit when we are able?
Now…I don’t want you to read this and think that I’m awesome. Or think that I think that I’m awesome. {Savvy?} Because I’m not. And I don’t. In fact, I think I’m pretty lame. But I serve a God who decided that I was worth it. And he has seen fit to bless me with physical, mental, and financial health. He has trusted these gifts to me and I want to use them in a way that will make Him proud and glad he put His resources in my hands.
Each day we decide how we will live. How we will give. How we will Follow. It’s a decision that we must make every day. When we open our eyes and hearts we will find an abundance of ways to live a Much, Many, Long lifestyle. Where you will make a difference today?
Amy
by Amy | Dec 25, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Design, The Art of Faith, The Art of the Moment
As usual, I had good intentions of writing to you diligently while I’ve been home in Elkhart {IN}. I also had good intentions of working out…since I teach a triple {three classes in one day} the day after we return home. {Woof.} I even brought me super sweet new Brooks home. But guess what? I didn’t do either. I hope you don’t hate me…or even worse…disown me. Or shun me, like Dwight Schrute to Andy Bernard on the Office.
I’m digressing.
I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Over the years that feeling deep in the pit of my stomach…you know the one…the excited, can’t-hardly-sleep, what-will-morning-bring feeling–well, it’s faded a bit. But it has been replaced by a new feeling. One of a deeper relationship with Jesus and a better understanding of what His birth really meant.
Both are good. However…I’ve got to say I like the latter even more that anxiously waiting for Santa.
I hope you do too.
Thanks for sticking with me. I wish you could all be on my Christmas card list. But I have enough trouble getting a very few cards out on time. {Some are still sitting in my car, awaiting the USPS.} So here is your card. Straight from me {and Derek} to you. It’s a little different than the one we put in the mail. That’s a long awkward story. Maybe I’ll tell it to you someday. I love you all.
The back side reads:
“Them little lights aren’t twinkling.” “I know, Art…and thanks for noticing.”
It’s a quote from Christmas Vacation. Drumroll please…
Have a great day with your family.
Amy
