Saturday, August 13, 2011

A Holy Moment....

"...for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
Exodus 3:5


A really silly thing happened the other day; but sometimes it's the small, silly, trivial things that speak the loudest to me. The details aren't important, but it got me to thinking about holy moments

Moses and the burning bush. (Exodus 3) 
 ....a holy moment.

Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. (Daniel 3) The Lord stood there in the fire with them
....a holy moment.

The shepherd's bowing at the manger. (Luke 2)
....a holy moment.

Saul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9)
....a holy moment.

Times when ordinary people encountered 
an extraordinary God
....a holy moment.

Last week, a very dear friend of mine held her mother in her arms as she slipped from this world into eternity. She told me the presence of the Lord was so strong in that room, as her mother worshiped the Lord. I was reminded of just a few months earlier when I did the same....I held my mother's hand as she took her final breath on this earth and took her first breath in Heaven. I told my friend that I realized at that moment we were standing at Heaven's gate....watching our mother's walk through. Though it was sorrowful for us, it was truly a life-changing, awe-inspiring.... holy moment.

There have been times in worship where the presence of the Lord is so strong that I have literally been brought to my knees. Knowing that I was in the presence of the Holy God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, King of all creation.......a holy moment.

As I pondered this, I realized that every time I remembered a holy moment it took place in the presence of the Holy God. And as believers, we dwell in His presence. I'm reminded of a song...of course!

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your Holy presence
Living in me...


We breathe in His very presence. We live in the presence of the King. Which makes every moment of our lives........a holy moment. 


Every time we say, "God, I need You to help me...
I can't do this alone!" and He does....
....a holy moment.

Every time we ask for something as trivial 
as a good parking spot and we get one....
....a holy moment.

If we really think about it, every moment of our lives is, 
or can be....
...a holy moment.

So, what are your holy moments today? Are you looking for them? Or are you over-looking them? Because just as God told Moses as he stood in His presence at the burning bush....the place where you are standing is holy ground.


And this is your holy moment.....

Friday, August 12, 2011

Planted....Once Again!

"I will make an agreement with them that will never end,
and I won't ever stop doing good things for them.
With all My heart I promise that they will be planted 
in this land once again."
Jeremiah 32:41b
(Contemporary English Version)


In May of this year, I wrote a post titled Promise of Lilacs. It was a reminder to myself of God's all surpassing knowledge of what we need before we need it. We had found out that we were going to have to move again, and I was stressing about finding just the right place for our family. Well, we are now settling into our new home and as usual, God knew just where we needed to be and what we were going to require before we did. 

No, this house doesn't have lilac trees, but it does have a beautiful willow tree in the backyard. I've always wanted a willow tree. Growing up as a child in Virginia, we had willow trees and I just love the way they reach up to heaven with their branches and then the limbs sweep back down to the earth. A picture to me of how we reach up to our Heavenly Father and He reaches down to us. 


God continues to amaze me with His love for me and my family. Even when we don't understand what is going on around us, or why life doesn't work out the way we think or hope it should, it never catches Him by surprise. I know this house is an absolute gift from Him. He knew before we did the circumstances we would be facing and the reason why the beautiful condo in downtown Edmonds wasn't going to work for our family. As disappointed (and to be honest...ticked off at the rental agent) as I was, I am so glad now that the condo was rented out from under us. 

So....once again, I am grateful. 
For His omniscience, 
His faithfulness,
His goodness, 
His patience. 
And for the little extras that He gives us unexpectedly.

"I won't ever stop doing good things for them."



Thursday, August 11, 2011

Blessings....

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:9


So many times we find ourselves in situations that we just don't understand. But one of the things I am comforted by is the knowledge that God knows everything we are going to face before we face it. In the past month I have been irritated and frustrated about things that haven't gone the way I wanted them to, only to discover later that if I had gotten my way, it would have been a disaster. So, while I have been thinking over these things there is a song that keeps playing on the radio and in my heart. And the writers words are so much better than mine. So, I'm going to borrow them for my post today....


We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family
Protection while we sleep
We pray for healing
For prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand
To ease our suffering.


All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much 
To give us lesser things


Cause what if Your  blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?


We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when
We cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness
We doubt Your love
As if every promise from 
Your Word is not enough


And all the while
You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to  believe.


Cause what if Your  blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?


When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win.
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not
This is not our home.


Cause what if Your  blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You're near?


What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
(Laura Story)