Tag: #hope

Yes, You Can

When I have listened to or read material written by former Navy Seals, there is a recurring theme which comes up, and it’s this thought…

When Seals are trained, they are taught that most people think they are finished and therefore quit at 60% of their actual capacity.  Thus, you still have 40% in your tank to keep going and finish strong.

You and I, well, we can do more than we think typically.  If we will push past the mental and emotional barriers we have set for ourselves, we can do a lot more.

You can put up with that boss longer than you think.  You can be kinder than you think.  You can save more money than you think. You can extend more grace to your child than you think.

We all have challenges we’re facing in life. I’ve got mine. You’ve got yours.  We all wish life was easy all the time, but it’s not.  The thing is, we don’t have to tackle this on our own.

Paul wrote to some challenged people in Philippi and told them that it’s possible to do “all things” through Christ Who strengthens us.  That’s even more than the Navy Seals claim! In other words, no matter what you come up against, if you’ll keep Jesus Christ involved in your life, there won’t be anything too difficult for you to overcome.

So, let’s do a few more push-ups and eat a few less sweets. (Ok, maybe a lot more push-ups and forget the part about the sweets. 😜)  Let’s give a little more. Let’s help a little more. Let’s complain a little less.  In fact, let’s just remove the word “can’t” from our vocabulary.

It’s going to be a great week!  Let’s give it all we have… and then some!!!

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To The “Childless” Mothers

I know… There was more than one Mother’s Day we skipped church because it was just too much.  We had been trying to have children to no avail. We had been trying to adopt with equal lack of success. And it just hurt too bad to go hear one more time how great it is to be a mom.

Of course we love our mothers and did our best to celebrate them. Moms are important people in our lives. It’s just that we wanted to have what they have… but we didn’t.

All these years and two sons later, we are still sensitive to all the ladies who wish they were mothers, but are not yet… at least in their minds. We weep inwardly for those battling infertility like we were. Our hearts break with those who have faced miscarriage.  We ache with those who have had to give up foster children, or those who have seen an adoption fall through at the last minute. And feel sorrow for the one who wanted to marry and have children, but never has for a multitude of reasons which no one has the right to judge.

I know it doesn’t seem fair.  I realize you want your miracle, too.  No glibly quotes Scripture verse or trite saying like, “All in God’s timing” will heal the hurt.  The only balm, it seems, would be if your arms could hold the child for which you so desperately long.

And yet… I celebrate the heart of the mother in you. I celebrate that you want to love and nurture.  I see how you teach those kids each week at school or church as if they were your very own. I recognize how you pour yourself into those young girls becoming ladies. You give to help others adopt. You go on missions trips and serve in orphanages. You are a “mom” in the truest sense of what it means, whether or not you have children of your own yet. I know that it’s not the same. I’m not suggesting that it is. I’m simply celebrating what I know is deep down in your heart… all that love.

And this Mother’s Day eve, I believe with you for a miracle. I pray that this would be the last time a Mother’s Day would cause you heartache.  I ask God to step in and give you the gift your heart yearns for nearly as much as your next breath or heartbeat.  If your pillow is to be soaked with tears, I pray it would be with tears of joy rather than sorrow and longing.

You are not alone. You are not abnormal. You are loved. And you are known deeply by a loving God.

Do not give up hope.

If It’s You…

If you’re discouraged tonight…

If you’re doubting God’s concern and presence in your life…

If you’re lacking the hope and joy you long for so desperately…

Then this post is for you… maybe just for you… even though it’s true for all of us.

Some days the ideas for what to post on this blog flow almost faster than I can type them. Sometimes I have several ideas ready to share with you.

Then there are days like today… when I wonder if I’ll even be able to come up with something to say. On days like these, I often breathe a prayer and ask the Lord to give me a little extra help.

I don’t hear an audible voice.  There is no mystical handwriting on the wall. But there is sometimes… like today… a gentle nudge inside, a general sense as to a topic or some words I should write… for someone… for you.

And today, that thought is from Psalm 94:19 which reads, “When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” So, if you’re doubting God in any way right now, know this… God is not mad at you or disappointed with you. He has not written you off or put you on a “naughty list.”

Instead, He has increased His efforts to reach out to you… to comfort you… to let you know how much He loves you… to bring back the hope and the joy and the passion and the faith you once had… that you can have again.

You don’t have to wonder where He is or if He cares about you. He’s right there with you, and He loves you like crazy.  Let Him wrap His arms of comfort around you like the soft folds of your favorite blanket on a cold winter day… even if you’re a man, and you think this all sounds a little too soft and gushy.  In the depths of your soul, you have longed for this comfort… this hope… this cheer. Drop the bravado and drink in all God has to offer you right now. You won’t regret it.

I’m kind of glad now that I didn’t really have anything to write today.  And I hope you are as well!

Always

Trampoline. Swingset. Pool. See-saw. Bikes.

There was a time in our lives when we wondered if we would ever have the privilege of having children in our family, and thus the joy of a yard filled with activities.  There were plenty of nights we soaked our pillows with tears.

But God had promised. So, some days we had great faith. Yet other days we wondered if that promise would ever be fulfilled.

But God promised. And His Word says that He always keeps His promises.

In some ways, I wish we could have seen then what our life looks like now with two handsome, strong, growing boys in it.  I guess that’s not really having faith, though. At the time, all we could do was hope… and trust… and pray… and take Him at His Word.

Surprisingly, from time to time, we find ourselves in similar situations… you know, needing to take Him at His Word when it hasn’t actually happened yet. And it isn’t a whole lot easier now… until I look at those two miracles playing in the front yard, hollering for me to come play with them… and then I am reminded that…

God always keeps His promises!

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So, if you’re going through your own time in life when you wonder if God is actually going to do what He said, take heart and take note. You’re just as special to Him as we are. If He did it for us, He’ll do it for you. It’s not about us. It’s about His character. You can count on him because…

God always keeps His promises!

While It Was Still Dark

Childless

We tried for seven years to have children to no avail.  We were doing everything right but could not have kids of our own, while people who were doing wrong were being allowed to have kids. We signed up to adopt internationally, and even that wasn’t coming together. It was a dark time in my life.

I’m a preacher… that’s no secret.  And I often traveled to preach at different churches during that time frame. I can remember on more than one occasion driving on a Sunday morning to preach somewhere and asking the Lord what I was going to tell people that day as I preached because He wasn’t even answering my prayers. It was a dark time in my life.

More than one night, we soaked our pillows with tears. More than once we got our hopes up, only to have them dashed. I remember wishing that people would quit saying trite little things to try to make us feel better.  It was a dark time in my life.

Hope

But it was during that time when, in one of my routine daily times alone with Him, the Lord brought me to John 20:1 in Scripture. It says that “while it was still dark” the women came to the tomb. They expected to find the dead body of Jesus. They expected to do their duty of preparing His body for proper burial. They expected life to remain as dark in their hearts as it was outside.

They didn’t realize the Son had already risen. They didn’t realize the miracle of resurrection had already taken place. They didn’t realize the stone had been rolled away so they could see the tomb was empty. They didn’t realize they were only moments… and steps… and heartbeats away from their world springing back into glorious light like never before.

And that’s what the Lord spoke to my heart that morning… that though it was still dark, the miracle was already in the works for us to have children.

Those Praying Kids

A couple months later, as I headed out to preach at yet another church, Angela told me to pick up a pregnancy test on the way home. I told her I would, and I hit the road.

In the service that morning, as the pastor was about to introduce me, his wife interrupted and said she wanted to do something. She told our story of struggling to become parents and suggested that since we wanted kids, the kids of their church should pray for us to have kids.

Honestly, I thought to myself, “Well, why not… what’s it gonna hurt? We’ve been prayed for a lot.” I was no man of great faith and power at the moment.

But then the kids started praying… I mean really praying… someone had seriously taught those kids how to connect with God when the talked with Him. Suddenly, I got very serious about believing with them for a miracle.

We had a great service, and after lunch with the pastor and his family, I headed home. As I promised, I picked up the pregnancy test on the way home… but with faith in my heart this time.

PREG-NANT!

Angela took the test the next day and informed me it was positive. Not having spectacular faith, I doubted to accuracy, went and bought the most expensive test I could find (because more expensive surely had to equal more accurate) and brought it home for her to try. Again, positive.

We went to the doctor and the doctor told her she had never in all her years of practice seen anyone with levels of positive results so high. She said, “Baby, you’re not just pregnant… you are PREG-NANT!”

Sure enough, God blessed us with our first son. And as miraculous as that was, we did not know if we could have any more. But two years later, God blessed us with our second son.

Your Turn

I share all that on this Easter eve… while it’s dark outside… to encourage you.  We all go through some dark times in life… some times when we think all is lost… it’s all over… there’s no hope of things turning around.

But Easter is all about the fact that, with God, nothing is impossible.  Sure it may be dark and you may simply be dutiful at this point, but the miracle is already started. Another few steps… around that bend in the path… and you will find that God was working before you ever knew it! And life will be bright again. Take heart! Grab hold of hope!

The Son rose as surely as the sun rose. And you will smile again soon.  There will be a day when you tell someone your story like I’ve told you mine, and you will find it amazing that you ever doubted God.

So, take those few more steps… but may they not be heavy… because just a little way ahead of you… your miracle awaits your arrival!

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