Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Mother’s Day has always been a special day to me! I can remember when we used to wear flowers on Mother’s Day – white if your mother had passed away, red if she was still alive. My Dad always gave us a beautiful flower to wear to church. He is a Baptist preacher and back in the day, I would always enjoy when he would ask for different mothers to stand so they could be honored...sometimes it was the oldest mother, sometimes the youngest mother, sometimes the mother who had traveled the longest distance to be there that day, etc. These ladies would be presented a corsage and were honored with lots of clapping. As a child, it was fun to see who these special ladies would be each year!

 I was blessed to be brought up in the church and had many wonderful women role models in my life! But my best role model and mentor was and still is my mom! Full of grace and love, a lot of fun, a constant companion and encouraging support to my Dad, one who gently (and sometimes not so gently! Ha!) challenged me to always do my best…but most of all, one who modeled a love for Christ, His word, His people, for sharing His love with others and one of my biggest prayer warriors! My mom is fighting a terrible debilitating, degenerative disease right now. It breaks my heart to see this beautiful woman going through this hard season…but she is trying to handle it as best as she can. My Dad is modeling an unbelievable amount of love and grace as he constantly cares for her every need.

I became a mom to Brantley 32 ½ years ago and she has been a blessing from the Lord from day one! We have always enjoyed sharing life together…through tough times and great times! What a joy to be her Mom! Then when I married Pete 20 years ago, I was blessed to add Peter and Allison to my fold as well as another gift to me in his mom who quickly became another incredible role model for me. Pete and I both agreed that God blessed us not just with each other but with the gift of being able to love each other’s children. I have always said that though Peter and Allison, their spouses and children are not mine by blood, they are without a doubt, my children/grandchildren by heart and will always be so! With three wonderful children and spouses and five special grandchildren, I am blessed indeed!

I recently listened to a podcast of my pastor, Dick Lincoln, preaching a sermon about mothers several years ago. It was based on II Timothy 1:5 when Paul told Timothy, “I know how much you trust the Lord, just as your mother Eunice and your grandmother Lois do” and later Paul says in II Timothy 3:15, “You know how when you were a small child, you were taught the holy scriptures and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.”  Dick’s reminder was that it was Timothy’s mom and grandmother’s investment in his life that helped him become the man of God he was…and it wasn’t because things were perfect. Scripture tells us Eunice was Jewish and her husband was Greek…obviously that probably caused tension in that home! Yet she must have modeled an unwavering love for God and Jesus to Timothy and helped ground him in the Word.

 To me, that is one of the best gifts we can give our children…to be that kind of anchor for them in the Lord, for our children and grandchildren to see that no matter what, our love for Jesus comes first, our desire to serve Him is real and obvious, that His Word guides our lives and that our strength and joy come from Him! That is what I grew up seeing in my home, that is what I pray our children and  grandchildren have seen from Pete and me and will continue to see from me. The other gift Pete and I both believed in strongly is verbally telling our children and grandchildren that we love them! We both believed they needed our hugs and to hear our love for them. I have always been blessed to hear those words from my Mom and Dad and to have had that unconditional love…I want to pass that on to our children and grandchildren!

I have had the blessing of being involved in other young moms’ lives over the years…I was simply living out the Titus 2 example set by my mom as I watched her invest in women younger than she was over and over again through the years. Some of the young women in my life did not come from Christian homes and I have always told them, “Then you begin this gift of raising your children in this kind of home…you model Jesus being Lord in your life and pass that gift down to your children.” It is never too late to begin to create that legacy! What a gift to give them! Generations do affect the next generation! It is a ripple effect inside and outside our families! I want to be part of that ripple!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Thank you for loving me, investing in me and most of all,

teaching me to love Jesus with all that I am! I will always

cherish our memories and thank the Lord for giving you to me!

 I love you!

"Her children will rise up and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:28

 

Clay in the Potter's hand...

A dear friend wrote me yesterday that she was praying that I would be “clay in the Potter’s hand and that He will shape me into the perfect vessel to show His amazing and perfect love for those I touch this week”….Oh, Lord, may it be so…sometimes I feel like a lump of clay instead of a vessel that can hold water and do what it was created to do! Yet I know He can do miracles with a lump of clay!

I took a group of young moms to a potter’s studio one time several years ago. We had been talking about wanting to be molded into vessels He could use, wanting to be moldable clay in the Potter’s hand…and we decided we wanted to see how hard it was to actually “make” something out of clay ourselves. What a revealing experience that was! Some of our balls of clay flew off the wheel and across the room, some kept falling apart, some kept needing more moisture than others, some seemed to mold easily…all of it was hard work! We did end up with some pretty unique creations…some prettier than others but all useful in one way or another. It was a great reflective lesson on how God does create us all…we are all different but all useful when we allow Him to be the Potter in our lives! Working with clay is hard…it is “hands on” work and your hands get messy! How thankful I am that God is willing to put His hands on my life, to get messy and experience life with me and work with me until He gets me in the shape I need to be in to do His will. It was also sobering to consider how difficult we must be in God’s hands sometimes as we fight being molded…and how thankful I am that He doesn’t just leave me on the floor where I deserve to be when I fly off of His wheel! I am so glad He is willing to pick me back up and start molding me again.

Thinking about this today made me go right back to submission in my life. I read this sentence in a devotional recently… “I have wrestled with God’s plan for my life even as I have sought to submit to it.” I thought to myself, “Well, Brenda, there you go!” That spoke to where I am. I am seeking to submit to this new path in life but sometimes, I still wrestle with God over why He changed MY plans for Pete and me to continue to be together in this life on earth. Yet, over and over again, I keep going back to the fact that if He is sovereign, then He is sovereign. And I need to continue to submit to the Potter’s wheel if I desire to still be used here on earth for His glory…with or without Pete! And I do! Another devotional thought said, “If we truly remain like soft clay in the Master Potter’s hands, we will not be crushed or broken when things don’t go our way. We’ll allow God in His sovereignty and wisdom to mold us, reshape us, and redirect us according to His plan, as He sees fit.”

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.”

“We are the clay and you are our Potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

Here is this broken vessel, Lord, please continue to mold me…mold me to be used by You, mold me to make a difference in other’s lives, mold me to be bold in sharing You wherever You send me on this earth. Have Thine own way… 

"Come and see!"

These words have been rolling around in my heart all day! I have been thinking about when we hear the words “Come and see” in the Bible.  When  Andrew wanted to know more about Jesus, He said, “Come and see!” (John 1: 39) When Nathaniel wondered if “anything good could come out of Nazareth”…Philip said, “Come and see” Jesus for yourself! (John 1:46) When Jesus went to Bethany after Lazarus died, the people said, “Come and see” and He miraculously raised him from the dead (John 11:35). Through Isaiah, God says, “Come and see My glory!” (Isaiah 66:18) Psalms 66:5 says, “Come and see the glorious things God has done.” In Revelations, we told to “come and see” as the seals are opened and the future is foretold.

But today, I am thinking about Mary hearing these words at Jesus’ tomb when the angel said, “Come and see” that the tomb was empty and Jesus had risen! Hallelujah! He is alive! I woke up this morning thinking about the fact that Pete was celebrating his first Easter in Heaven today…then I realized it was Easter in Heaven every day!!! And in reality, it is here, too, because Jesus is alive in our hearts right here every day when we allow Him to be!

My heart is extra tender to the grief that Mary and all of Jesus’ followers must have felt when Jesus was crucified more than ever before.  Having lost the person I loved most in all the world this year, I understand the depth of grief in a new way. Our (and their) relationship with Jesus is/was as a Savior, yet I realize that His followers who lived with Him had also developed a deep personal human friendship, too. I am sure they struggled with combining the preciousness of their human friendship with Jesus with trying to understand what it meant that Jesus was God’s Son and their Savior. I keep thinking about the depth of their grief…the man they loved and had followed, sought to protect, stood up for, learned from, were amazed by, worshipped…He had been beaten, He had been spit upon, He had been humiliated, He had been forced to carry a heavy cross and then He had been brutally crucified. I can only imagine their confusion and their sadness….and their wonderings of what to do now.

I am sure the women dragged heavy hearts to the tomb that Sunday morning…wanting to go and care for His body but dreading the sight of seeing Him in such a beaten way. Yet, I so admire their strength in being deliberate about wanting to honor Him…even though their hearts were broken! I can only imagine their joy when they heard the words, “Come and see!”

I have felt Jesus say, “Come and see” often to me this year. Come and see…how I will assure you that Pete is with Me now in Heaven. Come and see…how precious and sweet your relationship will be with Me while you go through this valley of the shadow of death. Come and see…how I will be right there for you every step of every day if you will only look for Me. Come and see…how tightly I will hold your hand if you will just reach out for Me. Come and see…how I have a plan for your life and I want you to seek ways to bring Me glory even though life is different from what you thought it would be. Come and see…that I am here.

I want to be like those women of long ago. I want to be deliberate about honoring Him in spite of the fact that my heart is broken. I want to be deliberate about seeking ways to glorify Him.

Tomorrow is our anniversary! Pete and I would have been married 20 years tomorrow…Yes, April Fool’s Day! Pete always got the biggest kick out of the fact that he talked me into marrying him on April Fool’s Day! It was always easy to remember though! We felt like we had always been together…those years went by so quickly! On our anniversary last year, we were saying how we wanted to plan to do something special for this anniversary! I know he will be doing something special up in Heaven and I have plans to stay busy with friends and family to help me through the day. I have a feeling that Jesus will say to me tomorrow , “Come and see how I will be enough for you…how I will send you love through memories, through my Word, and through others. Come and see…that I am right here.”

Come and see…

that Jesus is alive and real

and a mighty presence in our lives when we invite Him in!

Hallelujah!

"I am hanging on to you!"

Our youngest grandson, Luke,  loves to hold hands. He is always reaching out for his Mama or Daddy's hand when they are around. He was with me for a few days this week. As a curious 2 ½ year old, he is always eager to explore the world around him!  He was walking on the benches on our deck and needed to step from one bench to another. He realized that the step was too far for him to make by himself without falling so he reached out for me to hold his hand and said, “I am hanging on to you, B!” I smiled to myself and thought, “Lord, that is exactly what I am doing with You…reaching out and hanging on to Your hand as I step over these new spaces in life that are too much for me to handle by myself! I need to hold Your hand to keep me from falling!”

This past month, I have really had to hold tight to the Lord’s hand! I have been overseas in several different countries doing educational work and mission work. I have met some incredible people who have a heart of compassion for those of their own country and other incredible people who are expats and are giving their lives and hearts to those in their “adopted” countries.

God used this month to teach me much about Him and about trusting Him in the midst of my woundedness.  I will share bits and pieces of my trip as time goes on but today I wanted to share some precious memories of how God “held my hand” and showed me He was right there with me.

Even though I met up with people in each place I went, I was going to be traveling alone on this adventure. Thankfully, Pete and I have traveled a lot through the years so I was not afraid to handle the logistics of flying and getting through airports, etc. But before I left, I had a specific conversation with the Lord reminding Him that Pete had always been my “navigator” when we traveled! Pete used to tease me about being “directionally challenged”! Ha! I knew I was going to need the Lord’s help as I traveled alone!  I asked Him to be my navigator in all the different airports and in all the direction decisions I would have to make when I was alone.

I first flew to Paris and had one whole day by myself before I was to meet with some friends below Paris.  Pete and I had been blessed to visit Paris several times and I really didn’t think I could emotionally handle going where we had been before so I decided to visit a new place -the palace of Versaille.  I had to figure out the tickets I needed and route to take on the bus and trains! It was a constant challenge to find people who could speak enough English to help me when I had a question. When I got off the first train, I followed the signs to where I thought I was supposed to catch the second train…but as it was a busy, busy train station, I decided to ask someone to make sure I was right. I noticed a family with two teenage boys and asked if they could speak English…thankfully, the boys and father could! They were from Belgium and said they were going to Versailles, too! So we stood there and talked and when the train came, we got on together and continued to talk during the train ride. Sometime during the ride, I shared with them that my husband had died of cancer this past summer and as I teared up, I said, “But we are Christians and so I know he is in Heaven with Jesus and I will see him again.”  As we went to buy our tickets to get into the palace, they graciously invited me to walk around with them. I said, "We should share our names…mine is Brenda." As they introduced themselves, guess what the Dad said his name was…… PETER!!! I couldn't believe it! I had not mentioned Pete's name in our previous conversation. I just laughed and said, "That is just like God to send me another Pete to take care of me today and make sure I don't get lost!" Isn't that incredible!! It was a "hug" straight from God and Pete…made me feel like God was telling me, "I know right where you are!" He sent two other “Petes” during my trip! Each time, I just had to smile and acknowledge that He is such a loving Father to give me such personal reminders of His presence!

Another special “hug” from God came during a worship service in Bangkok.  Guess what scripture the preacher preached from...Habakkuk 3:17 – 19!! My “nevertheless” verses!! I couldn’t believe it! Out of all the scripture in the whole Bible, for the verses I have clung to this year to be preached when I was half way around the world from home seeking to be obedient to His call on my life was just amazing to me! His Fatherly love for us is so tender! I wrote every day in a journal about “how I saw God today”. I am going to continue to do that…He does show us His love each and every day whether we are right here at home or halfway around the world! Look for His touches on your life every day!

In a Jesus Calling devotional earlier this year, I read, “Give yourself fully to the adventure of today….and remember I am holding you by your right hand…Hold My hand in childlike trust and the way before you will open up step by step.” I do think God has an adventure for us each day. I have shared before how much Pete and I loved to hold hands. I am missing Pete’s hand here on earth…and I am clinging to the One Who can still hold my hand and help me take the next step each day. He is so faithful and so “there” in our lives when we allow Him to be! Though I miss Pete more than I can ever explain to anyone each and every day, I know without a doubt that God is holding out His mighty right hand to me and all I have to do each day is reach out and “hang on to Him”…and He will help me step over those tough places and help me keep walking!

“For I am the LORD, your God, Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

                                             ‘Do not fear; I will help you’.” Isaiah 41:13

I am hanging on to you, Lord!

*Update on Andy and the marathon: He was not able to participate in the marthon last Saturday. A few days before the race, he fell and injured his back but hopes to try again sometime in the future. He is doing better and will just need to take it easy for a while. Thank you for your prayers for his recovery.

Running the Race....and an Important Marathon!

“Let us run with endurance the race

God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

I am NOT a runner! I wish I was! However, I do enjoy walking…and hiking! I love, love, love being outside surrounded by God’s creation! I have walked many a mile through the years, enjoying the sun and talking to God about anything and everything!

Even though I am not a runner, I have been thinking a lot lately about running the race God has set before me. My ‘race’ has been pretty tough this past year…and I keep wondering…What does my future race look like? Where do You want me to run? Exactly how much endurance are You talking about, Lord? It has been a really hard race this year…how much harder is it going to be? How far have I got to go? How do I go about training more for this race? Ever ask these kind of questions when He starts talking to you about your ‘race’?

I have been thinking about some of the times we read about people running in the Bible. I can just see the shepherds running to Bethlehem to see Baby Jesus, the lepers running to the priest after Jesus healed them and the one running back to say ‘thank you’, Peter running to the tomb to see if Jesus had truly risen from the dead…These are just some of the examples that have come to my mind.

In all these scriptures, I can just imagine their excitement as they ran! I asked the Lord to teach me something from each of these situations in scripture.  I want to train for my race by learning from others in the Word.

Here is what I am thinking…The shepherds were eager to see Jesus and then to go and share about His glory with others! I know God is telling me that I should be so excited about His glory and greatness that I should “run” to share Him with others in my path.  Oh, Lord…may I do that for You! May my light be bright for You! May others see the reflection of Your glory and greatness in how I respond to life and your call on my life. This thinking process reminded me of one of my “life verses”. “You are a letter from Christ…this letter is written not with pen and ink but with the Spirit of the Living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. II Cor 3:3 We are all letters reflecting something…We each have to decide what kind of letter we are going to be to the world!

The lepers were so excited to be healed…yet only one came back and thanked Jesus for healing him. Is He  reminding me to be so grateful for what He has done and is doing in my life…to focus on the good I can see, the preciousness of what I have had with Pete and not dwell on my sadness in missing him? I know the Lord still has a race for me to run even though I am not liking having to run it without my “running partner”! God keeps reminding me that just because I am having to run it now without Pete that doesn’t excuse me from the race! He still wants me to run and to run as hard as I can toward His calling on my life. Yet He gives us a choice in life…we can opt out of the race…but I don’t want to sit on the sideline! I want to be right where He wants me, I want to be used in this race…even when the race is hard!

Peter was overjoyed at the thought that his Savior had risen from the dead and ran to the tomb to find it empty! That was the next step in his journey to become a strong leader and conduit for sharing what Jesus can do. I think God is reminding me to remember the tomb is empty! My Savior lives, Pete is living with Him, and my job while still on this earth is to be a conduit, too, for sharing Jesus!

''I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back''. Philippians 3:14

I once read these words in a Tozer devotional: “The more we run toward Christ and the closer we draw to Him, the more we light up this world and become salt in it.” Oh, may we all be salt and light in this dark world!

Major Marathon news!!

Pete’s brother, Andy, is going to run a marathon in Columbia on March 9^th in memory of Pete. He is hoping that many of you will consider making a donation to Pete’s Mission Fund at Shandon Baptist Church (see information on the side above) as a way of supporting his efforts in running this race. This is a huge step of commitment and faith for Andy. Please encourage him with your thoughts, prayers and a gift to the fund if you can as he makes this wonderful effort to honor his brother! We have all been so touched with the many gifts to Pete’s Mission Fund and hope that this is one more way we can continue to provide opportunities for people to contribute believing, as Andy says, "that God will use these funds to advance His kingdom around the world".

Seeking to ‘run the race’….in many ways!