December 1, 2014 by Our Father's Daughters

Solid Rock – Solid Hope

“On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand.”

My husband quoted that hymn yesterday in his sermon on the sovereignty of Jesus. I started thinking about the importance of solidness – something that is not hollow, frail, subject to caving in.

Jesus is the solid rock we can count on. No matter

what we are facing,
who we are facing
when we are facing the challenges of this life

Jesus is the solid rock.

I can remember a time when I was feeling doubt and fear concerning what I was facing in my life. I felt paralyzed and weak. I did not even know what to pray, and even if I did know what to pray, I didn’t believe then that it would do any good.

I was driving alone in the car and that song started to escape from within…

“when darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace.

Through every high and stormy gayle -oops – gale

My anchor holds within the vale.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

all other ground is sinking sand

(here is when the tears started flowing)

all other ground is sinking sand.”

I realized at that moment that Jesus was my only hope – if I did not stand on faith in Jesus, I would sink deep in the “sand” of despair and fear.

I just kept singing that song over and over and gradually I started to sense hope. Jesus is the solid rock.

1 Peter 2:6-7 (NLT)

⁶As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”

⁷Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,

“The stone that the builders rejected

 has now become the cornerstone.”
As we begin advent and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, may we keep in mind that Jesus is the cornerstone prophesied about in Isaiah.
Jesus is the chief cornerstone on which our hope rests.

November 25, 2014 by Our Father's Daughters

Thankfully Joyful

Thankfulness leads to joy.

If you don’t sense any joy in your life – make a conscience effort to be thankful.

British writer and literary critic G.K.Chesterton said, “The test of all happiness is gratitude; and I felt grateful.” (from the book Defiant Joy, the Remarkable Life and Impact of G.K.Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte. p. 221) The defining quality of Chesterton’s life, as described by his contemporaries, was joy. Chesterton had a significant impact on the spiritual beliefs of a generation. That impact lives on even today. Chesterton saw reasons for joy in small as well as big events in his life and that joy spilled over in his writings and public discourse.

If we cultivate thankfulness for our children, despite the whining, diapers, messes, etc. , we can experience joy in our homes.

If we cultivate thankfulness for our spouses we will experience joy in that relationship. That joy will spill over to bless our children, grandchildren, and others around us. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is to love our spouse.

Paul’s prayer of thankfulness for his fellow Christians in Phillipi is an example of how we might feel and pray for our families.

Phillipians 1: 3-9

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

May God give us eyes to see all we have to be thankful for.

November 17, 2014 by Our Father's Daughters

In the Waiting Room

Tomorrow my dear friend Carol is having knee replacement surgery. Carol is a nurse and you know what they say about nurses…

they make the worst patients!

(Carol’s husband tells about the birth of their 1st child and how what he experienced during labor and delivery was like wrestling a grizzly bear)

Why is this? Why do nurses make difficult patients?

Because they know too much.

They know all the little things that can go wrong and that could cause serious concerns during surgery. They have seen things happen that shouldn’t happen. They know that doctors and nurses are humans with feet of clay – just like the rest of us (only smarter). I know Carol will be an exemplary patient tomorrow. She has to be – these are her co-workers!

I visited Carol this evening to take her a little gift, but mostly because I wanted to pray with her. We have been friends since we were two years old and have shared ALL of life’s important events together. (well, almost all…) I wanted to pray that God would bless her tomorrow and give her PEACE.

Now she must wait. It is so hard to wait. Our vivid imaginations can run wild with scenarios of possible outcomes.

We as women are often called on to wait. We may have to wait

to get pregnant
to give birth
for ugly hair color to grow out
until “things to settle down” (does that ever happen?)
for children after a practice or rehearsal
for children to be potty trained
for children to move out
for children to come back
for answered prayer

This list could go on and on. Life is full of waiting.

These times of waiting can either produce impatience and irritation in us, or peace and calm. The key is where our trust lies.

Romans 8:17-22 (NLT)

¹⁷And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering ¹⁸Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. ¹⁹For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²²For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

We all, as God’s children, are in the waiting room of God’s kingdom. I believe that we have a faithful God who we can trust to fulfill His purposes in His time.

What are you waiting for?

Do you have peace, or are you impatient and irritable?

I have been impatient at times and at other times I have been full of faith and peace. When I feel that irritation and impatience, I need to “fix my eyes in Jesus” who is the source of hope and peace. (Hebrews 11)

Carol is trusting God. She has many family and friend praying for her – we will all be in the “waiting room” eager to hear the outcome.

May we all have the attitude David expresses in –

Psalm 62:5 (NLT)

⁵Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.

Amen