Hear His Voice...

There are many things

that vie for my attention.

Good things.

Honest things.

Important things.

Things that someone

should be doing.

But...

if God does not 

call me to it,

then I am learning 

that no matter

who says or thinks

I should be

doing

or selling

or buying

or going

or coming

or writing

or reading

or anything...

I will only fill the spots God calls me to.

We do well to remember that we are not

called primarily

to fix things or to fill spots.

We are called to follow Jesus.

We are called to be in a vibrant, living relationship

with the King of kings.

Everything else in life is secondary to that.

Work is needful.

And work is going to be part of our lives.

But I know that I, for one,

do not want to have any part of anything

that I have not been called to do.

Following Jesus and living vibrantly in Him

ensures that we will know clearly what

He is calling us to 

and what He is not.

In that I rest.

And because of Him,

I am blessed to see Him

at work in the lives

of fellow believers,

gifting them to do the 

work He calls them to

that He didn't call me to.

In this is peace.

Perfect peace.

Community...

Recently, a friend posted on Google + about the importance of community.

I might have written about this in the past year on here, but it seems to 

have been the subject of the year for me, and so it is much on my mind.

Community is important. God created us to need it.

 In whatever state we find ourselves, 

community will be what it is. 

Maybe God is calling some of us to be the ones who work quietly 

behind the scenes encouraging community, reaching out to the lonely, 

practicing hospitality, etc with little regard to whether or not

 our needs are being met. 

God provides what we need in every season and place 

where He calls us. I strongly encourage community 

but not to decide/insist upon the exact way it will work out, 

except that you will be a servant as Jesus was in his community. 

Community can encourage the discouraged. 

It can whisper hope into defeat. 

It can cause courage to rise in the fainting heart 

and help a tempted one to overcome. 

Community can help me to remember whose I am 

and where I am going. 

It can comfort the broken in heart and help to heal the wounded one.

 It is also made up of those made of dust, 

and at best is sinking sand. 

Therefore, while appreciating community and contributing to it,

 let's stand on Christ, the solid Rock who told us that to be greatest, 

we are to be the servant of all. 

And above all, let us strive to make 

Jesus beautiful to 

the world.

Wonderful Words of Life...

Lessons from Butterfllies...part 1

Recently, we went with some friends to see the Flight of Butterflies documentary at a local Imax. That was quite a treat. (I felt blog post options shooting out of my brain the whole entire time! SO many analogies to make between butterflies and life...)

The movie was about a man and his wife who devoted their lives to tracking and tagging monarch butterflies. They had a vision and poured their hearts into the project, never giving up their quest to know more even as older age set in. They traveled to far away places in their quest to know where the butterflies found warmth to sustain life in winter. And when they got older and could not move about as freely in research as they once could, they sent out fresh and young recruits who finally found the butterflies overwintering in Mexico.

I thought of how it is in Kingdom work. We pour our lives into His service, reaching out to the souls He brings us, hoping they choose Jesus and His life. We center our lives around Him, making life about Him consistently, despite obstacles, or discouragement or opposition from others who do not share the vision we have.

And one day, God calls us to send out the young people...the fresh-faced, energetic young people whom we train and teach, and encourage them to KNOW Him and make Him known. They catch the vision we had, and pour their lives into loving God and loving others, in the places He calls them to.

I thought of that the other evening as we gathered for a commissioning service for Marie, who has lived in our home for just over a year while she sought the Lord on His will for her life, and walked through some hard things to find a deeper relationship with Him.

We have enjoyed having her in our home, loving her and helping her to find God in the 'madness' of life, praying for and with her and teaching her to observe all that Jesus commanded. It was the way He called us to fulfill the Great Commission beyond our own children, and we are glad we had the opportunity to do this.

And then God called her to go out into His service somewhere else. As she prepares to leave us to serve in another part of God's Vineyard, we gathered to love on her, and to commission her with our blessing to go serve Him in the place He has called her. As her father laid hands on her and various ones prayed for her, I was so deeply blessed to know that THIS is what the church is called to do. We pour our lives into 'loving and protecting the butterflies', and we send out fresh recruits to do work in places where we cannot go.

 We are happy to have had her

family share this weekend 

with us as well.

They have been a big part

of her life, too,

showing Jesus to her

for many more years

than we have known her.

I am so incredibly awed at how

God works in life, causing His children to do the work He needs for them to do,

equipping them to do that work, and putting us in exactly the right places He needs

us to be for the season we are in.

For Marie, coming to New York was a season of respite,

as she looked for answers for the hand she was dealt for a number of years.

God put her in a place that was quiet so that He could write

His thoughts on her heart.

I'm glad that God knows best.

Just like the butterfly trackers,

who poured out their lives for

their cause,

will you join me in pouring out

your life for the cause of

sharing Jesus to a broken world?

He is calling us to!

Let's say YES...

So that more can know Him

before the time for choosing is done.

Wonderful Words of Life...

In Psalms and Hymns...

Living by Faith

We sang this song last evening at a commissioning service we had

for a friend as we send her forth to do God's bidding in another

part of the Vineyard. Life truly is peaceful when we live by faith,

even when we are called to do things or go places we had not planned.

Wonderful Words of Life...

The Preaching of the Cross...

Here is a wonderful sermon that some in my family have enjoyed recently:

Friendship Matters

by Alistair Begg

I was really blessed.

I listened to it three times in

one week .

:-)

And then my husband was inspired

and used it as a launching pad

for the sermon on the Sunday

it was his turn to preach.

What kind of friend are you?

What kind of contribution do you

bring to the Body of Christ?

Of Friendship and Relationships...

I will start this post by saying that I know and readily admit that I am not a perfect friend. I know that God is still working on me and growing me and He will be doing so as long as I live in this mortal body. So while I decided to be brave today and share some heart ponderings on friendship that have been rattling around in my mind for awhile, please understand that I do not consider myself above anyone else, or to have arrived in any department of life.

These thoughts may come across as random, and maybe they are, but I decided to put them here together in one post. I'll apologize in advance if that makes your brain do funny things if you're trying to connect the dots and can't seem to in this post! (or any post I write, for that matter! :-)

I have many different friends, and I appreciate them for who they are. They all have strong points and flat spots. I think we all do. The key to being a good friend, I think, most of all is LOVE...

Love does cover a multitude of 'sins'. It doesn't get hung up on the faults and quietly accepts each one as they are, while encouraging them in word and in deed to keep moving forward in Christ. Love is not blind, really but it does choose to look beyond the faults of others and applies oil to creaky hinges and squeaky places so that there is more smoothness and harmony.

I think one thing I really would like to share is that we should be careful not to require of our friends something they cannot give. When demands are placed on us(whether really spoken or through controlling in other ways) to be or do things that we cannot or are not called to do, and we need to say no, I don't think a true friend will challenge that or act offended and hurt about it. If their identity is in the cause they wish you to take up, or the thing they love to do but you don't love to/choose not to do, they will not 'get it' when you decline. They will be hurt. They will be offended. There will be some friction. (Or at least this is the case in my life). What do we do then? I think that my husband has taught me well that 'the least said, the soonest mended' is a good route to take. If they don't get it after an honest explanation, then I personally choose to drop it in search of peace. It doesn't matter if my friends 'get me' always and approve of every decision I make humbly before God. It matters most that I am completely standing on Christ, the solid Rock and have my identity in Him and not in the things I love to do/my work/my friends/anything earthly. I wish everyone know the freedom of this. It is greatly liberating!

When a friend tells you of some project they have been called to do, or some place they feel called to minister in, keep in mind that even if you don't understand it, or it is not what you would want to do, or it disappoints you because you wanted something else for them, they have been following God on it and share in their excitement! If you are a good friend, you will ask questions that will not be controlling questions, but rather truly interested ones. (You may be called to give them counsel, or not, but first be interested and hear the whole story from them before you assume and jump to conclusions and ruin things by your controlling questions/hurt attitude that they are not doing things like you think they should).  Maybe you won't be jumping up and down in excitement like they are, but be genuinely interested and bless them in their endeavors. Keep in mind that by projecting any selfishness onto them because you don't approve of their choice, you are being used as a tool of satan in tearing apart the work God is giving them to do. They will likely let God turn the dart you shot at them into something wonderful and helpful, but wouldn't you rather be a blessing and not a hindrance to them?

Do not demand that your friends love you in your way. Lay down your life for your friends. Do you know why a friend cannot be on the phone very much with you? Or why another friend doesn't eat dairy? Do you know why your friend doesn't travel much? Or why they don't like to text/email but would rather talk in person or on the phone? Do you have a small family and someone else has chosen to have a large family? Can you choose to bless them, even if you might not understand them, or agree with their thinking? Do you know the things that bless each friend the most? Have you taken the time to bless them in those ways? We don't have to agree on things to be friends. Sure, if they are important things, then by all means, understand that close fellowship is not going to happen, but also remember that many things we place on the pedastal of importance are really nothing in God's eyes, or at least not worthy of being given the place to break up friendships over!

Accept that your friends are PEOPLE made of dust, just like you are. Just as you  have limitations, so do they. They are not GOD. They cannot be all to you. There will be places they will 'fail' to meet your expectations. I try hard not to have expectations when it comes to friendships, whether in my marriage or elsewhere. Expectations ruin relationships. Just accept them, and appreciate them for who they are. Blend your lives together. Each of us have limitations, but we are gifted in different areas, so why not blend that together and enjoy friendship!

Speak blessing into your friends' lives. Often. Don't lie and say things that are not true, but truly do find words to bless them with. This world is wicked. It is a hard place to live. It is a cold, dark place. There are many snares and hindrances along the way. But words of blessing are like warm blankets on snowy days. They are like cups of cold water on blistering August afternoons. Words fitly spoken into a situation can dispel the gloom of clouds in a hurry. I don't think we speak words of blessing often enough.

Pray for your friends. Pray more than and before you share with them. Lift them to their Maker, and the One who has their lives planned beyond your finite understanding. You will see amazing things happen. And another thing: if there are ripples, they smooth out in your heart when you pray.

And finally...clear your life of bitterness. When a person is bitter, it is almost impossible to have a truly calm and lovely relationship with them. That bitterness will color her sight and it will grow over the years and become next to impossible to have any meaningful relationship with her because she will either be correcting/disagreeing with you, or hurt by something you said/didn't say. Misunderstanding will become her normal. She will usually not understand you. And it will become frustrating to even try to have a relationship with her. Even the words of blessing that you speak to her will fall on deaf ears if you are not totally agreeing with her or doing exactly as she thinks you ought to be. God may even ask you to part ways with her (quietly and peacefully) if it hinders the work He calls you to do. These things happen. I've seen them happen more than once in life both to myself and to others. It is very sad.

I love my friends. I thank each of my friends for the love and care that you give to me. I appreciate you. You  have been used of God to bless me with counsel, encouragement, gifts of kindness, and prayer. I am so deeply blessed and have learned from you all how to be a friend, and how true 'family' in Christ works...and it is beautiful. THANK YOU

Love and blessing,
Marcia

PS
The real-life situations I gave in this post are not necessarily all taken from my own experience. They are real, but some of them happened to others, or in different ways to me than I listed here. I do value my friends and acquaintances, so therefore, I do not list here their 'specific' sins. AND some of what I listed is from my own learning, too. I needed and still need to apply the principles of God in friendship as well as anyone else does.

Wonderful Words of Life...

Of Dr. Stoll and Potato Soup...

On Saturday morning, as I leisurely went about my morning, 

the Lord 'dropped' a web link into my lap for a meeting 

that was going on in Lancaster County, PA, 

a meeting that was a call for revival. 

I scanned the program for the day, 

as I listened to the praise part of the service 

 live streaming from youtube, and out of curiousity, 

I decided to stay to hear what this preacher was going to say

 in the health message that was on the program.

I was in for a treat! 

Dr. Stoll, whom I had never heard of before, 

spoke kindly but with conviction on the simplicity of God's plan 

for us to be well from a daily diet of primarily plants and secondarily animal foods. 

He spoke of our bodies being the temple of the Lord and 

how we are given a plan to bless that temple kindly.

 I was so excited. I have waited 7 years for a preacher to say these things

 to Anabaptist people! 

And the message came so kindly and so respectfully

 that I was just blown away by how 'easily' it was delivered.

If you care to, go to Dr. Stoll's website and find out more of what he teaches. 

He quoted some of my favorite doctors and shared what I've been 

learning and employing the past 7 years 

(falteringly so at times as I struggled with food addictions and the devil).

 I know this message to be true because I live it 

and appreciate the blessings that come from 

honoring the Lord in this way.

Everything about the way we live matters.

 Including our health. 

Let's face it, friends...

the Christian world is not very strong on turning away 

from gluttony. I can say this because 

I too need a pep talk on this. 

We live in a land that has become obsessed 

with food and we are now seeing an epidemic 

of the diseases of kings and queens. 

(read this wonderful article I came across last week. I was so blessed by it.) 

These diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and others) 

can largely be prevented and they can often be reversed 

just by changing from the Standard American Diet to the simple diet plan 

that Daniel followed, and that God laid out in Genesis 

to Adam and Eve and to Noah.

I am happy to eat "peasant food" and I am happy with how 

deliciously peasant food can be cooked, 

especially when I am not captive to food addictions of 

salt, sugar, oil, and animal foods. 

I walk in freedom today,  thanks to God and to my sister 

who encouraged me in my struggle. 

And I realize that I can easily slip back into my old  

habits if I am not being vigilant.

I thought I'd close this blog post with a recipe for the soup

that I made yesterday. It was both delicious and filling, 

the perfect dish for a gray fall day.

Love and blessings,

Marcia

Aunt Cia's Potato Soup

(makes approximately 6 quarts)

Saute in water or a little olive oil:

2 large onions, diced

4 links Italian chicken sausage

(a Costco find)

6 smallish stalks celery, diced

When vegetables are crisp/tender,

stir in 4 or 6 cloves pressed garlic

and 6 med carrots, peeled and diced.

After sauteing the carrots for 5(ish) minutes,

add 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced,

1 quart vegetable or chicken broth/stock,

2 cups water, and 1 T sea salt.

While the soup is simmering,

cook and mash 2 large potatoes.

After the veggies are soft in the soup,

add mashed potatoes,

1 tsp black pepper

and 2 T dried parsley flakes.

Serve with fresh veggies,

garlic bread sticks (if you wish)

and seasonal fruit.

"...whatever you do,

whether you eat or drink,

do all to the glory of God."

(1 Cor. 10:31)

A young man quoted this Scripture 

during our Bible memory time

on Sunday morning. I thought it

was very fitting for what I had just

heard the day before.