Waiting on God

"Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen."
James 5:7

I have a confession to make. I'm an impatient person by nature. I have another confession to make. I am also a control freak. The two naturally go had in hand. And believe me, God has dealt with me on both of these issues numerous times. You'd think I'd learn my lesson sooner or later, but because these traits have been engrained in me over a long period of time, they resurface again and again in my life. Why? Because they are comfortable to me. This is what I know. And sadly, as a human being, I struggle with resurfacing issues just like everyone else.

I am most impatient when I am under stress or duress. There are times that I pray for God to handle a given situation but then I become impatient when I don't see anything happening. When my patience wears thin, I become blinded to what God is doing. I attempt to take control over the situation. And it is at this point that things go very wrong and I am reminded of just how little control I truly have.

Our impatience can lead us into direct conflict with God. As a result, we attempt to wrestle control from Him. We act prematurely, forcing our will on a situation, causing more harm than good. Our impatience and need to control rail up in the face of God. It is rebellion! It is sin!

James paints a simple picture of the kind of patience believers waiting for the Lord's return should have - like the patient farmers waiting for the fruit of their labors to ripen. Farming is hard work and takes a lot of patience. Farmers have a lot of prep work before they get to the final outcome. They have to clear the land, plow, and plant the seeds. Then they must wait patiently for the rains to fall and the crops to fully ripen. Farmers must wait for the optimum time to harvest. To harvest prematurely is devastating.

The patient farmer is a portrait of the patience we, too, should have in waiting on the Lord's work in our lives. God's timing is not the same as our timing. His timing is perfect and perfectly designed with our best interest in mind. Quite frankly, our timing stinks! Although we may have to endure some hardships and trials as we patiently wait on Him, these hardships are plowing the fertile soil of our hearts, prepping us for His harvest. You see, God's primary concern is for our spiritual well-being and not our own selfish personal preferences or comfort!

As I reflect over my life, especially decisions that I made or things that I did due to impatience, I see how much better things could have been had I just remained patient and been satisfied with that which God had provided at the moment. I see how God would have worked things out for my benefit, and the benefit of others, had I just given Him time and trusted completely in Him. If only I had been more patient!

Let us reflect and remember just how patient He has been with us. I don't know about you, but oh how patient He has been with me! Therefore, doesn't He deserve our patience in return?

Patiently wait upon Him in your life. He can be trusted.

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. "
Colossians 10:11-12

In His Love, Cathy

Listening to the Right Voice

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,

for he speaks peace to his faithful people.

Psalm 85:8a

Have you ever experienced conflicting voices on an issue in your life? Your heart might tell you one thing and your head the other. Or, you might receive conflicting advice from others. Family may tell you one thing and friends advise another. How do you know which voice to listen to and which to ignore?

The Word of God can silence all of the voices whose advice don't measure up to God's Truth - no matter how loud they are. All the voices we hear are to be measured against the standards of the Bible. The world attempts to drown out God's Voice of Truth. The static created makes it difficult for us to discern God's Will. Even people with good intentions may not be giving godly advice.

So how do we know we are hearing God's voice and not the wrong voice masquerading as truth? By reading God's Word we get to know with our Father. He shares His character and His heart with us in His Word. Reading the Scriptures helps us to fine tune our hearing! Dr. Charles Stanley says, "The most potent hearing aid known to man is the Holy Bible. It is the standard of truth against which you can test every message that comes your way." (Into His Presence) We learn to heed only those voices that are in line with the Bible. Any voice that contradicts Scripture is to be automatically ignored!

We can also learn to recognize God's voice through prayer. When expectantly waiting for God's leading on a matter, you know your are hearing the right voice, His voice, if you have an inner peace. When prayer, circumstances, Scripture, and godly counsel are all in agreement, all the static interference dissipates and God's voice becomes loud and clear.

The best way to recognize God's voice is to get to know Him. This means spending time with Him, in His Word, in prayer, meditating on Him, and in fellowship and worship with other believers. You can't hear your Father's voice if you don't even know what it sounds like!

Are you fine tuning your hearing?

In His Love, Cathy

When the Odds are Against You

I am writing this on my lunch break at home.

As I write I am praying a mother's heartfelt prayer for Brittany. She is trying out for Varsity and JV basketball today. Though she's been told in so many terms that she won't be put on Varsity, she was determine to go anyway against all odds and try out. Many of you parents out there know what that is like - to see your child go against all odds, risking themselves to disappointment and heartbreak. I admire the quiet strength and courage in her. I know the source of that strength and I am so thankful for a daugher who relies upon Him no matter the odds against her. It's a blessing to see how this determined young woman rises up when faced with what seems an impossible challenge.

I am trusting God right now, placing her in His very capable hands. After all, He is the one who knit her together to be the wonderful young lady she is - and I know He takes joy in watching her play. So as I sit and type I'm praying for my daughter - for her to have a heart of steel in facing odds that are against her, a heart that places her value in Christ and not in her basketball abilities. I'm praying for her to bring glory to Christ on the court, whether she makes varsity, plays JV, or sits the bench every single game. I'm praying for her to fix her eyes upon Jesus, knowing that He can help her overcome any odds she's up against in life. I'm praying that if she does make varsity, that she recognizes the One who put her there for His purpose. I am praying that no matter the outcome, her heart remains steadfast in the One who delights in her!

No matter what happen, my prayer is that, today especially, others see Christ shining through her!

In His Love, Cathy

The Cure for Insomnia

"Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool."

Ecclesiastes 5:3

I am an insomniac. I often can not sleep. I not only have difficulty falling asleep but staying asleep. If I awaken during the night, it usually takes me a very long time to fall back to sleep. This is very frustrating. Today, more and more people are suffering from insomnia - so much so that we now have medications prescribed to us to help us sleep. Though insomnia can be caused by medical issues, it has become a common problem experienced by average, everyday Americans.

I know that part of my insomnia problem is related to medical issues. But I also know it is at its worst when I am stressed, overworked, over scheduled, and overly busy. I often find it hard to relax my mind. I rehearse the day over and over in my head. I worry about problems and how to solve them, then think of all the things that could go wrong. I stress about how we are going to handle the next busy day, week, or month. I am anxious over finances, health, my children. These thoughts catch hold of my mind and won't release it, causing me to toss and turn my way to another restless night.

Do you experience this type of thing? Can you relate to this? If so, there is hope and there is help. Ecclesiastes 5:3 gives us a great solution to this problem, "Too much work gives you restless dreams..." When we overtax and over fill our busy schedules, we leave no time for the things that are important - time to build a solid relationship with God, time for family, friends, and other relationships. We wind ourselves up tighter than a spring with our busy schedules. Sooner or later the tension is going build to the point that the spring will break or unwind. If you don't slow down then that spring will come undone at the one time your body does stop - at night as you try to sleep!

Our goal in life is not to keep ourselves busy, even if that busyness is good works. Our goal in life is to serve and please God, first and foremost. So often we think we have to fill up our schedules and our children's schedules with good things. We mistakenly think that our schedules being filled with good works is a sign of our salvation or will keep our kids out of trouble. Remembering that our good works aren't what saves us but instead is an outflow of our salvation can help us to keep our busyness in check. Busy schedules filled with good things is bad if it infringes on our relationships - especially our relationship with God. Busy schedules do not equate to our kids staying out of trouble - only parents who make the time to teach their children about God and His Word have a better chance at their children growing up with a heart for God and making godly choices. Busy schedules don't help us to build relationships with others so that we can show them the authentic love of Jesus Christ with our words and our deeds.

The cure for insomnia starts with a heart of peace, peace that comes from God alone. That peace can be achieved when we make the time to seek it, reducing our schedules to reflect the things that are truly important in life. Analyze your life and seek ways to cut out those things that are just 'busywork.' Commit your time and resources to those things that matter the most. All is meaningless if God is not in it. Trim your schedule and rest well friends!

In His Love, Cathy

Gloria!

He suffered for our sins! He died so that we may live! He did it all because of His great love for us! Gloria!

In His Love, Cathy

Be a God Pleaser

"We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors."2 Corinthians 6:8

encouragement for today
Though Paul says elsewhere that he sought to live in peace with others whenever possible, here he acknowledges that his primary focus is not serving people, but God. When you serve God, it doesn't always follow that people will honor you. Sometimes that happens, but other times they despise or slander you. Jesus warned his disciples that people would hate them because they hated Jesus. We need to keep our focus singly on Jesus, be true to him, and let the chips fall where they may. If our goal is to serve God, we can live with the people consequences.
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

I had an experience once where I was in a position of having to choose loyalty to God over loyalty to a person. Though this person was a dear friend and though I tried to handle the situation in a way that was God-pleasing, God made His will very clear to me on the matter. It was tough following through in obedience. It cost me the friendship. However, I knew my loyalty and obedience had to lie in God - not with the person. It was very hard but God helped me through it. I am now thankful for what He has done since...He knew what was best.

Though we are to live peaceably with one another and look to the interests of others before our own, we are to never place pleasing people over pleasing God. Though I am loyal to my family, friends, and faith, my loyalty lies in Christ first and foremost! There is no compromise on this point. And if I'm forced to choose between people or God - God wins every single time!

Who are you trying to please today?
In His Love, Cathy

Under the Weather

So I've been a little under the weather lately. Been fighting a cold and seasonal allergies off and on for a month or so. By last Friday, it all came to a head. I was so sick by Friday night I knew something more was going on. My biggest fear was that I had contracted swine flu. I had several students out the past two weeks who did have swine flu. I had one come back to school still clearly suffering with cough and congestion. I had worked with this student before school one morning to get him caught up. So when my symptoms worsened this weekend I truly expected the worst.

I did begin to feel a little better Sunday afternoon, but still did not feel healthy enough to go to work on Monday. So, I found a substitute and took Monday off. I decided it would be so important for me to go to the doctor on Monday and rule out the possibility of swine flu. My regular doctor was booked that day and couldn't work any patients in. So I ended up at the Acute Care Clinic. When I arrived, there was a sign on the door indicating that if you had sinus congestion or cough, to please put on a mask. So, as I checked in I dutifully requested my mask. After signing in I found a seat in an end chair of the waiting room. As I sat I noticed that I was the only one in the room with a mask. Immediately I felt like the pink elephant in the room. True, there were others who were sick, but my mask set me apart from everyone else. I was marked among my peers as a "Swine Flu" victim, highly contagious and to be avoided at all costs! The funny thing is that I hadn't even been diagnosed at this point.

After about 20 minutes, I coughed for the first time. Afterwards, the woman sitting one chair over from me slowly got up and moved across the room, settling into a chair the furthest from my location. Now remember, I had on a mask. I had only coughed once and when I did, I covered my masked face with a kleenex as well. Boy did I feel really odd. People were eyeing me out of the corner of their eyes. Now here is the kicker. The woman who moved began coughing and blowing her nose! In addition, she moved next to a couple of children who were obviously struggling to breath and constantly blowing their noses in public. According to the health department, if you are sick you are definitely to blow your nose in private, AWAY from others to minimize contamination. I just sat there, amused by the irony of those who treated me like an alien simply because I wore a mask. They obviously were experiencing the same symptoms but had not put on a mask for the safety of others in the room. I couldn't help but to be thankful for the mask that separated me both socially and physically from those who were contagious. That mask protected me from their germs rather than the other way around.

Now for the irony. I tested negative for swine flu and left the exam room mask free! The two poor children who were waiting tested positive and came out of their exam room wearing masks. I don't know what happened to the woman who move away from me and next to the children. Though I hope they all are feeling better and recouperating, the experience was a testimony to the fickleness of human nature.

Like the woman who moved away from me, who was masked, into an area with sick people who were not masked, we too often make ill informed choices. How often do we choose what we think is safe and right only to put ourselves in further danger? How often do we take matters into our own hands and do what we think is best, only to later suffer from unplanned consequences? We can't see everything and we can't know everything. However, we have a God who can. We can rely on Him, we can Trust Him, and we can listen to His leading. He has our best interest in mind all the time. His best plans for us are far better to what we think is what is best for us. It is when we go against His plans, seeking out our own interests, that we become like the woman who moved away from me thinking it was safer across the room. She moved right into harm's way without knowing it. We do the same when we follow what we think is best without seeking God's Will. Like my mask, following God's Will protects us from those things we can't see or understand. When we go out on our own, we expose ourselves to harm and danger whose consequences can be spiritual, physical, and emotional.

So, I didn't have the Swine Flu. In fact, I ended up having a three for one special - sinus infection, bronchitis, and walking pneumonia. I was thankful. I'm home on bedrest this week according to doctor's orders. Although this isn't what I wanted to do this week and I have so much to do at work, this is what is best. Sometimes God stops us in our tracks to get our attention and force us to rest...at least that's what He does in my case. I guess it is because I'm so stubborn He has to thump me on the head once in a while. And by the way, LOVE my acute care doctor even though he also fussed at me about overdoing it:-)

God bless friends. Many of you are sick as well. Rest and get well. My prayers are with you all! Now it's back to bed for me:-)

In His Love, Cathy

Opening Our Eyes To God's Provision

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.
16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

2 Kings 6:15-18

The King of Aram was at war with the King of Israel. However, every time the King of Aram would set up to attack the King of Israel, God would warn the prophet Elisha who in turn would warn the King of Israel. The King of Aram became so frustrated that he sent his men to find and capture Elisha. They discovered Elisha at Dothan and the Army of the King of Aram surrounded the city. Elisha's servant was so alarmed at the hopelessness of their situation. There were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. The young man was no doubt scared to death. His words to Elisha echoed the fear in his heart..."Oh sir, what do we do now?" The odds were stacked against them. The problem at hand seemed insurmountable. How would they and the city survive an attack by such a large, well equipped army?

Elisha's prayed that the young servant's eyes would be opened. When the LORD opened the young man's eyes, he was amazed at what he saw! The hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. The Army of Heaven's itself surrounded not just the city but also filled the entire countryside! The Army of the King of Aram was nothing compared to the majestic and powerful army defending Elisha. I can only imagine what an incredible sight that must have been! Oh to have witnessed that event!

When we face insurmountable odds in our own lives, how do we respond? Do we respond like Elisha with a confident faith? Or are we more like the young servant who was fearful? I would like to say that I respond like Elisha, but truth be known, I am often more like the young servant who responds in fear. When facing insurmountable difficulties, we can have the confidence that God is doing more in the spiritual realm that what we can see. Through eyes of faith, we can see God's spiritual resources and how He is working on our behalf. We may not understand why we are suffering or experiencing difficulties, but we can TRUST God in every circumstance.

If we can't see God's at work in our lives, even in difficulties, then perhaps our spiritual eyesight is blurred. In this case, the problem is with our own spiritual condition and not with God's ability. Don't allow difficulties or struggles choke out your faith. Be patient and trust God in what He is doing in the situation. He does have your best in mind. You have spiritual resources on your side that you may not see, but they are there. Like Elisha's servant, you would be amazed at the army that is fighting on your behalf. Don't give up on your faith! God has provided all that you need to overcome! In fact, He has given you more than you could ever imagine! He already has the victory! You need only claim it!

I desire to look through eyes of faith, to see God working in insurmountable circumstances of my life. Like Elisha's young servant, I want to be AMAZED at God's awesome power in every situation, even if I can't physically see it! I want with all my heart to TRUST HIM in all circumstances and areas of my life! I challenge you, my friends, to place your faith in Him no matter what you are going through. He has resources beyond belief that He is using on your behalf! Ask Him to open your eyes to see. Trust Him completely in your circumstances. He loves you and has already given His best to you!

In His Love, Cathy

Waiting on God

"Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen."

James 5:7

I have a confession to make. I'm an impatient person by nature. I have another confession to make. I am also a control freak. The two naturally go had in hand. And believe me, God has dealt with me on both of these issues numerous times. You'd think I'd learn my lesson sooner or later, but because these traits have been engrained in me over a long period of time, they resurface again and again in my life. Why? Because they are comfortable to me. This is what I know. And sadly, as a human being, I struggle with resurfacing issues just like everyone else.


I am most impatient when I am under stress or duress. There are times that I pray for God to handle a given situation but then I become impatient when I don't see anything happening. When my patience wears thin, I become blinded to what God is doing. I attempt to take control over the situation. And it is at this point that things go very wrong. I am reminded of just how little control I truly have.

Our impatience can lead us into direct conflict with God. As a result, we attempt to wrestle control from Him. We act prematurely, forcing our will on a situation, causing more harm than good. Our impatience and need to control rail up in the face of God. It is rebellion! It is sin!

James paints a simple picture of the kind of patience believers should have - like the patient farmers waiting for the fruit of their labors to ripen. Farming is hard work and takes a lot of patience. Farmers have a lot of prep work before they get to the final outcome. They have to clear the land, plow, and plant the seeds. Then they must wait patiently for the rains to fall and the crops to fully ripen. Farmers must wait for the optimum time to harvest. To harvest prematurely is devastating.

The patient farmer is a portrait of the patience we, too, should have in waiting on the Lord's work in our lives. God's timing is not the same as our timing. His timing is perfect and perfectly designed with our best interest in mind. Quite frankly, our timing stinks! Although we may have to endure some hardships and trials as we patiently wait on Him, these hardships are plowing the fertile soil of our hearts, prepping us for His harvest. You see, God's primary concern is for our spiritual outcome and not our own selfish personal preferences or comfort!

As I reflect over my life, especially decisions that I made or things that I did due to impatience, I see how much better things could have been had I just remained patient and been satisfied with that which God had provided at the moment. I see how God would have worked things out for my benefit, and the benefit of others, had I just given Him time and trusted completely in Him. If only I had been more patient!

Let us not forget just how patient He has been with us. I don't know about you, but oh how patient He has been with me! Therefore, doesn't He deserve our patience in return?

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. "

Colossians 10:11-12

In His Love, Cathy

A Little Less Blogging As of Late

Guess you've noticed that I've not been able to blog quite as frequently. It's been one of those weeks where life just got very busy and then I ended up sick. So, once I'm well and things aren't so crazy, I will post a new blog.

Had some wonderful comments sent in recently on some older blogs. It touches my heart to know that there are others out there in the online world who are being helped and encouraged by this blog site. I've received several comments just recently that are so encouraging - from others whom I don't even know. Thank you, God, for using this blog site to reach and encourage others!

PS - I'm home sick from church this morning - the first time in over 7 years! I might have some time after my quiet time to blog a little something. Missing my church family today! But God is good!

In His Love, Cathy