In Quiet Strength

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

Just recently, I received a heart felt compliment from a friend, "Cathy, you have a quiet strength about you."  Now, I have a difficult time receiving compliments.  Why?  Because I struggle with insecurity - I sometimes succumb to the lies the Enemy flings at me to tear me down.  Therefore, when I receive a compliment, I tend to 'shoo' it away or down play it.  So when this dear friend paid me this compliment, I looked around to make sure I was the only one there she was talking to, then pointed to myself as if to say, "Who, me?"  I never would have even thought this of myself.  In fact, I don't think this of myself at all.  I thanked her for the compliment but what I really wanted to say was, "Lady, you have no idea!"  But due to the circumstances and the setting, I didn't have much time to respond. Then, just days later, I had another dear friend make a similar compliment in her blog.  "Whoa!"  I thought.  "This isn't me! I'm not really this person they are talking about, am I?"

But in my quiet time this morning, God brought this issue back up.  Each time I tried to push it out of my mind, it would bubble right back up to the surface of my thoughts.  It took a little while, but I finally figured out that God wanted to deal with me on this.  So, as these compliments replayed through my mind, I felt a familiar tug at my heart - His Spirit - showing me that there was truth in these words.  Then it hit me.  The quiet strength my friend saw in me was not my own, but Christ in me!  Oh, it all made sense now!  God was reminding me that I am strong - not because of me but because of Him!

And when I down play such compliments, I am minimizing the importance of a work HE was doing INSIDE of me!  With this, I realized I missed an opportunity to boldly witness to this friend simply because I was so 'humble' that I barely could utter a simple 'Thank you.'  I was so self-absorbed in my own insecurities that I missed out on testifying to someone the changing power of Jesus Christ - how HE took a weak, insecure little girl and gave her strength - growing her up in His image!

This quiet strength that my friend spoke of is not my own.  It is an answer to a prayer that I've prayed for years, "I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me." (Philippians 4:13).  Throughout our lives -  college, graduate school with a newborn, health crisis & cancer, career changes, and ministry - Christ has been the source of my strength.  I've relied heavily upon Him through the years.  He had ALWAYS been faithful.   For you see, on my own, I can do nothing because I am weak.  But with Christ in me, I CAN do EVERYTHING! 

So, to my dear friends who complimented me, thank you on behalf of my Lord and Savior.  It is His strength you see in me, not my own.  The good news is that we all can have access to this strength if we simply surrender all that we are to Him.  For we are strongest when we are on our knees before Him!

Grace and peace, friends!

In His Love, Cathy

What Your Life is Worth

I couldn't help but notice the headline as it flashed across my screen..."Web Note Warning Before Crash:  Officials say the pilot behind the Austin, Texas, building crash was furious with the IRS."  Next to this headline was a picture of a scene eerily similar to one I had seen before - on September 11, 2001.

Apparently a man who was furious with the IRS over his taxes crashed his small, private plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas.  The plane exploded.  Though the building suffered damage, fortunately, all in the building survived.  The pilot perished in the crash.  Just prior to his flying his plane into the IRS building, the man also set his home on fire.  The sad thing is he is left behind his wife and teenage daughter to deal with the sordid mess he made.  Did he even think of them when he planned all of this? 

This man definitely had some deep issues.  I don't know anything about him, his life, nor if he had reached out for help.  But he definitely didn't handle his problems like any sane, rational person would.  His behavior was self-destructive.  But he wanted to do more than hurt just himself.  He wanted to hurt others - he wanted to kill others.  And though he didn't harm his family, he hurt them far deeper than he probably ever realized - or even worse, he just didn't even care. 

We may never react to our problems to the extreme that this man did.  However, we each have our own forms of self-destructive behaviors that when left unchecked, can harm not only us but others as well - overeating, anger issues, perfectionism, impulsive spending, gambling, alcohol, drugs, unhealthy obsessions, self-pity, lack of self-control, relationship issues - and the list goes on and on and on.  Some of us become so self-defeated by our problems or habits that we give up.  We take on a victim mentality.  We quit fighting our sinful urges.  We mess up anyway so what's the point of trying?  We accept our circumstances and continue to make the same self-destructive choices.  We beat ourselves up because we can't seem to break free.  We may even come to the point where we feel our lives are not worth much at all.  Don't buy into this lie!

"Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.  For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God."  1 John 5:3-5

We were not created to live a defeated life, but a VICTORIOUS LIFE in JESUS CHRIST!  Your LIFE is WORTH something.  In fact, YOUR LIFE was worth so much to GOD that HE sent HIS ONE and ONLY SON to DIE for Y-O-U!!!  And not only did HE DIE for you - HE was BEATEN for YOU - HE was MOCKED for YOU - HE BLED for YOU!  Sure Jesus was God's Son, God Incarnate - but HE FULLY FELT EVERY SINGLE BLOW.  HE fully felt the NAILS as they were HAMMERED into HIS HANDS and FEET.  And He DIED to pay for YOUR SINS - because YOU were worth it all to HIM!  HE loves YOU just that much!

So DON'T YOU DARE allow yourself to give into any self destructive, self-depreciating urges EVER!  That's NOT why Jesus Christ DIED for you!  YOUR LIFE WAS WORTH THE CROSS!!!  Now LIVE IT for HIM! 

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17


And, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it's time you should.  Click on the Jesus 2020 link for help coming to know Jesus Christ.  Find a church and go.  Find friends or family who are Christians and tell them of your decision.  Christ is waiting, knocking on the door to your heart.  Are you going to let the ONE who values your life so much that He DIED for you just stand there? Are you really going to keep Him waiting?  Seriously?

Grace and peace, friends!
In His Love, Cathy

Hidden Costs

One of my new year's resolutions was to simplify.  Sounds easy until you actually have the time to analyze and dissect all areas of your life.  Then you realize just how complicated and intertwined some things are.  When you cut back or eliminate one thing you suddenly discover its ripple effect on other areas.  Some of these effects are positive, some are negative.  Suddenly, just the process of simplifying isn't quite so, well - simple.

For example, one of the areas of our life that had become quite complicated was our finances.  To be transparent, over the last many years, with my being bivocational and Scott coaching, we did not pay close of attention to expenses/bills as we should have.  We paid our bills, trusting that they were accurate and that we paying for services, for the most part, that we thought we actually used.  But we didn't have the time nor the energy to really look at our statements to see what we were really being charged and why.  So at the beginning of the year, I began to really look at the details of each bill and expense we had.  Boy, was I surprised!

As I began analyzing the details of the charges, I discovered fees for services I don't ever recall ordering.  I also discovered fees for things we had ordered in the past had doubled, even tripled from the original time we ordered the services (cable, phone, etc...)  Others were fees for services we never ordered but apparently had been automatically added to our account for 'free' but with the contigency we had to call them after a certain number of months to cancel or we'd be charged.  To receive the service required no action on our part!  How nice of them! 

As I began adding up all of these 'hidden costs' I discovered that we had almost $200 in services we didn't use or need.  I knew we had a few things out there that we needed to cancel, but I certainly didn't realize just how much all of these added up!  Our inattention to these details over the last year especially had cost us - A LOT!     

Next, Scott and I analyzed every charge and fee.  If we discovered we were paying for a service we either didn't want or no longer needed, we called and canceled it.  Once we eliminated the obsolete, we turned our attention to other expenses.  For example, we noted that our introductory price for our cable/phone/internet had run out - the charge had almost doubled from the introductory price.  So I called our cable company and spoke to a representative on how we, loyal customers since 1993, could cut the costs of our services with them.  (I was really hoping they would cut a deal with me to keep the current service levels we had since we had been customers for so long, but they didn't.  Hey, it was worth a shot to ask!)  Although the customer service representative did not offer us a special deal, she did  present to me some cost cutting suggestions.  We tweaked a few things with our service and ended up with basically the same services (just minus a few email addresses and some premiere movie channels which we never watched). Our new monthly charges will fall pretty close to the introductory price we had been paying all along.   

Another strategy that helped us to simplify our finances was to get our financial data in some kind of money management program.  For years, we had used a budget spreadsheet that I created for our personal finances. But over the years, with the changing expenses of a growing family, our HSA, retirement, taxes,  and now a child in college, the limited functionality of my simple budget database was just not enough.  For us, the perfect solution to organizing our finances electronically was Quicken.  We use it to track ALL of our financial transactions - checking, savings, mortgage, loans, medical, credit cards, bills, tax information, Mathew's college expenses, HSA, charitable contributions, assets, and retirement. It was a huge task in getting everything set up in Quicken, but OH, how NICE to have everything at the click of a button instead of having to pull it out of a file cabinet! In addition, it had so many built in features that I had done by hand because Excel just didn't have the functionality needed.  We had actually set up our finances in Quicken last summer, so having everything already set up really helped us at the beginning of this year as we began to analyze our finances.

From this experience I learned quite a few things.  Here's some of the lessons I learned:
1.  Always check the details of your billing.  If there is a charge you don't understand, call and ask for an explanation.
2.  If you have signed up for a service under special introductory pricing, know when the introductory price ends.  Once it ends, call the service provider to see if they can offer you a similar deal to keep your business.  If not, see if there are other options for the services that will keep the cost in check.  Once the introductory deal runs out, the price may skyrocket.
3.  If you no longer use a service, don't let it linger.  Cancel it immediately.  Even $10 a month adds up over time.
4.  Being tired or too busy is understandable. However, for your family's financial sake, keep track of the details of all bills and expenses.  If you don't, it's like throwing money away!
5.  Be careful on services offered for 'free' for x number of months.  You usually have to call to cancel that service.  Company's count on the fact that you will forget so they will begin charging once the free time period runs out. 
6.  Get your financial data organized - whether is just on paper or in a money management program.  Being organized will help you stay on top of your finances.
7.  READ all of the messages on your bill, especially those in the detail section.  This is usually where information about changes in fees or other changes affecting your future charges are located.

And last but not least,

Sometimes it just pays to do a little financial house cleaning!

In His Love, Cathy

Writer's Block

Okay, so I've been having a bit of a writer's block lately.  Could be due to the cold I've had and the Robitussin I've been on (I don't do well on cold meds - they make me feel like I'm in a distant dreamland).  So instead of trying to force the issue and just slapping something together and giving readers 'junk' to read, I've opted to wait patiently for the Lord to reveal exactly what I'm to write about - and for my head to clear out.  I also tend to have negative tendancies when I'm sick and I don't want that to affect my writings, either! 

But then, this brings up a good point.  So often we try to force issues in our lives, jumping the gun, attempting to make things happen according to our will and our plans.  So often, in doing so, we miss the mark BIG TIME.  When we force something to happen according to our will, we are, in essence, asserting ourselves into God's position.  I'm not talking about carrying out difficult tasks or facing issues that God has placed in our paths.  We do have godly responsibilities in which we will have to take the iniative instead of sitting back and waiting for God to do all of the work.  What I'm speaking of is trying to make something happen that is contrary to the will of God - prematurely acting on something instead of waiting on God's perfect timing.  Our impatience causes us to often jump the gun.  We simply assume that what we are doing is the will of God instead of waiting on Him and seeking His will in the matter, squarely placing us at odds with God's will.

So, instead of writing something that is contrary to the will of God and getting it all WRONG,  I think I'll just sit back and wait to see where the Spirit leads.  It's going to take work on my part, though.  Time in prayer, time in the Word, time in worship, time with other Believers, and time in quiet contemplation before the Lord.  I'd rather my words be few and be RIGHT than many and WRONG.  So I'll just wait upon the Lord - and for the Robitussin Cold and Flu to wear off!

Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

Don’t worry about evil people who prosper

or fret about their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:7 

Grace and peace, friends!
In His Love, Cathy

Expect the Unexpected

The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”


6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!  Luke 17:5-6

When you pray, do you expect the unexpected?  When you pray, do you believe that God will come through on your behalf?  When you pray, do you foster doubt in your heart?

Let me confess this to you.  There are times in my prayer life where I pray for something but yet I doubt that God will pull through for me.  Though I know He promises to faithfully answer our prayers, I find myself doubting.

Now doubt is not unbelief.  The definition of doubt is being double-minded about something.  Doubt can be our stumbling block in our prayer life.  We may pray for the impossible, we have faith in God and believe He can answer our prayers, but we doubt whether He really will answer our prayers in our favor. 

Recently, Scott and I were facing an impossible situation.  It was a heavy financial burden that we just didn't know how in the world we could pay.   I'd prayed over this situation, yet I doubted.  Being a math person and a natural worrier, I played with the numbers, analyzing our budget, cutting out the unecessary, trying to find a way to meet our obligation.  To be even more transparent, I was concerned we'd have to cut way back in our budget on some of our necessities and possibly our charitable contributions.  I just didn't know how we'd make it.  My heart was especially burdened about having to cut back on the charitable contributions.  So I prayed, knowing there was absolutely NO WAY we could make this financial obligation.  I found myself doubting God's provision and blessings. 

However, after much prayer, we made a commitment to God to trust Him week by week with our finances.  This is an easy thing to do when things are going right financially.  However, when faced with a financial crisis, it becomes extremely difficult.  Now you must know that Scott and I are not extravagent people.  We are both modest people and we live a modest lifestyle.  Despite our modest living, this burden threatened the financial peace and freedom we had been blessed with. It has hung over our heads for several months. 

So we prayed.  Each week that I trusted God more with our finances, I began to see His wonderful plan unfold.  And as we committed ourselves to honoring Him and trusting Him each week, we saw more and more of this huge financial burden chip away.  It finally culminated this week when we discovered that this huge financial burden we had feared was totally incorrect.  The original bill was WRONG...we only owed a small fraction of what we thought we owed!  I sincerely believe this error was no coincidence.  I know that this burden was a journey orchestrated by God.  God brought us through these past several months to teach us an important lesson of relying on Him.  Somehow, somewhere, we'd become self-reliant without even realizing it.  He had to bring us back to the point that we relied on Him with all that we are. 

And as His perfect plan in this matter unfolded, I felt like the widow whose oil never ran out.  With her one bottle of oil, she filled every single container until there were no empty containers left.  By selling these bottles of oil, God richly provided for her and her son.         

We can expect the unexpected from God.  Though He does not always give us exactly what we ask for in prayer, He is faithful to give what is far better for us.  His goal isn't to spoil, but to grow us in His image. 

Expect the unexpected. 


In His Love, Cathy

Hope for Haiti

KLOVE and Food for the Hungry are sponsoring a 'text' drive to raise funds to help the people of Haiti.  To make a one-time contribution of  $10, text KLOVE at 20222.  This $10 donation will appear on your next cell phone bill.  Now here's the cool part, 100% of your donation will go straight to feeding the hungry in Haiti - no administrative fees or overhead costs are taken out of this special donation.  To check it out or to give online, go to  http://www.klove.com/promodetails.aspx?i=5530


The people of Haiti aren't the only ones who need our help.  We have people right here in our very own community who are hungry, homeless, and suffering.  Prayerfully ask God how you can help others here in our community.  Let's be Christ to those who are in need!

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'


37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  Mathew 25:34-40




In His Love, Cathy