Challenge for the New Year-- Wholeheartedly His

God hides His nuggets of wisdom in unique places, stumbled upon only by those pilgrims who are traveling the less-trodden paths.  Certain insight is only given in full measure on the lonely roads.  We've discovered this while traveling the road to adoption, and in saying yes to the hard things, and in stepping out to serve a needy soul along the way.   

And some wisdom is hidden in the pages of His Word where we rarely turn...the books we tend to skip over in our attempt to find something that applies to our lives.  Recently, I found myself underlining a theme all the way through 2 Chronicles.  Here, we see an account of the kings of Judah and Israel.  Some are flat-out wicked, and we read of their ultimate destruction as God stands against those who oppose Him.  And then there are the good kings.  But among these good kings, there is an incredible distinction.

Pick up your Bible and read through 2 Chronicles, and you'll see something interesting.  Many kings were said to have done evil in the sight of God.  Many other kings were said to have done right in the sight of  God; however, they failed to take down the high places (the unauthorized places where they sacrificed to God).  An example is the description of Jehoshaphat, who "did what was right in the Lord's sight.  However, the high places were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors."

And then here and there sprinkled throughout the account of all the kings, you will run into a rare few who were the cream that rose to the top.  An example is Judah's  King Asa.  He told his people to seek God and to carry out all His instructions and commands.  King Asa removed the high places and all the incense altars.  And in 2 Chronicles 15:15, one of those nuggets of wisdom surfaces as we see all of Judah making an oath to the Lord and entering a covenant to seek Him with all their mind and all their heart.  "All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind.  They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them.  So the Lord gave them rest on every side."

Later, we see Asa lose God's help, because Asa depended on the king of Aram instead of on the Lord.  The man who rebuked Asa for this mistake reminded him that when he had depended on God wholeheartedly, God had delivered him from huge armies.  "For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His." (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

A theme starts to take shape when you're looking closely...  Over and over again, you will find words like, "[they] did what was right in the Lord's sight.  However, the high places were not taken away;  the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors."  And a couple of chapters later: "He did what was right in the Lord's sight but not wholeheartedly."  Then, enter King Josiah, and we read things like, "Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord's presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul...."

The words began to permeate my mind...
With all their mind.
With all their heart.
Completely His.
Wholeheartedly.
With all his heart and with all his soul.

We are quick to not identify ourselves with the wicked kings.  But, even among the good kings, do we see ourselves as the ones who live a good life but don't really turn 100% of our hearts and minds to God?  Can we let the mirror look intently into our souls, and can we face that reflection for what it really is?  Wouldn't most of us fall into the list with the kings who were good but didn't take down the high places in our lives...the ones who were not wholehearted toward Him?

K.P. Yohannan, in his book Against the Wind, delivers this truth to the heart that is willing to truly listen:

If God were searching among us today, would He find in you the kind of person He is looking for? 

Well, God is searching among us today, searching for the one among His people who will make the choice to seek Him and conform his life to His principles, following Him regardless of what kind of compromise or complacency may surround. God is not looking for the majority who claim to be His, but for those authentic few, who, by their character, demonstrate that they are His and that they follow Him above all else. Unfortunately, I fear that many within the Body of Christ may be passed by in His search for men and women like this. 

I realize this is a strong statement, but that is just what we need to wake us from our slumber and spiritual lethargy. 

A challenge for the new year sits before every single one of us.  Most will not take it up, as it requires sacrifice and discomfort and flat-out denial of self.  But surely there are even just a few who will step up to be ones who give Him our whole mind, our whole heart, ourselves completely and wholeheartedly.


"For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."

Host Families Needed for February

Three of these sweet kiddos are still in need of a host family in February---Gary, Jerry and Noah.  These children are from China, and the host family would need to be adoption-minded, as each of these children is wanting to be adopted.  The deadline has been extended to Thursday, DECEMBER 20th.  Please contact New Horizons for Children for more details.

Could YOU be the family God is calling to adopt a child?  Have you asked Him?  Are you available to be used however HE chooses?

If you are not the adoptive family, please help us pray these children into their forever families.

The Need for Cross-Bearing

"There is a needs-be for us to give ourselves for the life of the world.  An easy, non-self-denying life will never be one of power.  Fruit-bearing involves cross-bearing.  There are not two Christs--an easy-going one for easy-going Christians, and a suffering, toiling one for exceptional believers.  There is only one Christ.  Are you willing to abide in him, and thus to bear much fruit?"

(excerpt from Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Howard and Geraldine Taylor)

My Ambition

I was reading in The Resolution for Women this morning, and the phrase stood up off the page:

"My ambition is to be pleasing to Him and Him alone."  It's right there in 2 Corinthians 5:9.  Today, this moment, my ambition is to be pleasing to Him and Him alone.  And all day, every moment...pleasing Him and Him alone.

How utterly freeing that is.

Unrestricted Commitment

Conviction hit yesterday as I was sorting through magazines to give away.  A thin newsletter from Far Reaching Ministries fell out of the pile.  I first learned of FRM when my friend Kerry pointed them out.  Her friend Wes leads up this ministry, and it's the real deal.  I flipped open the newsletter and read about men like Jaber Tutu in Sudan and his ongoing daily life on the edge of imminent danger as he pushes forward to share the Gospel in Sudan.  Their aim is to reach the entire country and the entire continent with the Gospel.  It literally means risking their lives every day...among enemy troops, diseases, and conditions that we in our plush houses cannot begin to imagine.  Jaber Tutu says goodbye to his wife and baby girl when he leaves for duty, fully aware that he may not return.  When asked how this life affects him, his response was: "...we know that we will never be comfortable in this life.  And we are not afraid of he who can kill the body but of the One who can kill the soul."

My commitment to Christ falls trillions of miles short of what true sacrifice is.  Am I willing to go anywhere He sends me?  Am I willing to live in circumstances and surroundings that claw at my flesh? Just how far am I willing to say YES to whatever He wants from my life?  Jaber Tutu says yes to a daily possibility of death.  He says yes to unrelenting heat, flies by the hundreds, the daily threat of typhoid, and war situations that I cannot fathom.  Simply put, he has counted the cost, and Jesus is worth more to him than any convenience, any comfort, and even his family.  Conviction rolled in tightly yesterday, and I cannot get Jaber Tutu off my mind today...because his life stands as a testimony of just what it really means to pick up his cross daily and follow Jesus.  He's the real thing.  My faith stood pitiful in comparison.

Where are the leaders like these men in the Chaplain Corps?  Where are the people who will step onto the battlegrounds against the enemy to push the Gospel forward?  Where are the men who will lead from the front, stepping up to fight the enemy from attacking their families?  Wes says in this video that when leaders step forward, people WILL follow.

Jaber Tutu and his fellow Chaplain Corps are true leaders.  They are committed, no matter what the cost.  They make the typical comfortable Christian's commitment look lame at best.  

And what about ME...do I give Him my own unrestricted commitment?  WHY NOT?

Brother Leading Brother

Goodnights have been said.  Everyone is tucked in for the night.  And the familiar hushed voices come from the last door on the hall.  Every night older brother reads a children's Bible to younger brother, huddled in a secret meeting beside their nightlight.  Last night they read about God parting the Red Sea, a subject that was still fresh in their minds at breakfast this morning.  This nightly fraternal meeting is especially precious because it was their idea, and my soul thrills to see brother leading brother. All arguments and misunderstandings and he-won't-pick-up-his-toys are put to rest when that Bible comes out each night.  And I pass by their room, my heart full and so very thankful for these little glimpses into God's inner workings in their hearts.

Saturday in the Woods

There's something very special about living in the woods.  I love everything about it...the smells, the sounds, the quiet.  

Long explorations through the forest...hours on end.  They come to the shed, unearth a sled and disappear into the depths of the property to see if the thick bed of dropped leaves will make a good sled run.  Back to the shed they come and go, this time taking a rake.  A secluded wonderland awaits them every time they head to the back of the property.  Today they found the tree marking the very back of the property, and they were explorers in their own right.

Mama joined in the fun, making lunch and wrapping it all up in a blanket.  I had whispered to our youngest son, "When you get hungry, tell your brother and sister that you know of a lady who leaves lunches on her porch for weary travelers."  Content with a secret that only he held, he ran back outside. 

Thirty minutes later, footsteps sounded on the porch, and the explorers had discovered their lunch on the porch swing.  Off they disappeared to have their midday meal in their secret hidden spot in the woods. With a property of only 1.3 acres, they are not truly far away...a stone's toss away from their Daddy working outside...but far enough away to give the feeling of living pioneer life "like they did way back then."

With a quiet house, I settled in to cut out material for the stockings I'm finally going to get around to making this year.  While I cut fabric, our youngest daughter sang and danced to Christmas music.  Her gentle spirit blended with the quiet house.  I cut, she danced, and we both sang Christmas songs.

The stocking-shapped fabric was put away for the next time I get time to work on it, and I asked sweet pea if she wanted to read some books with Mama.  With the big kids playing outside, she soaked up the alone time with Mama.  She pressed in and sighed a contented mmmmm and watched my mouth as I read each word out of one of our favorite books.  Then we'd admire the pictures together and turn the page.

Pumpkin seeds were put in the oven to roast for an hour.

Another load of laundry made its rounds in the machine.

Dinner time approaches, and hungry children come out of the woods in anticipation of what will be on the table for dinner.

The sun slips behind the tall trees, and night falls quickly in these mountains.  The temperature drops, and the inside of the house becomes a retreat for rosy-cheeked children on their way to baths.

Another day in the woods.  These are the moments...the ordinary, simple moments that I want to hold onto and tuck deep into my heart.  These mountains will always hold a special place in my heart, as they have held so many sweet moments of daily living.