Sunday, May 23, 2010

Multitude Mondays

151. weekend getaways

152. natures shelter



153. movie night with my favorite man

154. mountain pies

155. campfires

156. a game of dutch blitz

157. a new addition to the garden



158. safe travels

159. home sweet home



160. a game of wiffle ball

161. the muscles that hurt the day after the wiffle ball game

162. new life



163. Cracker Barrel lunches

164. fresh berries

165. rain kissed roses



166. a reminder written in stone

167. fresh cut sunshine



168. Yahweh reminders

169. unexpected visitors on a lazy Sunday night

170. 2 Timothy 1:7



**this list is a continuation of the Gratitude Gifts list that Ann has going on over at Holy Experience. To learn more about it please click on the 1000 Gifts link on the right hand side of my page.

Monday, May 17, 2010

I'll Wait (Gideon Part 2)

(If you haven't read my first post on Gideon...check it out here.)

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have read over Judges Chapter 6 over the last two weeks. Way too many to mention. I suppose what has me hooked is how much of Gideon I see in me.

Gideon had a constant need for reassurance. Whatever he was being asked to do..He wanted to be sure he wasn't hearing things. It is easy to see how He was filled with doubt and insecurity.

After God tells him to go and save Israel (in the strength that is his) Gideon immediately begins to question and ask for signs. After God reassures him that He will be with Gideon through it all Gideon raised a question, that I have said many times before....

Gideon said, "If you are serious about this, do me a favor: Give me a sign to back up what you are telling me. Don't leave until I come back and bring you my gift."

I am sure that God would prefer that our faith would be unshakeable but here we see that he does not mind reassuring us we need it. Surprising enough...God doesn't look down at Gideon for asking for a sign or for questioning what the Lord is asking him to do...

He simply said "I'll wait til you get back."

Gideon prepared his offering to the Lord and then followed the Lords orders to save the Israelites. You would think that after an experience like this Gideons faith would be unshakeable, unmovable and out of this world. However, when you read further into Gideon's story we see that Gideon still required verification of whose voice he was listening to. As Gideon was called to go into battle he again asks the Lord for confirmation:

"If this is right, if you are using me to save Israel as you've said, then look: I'm placing a piece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew is on the fleece only, but the floor is dry, then I know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said."

Amazingly enough, when he got up in the morning he rung out the fleece that was wet with dew and it was enough to fill an entire bowl with water! Then Gideon did exactly what I have done time and time again....

"Ok, please don't be impatient with me but let me say one more thing. I want to try something else to confirm that you are speaking to me. This time let the fleece be completely dry while the dew drenches the ground."

Guess what? God made it happen.

As I look at this I wonder if Gideon was that insecure and unsure or did he really not want to do what he was called to do. Either way I see myself there, acting and reacting just like him.

It burdens me to know that I make the same excuses and I doubt the same things and the bottom line is.....at times I am being plain old rebellious.

However, God does not change he is as patient with us today as he was with Gideon. He lets us raise our questions and our doubts and you know what he does?

He waits until we get back.

Perhaps we should prepare our offering....

Unending gifts

Have you heard about multitude Mondays? No? Check out what its all about here and soon you will be addicted to finding joy in the everyday......


134. plants producing




135. weekend plans with family

136. camping with a great group of friends

137. date night with the hubby

138. verses that are shared between friends

139. a treasured furry friend that serenades me while I work



140. laughter is indeed the best medicine

141. prayers that are answered one way or another

142. giggling girls that brighten my Thursday evenings

143. a story that inspires

144. a hot cup of green jasmine tea (with honey of course!)

145. enjoying a quiet moment

146. flowers with sweet scents

147. Puppy love



148. a job to go to

149. the privilege of praying for a friend in need

150. sweet tea

Friday, May 14, 2010

Gideon

We meet under an oak tree one afternoon and I watch as he threshes wheat in winepress. He is hoping to redeem some of what is lost, to gather all He can before the Midianites come and take what little they had. I watch as an angel appears and greets Gideon in a tender voice.

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

It seems that the Lord already knew something about Gideon that he didn’t recognize in himself.

Oh touché!

Gideons response is one that is familiar with me as of late. Question after question. The expression on his face was one of confusion and one that said, “Who? Me?”

“But Sir….if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? Why has he abandoned us?”

From that moment, I was hooked. I needed to know more about the one who dared to ask the questions that I only dream of asking out loud, for fear of sounding like a hypocrite. He wasn’t afraid to ask the questions or seek for signs.

Long story short ….It turns out God calls Gideon to lead the Israelites against their oppressors. Gideon in return attempts to come up with every excuse in the book. (Hmmm..why does that sound familiar?)

"I am the weakest”

“I am the smallest”

“I am not sure your are really speaking to me.” (Oh yeah this is me!)

“I need a sign.” (Me too!)

He made all the excuses but in the end He still did what He was led to do.
How? Look at Judges 6:14-16

Seriously…I think I just uncovered my new favorite verse. Ok to my list of verses.
Read them slowly…let them sink in.

“Go in the strength that you have .” Then after He makes one of many excuses God follows it all up with “I will be with you.”

For the first time I see that God was not asking Him to give more than He had, He just wanted him to take what He already had and trust that God had the rest.

How many times a day do I push myself to do or be something that is out of my reach? Probably too many to count.

And its tiring.

So I think I will stop and work with what I have …..and leave the rest to Him.



More on Gideon to come!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Taking time to be grateful

111. a new flower bed completed
112. the feel of the wind on my face
113. the smell of the morning air
114. my mothers love
115. my fathers broken ankle (that could have been so much worse)
116. yearning for more of Him
117. a fresh load of laundry
118. an empty hamper
119. a smile shared
120. sweet sunsets
121. a blanket of rain that waters the soil
122. His truth that speaks louder than my fears or tears
123. the smell of lilacs and lavendar
124. snuggly dogs
125. lazy Sunday afternoons
126. chocolate/vanilla twist cones with sprinkles
127. an afternoon drive with no destination in mind
128. campfires on cool nights
129. bright red cardinals on purple wisteria
130. a hubby who loves me just as I am
131. rainbows after rain to remind us of a promise
132. long projects at work that are finally completed
133. birds that still sing their sweet song in the midst of the rain ( I could learn a lot from them!)