The Eyes of the Lord

He sees our potential, like this fern in its infancy.

I’ve been fascinated reading through the Bible chronologically, especially when comparing the stories in Kings and Chronicles. Scholars say the books of 1 & 2 Kings are written from man’s perspective and the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles tell those same stories from God’s perspective. The life of a king was often summarized in one of two ways: “he did right in the eyes of the lord” or “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

As I read both the stories side by side, I noticed how King Abijah is portrayed negatively in 1 Kings 15 (“he committed all the sins…; his heart was not fully devoted”) – but in 2 Chronicles 13, the content is three times longer and there are many positives (“the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken Him”).

Another example is the account of King Manasseh in 2 Kings 21: “he did more evil…, caused Judah to sin…, and he shed so much innocent blood…” But, in 2 Chronicles 33, the account tells of how the Lord got his attention, how God then heard his humble prayer and was moved to restore him and “Manasseh knew the Lord is God.”

These examples show that when a human relays a series of events, he may focus on the negatives – but not so with God. He looks for the good, remembers the positives and focuses on the potential!

Regarding the One who sees all and knows all, 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

God is for us. He longs to see us persevere and to succeed. How different would our own stories look if we saw them through “the eyes of the Lord”? Instead of phrases like “missed the mark,” “stubborn” or “fell short,” we might see words like “adapted,” “faithfully pursued,” or “patiently trusted.”

How might God be seeing your life differently than you do?

God, thank you that you have a plan for my success. When I see the negatives, I will remember that you work all things together for good. When the wait is long, I will be patient and remember your timing is perfect. When the road is hard, I will listen for your voice to direct my next step. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Set Apart

His roots set him apart.

I noticed the unusual tree right away. His knobby knees in the air, he appeared to be sitting on a rock at the edge of the trail -- a tree in "the thinker" pose in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains.

I played with the personification awhile and wondered what trees would think about. Was he sitting there thinking of sending down deeper roots? Was he enjoying the view -- the beautiful ribbons of smoky blue-gray ridges stretching for miles in the distance? Was he taking a few moments to be still and listen to his Creator? Maybe he was longing for a weary hiker to join him on the rocks for lunch in the shelter of his shade.

I thought of this tree with tenacious roots that held him securely near the top of the ridge where the ferocious wind blows. His roots had sustained him through many storms. Obviously, they stretched deep enough to give him life. He was thriving here on the ridge near Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. 

I first noticed this unusual tree because his exposed roots set him apart.

I hope to be known and recognized by my roots, too.

God, let my faith set me apart. My identity is in you and with strong roots I am connected to you, abiding in you, living on your strength instead of relying on my own. 

Blessed is the One Who Trusts

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord...

On our recent drive across South Dakota, my eyes were drawn to one healthy tree standing alone in the vast plains. It was the only thing green for miles, it seemed, because it was sinking its roots down deep for refreshing.

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." -- Jer. 17:7-8 NIV

It was precious family time with my mom and dad, as they didn't want to make the drive themselves. We stopped at an overlook and I took this picture. Back on the road, the four of us talked a long time about how God sustains in unbelievable ways when we trust Him. We all could identify with having seen God's refreshment through hard times when we kept our focus on Him. It often required waiting, but as we looked back, God was always lush and generous in His answers.

I am so blessed to have family and friends that trust God, too. I am not a lone tree in the desert. I can flourish because others have helped me grow my roots deep through the years.

Thank you, Lord. My confidence and sustenance comes from you. Even in the droughts and discouragements of life, you have the power to keep me flourishing. I will abide with you forever.

New Leg of His Journey

He was a good man -- thoughtful, gracious and easy to be around. He was adventurous, creative, vibrant and fun. And now our dear friend is gone. His valiant battle with cancer is over.

It happened only days after the Women's Breakaway, where I had shared the details of how Ted and I had ridden a roller coaster of health issues last summer, hanging on for dear life. In the most frail of moments, we had clung to our faith and surrendered to God's bigger plan -- whatever that would be.

For Ted and I, things turned out far better than we anticipated. We found ourselves receiving amazing answers to prayer.

For our friend, this is not what we thought would happen. He was only 49.

Yet it begs me to answer once more, can I trust God to be God? Can I surrender again into the hands of a Loving Father who has a bigger plan that we can't see?

Again, it's time to dig in with my deepest roots that keep me strong. I call out to God, telling Him of all that boggles my mind and burdens my heart. I surrender and rest in Him because He is Author and Creator and the way the story will unfold is for Him to decide.

I devote time to reading God's Word and I preserve some quiet time to listen for His wisdom. I trust in Him for comfort and refreshing. My hope is in eternity where we will see our loved ones again and walk with God in a new world of splendor beyond human description.

And the Comforter comes near, once again. My mind opens a bit wider to let in more Light. The Holy Spirit brings peace into the most perplexing situations; Love shows up in our darkest hour; and Hope appears in the midst of our emotional pain.

Our friend will live on in the hearts of all who had the blessing of knowing him. While we will miss him deeply, he has inspired us to live with that same courage, humility and grace that he and his sweet wife have so beautifully demonstrated.

Now he has gone on to a new leg of his journey. As Christ-followers, we don't grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13-14 NIV). Our earthly lives are only a small segment of the journey -- a temporary separation -- in the face of forever.

Heavenly Father, great is your love toward us; your faithfulness endures forever. (Ps. 117:2 NIV) You are omniscient, and you have the greater good in mind, always. We will fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18 NIV) 

Deeper Roots, Abundant Waters

(Click the image to enlarge.)

While on our wild ride last summer, Ted and I learned to trust God in a much deeper way and to realize the richness of His love can carry us, no matter what we may be facing in life. Surrendered in those darkest hours, we found ourselves infused with grace, bathed in God's beauty and wrapped in His love.

Yesterday, I was privileged to share our story at the Women's Breakaway in Chilton. I used the tree image as a handout to summarize how we need to strengthen our all-important roots. Each of the roots plays an integral part in stabilizing the tree to weather the storms of life.

After both presentations, several women shared with me their stories of strength through adversity or told me this message was exactly what they needed to hear. One woman told me through great tears of joy that she had come to know the truly indescribable peace that passes all understanding amid a hardship in her life.

My friend Barb noted how this immediately opened the way for these women to connect on a deeper level -- it normally takes much longer to develop that level of intimacy. "God loves relationship," she said.

See how important it is for each of us to share with others what God has done in our lives? Whether it be one-on-one or in a group, these stories encourage and strengthen our faith and give God glory. We all face circumstances requiring strength beyond our own.

We can't do it ourselves -- we need Him. As we stretch our roots deep into God's ever-flowing streams of refreshment, we practice (practice, practice) abiding in Him. There is nothing in this world that can compare to the refreshment we find there. It is always, always there -- in abundance! If we remain in Him, we can bear much fruit.

I closed the presentation with the profound words from a card David and Debbie brought up to the hospital last summer:

A mighty wind blew night and day.

It stole the oak tree's leaves away,
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark.
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing, Oak?"
The oak tree said, "I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two,
Carry every leaf away,
Shake my limbs and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,
Growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them, for you see,
They are the deepest part of me.

Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure.
But now I've found, with thanks to you,
I'm stronger than I ever knew."


Dear Father, thank you for your bountiful love and amazing strength. Help us to stretch our roots deep into the abundant waters you so freely give to all who put their hope in you.


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I Sometimes Forget Good Friday

A Holy Moment in the Smokies

God loved us so much He gave His only son to be crucified to redeem us from our sins.

Why would we fear anything when His love for us is so real, so deep, so powerful? Why would we ever have difficulty letting go and asking that God's will be done, rather than our own? How can we, even for a moment, forget what He has done to show His love for us?

And yet, there are times I hold tightly to the things I want, the direction I desire, the goals I have in mind. When His answers seem too slow, I forget that it takes time to orchestrate all the right details into place. When I yearn for these things now, I forget that He sees all and there is a greater good down the road if I will be patient. When life is difficult or painful, I sometimes forget that I am in the crucible with Christ and He is doing His awesome work to mold me for His glory.

I was reading in 1 Kings 11 where God told Jereboam through Ahijah the prophet that He would give him 10 of the 12 kingdoms. If only he would follow the Lord's commands and walk in His ways, God would be with Jeroboam. "I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and I will give Israel to you," He said.

But that never did come to pass, because Jereboam built shrines to other gods and did all kinds of evil, and God could not do all that He wanted to do.

I have seen that so often in the stories of the Bible, and I know it happens in our lives, too. God cannot do all that He wants to do if we do not trust that His way is best, surrender our own agendas and walk by faith, following wholeheartedly after Him.

Oh, Awesome God, I do not want to ever forget what you've done for me. I love you and I trust you with my life. Show me where I might be slowing you down or resisting your plans. I want to abandon my agenda and follow yours with all my heart.

Unplug to Recharge

Serenity at St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park

In today’s electronic age, it seems counter-productive to “unplug to recharge,” but I have found that “unplugging” is absolutely the best way to re-energize me!

Oh, yes, I get energy from people and I love to be social. The encouragement and support of friends  gives me great boosts of borrowed energy. During the stress and emotion of this past couple weeks, in fact, this has really lifted me. But to keep going and find peace and strength, I need to preserve enough time to “find the quiet.”

I find the quiet by reading the Word, soaking in its wisdom and journaling what I’m learning. I can also find it by taking a walk or a ride by myself. Sometimes I find it waiting in line or taking a few minutes to kick back and listen carefully to the One I need most to connect with. I wonder why I even let other things steal my quiet when my greatest need is to be with the Source of all power and true refreshing.

Amid multiple priorities and lots of people I’d like to spend time with, I’m always working at carefully protecting that quiet space. No matter what is happening – the more that is going on, the more I need it! Even in tiny and consistent increments, unplugging from the things of the world and going in to His presence does everything to recharge me. It is this “abiding on the Vine” that washes and revives me, nourishes and strengthens me, gives me direction and vision.

Upon returning from the quiet, I find I have much more to offer – serenity, wisdom, compassion, perspective, balance and creativity…things I would rather not live without!

How do you refresh and recharge? Where and when do you “find your quiet”?

Dear God, Grant me the serenity in pockets of quiet, the courage to fiercely guard that time and the wisdom to know when I need it!

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jer. 33:3 NIV)