Paying It Forward

It finally happened. No longer will I look wistfully at those awards on other blogs and sigh that my sidebar bears no such honor. I am almost embarassed by how thrilled I am. In theory, I should be past needing recognition from my fellow travelers, but I guess it is good to be human after all!

So I am very grateful to my friend Denise who blessed me with the Emblem of the Helping Hand award. This award, sponsored by Sojourner's Place, is to thank our online mentors and (as in my case) to encourage up and coming bloggers that one deems worthy. Each person who receives the award is asked to "pay it forward" to bloggers who've encouraged us along the way and to newer bloggers that show great promise.

How much fun is that? So without further ado (drum roll please), I want to present the Emblem of the Helping Hand to these amazing women:

Angie: what a precious encouragement she has been to me! She was the first woman who really reached out to me in the blogosphere; my life has been richer for it.

Denise: I don't know if you're supposed to ricochet the award back to the one who gave it to you to start with, but this awesome woman of God means the world to me.

Amrita: From the other side of the globe, she always lifts my spirits and gives me new courage to keep on writing.

Elaine: This is another generous spirit who has taken the time and trouble to stop by my place often, always with just the right dose of cheerleading to spur me on.

Sita: With a passion for all things godly, she keeps me focused on our King. She truly "wears her heart on her sleeve" and to me, that's what blogging is all about.

Liz: Ever meet people out here in Blogland and know instantly they were cut from the same bolt of cloth? That's how I feel about my recently added friend, Liz.

Lidj: Her story of grief and courage gives me goose bumps. She is a shining light, not just in the Philippines but here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Be sure to visit each of these extraordinary women - I promise they will bless your socks off (how's that for Suuuuuuuuuuthern)!

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
Encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you . . . think highly of them and give them your wholehearted love because of their work.
1 Thessalonians 5: 11-13, NLT.

Memory Verse, January 15

Over at Beth Moore's blog, two thousand women have posted verses they will meditate on for the next two weeks. That blows my mind. I've chosen the verse below to mull over the next few weeks. It speaks to me about the importance of prayer in these last days. I often need to be reminded that there is never "nothing I can do". God is always willing to hear the prayers of His people.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
1 Peter 4:7, NIV

SAY YES TO GOD TUESDAYS

I recently discovered an awesome online study of Jennifer Rothschild's latest book, Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. This book addresses our thought life. So I am casting my lot with my friends at http://leliachealey.blogspot.com/ for "SAY YES TO GOD TUESDAYS" for the next ten weeks. Be sure to visit Lelia for more information. Grab a copy of this book. Each week's chapter is a very quick read. I promise you will be richly blessed.

In Chapter 1, Jennifer introduced the idea of the thought closet saying, "I seem to have a secret closet tucked somewhere in the hallways of my mind. A thought closet. And what I had been storing in that closet wasn't good at all: shelves and racks and bins full of hidden thoughts, secret insecurities, lies, illusions, and reminders of past failures" (p. 14). Sound familiar? It certainly did to me!

In Chapter 2, "Renewing Your Thought Closet," we begin our journey to right what is wrong with our internal conversations. No field of endeavor has yielded greater gains in my life than addressing my thought life. Regarding Satan, Christ warned, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Satan came shockingly close to ending my life by embedding his lies in my thought life. But I have been redeemed, primarily through the strategy Jennifer describes of replacing Satan's lies with God's Truth.

Every word of this chapter spoke to my thirsty heart. The passage that most made me want to shout AMEN was this: "We probably never completely erase old memories, forget old thoughts or wipe away former self talk. . . you can't remove those hurtful thoughts, words and memories, but by the power of God, you can drain them of their potential control over you" (p. 29, emphasis added).

Can I get a witness? The power of Satan's lies in my life was (and potentially still is) formidable. But just as God raised Christ from the dead, He longs to resurrect our thinking so we can bask in His love. Join me again next Tuesday as we consider Jennifer's strategy in Chapter 3 of Self Talk, Soul Talk, "Choosing Wise Words." And get this book!

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10: 9, 10, NIV.

Eye of the Beholder

On Friday, Clint Eastwood's newest movie Gran Torino opened with a bang. My twenty-year-old daughter could not understand my anticipation of this event. She was baffled by my downright giddiness at the mention of the man's name. What my daughter did not understand was that when I see Clint's new movie, I'm not seeing a seventy-eight-year-old actor. I am seeing Rowdy Yates of "Rawhide" fame. I am thirteen years old again and struggling with my thought life. It wasn't until I found this photo of Clint in his heyday that my daughter got it. "Wow," she said, "He looks like Hugh Jackman!" My point exactly.

It made me think of one of my favorite fantasies of heaven. I love to play with the thought that when we meet loved ones in heaven, we will see them as they looked in our most precious memory. When I see my Nanny, she will be wearing a pale green shirtwaist dress, cat-eye glasses and a smile. But when my grandfather sees her, she will appear to him as she did on their wedding day. I don't know the state of Clint Eastwood's eternal soul, but if he makes it to heaven, I'll be seeing a sweaty young cowboy fresh off the trail.

I realize this theory has a few theological holes. But you know, I don't think God minds one little bit when we dream of the life to come. He knows we're dust and that our notions may be closer to a two-year old's scribblings than to what we will actually find there. But like any two-year-old, I delight in getting out my crayons and letting my imagination soar.

So tonight, I will dream of loved ones long gone. I will see them as I most fondly remember them. I invite you to do the same, to walk back through the albums in your mind and anticipate that glorious day when we will all be together again.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began . . . as it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 2: 7, 9, NIV.

Double Talk

ENTIRE STORE, 50% OFF

You could see the sign from three shops down. “Now that’s more like it,” I thought. That’s a real after-Christmas sale.

As I got a little closer, the small print at the bottom of the sign came into focus. “Select Styles Only,” it read. As a card-carrying member of the "easily amused" clan, I laughed the rest of the day when I thought about that sign.

The world abounds with double talk. My car's "complete professional oil change" advertised at $24.99 somehow added up to $54.82. Apparently, it's extra if you actually want the oil put into the crank case.

This sign in front of the local WalMart still makes me chuckle despite my having seen it a dozen times before. Examples of man's duplicity are not that hard to find these days. They simply remind me that this world is not my home.

Thankfully, we follow the One who has always said what He meant and meant what He said. While this might be cause for terror on occasion, mostly it is bedrock on which you and I can conduct our lives in peace. With God and His Word, there is no fine print. What He feels, what He asks, what He desires is never a shell game. He has laid it all out for us with a sincerity of heart unknown to man. Thank God, indeed.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19, NIV.

Mending a Broken Heart

Now the Lord observed the extent of the people’s wickedness . . . and the Lord was sorry He had ever made them. It broke His heart (Genesis 6:5, 6, NLT).

This was the state of the world in pre-Noah days. When I came across these verses last night, I wondered, “Mustn't God feel the same way now?” I’ll leave God's experience of regret to the theologians. The phrase that filled my eyes and blurred my vision was, "It broke His heart."

If you are old enough to read this, you know full well what it is to have a broken heart. Failed marriages, wayward children, poor health, departed loved ones. The possibilities go on and on. I think about the darkest times I have lived in despair. Then I think about my loving Lord feeling that much pain and more.

But you and I are not powerless to affect the Lord's heart. Yes, His heart must be broken by the state of the world today. But He also takes great delight in those of us who bow before His throne. These verses in Genesis focused my mind on God as Someone who could be hurt, Someone who could use all the comfort I might offer.

I have a friend who often says, "Don't you know that just blesses God's heart?" I adore that possibility. There is more we can do about shocking headlines than to wring our hands; we can praise the One whose heart is breaking in the process. So today and every day, I invite you to join me, to look to the heavens and offer faith and solace to the One who loved us first. We love you, Daddy . . . and we always will.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

Image Credit: www.flickr.com/photos/socialenigma11/384849717/

The last Word:
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Isaiah 53:3, NIV.

A Challenge for 2009

Take heart. A simple concept. I learned long ago that simple does not always mean easy. When I ordered these plates, I was talking to myself as much as to anyone. I need to be reminded every day that Christ tells us to take heart.

It takes no effort on our part to lose heart. Each day’s headlines are a little more shocking than the day before. Depression is known as the modern day common cold. Christ warned us, “In this world you will have trouble.” That’s right! I have trouble. Everybody I know has trouble.

It takes discipline to focus on what else Christ said in this passage, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He HAS overcome the world. He told us of trials to come so we would know He is with us, so we would know how the story ends, so we could lift up our heads and walk on with hope and joy.

As the blogosphere lights up with new goals and studies for the New Year, I long to carry Christ’s message of hope into 2009. I pray the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to view living not as a crushing burden, but as a chance to honor the One who placed us here. In 2009, may we live with a lightness of heart that draws others to the Source of our hope.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.
1 Peter 3: 14-16, NIV.