A statement I “adopted” from our evangelist last week…

God doesn’t isolate us from the fire, He insulates us through the fire.

I thought about the “fire” Caleb was going through with basketball his senior year. Dog gone it we wanted God to isolate Caleb and allow the fire to go out. We wanted him to have a fun season and make great memories to look back on with warm smiles. But instead God chose to insulate Caleb through the fire. In other words, the fire didn’t go out. Quite the contrary, the heat intensified to the end. But Caleb was not burned, he did not bow and he kept his character and integrity in check. And he could only do that with strength that is greater than him - the power of Almighty God. God insulated Caleb and protected him from harm.

Hannah was in a hot fire of cancer. Oh how we - and all of you - prayed so hard for God to isolate her from the fire. Take the cancer from her frail body, completely heal her on this earth for His glory - we knew He could do that! But While the fire of cancer consumed her earthly body, her faith and her spirit were insulated from the heat. And for the family, God chose to insulate us as well. He chose not to deliver us from the fire but through the fire.

Do you pray for isolation? Do you prefer a life of ease rather than fiery trials? Trust God to know what He’s doing and know that while He while He doesn’t specialize in isolation, He is the best at insulation.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

Hope

Well, you need to know that I started a devotional this morning that I thought was a good one! Couldn’t wait to share it with you! Then I turned around to get a Kleenex and my Purpose Drive Life calendar was suddenly bigger than life in my face. It’s been turned to March for several days now (though not 16, I do admit) but I had not read the quote. Here it is, straight from Rick Warren to my heart, on the heels of my post yesterday about Chelsey Mitchell - as you will agree.

Hannah - Kentucky Missions

God wants to use you to make a difference in the world. He wants to work through you. What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it. Not how long you lived, but how you lived.

“The Lord will work out His plans for my life–for Your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever” (Psalm 138:8 NLT).

Wow. Of course it didn’t take a split second for my thoughts to go from Chelsey’s life and her solid testimony of faith to Hannah. Teenage years are supposed to be fun and filled with adventure, excitement, anticipation of a bright future! As Hannah put it, plans for college, get married, have babies. God used both Hannah and Chelsey to make a difference in the world in their short lives. He worked through them. What matters is not the fact that they were in the prime of their youth. What matters is how they used their life to donate to the cause of Christ while on this earth. It’s not how long they lived, but how they lived.

What about you? If today happened to be the day that God has set aside for you to cross from this life to eternity, what would your donation be worth? Have you made a difference in your world for Christ? It’s not how long you live, it’s how you live. What a challenge for me today. I pray it is for you as well.

Continuing to pray for the Mitchell family.

Hope

Wow, sometimes God makes no sense to me. In October 2007 Chelsey Mitchell, a local 16 year old high school cheerleader, was in an automobile accident. She was critically injured, and her younger sister, Carlyn was killed. Chelsey was in a coma for months but had gotten much better, though not completely well. She had good weeks and bad weeks but the family has been very hopeful and prayerful for a full recovery. However, we received word that Chelsey passed away in her sleep last night. How much sense does that make? None at all to me. Why in the world would God have allowed her to survive that horrible accident, only to take her 2 1/2 years later? Her parents are very solid in their faith in God and have done remarkably well dealing with Carlyn’s death while caring for Chelsey. But now they’re grieving the death of both of their beautiful daughters. And their young son, William is now an only child. How my heart breaks for them all! What in the world could God possibly be thinking?

It is at this time that we must trust our Creator. He created us in His image for His purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, we’re out of here. And He is always at work on our behalf. He works all things for our good because He knows what’s best for us. But when His best feels like our worst, it’s hard to accept those truths. God is sovereign, either we believe that or we don’t. He can do what He wants with whom He wants at any time He wants, whether we agree with it or not. God loves Chelsey and created her in His image, and He had a plan and a purpose for her young life long before she was a Mitchell. Before He created her in her mother’s womb, God had a plan. And that plan was fulfilled sometime in the night last night. Makes no sense in my finite reasoning, but He is God and He will sustain and keep the Mitchell family as they deal with yet another tragedy.

I logged on to Chelsey’s Caringbridge page earlier today and read a note that was posted back in February. The writer was encouraging Chelsey and her family that God would finish what He started in Chelsey. Of course they were referring to her healing on this earth. But now that Chelsey’s pain and suffering are over and she’s in heaven with her Heavenly Father, this post takes on a whole new meaning. Below is part of the post…

GOD IS A FINISHER

“The Lord WILL fulfill HIS PURPOSE for me(you); Your love O Lord, endures FOREVER-do not abandon the works of Your hands” (Psalm 138:8).

“He will keep you strong to the end” (1Cor. 1:8).

Thank God for the good work (Jer. 29:11) He began in you, and thank Him that HE WILL FINISH IT!!!!!

Is God trustworthy? Oh yes He is! Even when His best feels like our worst. Please pray for Billy and Missie Mitchell, their son William and all the extended family and friends.

Hope

Be aware and comforted in knowing that God is with you, always, which means His presence is everywhere. He is very involved in your life and He wants you to be intimately aware of Him. He doesn’t expect you to spend your day on your knees. He just wants you to chat with Him throughout the day.A quote from Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado…

“God is as present at your coffee break as He is in communion.”

Really? God is as present at my coffee break as He is in communion? When I think of communion service I think of reverence with an attitude and heart of worship and praise for what Christ did for me. And often I leave thinking how good it was to be so engrossed in the presence of the Lord. Well He is as “present” right this very moment as He is in communion. The difference? I’m not focusing on Him during my coffee break.

Next time you take a coffee break (or coke or water or whatever the refreshment), think on God and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving to Him for being with you always. And you’ll find you enjoy your coffee break!

“I am God and not a human; I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hosea 11:9).

Hope

Father, You awaken me this morning with the thought that the greatest need we have on this earth is also the greatest privilege we have on this earth and it is Your greatest delight - and that need, privilege and delight is being in Your presence and sitting at Your feet! From that place, You make Streams in the Desert and You make All Things New.

Yesterday morning I was desiring a word from You to minister to my heart and I sat down and picked up, “Breaking Free,” the new Beth Moore study.” I ended up all that way over in chapter nine - by Your design I know - and the chapter was entitled, “The Steadfast Mind!” What a great title. I read through the chapter about “re-wallpapering our minds with truth and tearing down the lies the enemy has placed in our minds. Growing in our spiritual lives to have the mind of Christ is a choice we make as we submit ourselves to the power of Your Holy Spirit within us. We choose to give ourselves over to You so that You can grow in us the Mind of Christ.

In the section entitled “Stand in Agreement with God” was this paragraph:

“Nothing could be more natural than a mother grieving the loss of a child. However, if 10 years later the mother is still completely consumed with the loss and bitterness that has eclipsed all comfort and healing, she has wedged a stronghold between appropriate grief and gradual restoration. The enemy will capitalize on normal emotions of love or loss to swell them out of healthy proportion. They can consume our very lives if we’re not aware of his schemes. Loving is never sin. However, obsession that flows from putting something in the place of God is sin. Likewise, grief is never sin, but disallowing God to minister comfort and healing to you over the passage of much time is.”

It was just so amazing to me Lord that of all the chapters I could have turned to, that was the place I ended up. And Father, there is so much truth in that statement. The scripture that literally jumped off the pages to me was Romans 8:6 - “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace!!!”  Wow, Father, what a word!!! If we allow our minds to be controlled by our flesh, the result will be death. The result will be despair, separation, despondency, hopelessness, shortsightedness, etc. But Father, if we allow our minds to be controlled by Your Spirit, the result is always life - fruitfulness!!! What a blessing!!!

And You know what Lord? I’ve made my choice! I make it anew every day but in the big scheme of things, I have made my choice!! And my choice is to believe You, to trust You, to watch You, to anticipate what You will do in and through my life as I give myself over and over to You again! Bless Your name, Jesus!!

You bring to mind the words of a song I have recently come to love that also speaks of that “choice,” that “decision” to be led by Your Spirit.

“I will sing praise, I will lift my voice, I will sing praise, I’ve made my choice. I will sing praise in all I do. I will sing praise to You.

“No matter the storms that come my way, no matter the trials I may face, You promised that You would see me through, so I will trust in You!!

It was an amazing privilege and blessing to be at the Gibbs Cancer Center this week sharing with Christian Caregivers about the blessing they had been in our lives during our journey with Hannah! The first time I was ever in the place was when I went several years ago with a friend who was receiving treatment for breast cancer. I remember saying to her how absolutely beautiful the surroundings were - the grand piano, the fountain, the flowers, etc. I remember that she didn’t completely share my enthusiasm that day as You had her in a different place of dependence upon You in her suffering! Now, I have had my own journey with my child through that place and certainly it strikes a entirely different chord than it did that day for me also. But You know, Lord, You were there and You were faithful! You have Your people stationed everywhere, don’t You? I encouraged them to be bold in their witness of You!! I reminded them that “there is no other hope! - Jesus, You are it!! The Hope, the Light, the Reason, the Purpose!!  The only One who can transform our lowly minds into the Mind of Christ! 

Oh Jesus, that is what I desire for You to do with my mind - make it like Yours!!

And today, Father, as I go the bedside of a friends father and leave to stand beside my sister-in-law who has a child that came to live with You this week, use my life in any way You deem best! In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!

I spoke at a corporation today that financially supports local ministries through a Care program offered to employees on a volunteer basis. As I was leaving, the owner handed me a coffee mug that says, “Someone at (name of corporation) caught you caring.” I chuckled when I got in the car thinking about those employees walking around saying, “Caught ya!” when someone cares.

It is my hope that regularly someone will catch me caring. It’s easy to care about my family, my friends, those I’m closest to. But what about those who are “not like me”? Do I really care about them or do I have the attitude “they got what they deserve”? Do I really care about those who do not have as much as I do, who dress differently or poorly, who do not bathe regularly or who sit on the side of the road with a “Feed the Hungry” sign? Have I been caught caring for others unconditionally, or do I only care about those in my close circle - my comfort zone? If I have the love of Jesus in my heart, I will care for others.

“Jesus asked a second time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!’ ’Then take care of my sheep,’ Jesus told him. Jesus asked a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. So he told Jesus, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.’ Jesus replied, ‘Feed my sheep.’ (John 21:16 & 17).

How about you? Has anyone caught you caring lately?

Hannah & Jacob Homecoming Night 10.13.06

Congratulations to Jacob Robinson! He has been elected Student Body President of Texas A&M. Jacob stole our hearts when we caught him caring so tenderly for Hannah while she was in ICU at M. D. Anderson. He was a high school jock that could have been spending the summer before his senior year at the beach, playing football, doing anything other than wiping the brow of a sick friend on a ventilator. We watched the Lord do a work in Jacob’s heart, a work that carries on today. I can’t wait to see what all God has for that boy! We love you, Jacob!

Hope

Here’s a quote from Jesus Calling, “Instead of approaching each day as a blank page that you have to fill up, try living it in a responsive mode.” That’s some good advice. I’d like to borrow Sarah Young’s words and write my own devotional - going in a different direction than she did.

God has set our lives in motion, He has our day mapped out with great blessings to receive and purposes to fulfill. We’re messing up when we approach each day as a blank page that we must fill up on our own. Instead, each morning we should pray in responsive mode, “Dear Lord, please show me what You have planned for me today. Don’t let me miss Your plan and purpose in my efforts to fill my day with me.” That’s not to say we shouldn’t have a day planner and make appointments - and keep them. But don’t fill the blank page with lots of activities and totally miss God’s path.

“Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path” (Psalm 27:11).

“As for God, his way is perfect…” (Psalm 18:30).

Start your day tomorrow in responsive mode - responding to what God already has planned.

Hope

I’ve been thinking about the devotionals that I post and how I often paint a picture of God as being right there beside us through it all, and He is. And I also tell you that He is going before us to make our paths straight, and He is. And I’ve told you that you can rest in knowing that God has your back because He is always behind you protecting you from attacks of the enemy, and He is. Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish you’d make up your mind, Hope. Is He in front of us, or beside us, or behind us?” Yes, He is.

A couple of days ago I read this quote in Jesus Calling, “The One who goes ahead of you, opening up the way, is the same One who stays close and never lets go of your hand. I am not subject to limitations of time or space. I am everywhere at every time, ceaselessly working on your behalf.” That’s what I’m saying! I love “ceaselessly working on your behalf.” God is always at work for us. If we really believed that, we would never fret over a crisis. If we really grasped the truth that He is, we’d be content right where we are. After all, He’s right here with us.

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32).

Hope

Love Romans 5 in The Message…

“We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next” (Romans 5:3 & 4).

Get the visual with me. Hemmed in with troubles - that makes my claustrophobia kick in just thinking about it! To be hemmed in means every where we turn there is trouble. Trouble behind us, in front of us, on each side, below and above. Do you ever feel like you’ve been hemmed in with troubles? This passage is telling us to shout our praise to the Lord during these difficult times. Because it is through troubles and trials that we learn passionate patience…keeping us alert for what God will do next. I don’t always feel like persevering though, how about you? Sometimes I want to shout - but not shouts of praise! Why would God expect us to shout praises to Him when times are rough? Otherwise we will focus on the circumstances, and defeat will be imminent. If our focus is on the situation and not on God, we will miss His purpose. But if we allow our troubles to develop passionate patience, we will not be overtaken with despair and we won’t miss what God’s up to.

Feeling hemmed in with troubles today? Don’t focus on the trouble. Shout your way out with passionate patience so that you recognize what God’s up to!

Hope

Here’s a quote from Anita Renfroe, a Christian comedian that cracks me up…

“If you’re happy and you know it, you’re probably annoying someone who isn’t.”

Love this silly picture of Hannah and Morgan! Got Milk?

I love that! This is one time that it’s okay to annoy the fire out of somebody! If you’re happy and you know it - show it! We, the set-free, bought by the blood, set apart, already seated in the heavenlies Christians should be the happiest people on earth! You wouldn’t know it by the scowls and persnickety attitudes in the pews on Sunday, would you? As I read this quote this morning at the top of the page in my “It’s not what you’re going through, it’s how you look when you’re going through it” journal by Anita, I knew immediately that I was going to, and challenge my web family to annoy the fire out of somebody this weekend!

Let someone know that a personal relationship with the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Lord of your life can make you happy in spite of your circumstances. If you’re happy and you know it, it’s annoying someone who isn’t. Annoy the fire out of somebody!

“May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful” (Psalm 68:3).

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (Proverbs 15:13).

Hope