When I was about 13 years old, my dad & I went with a church youth group on a ski trip to Wisp Mountain in Western Maryland. At the time, Wisp was well-known for The Face - a run on the face of the mountain covered with moguls. Huge moguls. Moguls as tall as me (I was pushing 5 feet at the time). But Dad skiied well and helped me learn to ski the moguls, so I learned to make it down The Face alive and uninjured.

Fast forward about 30 years. I've been up and down The Face of life a number of times and hit some pretty rough mogul fields: infertility, depression, marriage and parenting struggles. Sometimes I've made it over the moguls with grace, and sometimes I have completely wiped out. And sometimes when I wiped out, I created obstacles that made the track harder for others around me. I have rarely picked myself up after crashing - usually someone has come alongside me and extended a hand of grace to help me get up and keep going.

Lately I've seen a lot of people I love hit some pretty big moguls. Some are falling because someone else wiped out in front of them. Others are seeing a mogul coming and don't know how they're going to get over it. I wish I had the right words to help them through these tough times. The best I know is to listen, pray, and offer support and encouragement.

"You, my friends, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 2:1)

"If anyone lacks wisdom, let them ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to you." James 1:5

Yesterday evening I had a wonderful time with my dear friends Dawn and Angela wrapping up our study this year of Sally Clarkson's book Seasons of a Mother's Heart. And, as you might expect, our discussion hit all kinds of tangents. As we talked about endurance, perseverance and encouraging one another, we got to talking about prayer. Dawn used a phrase that has gotten under my skin in the past: "the power of prayer." That phrase bugs me because I have heard it so often in the context of using prayer to get what we want. But Dawn spoke of submitting ourselves to the Lord as we pray and of prayer as a way for us to allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for God's will when we don't know how best to pray.

That phrase that has always bugged me took on new meaning last night as I realized that the real power of prayer is not that we use it to somehow manipulate God into doing what we want - but that God uses our prayers to change us as our eyes are opened to doing what He wants. It is through prayer that God has moved my heart towards adoption and compassion for the poor and now serving in Haiti. I didn't set out to ask for these things. I started by praying to have children, and God showed me the timing to adopt. I started by praying for friends serving in other parts of the world, and God opened my eyes to the needs of the poor and oppressed. I started by praying for God to show me something to do with that newfound compassion, and He moved my heart one day when I heard a simple statement about Haiti.

Yes, the real power of prayer is not that it changes our circumstances but that it changes us. I dare you to try it!

This morning as I finished up my shower, I stood praying for my mom and dad. I prayed for healing - with our without a doctor's aid - and for mom to have another 20 or more years to watch her grandchildren grow. I prayed that Mom will not have to make the same kinds of choices that her mother had to make at the same age about how to spend the last months of her life.

As I finished drying off and stepped out of the shower, the phone rang. Hearing the "long-distance" ring, I hurried to the phone expecting a call from my parents. Instead I heard a recorded voice saying:

For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

God loves you!

Wow! At a moment when I was vulnerable yet trusting, God "called" to remind me of His love. Not only did Jesus love me enough to give His life so that I can have eternal life in Him, but He loved me enough to arrange that robo-call at that moment. Yes, Jesus loves me, and He loves you, too.

We wait for more information from the next doctor my mom will see....

We wait to find out who will be our next President (and Vice President, and Congressmen, and Senator)....

We wait to see how our children will "turn out," whether they will embrace our values, what kind of adults they will be, whether they will learn patience themselves....

And in all this waiting, we trust. My husband is fond of saying, "It's never wrong to wait on God." Some waits are longer and harder than others. But we either wait patiently or we drive ourselves crazy trying to make something happen in our own time. And it is in the patient waiting that we find renewal and strength.

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

My local homeschool group got into a discussion last week about feeling burned out. Many of us are just fried - including me. I often expect to feel like this in March or April, but September? When we've only done about 8 weeks of school? How can I be burned out this early? How do others do this year after year after year?

The following morning, God showed me a couple of verses in Colossians that helped me change my attitude:

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Col. 2:6-7)

"Let the peace of christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (Col. 3:15)

Thankfulness.

Gratitude.

Boy, if those aren't attitude-adjusters, I don't know what is!

If I can focus on gratitude instead of the difficulties, I think that can make a huge difference in my endurance and patience. It's hard to be impatient with people and situations you actually enjoy, isn't it?! So I've been working on cultivating a thankful heart lately. (Pray for me, friends!) I have become thankful for the opportunity to train my children's characters and teach them to live in a way that pleases God and builds good relationships with others. Is that a great, grand, wonderful calling or what?! Yes, it can be a struggle at times, but doing it with gratitude that I have been entrusted with this opportunity is what can keep me going day after week after month after year.

This morning as my daughter and I pulled weeds in our yard, she started to comment (as most children I know who have a good understanding of the theology of sin do) that she wished Adam and Eve hadn't disobeyed God. After all, their disobedience caused all the painful consequences we face - illness, thorny weeds, addictions, relationship disruptions and much more. As always, I pointed her to the fact that all these difficulties we face remind us of our need for Jesus.

Then (as she wandered off to a place with less difficult weeds) I got to thinking about the time I spent praying this morning about many very difficult and painful situations I see in the lives of people around me. It felt like many of these situations were almost without hope this side of heaven. But the weeds reminded me of God's grace just as the difficulties I see in my friends ought to have done. Life's pain should send me running to Jesus, not just in prayer but in hope and faith, resting in His grace and trusting Him whether or not the painful situations change. Life's pain is a reminder to me of my need for Him and of His love in meeting my deepest needs. So in that, I'm thankful for the weeds of life!

Earlier today I got to thinking how blessed I am to have parents and in-laws who are supportive of our decision to homeschool. Maybe the fear of "ruining the grandchildren" isn't as rampant as it was 10 or 20 years ago, but I'm still thankful that I haven't had to defend our family to grandparents.

Which got me to thinking of a few of the many other things I have to be thankful for:

My children's helpful attitudes: they traded jobs with me for a short time today, emptying and reloading the dishwasher and then starting on folding laundry while I gathered up their toys from downstairs.

My wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally.

Ladies from church, dear friends, who have joined me in a Bible study this summer - and for their willingness to be honest and vulnerable and open to the Lord changing their hearts.

I am healthy and strong enough to embark on a good exercise program (and thankful for aspirin that takes away that muscle pain like nothing else does).

And many, many other blessings we have been given - material and intangible. If I were to literally count my blessings, I might never stop!

Little Zachary lived only 9 months, including several hours after his birth. His parents learned in the early part of mom's pregnancy that he had a neural tube defect, resulting in an insufficiently formed skull and brain. Doctors assured his parents that he would not survive long after birth (if he even survived birth). Yet his parents chose to honor and obey God, carrying Zachary to full term despite much pressure and criticism. And even though God did not choose to show His power through a miraculous healing on this earth, He has filled Zachary's mom and dad with a "peace that passes all understanding" in their grief, and they can rejoice in the blessing of the time they were able to spend with him.

Paul lived about 50 years. Seven years ago he suffered severe headaches, leading doctors to discover a tumor in his sinus cavity. Surgery removed the tumor, and he lived cancer-free for a time, but it eventually returned and took his life last month. During his last years, he left his position in men's ministry at a local church and established a ministry counseling missionaries serving God overseas. He encouraged men to enter ministry and helped others to remain in their calling, building up the Lord's work in places that otherwise might not have been reached yet. He raised two children to adulthood and loved his wife faithfully until his last days.

Sarah will celebrate her 98th birthday next month. She has spent her last years in a nursing home, having survived a serious blood infection, congestive heart failure and mini-strokes. She has also outlived her husband (who died 30 years ago) and most of her memories. Her family loves her and is happy to still have her here, but they wonder when the Lord will take her to his perfect Heaven.

Sarah is my grandmother. Paul served alongside my husband as a church elder for a time. Zachary's mother is a member of my homeschool support group.

I sometimes wonder what the Lord has for me. Perhaps the next time I get in my car will be the last - or maybe my family will one day be considering how to celebrate my 100th birthday. No matter how many days I have to spend here on earth, they will surely feel like too few. Everyone leaves this earth with un-checked items on their To Do list. And still, I want to live each day with purpose, loving others around me and not caught up in things that don't matter so much. I want to live wisely. So I choose to suffer the discipline of exercise so that I can remain healthy and strong if I live as long as my grandmother. At the same time, I choose to take hold of what God asks of me each day, never knowing if another day on earth will follow. And I try to "put my hope fully in the grace that is to be given to me when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:13) rather than setting my hopes on short-term goals.

Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Ps. 90:12

I just talked to my sister. Her baby boy had a couple of seizures last week. After a CT scan at the ER, an appt with the pediatrician, and and EEG and "squeeze him in" visit with a neurologist at Children's Hospital (all within the last 4 or 5 days) - the doctors can find nothing wrong! She's convinced that God healed him before the doctors saw him, and I can't help but agree.

We also had an awesome day today - I'll have to post about that later.

So what good things are going on with you?

This morning, I'm praising God for three answers to prayer - actually, answers to two prayers and one surprise blessing.

1. The Smith family appears to be about to receive the letter they need from the US government in order to be able to adopt their children. As word got out over the internet this week, people were able to help them make the contacts they need. Thank God!

2. My husband was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a little more than a year ago. By last December, he was unable to take any medications because they either made him feel sick to his stomach (mostly the pain relievers - ibuprofen, naproxen, Celebrex) or caused an allergic reaction (specifically the arthritis meds). In the last few weeks (as we have gotten into allergy season), his joint pain has been really bad - to the point where he stayed home from work on Monday because of it. We have suspected for a while that his allergies may be a factor in the arthritis, so on Tuesday evening he bought a HEPA filter air purifier for our bedroom. The last two mornings, he has woken up feeling SO MUCH BETTER! We have been praying for a solution other than a really expensive medicine that seemed to be his last resort. Praise God!

3. My unexpected surprise - I realized this morning that because of my horomone levels this week, I would normally be feeling like I have no energy and fighting off a migraine. For some reason, I'm feeling better than ever right now. Thank God for that unexpected blessing that allows me to be as productive as ever!

Although some of these things may seem to be the result of what people have done, we know that it is really God at work "behind the scenes" who deserves the credit.

A young couple chooses to build their family through adoption, travels overseas to adopt two children, remains in the country where the children were born caring for them for nine months, and is now faced with the prospect of the adoption being rejected and their children removed from their care.

Please visit their blog for details and pray for them as they seek one simple letter from the U.S. government that will meet the final requirement so they can finalize the adoption!

http://us-in-kenya.blogspot.com/2008/04/please-help-1-of-5.html

 Update: The Smiths are still waiting for the letter they need in order to satisfy the Kenyan courts. Please continue to pray for them, and if you are willing to make a call or send an email, their latest update and how you can help are on their blog at http://us-in-kenya.blogspot.com/.

My mom sent me this email the other day. I found it so encouraging, I wanted to share it!

written by Connie Witter

Jesus Made You a Godly Mother

She opens her mouth in skillful and godly wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness giving counsel and instruction. Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied).

Proverbs 31:26, 28

     When I was a little girl I dreamed of growing up and being a mother. These verses describe the kind of mother I wanted to be. After I had children, I discovered that parenting, although the most rewarding job in the world, it was also the most difficult. My children were eternal beings and although I could not take any material thing in this world to heaven with me, I could take my children. They would live forever! The responsibility of raising them correctly, being a good example, disciplining them, and teaching them about Jesus concerned me at times because I wanted them to grow up and live for Jesus. As far as I knew this was all up to me. Would I fail or succeed at this very important job that God had given me? Because my focus was on me, I lived under the law when it came to raising my children, and it didn’t bring me peace.

     Then I found a better way in Jesus! The Holy Spirit taught me that Jesus became sin to make you and me righteous and godly mothers (Galatians 3:14,15). What peace fills your soul when you realize that He equipped you with everything you need (His wisdom, His power, His promises) to secure your success.

     When we look to Jesus, He empowers us with His grace to bear the fruit of a godly mother (Phillipians 2:13). When we fail, He reminds us of who we are and redeems all our mistakes. With Jesus, it’s a no fail policy because it’s not about our ability or wisdom, but rather His ability and wisdom working through us. All we have to do is ask and trust Him.

     When we give up depending on ourselves and truly depend on Him, He works powerfully through us and brings Proverbs 31:26 & 28 to pass in our lives. It’s a promise we have in Jesus, and He’s faithful to perform His Word!

What I was doing ten years ago:

settling into the first house we bought in Colorado, working for a real estate agent creating marketing materials, planning for my 10th anniversary, telling people that adoption was somewhere in our future

On my To-Do list today:

(How about tomorrow since it's about time to head for bed today?) school, wash the sheets, straighten up and vacuum downstairs, get the kids' laundry folded so they can put it away, get my son to his friend's house for the afternoon (with baseball equipment if his game isn't snowed out), take my daughter to her music class

Snacks I enjoy:

ice cream, cheese & crackers, trail mix

Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

pay off my house, give to my church & charities that help the poor, drive a nicer car

Three bad habits:

chewing on my lips, letting my children interrupt me, overcommitting myself

Five Places I lived:

Prince George's County, MD

Howard County, MD

Dallas, TX

Haddon Heights, NJ

Colorado

Five Jobs I've had:

office assistant and occasional dispatcher for Taxi company

cost accounting clerk

seminary Physical Plant secretary

real estate agent's marketing assistant

homeschooling mom

In the car today, my son asked my daughter what her motto was. They didn't get the concept at first - they were talking more about characters they identified with. But after I explained that a motto is a phrase or saying that describes their life or how they would want to live, he said, "Like 'Keep Moving Forward'!" (From Meet the Robinsons) Then both children decided that was their motto.

I got to considering what would be my motto, and I came up with "Love, Service, Hope." Much of my life at this point is about serving others around me out of love, sacrificing myself as necessary, in hope of an eternal future of rest and ultimate fulfillment of who God has made me.

So, tell me, what would you say is your motto?

The Scriptures say nearly nothing about the day Jesus' friends spent between their Lord's death and His resurrection. Luke says the most: "But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment."

I have often thought about the discouragement and heartbreak they must have lived through on that day. All their hopes for His kingdom dashed - and one of their own inner circle the betrayer! And they had nothing to do all day - it was a day of required rest. The women couldn't anoint His body as they wished in a final gesture of honor. Eleven men were scattered but slowly returned together, wondering if they would be arrested next (John 20:19). I wonder if God didn't plan things that way for a purpose - forcing Jesus' followers to endure their grief for a day, forcing them to turn to Him with their questions instead of losing themselves in busy-ness, forcing them to stay in Jerusalem instead of returning home.

I woke up this morning feeling discouraged about some things with my son - things that I know the Lord wants me to turn over to Him instead of forcing myself further into the situation. But God reminded me of the significance of this Saturday. For Jesus' friends, it was a day to stay put and rest. In my own discouragement, God is asking me to rest and pray and wait for Him to work. Whether I see the fulfilment of God's plan tomorrow (as Jesus' friends did) or months or years from now, I will choose to trust.

My daughter finally got hit with the virus that has been making its rounds through our home and community. She had a sore throat yesterday, and she woke up with a fever at 3:00 am.  Poor girl.

This morning it seemed I was repeatedly needed by both children (and the dog) all at the same time! My son was rather distraught at his sister being sick - not because he felt bad for her but because it messed up his plans. She wanted nothing more than to be cuddled most of the morning, but her brother still needed to know he could have Mom's attention as well. At one point when I had the dog needing to be let in the house, a son who needed help with adjusting his attitude, and a daughter lying on the sofa whimpering, I realized I used to always say that "I need to be needed." I do enjoy being able to help and serve others - and that realization helped me to head off the mommy-martyr syndrome.

I could spend my day feeling sorry for myself that I'm surrounded by others who always want/need something from me. Or I can spend my day joyfully pouring myself out in service to those I love, trusting God to fill me up with all I need for each moment. Guess which attitude makes me happier?

Yes, it is good to be needed - because it makes me recognize my need for help from above!

I got up this morning feeling really "under the weather." But I determined to push through the morning, get my kids out for their classes, and then come home and rest for a while. I think I went through the virus that took my son a whole week to get over in about 12 hours last night. And for me it has ended like it did for my kids: with a stuffy-nosed, sore-throated cold. I'm doing all I can to treat it - primarliy zinc lozenges and tea tree oil in my ears and rest.

Before going back to bed, I decided to check on my friends' blogs, and some are facing some really hard stuff. Something that I'm working on lately is not just telling people, "I'll pray for you" but actually stopping and praying with them right then and there. So I hope you all don't mind if I just pause for prayer right here.

Loving Lord, you know the situations that many here are facing: breaks in relationships, concerns for parents who need surgery, and discouragement. Jesus, I pray that each one will turn to you for comfort and peace. I pray that your grace will fill their hearts, and that where decisions or changes need to be made that you will direct each one in wisdom. In our pain, help us all to remember that You love us, You never forget us, and You will never abandon us. Amen.

If you think of it, say a prayer for my brother who has just come out of fairly extensive shoulder surgery this morning. He's a firefighter and the kind of guy who won't like to keep his arm in a sling for very long, but he need to rest that shoulder for a while!

Now I'm off for a few Zzzzz's....

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37)

The kids and I memorized this (partial) verse a few months ago. I am learning to put it into practice daily.

With my son sick and running a fever in the last week, I have emphasized to him the importance of hydration. It hasn't mattered so much what he drinks as long as he drinks something. There was a day last week when he didn't want the sports drink I had for him - or juice - or water - but he was willing to drink hot cocoa. Fine! Hot cocoa it was for a day or two. (I think he found the warmth soothing for his sore throat.)

Living in a semi-arid climate, I notice that my body starts to become dehydrated if I don't diligently drink water every day. After only one day without much water, I find my lips drying out and hands in desperate need of lotion.

But more than my body, my spirit needs to stay "hydrated." Many mornings I wake up with the feeling that I can't handle what's ahead. So I recognize my thirst and go to Jesus to "drink." I ask Him to fill me with all that I need for that day. And I make a point of spending some time reading the Bible before starting the rest of my day. When I do this, I can tap into the grace and power of the Holy Spirit and have all the resources I need. When I don't, I find my heart becomes a bit dry.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:38)

Wow ... streams of living water flowing from me! When I drink from Jesus, I get more than I need for me - He fills me to overflowing so that I can minister to those around me. He is an abundant God!

We sang that classic hymn in church this morning. Our God ... a Mighty Fortress.

I found myself thinking that some people probably believe God is holed up in that fortress, uncaring and unconcerned about what goes on outside. But the Bible tells us He is that fortress - He is a strong tower - He is a refuge for His people. He's not hiding inside those walls; He is the walls that shelter us from those who would attack mercilessly. He willingly opens the doors to those who seek Him and desire to shelter in Him, but He offers impregnable protection against enemies.

What an incredible God we serve!

On Friday night, my hubby & I (finally) sat down to watch the movie Amazing Grace.

And after watching the movie, we watched the video of Chris Tomlin singing Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone). Having watched the two back to back, I don't think I'll ever listen to the song in the same way again!

In the movie there's a scene where a group of abolitionists shows William Wilberforce how people were treated on the slave ships between Africa and the Americas. Thomas Clarkson pulls out a set of shackles and shows how the slaves were shackled at their feet, hands and necks, and then forced to remain into a space 4 feet long by 18 inches wide. That small space quickly filled with blood and waste, yet they remained chained there for the full 2-3 week Atlantic crossing.

Chris Tomlin sings, "My chains are gone. I've been set free...."

I'm still moved to tears thinking about this. I was once enslaved to sin, shackled by such chains and kept confined in my own filth. How many people do I know who believe they are free but are blinded to the chains that keep them from experiencing the true, amazing freedom of God's grace?! And, oh, how Jesus longs to abolish sin's slave trade on this earth forever!

... And how can I behave as an abolitionist myself?