The Miracle

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“Whenever I have seen God’s wondrous work, …the thing that has always impressed me the most was the absolute quietness in which it was done.” -A.B. Simpson

When God drew His first breath as a human being, it wasn’t to great fanfare or a noisy celebration. His entrance into this world was a relatively quiet affair. It was eventful, yes, in the “Oh my gracious the baby is coming” sort of way. Painful. Messy. Joyful. It was an ordinary – albeit always extraordinary – birth.

And yet it was also miraculous. Jesus’ birth marked the first time that God lived within a person. As a Person.

Thirty-three or so years later, this extraordinary God-man named Jesus was murdered.

Jesus died, but He was not defeated. Jesus overcame the grave, and the power of evil in this world, and returned home. And then He sent back a gift to every person willing to accept it: the gift of Himself.

And so the miracle continues. Immanuel. God with us. God living within us, transforming our ordinary lives with His extraordinary presence.

Don’t miss a moment of it, obsessing about something you think you want, and then trying to figure out how to get it.

The truth is, all you or I ever truly want or need is right here with us, within us.
Loving us.
Healing us.
Guiding us.
Giving us the deep soul-satisfying life that can only come from Him.

A miracle. THE Miracle. Immanuel—God with us.

What I Want

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by Lydia Floren

Sometimes I avoid God. I’m not even sure why. Maybe I am afraid. Or I don’t want to feel guilty. Or maybe I don’t want to change. Or I don’t want to face myself. I don’t. I don’t. I don’t.

What do I want?

I DO want to press past my guilt to forgiveness.
I DO want to be free of my compulsions.
And I DO long to—need to—hear God say:

All is well, Child. All is well. I love you right now, just as you are. Always have. Always will. There is nothing you can do that will change that.

I am here. I am not going anywhere. There is no need to be afraid. You are safe. You are not on this journey alone.

Now come to Me, Dear One.
Step into My love
Receive My embrace.
Tell Me what’s on your heart.
Listen to My wisdom.
First Come.
Then follow.

What I want – what I need – is to be loved. Only then can I love as He calls me to love. No need to avoid God. He is the best thing that ever happened to me!
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28 NIV

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

This holiday season, Be loved. And then Love. Soak in God’s love and shine!

Celebrating Immanuel – God With Us

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by Lydia Floren

I made a new friend at a conference last summer, a writer named Letitia Suk. In her wonderful book Rhythms of Renewal, Tish mentioned her practice of recording a few things everyday in a thanksgiving journal. I was inspired. I started a thanksgiving journal of my own. (I’m still a bit spotty, but the habit is taking hold.)

As I mentioned last week, it is easy for me to forget to actually give thanks TO God. In the same way, I can also neglect to give thanks FOR God. Like the prodigal and his brother, in focusing on the Father’s gifts, I can overlook His greatest gift: Himself.

So I have an idea for advent: each time I write in my thanksgiving journal, I will try to include at least one attribute of God that I am particularly thankful for. For example:

Thank you Father, for 

Your kindness
Your wisdom
Your sense of humor
Your beauty
Your grace
Your strength
Your consistency
Your faithfulness
Thank you for the ways I have seen You and known You more this year

Thanking God for Himself. What a wonderful way to celebrate Immanuel – God with us!

What a wonderful way of welcoming in advent!

Share with us: What qualities of God are you particularly thankful for?

Giving Thanks At Thanksgiving

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Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17
I just got back from an amazing trip literally to the other side of the world. I was invited to come and speak at a women’s conference, the first one specifically for women that the hosts had ever organized. I was humbled, and frankly a bit afraid; I was speaking 7 times in 2 days, and to folks from a completely different culture. I prayed. And prepared. And prayed. And others prayed with me. And God showed up. Every day. And in ways I didn’t anticipate.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to share a bit more of what I saw and learned, but today I thought it would be appropriate just to write on one topic from the conference: “Be Thankful.” I know, I know. To those of you that follow my blog, you know how much I have written about giving thanks. Nothing new there. But the reason I keep circling back to thanks-giving is because this habit has had such an impact in my life. The more I focus on giving thanks to God, the more I find my life transformed. And so, there is often something new I am learning about thanks-giving.

Here’s what I mean. On Thanksgiving Day, of course we Americans are reminded to give thanks. Amid feasting and family and football, we often stop and think—and even verbalize—some things we are thankful for. In our family, this happens during The Big Meal. (Might I add, the only meal I truly cook the whole weekend!). Sometime between turkey and pumpkin pie, we all lean back in our chairs and take turns mentioning things in the past year we are particularly grateful for.

It’s a good thing to do.
But it is easy to emphasize blessings, more than The Giver of those blessings. When it is my turn at the table, I will say what I am thankful for. But, I can often forget to mention Who I am thankful to. I often neglect to actually say the words, “Thank you God.” Like the eleven lepers, I am thrilled with the gifts, but I’m not expressing gratitude to The Giver.

Thanks-giving has a point. A person on the other end. A person that we are thanking.

To truly give thanks, there must be a recipient: someone we giving thanks TO.

So, this year as you rejoice in your blessings, remember WHO you are thankful TO: the Giver of every good and perfect gift. And then take a little time to actually say the words to Him.

Say, “Thank You God.”

It’s a good thing to do.

This season, what are you especially thankful to God for?

10,000 words

The Secret of Surrender

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by Lydia Floren

Let me tell you a little secret about me: I am a clandestine celebrity watcher. Yes, I am one of those people who scan the headlines in the grocery checkout lane. At the hairdresser, I’ll scroll through the latest People magazine. I might even be known to [gasp] Google a star of my favorite TV show. I make excuses for this somewhat silly voyeurism: “I need to be aware of what is going on in Daniel’s world,” I’ll tell myself. But truthfully, I probably know more about some stuff (the unimportant stuff) in Hollywood, than does my actor son Daniel, who actually lives there! Besides, my “star watching” started long before Daniel chose his career path and moved to LA.

OK, now that you know my little secret, you shouldn’t be surprised that my favorite part of the Sunday paper is Parade Magazine. Which gets me to the part that might actually interest you.

Not too long ago Parade featured an interview with actor Hugh Jackman, aka “Wolverine”, of the X-Men.

In the article, Jackman unabashedly acknowledged his Christianity, and described how his faith is intertwined with his work. Here are his words, as quoted in Parade:

“I’m a religious person. This is going to sound weird to you. In Chariots of Fire, the runner, Eric Liddell, says, ‘When I run, I feel His pleasure.’ And I feel that pleasure when I act and it’s going well, particularly onstage. I feel what everyone’s searching for, the feeling that unites us all. Call it ‘God’. Before I go onstage every night, I pause and dedicate the performance to God, in the sense of ‘Allow me to surrender’. When you allow yourself to surrender to the story, to the character, to the night, to the audience, transcendence happens. And when that happens, there is nothing like it on the planet. It’s the moment people experience when they fall in love, which is equally frightening and exciting. That’s what it feels like.”

I think God wants each of us to experience moments like Liddell’s and Jackman’s. These moments come when we surrender ourselves to Him. When we relinquish control and just trust Him, we become a conduit for His Holy Spirit to work through us.

God wants us to “feel His pleasure”, as we do what He made us to do.

When we do, it is as if Jesus murmurs in our ear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

How have you seen God work through you when you surrender?

p.s. Here’s a link to the Parade article on Hugh Jackman:
http://parade.com/426939/dotsonrader/the-hugh-you-never-knew/

Do I Do That?

Porch Time

Morning Joy

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God gave me a beautiful gift this morning, as I was driving down the interstate.

It was 6:30 a.m., and I was in a hurry – it was going to be a long day. As I rounded the final bend before my exit, a spectacular vista met my eyes: a pink/purple dawn spread out over a distant blue ridge, which was draped in wispy clouds. It reminded me of the Smoky Mountains – of home.

“Quick, get out the camera and snap a picture!”, I told myself. No. Not a good idea at 70 mph. Just enjoy. Soak in the beauty of the moment (and try to keep an eye on the road)!

That sunrise was a gift at the beginning of a difficult day. It was as if God was saying,

“I am here. All is well. Enjoy.”

He says that to me a lot, actually. In all kinds of ways. Too many times, I don’t see. Or I see, but I don’t stop to give thanks. (I’m a slow learner.)

You know, on those days that I do notice God’s ever-abundant gifts, and choose to thank Him, something wonderful happens. JOY settles over me like mist on a mountain.

In Your presence is fullness of joy! Psalm 16:11

Consider It All Joy

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by Lydia Floren

Being a doctor, I see many advantages to being cared for by a physician who has lived a few years (well more than a few, but who’s counting ☺). We “older” docs have personal experience with bad knees, dimming vision, pneumonia, colitis, hemorrhoids. I know, I know. TMI.

I can’t say I like being sick, or having surgery – nothing makes one appreciate good health like infirmity. But because I have “been there,” I can better help my patients through their difficulties.

When I live through – not just observe – an illness, I have a much better understanding of it. For someone like me, this is particularly good news. My “empathy” gene is not particularly dominant: experiencing pain unmasks its expression.

Like Paul, we can “consider it all joy” when we go through hard times. Not only will God strengthen us and guide us through it, He will use it to help someone else.

Difficulties open our hearts to compassion.

With God, no experience is wasted.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NASB

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. James 1:2

Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. Psalm 4:1 KJV

“Be set free not from suffering but rather through suffering.” -George Matheson