Sunday in Borger

This is the choir at First Baptist Church in Borger this past Sunday morning. Don't they look wonderful? They can sing really well, too! The women said they spread their glitter cheer all morning!

The Duso family lit the Advent candle and prayed. Kim (left) barely kept her son, Tyler, (whom she's holding) from blowing out the candle! She slapped her hand over his mouth just in time! I just wish I'd had my camera out at that moment!

Ember Sherman and Andy Dietz sang "I Bring an Offering." It was a blessing.

Sunday evening, we went to 6666 Ranch outside of Borger and listened as our pastor told the Christmas story at a "stable." It was very meaningful.



There was a great crowd--even though it was very cold out there. The 6666 Ranch managers were very hospitable and offered us coffee or hot cider.

It was so awesome to sit in the night air and look at the dark sky dotted with stars and think about the birth of Christ and what it must have been like.

Exhausted

I'm worn out. 10 Christmas parties and counting. Not to mention a Toy Day at Living Water, Nutcracker (although my granddaughters were precious!), and a pre-birthday party. We were not home one night last week---and probably won't be this week either. Am I out of control? How in the world do I simplify? Didn't I blog about this last year?

But tonight we had a different event. We went to the 6666 Ranch---to a barn---and sang carols and heard the Christmas story. Our pastor said he's done this every year for his kids and grandkids. He wants them to experience the setting where Christ was born. So he did the same for us this year. (I have pictures to share, but later.)

As I sat there and hid my head behind the blanket I took (I kept getting dirt and hay in my teeth!), God began speaking to me. Actually, He showed me a video in my mind. I thought back to the special Christmases I remembered as a child. They were so simple. I remembered my dad taking us kids Christmas shopping (the year my younger brother, Gary, & I went in together to get my mom this beautiful cross necklace---years later we found out it was a rosary! ha!). As we walked along downtown, I spied a $5 bill blowing in the wind. We asked everyone around if it was theirs and since no one claimed it, my dad let me keep it. What a windfall!! (And probably the reason we could afford the lovely "necklace.")

I remembered the year it snowed and snowed. Our parents took us downtown and there was a horse-drawn sleigh---in Pampa, Tx!! We got to take a ride on that sleigh. It was so much fun. I was probably 4 or 5, but that memory is vibrant in my mind.

Then our family always went to Central Park in Pampa and viewed the life-sized nativity scene where there were speakers that told the Christmas story. It took about 30 minutes to walk the entire scene and view it all. Afterwards, we'd drive around town to see all of the Christmas lights. There were houses (where the rich people lived) that had speakers outside that had Christmas music playing. THEN....then we could go home and read the Christmas story....and then open gifts from one another.

Things were simple. That's what kept going through my mind. I want to focus on Christ's birth. I want to invest in relationships. I want to do the simple things. I don't know how, but that's the gift I'm asking God for this Christmas--and every year thereafter. I want simplicity with meaning.

Cindy's Christmas Miracle

I'd like to introduce you to Cindy Burris. I love this girl! I first met her at Living Water. I knew that she went to Grace Fellowship and was attending Frank Phillips College at the time and soon learned that she had a liver problem and was on a liver transplant list. I liked her...a lot! But that's about all I really knew about her. And boy! Was she growing spiritually. The glory of the Lord was all over this girl. After watching her life the past couple of years, I asked her a few months ago to give her testimony at Living Water. You could have knocked me over with a feather!! I had NO IDEA of her past until then....and never would have guessed it. Not suprisingly, several people were saved that day.

So...when I was praying and thinking of who to ask to come speak to a group of mostly women at our Christmas Toy Give-Away today at Living Water, Cindy came to my mind. So I asked her to come and she did. She did a great job---you can see a video excerpt of her testimony below.

But back up. She came in last week and told me she wanted to buy a toy for one of the kids. Now we had 145 kids registered for Christmas gifts, so she got to choose from any of them. We were talking the whole time she was looking, but she said, "I'll just look through these. Usually the Holy Spirit will just show me which one to choose." And then she came to the name of a little one-year-0ld girl and she said, "This is the one." So she took the name and bought several gifts for that baby.

Today. Today was our big Christmas Toy Give-Away. Andy & Ember sang a song that they're going to sing in our church this Sunday. Then Cindy spoke. She didn't speak long, but she shared her story and her heart. And four people prayed to receive Christ. After the service, we called numbers and people got their toys and began giftwrapping them. Cindy stayed around and helped people giftwrap. As things were winding down, she was talking to a young mom who told Cindy she liked what she'd had to say. Then she told Cindy that she'd grown up in church, but had gotten into trouble---and ended up in prison. As she talked, Cindy noticed the gifts that the young woman was wrapping. She looked at this young woman and said, "I've been praying for you and your daughter all week. I'm the one who purchased these toys for your daughter." I do believe that God led Cindy to that name that day. What a miracle for God to put two lives who walked such similar paths together at Christmas time.

Another miracle is what God is doing in Cindy's life. Cindy lost everything at one time. She lost her family, her relationships with her children and grandchildren. She lost a son and a grandson. She lost her dad this past year. She's lost her health. She lost all of her earthly goods. And she has an income of only $600 a month, she told us today. But God has restored so much. He's restored her relationship with her family (which is why she's so excited in the video about her granddaughter calling her). He's restored her health somewhat---she keeps getting good reports! She's finishing her counseling degree at WTAMU and hopes to help children dream again. And God has restored her finances. Even though she only makes $600/month, she gives and gives. Her house is fully decorated for Christmas and there are gifts under the tree for everyone she loves. God has blessed her and restored her. I love Christmas miracles!

Tree

See that little tree in front of the house up above...where it says "The Best of Becky?" Well, here's what it looked like yesterday during the 60 mph winds with a high of 18 degrees or so.

And this is what it looks like tonight (with an expected low of 8). I'd say it bit the dust. Literally. Andy's heartsick. He loves that tree! Some neighbors may be glad. I won't say who.

Imagination vs. Vision

From our prayer time this morning, we learned that working towards something that we've come up with out of our own imaginations is diametrically opposed to walking in faith towards a vision God has given us.

"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: 'Hear the word of the LORD!" Ezekiel 13:2

My imagination...or God's Word? Don't put your ladder against the wrong wall. Don't shoot your arrow at the wrong target. Don't... Well, you should just hear God.

Do you realize how often I come up with some great ideas all on my own? Do you know how many times I get a picture in my mind of the way something is going to work out---and start working towards that goal? That's called imagination, expectations and assuming. When I do those things, I set myself up as a judge (or god). If I set myself up as judge, I can't/won't submit. And I am to be subject to God.

I can also do that with others. I can decide the way they should think, go, or operate. I set up an imagination in my mind of what the right way is. (Judge) Did you know I can even get bent out of shape if they don't do what I think they should do?

"Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:11-12

It's easy to become deceived, our prayer group decided, if we give in to our own imaginations, expectations or assumptions. Guard your mind with God's Word.

Points on Suffering

1. Expect suffering. Life is going to have disappointments, pain, illness, death. Sin brought those things into the world.

2. Don't give in to the suffering. Submit to God, not your circumstances. I know there's a fine line here. What if in submitting to God, we're submitting to what he's allowed in our lives? You still submit to God. A verse in Psalms that haunts me is 105:17-18. It says, "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant. His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron..." Don't allow your soul to enter into your suffering.

3. Listen for God's voice. This is a Rhema word---hearing Him. He wants to speak to your heart in the midst of your suffering. Faith comes by hearing (Rhema), and hearing by the word of God.

4. Choose to praise God. Rejoice in the midst of your sufferings. This is what will turn everything around in your heart & mind.

5. Look for God's glory to be revealed in you. (Romans 8:18) There will be an end to our suffering...but it may not be here on earth. The end of Hebrews 11 proves that some finish without seeing this glory here on earth. When you "pass the test" of suffering, there's nothing quite like knowing you submitted to God and overcame the obstacles of your heart & mind! You also grow in endurance, steadfastness, & patience. No one "wins or loses" here on earth. We're all still running the race--which we must finish. I don't see anything in this passage that leads me to believe we're competing with one another. The winning is in completing what God sent us to do.

6. Ask and keep on asking!! God wants us to ask. He promises to be near to us in our difficulties. He tell us to remind Him of His promises.

7. Allow God to be glorified in your life. Walk by faith. Submit to Him. Trust Him. The victory is in glorifying Him.

8. And remember...God is more powerful. He's more powerful than your circumstances, than your enemies, than Satan himself. And great and abundant is his stability and faithfulness.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...

Suffering

Jodina suffered the other day. Monday to be exact. And I heard all about it as we walked Tuesday morning. I have her permission to tell you her story.

You see, she's been in the process of remodeling her master suite. And at the beginning of the remodel, she'd asked the builders to be through by Thanksgiving. That didn't happen. But she had the end in sight before Thanksgiving, so she didn't complain. She knew the carpet was going to be layed this past Tuesday, so she had her mom come over and help her get everything ready Monday. They worked like crazy to get it done. She called the carpet people to verify the time they were coming....and then it happened. She found out they weren't coming for another week...and they hadn't called to let her know. That poor carpet girl didn't know what hit her. The Brock temper exploded. (Brock is Jodina's maiden name. You would love this family!!)

Now you might not call this suffering. (Not getting your carpet on time.) But we're calling it that after much consideration. And let me say at the outset that we don't put this type of suffering even close to the same level as losing a loved one! That is a whole different level of suffering. But let me define suffering for you according to Websters online dictionary.

suf⋅fer 
–verb (used without object)
1.
to undergo or feel pain or distress: The patient is still suffering.
2.
to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss: One's health suffers from overwork. The business suffers from lack of capital.
3.
to undergo a penalty, as of death: The traitor was made to suffer on the gallows.
4.
to endure pain, disability, death, etc., patiently or willingly.

You see? Jodina felt pain and distress over not getting her carpet on time. She suffered. We can't change what we can't identify. But once we understand the Truth, it can set us free. Once you determine that what you are experiencing is "suffering," you can acknowledge it and allow it to transform you. And I think you can see the levels of suffering even in Webster's mind as each definition becomes more intense.

But let me tell you in what way Jodina really suffered. Her flesh suffered. Her flesh wanted carpet on time! Her flesh rose up to demand it's own way. She had expectations of how this thing was going to play out because she'd made plans ahead of time. She'd told her builder to be finished by Thanksgiving. (And she handled that disappointment with finesse!) And her carpet man had given her a date for laying the carpet. And so many things hinged on her getting that carpet down--things like moving her furniture back into the room and getting to sleep in her own bed again! Her flesh suffered and she reacted. In fact, in Jodina's words, "I almost used my anger to be manipulative--to get my own way." She really wanted to take her anger to a whole new plane. That's what flesh does best.

This is suffering on the day-to-day level. And we all suffer at this degree, whether we've ever identified it as such or not. And you know why our flesh is suffering? Because God is wanting us to get our flesh on the altar and kill it sacrificially altogether. Dying flesh hurts. It cries out in pain. It wants to get off the altar. God's desire is for us to walk in the spirit and not the flesh. He's also told us to expect suffering and to rejoice in it. Read I Peter 4:12-13. Because if you have God's perspective on this, you know when you're dying to your flesh, you are being changed into Christ's image---GLORY HALLELUJAH!

And like Jodina, we have a choice of what to do when suffering comes. We can submit to God, (knowing His plan is good and He is all powerful) while sacrificing our flesh and walking in the Spirit. Or we can live in the flesh, having expectations and demanding our own way--and never changing.

Jodina got alone with God and wrestled this out. She decided to put her flesh on the altar and kill it. Her carpet didn't magically appear--she's still waiting. But now she's believing that God had a better plan all along. He wanted to teach her about suffering.