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About Me
Hey! I'm so glad you stopped by. I'm Lyn- wife, mother, writer, speaker, and yes- a former beauty queen. But don't let the title fool you, I'm just a country girl saved by a Grace I don't fully understand. I write about the journey with that amazing Grace here and I'd be delighted for you to join me.
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Tag Archives: Encouragement
A Word for your Sunday ~
For the past few days, everything has seemed daunting. I feel like I’m climbing uphill in all that I do. I feel defeated at home and at work.
Early this morning I read these words and they brought such comfort.
“They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
Yes, “they shall mount up with wings as eagles”. You know what eagles’ wings mean. The eagle is the king of birds, it soars the highest into the heavens. Believers are to live a heavenly life, in the very Presence and Love and Joy of God. They are to live where God lives; they need God’s strength to rise there. To them that wait on Him it shall be given.
You know how the eagles’ wings are obtained. Only in one way – by the eagle’s birth. You are born of God. You have the eagle’s wings. You may not have known it; you may not have used them; but God can and will teach you to use them.
You know how the eagles are taught the use of their wings. See yonder cliff rising a thousand feet out of the sea. See high up a ledge on the rock, where there is an eagle’s nest with its treasure of two young eaglets. See the mother bird come and stir up her nest, and with her beak push the timid birds over the precipice. See how they flutter and fall and sink toward the depth. See now (Deut. 32:11) “how she fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings”, and so, as they ride upon her wings, brings them to a place of safety. And so she does once and again, each time casting them out over the precipice, and then again taking and carrying them. “So the Lord alone did lead them.” Yes, the instinct of that eagle mother was God’s gift, a single ray of that love in which the Almighty trains His people to mount as on eagle’s wings.
He stirs up your nest. He disappoints your hopes. He brings down your confidence. He makes you fear and tremble, as all your strength fails, and you feel utterly weary and helpless. And all the while He is spreading His strong wings for you to rest your weakness on, and offering His everlasting Creator-strength to work in you. And all He asks is that you should sink down in your weariness and wait on Him; and allow Him in His Jehovah-strength to carry as you ride upon the wings of His Omnipotence.
Dear child of God! I pray you, lift up your eyes, and behold your God! Listen to Him who saith that He fainteth not, neither is weary, who promiseth that you too shall not faint or be weary, who asketh nought but this one thing, that you should wait on Him. And let your answer be, With such a God, so mighty, so faithful, so tender,
“My soul, wait thou only upon God!”
-Andrew Murray, Waiting on God
After I read my bible each morning, I read a portion from the great saints who have gone before us. I think of them as that “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on from above. Their words encourage and inspire me in my daily walk. I hope this reading does the same for you, dear friend.
Posted in Confessions
Tagged Encouragement, hope, Rest, strength, weary, weekend meditation
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For the Waiting Ones ~
Things were not going according to plan.
Moses had witnessed divine pyrotechnics, jaw-dropping supernatural phenomena and heard God’s voice.
God promised him that He would deliver Israel out of bondage.
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”
Exodus 3:7-8
Was God’s plan somehow going awry?
Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle.
Exodus 5:1-8
Pharaoh became angrier. Work became harder. Torturous. The Israelites were more discouraged than ever. Moses looked like a fool.
How do you keep moving forward when the horizon looks bleak? When you lose hope?
How do you hang on to a promise when Doubt whispers in your ear? When you’re sick? And weary?
It’s been his agenda since the garden. The Serpent, that is. Spinning tales of doubt and confusion. He speaks through Pharaohs. Illness. Financial crisis. Prodigal children. He causes us to question the goodness of God. The faithfulness of God.
“Did God really say?”
“ Is He really good?”
“ Maybe He’s busy. Maybe you’re not on His priority list. Maybe…maybe…”
It’s an ancient strategy that has garnered tremendous results, except… except on those who choose to believe God. Against all odds …against circumstances that point to disaster…against a sinking feeling of despair…there are those who wait on the Lord.
How are we to wait when we long for relief?
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:13-14
We are to wait like Moses.
We don’t give way to fear though it threatens to undo us. We grip God’s promises, if only by our fingernails, and hold on for dear life to His faithfulness.
We stand firm. We dig our heels into position. Not running ahead or turning back. We actively stay put.
We watch with eyes wide open. Expectantly. Full of hope. Always aware that our Deliverer is coming.
And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left…. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians…
Exodus 14:22,30
If salvation indeed comes from God, and is entirely His work, just as our creation was, it follows, as a matter of course, that our first and highest duty is to wait on Him to do that work that pleases Him. Waiting becomes then the only way to the experience of a full salvation, the only way, truly, to know God as the God of our salvation.
Andrew Murray, Waiting on God
Posted in Confessions
Tagged deliverance, Encouragement, Exodus, hope, salvation, waiting
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One Small Regret ~
We take the elevator down to the 2nd floor in the wee hours of the morning to look for a lost prayer journal. The one provided for each attendee at the Allume conference.
We search the table and it’s not there.
The journals were in a room set aside for prayer during the conference. We could go in at any time and write in someone’s journal or pray in the quiet. I went in once and wrote a few lines, but I was in a hurry. Rushing to get a good seat at the next class.
I don’t know if my friend found her journal. But as I drove home from the conference, thoughts of searching for it made me realize that we all ache for a personal word. A connection. We want to matter to someone.
I should have spent more time in the prayer room.
Instead of chasing blessings at break-neck speed, I should have spent more time being one.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12: 9-13 ESV
So many women touched my heart at Allume. I’m not sure I told them.
How strange it is that I pray for God to use me and I don’t see the opportunities right in front of me. I pray for God to send me, and I am already there!
I don’t want to miss it anymore. I want to be fully engaged right where I am. Wherever that is.
The mission is in the moment. This moment.
Be. All. There.
Linking up over here. Click on the buttons and join in!
Talking to yourself ~
There are days when a particular straw threatens to break that camel’s back. Days when emotions erupt and rain down heavy. This was one of those days.
“It shouldn’t be like this! This isn’t how life is supposed to be!”, my youngest screams out in between sobs, barely catching her breath. Her tears fall and soak my shoulder as I try to hug out the pain. I want to make it all go away. Make her world the way it should be.
“This isn’t fair! It’s not right!”
I am well acquainted with these feelings. I learned when I was just a little thing that life doesn’t always turn out like you want it to. Like it should. People disappoint us. Even those that are supposed to love us most.
What do you do when your basic needs aren’t met? Where do you go with monumental disappointment? When you hurt so bad ‘cause life is unfair….who do you turn to?
She retreats to her room and I go for a much-needed walk. I have to move my body to rid myself of all this frustration. I need to talk to God. To walk out in the September air and move and breathe and speak with God. This is something I learned to do in the hard times. The times when life was unfair ~ when my marriage nearly fell apart, friends were few and far between, and I felt like I was free falling without a net.
This was the time when God became everything to me. All that I had.
Within minutes I begin rattling off question after question to God. ”Do you see what’s going on? Why is this happening? What should I say? Do?” I continue wrestling and then…quietly… softly… these words come:
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits….
I know these words. King David penned this Psalm. He had a habit of talking to his soul when he was discouraged. Preaching to himself.
I knew that God was directing me to do the same. He was calling me to preach to the one who needed it most – me.
He was calling me to:
*Remember His kindnesses.
*Trust in His faithfulness.
*Praise Him even when circumstances aren’t favorable.
This journey with God is often a study in contrasts. Our bodies scream out in protest when God asks us to do the very thing that doesn’t feel natural. That which is opposite of what our body wants to do. We want to hold on tight and God says to let go. It can be scary to take that step of faith.
So I preach to the one who needs it most, like David, and remember what God has done.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to His children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:1-14
When I get home, I open my Bible and read these verses. They are like a warm salve to my insides. My breathing slows as I write them on the pages of my journal and absorb them into my mind and body. Exchanging my thoughts for His. My anxiety for His peace. My worry for His security. My despair for His joy.
A sermon of God’s blessings to my soul.
Linking up with lovely Laura over at The Wellspring. Won’t you join us!
Posted in Confessions
Tagged Bible verse, Encouragement, parenting, Peace, studying scripture
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With armloads of blessing ~
And now, GOD, do it again – bring rains to our drought-stricken lives so those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing with armloads of blessing.
Psalm 126:4-6 MSG
Two images fix the hope: The first is “bring rains to our drought-stricken lives.” The Negeb, the south of Israel, is a vast desert. The watercourses of the Negeb are a network of ditches cut into the soil by wind and rain erosion. For most of the year they are baked dry under the sun, but a sudden rain makes the desert ablaze with blossoms. Our lives are like that — drought-stricken — and then, suddenly, the long years of barren waiting are interrupted by God’s invasion of grace.
The second image is “So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.” The hard work of sowing seed in what looks like perfectly empty earth has, as every farmer knows, a time of harvest. All suffering, all pain, all emptiness, all disappointment is seed: sow it in God and He will, finally, bring a crop of joy from it.
~ Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Linking up with Sandy today..
A Blessing for the Weekend ~
They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s', another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand,’The LORD’s', and name himself by the name of Israel. Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and the last; besides Me there is no god.
Isaiah 44:4-6
Praising Him in community with Sandy and Deidra. Won’t you join us!
Posted in Confessions
Tagged Bible, Bible verse, Devotions, Encouragement, Family, Prayer, Scripture, Still Saturday, The Sunday Community
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To the One who holds us ~
I’m weighed down with worry. Harsh words spoken with my girls. Hurt feelings. Silence. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t break through. Walls.
Problems at our business. Broken equipment. Not enough help. I watch my husband grow weary with the workload. My heart splinters right through because I can’t carry this load.
It’s raining hard outside and the roof is leaking…and I just spill all over.
What do you do when it’s all too much?
When there’s fighting? When it’s storming? When it’s too hard to bear?
I whisper a prayer for help as I get in my car. On the radio I hear these words: “In the beginning, God…”
I listen to the words of Genesis spoken in lilting Irish tones.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:1-5
Words like salve to my raw heart. Dr. John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. He lectures all over the world and publicly debates in academic settings in defense of Christianity. And he spoke pure gospel to me. “In the beginning, God…”
My mind wandered to these words:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15-17
I remember the day I read these verses for the first time. I thought my heart might explode from excitement! The One I love so dearly, the One who captured my heart, the One who died for me… created the Universe. Jesus! And not only did He create it, it remains because of Him.
That all things ” hold together” in Christ means that He is both the unifying principle and the personal sustainer of all creation. It springs from Him and finds in Him its common cohesion and center.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary
I tend to live as if all this is up to me. I strain and strive to keep all the plates spinning in the air. I tend to forget the One who keeps this whole thing spinning.
Jesus spoke the universe into being. Sun. Moon. Stars. Constellations. Planets. You. Me.
And we remain because He holds us here.
What could possibly be too difficult for Him?
Life can be hard. Hearts break. Roofs leak. We get weary. But we were created to draw strength from the One who is without beginning or end. The One who is before all things. The One who holds us.
Linking up with Jennifer today…
And Michelle…
To walk in the Light ~
It is nasty hot in Virginia right now. Record high temperatures. Humidity like wet wool. Our dry cleaning business is like a steam bath and as I drive there, I am brooding.
My mind is heavy with negative thoughts ~ grumblings about the weather, work, the laundry, our house.I arrive at work only to find that we’re short-staffed and an endless line of shirts is waiting for me to separate and bag. I sink a little lower into self-pity.
I check numbers on shirts….check tickets…hang and bag for what feels like hours. I’m murmuring to myself…I’m never going to get it all done…When will I get a break…I deserve… And then I feel it ~ a tug deep down.
I know the Tugger. He has a familiar pull that I recognize.
He wants me to come. I resist for a second, determined to dig my heels deeper into my pity party. But He tugs again.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20
“Lord”. I say it silently.
Within a few moments I feel as though a weight has lifted. My problems have taken on a different appearance. How strange. Nothing has changed in my circumstances at all. But the lens with which I see and perceive the world has changed.
Left on my own, I see one dimensionally. My dimension! My fallen nature blurs and distorts my view. My frustrations loom larger than life and take up too much space. They crowd out thanksgiving and hope. But with one half step toward the Light, the landscape seems to change. I see…
Color. Dimension. Wonder.
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.
Psalm 36:9
How quickly I forget to live the whole of my life in His light. How easy it is to slip out of sync and walk in the shadows of self. Self pity. Self entitlement. I must bring it all to Him. All of me.
If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:-7
When I choose to walk in darkness, I break fellowship with God. Although I am still His child, I lose the sweetness of communion with Him. I also lose perspective and peace.
John’s point is that if Christians live in the light where God is, then there is mutual fellowship between Himself and them…The light itself is the fundamental reality which they share.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary
Father, thank You for rescuing us from ourselves. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Help us, O Lord, to live wholly before You, praising and thanking You for abundant blessings. Remind us to bring our cares, our frustrations, our doubts and our questions to You as well. Show us how to fully abide in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
He comes to save us from ourselves mostly, but from the world, the flesh, and the devil, too. And since we’re always in some way in need of saving, He is always in some way coming.
Ken Gire
Holding on ~
Every minute of the last couple of weeks has been packed with activity.{Hence, my absence from here lately.} In between moving my mother-in-law to a smaller place and working at our dry cleaning business, Todd and I have tried to tame the jungle that is our backyard. We are sore from all the lifting, pulling and hauling.
My sweet mother-in-law has put on a brave face as she divvies up a lifetime of cherished objects. As we pack things into boxes, she tells stories about each picture and plate as if introducing us for the first time. She wants to pass on the history so that we will love these things too.
It’s hard…this business of letting go.
Todd and I took a day off from moving boxes and tackled the backyard the other day. All around the cotoneaster, lilies and wisteria are rogue weeds, mock strawberries and fake grapevines. The weeds have dug in, wound around and have no intentions of leaving. Even nature yearns to hold on to something.
Why do we all cling so? The Psalmist laments the same issue…
My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your word!
Psalm 119:25
As I look at all these tangled weeds, God reminds me of my own tendency to cling. I am certainly attached to all the obvious things, namely, my loved ones. But there is much more. I cling to having my own way, my pride, my opinions, my…my…my. I also cling to what I can taste, touch, see and smell. Something tangible. And it’s not until God mercifully removes it from my hand that I realize that it is dust. In His grace, He takes what is false and fleeting and gives what ultimately satisfies ~ Himself.
You have made us for Yourself, O Lord,and our heart is restless until it rests in You.
~ St.Augustine
O Lord, this world is too much with me. When I cannot feel Your Presence, remind me that You are there. When I cannot see Your divine hand in my life, open my eyes to Your wonder. O Anchor of my soul, when I feel like I’m slipping and I can’t find anything to hold on to, bind me to Yourself! When my thoughts turn dark and hopeless, write Your Word on the inside of my mind and all over my heart. Father, I beseech You to be more real to me than all my circumstances ~ good and bad. Give me a heart to cling only to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
