As You Follow

As spring approaches, I think about my grandfather. He died on Christmas day in 2009. I loved that man dearly. He said whatever was on his mind. It didn’t matter if it was something you wanted to hear or not and somehow he never seemed to offend anyone. I gave him plenty of hair cuts on his front porch (I really don’t know why he trusted me to do this; I’m thinking maybe he didn’t have the best eyesight haha.) He taught me how to appreciate creation around us. He loved to watch squirrels play and loved to see the flowers blooming and leaves coming back on the trees in the spring. He also loved to watch hummingbirds that would zoom around the feeders my grandmother had hanging.

The spring after he died, I spent a lot of mornings on my own front porch reading my Bible and praying. There had been a lot of bees around our house and I don’t like bees, wasps, hornets, spiders or any insect that could possibly harm me! I could hear the bees buzzing around our plants and then I heard loud buzzing very close to me. I closed my eyes and held my breath hoping this huge “bee” would soon leave me alone. Then I felt the Lord say “open your eyes” and when I did, I saw the most beautiful hummingbird right in front of my face. I felt the Lord speak to my spirit “Tori, if you keep your eyes closed in fear, you are going to miss out on My glory and beauty.”

In Mark 10, the disciples had just listened to Jesus teach some things that were pretty hard. In verse 32, it says “And as they followed they were afraid….” Notice it does not say “They were afraid, so they closed their eyes and stood still.” Nor does it say “They were afraid so they turned back.” No they pushed through their fear and continued to follow Jesus. Like the disciples, we may be afraid but we know that sheep desperately need their Shepherd. Sheep know there is no safer place than in the care of their shepherd, so wherever he leads they will follow. Will we do the same? Wherever our Jesus leads, will we boldly trust and follow Him or will we shrink back in fear? Yes, the disciples were persecuted and many were killed but they continued to follow their Shepherd because He is worth it all. We too are called to press on through our fear and follow the One who drives out fear with His perfect love.

Every spring I hear and see these beautiful creatures and I remember that fear has no place within me. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Open your eyes and experience His beauty…..As you follow.

“God incarnate is the end of fear; and the heart that realizes that He is in the midst…..will be quiet in the midst of alarm.” F.B. Meyer

Immanuel

I remember one day, I was on my knees on our bedroom floor crying out to God. It was a season in my life where I felt so distant from Him. I desperately wanted to hear His voice and feel His presence. I tell myself a lot to “stick to what you KNOW, not how you FEEL.” So as I was crying out “Lord, I know You are here, I know You are here.”  The Lord clearly spoke to me “I am Immanuel (God with us), I’m not just here around you, I am WITH you!” How powerful! Yes, He is with me, He walks through deep waters and through fire with me. He is not a God who sits on His throne merely watching as I walk through this life, He is WITH me. He knows my pain, my struggles, my confusion, doubts and fears. He knows because He walked this Earth before me. He is Jesus who came down to dwell among us. He was before me and He walks with me now and always.


"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14

When our son, Trent was younger we took him to a bounce house. As soon as we arrived, Trent headed straight to the biggest slide. He climbed all the way up to the top and then began to cry and refuse to come down. He did not realize how high it was until he got up there. So, I took off my shoes and started climbing up to rescue him. He was crying and so scared but as soon as he saw me, he jumped in my arms and calmed down completely. We still had to go down the slide, the path before him had not changed at all but now I was with him and that made all the difference in the world. We may face some treacherous looking paths and God may not change our circumstances, but like Trent we can be at complete peace because He is with us. We are not alone on this journey. 

Maybe our gracious God knew we would “feel” distant and question His presence because Scripture is packed with verses that tell us not to fear. A lot of these verses that begin with “Do not be afraid” often end with “because I am WITH you.”

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10  

Not only is God WITH us. He holds us! Actually He has upheld us from birth (Isaiah 46:3.) Tenth Avenue North has a song called “By your side.” There is a line in the song that says “please don’t fight these hands that are holding you.” We often jump out of those precious hands of the Comforter. Why? Because we believe we can handle things on our own or maybe accomplish things quicker than the One who holds time in His hands. How foolish! These hands that hold the world are most certainly holding us as well. What a magnificent God! Immanuel!

Whatever He Says

So this is my first blog post, honestly I didn’t even know what blogging was until recently. For months now, I have heard the gentle whisper of my Creator saying “write……speak”…..so here I am….. I am a simple wife and stay at home mom so what do I have to say that is of any worth? Not much, but I hope to write what my Jesus speaks to my heart and more than anything I want to be obedient to Him.

My life may not look “important” but everyday He reminds me that He has entrusted me with three precious souls to invest in and to pour His love into. So as Jesus teaches me, I will teach them and they also teach me…..quite often!

For example, when I am worried about something, our 7 year old son reminds me “Mama just pray about it.” And every time our 6 year old gets hurt, he runs to me wanting me to pray because he knows Jesus is his Healer. (What faith!) And when I watch our 1 month old sleeping in his crib, I am overwhelmed with God’s grace and the fact that He chose me to be their mother.

Yes my life can be chaotic! Yes my life is somewhat messy! And Yes my life is important! Your life is important! Our lives on this earth are only but a moment in the whole picture of eternity. So what I do with this life matters, what you do matters! I am where I am, doing what I’m doing because God has placed me here. God desires to use us right where we are in our simple day to day lives. When we live unto the Lord, nothing is wasted, nothing is in vain!  

I love what Heidi Baker says in her devotional book “Reckless Devotion.” She says “Never feel that what you have to contribute is too small, not enough, insignificant. It’s not. What you have is needed. Without it, other parts of the Body struggle to function. Bring your offering to Jesus and allow Him to multiply it.”

In Genesis, Hagar gave God a name. She named him “the God who sees me.”   He not only pursues me, He sees me. He sees my every tear, every sigh of frustration, every dish I wash, every hug I give, every toss and turn on a sleepless night, every meal I prepare (whether it’s delicious or not!) He sees me! He knows me! I am His and I am precious to Him and so are you.

So because He sees me, because He loves me and because He lives, I will surrender to Him. I will pursue Him. I will obey Him, for this life is not my own, I was bought with a costly price. So what does obedience look like? Jesus is our example and Scripture says He was “obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8

I believe Jesus wants me to be available to Him at all times. Am I available to Him early in the morning before my children wake up to seek His guidance? Am I available to Him in my home to minister to my children? Am I available to Him outside my home to everyone that crosses my path? Am I available to Him when I’m not feeling well? Am I available to Him when I am having a bad day? Am I available to Him in the middle of the night when He wants to talk with me? I want to be available to Him and then obey whatever He says. If He dwells within me, He should be able to do and say whatever He desires. I want to notice where He is working and join Him in that work. Jesus came to give us abundant life. An abundant life consists of communion with Him and living in obedience to Him.

I love what Mary, the mother of Jesus tells the servants at the wedding in Cana. She said “Whatever He says to you, do it.”(John 2:5) Wow, talk about a life verse! Whatever He calls us to do….Just do it! Yes, be obedient and trust Him to work through you, because we can be confident that He who begins a good work in us will complete it! (Philippians 1:6)……