Beautiful Encounter

It's known as a special meeting, an unexpected experience. It's an ENCOUNTER.

I'm sure there are many who have met some famous singer or actor and they leave that person excited about their encounter. You know what I mean, when someone famous signs a book or someone is so excited because they shook the hand of their favorite actor and now they're never going to wash their hand again. I dare say that none of those encounters ever really changed anyone though. Those encounters don't last forever, we can't live off of those encounters for the rest of our lives.

There is one lady though, who did have an ENCOUNTER that changed her life forever. To her, it was an ordinary day and I'm sure she didn't expect anything extraordinary to happen. She was taking on a familiar chore at an unusual time of day. She chose this time of day so she could be alone. No one there to whisper or point fingers. It was most likely the hottest part of the day, but she didn't mind because she would be alone. And when you're an outcast you find a false sense of peace in being alone.

She soon realized she was not going to be alone, but at least it was a Jewish man who wouldn't dare speak to her anyway. But....then.... HE did. Surely, she misunderstood or imagined that He asked her for a drink. Her, a Samaritan woman? Nope, she had not imagined it, He was speaking directly to her.

Then the conversation continues....

"Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,   but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” John 4:9-15

"The woman said to Him, I know that the Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things." "Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." John 4:25-26

Jesus, the Savior of the world declares who He is to a Samaritan woman first. He went through Samaria solely to pursue this woman. He saw her. He loved her. He knew her worth when she did not.

I gave my mother pottery for Christmas last year. It caught my eye because it's a water pot that is turned over with water spilling out. It reminded me of my favorite verses in John 4. Verses 28-30.......

"The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came to Him."

She left her water pot and ran to tell everyone about Jesus. She was no longer afraid or concerned what others thought of her. She had an ENCOUNTER with Jesus and she could not keep it to herself. She left the water which she came for and took hold of the Living Water and could not keep quiet about her encounter.

Oh I long to be like this woman, to drop whatever seems important to me to declare to the world who Jesus is. I have encountered Him and He completely changed my life, in fact He is still changing me. That is the beautiful part, we can encounter Him every day. This woman was no longer concerned about the opinions of others, she now knew her worth.  She just had to share Jesus because she was compelled by His love to do so.

In Acts 4, Peter and John are told to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus and in verse 20 they exclaim  " As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

 Yes! Lets be a people who just can't help ourselves!  I heard someone say once "if you knew Jesus like I know Him, you couldn't shut up about Him either." We must proclaim Jesus no matter if its politically incorrect, no matter if we are mocked, no matter if we are persecuted. This. world. needs. Jesus! Lets drop our water pots and proclaim Him to everyone!

If you have not encountered Jesus, will you seek Him? Don't put it off, you can encounter Him today! I know He is in pursuit of you. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He loves you and wants an intimate relationship with you.  He promises in Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

"Jesus changes everything
There is no greater mystery
That God would come to rescue me
From who I was

The kindness of my Savior calls
Me to the wonder of His love
Jesus changes everything
And He is changing me"

Abide

I've been watching this one branch on a tree in our yard for weeks now. We call this tree our third base tree because we have three maple trees in our yard that are in perfect positions for first, second, and third bases for our baseball and kickball games.

The leaves on this branch looked just like the other leaves on the tree, but the branch itself was hanging low. Upon closer inspection, the branch was actually barely hanging on. I wondered how long it would thrive as it was halfway detached. Day after day it looked completely normal except from being lower than the other branches.

But gradually, we began to notice it's leaves were slowly fading and deteriorating. Now the leaves are dead and the branch will have to be cut away from the tree.

That branch reminded me of myself at times in the past. Maybe you can relate also? You know those times when I thought I could do life on my own and neglected my relationship with Jesus. At first everything seems fine but over time, like these leaves we begin to fade away and deteriorate. Why? Because Jesus is the true Vine and we are the branches. Without Him we can do nothing! In the passage about the Vine and branches in John 15, Jesus says the word "Abide" 10 times.

Anything Jesus says is important, but if He says something 10 times in the same passage I believe we better take notice! Many accept Him, that part doesn't require much effort but it takes self discipline and laying ourselves down to ABIDE in Him.

Abide means to remain, obey, follow. How do we abide? I heard a preacher on the radio recently say "we must guard against the drift, the drift is slow and subtle." When we neglect our time in the presence of the Lord and prayer and time in His Word we are not guarding against the drift. We set ourselves up to be an open target for the enemy.

Recently I was in a situation that caused fear to rise up in me. Immediately the Holy Spirit dropped a verse in my spirit "what time I am afraid,  I will trust in thee." Psalm 56:3. That fear would have consumed me if He had not comforted me with His Word.  If we are not abiding in Him and hiding His Word in our hearts, we are opening the door for fear, doubts and worry. Abiding in Him brings about the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

That branch looked like it was doing well for a time but in truth it was barely surviving. There are many believers who may look like they have it all together but feel like they are barely surviving. Becoming detached from the Vine is a slow and subtle process. The schemes and distractions of the enemy make it easy to become attached to the things of this world instead of remaining in Jesus, our true Vine. Casting Crowns has a song called "slow fade" that describes how a believer drifts off course. It doesn't happen over night, it's a slow fade. We must guard against the "drift" the "slow fade."

This branch is without hope but we are most certainly not! I'm so thankful God's mercies are new every morning and His Word promises that if we draw near to Him that He will draw near to us. He is faithful to us even when we aren't faithful to Him. He is so good and when we truly encounter Him and experience His presence, we want nothing more than to ABIDE in Him. Have you distanced yourself from Jesus, your very source of life? If you have, will you draw near to Him? He has not left you, He loves you and has been pursuing you. He desires a beautiful and intimate relationship with you. His promises are true. Why would we not remain in, obey, follow, abide in such a beautiful Savior and Creator.

Stuck in the Middle

To my middle son, bless your heart you will always be stuck in the middle, younger to one brother and older to the other. Learning from one and teaching the other. You are exactly where you are supposed to be because God placed you there! I want you to know there is no one just like you, you are irreplaceable!

I love your "what if" questions that are always followed by giggles.

I love that you would wear your pajamas all the time if I would let you.

I love your giving heart and how you always think of others above yourself.

I love building legos with you even though you totally don't need my help anymore.

I love how you tilt your head down and make your eyes look pitiful when I tell you "no" about something and it always makes me laugh.

I love that your favorite Bible story is David and Goliath for you too have fought your own battles with God by your side.

I love your curly red hair that makes you, you!

I love the freckles on your face and how you laugh when we try to count them all.

I love that long scar down your chest for it tells your story of God's faithfulness. Son, your life is a testimony to God's power and might!

I love how you say "I know, you've told me like a hundred times" when I tell you how special and loved you are. I will keep on telling you hundreds and thousands more times!

I love your love for Jesus and your faith in Him. Seek Him, Know Him, Know that He is your Shepherd and you are His sheep. Listen for His voice in every area of your life and then obey His voice.

You were made for greatness!! I'm thrilled and honored to get a front row seat at watching God's plans for you unfold!!

I love you sweet Daylen!

Even Though

Have you ever prayed and asked, "Lord, why did You create me?" We know that we were all created for a purpose that only we can fulfill, but we also were created for one overall purpose. Isaiah 43:7 says that HE created us for HIS glory. I was put on this earth to glorify and magnify my Creator.

A few years ago, we were surprised to find out that we were expecting our third child. I was excited until the ultrasound proved something was wrong. I was disappointed and in denial. I prayed and truly believed that my next ultrasound would be perfect and that the doctor had made a mistake...but it wasn't...and she hadn't. It was obvious that I would soon have a miscarriage, I was heartbroken and confused. This is something that many women experience, but we rarely talk about it. It pierces a woman's heart to know that the life within her will not survive. It is so incredibly painful because we quickly become attached to him or her.

In my time of pain and weakness, God faithfully spoke truth to my spirit... "Nothing is impossible for Me, I can fix and change anything, but when I do not, please know there is a divine purpose and I am still God."

From that point on, I was determined to glorify Him, even in my pain and heartache and even though my emotions were up and down. He gave me strength to channel all those emotions and heartache towards one single purpose alone.....to glorify God.

During this time, the Lord also gave me a heart for women who have experienced this loss. We can try to sympathize with the pain of others, but until we truly experience that pain, we can never process what they have endured. One sweet woman of God was there to comfort me proving 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 to be true "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

On the day of my surgery....the day I would walk away with an emptiness I've never known, I had a choice. I could become bitter towards the Creator of life or I could choose to glorify Him even though my heart was torn.

When I woke up from surgery, the nurse was telling me how sorry she was and that she too had experienced the loss of a baby. The Lord gave me strength to share with her the word He placed in my heart. I shared with her that she was not alone and how much Jesus loves her.  He was glorified even though in that moment it would have been easy to fall into a pit of sorrow. He gave me strength to share Him with someone who needed to know Him and His love for her.

I have seen God give others the supernatural power and strength to lay aside their own emotions and desires to glorify Him even though their hearts were breaking. In our weakness, His strength is truly made perfect. He gives hope to the hopeless, freedom to the prisoner, strength to the weak, joy to the sorrowful, and comfort to those who mourn.

I love the beautiful words of Habakkuk in chapter 3:17-19

"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights."

"Yet"...such a small word, but what a big difference it makes.
Through all of the "Even thoughs" of this life may we say......"YET I will rejoice in the Lord!"

There is a song that says "Through fire and rain, this one thing remains, I can say God is good, even when He's not understood. If He gives or He takes, His love will never change, He's given me the proof." The link to this truth filled song is below.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e3MtuB7HRD0