How do you know if God has answered your prayer?

October 27, 2013

Maria James, Prayer , , , , , Leave a comment

I heard a pastor explain James’ critique of believers’ envy and back-biting as symptoms

of PRAYER-LESS-NESS.

  • What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4:1-2

Hmm, that caught my attention!  We fight because we want something someone else has?  Instead we could actually ask God?  Who’d a thunk!  Question is: why don’t we ask God?

Maybe because we are embarrassed by our requests?  They aren’t spiritual enough?

….or maybe it’s because we haven’t learned to form MEASURABLE requests.

Excuse the following humorous/non-spiritual cartoon that illustrates the idea of measurable:

The point is, it does little good to just say, “Dear Lord, please bless this situation.”  How do we know if He has blessed it?  How do we know if and when God answers that petition?

I learned in Bible Study Fellowship to formulate prayer requests in this specific way:

  • Dear Lord, please give me wisdom so I can make a decision about X by Tuesday.  May I not fret while I’m considering alternatives, but trust You.  Superintend the whole process and once I have come to a decision, remind me NOT to second guess my decision.  And if the decision I make is not what You would have for me, then shut the door definitively and guide my steps.  I am trusting You when You say that we plan our way, but You direct our steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
  • Dear Lord, please make Mike’s calls fruitful this week.  May his contacts with potential clients result in encouragement for him and a new next step he can take.
  • Dear Lord, may our son and his family make their connections tomorrow as they travel from Podunck to Big City. May the little ones be calm on the airplane and fall asleep.  Seat around them kind passengers who like little kids.  May their luggage arrive on the same plane. Give them a spirit of flexibility for any unplanned events.  May they retain their sense of humor.

This kind of concrete praying makes trusting God an adventure.  And once God answers, you can rejoice and praise Him and pass on to others how God came through.  I was at Ingles grocery store on Thursday doing my weekly shopping.  I only wanted to spend $190 to stretch my grocery dollars.  So I prayed for restraint and God’s intervention in my choices.  And when the cashier, a high school senior, rang up the total, it came to $191.  “Not bad!” I thought.  But then my Ingles shoppers’ card did its thing and the adjusted total dropped to $186!!  

I immediately shared with the teen how I had prayed and how faithful God was to answer! “Isn’t that cool,” I finished up, “We can ask God for specific, every-day needs!”  Who knows if she is a believer, but at least God gets the credit!

Finally, for other tips to praying concretely, here is a blog post about praying LITTLE bite-sized requests.  I like what the author says.

Faith-sized Requests

A door is opening

March 7, 2013

Maria Prayer, Psalm 84, Uncategorized , , , 2 Comments

Thank you for your prayers!

A door is opening.  I have been blessed with an upcoming interview for a French-teaching job in a middle school in Asheville.  Mike and I will drive down on Tuesday, 19 March and I will spend the next day, the 20th, visiting, interviewing and teaching a French lesson.

How am I keeping my stomach from the nervous butterflies?  By focusing my mind on God’s promise in Psalm 84: 11

The Lord is a sun and a shield; He gives grace & glory.  No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is upright.

  • Sun –He gives me light, energy, direction, growth
  • Shield – Jesus, the anointed one is my shield.  Without His covering, my sin would not let me be in God’s holy presence
  • Grace – I get God’s undeserved favor in unlimited ways
  • Glory – as a new creation ever since I ‘died’ in Feb 1987, was rescued by Jesus and transferred into the Kingdom of Light, I possess an inheritance and am looking forward to reveling in God’s glory as one of Jesus’ sisters.
  • (Skip over ‘good things’ for a moment)
  • Upright – because my trust is in Jesus’ wedding garment, I am free to stand up straight and look into God’s face. Each time I look down at myself or at my circumstances, I lose life-energy-joy. ‘Keeping the faith’ each day is a moment-by-moment re-orientation to what is true and right thinking.  I am only upright (blameless as another translation puts it) since I am unified with Christ.

Back to ‘good things’:   If this teaching job turns out to be a ‘good thing’ for me, according to God, then I will get the job.  He alone knows and sees all events.  If I don’t get this job, then I can know for certain, it was not a ‘good thing’.

What I’m going to say next might surprise you.  I first read Psalm 84:11 in the autobiography of George Müller.  This 19th century English pastor and hero of faith prayed this verse as his first wife lay dying.  And she died.  He took comfort in God’s promise that NO GOOD THING does He withhold from His people.

And George Müller was able to carry on with his children, his ministry and life.  He eventually married a second godly woman and was able to look back and see God’s hand, providentially guiding all circumstances.

Please continue to pray that I may represent myself and my abilities accurately, so that Carolina Day School can make the right decision for them.  I trust ‘my blessed Controller’ to continue His process of guiding me in this adventure.

By the way – We still need a buyer for our house!  But God has that under His happy control, too!    

The gift of patience, an acquired skill

January 23, 2013

Maria 1 Timothy, Faith, Hebrews, Patience, Peace, Prayer, Uncategorized , , , 1 Comment

 

And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what God had promised – Hebrews 6:15

Waiting, patiently or ‘Macrothymeo’ that is ‘longtime – passion’ according to Strongs 3116 – keeping one’s desire in check for a long time.

How do you think God gets us to practice this skill and get better at it?  Right!  He sends us lots of situations perfectly suited to chip away at our defects.  The Bible declares Jesus to be the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). That means that true faith is a gift from Him and that He is also the one charged with perfecting what He implants in us.

Our brother and sister-in-law were married 15 months ago and expected a 6 month wait before Eve would receive the correct immigration status and permission as a Canadian to live in the States with her husband Steve.  They are still waiting.  We have watched their patience with admiration and awe.  Surely God is doing great things in this couple and individually, crafting a stronger reliance on Him.

Some friends of ours waited agonizingly month after month for an adoption to go through.  Their faith grew one week at a time, as they learned, as we all must, that they are not in control.  They were rewarded with both an adoptable newborn AND a pregnancy.  We just learned yesterday that their patience and trust in God has borne yet more fruit as a hoped for Army situation has been granted after a 3rd drawn-out request.

Our dear Anne waits for her husband Wes to return safe and sound from Afghanistan. We pray for endurance and grace for both of them.  Each day is a battle between fear and faith – and not just when our hearts desire big things but in all circumstances.  Waiting is part of the human condition.  Our spiritual ancestors Abraham and Sarah waited on God for His promise to be visible.

And we, too, are waiting for hoped for circumstances to become visible.

Mike and I are waiting/expecting/ hoping/ keeping watch (all the same Hebrew word – qavah 6960) for a house to sell, for a school to hire me and for clients to contract with him.  We are VERY aware that we are not in control.  As God has taught me this year, I make a miserable and short-sighted ‘controller’.  You remember reading  God’s words as He speaks through Timothy,

Jesus is the happy/blessed/ blissful sovereign or controller of all of life, King of Kings, Lord of Lords (1 Tim 6:15)

My husband thinks that I have a strong faith, but I don’t FEEL like I do.  As we have been TRYING to practice obedience by ‘patiently waiting and restfully trusting’ in God’s promises, my mind has from time to time fallen prey to fretful glances at the present suffering of fellow Christians.  I have found myself asking questions like:

  • What makes ME think God will give us what we desire?
  • What if NOT getting what we desire is ‘better’ for us?
  • People I know have lost babies, jobs, health…..why should it be different for us?

The irony of this journey in faith is that we have chosen it.  We COULD have stayed put, in our current jobs and home.

But the lure of adventure, of mountains, of new beginnings beckons.  So we must not murmur against the uncertainty and the wait.

Who knows, maybe that desire for adventure has been planted in us BY God Himself, so that we WOULD seek out the road less travelled?!

What I DO know is that your prayers REALLY help.  I felt an actual shift in my mental state in the dark hours of last Saturday night.  We were in Waynesville, NC (western part of the state) for the weekend.  We had looked at 5 houses that afternoon and picked ‘the one’.  During the night, my mind drifted time and time again to ALL the many contingencies and arrangements that would have to line up for us to ‘get’ that house.  I had felt strong desire rising in me all evening as Mike and I talked about it. I went to bed with one pulsating thought –  “I WANT THAT HOUSE!”

But when I woke up around 3 am to go to the bathroom, I noticed that I was at peace.  I had let go.  My initial thought was, “I will be happy in whichever house God arranges for us.  Therefore, I don’t have to CLING to this particular house.  I can trust Him.  He actually sees the future.  I don’t”

That lessening of my tightly closed toddler fists was the result of your prayers.  I recognized the shift toward peace right away.  Because as soon as those comforting thoughts seeped into my mind, I knew they could ONLY be the result of something spiritual.

So we wait.  And trust Him.  And rely on your prayers for our patience and for the details to work out according to what He has planned.  We will let you know as soon as:

-our current house sells

-the purchase of our NC house goes through (whichever house that ends up being!)

-I am offered a job

-Mike gets his first paying client!

June 1st is when we leave the Shire, headed south and west, God-willing.  And as the weeks fly by, we recall a very great fact about God.  Here is the verse that Mike and I have designated as OUR verse for 2013:

Psalm 126:3 – The Lord has done great things for us: we are glad.

House with M & M in front

 

 

 

I resign!

September 23, 2012

Maria 1 Timothy, Control, Peace, Sin, Trust, Uncategorized, Zechariah , 1 Comment

Jesus…the blessed (happy, blissful) controller, King of Kings, Lord of Lords (1 Tim 6:15)

You’d think I would have learned by now that I am not in charge!

After all, the book my friend Kris and I are studying  together Calm My Anxious Heart – A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment presses us week by week, reminding us just WHO the Blessed Controller of the universe is.  And it’s not me, or the President or luck!

So yesterday I handed my life back over to Him – again.  Whew!  Maybe that is what Jesus meant when He offered rest and an easier yoke. We were not meant to run things or people besides ourselves.  And even managing ME is a joke sometimes.  I have hidden recesses of evil sin lurking under my seemingly nice veneer.  I even fool myself!

It’s like my friend Sue shared with me yesterday.  We had both read Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God.  Sue said that coming to the end, she thought, “Well, I certainly don’t have to struggle with legalism like the Elder Brother!” and boom – God’s poke was sudden.  The next morning at the Y for her ritual swim, feet dangling in the water, Sue waited with the other swimmers for the 6:30 am ‘tweet’.  They sat there for about 5 minutes, watching a rule-breaker calmly swim laps, waiting to see what the lifeguard would do. Sue confessed to her secret enjoyment of watching the lifeguard gently chastise the errant swimmer. But as soon as she savored the look of embarrassed horror on the woman’s face as she suddenly noticed all the other swimmers waiting and watching, Sue felt God say with a touch of humor, “ So, you don’t think you have any ‘elder brother’ tendencies!?”

I’ve been trying to pre-manage some events in my life and I was gently reminded by two good Christian friends whom I admire, that I am not in charge.  And that actually it is a sin to worry.  I am definitely not a Happy Controller, but a miserable and misguided controller-wanna-be. Besides, what makes me think that I know best?  There’s ANOTHER sin to confess – presumption.  What a blessing that Jesus’ blood covers all my sins in the future, too!

I was reminded by God’s word to the prophet Zechariah that God really is the only resource we need and the only effective one.  God tells Zechariah to tell Zerubbabel who is rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem the following: 

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zech 4:6

And then God goes on to instruct Zerubbabel on how he actually IS to do what seems almost impossible – getting rock from the surrounding mountains into the city for the construction.  He’s to pray out loud to the mountain in faith, in full hearing of his work crew, and then, confidently relying on and resting in God’s abilities, he is to continue to manage the rebuilding:

 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘Grace! Grace!’”Zech 4:7

So I am resting this day, fully happy to hand over the reins to my Blessed Controller.

Lord, help me to trust You that no matter what happens, (even if outcomes don’t match my idea of ‘good’), You are using IT for my good. And what is ‘my good’?  –  Your plan to conform me, a daughter adopted into your ‘forever family’, into the likeness of the BEST elder brother there ever could be.

 

A new adventure begins for us!

August 26, 2012

Maria Faith, Uncategorized , 2 Comments

Andrée Seu Peterson crafted an interesting analogy in a recent column for World Magazine, dated 21 Aug 2012 How Linda Diets.  Her cousin Linda, once on a diet, remarked that to lose weight, “you have to like the feeling of your stomach grumbling.”  Andrée followed Linda’s advice and found that, “The change of perspective was effective in turning a normally unpleasant experience into a motivator.”  Andrée continues:

Nowadays I have no trouble with my diet, but everybody has trouble of some kind or other. You may as well expect it: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). And I have found my cousin’s counsel transfers well from the dieting domain to the spiritual domain: “You have to like the feeling of your soul being in a trial.”

It’s good to know that by looking at problems and challenges differently, I have a better chance of staying motivated LONG ENOUGH to get ALL the good that God intends for me.

My husband and I have deliberately created some trials that we are now entering.  No, we’re not masochists.  But we do like adventure.  Kind of like George Műller, we have deliberately bitten off a HUGE project that gives us a massively challenging opportunity to practice trusting God. (George started orphanages in 19th century England and daily PRAYED in the money to keep them running.  He kept a diary and published a book to encourage average Christians like you and me to trust God as well.)

My husband Michael is retiring from Federal service next May with a small pension.  (Thank you, Lord!)  We could choose to stay put here in Virginia. It would be way ‘easier’.   We wouldn’t have to sell a house or give up my teaching job. Most likely, Mike could find a contracting job, making more than he earns right now as a federal civil servant.

But where is the adventure in that?  Where are the staggering opportunities to trust God?  In fact, if we didn’t want ANY stress, Mike could stay working for the Federal government.  He doesn’t HAVE to retire.  Next summer he GETS to retire

Why are we moving?  It’s simple.  We’ve always wanted to live in the hills. We have picked Asheville, NC.

And here are the ways we are venturing forth in this prayerful path of faith, a path into the unknown:

  • We have a house to sell, with all that entails, including timing
  • We need money to pay for moving costs
  • I need a teaching job in Asheville
  • Mike needs work that will bring in income (? How do you start a consulting business?  How do you find clients? )
  •  We will have to find a place to live

What we have going for us:

  • We have God as our ‘blessed controller’
  • We have tons of His promises to guide us and provide for us
  • He actually WANTS us humbly to cast our cares on Him, as a child would with his dad
  • We are of the same mind, Mike and I
  • We can encourage the other when fear and doubt attack
  • We have Christian friends who are praying for us
  • We have good health and no other mouths to feed but 3 felines

Deliberately choosing to practice trusting God should give us much evidence of the God who cares and comes through for His children.  We want to give Him the glory each step of the way and gain specific examples we can use to encourage other believers along the path.

What are you trusting God for in your life?  I’d love to hear.

More to come about the adventure as we walk in faith along this new road – and if you’d like résumés….just let us know

PS: I’m encouraged by the poem that follows

A poem quoted by Elisabeth Elliot
Do The Next Thing

“At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
there came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven
that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
like a low inspiration, ‘Do the next thing.’

Many a questioning, many a fear,
many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, child of the King,
trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer,
do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
leave all resultings, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
working or suffering be thy demeanor,
in His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
the light of His countenance, be thy psalm.
Do the next thing.”

Holding on tightly to what I know to be true

February 23, 2012

Maria Hebrews, Psalm 131 , , , , 2 Comments

In faculty prayer time today, my principal mentioned how much of a battle it is every morning and throughout the day to use Biblical truths to fight unbidden thoughts and feelings that arise due to circumstances.  She exhorted us to build and cling to a high-view of God that will carry us through the day.  And since a proper picture of God only comes from soaking in His Word, we must consciously take the time to bring our minds back to the facts that we read in the Bible.  These facts are truths based on who God is, what He has promised, what He has done.

‘Katecho’ is the Greek word for ‘hold on real tight’ (Strongs # 2722).  The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts his listeners:

But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on (katecho) to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

‘Kata’ means intensive and ‘echo’ signifies hold down, hold fast or retain.

Confidently and firmly holding on, we look to Him who rescued us and in whom we believers are built up, members of His body, the church.  He calls us to be His ambassadors, stones in His house, witnesses, servants, living for Him.

And if we let go of our confidence in Him (which can happen if we stop INTENSELY HOLDING ON TO what we know to be true of Him and of ourselves), then we fall into evil unbelief.

Do we realize that not to believe is not only a sin, but actual EVIL according to the Bible?  Stoking, nurturing, feeding, i.e. indulging our doubts IS blatant disobedience.  Don’t get me wrong, doubts fly at us all day long from other people and from Satan…but we have to fight them with biblical truth.  We have to ask for help from fellow believers and we in turn must pray for and encourage our brothers and sisters.  This is war. Naiveté is fatal. As the French rallying cry goes, ‘Aux armes, Citoyens!’ We strap on our spiritual weapons of warfare and stand firm, ready to fight!

But we don’t fight alone.  Plenty of passages encourage us to pray for what we need.  Hebrews 4:16 assures us of our privileged access to the throne and source of mercy (i.e.: compassion – He understands the pressures of the battlefield) and grace (i.e.: strength for the battles)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may    receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

If I apply these principles to my life, it looks like this: I, Maria, need to trust God that He IS providing enough time each day to do the necessary.  It is painful for me to trust Him.  All around I see lack..lack..lack.  I tighten up and get grim.  But our pastor Byron preached a sermon a couple of weeks ago that has helped me.  Psalm 131 is very short – only 3 verses.  But the imagery is powerful.  Consider verse 2:

1 My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.

3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

I had never considered how a weaned child might feel around his mom’s breasts which heretofore had been his only source of food.  Weaned, he now has to trust her to provide for him in different ways.  Miraculously a toddler can and does lean his head, snuggling up against his mom, quietly awaiting her timely provision. He isn’t old enough to secure his own food.  He is totally dependent, but doesn’t fret because his supply (mom’s milk) is no longer available for him.

So now, when I’m tempted to give in to stress as time speeds up and tasks multiply, I affirm, “Lord, I’m resting, imagining my head against your chest, feeling your breathing, steady – in and out, comforted as I wait for you to give me just what I need this day.  Thank you for your sufficiency and faithfulness[.  Keep me close to you.  Keep me from wandering off to tend my needs.”

I’m a slow learner.  But He is patient.

 

Trust the method – It’s not all up to me!

January 18, 2011

Maria 1 Peter, Acts, Matthew, Trust 3 Comments

Exodus 4:12 – Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say

This week I’m reflecting on a parallel between

  • The ‘success/results’ of my French students whom I teach with an acquisition/input based (non-text book) method
  • and the ‘success/results’ of those with whom I tell the Good News about what Jesus has done

Last Friday as I was reading one particular French 2 student’s homework story I was impressed with her level of writing.  Granted, she is bright and highly motivated.  But the system I use to teach French to her and others is so powerful, that even if I’m not super skilled at it, learners will achieve.  Here was more evidence that the results have little to do with my skill as a teacher, but with the method!  So why the stress?

My husband Mike and I were walking on Saturday, and I was sharing with him how pleased I was at this girl’s ability and how it is due to this fantastic way of teaching foreign languages.  He reminded me that I ‘angst’ all the time about being ‘good enough/ skilled enough’ with the method and that I need NOT play that anxious game anymore.  All of a sudden, I saw the application to my anxiety about sharing the Gospel.  If I truly believe that the power of God is in the Gospel, then why should I worry about ‘doing it’ right?  It’s not all up to me.  Just like teaching French via this input method is not all up to me.  The method works. I just have to use it and trust it.

This is exciting; because the immediate implication is that I don’t have to be PERFECT.  I just have to be willing to DO it.  I’m ashamed to say that often pride gets in the way of this truth and I WANT to do it well. Here’s what happens:

I am a blog-lurker.  I read blogs every day whose content is either Christianity (doctrine, practice, defending/ presenting the faith) or French (content, culture, current events, methodology).  Many days I come away feeling inadequate, that I’m not as good as other Christians or other language teachers who use the method of TPRS® (teaching proficiency through reading & storytelling). Yet I should know better about my profession because at the summer conferences I attend, one of the mantras is:  “Poor TPRS is better than NO TPRS”

To be logical I should tell myself, “Exalting Jesus in some way is better than keeping my mouth shut”.  So why don’t I exalt Jesus every day?”  The truth is, I can get away with not opening my mouth about Jesus.  I’m paid and held accountable for teaching French each day.  There are immediate consequences if I simply conduct a study hall in each class, day after day.  What are the consequences if I don’t open my mouth about Jesus?

I don’t have to list them for you…they are actually far more serious.  So why am I reluctant?  Expectations!  My school kids expect me to teach them French.  What is the expectation of those people whose paths I cross each day?  Well, I actually don’t know.  Who’s not to say that they were prepared by God to meet someone who would tell them some good news?   After all, there is precedence in the Bible.  Cornelius (Acts 10) was told by an angel in a vision to send a message to Peter.  Likewise Peter while praying was prompted to let go of certain food rituals.  These two unlikely people met (because they were obedient) and it made a HUGE difference in their lives and in the Kingdom.

In conclusion….pray that you and I be obedient to God’s commands. As ordinary Christians, our daily duty falls SOMEWHERE between these two expectations:

  • Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
  • 1 Pet 3:15  But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.

 

 

 

Making the most of each moment

January 5, 2011

Maria Colossians , Leave a comment

Col 3 :17   And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him

School has started again.  I was nervous yesterday, during our teacher workday.  The idea of facing 6 preps made me doubt whether I could pull it off, again.  Of course I know that I can trust God to stretch my time and help me.  But facing my fears again, I realized that in actuality, I am no better than an unbeliever.

How is that?  In writing our son Wes who just started Ranger School, I was researching the actual meaning of the Hebrew word to trust (betach-  Strong’s #982).  It is found all over the OT, but I was encouraging Wes with the Isaiah verse 26:3 – You will keep him in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on You because he TRUSTS You.

The word for trust suggests that confident and happy feeling of peace that one has when one can rely on someone completely.  Who wouldn’t want that!

This morning as I was meditating about school, I realized that I don’t REALLY trust God, because that kind of peace was absent.  Then while listening to a sermon about Boaz and Ruth, I heard the pastor explain the extraordinary results of several small moments of faithful action on the part of Boaz.  He trusted God in ordinary moments and did what was righteous.  The marvelous results from his ordinary obedience in the moment created a lineage leading to David.  Ultimately the birth of Jesus, a descendent of David,  resulted from Boaz’ faithful and kind attitude toward Ruth.

Suddenly, in a flash, I saw that what I needed to trust God for has NOTHING to do with me being a competent teacher.  My responsibility is to act faithfully in the moment, whether that means slowing down and listening to a student for 30 seconds, really hearing the pain in a colleague’s voice and responding appropriately, thanking a friend for a kindness, ordering my desk before I leave school, adopting a cheerful demeanor, or culling all complaining from my thoughts.  If I am faithful in the small moments that come to me like the waves upon the shore, then God will help me with the bigger stuff, the French and logic lessons to plan and deliver.

The pressure seemed to lessen immediately.  My insight reminded me of an essay I read earlier in the week about the 10,000 moment rule.  You might have heard of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers?  He talks about how gifted performers or successful people seem to have practiced their art for 10,000 hours.  This qualification applies to the Beatles, to Canadian ice hockey players, violinists or even computer gurus like Bill Gates, you name it.  Paul Tripp’s version is less intimidating and more accessible.  He says that 10,000 moments (basically a large #) create a habit.  Each little seemingly incidental moment actually does count, because it is one more link in a chain, thereby forging a habit or character trait.

So how I act faithfully in the moment at school vis-à-vis my environment (people) is more important than my supposed-all-important-polished French lesson.  Here I’ve been stressing over my ‘skills’, when all God wants me to do is live each moment righteously (‘making right decisions that honor God’- Ruth Graham’s definition) and trust Him for the rest.

I can do that….with God’s help.  Ultimately, it’s not about me and my needs, but about the more extensive picture/ scene that is going on all around me.  God has thousands of characters for whom He is working out His purposes.  May I be faithful to the role He has me to play.

Here is the link to the piece I read by Paul Tripp:   Essay about 10,000 moments

Following my own advice when discouraged

November 16, 2010

Maria 1 Thessalonians, Attitude, Faith , , Leave a comment

Rejoice always, pray continuously and in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for Christ. 1 Thess 5:16-18

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”, so goes the folk wisdom. Only in my case, what I’m preaching to my gander, I need to follow myself.

My beloved is depressed due to a job he can’t stand and much uncertainty surrounding it.  He feels stuck because he needs to endure 3 more years in this job to qualify for a small pension from the government.  His body reacts with physical symptoms due to his dark gray feelings. His body’s response deepens his depression.  It feels like a vicious circle.

I spend time searching scripture to encourage him with God’s word.  Verses like:

  • Ascribe to the Lord power and strength  (i.e. don’t build up the circumstances and make them seem insurmountable)  (Ps 68:34)
  • But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me! (Micah 7:7)
  • Though the fig tree does not blossom….. (my version – though life is REALLY HARD right now)….yet will I rejoice in the Lord.  (Hab 3: 17….19)
  • As a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes (Prov 23:7)
  • I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me (Phil 4:19)
  • I pray that the eyes of Mike’s heart may be enlightened in order that he may know …….. his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. (Eph 1: 18-19)

But when my husband doesn’t respond to my encouragement, I can fall into feeling down too!

But wait a second!  I’m being two-faced then.  Who am I to succumb to my feelings?  If I am called to be my husband’s Ezer, his companion to help him, then God has equipped me.   I don’t have to battle his depression on my own!  I don’t have to let it bring me down.

If I’m encouraging Mike to change his self-talk, then I need to listen to my own advice.  I need to talk to myself, tell myself Truth from God’s word and not listen to my feelings which are based on incomplete knowledge.  I need to rejoice that God has given me the power to encourage Mike.  Paraphrasing Paul in 1 Cor. 15 “I worked hard…yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me!”  When I feel weak like I can’t summon up any more encouragement for Mike, I MUST tell myself the truth. I don’t have to succumb to discouragement.   Yes there is trouble in life, but Christ is with me to fight on.  I might not sense that I have the resources or energy to be an encouragement tonight, but I CAN trust God that He will provide manna for the evening, not now, but IN THE MOMENT.  “As is my day, so too is the STRENGTH, the REST and the SECURITY that God provides” (Deut 33:25) I can count on Him to provide manna in the moment.

Putting on my belt of truth and lifting up my shield of faith in Christ to ward off the fears and doubts with which the enemy so delights in barraging me.

A new test from God

July 6, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Exodus, Peace, Proverbs , , 6 Comments

Biblical Principle:

Prov 16: 9 – The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

What I say to God:

Psalm 31:3
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

What God says to me:

Exodus 4:12

Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what to say!

**

I had been looking forward to Blaine Ray’s workshop next week.  He is the founder of the foreign language methodology I use (TPRS® – teaching proficiency through reading & storytelling).  When I had read in the literature that he was coming to Newport News, I had contacted him in the winter and asked him to dinner one of the nights.  I wanted my husband to meet him and for us to get to spend some time with this delightfully witty trainer of foreign language teachers.  So earlier this week I emailed Blaine to make sure the workshop was still a go for 9-10 July 2010.  He wrote back and said he had been experiencing some dizziness and hoped that it would clear up before his Virginia workshops.  I wrote that down as a prayer request.

So Friday, 2 July, I prayed for Blaine and told God that his health was not something I had control over and would He please bless Blaine so he could come to town for the workshop and our dinner.

I almost dropped the phone when later that morning he called me on my cell and told me that he would NOT be able to present at either the Washington, DC workshop (2 days) or the one here in Southeastern Virginia (2 days).  And would I present for him? Long story short – after an incredulous reaction – ME??????, I said I would pray about it and talk to my husband.  Mike was busy at first, but I was able to talk with Marilyn, my principle, through tears and tissues – (I don’t even feel I practice the techniques well!). With both her and my husband’s enthusiastic support, I actually began to feel excited about the possibility.  I called Blaine back and said I would be willing and with God’s help, would do my best, but asked, “Are you REALLY sure you want ME?” Turns out, no one else is available and the alternative would be to cancel the workshops.   So God is choosing to use a jar of clay in order to get the gloryJ

I knew right away that I would REALLY benefit from this challenge.  It had never even crossed my mind to be interested in being a trainer.  I’ve been practicing TPRS and going to conferences and workshops for 8 years, but feel far from competent. I have an occasional good day when it all comes together – student engagement and enthusiasm, an ability to be creative and think on my feet and the sense that the kids really acquired some language through a good story we developed together about something that interested them.  When they bounce out of my French class chatting about the story, I feel fantastic.  But not every day is a homerun.  Some days I fall flat on my face and there is no energy among the teens.

So, why am I telling you this?

Because I know this is a TEST from God.  Not one of those ‘gottcha – you weren’t prepared’ tests.  This testing is about whether I will CHOOSE to trust God for all the unknown details and not play the WHAT IF game, fretting and fearing.  To be honest – I’ve already spent 2 restless nights and had the beginnings of a migraine last night and I don’t even get migraines.  Here is what I have to keep handing back over to God:

  • Attendees’ reactions when it registers with them that Blaine is not presenting.
  • Will my computer, the sound system and the projector work?
  • Will I be able to fill and follow the schedule adequately from 8 to 2:30 on both days of each workshop?
  • Will catered lunch show up on time?
  • Will these language teachers be nice to me?
  • Will I be able to think on my feet and develop a story in French as we go and sustain it while demonstrating all the proper techniques?
  • When I do the workshop a 2nd time here in my hometown, what will the 2 teachers I know (one from my school) say when they see ME, their peer?
  • And what about anything else that I haven’t even thought about?
  • What has Blaine failed to tell me because he does these workshops in his sleep? (after all, he came up with this method)

Mike gently keeps pointing me back to God.  I appreciate that.  So, with God’s help, I will trust the good shepherd and not be afraid.   I will step into this new territory and buck up like Joshua when God told him basically – “Dude, haven’t I already told you to FEAR NOT!  I’m going with you; I’ll work out solutions for you as problems arise.  You are not alone.”

Pray for me – not that it goes well, though I hope it does.  But that I win the battle in the mind and keep casting these worry thoughts back on Him.  I’m looking forward to reporting back to you next week how God did more than I could ask or imagine.

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