Soldier-Princess: Marching Orders

To my fellow soldier princesses, wherever you are, near or far:

Live an excellent life wherever God leads you.

Focus on your calling, going into the world to share the good news. Develop your special gifts, talents and character so you will change the world as you go where He sends you. Shine like the stars of the universe as God unfolds the way before you.

Whether we are an ocean apart or together in my kitchen does not dictate whether we are together in spirit. We are one body, one hope, one calling, one mind, one purpose. We are soldier-princesses chosen and united in this generation by the God who is able to do more than we ask or even imagine He can do.

We have been given favor, blessing and princess privileges not merely by believing, but by suffering for His sake, living excellently in every circumstance, the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult.

He will do what He says He will do through us, in us, for us and with us. He will give us the will, the power and the maturity to achieve His purposes. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Commander who never fails, who always finishes what He starts, always creates excellence, always is mighty to save.

A grace-saturated life carries us even into enemy territory with Spirit power and competence.  A soldier-princess is never surprised to find herself in a battle with the enemy who seeks to devour her. Stay awake in the presence of God, alert and trained for battle.

This is the battle I fought and still fight as a soldier-princess - to walk alongside of Him always trusting, always bold and confident, always joyful. The battle is the Lord's and we are connected directly to the Commander of angel armies and to one another.

A soldier-princess never quits, never gives up, no matter where her marching orders take her.

The encouragement and reassuring love, the friendly company and compassion of Jesus makes my joy complete and will make your joy complete, too.

Hope for Holly

Brown eyes twinkle with mischief when she looks at you with that impish grin. Under the tomboy exterior beats a heart of sweetness, brimming with joy and wonder. Cowboy boots pile beside party shoes. More often the Stetson gets tossed aside for silk and satin.

I have walked alongside Holly and her family for years. You have your own Holly. She lives in your world and is being raised in a family that you love. You see her in church laughing, growing, serving, changing. You pray for her and melt into her hugs.

Was she in your Sunday School class? Your carpool? Did you buy her Girl Scout cookies?

Satan waits patiently, dreaming up plans to welcome Holly when she arrives on the college campus. He is spending his summer arranging tanks with military precision. The evil one has a plan for Holly's life. He has a plan for lies and distractions that will destroy her future.

Most church youth expect to get involved in a church near campus. Statistics show that most of them will get sidetracked and lose their faith. Living vulnerable in enemy territory is dangerous. Satan is a big success on the college campus. He wants to welcome each freshman into his circle of friends.

Holly has an advantage. She has grown up in a church that supports our local campus ministry with prayer, service and money. She knows the campus ministers and some of the older students and alumni.  Holly knows what opportunities there are for her to continue growing in her faith and developing servant-leadership. She is not going into enemy territory this fall alone.

Did you know you can call a campus ministry and tell them about incoming freshmen? They welcome the opportunity to be a home away from home, a soft place to fall for college students, a training ground for adulthood. A campus ministry is a light in a place that can be dreary, dark and unfamiliar. You have been more important in the life of the young people in your church than you know. Go the extra mile for them. Make one more phone call.

Pumpkin Muffins...and Formula?

"How can your house possibly be clean at 9:00 in the morning?" Melissa laughed, dividing a muffin between her two little ones. "I so want to be you. What time did you start?"

As I poured mugs of coffee and child-size cups of milk to go with the pumpkin muffins, I smiled. "30 years ago," I confessed. "I started 30 years ago. Today, yes, I  got up at 5:00. I cleaned the downstairs, finished laundry and yard work. I enjoyed my walk and prayer. But it took me years to become who I am and to learn to do what I do."

"Progress not perfection," she chuckled. "That's what you always say!"

"I'm not sure we ever completely learn diligence. It's a process. I'm a long way from the woman I want to become, who I hoped I would be, but thank God, I'm not who I was! I'm making progress."

"But what does it look like?" she pressed, seeking details. "Even if you're not the woman you hoped to be, how do I at least get to where you are? Does that make sense?"

"You want the formula for getting to where I am now even though I'm still learning? You want to still be making progress when you become an older woman. Is that about it?"

"Oh, my goodness, IS THERE a formula?" she asked, wide-eyed, coffee cup stilled mid-air. "That would be  so completely GREAT!"

A formula? Uncharted waters, I thought. A formula? I plunged into Bible waters where I knew everything needed for life and godliness could be found.

"Well, each day we train ourselves to run the life race. We walk by faith not sight. One step at a time, one day at a time."

What was it she needed? Help me, Lord. "Bible words train us to run our race with excellence. Train your children in the way they should go. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Love God and your neighbors. Pursue peace. Be kind to one another. Look after widows. Heal the brokenhearted."

She laughed. "You make it sound...not easy, but, well, not impossible either."

"With God all things are possible. He makes art from junk, you know.  He recycles trash. Every day you wake up and love your husband. You love your children. You create beauty and order where once there was chaos and confusion. While you build something beautiful out of your day, God builds something beautiful out of your life. He lights up your pathway. Every step gets you closer to where you want to be, right?"

"Change my world and God will change my life," she said, nodding her head with understanding. "It's like you always say to just do the next right thing, isn't it? And if that's clearing off my kitchen island or reading my Bible or taking a nap, then that's what God wants me to do and He will bless it. And when you practice over a lifetime you become a person who has become more like Jesus. You have the formula for Christian success."

I smiled. "Kinda sounds like a formula, doesn't it?"

"Kinda sounds like I need to keep memorizing my Bible verses!" she laughed. "I love this! Every day I will become more of a person who makes good choices. God is just so...um...well, so thorough! It's amazing!"

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."  ~Proverbs 3

An Excellent Life

Relax. 

"You told me to live an excellent life." she reminded me. "I'm trying, but I've lost my joy again. We sent truck loads of stuff to the dump and Goodwill. Housework is much easier now that I'm organized. I don't hide any more when the doorbell rings."

I laughed. "You've come a long way. I'm proud of you."

"The kids are doing better. Homeschooling done with a more professional attitude and schedule has helped us accomplish much more. It's lots of fun now. We're even planning some summer school."

"So where's the problem? Why is your peace all rumpled?" I asked. "How's your prayer life? Your Bible reading? Memorizing?"

"I'm only doing baby steps, but it's going really well. I love my quiet times.  It's just...I don't know."

She looked up at me and spoke quietly, "It's my heart. It feels broken.  My heart is tired of listening, working, teaching. I know it makes me a bad mom, but I'm so tired of little voices. Even happy ones." The tears began to flow and she sobbed, "I hate it that I'm a bad mom."

I explained all the ways that she is an excellent mother, all the ways that she is changing the world and doing good. Melissa is a woman after God's own heart. She has one of the most teachable, loving hearts I know. I watched her drinking a glass of lemonade from a pretty glass and eating a cinnamon scone from a china plate, the frown in her pretty face relaxing.

When she felt stronger, I went on to explain. "An excellent life includes some down time. How long has it been since you sat in the shade and drank a glass of lemonade? You need time, space and quiet to refresh. Your family will see it as a withdrawal from them. It is! But  it's necessary. You become depressed, harsh, exhausted, a cornered animal snarling and ready to attack without some time to do nothing. Kids need it. Husbands need it. You need it. Take a step back and relax. You're doing fine."

"YES!" she laughed. "Now what will that look like? Relaxing. I'm going to need to trade some babysitting. Or the kids can have rest time and I'll sit in the shade and drink lemonade. I could sit in the shade and drink a glass of lemonade from a pretty glass every day! All by myself! Or in the sun! I could get some color and fresh air! I can have the leftover scones, too, right? Oh, please say yes!"

A Memory for Katherynn

Katherynn is almost four and loves pre-school at my house.

Fascinated with the delight of learning to read, letters and sounds are "smooshed" into words. Slowly and methodically she writes each letter and sounds out words learning to spell. Every new story we read is added to our list of ones to enjoy repeatedly. Each new day is the "best day ever".

Today after a busy morning of doing her chores, writing, spelling, reading and playing with numbers, I suggested that it was time to go outside for a nature walk. After checking on the busy spider, visiting caterpillars and finding shoes we headed into the neighborhood to see what we could see.

Our nature discoveries were simple, but numerous. A blue jay feather, various flowers, a pine cone, a heart shaped leaf, two peaches picked from a tree and a dragonfly sighting by the lake.

As we sat enjoying the rippling water, Katherynn reached over to hold my hand. "This is the best minute ever in the whole world," she said softly. "Isn't it?" Her eyes, sparkling with the joy of walking in God's world, were wide-eyed with wonder.

"It's a wonderful minute, Katie Kat. God loves us very much to give us such a wonderful and interesting world."

"Indeed," she agreed. "Let's draw stuff in the nature journal so we never forget."

My Mother's Daughter

My mom saw weaknesses, strengths, talents and interests in her daughters as a gift from God.

Intrigued by our differences, she was quick to say that something was a strength or weakness and to share how she was strong or weak in that way, too. She would point out excellence in one, but encourage change in another. In areas of weakness or desire to be like the world, she was very firm, very plain, in what was right or wrong. She wanted us to know the areas where Satan can catch us up, to be wise and alert.

There is a different flow of life at each stage of a daughter's life. Mom used the time she had with us to love us and listen to us. I got much more time with her alone during my younger years, but by age 12 I seldom was alone with her. My youngest sister was seldom alone with her during her younger years, but after the rest of us left home, she had some "only child" years.

You train a child as you walk along. Scheduled times are a blessing. I would have loved more regularity of those individual times, but looking from adult eyes, I'm not sure where it would have fit into daily life in an ongoing way. More frequently it was long talks here and there, little talks along the way and questions answered as they came up.

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and daughters. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (from Deuteronomy 6)

When Hope Hides in the Laundry

"I just wanted to be a good mom today. That was my whole goal," she told me as she collapsed onto my sofa. "The house is a wreck. I haven't got the energy to go grocery shopping. My husband is mad at me. I didn't know what else to do so here we are. I'm so sorry. I haven't even had a shower and I smell like baby puke."

I settled the children with toys in the bedroom, promising blueberry pancakes for lunch and a movie later if they would play quietly for awhile. I sat down in my rocker with the cranky baby settled in my lap and waited while the young mother shook with sobs.

"I'm a bad mom. I yell at my kids. And I'm so tired that I can't even think straight." Tears continued to spill down her cheeks, but she took a deep breath and with shaking fingers she took a sip of the tea I had given her. "Please tell me you know what to do."

Sound familiar? Every young mother has dark days. Hope gets lost in the dirty laundry pile. Joy bleeds out during sleepless nights. Even love gets a little shaky and hard to hold steadfast.

Failing the little ones whom God has placed in your tender care is a heavy burden. The utter helplessness of children, their vulnerability and their needs overwhelm a woman. Bad tempers, impatience and discouragement are not welcome companions, but they can be difficult to get rid of when they move in and take over your home.

It's never too late to be the mom you want to become. God's infinite patience and goodness can fill you up and give you enough grace to try again. Children are quick to forgive and offer second chances. Help is available for whatever problems there are in your life. Anne Lamott said, "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work. You don't give up." I agree with her, but I would add that we don't have to wait and watch and work alone. God is able to provide encouragement when we ask for it. An older woman can help you become the mom you're trying to be. She's had those same dark days and will know what to do.

Sometimes it's as easy as a cup of tea, blueberry pancakes and rocking a baby to sleep. Other times housekeeping lessons or packing up all your laundry and taking it home with her to do is necessary. Maybe she could help by bringing you a meal or babysitting for awhile. Certainly she can pray with you and establish some hope. Tell her you need her. Tell her. She'll understand.

Tumeric, Guernseys and Cinnamon Rolls

My husband is often quick to assure me that Google knows all. This is reassuring because what I don't know is vast indeed. Yet the Biblical calling to love and teach younger women is as relevant now as it was when Titus 2 was written.

Welcoming younger women into your life allows them access to what you know and who you are becoming, your successes and failures. If we took our calling seriously and joyfully we could turn around the downward spiral caused by broken homes and wounded spirits. We are called to change the world simply by being available to younger women.It will light you up from the inside out, create adventure and fill your life with purpose.

The spice turmeric is what makes chicken soup have that "yummy yellow" color. I needed to know this for a spiritual daughter at 7:00 this morning. As the morning progressed, I also needed to know various breeds of dairy cattle, a good recipe for cinnamon rolls and how to make vegetable soup without a recipe. Later I reported on reasons farmers appreciate snow and helped a new librarian know authors that would delight a six year old.

Those seemingly unimportant tidbits we pick up along the way create conversations that lead to relationships. The relationship formed from more easily researched questions makes you available for deeper spiritual searching. How do I know if he is the right guy for me? Why didn't anyone ever tell me the mistakes I was making? How do I have joy when my child has died? How could God love me when my own parents didn't want me? How do you know God is real?

The Bible has answers for life and godliness. In your lifetime of learning to walk with Jesus you are continually gaining wisdom and discernment. The classroom of your heart is filled with notes from lessons learned and file folders stuffed with thoughts and experiences. The classroom of your heart was never intended to be a hidden closet cluttered with secrets.

How many times have you longed for someone older and wiser to guide you? Who in your life loved you enough to open the door to the classroom of her heart? Teach what is good and encourage younger women so that the Word of God is not dishonored.

Learning to Believe

Journal Entry: October, 2009, 6:45 am

Dear Father,

My heart is breaking for my new spiritual daughter. I don't know what else to tell her. She's such a new gift to me that I can't yet know all of the things You know about her. I don't know what verse I can share or what lesson I have learned that will break through her misery. She's searching for You so hard....her whole little life so far.

She's not finding You in the way that she seems to need to find You so that she knows for sure You are the God who sees her, loves her, forgives her and wants her and knows her.

Break through her walls of doubts and fear. Perfect her in Your love through my love for the sake of her love. The tears keep coming this morning, Father, and You know it's because she's been hurt so deeply by her aloneness. There's something she's not telling me yet or that I'm not yet understanding, but You know what is holding her back from a fullness of assurance in Your love.

I don't know what the future holds. I don't care how long we have to fight for her. We just will. Perfect love casts out fear. Help me to love her more perfectly so that she can find the way to Your love through my love. Teach me how to love her so I don't screw up what You're trying to teach her. Don't let me be afraid to love her with my whole heart. Make me perfect in my love even as You are perfect in Your love. Create in her a believing heart, a knowing heart, a broken and contrite heart, a heart overflowing with joy amidst pain.

Bummer, Father. We are so seriously late for class!

~Karen

Email to me, sent from same daughter, October, 2010, 1:06 am

"God is love...There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

I have decided to believe Him.

~Never underestimate the power of praying for your spiritual daughters and simply walking alongside and loving them to the Father who waits for them.

Letter to a Little Woman

My dear child,

I have loved you since before you were born. I love you more than life itself and I want so much to watch you grow up in wisdom and stature, in the favor of God and man.

I am proud of you as I watch you grow because you are a person who is eager to do what is right. I see in you the compassion, gentleness and love of Jesus. You like learning to live out your life like Jesus did. You enjoy the wonders of plants and animals and rocks, all the things that God has made so intricately and beautifully to bless the earth.

I see you loving little children and wanting to be a good example for them, to protect and honor them. I see you admire your mom and dad, seeing many things in their character that you would like to learn as you grow. I see you play hard and run fast and jump high, making your body strong. I see you eating good food and drinking water and growing in your desire to be healthy.

You are brave and diligent, my darling. You are pretty and creative and musical and funny. You draw well and read well and learn easily. Take the gifts that God has given you and help them to blossom and bear good fruit in your life. Learn to be efficient and use your time wisely to accomplish much. Discover what to put in your mind and your life to make God pleased with your faithfulness.

Let me know when there are things we can do together that will help you. I’m always here for you and all my life I will pray daily for you and seek to show you what a woman can be and do. I’m grateful every day that God gave me your mother....and then you.

~Karen

I Wish I Could

I wish I could help you as much as you've helped me.

I wish I could show you how you've made me a better person
just by being there for me, even if I was just being a big baby.

I wish I could be half the person that you are.

I wish I could be half as kind
and even a third as unconditionally loving.

I wish I could weave words the way you do.

I wish I could put smiles on even strangers' faces
just by the simple things I write the way you do.

I wish I could show you the sunrise and the beauty in this world
that you've opened my blind eyes to.

I wish I could be as beautiful as you.

Most of all, I wish I could make you happy the way you've done for me.

I wish I could...I hope I am something to you...

Because I look up to you as the Christ-loving Mother I never had.
and think of you as one of my best friends.

I hope I show you even an ounce of the love for life that you have shared.

I hope one day I can be your sunrise if you find yourself
caught in too much darkness.

Thank you, for being so beautiful and kind and wonderful.

And whether you know it or not,
thank you for being my mentor and my guardian and my sunrise.

~Marta Mackey

Happy Birth Day!

"Will you be my mentor?" she asked timidly, biting her lip.

I have loved my spiritual daughters through dating, marriage, childbearing and child raising. I have loved them through the difficult opportunities brought on by disease, poverty, broken bones, broken engagements, war, divorce, mental illness, prison stays and widowhood. I have loved them through the celebratory opportunities of engagements, weddings, missions, birthdays, singlehood, answered prayers, fame and riches.

I have prayed for daughters on 6 of the 7 continents and have one now who is dreaming of research in Antarctica. (And, no, I don't think I would visit her very often!) I've discovered the easiest lessons to teach are housekeeping and cooking while the most difficult to teach are faithfulness to committments and preparation for death.

The sacrifices are huge, beyond measure and frequent. The rewards are huge, beyond measure and frequent. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I take my motivation and committment from a single man, the apostle Paul. It's a life committment, a father/son relationship through thick and thin that he offers Timothy. It's neither temporary nor easy, but it's wonderful.

Younger women are frustrated by the lack of older women who are busy with the jobs, hobbies, and activities they are able to enjoy in later years...older women who have known Father for decades, kept house, raised children and learned from life and marriage.

Older women confide their frustations. They would love to mentor someone, but nobody has ever asked them. What I know is this: The younger women are in their bedrooms crying, lost, hoping for a miracle that you will find them, love them, teach them. Be brave and compassionate enough to seek them.

If you are a woman who is seeking to love God with all your soul, then you are old enough and wise enough to teach a younger woman, to love her. Look for her. Find her. She's praying for a miracle. She may have been praying for you to come since she was a very little girl. She needs a spiritual mother. She needs you.

I looked deep into her big brown eyes, so hopeful, so trusting, so young. Her heart was wide open. So was mine. I didn't know her very well, yet I already loved her, wanted her. My heart tugged and I pulled her into my embrace. I watched as tender tears began to fill her eyes and, holding her face in my hands, I smiled at my newborn.

Congratulations, it's a girl! Happy Birth Day!

The Children’s Prayer

Father, hear us, we are praying.
Hear the words our hearts are saying.
We are praying for our children.
Keep them from the powers of evil;
From the secret hidden peril,
From the whirlpool that would suck them;
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them;
Through life’s troubled waters steer them,
Through life’s bitter battle cheer them;
And, Father, Father, be Thou near them.
From the worldings hollow gladness;
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Holy Father, save our children.
And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

Amy Carmichael

Coffee at the King's Throne

Daddy called coffee the king’s fluid. He would sit in his special chair, cheerfully referred to as the king’s throne and drink a cup of coffee while he rested. I don't remember the first time the aroma of coffee reminded me of him. It simply has always been that way. I always knew that once I learned to like the taste of coffee I would be grown up. I know, odd compass, right? But it's truth.

This morning I was sitting in my special chair having a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee and cinnamon toast, a perfect sunrise moment to wonder: When did I become a grown-up? Early in my adulthood I chose to become the older woman God needs to teach younger women...my simple, difficult, wonderful dream. I have spent my life so far with that purpose and focus.

I hit a new spiritual plateau this summer and I'm spending some time this weekend in retreat to evaluate goals and plans. I have time to pray as long as I want, to praise, to read and study and prepare for my ministries. I've decided I rather like this stage of life. I have the time to go about doing good like Jesus did. Rather than going from house to house with a specialty in busybody, rather than a hobby focusing on self and fleeting delights of happiness, I want to spend this time living my dream of loving spiritual daughters and fulfilling my calling.

Americans think that if you believe enough and work hard you'll achieve your dream. It will merit a Starbucks life and contentment. My dream crept in on cat paws, gentle as a sunrise. I was walking along by faith not sight, stumbling sometimes, climbing sometimes, falling sometimes, and one day I looked around and there I was living my dream.

Sitting in my living room among the antiques and quilts that I have inherited from generations of women who had a strong faith, I am contented. I know where I came from and I know where I'm going. A lantern glows with warmth and welcome, reminding me that I am a light in a dark world. I'm living my dream and it matters. It matters very much.

There are always things we would change if we could have a lifetime "do over", but God’s grace covers regrets. I love living my dream and I am amazed that God really did have a plan for my welfare and not my calamity, a plan for living in me and walking with me up the mountains and through the valleys. My life is an adventure, an amazing journey...not my story, but God's story about me.

Daddy is aging. We drink coffee together when we can. We talk about my spiritual daughters and his spiritual daughters, about Father and about what we know, what we don't know. Time slips by like fog through a key hole. All too soon I will have moved a row closer to heaven and he will join the great crowd of witnesses at the King's throne.

I don't know what the King's fluid will be at the great banquet when God and man at table are sat down, maybe it will be coffee. What I do know is that until I reach the King's Throne I'm going to continue sitting in my special chair with a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee and cinnamon toast, enjoying perfect sunrise moments of wonder.

Dressed to Kill

Three days zipped by with no organized prayer time or Bible reading, no sitting at my table soaking in the love of God, no time to luxuriate in stillness, no resting in His presence.

Praying "on the hoof" sustained me through battles. Snatching moments to quote scripture, minutes here and there for meditation kept my mind focused on things above. I can stay encouraged by the praise music in my Ipod and the encouragement of the Christian comrades who walk alongside. The prodding and reminders from the Spirit keep me walking by faith not sight when over-scheduling and interruptions crowd my days.

Life happens and sometimes I simply must do my best to keep fighting through the battles. Three days, though, is my limit. Beyond that, I stop being alert in battle and my focus turns to accomplishments and routines.

My heart tugs with a pang this morning, urgently reminding me that Father is calling me to Him so He can refresh my spirit. I am wounded and vulnerable, suffering from battle fatigue. The evil one, my enemy, is still within sight, waiting, wanting me back in the battle zone. He’ll have to wait until the splashes of joy bubble up in my reservoir and fill it to overflowing. He’ll have to wait while I am soothed and restored by the abiding peace found only in Father’s gentle hands. He’ll have to wait until Father’s faithfulness restores my will to keep fighting.

My need for Him creates determination to fight for you, dear children, to fight with you, against this enemy who would rip your souls, devour your time and destroy your lives. Nobody believes in you more than I do. Years of loving you has made me wide awake, fully alert to your needs and my own.

 Busyness destroys the heart. It allows time for the evil one to begin lining up his tanks and strategically placing his bombs in areas that will perhaps not even be noticed for several days. Later his accusations will go from a faint hammering to incessant pounding, but in the beginning he is subtle, a predator hiding in the grasses, waiting to devour and seeking the right time for attack. He knows when my defenses are down. He sees where I am vulnerable. He waits patiently for the kill because he has had a plan for my destruction from the first day God began knitting me together in my mother’s womb.

He has the will and motive. Especially now while I am resting, tired and overwhelmed by the noise and fray of life, he watches for opportunity. It is so easy to spend more time being busy than resting in the safe haven of my first love. He is a God who is there and is not silent, but I can become too busy to be still and know it.

I will return to battle with a full tank, ready to run back into the trenches of spiritual warfare with a heart well-guarded and a mind well-trained for battle. So let the evil one wait because when I return to battle I will be in full armor, dressed to kill.

Walk By Faith, Not by Sight

Lord, when my soul is weary and my heart is tired and sore,
And I have that failing feeling that I can't take it any more;
Then let me know the freshening found in simple childlike prayer,
When the kneeling soul knows surely that a listening Lord is there.
~Ruth Bell Graham

This morning you leave for a journey that takes you far away from me. No longer will you be able to pick up the phone and send a text or give me a quick call. No longer will you sit at my table for meals or nap on the sofa, exhausted from homework. Today you will land on foreign soil and begin to live your dream.

To be a spiritual mother is to know what it is like to have your very heart walking around outside of your body. To be a spiritual mother is to bear the burden of your broken past with you and to share the overflowing of joy that comes when you are healed strong and ready to fly on wings like eagles. To be a spiritual mother is to stand the gap with prayer, to write the words of encouragement before you need them and to watch over from afar with a faith that can move mountains when your faith wavers.

You have come so far from that young girl I first met and yet there are so many miles yet for you to travel. Walking by faith and not sight takes practice, my darling. You won't always do it right. You won't always feel confident. Life is as full of pit falls, blind corners and rocky ditches as a Missouri road, but you will walk strong and true because you are brave and you know the God who sees and the God who is able.

Strength and courage grow not in absence of fear, but in the presence of God. Keep in step with the Spirit. You can do this big thing that you so wholeheartedly have worked toward all these months. Walk by faith and not by sight, knowing for sure and for certain that Father can see you and Jesus traveled the road before you. Father is able to do more than you ask or imagine that He can do. I can see the top of this mountain you are climbing from where I am and you're doing just fine.

"Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth; Will you not be made aware of it? I will ever make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert to give a drink to my people, the people whom I formed for Myself will declare my praise." ~Isaiah 43:18, 21

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance." ~2 Thessalonians 3:16

You are loved with an everlasting love....and I am walking alongside praying without ceasing.

Quiet Time

Your plan for a "quiet time with Father" is a noble one. Your head fills up with the delight it would be to daily spend time in prayer and reading the Bible, maybe even getting some journal writing done. Full of hope, you once again pen your schedule. You want so much to "Number your days aright, that you may become wise". But life gets really busy for young wives and mothers. And time after time, your heart becomes piled with guilt and disappointment because in the shuffle of busy days, your "quiet time" couldn't happen.

A young woman called me this morning in tears. Her head was about to explode from lack of sleep and her highest dream for the day was a hot shower. She was convinced she was a bad mother. Her house was a wreck even though she cleaned it yesterday. She wasn't sure she could handle another round of hot dogs and macaroni with cheese. Certainly she should quit teaching Children's Church and on top of it all she forgot to pay a bill and her husband left the house this morning not at all happy. How on earth was she supposed to have a "quiet time"!

I'm not here to tell you that you never need a quiet time again and you'll be fine, but you do need to understand that your "quiet time" is not the bedrock of your faith. Your relationship with God is not measured by how long you read scripture or how much you know about prayer. Many people practice a "quiet time" for years and yet never hear Father speak to them, never figure out their calling, never have a relationship with Father that fills them up with joy.

Spending uninterrupted time reading the Word and enjoying prayer, writing in your journal if it helps, hiding God's Word in your heart...All these are important and with some creativity can take place on many of your days. Keep your reservoir as full as you can. Know that during the early stages of motherhood, you desperately need God, but may feel it impossible to connect with God for a daily quiet time.

Sitting on the park bench with Father and talking to Him about those sweet playful children you're watching counts. Washing the dishes (Read: Playing in the bubbles where nobody will bother you because they'd have to help!) is a good time to memorize that Bible verse you jotted down and taped to the paper plate art over your sink. Falling asleep with that friend's prayer request popping into your tired brain is a whisper from God that He's sharing it with you. Planting Mommy Appleseed thoughts about why Father thinks green is a good color for zucchini but not yellow squash is evangelism. Praying for marigolds with your child over the freshly planted seeds is indeed prayer time. Raising the children God has trusted to your care is a spiritual discipline that will teach you much more than you ever expected.

Live your life WITH Father not just FOR Him or IN Him. The more you get involved in the messy lives of messy people whether they are splashing loudly in your bathtub or living in a prison cell, the more you will grow in your relationship with Father.

Often people pray so that they are prepared to do some grand work. Often people read the Word so that they are prepared to know all about life and godliness. What if, instead, on those tough days, you looked at prayer as BEING the grand work and reading the Word as an active, living part of your busy day? What if instead of setting time aside to "be with Father" you took Him with you through the busy day?

My young friend was refreshed to remember that what she's doing matters. I called another friend to deliver supper and arrange babysitting for date night. The housework will get done. The children will have rest time after the park and McDonalds. The world will turn back on its axis. But the important thing is that now she understands that when Father says "the yoke is easy and the burden is light", He had her in mind. And that makes life just a little bit more bearable.

Isaiah 40:11
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arms He will gather the lambs (your little ones)
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes. (that would be you)

I Believe You Can Fly!

"The old woman was lying on a small sofa, propped up by pillows. Her body was bent and twisted by multiple sclerosis. Her aged husband spent all his time caring for her since she was unable to move off the sofa. I (Corrie ten Boom) walked across the room and kissed her wrinkled cheek. She tried to look up but the muscles in her neck were atrophied so she could only roll her eyes upward and smile. She raised her right hand, slowly, in jerks. It was the only part of her body she could control and with her gnarled and deformed knuckles she caressed my face. I reached over and kissed the index finger of that hand, for it was with this one finger that she had so long glorified God.

Beside her couch was a vintage typewriter. Each morning her faithful husband would rise, praising the Lord. After caring for his wife's needs and feeding her a simple breakfast, he would prop her into a sitting position on the couch, placing pillows all around her so she wouldn't topple over. Then he would move that ancient black typewriter in front of her on a small table. From an old cupboard he would remove a stack of cheap yellow paper. Then with that blessed one finger, she would begin to type.

All day and far into the night she would type. She translated Christian books into Russian, Latvian, and the language of her people. Always using just that one finger...peck...peck..peck...She typed out the pages. Portions of the Bible, the books of Billy Graham, Watchman Nee and Corrie ten Boom, all came from her typewriter.

"Not only does she translate their books," her husband said as he hovered close during our conversation, "but she prays for these people every day while she types. Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key, or for her to get the paper in the machine, but all the time she is praying for those whose books she is working on."

"Oh, Lord, why don't You heal her?" I (Corrie ten Boom) cried inwardly.

Her husband, sensing my anguish of soul, gave the answer. "God has a purpose in her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one ever looks in on her. They leave us alone and she is the only person in all the city who can type quietly, undetected by the police."*

Oh, Beloved Ones. Let us believe God can do what He says He can do! He likes His plan of using weak, imperfect people to carry out His will. In our weakness, He is made strong.

Did you ever wonder, "What if I took a leap of faith? What if I were willing to risk everything for Him, to walk by faith,not sight? What could God do with the little I have to give Him? Is He calling me?

Oh, my darlings, go to the edge of life and jump! You'll fly. I promise! You'll mount up on wings like an eagle. You'll rest beneath the shelter of His wings.

"He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet thoe who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." --Isaiah 40:29-31

"Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you! Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." --Isaiah 41:10

I believe in you.
Karen

*The above is a true story from Lithuania, on the Baltic Sea in Russia,recorded by Corrie ten Boom,in her wonderful book, "Tramp for the Lord")

The Vintage Heart

She speaks with words of wisdom
For life has taught her much.
Charm and grace adorn her.
There is softness in her touch.

The tales she tells are bittersweet,
A blend of joy and pain,
For as her loved ones pass away
Her memories still remain.

She talks to God throughout the day
For he’s become her friend,
The one she can depend on
Time and time again.

She reaches out to those in need.
She is quick to lend a hand.
Many share their problems
For she seems to understand.

She labors daily for the lord
For heaven is her goal,
And though her body age and die
There is strength within her soul.

Her days on earth are numbered
For life goes by so fast.
But all that she has done for Christ
Has value that will last.


Good morning, beloved ones.

The writings of Corrie ten Boom and Amy Carmichael inspire and delight me this summer. Dare I hope that they will mold me as well? These two treasures in jars of clay, now sharing Heaven with their own spiritual mothers, have blessed me beyond measure through their teachings of hope and possibilities, strength in challenges and daily journeys with Father. I want to be a loving servant and make a difference in the world, too, don't you? As the old saying goes, "Hitch your wagon to a star...and add a T"...*smile.

"I want to sign Your Name to the end of this day knowing that my heart was true." -Casting Crowns

Thankful for the "Great Crowd of Witnesses",
Karen

A Heart for Titus 2:3-5

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." -Titus 2:3-5

This scripture, tucked away inside a book written very much to a man, perfectly expresses my passion, my dream, my goal, my delight. When I am old, may it be said of me, "She fulfilled her calling to teach younger women so that they may be encouraged."

After over 30 years of practicing, I have decided to write down what I've learned...*smile. So come, beloved daughters of my heart. Let us sit down with a cup of tea and visit awhile.

Living my dream,
Karen