October 27, 2009 October 27, 2009
Posted by Cindy Beecher in God.add a comment
I tried to call my Dad several times today. I knew he was really weak and could not physically answer the phone. I tried, nonetheless, hoping a nurse would be in his room to answer the phone and put the receiver to his ear so I could speak with him.
I felt compelled to dial his number one last time at 6:28pm. I dialed the number, waited a few rings and a nurse answered. I asked if she would please put the phone up to my Dad’s ear so I could speak with him. She did.
I told him that Jesus died for all his sins. I told him all he had to do was believe in what Jesus did for him on the cross and he could go to be in heaven with Him. I told my dad I loved him. I told my dad goodbye.
I don’t know the exact time of my Dad’s death, but my brother called my cell phone at 6:46pm to tell me that Dad had died.
I believe my last phone call to my Dad was a gift to me from my heavenly Father. My hope is that in those last moments of life my Dad believed.
Though my heart is broken, my hope remains in God alone, He is the Lord and giver of Life. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
I will travel on Thursday for his funeral. The grieving has just begun, but God is with me. I am so very thankful not to be making the trip alone!
Worry October 27, 2009
Posted by Cindy Beecher in God, Worry.add a comment
I found myself worrying as soon as I typed the title “Worry”. Can you believe it?
I began to worry about writing more often on this blog. My worry? What if I write the same thing over and over again? The reason that thought entered my mind? I do not have a good memory and I don’t have the time to go back to reread the blogs I have written in the past.
Yet, I am writing today, because I choose to trust God with the words and the outcome.
You see, just as soon as the worried thought entered my mind, God reminded me of the scripture verse I read this morning.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12:25-26 (NIV)
God reminded me that worry is a distraction…worry can cause us to forget His great and mighty promises…worry can cause us to lose focus…worry can make us ill…worry will not help us one bit…In fact worry is always a detriment to us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually!
I am not saying that there are no reasons for concern in this life. What I am saying is that God is able. God can be trusted. God is the only one who can get us through this life in the way He has planned it. He knows everything that has come into our lives and He knows everything that will come into our lives.
So, today and everyday when worry threatens to steal God’s promises from my heart and mind I pray that God will give me the presence of mind to be able to say: Yes that looks impossible but,
I WILL STILL TRUST GOD & I WILL STILL PRAISE GOD!
Today, through the mundane chores of balancing the checkbook, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, planning for travels, working, studying, preparing for what I can; today while praying for my parents, praying for my children, praying for my grandchildren, praying for my church, praying for my friends; today though no things have changed in my parents health and there is no promise of tomorrow here on earth for them…
I WILL STILL TRUST IN GOD’S PROMISES AND I WILL STILL PRAISE HIM!
I Love You! I Am Proud Of You! October 26, 2009
Posted by Cindy Beecher in God, Love, Need, Salvation.2 comments
I love you and I am proud of you!
These are words we all long to here from our earthly parents. It brings breaks my heart that many of us will never hear them.
My advice for all parents is this: Tell your children (yes, even your adult children) that you love them and that you are proud of them. Tell them throughout their lives, tell them with words, tell them with actions, tell them in writing…don’t leave this life without taking every opportunity to bless your children. There should never be a doubt in their mind about your love for them.
I am not only talking about children who grew up under your roof. I am also talking about those spiritual children you have mentored, discipled and helped to grow in their faith.
This is a longing of my heart for others because I have not always received what I needed in this regard.
My dad is 85 years old and I can count on one hand the number of times he has said those three words: I love you. I do know that he loves me, however I would like the demonstration of that love more often than he is either able to give or willing to give. My father grew up in a time when boys were taught not to show emotions. I think that has a lot to do with his actions or lack thereof.
This need for the demonstration of love and affirmation came flooding into my mind last week as I was praying for my family.
Here’s what is happening with my parents:
- My mom has ovarian cancer. She was basically given max of 5 years to live (and that was 2 years ago). She is currently receiving chemo treatments, three weeks out of four, to battle for life. Still, I know she won’t be on the earth that much longer.
- My dad is currently in a nursing home, with hospice care until he passes away.
I have prayed for my parent’s salvation since I became a believer. But recently I have longed, through prayer, for my sister and brother to receive the words they have needed for so long from our earthly father. Not words like: I love all my children and I am proud of all my children. What they need most are the intimate words of love and affirmation directed solely to them, as individuals, from our dad.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so for now the longing of my heart remains this: salvation for all of my family and words of love and affirmation for my brother and sister from our dad.
I know that our heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die in our place. That demonstration shows us a love that is both beyond measure and comprehension.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)
God’s love will never fade and is never conditional. God demonstrates his love for us each and every day. We need to mimic Him and demonstrate our love to those He has placed in our lives.
As a parent, I love my daughters so deeply that it hurts. They are beautiful beyond description. They are talented in ways I never even dreamed of. They will always have my heart wrapped around their little fingers. There is no way they could ever do anything to lose my love. Not to say, I have always displayed my love for them in a perfect fashion. I absolutely have not. I have tried to apologize for those times when I have made them feel unloved as they have happened. But, the truth of the matter is now out there for all to see. I love my daughters and I am proud of my daughters, both individually and collectively.
Now that you know it, I must end this writing…
I have some phone calls to make and some letters to write. I want to make sure my daughters have no doubt about two things:
- Their heavenly Father loves them unconditionally.
- Their earthly mom loves them beyond what her words can describe.
If you are like me, you have a large extended family and a large spiritual family. I plan to become more intentional about letting those in my life know they are loved no matter what. Will you join me in that effort?
In Him October 22, 2009
Posted by Cindy Beecher in Creation, Creator, Faith, God, God's Purpose for Me, Life, Purpose, Time.3 comments
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. Acts 17:24-29 (NIV)
God is the one who gives us breath. In fact if you are reading this post God gave you the ability to do that too.
We were created for the time and place where we are today. God created us so that we would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him.
When I was a little girl I learned answers to questions like: Where is God? And the answer to that question is: God is everywhere. God, the very maker of everything that can be made, is omnipresent (a fancy word for always present everywhere). And He wants us to know Him.
Perhaps you have sung the praise and worship song that states: Every breath I breathe in You…Every move I make I make in You…But, have you ever given that much deep thought?
I am breathing right now because God has ordained it. I am typing right now, because God has allowed my brain and hands to work in such a way that make it possible for me to do it.
God made me for such a time as this.
God made you for such a time as this.
God made each one of us for His pleasure and purpose.
God has a plan and purpose for every breathing in and out, moving about moment of our lives. He is the one who gives us each one of those moments.
What does He want for us to do with those moments? He wants us to seek Him, to reach out for Him and to find Him. God wants us to know Him intimately and personally.
God is here. God is right where you are at this very moment. He is waiting for you to seek Him. He is waiting for you to spend time with Him. The question is this:
Will you make time in this moment for the very God who gave you the moment?
Standing Firm October 21, 2009
Posted by Cindy Beecher in ENOUGH!, Faith, God, Hope, Life, Love, Truth.1 comment so far
It has been a long time since I have written anything on my blog.
So, today I begin with an excerpt from my journal written in March of this year:
Today was a very difficult day for me. Nothing earth shattering happened. When I woke up I began the day, after talking with God, struggling in my mind about today, tomorrow and the coming weeks. As I drove to work, on this beautiful sun filled morning, and the snow lay on the ground sparkling like diamonds. I prayed from the depths of my soul that God would teach me what it means to live each day satisfied in God’s unfailing love (Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.)
I am a chick flick and kid movie gal. This is mostly because I long for happily ever after. I also don’t like to pay to be stressed out by a movie, when I can be stressed for free in my daily life. That is an aside, but here is a fact: Movies and the culture in which we live preach the gospel of a happily ever after love while having no idea what real love is. In fact I would venture to say it is the rare person who truly understands true love. But, God….His love is never ending, He does not stop loving when we mess up, He loved us so very much that while we were jeering at Him on the cross, while we spat upon Him as He hung dying there for the very sins we committed, He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
How can we understand a love like that?
Look at a few lines from the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Becky said to Annie: “A movie! That’s your problem! You don’t want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.” And those lines define the problem for many of us. We have bought the world’s view of love hook, line, and sinker. We want to be in love in a movie. We want the kind of happily ever after, with all conflicts solved in an hour, kind of make believe love.
Unrealistic expectations reign supreme. I believe such unrealistic expectations keep us from standing firm and seeking the true love that comes from our God. In fact any other source of love is a down right lie.
Standing firm in God’s unconditional love is so very important for us because only His true love can set us free. It is the lies we believe that imprison us.
Standing firm? Galatians chapter 5 verse 1 tells us why we must stand firm. It is for our freedom. Verses 16 and 17 state so clearly the only way to win this battle is by the Spirit.
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. New International Version
We will fight many battles here on earth. Many of the battles begin in our minds and that is the reason renewing our minds is so very important. God knows all about our impossible battles. They are impossible in our own strength and God knows we cannot make it on our own. God knows it is only by His Spirit in us that we can have victory. Only He can renew our minds in truth. Only by spending time with Him renewing our minds can we have victory…spending time with God in His word: reading, studying, meditating… spending time with Him in prayer: confessing sin, adoring Him, asking Him for our needs and wants, thanking Him for all the answers to prayer (yes, all, whether it is a yes, a no, or a wait), spending time in silence listening for His voice and shutting all other distractions out. God is everything and God is more than enough! His love is perfect, unconditional and exactly what we need.
I know the right thing for me to do is to learn so much truth that when lies come they are shut down. Years ago when I worked in a bank and we were taught to learn our currency inside and out. We did not learn what counterfeit money looked like, because if we knew what the real thing looked like the counterfeit stuff would be easy to spot.
When my children were young I taught them about doing the next right thing no matter what everyone else is doing. When we do the next right thing now and next time then every time there after it becomes easier do a right thing. And it is so much easier to do the next wrong thing each time we do a wrong thing. We must not to allow ourselves, when we do a wrong, thing to beat ourselves up to the point that we believe the lie that we cannot now do a right thing. If we believe that lie we are saying in essence that God is not big enough or strong enough to work in or through us. We are then saying His love is conditional and is not enough to cover our sins. And the truth of the matter is that God is more than enough!
This is a lifelong battle. Recovering perfectionists like me see any and all imperfection magnified beyond what we should. God knows our frame. He knows everything about us. He has known these things from eternity past. And He knows what every day of our lives will be like on earth and into eternity future.
Psalm 139: 13-16 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Since God knows everything about us, the battle we face is not surprising to Him.
Our perfectionist problem is this: we think because His goal for us is perfection, we also want to see ourselves in perfection here and now (unrealistic expectations). God DOES, this very moment, look upon us as perfect because He views us through our Savior’s blood…but we live in a fallen and sinful world and He has not lost sight of that fact either. The battle we are facing daily is exactly the reason we need a Savior. So we all, YES EACH AND EVERY CHRISTIAN THAT IS ALIVE ON THE PLANET, struggle and will struggle with the battle against the old nature. That old nature that says…You can’t keep on…You can’t take one more thing…You have given up in the past and you know history repeats itself…and Satan the accuser agrees with those things just to reinforce what our old nature knew before Christ. So, we must stand firm. Standing firm doesn’t negate the intensity of the battle, nor eliminate the need for God, it merely says: Things look really bad and I am feeling crushed almost to the point of death, BUT GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. And after we have suffered for little while, He Himself will restore us and make us strong and firm and steadfast. To God be the glory and power and praise. AMEN!
I praise God that true love as portrayed by Hollywood is not true love. That shallow love knows no depth of sacrifice. It is conditional on ALL conflict being resolved within 2 hours or less. It is unrealistic, selfish, short lived, and unreliable.
But my friends God’s love is completely perfect, totally unconditional, extremely sacrificial, never ending and is the only true “Happily Ever After” kind of love.
He offers His love to us no matter where we have been and no matter what our circumstances.
If I had known on that beautiful March morning exactly what I would be facing this fall, it might have been overwhelming.
BUT GOD! He is the one who gives me peace in the midst of the storms of life. He is the one who bids me come walk on the waves with me. I can stand firm because of God’s Holy Spirit who lives in me. When I am weak then He is strong.
Don’t give up. God works all things together for our good. Not everything is good. But, God works everything together for our good.
I am praying for each of you who might read this message. I am praying that you will be reminded to live in strength and courage knowing that God loves you and will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
I would appreciate your prayers as well. God is at work. He has won the victory. May He be glorified in us as He works all things together for our good.
