Like A Little Child

When Keegan, my oldest, was little, he was the king of adorable baby talk.  There was "strawbabies" for strawberries.  "Crash can" for trash can.  And my favorite, the basketball "hoot" for that hoop he couldn't quite seem to successfully locate with his tiny, foam ball.

And then there was this.  "Hold your Keegy, Daddy."

Ahhhhhh.  It melted my heart every time to see the tiny person version of his father standing on the tops of his dad's feet, arms stretched up over his head.  And then that sweet command.

"Hold your Keegy, Daddy."

I loved it.  I loved his confidence, the certainty with which he knew what would happen next.  His dad was about to look down, smile, bend over, engulf him in a huge embrace, and pick him up to nestle him into his shoulder.  He was confident because it happened every single time.  Something in his little boy heart knew a good father can not resist those words, that entreaty.  His father couldn't ignore the profound request behind those four small words. 

I need you.

I trust you.

I want to be close to your heart.

They make sense coming from a child.  But, somewhere in the growing up and the getting tough, it's easy to believe we are to put the baby talk behind us and to grow beyond the need of being held.

And so it happened today, when I found my mind stuck in a painful loop, that I was stunned for the Lord to whisper to my heart that I can say those same words.  The reminder came sweetly, through the words of a song I knew twenty years ago.

Hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf,
You have been my King of Glory,
Won't you be my Prince of Peace.
(by Rich Mullins)

 And I stretch my arms to the heavens and tip my head to the sky.

"Hold your Mindy, Daddy."

 

Believe It or Not

"You are everything I ever wanted in a daughter."


I heard my husband speak those words today, and they took my breath away.  I paused to watch what they did to her. 


She found his gaze.  A slow smile.  A nod.  A kiss.  And then she was gone, on to living life, which meant at that moment lunch and Phineas and Ferb.


There was no big reaction because there was not a new revelation.  Just quiet confidence that Dad still felt the way he has always felt, assurance that comes from knowing you are as loved as you have always been.


But, my heart has been contemplating the many, many grown women who are still walking around wondering what their dads think of them, wondering what it would be like to experience the embrace of approval that has never come.


And so, today, if that's you, you need to know something. 


Your Father is completely, 100%, absolutely, and with great certainty enraptured with you.  He can't keep His eyes off you, and He is captivated by your beauty, your grace, and the wonderment of you.


If the wounds of this world, or maybe even the wounds of a dad, have kept you from ever realizing this, or you have just forgotten it under the weight of self-doubt or self-loathing, then it is time to step into the embrace of the truth.


Because whether or not you believe it, it is true. 


Your Father, the One who created you and knows every detail of your life, is your biggest fan.  He believes in you.  He adores you.  He is convinced you are gifted, and He can not be persuaded otherwise.  He is rooting for you, sitting in the bleachers of your life, cheering you on.  He talks about you to his friends, pointing out every one of your attributes.  He remembers your birthday.  He comes to all your parties.  He can't wait to see you when you wake up in the morning.  He misses you when you don't come around.


He doesn't just love you, he enjoys you.


If you don't believe that, you don't know Him.  And He wants you to.

Advent Devotional, Week Four

Author's Note:  This is last of a four part Advent devotional series for families here at Treasure the Ordinary.  May you be blessed as each of you find ways to prepare your hearts for the celebration of our King's birth.  Merry Christmas!


Week 4 Advent Devotional - "Protection"

Opening Question: What trip have we taken as a family that you enjoyed that most? 

During our time together today, we are going to look a trip Jesus took with his parents when He was just a baby.  Mary and Joseph didn't have a car seat, or even a car, but they packed up their tiny baby and traveled over 300 miles for a very important reason.

 

READ:  Matthew 2:1-12
 
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 


After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”


When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” 


After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene."


[NOTE:  for very young children who may not be ready for a discussion about Herod's killing of children, parents may wish to not read the bold print aloud.]


Herod wanted to kill Jesus because he was afraid of another king taking his place.  He didn't realize that Jesus was not coming to sit on the throne in Jerusalem, but to save us from sin.  So, he wanted attack Jesus because he did not understand who Jesus was and what he was doing.  Herod did not feel secure and safe as a king, so he was jealous of anyone else who might be a better king than he was.


A lot of times when people hurt us our hurt our feelings, it's because they don't feel good about themselves. 


ASK:  [younger children]  When someone hurts our feelings, how can we pray for them?  (that they would understand they are important to God.)


ASK:  [older children] Have you ever hurt someone or hurt their feelings because you didn't feel good about YOU?  How can you make sure this does not become a pattern in your life?


God protected Jesus from Herod by sending Him to Egypt.  This was the very place God's people had been slaves hundreds of years before, until God called Moses to lead them out! 


ASK:  Why do you think God would send Jesus THERE?  (Younger children should be helped to arrive at the conclusion that no one would think to look for Him there, but older children can be helped to find the deeper truth that God was making a statement that Jesus had come to lead us all out of the slavery of sin.)


If God had not protected His son as a baby, Jesus would not have been able to die for us on the cross.  God could see the whole, big picture, and He knew just what to do.  When God protected Jesus, He protected US, too!


Closing Question:  What things does God want YOU to do in the future?  How is He protecting you even now so that you can do those things?

What Does the Bible Say About Fear?

Fear is the most crippling enemy a soul can ever face.  If it is trying to overtake you today, let your heart meditate on the words of Scripture, the best tool for combatting any enemy. 


Even as a follower of Jesus, there may be many things in this life that cause rocks of fear to be hurled at you.  Some are pebbles.  Others are boulders.  The key is to never pick up the rocks. 


Instead, build your house with the cornerstone of who God is, your hope and your defense.


Here are ten verses that will shore up your house today, all from the Message Bible (because sometimes it's good to shake up familiar words with a fresh understanding).  Let your heart take delight in the Mightiness of your God...

• “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”  - Deuteronomy 31:6

• "Hezekiah rallied the people, saying, 'Be strong! Take courage! Don’t be intimidated by the king of Assyria and his troops—there are more on our side than on their side. He only has a bunch of mere men; we have our God to help us and fight for us!'  Morale surged. Hezekiah’s words put steel in their spines."  - 2 Chronicles 32:6-8

• "Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.  Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure."  - Psalm 23:4

• "Light, space, zest—that’s God!  So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing."  - Psalm 27:1

• When I get really afraid I come to you in trust.  I’m proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God.  What can mere mortals do?"  - Psalm 56:3-4

• “But you, Israel, are my servant.  You’re Jacob, my first choice, descendants of my good friend Abraham.  I pulled you in from all over the world, called you in from every dark corner of the earth, telling you, ‘You’re my servant, serving on my side.  I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’  Don’t panic. I’m with you.  There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.  I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.  I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you."  - Isaiah 41:8-12

• “Don’t be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. So don’t hesitate to go public now.  Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.  What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries."  - Matthew 10:26-31

• "This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike 'What’s next, Papa?'  God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!"  - Romans 8:15-17

• "Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, 'God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?'"  - Hebrews 13:5-6

• "God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.  We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first."  - I John 4:17-19

Dear Seven Year Old Me

Twenty-nine years ago today, the seven year old version of me decided to become a follower of Jesus.  Compared to other childhood memories, I remember it quite clearly. 

I can picture myself in the Sunday School room of the church where my parents served on staff.  I can remember the teacher talking about the time she asked Jesus to be her Savior.  She went on to something else, but my mind didn't.  I could only hear those words "asked Jesus," over and over.

It was Wednesday of that same week, when the words were still resonating in my little girl heart, that I went to my mother and asked her to help me ask Jesus to be my Savior.  She was nervous, wanting to get it right.  She asked me if I could wait until Daddy got home.  But, I didn't want to wait, so we sat together and, in the space of one moment to the next, I passed the threshold into a new life.

Who could wait?  When your bridegroom is waiting for you with baited breath at the door, who wants to tell Him to wait?  When your new home is waiting for you in a glorious Kingdom, who wants to pass the mundane hours until Dad gets home?

And when I think about that girl, with a heart full of love for her Jesus, I feel so tender towards her.  She was young and innocent and full of trust.  She heard the Word, treasured it, believed it, and acted on it.

And she was changed.

No, she wasn't leaving behind a life of crime or drugs at the ripe old age of seven.  But, her change was still real.

She left darkness, and she took up residence in the light.

I can see her crawling into bed that night under her pink bedspread, whispering her prayers to her new Savior.  I can see her smile.  I can see her confidence that came from believing with her childlike faith that God is good and He loves her.

And if I, the twenty-nine years later version of me, could hold that girl in my arms on that day, I would rock her to sleep and tell her a few things. 

She doesn't need to know all the specifics.  They are better left to be discovered.  She doesn't need to know the names of the victories ahead, or the faces of the heartache that's coming. 

She just needs to know this:

Sweet girl, it won't always be easy, this road you have chosen.  There will be times when you will be asked to sacrifice and times you will need to go through the narrow gate, when the wider one seems so much more fun and convenient.  There will be times when people around you won't understand the decision you made or the decisions you will have to make to stay true to your first love.  There will be times when you feel like you can't see God and don't understand what He's doing.

But, little one, your faith is real.  It has changed you.  He has changed you.  And the best news of all, you will never, ever be alone again.  The one thing you've always feared---it can never happen, now.  No matter what, you will never be alone. 

The lover of your soul has joined His heart to yours now.  You have become one flesh with the One who died for you.  And He will never leave you or abandon you.

Instead, He will massage the wounds in your little heart until you no longer believe the lies that you are rejectable.  He will heal you with His love and unconditional acceptance.  He will transform you into what you have always desired to be.

So, sleep tight, little girl.  There are mountains ahead to be climbed, and views so glorious to behold, your dreams tonight can't compare.  There is a life to be lived that started today.  And it's a beautiful life.  A beautiful life joined to a beautiful God. 

The God who saves. 

The God who rescues. 

The God who delivers. 

The God who heals. 

The God who restores.

You can trust Him.


Author's Note:  If you are reading this today and are looking for what that seven year old girl found, you can meet Him---His healing is for you, too.  Click here to read more.  You don't even have to wait for your dad to get home.

I Love You Because

My husband and I have pages and pages of lists in our bedroom, and every list answers one question.  "I love you because..."

It was a sweet little tradition we started in college, filling up entire pages with all the reasons why we loved the other one and hiding them as tender suprises.  Through the years, we've continued it here and there, the stacks of lists growing as we entered each new phase of marriage and parenthood.

This morning, as I read the love letter on my shelf from my God, I was stunned by the words of the psalmist in Psalm 116:1, "I love the Lord because..." 

So, God enjoys getting those letters, too!  He likes to hear why his children love Him, why their heart is bent towards Him, so much so that He included someone's list in the pages of Scripture.

My mind has been working on a new list all day.  Lord, I love You because...

And the answers can fill notebook after notebook.

I have no doubt He would love to receive one from you as well.

Grafting

"God sets the lonely in families."  (Psalm 68:6)

I read it again this morning.  And how true it is.

For He looks upon the broken, the rejected, the cast-aside, and He claims them as his own.

He sees the pain of the wounded heart, the fearful, the shamed, and He says, "This one is mine."

But He doesn't stop with "just" redemption.  He goes a step further...

He finds the one that will fit with another, and he brings hearts together.

He pieces the heart that vowed "never again" with another jagged edge, and together they heal.

This is my God!

I have witnessed His tenderness in lives all around me, as they have been grafted in to more than they ever dreamed possible. 

The woman with no family who found a Godly husband late in life. 

The man whose wife had left him and would not heed his pursuit for reconciliation, who now can't stop smiling as he looks at the second chance who thinks he hung the moon. 

The divorced friend who had never known the love of a church family, until now. 

The couple who tried for years to conceive, and now raise two precious ones that came into their arms through the joy of adoption.

And one who is very dear to my heart--my mother.  She, who thought life was over with a husband who did not want her and a baby just six months old.  She, who smiles triumphantly on the arm of the stepfather who raised me.  She, who knows that even the pain of rejection can be healed under the oil that flows from His hand.  She, who will soon celebrate thirty-four years of marriage to a man who looks at her as if she is the most desirable woman on earth.

God sets the lonely in families.

And it's that God who calls us to join Him.  To find the lonely.  To bring them into the family.  To wrap His arms around them through ours.  To say, "You're wanted here."  And to keep saying it until it is believed.

Yes and Amen

This last Monday, as I was preparing to leave for a few days away, I hurriedly packed a lunch for my son.  He still likes a note in a lunchbox (a fact that pleases me to no end), but prefers them to be funny or have some kind of riddle to solve.  In other words, no mushy love notes that might cause him to get the wrong kind of lunch-time attention!  Our compromise: we have an understanding that if any mushy notes find their way into his lunchbox, they will be buried on the bottom, under the sandwich, and marked "TOP SECRET."  That way, he can read it on the sly and no one's the wiser.  (I hesitated to write of our secret, but I figure there probably aren't any fifth grade boys reading "Treasure the Ordinary," so I think I'm pretty safe!)

Monday morning called for a mushy note, as I wouldn't see him for three days.  And just as I buried the napkin declaring my love for a certain blonde ten year old, his sister saw what I was doing.

"A top secret note?  I want a top secret note!" she pleaded, her huge gray eyes lighting up.

"But, you're not taking your lunch today.  You're eating in the cafeteria." 

"Well, maybe I should take my lunch, then."

That did it.  I didn't have the time to start on another lunch at such late notice.  I quickly headed off the morning rush catastrophe by telling her I would put a Top Secret note inside her backpack for her to read while she was at school.  This solved everything--a secret note AND the school's chicken burger, which she happens to really like.  It's a both/and world she's living in.

Only it wasn't. I forgot. 

I have no idea how it happened.  Too many things on my mind, I guess.  But, it wasn't until I was two and a half hours down the highway that I remembered.  And I was miserable, picturing a little girl excitedly opening her backpack to find her top secret note and discovering that she must have been disavowed as a spy, or, even worse, that her mom didn't keep her word.

And that's what was really bothering me.  For the last fifteen years, as we've been on this wild adventure of parenthood, my husband and I have had one very important commitment to our children.  We keep our word.  Which is not always easy.  It's taught us to be very careful as to what we commit to.  We learned pretty quickly not to announce our plans way in advance, as plans can change, and we we wanted our kids to know that if we said we were going to do something, we were going to do it.  It's probably why we're still in the habit of not announcing the "special treat plans" until we are in the car, backing out of the driveway!

So, my forgetfulness left me in a dilemna.  I finally decided I needed to make amends via the phone, which meant recording a "top secret" voice message and sending it to her daddy with the strict instructions that only a very specific eight year old girl could listen.

Success. 

I was forgiven of my absent-mindedness in the thrill of receiving a spy-worthy voice recording.  Oh, sweet absolution.

And while I'm grateful for the second chance in the promise-keeping department with my little girl, I'm still very aware of how many times I fail to keep my word in my other relationships. 

The offer to pray for a friend that I don't think about again.

The commitment to myself not to do "that" again.

The promise to the Lord I gave in a moment of earnestness that too soon fades into apathy.

And my shortcomings make me grateful.  Grateful that I serve a God who does not forget His promises, and has never failed to fulfill even one of them.

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 1:20)

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15)

His promises are written all throughout His word, and each and every one has been bought and paid for. 

Each and every one are still redeemable, with no expiration date. 

And each and every one are for me.

Just another reason why I love the Promise Giver.  And just another reason I want to be like Him.

The Dream Business

I've started a dream list. 
 
Just a simple page with my dreams written on it.  The really big dreams.  The little dreams.  The ones that I can see come to pass this year, right alongside the ones I can't imagine ever really happening.
 
Staring at my list made me realize how many, many things would have been on that list just a few years ago, but aren't there now.  They're not there because they've already been fulfilled.  Oh, the joy to understand He's in the business of making dreams come true.
 
And I realized I want to be just like Him.  I want to be in the family business---making other people's dream come true.

I can start with the dreams alive in my own house, the ones that are dreamed up by the man I call husband and the four little people with big futures.

I can take it out of my house by investing in the dreams that dwell in the hearts of my friends.

I can look past the weariness in the eyes of the cashier at Wal-Mart and pray that the deepest desires of her heart would be met by the Meeter of All Needs.

Mark Twain once said, "Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great."

Lord, please make me great this way.  It's a dream of mine.
 

Soaking

It happens so easily. 

Getting caught up in the details of life.  Forgetting the One who gives me life.  Running about taking care of things.  Neglecting to take care of my own heart.  Making sure all the relationships in my life are well-watered.  Letting the most important relationship grow dry.

And the only solution is to stop.

Stop the running.  Slow the movement.  Be still.

And breathe Him in.

To let the water of His spirit flow over my toes, lap my ankles, pull at my waist, rush over my head.  To choose to be submerged in His presence, leaving the shallow end far behind as I follow Him into the deep.

"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me."  (Psalm 42:7)

And in that place of worship, I find healing.  Healing for the ache that comes when I stay too long on the shores.  The kind of healing that brings satisfaction to the places of restless longing.

And I remember again how good He is.  And how without Him, I can do nothing.

It's in those moments that He always reminds me. 

I don't have to leave the river.  I could stay.  And let its current carry me to the details of life, to the needs, to those relationships.  

I could live here, in this place in the deep.  I could go deeper.  And deeper.  And deeper still.

In Daddy's Arms

She started ballet last Friday.  She had been counting the days, telling me how many she had left every night when I tucked her in.  I caught her chewing her lip over it once.  When I questioned her, she confided she was nervous, unsure if she could do it.  Would the other girls be way ahead of her?  Would she be able to catch up?  Would she have any trouble making new friends?  I smiled and assured her she would do great.

We bought the shoes, put her hair up in a ballerina bun, and walked into the first class together.  The instructor let me stay and observe through a window, and I cried as I watched her, grace unhindered on the dance floor.

It wasn't until the next day that it happened.  I had a photography shot I wanted to get of her daddy and her, with her little feet in her new ballet shoes.  She was all too happy to oblige by dressing up in her ballet clothes again, anxious to show off some of her new skills.

As I sat on the floor, fumbling with the buttons of the camera,  she grabbed his hands and popped up onto her tippy-toes.  I hadn't been expecting that.  One day of ballet, and we're ready for pointe?  Where had all the anxiousness gone?

And then I realized the truth...you can't be unsure of yourself in your daddy's arms.  In daddy's arms, there is no fear, only love.  And when you live in a place without fear, and when you are loved without reservation, you are free to be yourself.  You are free to dance.

My little girl won't stay this little.  She won't always be a tiny thing spinning in the living room.  She won't even always have her daddy who loves her more than life there to hold her.  But, she will always have a Father who holds her close.  The One she is learning to trust to lead her through the dance of life upon this earth.  The Daddy that will never leave her or forsake her.  The Papa who created her to be grace, and grace unhindered.

So, dance on sweet girl, dance on.