Moses.....

Moses, has always been my favorite Bible character. I am reading the book by Charles Swindoll, "Moses, A Man of Selfless Dedication" and I love the insight that Swindoll brings into Moses life and the season and time he lived.

I think what I first loved about Moses, besides being a little baby boy, and put in the reeds of the Nile, to escape death and having my mother heart ache as I think about such a moment, is the fact that he put up with over a million grumbling people at one time.

Think about it. We are all leaders to someone. Life consists of all sorts of people and personalities. We know what it feels like to have someone grumble when we are trying to lead and ask them to do something, and we have grumbled ourselves. But, can you imagine being a leader over a million people and listening to all them grumble? Yikes, Calgon take me away!!!

The book also goes into a lot of details about the "wilderness". My favorite line is "His schooling includes time in the wilderness. That's where He gets our attention". All of us have found ourselves at some time or another in the "wilderness". A lonely, abandoned, desolate place where we feel all alone and think that the Lord of heaven has forgotten us.

"The Wilderness" will be another post, at another time. For now, as I continue to delve into the book, and have the Lord speak to my heart during this season of my life, I hope to share some of the insights the Lord shows me.

P.S. I still have always thought it wasn't fair that Moses didn't get to enter the promised land, because of one of his actions.... but then, I am reminded again that we as leaders have a great responsibility to obedience.....

A Tender Heart....

From the moment I heard that my first grandchild was on the way, I began praying for a child that would be tender.
My precious Taylor, who is now 9, has the most tender heart I have seen in a child. She is honest, and kind, and thoughtful and sensitive and loves her parents and her grandparents. She loves Jesus too!
She is learning about growing up and all the blastings of the world's standards. She is learning what is appropriate to talk about with her friends and what is only appropriate to talk about with her parents. Life's lessons for her are stepping up and her tender conscience and heart are at work. I wish I could protect her from the harshness of the world, but I know I cannot. Oh Lord, protect this precious girl and keep her always in the center of Your hands. May her heart always remain tender to the promptings of Your Spirit. The plans You have for her are precious and good. I again trust her to you...... Taylor Jean Garrels, you are an absolute joy to my heart and will always be grandma's princess. I love you to the moon and back again and again. I will never stop praying for you!

The Crumbling Pedestal....

Have you ever admired someone, only to have them deeply disappoint you? I think we have all been there. Many years ago the Lord did such a deep work in my heart about putting those ones I admire up on a "pedestal"...for they will surely fall off and then we can find ourselves disillusioned, disappointed and sometimes angry.

The Lord is the only one who will not disappoint or fail us. We as people, no matter how hard we try, will find ourselves at times, either saying, or doing the wrong things and hurting one another. The grace of the Lord is there to cover us, for which I am humbly thankful for.

We are all on this same journey of life, and yet, each one's path is different. Yes, there are ones we can admire and look up to and are examples to us. But they are people just like us.

It goes both ways.... I never want to be on anyone's pedestal, for I know I will fall off pretty quickly or have already fallen off. I am just me, walking this journey of life, longing to be obedient to my Jesus and all He asks of me.

So, let's tip those pedestals over!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

Oops...it is not Christmas, wrong holiday...I should be singing "Happy Birthday" :} I am up savoring my last few moments of being 56 years old...YIKES, that sounds incredibly old. I can remember the day my mom turned 30 and I thought she was getting old. I was only 15 then, and a sophomore in high school.

Birthdays give you a time to stop and reflex upon one's life, dreams, visions, perspectives and priorities. But also this year, it has stopped me in my tracks to consider the "legacy" I will be leaving behind for those that follow. What am I leaving to my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, besides the book I am taking forever to write about my childhood on the homestead in Alaska, and the grace of God that so incredibly worked in my heart and in the lives of my family.

The frailty of life has become so real to me these last few months, as death and birth have been a part of my surroundings. Life really is fleeting. It goes by so fast and have we made a difference? Have our lives counted for more than it being all about "us"?

I want to make a difference in the lives of the ones I love. A difference that would cause them to want to be more like Jesus and pursue Him with their whole hearts. Not a "Sunday School" religion. I want to leave a legacy of faithfulness and obedience. Not one of perfection, but one of realness and honesty. One who wasn't afraid to admit failure, repent, and get up and go on again, understanding the Lord's forgiveness.

Oh, I wish I could see down the family line for the next 50 years and see if the legacy I have left them, drew them to Jesus. But, I can't see that far...I can only see 2 generations down and my whole heart yearns for them to see Jesus and His incredible grace through my life.

I could conquer the world (whatever that means), be a billionaire (I promise Lord I would give lots away, if I won the lottery), lasso the moon (Jimmy Stewart), have lots of "things" and "possessions".... but the most important thing to me, is my family. Nothing else compares to them walking with the Lord. Nothing!

Justin, Jessica, Taylor, Tanner, Tristan, Mike, Laci, Laura, and all the future "grandkids" and future son-in-law, ... You are all my heart. The legacy I desire and will always yearn to pursue will be for you.... because you are a part of me.

My heart cries out to you Lord, to continue your good work in my heart to make me more like You, so I can leave the legacy my heart desires to those that come behind me.

A "Now" Word....

There are times in our lives, where we go before the Lord and ask Him for a response to our requests. Sometimes, the responses come right away, and sometimes it is in His plan and heart for us that the answer is to come at a later time. Today, I am asking the Lord for a "now" response.

There is a deep issue in my heart that I need the Lord to resolve. That I need Him to clearly show me now, and not 2 months from now. I know it sounds presumptuous, but I also know that the Lord is in the "now" business as well as the "later" business. So, as we have said over and over in our lives, "it doesn't hurt to ask".

I know His heart is good and He is faithful. I know I am His daughter and that He understands and sees each chamber of my heart and what each contains. I know He is trustworthy.

May I find His grace to whatever His responses are to my heart's cry.