A Fresh Revelation and The Law of Kindness

This semester Marci, Julia and I are doing Beth Moore's Revelation study titled Here and Now, There and Then. I somehow feel the need to confide that I wasn't excited at all about studying Revelation right now. I'm having the hardest semester ever, and I wanted something uplifting and encouraging to help me fall deeper in love with Jesus. I've studied Revelation in Precepts before and found it fascinating, but I wasn't honestly "in the mood" for horns on beasts! If anyone can make a scripture applicable to the life of a woman right now, it is Beth Moore. I'm really enjoying the study so far, as I learn about what kind of woman I need/want to be for Jesus to give me a fresh revelation. I'm also loving the girl time with my two precious friends.

Saturday, Mom and I attended a simulcast for Beth Moore's Living Proof Live event in Chicago. Her topic was kindness, and it was oh-so-timely for me. Oh how I long for my spirit to be so completely invaded by the love and compassion of the Holy Spirit that my tongue is controlled by sheer kindness. Again, I feel like Beth has a true gift for infecting women with a passion to grow in their faith, the ability to challenge women without threatening them, and the enviable capacity to pull off sincere likability and a great hair style at the same time.

So, here's what I know come sundown....

I've got kind on the mind, and yearning for things to stay that way. Meantime, the place I didn't think I wanted to be is the very place God needed me to be to show me that yes, true love can be found anyplace where Jesus is. Even in the book of Revelation. :)

When Peeps Pray

Suzanne is a dental hygienist who loves to tease and joke about clean teeth and a healthy smile. Today marks Suzanne's 18th day in ICU, and she will undergo a surgical procedure at some point this morning. One of her friends came up with the idea of people praying for Suzanne each day while they brush their teeth. She would love that! It is a "cute" way of providing a blanket of prayer that is desperately needed and deeply felt.

Sometimes it feels scary to trust God with big things. Sometimes it is a relief to acknowledge a God who can accomplish infinitely more than my futile worrying ever could. God will continue to work on my feeble, human heart as I hand Him my whole new set of doubts and imperfections every single day. His mercies are new every morning, and He is present in every single moment of fear, sadness, confusion, hope, and happiness.

Sometimes we can take on life on one day at a time. Sometimes it is a half day at a time. Sometimes it is one doctor's report, or one prayer with a friend, or one surgery, or one breath at a time. However you are inching through life this morning, God is by your side. As for me this morning, I am going to continue to

B - brush

R - regularly

U - until

S - Suzanne

H - heals

...and I would be so grateful if you would join me.

...hope...

Hope is such an emotional gift. In the best of times, we hope for even better things to come. In the hard times, it is what fills our heart with the desire to see the next minute. Hope for a positive outcome; to see the desires of our hearts fulfilled. Faith assures us that God is sovereign. That He is in control, no matter what. That He is good, all of the time. Faith is what helps us understand that life is frail, that change charges in like a lion, but that we are not alone. Faith is an assurance that God's will be done.

But hope is what my human nature clings to. Hope is what begs for my will to be done. Hope is praying to God that things will work out exactly the way I want them to. Is it fine for a woman of faith to be a woman of hope? Sometimes hope feels like the raft that keeps us afloat. We hope for the best, for the happily ever after.

I'm in an ICU waiting room in Hot Springs, Arkansas with my Dad and his wife, who is on the critical care list with bacterial pneumonia. She is on a ventilator, but her vitals are holding strong. I'm here, fully aware that God holds Suzanne in the palm of His hand, that He loves her more than all the rest of us put together; but hoping like crazy that she will open her eyes, that she can hear our voices, and that she can feel our presence.

I have faith that God is right here, and that He has a plan. But to be honest, it is hope that keeps me going. I have a hope that His plan matches mine, and it feels good to invest everything I have - one moment after another - fully infused with hope.

If you are reading here today, I thank you for remembering Miss Suzanne in your prayers. I have faith that He hears them, and faith that He answers. And an infinite amount of hope that she gets better very soon.

Praying for Baby Harper

Kelly is one of my favorite bloggers. After years of infertility struggles, she welcomed baby Harper to the world last night. Harper has been airlifted to Tulsa, where she awaits bypass surgery and is suffering from pneumonia. Please pray for this sweet family today.