I’m lovin’ Richard J. Foster’s book, Life With God. In particular, the section about the importance of Spiritual Disciplines.  ‘Spiritual Disciplines’ might sound like a spiritual hoity-toity, no-fun-at-all religious term. But what it actually means is the many and varied ways we come before God: fasting and prayer, study and service, submission and solitude, confession and worship, meditation and silence, simplicity, frugality, secrecy, sacrifice, celebration, and the like.

Why is it so important to come before God by way of a spiritual discipline?  Because we cannot, by direct effort, make ourselves into the kind of people who can live full alive to God.  Only God can accomplish this in us.  Only God can incline our hearts to Him.  Only God can reprogram the deeply ingrained habit patterns of sin that constantly predispose us toward evil and transform them into even more deeply ingrained habit patterns of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

A Spiritual Discipline is an intentionally directed action by which we do what we can do in order to receive from God the ability (or power) to do what we cannot do by direct effort.

Spiritual Disciplines in and of themselves have no power whatsoever.  Their purpose - and their only purpose - is to place us before God. Then the grace of God steps in and takes this simple offering of ourselves and creates out of it the kind of person who embodies the goodness of God.  This is the process God uses to produce in us the kind of person who reflects His character to a broken and hurting world.

Thanks again, Mr. Foster.  Great stuff!

As  a contributing author to the Faith Deployed website, I was recently interviewed by it’s founder, Jocelyn Green. Her website is a fabulous resource for military spouses seeking information, hope and encouragement.  Do check it out:  faithdeployed.com  In the meantime, here is the interview.  Please pardon me for allowing this post to be ‘all about me.’  You’ll discover I’m really not much different than you…just a recipient of God’s undeserved amazing grace.

1)     How many years have you been an Air Force wife? 23

2)     In what ways does it get easier with time to be a military wife?

When we first came in the Air Force, I was horrified when I was told my husband would probably have to do a year-long ‘remote’ tour. Just the thought of being apart from him for such a long time made me a nervous wreck. But as time went on, his TDY’s got longer and longer. We were able to gradually get used to being apart from one another. By the time we had been in the AF for ten years, he actually volunteered for a remote assignment so my son and I could stay in one place during my son’s high school years. I NEVER envisioned us making such a decision when he first became active duty. But when the time came, it was a very easy decision to make.

In what ways does it stay the same or get harder?

For me, the moving has always been the hardest part of military life. Accessible houses are always more difficult to find. Our choices are much fewer than everyone else’s. After 36 years of using a wheelchair for mobility, it’s getting physically harder for me to unpack all those boxes and put things away. YET, with each move, God has shown Himself faithful and has ALWAYS provided exactly what I have needed. I have experienced God in ways most people have not. My faith has grown much stronger as a result of all of our moving.

3)      As you mentor newer military wives, what do you try to impress upon them? In other words, what are the most important lessons they should grasp as soon as possible?

I think the most important concept for them to grasp is that they are complete in Christ. It’s Christ who makes us complete, not necessarily our husbands. When we find our value, security and significance in Christ, we can love our husbands more unconditionally and support them in their military career.

4)    What tips do you have for adapting to changes that always come?

Life is all about change. Nothing remains the same forever, especially for women. Usually, most of us perceive change as a loss. But God is a God of new beginnings. He’s always doing new, exciting things in our lives. We will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all our heart. When we hold on to the past and refuse to let go, we miss what He’s doing right now.

5)     Do you still get lonely? How do you deal with that?

I think we live in a culture that is plagued with loneliness. Yes, I still get lonely, even when my husband is home. Women have a deep need for meaningful relationships with one another. And when we don’t feel as though we have that in our lives, we get very lonely. At each new assignment, I pray that God will show me someone with whom I can make a connection. For me, it must be a spiritual connection that’s rooted in Christ and share my passion for the things of God. God has been more than generous and has given me life long fiends throughout the years.

6)    Tell us about your involvement with PWOC. What can military wives gain from being involved in a chapter?

I have been involved with PWOC on many different levels throughout the years. From a regional president to writing Bible studies specifically designed to meet the needs of the women in this group, PWOC has been the ministry through which God has called me to serve. Military wives have much to gain from becoming involved in their local PWOC. With Bible study being the core of this group, women have multiple opportunities to grow spiritually while developing those close relationships that are so important to us as women. Being able to connect with other military women on this level is what sustains us while our husbands are gone. Being involved in the leadership of PWOC allows women to use their gifts and talents to serve others, making their time at each location filled with purpose and meaning. For many women, their involvement in PWOC has meant the difference between thriving and simply surviving not just a deployment, but the entire time the are at their duty assignment.

7)     What are your favorite Bible studies to recommend to military wives?

I can’t really recommend any specific study or studies. Different Bible studies minister to different people at different times. The most important thing is that you are taking a Bible study. God is going to speak to you through His word, regardless of which Bible study you’re taking. Just be open and ready to receive what God has for you. Allow scripture to transform your inner self – the place of thought, feeling, will and character. Learn to read the word so that it changes you, instead of you changing it to fit your needs.

8)      Have you made any mistakes as a military wife that you have learned from which you can share?

When I found out about our assignment in Tucson, AZ, I was mortified. All of our friends and family are in the East, so I was devastated to think we’d be so far away from them. I’m sure my claw marks are still imbedded into the interstate roads leading west, as my husband literally had to drag me along behind him. Once we got to AZ, I was even angrier. I could not see my family without buying expensive plane tickets. I cried for the first six months we were there. In between my anger and my tears, God began to show me that he had a plan for me being there. I gradually began to surrender my anger and slowly embraced what I felt He had called me there to do. The more I saw Him working, the more excited I became about being at that location. By the time we left two years later, God had given me a productive and effective ministry, 4 wonderful life-long friends and to this day, Tucson is our most favorite assignment. Lesson learned? God is God of the assignment system. Even if our assignments are not where we think we want to go, I’ve learned to go with an open mind and an open heart to what God has planned for us.

9)    As a paraplegic, you have had to overcome more challenges than most of us can imagine. And yet I know you invest so much time ministering to the needs of others. What is the importance of focusing your attention outside of yourself and your own circumstances?

God doesn’t call perfect people, He calls those whose hearts are perfect towards Him. I’m living proof that God can use anyone,regardless of your physical circumstances. Even with a physical disability, I feel very strongly that God has called me to do certain things. Nothing gives me more joy than being obedient and doing what God has called me to do, whether it’s writing a Bible study, serving breakfast to the poor and homeless or babysitting for a special needs child so that a weary mother can have some time to herself. There’s nothing joyfulor fulfilling about being inwardly focused, in fact, it just causes us to feel even emptier which leads to deeper despair. It’s a vicious cycle.When we’re inwardly focused, we cannot be God’s hands and feet reaching outward, being fruitful and effective for His glory.

Life With God by Richard Foster is really good!  Here is just one small excerpt from another contributing author:

Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son.      Eugene Peterson

We have a spiritual life that needs food just as our physical bodies need food.  But the goal of reading Scripture is not to simply fill us up.  It’s to lead us to greater love: to greater appropriation of God’s love for us and for us to have a greater love for God and others. To read Scripture for any other purpose means that we are trying to control what comes out of it rather than letting it control what comes out of us.

Oooooooh!  Great stuff, Richard.  Thank  you!

I can’t wait to begin reading the newest book in my library:  Life With God by Richard Foster.  Here is a quote from the jacket cover.

As we read Scripture, we should consider how exactly God is with us in each story and allow ourselves to be spiritually transformed.  By opening our whole selves - mind, body, spirit, thoughts, behavior, and will- to the page before us, we begin to grasp all the Bible has to teach us about prayer, obedience, compassion, virtue, and grace and apply it to our everyday lives to achieve a deeper relationship with God.   Life With God is an indispensable guide to approaching the Bible through the lens of Christian spiritual formation, revealing that reading the Bible for interior transformation is a far different endeavor than reading the Bible for historical knowledge, literary appreciation, or religious instruction.

Anyone care to join me?  I’m sure I’ll be blogging about it.  Would love to hear your thoughts.

Are there any more comforting or reassuring words than of those of our Heavenly Father when He tells us, ” I will be with you?”  I don’t think so.  At least not to me.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  (Isaiah 43:2)

I just returned home after going to North Carolina to take my mom to her first Chemotherapy treatment - the first of a series of six.  This was a first time experience of this sort for both of us, so there were lots of unknown’s as we embarked upon this journey.  We just took it one step at a time, one lab at a time, one clinic at a time.  It was a grueling day followed by an overnight stay in the hospital.  She had a port-a-cath inserted prior to her treatment - a lot for anyone to endure at one time.

My mom was taken care of by a wonderful nursing staff and excellent doctors. God reveals himself to us in many different ways. We clearly saw Him through the kind and compassionate outpouring of support from everyone at the hospital.  Sadly, the entire floor of the women’s oncology wing was full that night.  She is clearly not alone in her battle against this disease.

Do you need to know God is with you today?  He is, my friend. He is. For us it’s cancer, for you it might be something else.    He promises to never leave or forsake us, especially when the going gets tough.  So be encouraged. You’re not alone. You may be walking through the fire, but you will not get burned.  God is with you.

Anyone in waiting mode beside me?  I love this quote by John Piper.

The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.

Delays and detours….I’m not really a fan of either!  But I am convinced that it’s the delays and detours that build our faith and strengthen our walk!  Delays and detours are not all bad.  Perhaps God wants to give you an additional bonus blessing and He can only do it by way of a detour and a delay.  Enjoy the detour and savor each moment of the delay.   If God had given you what He promised right off the bat, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to build the meaningful relationships you’ve built during your delay.  Perhaps God wanted you in a certain place to be a help to someone else who was hurting.  More than likely, our delays and detours are not about ourselves, but other people. For the time being, God needed you elsewhere.

At just the right time, God will reward you with the prize for which you’ve been waiting.  And when you look back, you’ll be thankful for the delays and detours, because without them, you will have missed out on the richness of His bonus blessings.  And remember, the longer the delay, the sweeter the prize.

I love the way God works!

The pictures and the reports are simply staggering.  Human suffering and devastation like we’ve not seen before.  Bodies lined up in the streets.  People screaming and moaning from the rubble of fallen buildings.  People living in make–shift tents, aimlessly wandering around looking for someone to help there, but there is no help in sight.

Totally beyond my ability to make sense out of all this, I find some understanding as I read the Bible.  Matthew 24:6-8, 14 tells us to expect such things. “When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic.  This is routine history; this is no sign of the end.  Nation will fight nation and ruler will fight ruler, over and over.  Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places.   This is nothing compared to what is coming….Staying with it (your faith) - that’s what God requires.  Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved.  All during this time, the good news - the Message of the kingdom - will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country.  And then the end will come.”

I just completed a study of Daniel where there is much prophecy about the end of the world as we know it.  There will come a time of such human suffering, more than what has ever been seen or imagined.  And we’ve seen some pretty horrible suffering, as evidenced by the effects of the Haiti earthquake.  I cannot imagine things any worse, but Scripture says it is so.  “There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until now. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered.” (Daniel 12:1)

What do we do during times like this?  Stay with our faith, reach out and help the hurting as best we can, showing them the love of God.  The Haitians need to know God has not forgotten them and that the world feels their pain. This can be a time of great witnesses to them, a time when God is spoken about all over the world.  It might be a time of a great awakening to spiritual things for many people, and not just the Haitians.  For those who do not know Jesus, perhaps this will be a time of turning to Him. That is our hope and ultimate prayer for all people.

And what about you?  Do you know Jesus?  There will come a time that is much worse for humanity than the current earthquake. It will be on a much larger scale and effect even  more people. But Scripture says that those whose name is written in the book will be delivered.  They will be spared the worst of it. I pray your name is there, my friend.  Is it?

Oh my.  Have you ever seen such devastation?  The images alone tell the story.  Human suffering on a level beyond which  most of us can comprehend, especially as we sit in the comfort of our homes and workplaces.  My heart is hurting so much for these people.  How can we help?

Here is a list of Disaster Relief and Non-governmental Organizations.

American Red Cross International Response Fund:  redcross.org

Action Against Hunger: actionagainsthunger.org

Mercy Corps: donate.mercycorp.org

Operation Blessing International: community.ob.org

Project Hope: projecthope.org

Salvation Army: salvationarymusa.org

United Nations World Food Program:  wfp.org

Yele: yele.org

Faith-based Organizations

American Jewish World Service: ajws.org

Baptist Global Response: baptistglobalresponse.com

Catholic Relief Services: crs.org

Christian Aid Ministries: networkforgood.org

Compassion International: compassion.com

Samaritan’s Purse: samaritanspurse.org

World Vision: worldvision.org

Please consider making a donation to the organization of your choice.  And keep these precious people in your prayers.  “Continue to remember the poor.” (Gal. 2:10)

Has God made you a promise that has yet to be fulfilled? Are you plum give out from waiting and wondering when it’ll ever happen?  Are you weary and worn down from staying alert and watchful for any glimmer of hope that what has been promised will indeed take place?

Welcome to my world…..and Abraham’s!  In my study on faith today, I was reminded of several things.  When it comes to God fulfilling His promises, there are five ways we can always say never.  I am once again inspired to keep on keeping on. If Abraham could wait for 25 years for his promise to be fulfilled, I guess I can wait a while longer for mine.

Lessons learned from Abraham’s faith walk:

1.  God is never in a hurry.

2. We’re never too old to do what He has called us to do.

3. God never forgets to make good on His promises, no matter how long it takes.

4.  Never assume God is not working when you don’t see Him, feel Him or hear Him.

5. Never give up!

There you go, my friends…five great ways to always say never!

I love reading through The Message.  The words used and the phrases penned always seem to bring clarity to the portion of Scripture I am studying.  This morning I read from 1 Timothy 2:10 where Paul continues to instruct  Timothy as to how believers, in this verse women, should live.

And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

As I read through this again, my heart is heavy at how we’ve distorted our definition of beautiful from God’s definition of beautiful.  We have put so much emphasis on what we look like on the outside; how we dress, how we wear our hair (or in my case, the color of my hair!),  how our faces look (heaven forbid we have a wrinkle or two), what accessories do we have to complete our outfits?  I’m all for trying to look nice, stylish and put together, but what bothers me is our tendency to overdo it.

By God’s definition, what makes us beautiful is not what we look like on the outside, but rather,  how we actually spend our time.  Do we use our time seeking after selfish pursuits from which we alone will benefit or do we use our time to serve others?  Do we wake up asking ourselves, ‘How can I do something beautiful for God today?’  I don’t know about you, but the times I feel the most beautiful are the times I am doing something for someone else.  I can be all dressed up and still feel empty inside if all I am focusing on is myself.

I want to become more beautiful this year.  As I write this, I am starving from cutting my calorie intake to a mere 1500 calories per day in an attempt to fit into my clothes a little bit better.  But ultimately, this is not the kind of beauty I want to achieve.  I want to become more beautiful by doing more for God.  I want to make a more assertive effort to help the poor and needy in my community.  It’s very cold outside right now.  We’re supposed to have some snow by tomorrow morning. I’m sure there are people all over my town who are cold and need shelter.  ‘How can I help?’ is the cry of my heart this year.

Will you become more beautiful with me and commit to doing something good for God this year?  There are so many people with so many needs. Let’s ask God to show us where He wants us to help Him and how He would like us to serve.  This is a prayer I know He’ll answer.  And my friends, think how beautiful we’ll become!  Hollywood and it’s stars won’t have a thing over us!!  Let’s do it, shall we?