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God’s Goodness and My First Haboob

August 14, 2018

I love God’s intricate timing. Sometimes I end up late somewhere when I thought I’d left home in plenty of time, or I make an accidental wrong turn. Then later I learn my “mistake” kept me from a dangerous situation. In Psalm 37:23 we are told, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” When we commit our day to God, He’ll see that we’re always in the right place at the right time.

One bright, sunny 108° afternoon I went for a nice cool walk in the air-conditioned mall near my home. Walking my usual route, as I passed the entrance to Dillard’s department store, I noticed a pretty shirt I hadn’t seen before. “Lord,” I said, “if that would be a good thing for me, please remind me of it before I leave the mall.” I was almost to the escalator when I remembered the shirt, so I walked back to the store, grabbed one in each of two likely sizes, and proceeded to the fitting room.

Neither of them looked right. Surprised that God had drawn my eye to something, then reminded me to try it on, when I wouldn’t be able to use it, I hung the shirts back on the rack and headed to the mall exit. Outside the door, the air around me was brown. Dust. I was enveloped in dust. The air was perfectly still as if that dust was a natural part of the air.

As a new Arizona resident, I’d heard of the desert dust storms called haboobs, but had never experienced one. I walked to my car through the eerily still brown air. Just as I opened the door, the wind started. By the time I’d turned on the engine and fastened my seat belt, debris and palm tree parts were beginning to fly around me.

Still not realizing the severity of the storm, I drove out of the parking lot and turned onto the main street. It was like driving in a blizzard, except everything was brown instead of white, and the road wasn’t slippery. Visibility was limited, but I was on a familiar street and less than two miles from home. Then the rain came, and what a rain it was! Drops as big as quarters hit my windshield. Tiny hailstones pinged against my car.

When I arrived at the gate to my “park” (55+ gated community) the stoplight wasn’t working, due to a power outage. Rain continued to pour by the bucketful, and water rushed down the sides of the streets, but the wind had slowed down. I continued through the park, about a mile from the gate to my home, driving through rivers of water and around trees and piles of debris lying in the road.

When I arrived at my condo, I was thankful that unlike the stoplight at the entrance, my home — including my garage opener — had electricity. Safely home at last!

Later I learned I had driven through the edge of a haboob, which had been followed by a microburst. The microburst had torn through our park, knocking down trees and tearing apart all kinds of vegetation. It also ripped out two of my window screens, dumped over some large flowerpots on my patio, and tore one barrel from the barrel cactus in my front yard.

It was some time before I realized if I hadn’t stopped to try on those shirts, I would have been driving through the park right when debris was flying and trees were falling, instead of out on the main road where all I had to contend with was rain. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). I had been protected from serious danger and safely delivered home. Once again I had experienced God’s goodness in everyday life.

Have you had a similar experience of protection due to God’s timing where you didn’t realize till later what had happened? I would love to hear about it.

I Want to Be Fat!

July 7, 2018

I want to be fat! You’re probably surprised to hear me say this if you know me at all. In my adult years I’ve probably been on one diet or another more of the time than not, and am still seeking the right balance in my life regarding food and exercise. I do not enjoy being overweight.

However, in my spiritual life I want to be F-A-T: Faithful, Available, and Teachable. This acronym has apparently been in use for a long time, but I never heard it till a friend shared it with me recently. God can use a person who is this kind of FAT to accomplish His Kingdom purposes.

Faithful: The dictionary defines faithful as “constant, stable, dependable, and steadfast.” One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 37:3-4. In the NASB it reads, “Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness; Delight yourself also in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit. I believe when we’re born again we receive this fruit in seed form. As we grow in the Lord, the fruit develops in us. We’re not born naturally faithful, but as with all the fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness is in us, and it’s our responsibility to cultivate it—water, nourish, and protect it.

Available: I’ve heard people say that God is not looking for ability, but availability. When we make ourselves available to God, He gives us the ability to do what He’s called us to do. Many times the person most able to do a job is not available when needed, so God will use and empower someone else. 1Peter 3:15 admonishes us to “be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us.” To be available, and ready, we must continually monitor our use of time to be sure we’re not too busy with things either God hasn’t called us to do, or whose seasons have passed. Pulling out weeds is an important part of cultivating.

Teachable: Many believers are faithful and available, but God still can’t use them as effectively as he wants to because they’re not teachable. 1Corinthians 8:2 tells us, “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” This may seem discouraging, but it’s really just saying there is always more to know. Reading and meditating on the Word of God is like peeling back layers of an onion and never reaching the center. To be truly usable we must keep our hearts and minds open, and pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17). By allowing new wisdom and revelation to refresh the knowledge we already have, we enable ourselves to grow and flourish.

I’ve found that an “I already know that” attitude can sometimes keep me from hearing what God is trying to teach me in the current moment or situation. Assuming we already know is arrogance. Amazingly, we can learn from people who know less than we do. If we reject the message because we think we know more than the messenger does, we might miss out on something important that God is trying to show us. In other words, no matter how available the other person may be, in order to receive, we must be teachable.

In the food realm, there are “good fats” and “bad fats.” In the spiritual realm, this is also true. The bad kind of fat is: Flaky, Arrogant, and Too busy. I don’t want that attitude. I don’t want to be that kind of fat. So, I praise God that according to Philippians 1:6 He is at work in me, helping me become His kind of FAT: Faithful, Available, and Teachable.

Fish Out of Water

October 12, 2017

A little fish came to the wise old big fish with a question that was troubling him. ”Okay,” he said, ”I understand sand. I can see it below me. I know about rocks, and how to hide among them. And I know what plants are. But where’s this ocean everybody’s always talking about?”

Because the fish was in the ocean, and a part of it, he had no awareness of the water in and around him. I remember being surprised at the stillness around me the first time I went up in a hot air balloon. There was a breeze – there had to be, or we wouldn’t have been able to move sideways. Yet there was no sensation of air moving around us. Like the fish not being able to sense the water, we had become one with the moving air.

If that little fish had somehow managed to jump out of the water, he would very quickly have recognized what he was missing. He would not survive very long out of his native element. He was created to breathe underwater.

Do you ever have days, or longer periods of time, where you feel like a fish out of water, gasping to catch your spiritual breath? This happens to me when I miss my quality time with God in the morning. Oh, I may spend time “in the chair,” but I realize my thoughts haven’t been focused on God. My attitude is “off.” I feel out of touch. Things I usually enjoy have become a struggle.

I know God’s presence hasn’t left me. He has promised He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). He is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Though I know this, I feel unable to perceive His presence. I’m like that little fish: where is this presence of God everyone is talking about?

Of course, recognizing there’s a problem is the first step in solving it, so once I realize I’m not experiencing the fullness of joy that comes with really being present with Him (Psalm 16:11), the next step is to readjust my thinking. I talk to God about my bouncing thoughts. I compel myself to focus by reading the Bible out loud instead of to myself. I make sure to take moments throughout the day to realign my thoughts with the Word of God. Sometimes I stick post-it notes with verses where I’ll be sure to see them.

When I’m trying to focus on God, distracting thoughts are almost certain to intrude. They may be good thoughts, useful thoughts, reminders of things I need to do, or even ideas for writing topics. But at the moment they’re distractions. Instead of worrying that I’ll forget them, I jot them down to take care of later and get right back to focusing on God.

How comforting to find myself once again swimming freely through my activities, enjoying each thing as I do it. I love the assurance that God’s goodness and mercy are following me (Psalm 23:6), and I am right where he wants me to be – “back in the water.”

Deer Encounter: A Colorado Adventure

July 11, 2017

I turned onto Highway 24, coming from Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, CO and heading west toward Dawn of Hope Ranch where I was staying. After four days of conferences, the route was familiar. As I left the evening session the moon shed little light on the road. I considered turning on the brights, but there was too much oncoming traffic.

The speed limit sign said 60, so I set the cruise control at 58 and was rolling along. I was challenged by the message at the conference and knew I needed to pray about it. I told God I needed to focus on driving right now but would process it with Him when I got to my room. I was thinking about His goodness when Bam! Something hit the right side of my car. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a brief glimpse of a deer sliding out of sight.

My first response was, ”Oh my gosh, I just hit a deer!” Then I asked, ”Lord, what should I do?”

”Keep going. Get back to the ranch.” That was a 12-mile drive, the last 5 miles of which were dirt roads I hadn’t been fond of even in the daylight with a 100% functional car, but I kept going. At the next stoplight, a streetlight revealed that the hood was pushed up a bit, and something slid off the car. I heard metal hit the pavement.

I continued toward the ranch, praising God, thanking Him I wasn’t hurt, and declaring scriptures such as ”The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His Word, heeding the voice of His Word,” and I am convinced that angels were responding to the voice of His Word as I spoke it forth.

I breathed a sigh of relief upon entering the driveway to the ranch. When I stopped the car, I heard pieces fall to the ground. I glanced at the damage before making my way into the building. “Hmmm – This is worse than I thought! Thank you, Lord, for getting me here safely.”

I made the necessary phone calls. Some of the other guests heard what had happened and gathered around to pray for me. Then I went to bed. The next morning I went out to take a picture of the car. I was amazed I’d been able to get all the way to the ranch. The headlight was completely gone. I had driven all that way with only the left headlight and the right fog light.

As the tow truck driver pulled the car onto the flatbed, pieces kept falling off. Shattered headlight glass along the side of the road marks the spot where the accident occurred. Colossians 1:17 says that God holds all things together. I know an angel was holding that car together for me.

I’ve been facing my upcoming move from Illinois to Arizona with a bit of trepidation. Although it’s very exciting, it’s a big step and a little scary. But all my fear and worry is gone now. If God can get a completely undriveable car to the ranch, He can get me to Arizona with all pieces intact. He can and He will.