Month: October 2022

Broken Bones

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Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.  Psalm 51:8

King David wrote Psalm 51 after Nathan the prophet confronted him over his sin–of adultery and murder.

For some reason–this verse–Let the bones which You have broken rejoice—keeps sticking in my mind.

Have you ever wondered why bad things happen?  Could it be—that some bad things happen because God is getting our attention?

I don’t think David actually had any broken bones—but it was a metaphor.  Did you know that when a particular sheep keeps running away from the flock–the Shepherd will break the leg of the sheep, and then carry the sheep around His shoulders, until that sheep will bond with the Shepherd and stop running away.  

The Shepherd does this for the sake of that sheep–to protect that sheep from predators, and falling off cliffs, or going into a ravine–and He does this to protect the rest of the flock–because sheep have a tendency to stupidly follow each other–instead of the Good Shepherd.

The breaking of the bone–is a very drastic measure–and it usually happens after repeated events of going after the sheep in question.  

Lately, our family has been experiencing “broken bones”.  I say, “our family”, because when something bad happens to one person in the family–it affects the entire family.

I am also, looking around, and seeing “broken bones” in others in our community, in our nation, and in our world.

People are suffering.   Yet, I believe in the midst of the suffering–there can be rejoicing.

Why?   Because–we are so, so loved!!  We have a Father who loves us so much!! He sent Jesus to die for us–to save us from our sins. 

Jesus, the good Shepherd loves us so much, that He keeps going after us–time and time again.  If we continue to wander, He is willing to (metaphorically) break our bones, and drape us around His neck, and carry us–until we have bonded with Him, and can’t bear to be parted from Him ever again–and so remain in His presence for the rest of our journey here on this earth.  

 Sometimes the worst things that happen to us–like losing a child, or having addictions, or loss of any kind– these are the very things that show us the grace and love and strength of the Lord—–and they become mercies in disguise.

So let our broken bones–rejoice!!  We have a God who is not willing to leave us – but will get our attention, over and over again.  Our God loves us!!

Let us be encouraged!!

I’ll Build A Boat, by Colton Dixon

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I have been loving this song–and I wanted to share the song and the lyrics with you.  Would love to hear what you think of it….Colton Dixon – Build a Boat [Official Lyric Video]

…Lyrics to:  I’ll Build a Boat

 I’ve been wandering through the desert

Ain’t seen a cloud in forever over me

But I believe Your rain is coming, mm

Yeah, I’ve been hanging onto high hopes

‘Cause You’re the one who’s making dry bones come to life

You’re the light I put my trust in

… Every word You say is gonna come true

You will lead me to the promised land

Everything You say is gonna happen

Even though I haven’t seen it yet

… I will build a boat in the sand where they say it never rains

I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat in the desert place

And when the flood and the water starts to rise, yeah

I’ll ride the storm ’cause I got You by my side

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat, so let it rain

… You’re the map, You’re my compass

You help me navigate the currents underneath

Take the lead, I surrender

… Every word You say is gonna come true

You will lead me to the promised land

Everything You say is gonna happen

Even though I haven’t seen it yet

… I will build a boat in the sand where they say it never rains

I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat in the desert place

And when the flood and the water starts to rise, yeah

I’ll ride the storm ’cause I got You by my side

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat, so let it rain

I’ll build a boat, so let it rain

… I will build a boat in the sand where they say it never rains

I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat in the desert place

And when the flood and the water starts to rise, yeah

I’ll ride the storm ’cause I got You by my side

With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades

I’ll build a boat, so let it rain

October 21, 2022

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

This is the Thirteenth Year Since my Dad has passed–I wrote this letter to friends and family the Christmas after he passed, and I would like to share it again with you all.

Dear Family and Friends, Christmas 2009
This year, my siblings and I lost our Dad. Our mother lost her husband of 52 years. Many of you lost a brother, brother-in-law, uncle, Grandpa, cousin– a friend.
I’ve lived long enough to know that not all Dads were like mine. I was one of the lucky ones. I had a Dad who was involved and committed to his family: he loved his wife, children and grandkids. My Dad wasn’t one of the lucky ones. He overcame a very painful childhood. He wanted things to be different for his own family, and it was— in large part because of his faithful helpmate and soul mate—my dearest mother.
So many of my childhood memories involve my Dad doing things with us, taking us skating, sledding, camping, and swimming. When I was in High School I decided to join the track team– my Dad ran with me every day to get me in shape for the track season. My Dad was a great runner himself, and in many ways I think my Dad was trying to get me ready to run the race of life. We would run, and he would tell me stories, trying to impart his own passion and drive into my approach to running, into my approach to life.
It was my Uncle Jimmy, not my Dad, who told us the story of my Dad running in the State finals. He was the only white runner in the race. The other racers turned to him, and said, “Hey white boy, what are you doing in this race.” My Dad replied with a grin, “You’re about to find out”, and he went on to win the race.”
My brother Patrick summed it up so well, he said Dad has taught us and trained us in so many ways to live life. My brothers got to be with my Dad when he died, and Patrick said that Dad had one more lesson to teach them, he taught them how to die– he wrote the last chapter for them on how a life should be lived.
The biggest lesson my Dad taught me was to never give up. Our sins and failings may bring us down, but they don’t have to keep us down. My Dad was a man of faith; he learned to receive God’s forgiveness and extend it to others. This was not easy for him–sometimes the hardest person he had to forgive was himself.
The night that he died, I sensed my Dad’s presence, and he was so happy. My Dad came to say goodbye. He was finally going home—to his true home, he had finished his race, and he had finished it well.
Whenever I go to a funeral and see the body—I am struck with the fact that all of us are “living souls”. That is what the Bible calls us. It is so apparent to me that the soul of the person has passed on.
God is offering each of us “living souls” an eternal relationship with Him. He wants to give us the gift of His love and forgiveness. This is the true gift of Christmas— “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Romans 6:23 What we have earned is a spiritual death, because we have each sinned against God and each other. Instead of what we have earned, God desires to give us an eternal relationship with Him—Jesus’ death took away the penalty of that spiritual death and replaced it with life. But like any gift—it must be received for it to become truly ours.
In so many ways, my earthly father taught me this. I could never earn the love he freely gave me—but to experience that love, I had to receive it as the gift it was.

On another note–October 21st is my husband’s dad birthday!! I wrote about my husband’s dad in the blog titled September 23, 2013.

The biggest lesson, I have learned from both of these dads–is the lesson of forgiveness and perseverance. They both finished their races in life. They finished well. I think that is so encouraging, as it is a testimony of the faithfulness of God. We can be encouraged by those who have gone before us–for if God was faithful to them, He will be faithful to us!! (Philippians 1:6)

So Be Encouraged!!

My Blog Thoughts

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I came across this blog–titled “My Blog Thoughts” in my files–I wrote this over 3 years ago before I started my “Blog”.   I really liked it–it was a look into my heart and mind, and showed what God was putting in my heart and mind to do.  It shows that there are seasons to a person’s life, and I was aware that I was entering into another season of my life.  Anyway—Here is this blog–written over 3 years ago–I hope you enjoy it, and it encourages you.

I have told myself for some time that I would start writing, and today is the day, even if no one ever sees my writing, even if no one else ever cares.  I have wanted to write professionally for a long time.  I think I may have a gift for writing.  Many times, I write, and I wonder where the words came from—it’s as if they spring from my fingers to the page, my heart, not my head bringing them forth.

And I feel the same kind of awe that I experience when I hear a lovely song, or see a poignant picture.  I think artistic gifts awe me because I don’t intellectually understand them.  I don’t know how someone can compose a song, or paint a picture, or write a book.   (I can play the piano, but I can not compose).  I can draw a picture, but there is a big difference between my drawings and Leonardo de Vinci.    🙂

When we see or hear or read a master’s creation, there is a sense that we are seeing or hearing, or reading the work of God.  That the divine has reached down and touched us through this master.

(Now I am not claiming at all that I am a Master, far from it, but I do think that there is something spiritual about writing for me.  Because it is so clearly a gift—it would be as foolish for me to take credit for my writing, as it would to take credit for my blue eyes.)  However, there is also an element of work about writing—about practice—and having a voice and opinions and expressing them through writing.

That work of writing is what I need to see if I can do.  The day to day, I am going to write, I am going to practice, I am going to take one more step to the goal of becoming a professional writer.

I have been busy in the season of raising children, I’m still busy in that season, but that season will be coming to end before I know it, and the same voice that speaks through my fingers is also telling me to start a new season for my life—the season of being a writer.

So the big question—what do I write about?  What does this voice want me to express?  That too is easy—my life has been wrapped up into my children, and my husband, and I want to tell of what I’ve learned.  I want to tell you the value of letting my life be wrapped up in my family.  Not because my children are perfect, or are navigating life as God would want them to, nor because my marriage is perfect and we are living a fairy tale ending.  

No—because in spite of the results, (thus far), my family has been worth my life.  That is the bottom line—my family has been worth my life.  Just as God has deemed that I was worth dying for, and that you were worth dying for, my family has been worth my daily, sometimes moment by moment death to myself, as I have placed them over myself on a day by day basis.  (Have I done this perfectly?  No  In fact, if you talked to each of my children and husband, they could tell you, (if they were being honest), of all the ways I have failed to love them the way they wanted to be loved.

However, Love is not giving in to my child’s every whim.  Love is not being a doormat.  Love is not doing all the work in the home.  Love is not any of those things—it is about doing what is best for the other person—for their future character and development, for their ability to be prepared for their future life.  Therefore, my child may perceive that my actual loving act of requiring them to help with the dishes—to be an unloving act.  That’s ok.  As my mother used to say, “Someday, I’m going to have to stand before God and give an accounting for how I raised you.”  (I used to hate it when she said that, but that is true—I have to answer to God, and my child is not my God   )

There ends the thoughts from this blog–I think it is interesting that I said, God was moving me into the season of being a writer—because I now realize that when one becomes a parent, that parenting role will continue as long as I and my child are both alive.  However, it will change, and there will be an ability to do other things that before–because we chose to homeschool, I was not able to do. 

I am also well aware, that people will be tempted to look at my decisions about staying home with my children and homeschooling and think I am advocating these decisions for them. I am not–I am advocating that we all listen to God, step out in faith, and obey Him. It will look differently for each of us, according to the gifts, and faith God has given each of us.

Our God knows we are but dust, here today and gone tomorrow–and He has compassion on all us poor souls who take one step at a time, one day at a time–fumbling and making mistakes. Our God holds our hands, and He will not let us be hurled headlong on our path, but will keep picking us up. We have a good, good God who loves us beyond what we can think or imagine. He will not leave us alone in this calling of parenting, or whatever calling He has for us. He will never leave us or forsake us. So Be Encouraged!!

Difficult People

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Difficult People

Difficult People—Everyone has them–they are the people we find hard to love– hard to even be around,  They don’t mesh with our personalities.  They don’t get our jokes.  We sense that they don’t really like us either.   Or maybe, they like us too much, if you know what I mean. 

Difficult people–how do we navigate “difficult people”?

When I was in college, I was involved with a Christian group and I read a booklet called, “How to Love by Faith.”  It was about not relying on our feelings, but choosing to love and act out love, and relying on God to give us the ability to do this. This booklet was so helpful to me–you can click here to read it yourself.

However, in spite of having all this great information—there was a person in my life–that I found hard to like–in fact–  she was a difficult person for many people.  She was in a leadership position, and she used that position to bully people, not serve them.  I sensed that she did not have many friends.  She seemed to take joy in intimidating others.  She would verbally bully others to do her will.  

I have wondered over the years, why I found it so difficult to, “love her by faith”–why did my feelings keep winning in regards to her.

This is my breakthrough thought—it was because of how I felt about myself around her.  I felt powerless.  I felt like a victim.  I felt inadequate.  I felt……lesser than.

Why did I feel these things?   Because I was believing lies about myself—–lies that the father of lies is eager for all of us to believe—lies she was probably also believing about herself—

What are these lies?.

  1.  My value is based on my position, possessions, power or personal appearance.
  2. I have to be perfect to be loved.
  3. I’ll never really belong.

However, that is not what God says is true of me–

He says I am valuable:  “Look at the birds of the air, they do not reap or sow or gather into barns. Yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?” Matthew 6:26

“Indeed the very hairs on your head are numbered, do not fear, you are more valuable than many sparrows.”  Luke 12: 7

 God says I am loved:  “…the Son of God, who loved me and died for me.” Galatians 2:20b

 “….the love of God has been poured out in our hearts…..” Romans 5:5b

.

God says I belong, “ You belong to Christ…..” I Cor. 3:23a

“But you are a chosen race, a royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a people of God’s own possession…..”  1 Peter 2:9

  The Evil One would like me to believe that I am worthless, unloveable and worth rejecting and whether this person knew it or not, by the manner in which she treated people–she was conveying all those lies.

So, here is the real question, “Do I now love this person by faith?”  “Yes, I do!”  And it is fairly easy to do, because I never see her anymore!!  🙂  LOL

However, God has brought other ‘difficult’ people into my life–and because of my experience struggling to love her, I am able to love them, as I abide in Christ, and focus on Him and His truths.

Honestly, God’s love—it will transform our world!!

So Be Encouraged!!