Work in progress

Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.” (John 5:17)

Seems like every day I can “find” something to worry about. There are roadblocks to success. Obstacles to smooth completions of a task. Challenges along the way. Most are bumps in the road. Some things just aren’t a straight shot and you need to recalculate. You need to go to the Plan B. Or it may just take time.

But eventually things do get smoothed out.  Problems do get resolved. Prayer is answered. And then we “close the door” to that worry.

I stumbled across some old prayer journal pages of mine. Revisited several prayer requests I had of the Lord. And do you know what? They were all old news. Done. Over with. Resolved. Gone from my memory. I had shut the door. God stepped in time and time again. Yesterday’s concerns were no more.

Even today, this morning, I looked back at yesterday’s requests and I see movement. He is at work to this very day. God’s hand and heart are still at work in your life today.

Don’t believe me? Open the door to your prayer past. Take a look back and glory in all He has done. And resolve to have confidence in Him for this day as well.

Stirring up ... LOVE

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

(The following is something that happened to me several years ago but has a timeless message. These are notes I had for a talk I once gave about transforming our environment.)

I remember one Christmas

I’m at the grocery store, 12 items or less lane

Cashier runs out of $1 bills

Asks man ahead of me to step aside

And she’ll have the rest of his change for him in a moment

Man becomes irate / complaining / demanding / belittling

Young cashier trying to maintain her composure

I’m praying for patience – not get caught up in his negativity

As I step back, to wait for the rest of my change

I see the other people

   Arms crossed

   Toes tapping

   Muttering under their breath

His dramatic behavior has influenced the others in line.

Finally, the $1 bills come.

I head out to my truck, patting myself on the back

Thank You, God, for patience

I didn’t add to the problem.

But as I put the key in the ignition,

the LORD said to me,

“Why didn’t you write on the ground with your finger?”

Why didn’t I….?

…the adulterous woman!

Do you remember the bible story of the adulterous woman?

Allow me to take you back –

to a different time / place

It is dry and dusty

There, a crowd very much like this one, has gathered.

And Jesus is giving a talk.

But a group of angry men break in

Pushing / shoving a scantily-clad woman to the front

in front of everyone.

A demanding voice is raised:

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery!

What should we do with her?

The trembling, embarrassed young woman lifts her head up

and looks at Jesus

Jesus looks… into her eyes…

and stoops down to write on the ground with His finger.

And all eyes turn from the woman to see what He is doing.

And now… get back in line at the grocery store.

Another crowd.

Another demanding voice.

Another trembling, embarrassed young woman.

But where is Jesus?

… the woman lifted her head up… and looked at me…

If I could go back…

the woman would look at me

And I… an ambassador of Christ… would look her in the eyes

-      And comment how thankful I was that the storm let up so I could finish my last minute shopping

-      To the elderly couple next in line:

“Isn’t it something that after all these years, you can still get a ponyride at this store - and for a penny?”

-      I would ask the children behind them:

“What is at the top of your Christmas list, little ones?”

and OH, how their faces would light up in the telling!

-      I would express my amazement at still being able to find my favorite Christmas candy – those big, soft, chewy mints with the tree on the side

-      And does anybody really eat those big chunks of ribbon candy?

And the time would have passed by quite differently.

It’s not enough to “just not get caught up" in the negative behavior unfolding.

You need to take hold of that moment.

That environment

So others may encounter

The loving, the compassionate presence of JESUS.

Swing low ... swing high!

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Who doesn't remember the pure joy of getting into a swing and swaying up and down and back again? One look at the face of a child at the playground and you'll know! It's one thing that truly allows you to get lost in the moment. When you're on a swing, the only thing that matters is going up, then down ... and up again. Arms outstretched; legs a-pumpin'. And you don't have to be a child to experience this special form of freedom. I remember visiting my mom in the hospital and my two sisters and I went across the street to the park and its swings. US! In our late forties - early fifties! What laughter! What joy! What a moment of ... just ... swinging ...

Are you tired? Has life been too serious for too long? Don't feel guilty for stepping away from life's trials, burdens, and responsibilities. Right there in Matthew 11:28, Jesus encourages us to take a break. To lay your burdens down at His feet and enjoy the rest He offers. Time to take hold of Him, with both hands, lean back, arms extended, and enjoy the giddy sense of relief He offers. You are invited to get lost in His love.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (1Peter 5:7)

So, common! Let's go to the park!

Email Updates

In an effort to streamline things, I figured out how to add an email subscription box to my blog. It is a white rectangle to the right. There you can enter your own email address and it will automatically send you the most recent post whenever I write one.

THIS WILL BE IN LIEU OF ME SENDING A GROUP MESSAGE TO SO MANY OF YOU. If you don't sign up through this new method, you will not receive updates as to when something new is there.

to the right you will see the white rectangular box - type in your email address and hit SUBMIT

to the left, a message will come up for you to type in some letters

you will then receive an email confirming you really want to receive updates on Intermissions for Hope - you need to click on something on that email to confirm

Please let me know if you have any questions, certainly if you have any problems signing up.
juliecrane.57@att.net

Sorry for the inconvenience of this, but I think it will alleviate the computer problems I've been having.

As always, thank you and may God bless!

Julie

It's safe to trust and believe

 <sup>Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. (John 14:11)



A friend was recently sharing about a book she was reading about refugees trying to get to the States. Sounds like the book goes into great detail of the horrible conditions they were leaving; the horrible conditions they endure to get here ... never enough food, water, or clothing. I would dare to say that for most of us, if we did go without, it was not for very long and we probably had a credit card in our pocket for just such a emergency. We truly can not imagine a reality of "there isn't any - anywhere - for you."

And I know for many foster / adopting families, when a child comes from a place of similar experience of not enough, these children will stuff themselves, or hide and hoard food in dresser drawers, closets, and under beds. They truly don't know, can't imagine, can't believe that more food will always be there.

As I write this, I think about where my heart lies when it comes to trusting God and believing He will provide. Seriously, hasn't He provided a way through a zillion things in my life? Yet somehow, I get nervous and doubt about a current situation. Will He be there again? This time too?

Just as the foster / adoptive parent wants this child to trust and believe in the promise of provision for this day and the next, so your heavenly Father asks the same of you.

Don't doubt. Just believe.
Jehovah Jireh - God our Provider</sup>

Things made better ... in 1,2,3

 

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Exodus 34:6-7)

Disagreements happen. With spouse, family, friends or co-workers … there are times when we know “we are right and they are wrong”. Anger, frustration and “unlovely thoughts” take a stand. It happens to all of us. My husband has come to me in the past and said, “Will you forgive me in three minutes … or three hours?” He knows, that with me, it sometimes takes a little time. Yes, I will eventually forgive people. But I also admit there are times when I like “a good mad”. I relish those “I am right” thoughts and imagine all sorts of consequences to the one daring to not agree. Oh, but how quickly that slippery slope of unlovely thinking morphs into my whole nature turning ugly. Pride. Arrogance. Wanting to linger over this poisonous attitude. Wow! That’s not the kind of person I want to be!

So I forgive. Things get smoothed out in most cases and loving behavior is restored. Whether it takes three minutes or three hours really boils down to what kind of person I want to be. What kind of person do I want others to experience? No matter if they have asked for forgiveness or not, whether they deserve it or not - in the end what kind of character do I want to reflect? For whatever you hang on to has a way of growing; intensifying.

Choose to reflect God’s character.

Choose to let love grow.

Make things better, not worse.

Carry on

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. (2 Corinthians 4:7 MSG)

I am trying to get back to drawing and designing note cards. For too long I have let doubts and fears of not being good enough hold me down. In my prayer times, the topic of drawing keeps coming up. So I must push through the obstacles of being somewhat imperfect …

… because you see, we are all imperfect. We all have flaws. But God still loves us, accepts us, even uses us! How many of us wait and wait for some sort of perfectionism of our selves before we allow God to use us? When it isn’t about the clay pot container at all, but about the Light of Love of Christ within!

So I created this fall quilt design. In black and white pencil form it looked pretty good. But as I started coloring it in, I noticed I had two pumpkins side by side. And then, when almost finished, I see three apples in a row too! How disappointing! Not balanced at all. Not perfect. After all that work … it belongs in the scrap pile.

But it’s going to be the message inside that will be more impactful. It’s going to be the Light and the Love of Jesus sent by the simple, “Taking a moment to think of you” that is the real treasure.

So I didn’t destroy this imperfect card design. May it be a lesson learned. Jars of clay are acceptable to God – we are accepted by God, just as we are. And can be used by God right where we are. By God’s grace, we are capable of carrying His message.

Don’t wait for yourself to be perfect or good enough. Send out that message of God’s love to someone today.

Be a carrier!

Ready for a Better Way

 And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

For many of us, when stress or conflict strikes, our immediate response may be to run to the fridge, or the local bar, or grab a cigarette. And there are programs offered that address these types of unhealthy impulses – usually with some sort of pre-planning of an alternate “better way” behavior. You learn to recognize the alarm, the red flag, and are prepared in advance … because you desire the better way to the best outcome.

When you hear a train whistle, especially when you are right near the tracks, it is really loud! You have learned the most responsible, healthy response. It is a well – established, pre-planned best and “only” option for the best outcome. Stop when you hear the whistle and the guard rails come down at the crossing.

The same is true for a tornado siren. You have already learned, thought out, decided, and chosen the best place to go for protection, the better way – in advance. You have pre-planned and are ready at a moment’s notice for whenever that siren might go off.

The same needs to be true for heaven’s final trumpet blast. Have you thought this out as well? Do you feel prepared for whenever it might go off? What do you need to do now to be prepared for then? What is the better way? The best outcome? And who do you know that needs to be made aware before the alarm is sounded?

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved … (Acts 16:31)

The Lord points the way - to immeasurably more

Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

A new direction. Post cancer, post vacation. I finally settled down to seek the Lord for a new or refreshed calling. I listed all kinds of options. The one He calls me to – is drawing. Some of you know I have done this in the past. Without a whole lot of success in selling them as blank note cards. I didn’t do it to bring in money but to encourage people to let others know they are remembered through thick and thin. But it never really took off – call it the changing of the times if you will. Who does much snail mail anymore, right? So my interest in spending time drawing waned because I couldn’t see a purpose. And yet, God seems to be calling me to pursue again that very thing.

So, as I prayerfully sat to listen to God and heard Him speak this idea to me, for some strange reason I got up and selected a devotional book I’d been given years ago but never read. And there on the very first page it talks about giving real help; creating whatever you can and to use your special gifts to help our fellow human beings. It went on to share a story of a woman who designed t-shirts and sold them to earn money to give to flood victims.

Why would that story come to me now? After years on a shelf?

So I am pursuing what the Lord has dropped into my lap. I think I will establish a fund for a different charity each month – some worthy cause – and give all but one dollar to it for each card order I receive. And watch the Lord do some unimaginable thing …

Now, I need some thoughts, suggestions, feedback on what charities to consider. Please help me out. You can send a comment below. Just click on top of the word comment printed in red ink, then you’ll see a white box to type your suggestion in, under that it will say “select profile”. If you don’t have a google account, the drop down menu offers “anonymous” so your comment can be posted. Then hit the publish button. Thank you everybody! And as always, may God bless!