F A S T E.R.

This is a literal description of my day. I’ll start with the “fast.” Yesterday I began a 21 day FAST. There are many things I am believing God for and I am seeking HIS heart on many others, so I decided to do the 21 day Daniel Fast (mostly fruits and vegetables, with a few other things). Yesterday was rough, I didn’t plan this out too well and going off a “word of mouth” list of what you can and can’t eat, left me feeling very limited in my meal choices. Actually, I probably consumed too few calories, causing much irritability and frustration. However, God gave me the strength to make it through the day (and night) without breaking and this morning he sent me an angel.

It all started when I shared a piece of fruit with a co-worker (M) who forgot his breakfast. M felt terrbile about taking my orange, and almost refused. I assured him it was okay because I had plenty other fruits, casually commenting that I was fasting. M responded “Oh C is fasting too.” So we summoned C to my desk and it turned out that he is doing the same fast with his church. C had a well organized list of things you can eat, an electronic recipe book of dishes you can easily prepare and a scripture and prayer to start each day. C is on day 16 and really encouraged me to rely on the Lord for strength and press on! I mean C was the vessel that God used to “lay it all out” for me. I know Satan did not want me to succeed (or even start for that matter) but literally, the Lord, my shepherd prepared a table before me in the presence of the enemy (Psalm 23) and today was a breeze! God is so good!

Now for the “E.R.” part. I received a call from the kids’ school this afternoon; to inform me that B (who has an ear infection) had a little discharge from his ear when he woke up from naptime. “A little discharge,” was an understatement. I don’t want to be too graphic here, so I'll just say that when I arrived to pick him up, his cot-sheet looked like a crime scene. I rushed him to urgent care, called L in tears and after and very emotional hour the diagnosis and prognosis were good. B has a middle-ear infection and with the tubes he received in October, the infection was able to drain right out – apparently it happens. We received a prescription for a round of antibiotics and were off to the races.

Despite all the horror scenarios that ran through my mind, God did not agree with one of them. Thankfully, there is no damage to his eardrum and we see the Ear Nose and Throat Specialist (E.N.T.) tomorrow for a follow up. Pray and agree with us that the findings of the E.N.T. will be consistent with the great news we ALL HEARD tonight.

RESTING COMFORTABLY

Granny visited from Texas this week and was kind enough to provide babysitting while Dad and I headed out for date night, both Friday and Saturday (whoo hoo!). The boys rested so well. Normally, we hire a sitter and both C and B are awake when we return, no matter how late. But, not this weekend. It's something about being in the comfortable and sure care of Granny that made them feel just fine going "sleepy -time." In fact they didn't even make it up to their bedrooms, they conked out right there on the sofa. Seeing them resting so peacefully when we returned last night, warmed my heart and reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, KJV)

Nothing else gives me the comfort I have of putting everything in the Lord's hands and just resting in him. I just have that supernatural peace that passes all understanding. Oh, I know how they feel.

O HAVE MERCY

(Happy New Year!)

This morning C ran into the kitchen, irritated and upset, to ask me if “I could put B in trouble.” Translated, that meant he wanted me to place his little brother in time-out for a behavior that he decided was offensive. B has a little cold and has been having some bad days. Lately, his noise level and whiney-ness has frustrated C who, this morning, was really trying to "con-sun-straight" on something. I immediately thought of one of the first teachings of Christ – The Beatitudes. Specifically, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, NIV)

C and I talked and I asked him to show a little kindness to his brother. I asked him to think of all the times he makes noise and mommy doesn’t “get him in trouble,” but gives him lots and lots of chances. We talked about the times he plays the piano while I’m on the phone with Nana, or sings really loud while I watch television or how he sometimes cranks up his remote control car when daddy and I are talking. We decided that he would just play something else for a little while so he wouldn’t have his “con-sun-straight-chun” broken again. I’m so glad the Holy Spirit nudges and reminds me to make the most of these teachable moments. When I had time to settle down this afternoon, I read a few passages on mercy.

I love the clarity of Luke 6:37-38 in The Message:

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, and criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity."

I think mercy is our God-given theme this weekend. Yesterday, as I sat at a red light in some pretty nasty fog and rain I was rear-ended. An extremely apologetic older gentleman jumped out of the car and immediately began giving me his insurance and personal information. Only a few short months ago, I probably would have had some not so kind words for what I would've have seen only as the dude that rear-ended my nice new mini-van, but the Holy Spirit allowed me to see a real person who made a mistake, a grandfather who proudly wore the pictures of his grandson on his t-shirt and through conversation I learned, was rushing to the hospital to see a sick relative. Right there, The Holy Spirit also reminded me of the Lords mercies towards me and brought back to my rememberance (John 14:26) my memory scripture from a couple of weeks ago, which was Lamentations 3:22-23:

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Not by my own power, but through Christ that lives in me I had compassion for this man and learned of the many reasons he could have been distracted at that moment. Besides, only a few minutes prior, I came just inches shy of rear-ending the vehicle in front of me in that same slippery spot.

Again today, I was reminded of God’s command for us to show mercy. Most days it’s not in a car accident (thankfully) but rather the fast food drive-thru, the long line at the grocery store or the telephone with a less than “engaged” customer service representative, that I find myself called to show mercy. I hope the lessons of today and yesterday will serve as reminders for me to be as compassionate towards others as God has been towards me.