Author: rainbowsandotterpelt

It’s hard to believe it’s been just shy of two years ago that God used a conversation with a friend of mine to call me to missions. And it’s hard to wrap my head around in four weeks, I will graduate from the Pharmacy Technology Program with an associates degree, beginning a new phase of life. I’ve been a bit anxious these past few months, not knowing what life will look like after school. God did not give me any directions beyond providing the means to go to school and pursue mission work. I will be doing short term mission trips so the question is: “what do I do between trips?”

In the past few weeks, God has been speaking to me about my anxieties. I have been focusing on the between – what I will be doing between missions. And I lost focus of the why. Why I am doing missions. As in Jesus’s letter to the church of Ephesus in The second chapter of Revelations, I lost my first love. I lost my focus. I became so consumed with trying to figure out life between missions that I lost the focus of the reason why. I am called to missions because I want to show others the love of Jesus. Traveling on missions is a good thing, but if I lose sight of the why, it is for naught. In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul writes “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The Message translation states “I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back”. It goes on to say, “so let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.”

This brings me to the title of this blog. In Mark 11, Jesus tells his disciples to “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore I say to you all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.” (Verses 22-24). I love The Message translation of this scripture. “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: just say ‘Go jump in the lake’ – no shuffling or shilly-shallying- and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything”. Wow! God’s everything!

What’s your God-life? What is God calling you to step out in complete faith, for Jesus, not looking back? Mine is to go on mission for Jesus. To show others his love. Embracing this God-life, really embracing it. Not fretting about what I will do between trips, not trying to arrange opportunities but fully relying on God. Asking and believing, not doubting in my heart (easier said than done for me). Not losing sight of my first love – why I go on mission – love for Jesus. And not looking back at previous successes but keeping my eyes on the prize – following Jesus.

And what do we gain by living this God life? Paradise. The presence of God. Where God is, that’s paradise. And that’s where I desire to be. At the center of His will. Following Him. Believing without doubt. Living the God-life.

Over the holidays while watching The Muppet Christmas Carol with my family, a line in the song for the ghost of Christmas present caught my attention: “Where you find love, you find Christmas”.

How profound. Christmas is a time associated with family. Being with family equates being with those who accept us for who we are and love us regardless. I think this concept of where you find love, you find Christmas is why the Hallmark Christmas movies are so popular. Each movie features people finding love at Christmas. We all desire being loved for who we are.

The true Christmas story is the ultimate love story. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). The purpose of Jesus’s birth, which we celebrate at Christmas, was to become our savior by dying as a sacrifice for our wrong doing and returning to life. “Greater Love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friend.”(John 15:13).

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1). Wait. Children of God? How does that happen? “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5). God chose us. He adopted us. I remember in elementary school being divided into teams for physical Ed classes. Team captains were designated and they would select their respective team. I was never athletic so was usually one of the last to be picked. Occasionally, however, one of my friends would be captain and would select me early because of our friendship. I remember that feeling of being wanted, being selected. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” (Eph. 1:4-5).

Because of Christmas, because of Jesus being born as a baby, we are able to receive adoption by God and become one of His children. Loved equally by God. Accepted as we are and loved by Him. Loved unconditionally.

“Where you find love, you find Christmas”

My last post I talked about struggling with not being caught up with what the world communicates is important. This week, I heard a devotional that mentioned a reward we will receive for being an overcomer. Revelations 3:12 tells us “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” NASB version reads “He who overcomes”. When I heard the word overcomes, it immediately brought to mind that struggle I mentioned. It was exciting to be reminded that I will be rewarded for preserving through my struggles. What a reward. Being a pillar in God’s temple and never having to leave. Worshipping Him always. And Jesus writing His name upon us. Did your mom ever write your name in your clothes when you were little so you and everyone else would know who it belonged to? That’s what this verse reminds me of. Everyone will know who we belong to.

I am constantly striving to overcome the pull of the world. And when I am successful, What else will I receive? Rev. 3:5, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My father, and before His angels.” Now is that not worth more than all the treasures we could acquire on earth? To have our name acknowledged before God and his angels? Not only will Jesus write His name on us, He will also proclaim it to God and His angels, “This one belongs to me!”

So how do we overcome the world? 1 John 5:4-5 tells us. “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” Pursuing Jesus. That’s how we overcome.

John 16:33. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”. As I told someone the other day, I am thankful for the blessings in the hard times. Peace when others would see no reason for peace. Blessings in the hard times.

Now that is something to shout about and celebrate this holiday season.

This year, around the holidays, I find myself struggling with materialism. Seeing the commercials on TV, watching shows and movies that depict families in ideal settings that really are not realistic to the majority of Americans. And definitely not the rest of the world. I find myself wishing my circumstances were different. Better. Wishing I had a bigger, better house. Wishing I was more comfortable financially. Wishing I had made different choices that would potentially have allowed me to be in better circumstances.

Then, I realized I was losing my focus. I am allowing materialism to become more important to me than what Jesus tells me should be important. i am beginning to pursue what this work tells me is important no longer pursuing Jesus.

This makes me reflect that I am thankful for the financial hardships I have faced. The Lord knows where each of our hang ups lie. He knows that if I am financially secure, I would be much less likely to seek Him. And He desires to have a relationship with me. He pursues me by creating circumstances where I will hopefully make the choice to turn to Him. For this I am thankful. I want to keep pursuing Jesus, not what this world deems important. And dare I say tries to tell us is necessary.

What are you pursuing? What do you find yourself focusing on? A career? Having a nice car or a larger house? Living in a certain neighborhood? Having all the latest and greatest electronics and gadgets? We are surrounded by voices and images telling us we need all these things. It is so easy to become distracted from what is really important and next thing you know, you are pursuing things of this world, not Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to store up treasures in heaven. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I want to pursue Jesus. I want my treasures to be stored up in heaven. Thank you Jesus, for pursuing me. For allowing circumstances in my life that redirect my focus to you. I do not want to become distracted by what this world has to offer. I want to desire you more than anything else.

I enjoy the season of autumn. Call my a bit crazy but one of the things I enjoy is cleaning up leaves. There is something catharsis about clearing an area of fallen leaves. Last year as I was working on a parking lot, and the wind would come along and blow the leaves right back from where I had moved them, I thought about how relevant that is to life. When we work against what God is trying to do with our lives (aka blowing leaves against the wind) life can be difficult. But when we will work with God, life seems much easier (aka moving leaves in the same direction as the wind).

Friday, I was once again out clearing leaves with a back pack blower. Some of the leaves were frozen to the surface of the deck and I thought “How like us. Sometimes God tries to move us and we are just stuck in one place.” As I am moving leaves , in a certain direction I like to work them, the wind would blow them back. I thought of my analogy from last year (mentioned above) and said “God, work with me here!” Then I just stopped. It dawned on me, how many times do we say that in life? “God, work with me. Give me this or that. Make this happen.” Instead, we should be asking for Him to reveal His will for us. James tells us in James 4:13-16, “Now listen you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money’. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”

As I was clearing leaves, instead of crying “Lord, work with me!”, I began to ask for Him to give me insight so that I could use the wind to my benefit. That is also what we should do with our lives. Instead of asking God to give us something we think would be best for us, we should ask Him to give us insight. To reveal His will. Or at least show us the next step in the direction He wants us to go. We should be seeking to work with Him. It will make life a little easier.

Lately, I have been struggling with letting go of my previous successful professional career. This week would have been my last board meeting with Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) but with other life circumstances happening, I opted not to attend. It’s probably one of those blessings in disguise. While I am sad to have missed the opportunity to visit with my professional friends and colleagues one more time, it would have been bittersweet, and perhaps harder to walk away. While in Ukraine on mission, I received a phone call from a head hunter about a director of Grounds opportunity. I followed the lead wondering where it might go. Was this an opportunity from God, or a distraction from Satan? This is one of those instances where I miss my dad’s wisdom. He never told me what to do. But he would ask questions and make statements that would make you think. God sent a friend that for a moment in time was that voice of wisdom. He said “Don’t let the success of your past hold you back from you future.”

Are you allowing something from your past to hold you back? Is there something you need to let go of? It could be a past hurt. Somebody said or did something that hurt you and your having a tough time moving past it. It could have been an injustice that you experienced and your waiting for the wrong to be righted. Or you may have lost a loved one or someone close to you and your holding on to the memory, not allowing yourself to move forward. Or as me, you may be holding on to a past success, reluctant to move into unfamiliar territory.

Change can be hard. When God is moving you to a new place, sometimes it is hard to let go of the old place. Especially if it seems like a nice place. The Israelites also had a hard time letting go. While they were in the wilderness – and mind you the Lord was ever present with them, residing in the tabernacle, going before them in a pillar of fire or a cloud of smoke, even providing for their daily needs with manna from heaven – they longed for the “good ol’ days”. “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.” (Numbers 11:5-6). Wait. Did you forget that while you had this variety of food you were a slave? And you had a hard task master? God was working a wonder in them. And He is in us too. He was leading them to the Promised Land. A place much better than Egypt. “For the Lord you God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks or water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything” (Deut. 8:7-9). Oh, but first you have to leave where you are. He’s nőt bringing it to you. He’s taking you to it. And you have to let go of what’s holding you back.

Deut. 11:10-12. “For the land into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares, the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.”

Where would you rather be? In Egypt where there are good things, and yes you are receiving some blessings. Or would you prefer to be in your promised land where the eyes of the Lord are always on it? Where He wants you to be. You got to let go of what’s holding you back. I’ve got to let you go of my past success to move forward and grasp my future.

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven”. Ecclesiastes 3:1

“The Lord’s loving kindness indeed never ceases, for His compassion’s never fail.”

We experience seasons in our lives just as there are seasons throughout the year. Some of our seasons are broad strokes through our lives, such as retirement. Some seasons are short timeframes, such as my timeframe of returning to school. Some seasons pass quickly and some linger.

Some seasons you can prepare for. Just as you would prepare for harvest, and prepare for planting. But some seasons hit unexpectedly and you seem unprepared for them.

Through all the different seasons in our lives, joyous as well as sad, one thing remains. And one thing is constant. That is God’s love. Seasons change, God’s love remains.

As I navigate the waters of this season adjusting to the fact that my dad is no longer on earth, that I can no longer call him to share good news, or ask his advice, I can rely on God’s unfailing love. Oh what a peace that brings to my soul.

Dad was always there for us growing up. He gave us the courage to make those leaps.

Dad making his famous Angel biscuits while cooking on one of our youth mission trips

Dad retired from US Missile Command and accomplished his life dream of mission work through Campers on Mission.

My mother has a Mexican Petunia in her garden in the backyard. While I am visiting her, I noticed in the mornings it is full of blooms. The butterflies and hummingbirds are fluttering and flying around it. By evening, the blooms are scattered across the bright green grass like purple confetti. And the next morning … full of blooms again.

It reminds me of God’s love and compassion. It is new every morning. “His compassion’s never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.

My devotion yesterday mentioned keeping my eyes open for God’s communication with us. While I am mourning the loss of my Dad, I have an underlying peace that is hard to describe. It is just a comforting presence. And while I am sad for my family, and know my dad will be missed by many, I know he is rejoicing with Jesus. Watching the Mexican Petunia burst forth with bloom every morning, providing sustenance to butterflies and birds, is one of God’s ways of communicating with me. Reminding me that He is with me each and every day. And His live and compassion for me does not run out. It is new everyday. Just as this plant continues to bloom, He will continue to comfort me and my family. Great is His faithfulness.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to travel on two medical missions this summer. My dad got to see the fruition of my dream. One of the last things we did together was he helped me compose my donation request letter and prepare the mailings. Thank you to all who made this dream a reality.

As part of a team of volunteers from North Carolina working alongside Hungarian translators and Hungarian Baptist Aid personnel, we held 4 clinics in Ukrainian Roma villages and provided medical care to 670 people.

Working in the pharmacy was quite an experience. The pharmacist, David, was great to work with. He was patient, caring, and willing to answer questions. We had long days filling medication needs and assembling the medications for the next day in the evenings.

What a privilege to show the Roma people that God loves them.

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

This verse describes my Dad. From a small child, I remember him serving in the church as a deacon or Sunday school teacher. There was a time period where he was the Sunday school teacher for the two year olds. After he retired, my parents joined Campers on Mission and traveled all over the United States doing construction projects. While my dad was building or rebuilding houses, churches, and other Christian facilities, my mom worked with the other ladies on sewing projects or conducting a puppet ministry for children and in nursing homes.

My dad has been an excellent example of how to quietly and humbly serve the Lord. He has shown me how an introvert who is task oriented can have an impact on this world for the Lord.

On Monday, August 27, God called my father home. It is hard for me to grasp why because he was till busy doing God’s work. He had a construction project planned for September at the state baptist conference center. Dad can say:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”.

2 Timothy 4:7