faith

Apr 2013

A peek into my morning routine

Posted by Glynnis

Thanks so much for joining me today. It’s going to be a fun day as I’m sharing some photos and a video of my precious doggies.

If you haven’t had a chance to read my devotion running on Encouragement for Today, I hope you’ll click here to read it. It will set the stage for my blog post today.

There’s a lot of love in my household. I have five children … can you call a 21 year old your child??? … still trying to figure this new phase of life out. And three dogs. Plus my dear husband.

We sometimes call ourselves the “loud family.” You know that family … they are the ones you stare at in the restaurant as your children sit quietly and play with the crayons and coloring pages.

I accepted years ago that God did not plan a quiet life for me. And oh how thankful I am that He didn’t leave me to myself. God knew I needed to be stretched outside my comfort zones!!! And I LOVE IT!

My kids are loud. And my dogs are too. Ask anyone who has ever tried to have a phone conversation with me. My dogs are worse than kids! The husky starts “talking back” (do a YouTube search for Huskies talking and see what I mean). The German Shepherd has patterned herself after the husky in this regard (my apologies to all true lovers of German Shepherds) and the “old lady” (our 16-Y-O Australian shepherd mix) barks for fun of it and to join in the gang.

I love that God teaches me supernatural lessons through the natural. When my eyes are open, He is everywhere!

So today I’m taking a few minutes to share my dogs with you. They have unique personalities, very different, but I love them all. Here are some photos:

Kona knows the art of relaxation!

Sammie is always on alert and listening for the jingle of car keys.

You know how mommies often have baby drool on their shirts. Look carefully at the car door. I have doggy drool on my car door.

My sweet old girl.

Now, here’s the video of what a typical morning looks like in my house. First, I feel the need to explain a few things in the video.

1) Why did I shut my bedroom door? As I was walking out, I thought “Watch! This will be the one day Kona decides to be ready to go! The day I’m trying to make a point.”

2) I don’t normally say “Are you ready to go” so many times. Apparently I will never be sought out for on-air talent.

3) And just so you know, Sammie had been sitting watching me for about 20 minutes. I figured that was too long to video tape.

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed this peek into my life. And I hope you are ready to go when your Master calls you. I promise the adventure will be worth it.

Love,

Glynnis

23 Comments | Filed Under: faith, family

Jul 2012

I want a Dad like that!

Posted by Glynnis

Welcome to all who are joining me after reading my devotion today about father issues. If you haven’t read it, click here to be taken to the Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion site. And if you entered a comment to win the thirty-one tote bag, please keep reading, as I’ll announce the winner at the end of the post.

For years I wondered what it would be like to have a father to turn to in times of trouble. I loved my father very much, but I never would have gone to him with a problem. While I knew he loved me, he never seemed very interested or concerned in in my life.

There was no tender father-daughter dance at my wedding. There was no teary moment of separation as he entrusted me to my husband. And that just seemed natural to me. Now that I think about it, only one of my close friends had an involved father. During that decade, it really wasn’t abnormal for a dad to be distant. Well, at least it wasn’t abnormal in my neighborhood.

But I guess my dad was more distant than most. For example, I sang in choir from the time I was in third grade. In high school I sang in a band. Singing was my life. But in all those years, I don’t think my Dad ever came to a concert. But what is weirder still, is that it didn’t bother me. My mom was there and that was enough for me. Sad, huh?

There have been a few TV shows I’ve loved over the years, and I find I’m drawn to the ones with a loving dad. I loved Andy Griffith. And then the Brady Bunch, Happy Days and The Cosby Show. There’s something in me that longs for a dad I can turn to.

I believe it’s because God made me this way. He created all of us with a longing to know a father. Some people call it a “God shaped vacuum” but I think it’s just the natural longing of a child for his or her Father.

God brought two of our children into our lives through adoption from Africa almost seven years ago. And just this week my oldest daughter expressed a longing for her birth mother (who is still alive). I completely understood. And it’s natural for that longing to still be there. I pray one day I can help make that reunion happen, so long as it’s safe and healthy for my daughter. (lots I can’t talk about here)

As I have explored what it means to trust God as my heavenly Father, my faith has grown beyond what I thought possible. Years ago I forced myself to face my doubts about God’s ability and desire to help me. I admitted that I didn’t think God would really will come to my rescue. I made myself think through all the characteristic of God that I read about in the Bible and be honest about which ones I didn’t really believe.

Honesty is the best place to start. No matter how hard it is. Or how ashamed you might be for confessing a serious amount of doubt. Here’s the truth: God already knows. He knows when our words don’t match up with our hearts. He’s just waiting for you and I to admit it.

But there’s more truth I want to say today. I’ve got an incredible Heavenly Father who knows me, knows my weaknesses and still loves me like crazy. He’s the same yesterday, today and He will be the same tomorrow. And that brings me comfort and peace.

For you see, the God of the Israelites, the one who sent plagues so the pharaoh would release them from slavery, He is my Heavenly Father today. He adopted me.

The God who parted the Red Sea, who stopped the sun, who closed the lion’s mouth, who lit the soaking wet wood on the altar, who turn water into wine, made blind eyes see, helped crippled men walk, stopped bleeding and raised the dead. That is my Heavenly Father.

You say you want a Dad like that? Well, what a coincidence. He’s been wanting a daughter just like you.

If you’ve never known God as your heavenly Father, today is your day. If you are ready to put your trust in God and confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please join me in saying this prayer:

God – I don’t know what it’s like to have a great father. But I want one. Today, I confess that I’ve walked my own way, far apart from you. But I don’t want to any longer. I want to be Your daughter. I want to follow You. I believe that Jesus died for my sins so that I can enter into Your family. Please forgive me for my wrong thoughts and actions, and help me to be the woman … the daughter … You see in me. In Jesus name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, or if you rededicated your life to God, I’d love to know about it. Email me personally so I can celebrate with you, and help get you started in this new life. It will feel strange at first, but it’s a good strange.

If you’d like to leave a comment and share your own experience with knowing God as a Father, please do. If you are reading this in an email, click here to be taken to my blog in order to leave a comment.

We are all on this journey together, my sisters.

In His love,

Glynnis

P.S. Using a random number generator, I’m happy to announce that Julia Mortimer, posting on July 13 at 7:38 a.m. was selected to win the thirty-one tote bag. I’ve sent a private email to Julia. Thank you to all who entered. I haven’t gotten through all the comments yet but I will.

42 Comments | Filed Under: faith, family, God's Love

Jun 2012

Hard times + Prayer = Miracles

Posted by Glynnis

I’ve noticed some common conditions for miracles in Scripture:

1) They tend to start with a problem

2) Usually it’s really big

3) One that man can’t solve on his own

4) With some fear and pain added to a basic foundation of helplessness.

Does that sound like where you’re at today? If you are joining me today after reading my devotion about God not wasting pain, I’m so glad you stopped by. If you are a regular reader, I’d love for you to read my devotion today as I share a bit more of my life that I normally keep private.

You see, I’m no stranger to facing a problem I can’t fix on my own. I’ve been there many times. But nothing prepared me for being entrusted with two little girls who had been wounded by others, both indirectly through selfishness and hunger for power, or directly through neglect and greed. Every day I face problems that my education and experience can’t “fix.”

And there are days when I feel on the edge of despair. The wounding is so deep; it’s rewired thought processes and damaged their abilities. And as I wrote about in my devotion, my family has entered in to their suffering … and it’s hard.

If it weren’t for the hope and promise of God’s power, I would give in to the despair, because in myself I am not enough. I don’t have what it takes to repair the damage done. But I know Someone who can.

And it’s in this exact situation … when you have no idea what you are going to do … that conditions are ripe for a miracle. At least that’s what I see when I read Scripture. Let’s take a look at a few situations.

The Red Sea is parted as the Israelites escape slavery with Egyptians hot on their heels (Exodus 14)
A widow and her sons are saved from debt and slavery by oil miraculously appearing. (2 Kings 4)
A wedding banquet runs out of wine and Jesus turns water into wine. (John 2)
God resurrects Jesus from the dead. (John 21)

Time and time again God performed a miracle in the midst of very difficult conditions. People needed help. God stepped in.

If you are facing a difficult situation, I hope these stories from Scripture encourage you. And there are many more. In fact, I found this list of the miracles of Jesus online. Click here to read it.

I believe God is waiting for us to call on Him for help. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So we can trust that He will answer our prayers. And even if the answers aren’t what we hope, He is always working things out for the good of those who love Him.

It seems to be human nature to give up on prayer when we don’t see an immediate answer. We can think God has passed us over and moved on to someone else’s concern. But God doesn’t forget like we do. He isn’t impatient. And He cares more about doing things right than doing things fast.

So if you are just hanging on, I hope this post encourages you to hang on just a bit longer. Help is on the way.

Thank you for joining me today. Although I may not know you by name, I’m praying for each of you who visits my blog today. God knows your situation, and I’m pleading with Him on your behalf. I believe some of you will see miracles today.

In His love,

Glynnis

P.S. If you are reading this in an email, please click here to leave a comment on my blog.

100 Comments | Filed Under: faith, God's Faithfulness

May 2012

Bloom where I’m planted? U crazy?

Posted by Glynnis

Last week I made a comment about feeling like life was passing me by when I was a mother of small children. Every day I set another milestone ahead of me as a goal to get past. Like this one: If I can just make it till they are sleeping through the night …

… off the bottle

… out of diapers

… into school

… and so on.

I remember thinking, I should be enjoying this stage more. Everyone tells me it goes by fast. But no matter how many pep talks I gave myself, there were days when I was sure God had made a mistake. I mean, how do you take a woman who was born to complete projects, and assign her to a life where nothing is every completed? I was certain God meant for me to find meaning and purpose outside of my assignments at home.

Here’s how bad it was on some days. If Mary Engelbreit herself had knocked on my door to deliver a hand-painted picture with the the saying “Bloom where you are planted” I seriously might have slapped her.

It was in the middle of that difficult period of my life that God moved my family across country from Arizona to North Carolina. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any harder – it did. It was only for two years but I was devastated. I felt like I was so close to regaining my “real” life, and just when I could almost touch it, God ripped it out from under me. Well, I didn’t really blame God. It was more my husband’s fault, as I saw it.

But just when I was determined to suffer in Southern-fried misery – and with a husband who had taken me sooooo far out of God’s will (at least as I saw it) – God taught me a lesson. And wouldn’t you guess, it had to do with blooming where I was planted.

Seems I had it wrong. The blooming God needed to happen wasn’t in my circumstances. I wasn’t supposed to figure out how to do more in the midst of challenges. God didn’t want me to work harder to overcome my “limitations.” Instead He had something new in mind. God didn’t want more of the old.

God had a fresh vision for me … and the blooming needed to happen inside my heart. In the midst of what very difficult, lonely, and disregarded circumstances – God wanted something new to grow.

In the midst of feeling unappreciated, God wanted gratefulness to grow.
In feeling overlooked, God was training me to look to Him for affirmation.
Instead of rushing to the next moment to happen, God wanted me to find Him in the current one. He needed me to mine more value out of the present.

God needed me to stop trying so hard to control the circumstances, and to trust that He wouldn’t let any hard time go to waste. Yes, He knew it was hard for me. After all, He made me. But He also knew there was still work to be done. It was a time for my insides to match my outsides.

Typing those words on a blog makes it sound like a simple, clean process. It wasn’t. It took years to accept that God had (has) something to teach me smack-dab in the middle a hard times – and I’ve have MANY more since then. And sometimes it takes daily (hourly) pausing from the struggle of the moment and looking up to Him for advice, encouragement and refreshment.

Last week I was driving when I saw one of my favorite sites in the desert: the saguaro cacti are blooming. And the image of a beautiful flower perched amidst thorns seemed perfect for this message. So I took a few photos to share with you.

And then God put this Scripture into my mind:

“Forget the former things;do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing!Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Are you feeling weary today, dear one. Take some time to read Isaiah 43. It’s a beautiful reminder that God sees you, and has not forgotten you. He may or may not change your circumstances, but He can do a new thing in your heart.

Thanks for joining me to day. If you are reading this in an email and would like to leave a comment, please click here to be taken to my blog.

In His abundant and refreshing love,

Glynnis

56 Comments | Filed Under: faith, perspective

Apr 2012

Is it really about money?

Posted by Glynnis

Today I’ve got a devotion running over at Proverbs 31 about money, and what my spending and giving habits revealed about my heart. If you are visiting for the first time after reading that, thanks for joining me today. And welcome to my regular blog readers.

Although my devotion was about money, the deeper lesson for me was about faith. Let me tell you that it took painful and deep honesty to get to a place of admitting my faith wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. I danced around the truth for years because I truly loved God and believed in the absolute truth of Scripture. How could I have alack of faith??

Well, what I learned is you don’t discover the weak areas of anything until pressure is applied. And when the pressure was on me to tithe, my lack of faith in God as my provider was revealed.

Even though it was hard to admit, it was a really good place to be. Honesty always is. Because it was at that place of gut-truth that God could actually start to work on my faith.

Giving hasn’t been the only area where pressure has been applied to my faith. Parenting driving teenagers and now young adults has uncovered some weak areas. Adopting a child whose problems I can’t solve revealed another area that needed attention. The financial crisis a few years ago showed I still had work to do.

Although it’s painful at times, I don’t fear the pressure anymore. Because each time a weak area shows up, and I confess my lack of faith, God shows Himself faithful – usually in a miraculous way. It seems He’s just waiting for me to get to the end of myself so He’s fully got my attention. And each time my faith gets stronger.

So if you are feeling the pressure today, don’t run from it. Turn in to it and confess your lack of faith to Jesus. Ask Him to show Himself faithful and watch what He does. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks again for joining me, and I’d love for you to sign up to be a regular reader of my blog. I normally blog twice a week, usually on issues like organization, productivity, time and home management. But I also love to throw in something completely different when the Spirit directs.

You can sign up by entering your email in the box in the sidebar to the right.

Grace & Peace,

Glynnis

17 Comments | Filed Under: faith, fear