Not This Year

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

I have never really enjoyed New Year’s. When I was younger, I would go out and celebrate but to me, it is kind of a silly holiday. What was the point in celebrating a new year when everything stayed the same? Nothing really changes. You celebrate this new beginning but you wake up and it’s the same thing, different day.

I know this sounds rather cynical but that’s where my head was.

Until this year.

In 2020, it felt like a lot of things fell apart. COVID hit. People got sick, some didn’t make it, many lost their jobs. We began social distancing, isolating and living in fear....of each other. The social climate also exploded. There was a lot of violence, riots, protests and hate. I dislike saying that but it is true. Layer on top of that the politics. I live in the Washington DC area. That’s all you hear about on the news. The negativity reached new levels this year. I stopped watching the news on TV.

All of that, was what summed up 2020 for so many people and I am sure I am not adequately putting into words the pain and trauma so many people faced.

But God....In 2020, I saw God move in more ways than I have ever seen Him move. I know He is always moving and working and doing something but this year, I saw it more clearly than ever before. I watched Him convict hearts, change people, and change me. We planted a church in 2020, virtually, in the middle of a pandemic (who said God doesn’t have a sense of humor). I saw him lead people on journeys that changed their lives. I saw people healed from sickness. And I watched people hold on to the truths in His Word and submit their lives to His authority. He showed up in dreams and visions.  He spoke clearly to people who were searching for Him and led them to steps of faith that they never thought they could do. He answered many, many prayers.

New Year’s rolled around just like it always has but this year, I celebrated. I celebrated what God did in 2020 and I am celebrating what He will do in 2021. When I woke up on January 1, things were pretty much the same as they were when I went to sleep…..except for one thing. My typical New Year’s attitude was gone.

In its place was an excitement. I am excited to see what God is going to do in 2021. I can’t wait to see Him move. I look forward to being blown away by how much he loves us and the many different ways He shows us.

I know I will see Him again in 2021. Why? Because just like in 2020, I will be focused on Him and what He is doing. I will be asking Him what He wants from me and I am going to join Him in the adventure.

Happy New Year’s everyone! I pray God shows up in your life in a real and tangible way. Look for Him. I know you will find Him.

Changing The Inside

If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Job 11:13 (NLT)

My church is doing a 40-day fast. For various reasons, I am not fasting from food but am doing a soul fast. A soul fast is where you fast from something else that you do on a regular basis, something that would be a sacrifice. I decided to fast from TV. There are a couple of things I noticed.

First, the goal of a fast is to get closer to God. It’s not about having the will power to give up something. I have to admit, at first it was harder than I thought. I didn’t realize how much watching TV was my comfort zone. When things were a little stressful, I turned on the TV. When I was tired, I turned on the TV. In the beginning, when I was tempted, I would pray. That’s a good start right?

As time went on, I wasn’t tempted in the same way but I noticed something. I was filling up the time that I would normally watch TV with other things….not praying things. Wait! Isn’t this supposed to be about seeking God? How easy it is for us to get into the routine of doing something (or not doing something) and forget the reason we were doing it in the first place.

I think the true discipline of fasting is not about not doing what I was doing but about reminding myself to seek God. If we make the fast the focus or we fill that time with other activities rather than God, our fasting is useless. God spoke to the Israelites about this in Isaiah. They were so busy fasting outwardly, they were completely missing the impact inwardly.

I don’t have this all figured out yet. Maybe, that is why we fast. Because we don’t have it figured out. Only God does. And in spending more time with him, praying and offering my heart, he can change what I care about.

Not As I Expected

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

In the Christmas Story in the Bible, there are lots of characters. We tend to focus on the main actors like Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, the Shepherds. But we don’t look too much at the other players.

Take for example, the Wise Men. When they went into Jerusalem, they were asking everyone where Jesus was. No one even knew he was there. He was not on their radar. Even the Scribes and Pharisees who had the Scriptures memorized missed his arrival.

And then there were the Shepherds. They were the lowest in society yet the Angels appeared to them and pointed them to Jesus. They went, found him and then went all around telling everyone that he was there. But the Bible doesn’t say there was an onslaught of people rushing to see him. There didn’t seem to even be a blip on the radar.

Why were the Shepherds, totally uneducated and unrefined, and the Wise Men, foreigners and non-believers, able to find him? Why did God chose to reveal his Son to these?

I wonder if it is because they were open to receiving him, even if he didn’t look like what they thought he would. The people of Israel were looking for a conqueror. When Jesus showed up as a baby, they dismissed him because he didn’t fit their preconceived ideas. They were not willing to accept him for who he was. He didn’t fit in their box.

Makes me wonder. Am I doing what they did? Do I miss Jesus when he shows up because I was looking for something else? Do I lose sight of what he is trying to do in my life because I am so focused on what I think should happen and am not on where he is working?

I don’t want to be like the other characters in this story. I want to seek him. I want to see him however he decides to show up in my life. I want to be completely bold and go out on a limb to follow him even if it looks different than I think it should.

How about you? Will you join me?

Unsure Of The Next Move

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12 (ESV)

This week I was away at a conference and the speaker was talking about a challenging time in his life. He came head first into a situation that took him way outside his comfort zone. He felt God leading him on this path but he really didn’t have the first idea how to handle it. He didn’t know what step to take next.

Then he said something that made my mind race. He said, “I didn’t know what to do but I did know how to pray.”

I had to ask myself. How many times am I faced with a problem that I don’t know how to handle? How many times do I stop and give up because I am not sure what step to take next? Probably more often than I want to admit. And why?

Sure, I may not know what to do next but God does. And, I do know how to pray! Even if my praying is faulty, the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit is actively taking our prayers and presenting them perfectly to God.

Jesus, I often don’t know what to do but my eyes are fixed on you because you have the answer! Please remind me that the prayer tool in my toolbox is the perfect tool for any situation. Amen!

If You Could Have Anything....

Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 
“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” Mark 10:46-52 (NLT)

In this story, doesn't it seem odd that Jesus asked "What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked this question multiple times. Once, when he asked it of the disciples, they said they wanted to be elevated in his kingdom. 

Maybe Jesus asks to draw out our true intentions. Do we want to receive material comforts? Do we want relief from stress and burdens? Do we want a miracle for ourselves or someone else? All of these things are not necessarily bad. We can definitely ask for them! But, then we have to ask ourselves another question.  If you don't receive what you ask for, will you still love Jesus? Will you still seek him?

Sadly, some of us would not. And that is the most important reason to reflect on the question He asks.

What is it that you really want?

"I'm Right Here!!!"

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

The other day my husband and I were playing Hide and Seek with my grandson. He's a toddler so one of us would go with him to hide and the other would seek. It was my turn to count and then find him and my husband.

As I was standing in the family room, I saw my husband take him into the front closet. I dutifully counted "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" and went to find them. I knew where they were so I wasn't really looking. All the while, I am talking out loud saying "I wonder where they are? I have to keep looking!" As my hand reached for the closet door, my grandson yelled from the stair landing "I right here!" (Apparently, my husband saw me spy their hiding place and moved.)

He couldn't help himself! He wanted to be found by me. He wanted to be together, to play some more and to share the moment.

Who else does this remind you of? God does the same thing. He says that if we seek him we will find him. There is no game here. He wants to be found! He wants to spend time together, to share moments, talk and play. As a matter of fact, he goes out of his way to get us to see who he is. The problem comes when we think we know where to find him so we stop looking. 

Just like I thought I knew where to find my grandson, I didn't really search. I went to where I thought he was; expecting him to be there. But he moved! Do we do that with God? Do we go to the same place every time because we think he's there? Do we even notice when he's not?

The depth of our relationship with him has a lot to do with our response to his call. Are you seeking God? Really seeking him? Or are you going through the motions to play a game and missing out? God is jumping up and down and yelling "I'm right here!" but we miss it because we thought we had him figured out.  But, just like my husband and my grandson, he is full of surprises making it well worth the search! 

Seek Because He's Not Hiding

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

Did you wake up this morning and think about the list of things you had to do? Did you wonder if you would get it all done and realizing that maybe you wouldn't get discouraged? Do you feel like you just can't get there because you aren't accomplishing all the things on your list?

Today, I have a different task for you to try. I want you to go about your day asking God to reveal himself to you. Then, I want you to look for him. Everywhere you go, in everything you do, look for God in it.

Maybe it's in the warm smile of another person. Maybe it's in something beautiful you saw or the sound of someone's kind words. Or how about in an act of kindness you did for someone else or a blessing that you received.

I've taken this challenge in the past and I was amazed at all the places I saw God throughout my day. Places I didn't notice before because I wasn't actually looking for him. I was too distracted with my 'lists.' I know you will see him. He is in everything we do. He is all around us. We just need to change our focus.

Would love to hear what you see today. Most importantly, I know your heart will suddenly be full. No matter what you actually accomplish (or not), it will still be a better day!

The Seekers Journey

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (NLT)

I suppose the journey of the wise men wasn't anything like today. If we were going to travel to see something and we didn't know where it was, we would look it up on the internet and figure out the fastest way to get there. The wise men couldn't do that.

They started out following a star...and they kept following it until they got to the town of Bethlehem. I imagine each day they needed to reassess their location, they needed to check their movements and make sure they were headed in the right direction. And even as they arrived at Bethlehem, they still weren't sure where in Bethlehem he was so they had to ask around, getting directions, searching for the information they needed.

What caused them to take on this journey? They were convinced that they needed to find this baby. This was their number one job. They put their all into this effort.

Funny, things haven't changed much in this regard. This is what we are supposed to do to.  We are supposed to be seekers of God. Just like the wise men, that is our role. Jeremiah 29:13 says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (NIV) With all of your heart.

Are you willing to put your all into finding this God, this Jesus that will change your world? If the wise men did it haphazardly, they would never have found him. Same is true for us today.  We can't just half-way look for him. If we do, we won't truly find him. We'll only find a reflection of what we are comfortable with....which is so much less than he is.

Where are your journeys taking you? Are you on a mission to find Jesus? Are you willing to give it your all?