Democrat or Republican ?

I guess this election season has stirred my thoughts on a few things such as Democrats, Republicans and Christians. Some of my dearest friends are Democrats. And do you know what? They love the same Jesus, rely on the same Holy Spirit, worship the same God and are just as devoted to their Savior and their churches as most of the Republicans I know.

You have to love the fact that God will not fit into any box even when it comes to politics. It's really funny, we pray to the same God about the same thing... God... show me Lord how YOU want me to vote. I believe He does just that. To some of His children He says "you vote for my child Barack", and to some He says "you vote for my child John". No matter how upset we may be when the winner is announced, one thing is for sure - God's Word tells us how we are to honor those in authority over us.

Don't you know it's all about HIM and not THEM? If every Christian in America voted for the same candidate, could it be that we would place our worship and our trust in that person and not our God, who is the only ONE.

Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Pentecostals... since we each have our own personal relationship with the Lord, He leads us all in different directions through His zillions to the tenth power (more than we have ever heard of!) aspects of His character.

What I hate most during an election year is not a person who votes Democrat over Republican. What breaks my heart is when people who have been granted a freedom that much of the world only read about in books (if they have that freedom) choose to sit at home and complain about the outcome of it all.

Truly, the greatest sadness happens not just during an election, but day after day and week after week when the Democratic or Republican Christians don't live out their lives in the greatest freedom that they were given by our Lord...

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

God bless you in all your freedoms. I pray that you don't take a single
one for granted, but understand how great they all are.

I pray that you will vote on November fourth... no matter who you vote for!

But more than that, I pray that you come to a fuller knowledge of the freedom given you by the blood of Christ.

Stormy day at the beach

You know how you are usually wishing that you had remembered your camera when you see something breath-taking? Well that's me almost all the time. This time included. A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to hang out at the beach with a few girlfriends. Some of them decided to stay in their jammies all day watching chick-flicks. Tracy and I decided to head to the beach. It had rained the day before and there was a 60% chance of rain for Friday. But off we went. We had walked a couple of hundred feet when it started raining. We stopped, and decided to go on and figured the rain would pass over us. I don't know if Tracy has ever clocked it, but I am guessing we walked well over a mile to where the channel comes into the barrier island. We made the trek with sand blowing over the beach like you would expect to see in Lawrence of Arabia or a modern-day war movie.
But on we walked. When we reached the edge of the beach where it runs into the channel, there was a small crowd of folks gathered on the shore to watch the dolphins playing. It was so much fun, it was like you could almost touch them they were so close. After the dolphins swam out into the deep, we turned to head back.

As we turned what we saw actually took our breath. It was the biggest, darkest, closest cloud I have ever seen. Not only that, it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen at the beach. Far beyond the most beautiful sunrise or sunset. It almost looked like the picture above. There were no light clouds at the top of the sky. It was layers of deep blues in varied hues, mingled with smokey white to foggy gray clouds hanging in streaks over the blue. The beach rippled in motion with what seemed to be three different beaches amid the waves. It was almost to much to take in. As we continued to walk into the storm, we could see the faint white mast of a shrimp boat out in the distance. Wow.

As I looked at Tracy I had to laugh. She looked like someone trying to walk into a wind tunnel. As the rain begin to blow in our faces it felt like small pins stinging our skin. After we had walked a pretty good distance, I told Tracy that I had just had to stop. I wanted to cry because it was so beautiful. I had to stop and praise the Lord for the beauty that we were witnessing in the midst of the storm.

It seemed like it took us a good forty-five minutes, longer really, to make it back to the board walk where we had left our shoes.

It must have been that kind of storm on the sea when the disciples saw Jesus walking to them on the water. No wonder He said "peace be still". I know many of you have had just that too... peace in the storm. Or maybe you are in that storm right now. Stop where you are, lift your hands and praise Him... for He alone is worthy!

Even though I didn't have my camera, I stil have the picture in my mind. I hope it stays there for years to come as a visual reminder of the beauty that comes with the storms in our lives. It's my prayer for you that you have seen beauty in the storm.

God + Me = Me or God

You know I got to thinking the other day about this whole Wellspring thing. As I was having my morning prayer time I told God that I believed He would super naturally provide for the funding for the Wellspring Home. But then I'll go write a grant proposal. So I had to ask myself after I prayed that prayer... how would that be super natural to do it like everyone else in Spartanburg County? Would God get the credit? I would give it to Him. But chances not very many people around here would hear or notice.

So here is my declaration as of Wednesday, October 9, 2008...
I do believe that God will do just what He has said. That part
of Wellspring is His yoke, not mine. Hence... I am hereby released from operating according to the world's system.

And when it happens... God will get all the glory and I will humbly bask in the comfort of His faithfulness as He provides for His daughters that will occupy the Wellspring Home.

Make me heart ready Lord... do whatever it takes. I trust YOU in ALL THINGS.

So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.
Acts 27:25 (New Living Translation)