Scrappy Saturday: Mexico Milestone

Posting my blog a bit early, as I will be traveling a bit on Saturday. "Scrappy Saturday" simply means sharing with you each Saturday how I am using my love of crafting to bring joy to my own household or someone else's.

This is a frame I have had for a long time. It has a vibrant color, so I decided to use it a few years ago when I hosted a table for a Mexican-themed auction for Life School, which is a ministry/training center of the church I attend, Life Church.

When Kristiana, our oldest, was eighteen, she got to go on her first missions trip--to Navajoa, Mexico. Being fluent in Spanish, she was an asset to the team and able to converse well with the locals. She is pictured here (on the far right) with a couple of the girls she met there. I love how she's kicking up her foot. That's really the spirit of Kristiana. She loves being with people and getting to know new people.

This trip gave her not only a new experience but a clearer direction for her life. She may still do "missions work," but it will be with a different emphasis. She and her husband, Nathan, have a vision to take their passion and skill in photography around the nation--perhaps around the world--and use it as a tool to bring to life the events and outreaches taking place in churches they've never been to before. It's really a more complex and detailed vision than that, but that's for them to share in their own time. :)

As a mom, I am thankful Kristiana had the experience of going to Mexico so that she could love on children, relate to people from another culture, and overcome any fears she had of traveling away from her hometown. This trip helped to equip her for other doors God will surely open.

So I wanted to commemorate Kristiana's journey to Mexico by framing this picture and placing it on the piano, alongside the picture of her sister Kalina and a teammate with some children they ministered to in Haiti. I hope that their brother Josiah can one day go on a missions trip as well.

Our life is a series of life-changing moments, and this was one of them. The fun frame, the fun girl, the fun moment--a milestone reached for future opportunities and advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Fruit of the Spirit Friday: Love

Love is the primary fruit of the Spirit that all the others depend upon. God’s love in and through us enables us to live by the Spirit. 

When we spend time with the Holy Spirit, God’s love is perfected in us. The Holy Spirit and the love of God go hand in hand. God is love, so when we experience more of God, we can’t help but experience more of His love.

I know someone who has experienced this love in some pretty astounding ways. Her name is Gabby Heusser. In fact, God’s love has set her free from the past in such a way that she literally oozes His love wherever she goes, and in whatever she does. The fruit of Love definitely continues to grow in her life and touch those around her, planting seeds that, in God’s perfect timing, will produce even more fruit. And it has touched me and produced fruit in my life. 

Gabby is writing a book that shares a powerful story. I’ve only had the privilege of reading part of her manuscript, but the pages are full of the tenderness, compassion, and wisdom of God’s love.  It’s what struck me so much when I read it, and it’s what struck me the first time I ever heard Gabby speak to a group of children (last year in chapel at Crosshill Christian School, where I was a teacher at the time).

Visiting with Gabby, one’s heart can’t help but feel touched in some gentle way. She simply radiates His love. It got me to thinking today—when I think of the fruit of the Spirit, Gabby is one of the people I think of. She is a product of God’s love, and because that’s what she has received and embraced, it’s what she gives out. Of course the Lord has cultivated other things in her life, but knowing how much God deeply and passionately loves her keeps Gabby close to His Spirit and in a place of freedom to share that love with others. 

Does this mean that Gabby never has struggles because she’s so wrapped up in God’s love? No, but she’s embraced a truth in the very depths of her being that popped up in my devotions today in Max Lucado’s book, Grace for the Moment. The truth is this: He never lets us go. Even when we have our doubts. As Max puts it, “Doubts don’t separate doubters from God’s love.” His love is abundant, all-sufficient, and persistent. Gabby knows this, and so she is a living example of the fruit of Love. 

None of us are perfect, but we need not fear because of the God who is perfect. I John 4:18 says that “perfect love drives out fear.”  And because of the Father’s great love, He sent Jesus. “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14).” This ultimate sacrifice of love is what set us free from condemnation and is also what perfects us. Love is behind everything God has ever done for us, or will do.

May we grow in our knowledge of God’s love today and, like my friend Gabby, sow it into the lives of those around us. What a blessed testimony for others to  one day say of us, “This was a person who loved to the full.” Fill us with your love today, Lord, that we may spread it like wildfire. Give us a hunger for it—so much that we just can’t get enough. May the fruit of your love in our lives be evident to all and serve to nourish their hungry souls as it has ours.

Thursday "Thoughts for Moms" (and Dads)

Do all that you can to protect your children, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. If you have a "check" in your spirit about placing them in a particular environment (whether it be a classroom, baby-sitter's home, etc.), pay attention to that feeling. Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit trying to alert you that this isn't the place for your little one--or even just medium-to-almost-grown one.

Your child is the most precious gift the Lord has ever bestowed on you and worthy of all the time, concern, and unconditional love you have to give. They are not a "hassle," sent to torment your life but a "blessing." Sometimes we see the blessing more clearly through trials--when our child has emerged on the other side.

But God sees the innermost part of your child--as I was reading in a precious friend's "book in process" today, He has knit each one together in the womb--He was concerned with every intricate detail, so great is His love for each precious one. He sees who this child--this specific one--is destined to be. And He wants so much for this little life to be one of joy, peace, and especially love.

You know your child better than almost anyone, but the doors to his or her heart must stay open in order for that knowledge to continue to be accurate. That means that you must meet your child each day with ready arms of love, a willingness to be "disrupted," and a fierce mother's instinct (I know Dads can have a special instinct as well--but in my experience, it's a bit different).

Sadly, we cannot protect our children from everything, but if we listen to the Lord and pray continually, we will have way less room for regret. God, of course, covers many things that we cannot control or foresee. He is very merciful that way. But as moms, one of our primary jobs, as I see it, is to understand the heart of each child and do all that we can--with the mighty help of the Lord--to prevent its injury. And when it is injured, we must seek the Lord for solutions, for His healing. Some healings may come quickly; some may not.

Stay in touch with your child's heart. Ask the hard questions. Don't be afraid of the answers. Let your love for your child outweigh the uncomfortable, the shocking, and the inconceivable.

I always felt growing up that my mom was too protective of me. I understand now that it was because she didn't want me to ever have to experience some of the pain she had had to go through. Better to be too overprotective than not protective enough.

I Thessalonians 2:7 reads, "But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children." I encourage you, moms--keep that gentleness and tenderness. Don't let it grow cold or slip away or see it as "too soft" for your child's age. It is the heart of the Father, and He will bless it. 

I believe God gave us the "mother bear" instinct for a reason, and that although we must restrain it at times we should never seek to dull this sense.

God is a jealous God (Exodus 34). And so should we as mothers be jealous for the abundant life of our children, no matter what it takes. Maybe we'll be embarrassed, maybe we'll be judged, maybe we'll simply look like an idiot. But what matters most at the end of the day is "Was I a good mom to my kid today?" Obviously, we're going to make mistakes. 

But the goal of our hearts should ever be: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed;..." (Proverbs 31:26-28a). Ask the Lord to quicken your mother bear instinct and to penetrate every corner of your being with love for this child, the one before you, the one who is more precious than any earthly thing--the one you would go to any lengths to protect. Let the magnitude of that responsibility sink in, and never let it lessen.

No matter how old they get, they'll always be your children. And they deserve your very best.

Wednesday Wisdom: Pride and Prejudice

I am not doing a treatise on the novel--sorry if that comes as a disappointment. Neither will I be critiquing any of the various movie portrayals. Instead, I want to talk about pride and prejudice from a Biblical perspective.

Proverbs 3:34 says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble..." This Scripture is quoted in the New Testament in James 4, which issues a warning against worldliness. In verse six of that chapter, we find not only the reference to Proverbs 3:34 but the odd statement that God "gives us more grace." If you read the verses before this one and after it, in order to get the context, it is clear that we have grace through His Spirit, which dwells in us, but we are able to receive more grace when we humbly follow Him. When we are tempted to just follow the way the world does things, we have an extra measure of grace we can tap into--it becomes available through humility. Therefore, it would seem that pride is really the enemy of grace in our lives.

Instead of elevating God, pride elevates self, and destruction ultimately follows in its wake. That brings us to one of my favorite Scriptures which, interestingly, is in the same passage in Proverbs that talks about "grace to the humble." In verses five and six, it reads: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." I don't know about you, but I'd rather my path be straight than crooked, off-course, dangerous, or unreliable.

If you would call yourself "humble," then chances are you probably have some pride left to deal with. The only way to ensure humility is to continually submit to God. Sometimes in our zeal to serve God, we cross the line into pride--maybe we're not seeking, not listening, or even assuming. We think we know what God approves and doesn't approve of and just how He feels about this or that situation--which leads to how He feels about this or that person--and before we know it, we've crossed the line into prejudice. 

Prejudice is "an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason." Did you catch that last part? Prejudice is unreasonable; a further definition even calls it hostile. Here's where the line gets foggy though--we may think we have full knowledge to judge that circumstance or (though we may not admit it) that person, but the Bible clearly tells us that we only know in part and that how God thinks is entirely different from the way we think. 

Instead of praying for God's blessing, we oppose that person in our spirit--and we feel "righteous" in doing so. The deception is that we are actually being self-righteous because we are operating in the realm of Pride.We need to remember that God is not threatened by someone's lack of compliance with certain "Christian rules." He is not shocked or dismayed by their choices. True--He may have a bigger, better plan for people than what they are currently experiencing, but our job is to love them.

I John 4:20 says, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." But wait a minute! I don't hate anyone. Perhaps we should examine our hearts to see if there might just be seeds of hate creeping about. A seed of hate can be disgust, impatience, or even a rolling of the eyes. 

One could argue--wait, aren't we supposed to oppose things that are worldly--the things God has warned us about in the book of James? We are not to be involved in those things, but God never tells us to think of ourselves more highly than others. And we also need to be careful that in looking at the lives of Christian brothers and sisters we are not judging. We are not anyone's judge. That job was left to God. And could that be because His character is perfect and not susceptible to bouts of pride and prejudice?

I John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." If we want to know God, be on His path, and receive the additional grace He promises, the key is Love. It is greater than pride or prejudice--it is greater than anything--it is God's very character. Pursue love in all things, and pride and prejudice won't take you off course.

Tincture Tuesday: Red

"Tincture" means "cast, color, pigment, shade, etc." So on Tuesdays (for now) I'll be writing a color poem.

RED

Hearts, bricks, apples, sexy dress

Rooster, ruby, Kool Aid mess

Hollywood carpet, beautiful rose

Babybel wrapper, stepped-on toes

Maraschino cherry, strawberry wine

Valentine cards, licorice vine

Blood donation, ketchup squeeze

Radish, Red Hots, skinned-up knees

Fruit punch, fire truck, red-hot coals

Rosy cheeks, Red Roan foals

Chili peppers, matchstick top

Glitzy lipstick, sign for STOP

Digital numbers, solo cups,

Teacher’s comments, Setter pups

Exit sign, red velvet cake

Love asleep and love awake

© 2013, Teresa L. Kephart

Monday Masterpiece: Follow Your Dreams

Welcome the the "Monday Masterpiece." This will be a picture-prompted blog entry. Today's blog begins with the image of a single tree, taken through a screen. When I see a solitary tree, I often think of strength, life, or growth of some kind. This tree makes me think of dreams. You can tell it's a tree-it's visible, yet it's somewhat distorted--not as clear as it could be--seen only through the "filter" of the screen.

Our dreams are often like that. They are in our hearts--they are very real--but they are seen through our filters of disappointment, rejection, and the like. We see them through our perceived deficiencies and failures. Like the tree through the screen, we begin to see them as beautiful illusions, not really possible or attainable.

In 2008, I wrote a poem entitled “Dreamer to Dreamer.” It’s a conversation with the Lord about the fear to dream. At the time, our family had just been through a difficult financial transition. It felt like we were “starting over” in many ways, thus the first line of the poem, “Lord, how can I dream when I’m indebted to many, When others have much and I barely have any?” I felt that we had gone “so low” that it was hard to see that anything prosperous or adventurous could ever happen. 

Being “indebted,” for me, had taken on a new meaning—it now meant “there will always be another debt, another burden to bear—that will steal your focus and rob you of any dreams you might have had—before they can ever come to fruition.” My circumstances in the natural realm—literal poverty, if you will—became my identity in the spiritual. I did not see that anything good could ever come from where I was now. I could not see a light at the end of the tunnel—a path by which my dreams could come true.

Dreamer to Dreamer

Lord, how can I dream when I’m indebted to many,

When others have much and I barely have any?

How can I venture to think in new ways

When the only ‘real’ I’ve ever known is this haze?

Sometimes my belief dares to rise, then it falls,

For how can my dreams reach beyond these four walls?

You reply—

My Child, it’s your nature to dream. Don’t you see?

For I am a dreamer you’re made like me.

I dreamed the vast heavens, the deep teeming sea.

I even dreamed what kind of person you’d be.

The universe was just a blueprint in my mind

Along with each creature, its species and kind.

My power caused all that you see now to be,

But first it began as a dream within me.

You must, in your mind’s eye, behold your dreams done

For any to unfold, for even just one.

I inquire—

But how can I do it—how can these dreams be

For one who is small and unsure, such as me?

You reply—

Let my mind be in you, let my thoughts take root,

For afterall, I am the vine—you’re the shoot.

If I say it’s possible, surely it’s true.

Was I not the one who placed those dreams in you?

Agree with me, plan with me. Seek first my face.

I hold possibility and fullness of grace.

I’m here, ever near you, to guide and to fill,

But partnering means it’s by your own free will.

My love for you, Child, is so deep you can’t see

Just how much fulfilling your dreams means to me.

I see all your future, each step you must take,

And now is the time for your dreams to awake.

I respond—

I trust you, Lord. You are my Father and Friend.

How can I sit idly and let my dreams end?

For they’re not just my own—they’re your heart’s desire for me,

You’ve made me for such things, and in you I’m free!

Be my closest companion, Lord. Show me the way.

Let it be as you’ve spoken, beginning today.

© 2008 Teresa L. Kephart

Throughout this conversation that I was literally having with the Lord, He was speaking that He was the Giver of my dreams, that they were part of His plan, that He would be my partner and guide--that it was time to awaken my dreams.

The poem ends with a prayer for God to show me the way and to let the dream-fulfillment begin. I've always dreamed of writing and publishing books. I've loved words and their patterns ever since I was first exposed to them. But the Lord saw that I was allowing that dream to die--I was looking at life like a tree through a screen. The "tree," all that could grow and develop, was being held captive--the screen, my vision of the future--was obscuring the dream so that it was in danger of dying.

I left that conversation with the Father with only a glimmer--no, a particle--of hope that the dreams of writing, of being the Lord's Master Scribe, would ever come to pass. But it only takes "faith as a mustard seed" to move mountains. The biggest mountain in my way was my own unbelief.

Last year teaching Language Arts to students in grades one through five, my third year being the pull-out teacher for that subject, I began to feel the tug. God was moving on my heart, tugging me in the direction of my passion for the written word. I couldn't deny it. I couldn't ignore it. The hunger was growing, and it needed to be satisfied. I made the difficult decision to leave teaching behind for however long of a season was necessary and embrace the writer in me.

I received a note on the last day of school from a precious, then third-grade student named Hope. In it she expressed that though she would miss me, she supported the calling I was about to pursue. She wrote:

"Dear Mrs. Kephart, I know you're leaving and I am very sad about that (everyone is), but I suggest you follow your dreams in writing." Follow your dreams. The words still seemed a bit nebulous, but I began to recite them in my mind--it was as if God used those words Hope had so sweetly written to speak directly to my heart, to let me know that He was directing my steps.

There have been some small steps taken. My blog has been launched, I'm writing a book, and I've done some networking. I will publish, and the words I've so longed to share with the world will eventually be read. Do you have a dream that you've shelved--that you've set behind a screen so you can no longer see it for what it was designed to be? Perhaps it's time for your dream to awaken. 

If God has placed a desire in your heart, and no matter what you do it's in the back of your mind and will not go away--if you find yourself wishing, hoping, arguing with yourself about it--if you keep going back to it in the desperate hope that something may come of it, you probably need to remove the screen and allow God to show you the full picture of His plan for that dream. There is a reason it won't go away. Your destiny doesn't belong behind a veil; it's designed to shine in full glory--why else would God have taken the time and care to birth it in your heart?

“Do not be afraid; only believe” (Mark 5:36b). And in the words of a wise little girl, I suggest you follow your dreams.