Make your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:135







Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Misplaced

Have you ever misplaced something? This drives me nuts! It never fails when I am running behind, one of my children has lost his left shoe, the other child cannot find his backpack, I've misplaced my car keys, or I've lost my cell phone. As organized as I try to be, something always falls through the cracks.

It's so easy to misplace something, lay it down and then forget where you put it, put it somewhere where it will be safe and easy to find and then it's not, or just overlook it and it be right under your nose. As easy as it is to misplace an item in your home it's even easier to misplace GOD. Hear me out! There are two reasons I believe God gets misplaced in our lives.

1. We get "too busy" with life
2. Things are going good and we don't think we "need" Him anymore

Neither of these reasons are right but both of these reasons are TRUE. At least they were for me.

Before Ryan and I went through our "wilderness" and even during it, I had misplaced God. Don't get me wrong, there were times when we NEEDED God and we sought Him. For example, six months after we were married his mother suddenly passed away. WE NEEDED GOD! We were close to Him; it was the only way we could make it through the day. However, after our son Sam was born, life happened. Things were good! We were busy! Ryan was the youth minister at our church. I was a teacher, a mother, a wife, a youth volunteer, a MOPS steering team member, a Swim Teacher, a Camp Piney leader, a VBS leader, and the list goes on and on. I know what you are thinking, "Most of your activities revolved around church". Yes, they revolved around church but they didn't revolve around GOD. You see, I was too busy playing church I forgot the God part. I wasn't at His feet where I should have been, learning about Him, worshipping Him, seeking Him. I had misplaced Him in my everyday, hectic life.

When I finally realized what was missing it was ALMOST too late for certain parts of my life, like my marriage. I fell to my knees and FOUND God in the place I was in. I didn't have to go to a church service or be in my quiet time. I found God right there on my back porch at 6:00 in the morning, when there was nothing left of me. And you know what, that's exactly where God wanted me to find Him. You see, God didn't want me to find Him when I had something to tear my away again. He wanted me to find Him when I was broken so, get this, HE could put me back together.

I HAD misplaced God. BUT, here's the part that makes my heart leap out of my chest. Here's the part that makes me shout praises to my God. Ready?! GOD NEVER, did you read that, NEVER misplaced me. He had me in the palm of His hand all along waiting for me to realize I NEEDED Him, even more importantly He was waiting for me to realize that I WANTED Him. ~Psalm 139:1-12

Maybe you are like me. Maybe you have misplaced God in your hectic life or maybe because things have been going good for you. Sister, life isn't always going to be good and it isn't always going to be easy. Satan is lurking around every corner seeking whom me may devour. Don't be an easy target because you have misplaced God. Make it a priority to put on the armor of God each day by seeking Him, praying to Him, reading His word. The devil doesn't stand a chance against this. ~Psalm 55:16-19

Have you misplaced God?  Find Him....on your knees!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

JOY Comes in the Morning

I am TERRIFIED of storms, I mean terrified with a CAPITAL "T". I have been extremely scared since a Tornado came through our backyard many years ago when I was living at home with my parents. It blew all of our doors open at the same time and knocked one of our trees over onto our neighbor's fence in their backyard. We were extremely blessed to have such little damage because this storm went on to do a tremendous amount of damage in other parts of our county.

For so long God has been dealing with me on the issue of "trust". Don't get me wrong, I have learned to trust God with the BIG things...it's the little things that get me. Here lately, my trust has been put to the test with all these "storms" I've been facing not only in nature but also in my personal life. I am the one who stays up watching the weather (James Spann), making sure our home and children are safe in the middle of the night. Ryan always amazes me because he can sleep through anything. It used to frustrate me that I was the one who HAD to stay up (like me being "awake" would make any difference if a tornado hit our home). In my frustration with Ryan one night, when I was awake waiting out the storm, God reminded me of the story in Luke, where Jesus calms the storm (Luke 8:22-25). Jesus asked the disciples this question, "WHY CAN'T YOU TRUST ME?" As I thought about this, God said to me, "You get frustrated with Ryan because he can sleep through anything but have you ever thought that he TRUSTS ME to take care of him, you and your boys?!" OUCH!!!!!!

I read this story again and again, and realized that God really was telling me that I don't trust him. Of course, I denied it at first...TO GOD!! HAHAHAHA!!! That was quite silly. As I admitted before, I trust Him with the big things but it's those little things I want to hold onto thinking I can handle that on my own. God said this to me, "If you can't trust me with EVERYTHING, then you DON'T trust me at all."

CONVICTION!!!!!!!!! I began to pray, asking God to help me find a way to turn my fears into Faith, a way to turn my distrust into COMPLETE trust. I decided to commit some scriptures concerning FEAR to memory and call on those scriptures when I began to feel afraid.

Psalm 46:1 - God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Timothy 1:7 - GOD has not given me a spirit of fear, but one of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Sunday night, when the storms hit and devestated part of our state, I could feel these verses rising up in me. Everytime I would start to feel that fear, I would speak one of the scriptures and it would go away. I slept so peacefully and woke up the next morning feeling like I had CONQUERED the devil on this one.

I said all of that to say this. God promises, "if you will trust me, praise me, continue to serve me trough the storms of this life, I PROMISE I will make it worth your while". When I left my house for work the next morning, the most beautiful sun was shining over the mountain. Everything looked refreshed, clean, NEW.

No matter what kind of storm you are facing, hang on, my friend, because tomorrow is coming. Tomorrow the sun will be shining again and this storm you have been in will have washed away all the dirt and grime that has been clouding your view. You will see clearly again.

I had to stop my car in the middle of the road and thank God for that word. The Storms of this life are scary, they are tough but it's like the scipture says.... "the sorrow may last for the night, but JOY comes in the morning!" PRAISE GOD for the storms and for the newness, the freshness, the CALM after the storm passes.

James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

My Wedding Day

When I was a little girl, I dreamed about what my wedding day would be like. I would pretend Barbie was the bride and Ken was the groom and would play dress up for hours and hours. When I got a little older, I loved watching weddings on tv. I would take mental notes of what I liked and didn't liked so that when I was planning my wedding I would have a general idea of what I wanted.

Fast forward to college. I met and got engaged to the guy I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Little did I know that God had very different plans for me. My engagement ended on pretty bad terms and my dreams of getting married seemed out of reach. UNTIL...

I was a Senior in college when I started dating Ryan. I knew I was going to marry him pretty early on (although he told me this on our first date and I thought he was CRAZY). We had been dating about 4 months when Ryan asked for my hand in marriage. We planned our wedding for about a year and on March 27, 2004, I became Mrs. Ryan Mulkey. When I walked down that aisle on that beautiful Saturday afternoon, Ryan did not see me as someone who had made past mistakes or someone who had almost given my hand in marriage to someone else. He saw me in a way that only he had eyes for. He saw me with eyes of love.

Three weeks ago my precious Grandmother, known to most as Big Mama, went to sleep for the last time here on Earth and woke up in Heaven. I got in my car on this Tuesday heading to her house to be with my mom and the rest of my family, when a song I had heard a million times started to play.

Here are the words to that song...

There's a stirring in the throne room
And all creation holds it's breath
Waiting now to see the bridgegroom
Wondering how the bride will dress
And she wears white
And she knows that she's undeserving
She bears the shame of history
But this worn and weary maiden
Is not the bride that he sees
And she wears white head to toe
But only he can make it so

When someone dries your tears
When someone wins your heart and says your beautiful
When you don't know you are
And all you long to see
Is written on his face
Love has come and finally set you free
On that wedding day

She has danced in golden castles
And she has crawled through beggar's dust
But today she stands before him
And she wears his righteousness
And she will be who he adores
And this is what he made her for

When the hand that bears the only scars
And heaven touch her face
And the last tears she'll ever cry
Are finally wiped away
And the clouds roll back as he takes her hand
And walks her through the gates
Forever we will reign


You see, I learned something that morning. Even in death, my grandmother was still teaching lessons. I began to think about salvation in different light. Think about it this way. God, when he knocks at your heart's door, is in a sense asking for your hand in marriage. You can either accept Him or deny Him. I learned that when you accept His proposal and become a believer, all of Heaven begins making preparations for your wedding day...the day you will meet Jesus face to face. Not only that, but when you accept His hand and become a believer, your LIFE, your CHOICES, your USE of what God is calling you to do begins to make those same preparations.

My grandmother LOVED like Jesus. She GAVE like Jesus. You see, my grandmother wasn't perfect but she left behind a legacy that will NOT be forgotten by anyone she came in contact with. She left behind children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, neices, nephews, and friends who saw JESUS in her because of her PURE love for them. Her love did not come with strings attached. I believe she loved because Jesus loved her.

When my grandmother walked that aisle of Heaven, GOD himself met her with open arms. He didn't talk about her past mistakes or sins she had committed. He KNEW her because she trusted in Him. He KNEW her because she had a heart like His. He SAW her the way he had originally created her to be seen...blameless, sinless, holy, PERFECT. HE ADORED HER!!!

I believe when she got to heaven that Tuesday morning, on her wedding day, God looked at her as she wore HIS righteousness and said, "Well done thy good and faithful servant. For what you did unto the least of these, you did unto me. You didn't let your right hand know what your left hand was doing. You LOVED me and you SERVED me. ENTER INTO THE JOYS OF THE LORD."

I don't know about you, but I want to live my life in a way that will be pleasing to God. I want to GO where He tells me to go. I want to DO what He tells me to do. I want to GIVE when He tells me to give. I want to LOVE who he tells me to love. I want to SERVE HIM...period!

When my wedding day comes, I want God to be able to look at me with eyes of PURE love, more love that Ryan had for me on our wedding day. I want him to look at me and say to me just what he said to my grandmother. I want to bow down at his feet and be able to say to him, "Lord, I gave you EVERYTHING!"

I challenge you to live every day of your life with your Heavenly Wedding Day at the front of your mind.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

You are HIS Masterpiece

I have started a new Bible Study with some pretty awesome women at my church. We have embarked on a journey with Beth Moore called James, Mercy Triumphs. Each day I have been doing my daily assignment as a good little student but today, when I finished, I felt God leading me to do more. I started reading some old emails from a wonderful friend of mine who, for a while, wrote and sent "Nuggets" to some co-workers and friends each day. A quote in one of her emails really struck home with me today and I thought I would share it.

Here it is.....
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

This paragraph is small but it packs a power punch in my book. Oftentimes, I wonder what God is doing and why he is doing it. Don't we all?! I have come to realize that the deeper we get into our relationship with Christ, the more "painful" it is at times to grow in His will. The more spiritually mature we become, the deeper he begins to dig in us, cleaning out the things that we don't want to let go of. I sometimes wonder why He is asking me to do such difficult things, and it hit me today as I read this paragraph; it's because he will not reside in anything run down, stagnant, unappealing to His eyes. He only wants the best, our best!

I would never invite someone to my house if it was a WRECK. If I am going to have company, I make sure that every nook and cranny of my house is clean. Well, listen here!! If you are a believer, GOD is living in your HOUSE, your real house, the house that matters.... RIGHT NOW!!!!! He sees EVERYTHING, so there is no point in trying to hide it.

You may have that one room or closet in your house where you throw everything you don't want people to see. Lord knows I do....my laundry room!! Ha! But I am here to tell you today that God is saying CLEAN IT OUT. Clean out the "Fear of rejection" closet! Clean out that "guilty pleasure" room! Clean out that "I have a family member who I won't speak to because they wronged me" nook! Clean out that "I am on the verge of divorce and I have too much pride to admit it" cranny!!! CLEAN IT OUT because God stands ready to build a palace out of YOU!!!! It is time we start emptying out what ties us to this Earth and start filling it up with what ties us to Heaven. After all, this is our ultimate goal, right?!

He wants to live inside of you!! Did you hear that?! He WANTS to live inside of YOU!!! WOW!!!!! He has CHOSEN you, calling you His MASTERPIECE. No matter what your circumstances are, GOD WANTS to live in you. No matter how broken your life is, God can and will come into your house, pick up the pieces and put it back together in a way you NEVER thought possible.

I am a Gifted Education Teacher. In our class this week, we have been talking about Art. Artists amaze me. I love to look at beautiful works of art, especially ones that are extremely detailed and elaborate. We have been talking about sculptors and potters, how they work long hours, days, sometimes even years before their masterpiece is completed. They pay attention to every detail until it mimics perfectly what they wanted it to portray. The thing, though, that stuck out to me the most is this: Potters will work for hours and hours trying to shape their piece of clay into a beautiful bowl or vase, but if it doesn't turn out just like he imagined, he doesn't throw it away. He STARTS OVER!!!! The potter will put the clay back on the wheel, wet his hands and gently start molding it AGAIN. Isn't this just like our GOD?!?!

You see, your house is God's work of art. He is the potter and You are the clay. When you mess up, when you aren't living up to your full potential, when you have a closet that isn't free of the clutter of this world, God doesn't throw you out. No! He places you back on the wheel, and gently starts remolding you into what he had originally intended for you to be all along...a one of kind, beautiful work of art....his MASTERPIECE!!