Faith to believe he can do what we ask

I'm currently reading through the book of Acts, and my bible study this morning found me in chapter 12. Although I've read and heard the story of Peter's escape from prison via angelic intervention many times, a few things jumped out at me today that made me stop and think.

I'll give a quick summary of the story just so you'll know where I'm coming from. As the chapter opens, the persecution of the early church is in full force and King Herod had just arrested several members of the church. He even had James, the brother of John and one of the 12 disciples, beheaded. Herod saw that this pleased the Jews (and would therefore help him earn and keep their support), so he kept up the arrests and had Peter seized and thrown into prison.

Not only did Herod throw Peter in prison to have him await trial, he also assigned four-soldier squads to guard him at all times. Peter even had to sleep between two soldiers, while bound with two chains, as the other two soldiers guarded the prison door.

But as Peter sat in prison, the early church prayed earnestly for him. (We'll come back to this later.)

The night before his trial was set to begin, an angel of the Lord appeared, struck Peter on the side and woke him up. The chains fell off Peter's wrists and the angel basically told him to get dressed quickly and follow him out of the prison. Peter had no clue what was going on and thought he was having a vision, instead of actually being set free from prison.

After the angel walked him out of the prison and down a city street, he left Peter. Then Peter suddenly realized what was happening. It wasn't all a dream or a vision--God had answered his prayers and those lifted up by the church on his behalf. He had just walked away from a heavily guarded prison cell without any interference. He was a free man again! Herod's expectations, and those of the Jews who hated the early church and were no doubt looking forward to seeing Peter executed, had been thwarted.

So Peter went to a home of one of the members of the early church, where a group of Christians were actually gathered at that very moment, praying for him. And they were so shocked to see him outside the door that they accused the servant girl who answered it of being "out of [her] mind" (NIV). When they all finally saw him, they couldn't believe it.

There are a number of different lessons that can be drawn from this story, but the one that jumped out at me today is: where was the faith to believe that God hears and answers prayer?

The church had clearly been praying for Peter--hard--and I imagine Peter said a prayer or two of his own.

Yet I think the Scripture implies everyone expected Peter's death to be imminent. James had just been martyred and I think even Peter himself expected to meet the same fate. I don't think it's a stretch at all to believe that Peter sat in that prison cell thinking he had met his end. Why else would he be so shocked when God rescued him? And why would the church be so amazed to see him out of prison alive and well?

As I read that story this morning, I thought, "Where was their faith? Here they were, praying earnestly for Peter's life to be spared, and when it actually happens they're shocked. God had performed all kinds of miracles for the early church, so why were they amazed when he answered their prayers?"

Those thoughts quickly reminded me of the countless times I've prayed earnestly for something I knew to be in line with God's will and then been just as amazed when he answered my requests--usually above and beyond what I had asked.

God keeps his promises and assures us that he will meet our needs, protect us and answer our prayers, so where is our faith to believe that he will do what he says he'll do? Our circumstances don't dictate the outcome of the situations we find ourselves in--God does (and I'm preaching to myself here).

"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.'" - Mark 11:22-24

In John 15, Jesus says that if we abide in Christ (he is the vine and we are the branches) and remain in his love, "then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (verse 16).

And just as most of us wouldn't have any problem approaching our earthly Father with a simple request if we needed something, we can approach our heavenly Father, who loves us far more than our earthly parents ever could, with even more confidence that he is eager to fulfill our requests and meet our needs.

For example, if I needed to have some work done on my car, I would not hesitate to go to my dad and ask if I could borrow one of my parents' vehicles while my car is in the shop, fully expecting him to quickly agree to let me use the older minivan. (I've made such a request more than once.)

If I have that much confidence in approaching my earthly father--who, while he is loving, is still human and make mistakes--then why does it seem so hard sometimes to go to God confidently in prayer? God is eagerly waiting to meet my needs and even the desires he has placed in my heart, if I'll only ask and trust him. The answer may not come right away, but that doesn't mean my faith that he heard my prayer and will answer it in his timing and in his perfect way should decrease.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

My prayer today is like that of the man with a demon-possessed son in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Lord, increase my faith to trust you completely in all things and take you at your word!

May we approach his throne with confidence out of an awareness of his grace and an intimate relationship with Him and be filled to overflowing with testimonies of God's goodness and faithfulness!

I'm still alive....

Wow! I can't believe it's been more than two months since I last posted anything here! Despite what my shameful negligence as a blogger would insinuate, I am still alive and well and still enjoy writing.

It's been a crazy summer, but things are beginning to return to "normal" again (whatever that is). And with that, I'm beginning to miss blogging enough to make time for it again.

I don't pretend to have anything earth-shattering to share here or a large following by any means, I've just always enjoyed writing and it helps me process things. I would write here even if no one ever read it. But if you do happen to stop by every once in a while, stay tuned... more posts are coming.

Sweet memory

A few weeks ago, I decided to look through our big box of old family photos, just for fun, while I was watching a TV show with my family. That's always an entertaining activity. It's amusing to look back over all the old funny pictures and crazy hairstyles of the past, exclaim over how young we all look, and smile in fond remembrance about some of my favorite memories, depicted in a picture.

This picture falls under the latter category.

I'm not sure that I've ever noticed this picture before, but I found it that night and I love it.

It's a picture of my brother Andrew, my grandmother Violet Martin (my mom's mom) and me. I'm not sure exactly when it was taken, but my guess is that it was the summer of 1991. I would have only recently turned 4 years old and Andrew would be almost 3.

I've always loved to read and before I could read on my own, I enjoyed being read to. This is one of those moments. I'm not sure what we were reading, but I do remember that I enjoyed reading with my grandmother--or Me Maw, as we called her.

Obviously, at that age she would have to read to us. Reading aloud would often make my grandmother sleepy, so a couple of years later, when I could read on my own, I came up with a plan to keep my grandmother awake and still finish the book. We would tag team it. She would read a page, and then I would read a page, and so on. It usually worked. I still remember how proud I was of my "reading plan," especially when we pulled it off.

Me Maw went to be with the Lord suddenly on the morning of January 30, 2000, when I was only 12. Unfortunately, as you can tell from this picture, her size contributed to health problems that took her from us at too young of an age (she was only 59). But even though I didn't get to make as many memories with her as I would have liked, I still cherish the ones I do have. And this picture captures many of them perfectly. :)

New musical delight

I've always had a marked fondness for piano music. I first learned how to play the piano when I was 9 years old, but wanted to for years before that. I took six years of lessons before I eventually had to stop amid the demands of working part-time and finishing high school.

Unfortunately, I rarely have time to play anymore (I really need to fix that and make it more of a priority--I still love to play), but I will always have a particular love for music with strong piano elements and a noteable weakness for music arranged specifically for solo piano. I also love classic hymns. Thus, I am absolutely in love with a new album I've stumbled upon (well, actually it's been out for nine years so it is not new at all, just new to me) and it's so lovely I thought I would share my new discovery: Chris Rice's album The Living Room Sessions.

The album is absolutely beautiful! It is completely made up of instrumental hymns, arranged specifically for and played solely on the piano. The music is lovely and so peaceful. So lovely, in fact, that I bought the sheet music and I am going to learn to play some of the songs. My favorites are Rice's arrangements for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," although all the songs are beautiful and the album includes other excellent arrangements for classics like "How Great Thou Art," "Fairest Lord Jesus," and "For the Beauty of the Earth."

So if you're looking for some new instrumental music to enjoy, this album is worth checking out!

P.S. When I was just searching for an image of the CD on Amazon to use in this blog post, I discovered Rice also has a "Living Room Sessions" Christmas album. *big grin* My love of Christmas music is even greater than my love of piano music--particularly when the two go hand-in-hand--so I think I might have to wander over to iTunes and download some new music for my iPod soon. :)

Aquarium cookies and massages

Interesting title, hmm? :)

But it nicely sums up some of the simple joys I have found in my day.

There aren't many perks to working an early morning shift--especially an extended run of them--so I try to make the most of the ones that come my way.

Every few months or so, the public relations guy for the Tennessee Aquarium comes to our studio for an interview during the 6 a.m. show. He always talks about the latest news at the aquarium and usually mentions some of the best things to do in Chattanooga during a given season. He's a great interview and a genuinely nice guy. By the time he wraps up his interviews, I'm usually itching to take a trip to Chatty.

But the real reason everyone at the station awaits his interviews with anticipation is because he always brings in a box full of the *best* iced cookies. His wife owns a bakery in Signal Mountain and she always makes us the cutest, tastiest aquarium-themed cookies you'll ever see (or eat). The icing is smooth and stable, the cookies are nice and even, both taste great and she always packages them beautifully.

Someday I want to be able to make iced cookies that look and taste that amazing.

The next highlight of my day came when I realized that tomorrow is the day the massage therapist/reflexologist who comes out to the station once a month is scheduled. I don't usually work Tuesdays and when I am scheduled an extra day (such as this week) or called in, it's never on the weeks she is here.

But as I was getting ready to leave this afternoon, our newsroom administrative assistant sent out an e-mail reminder about reflexology tomorrow. And guess who has to work an extra shift tomorrow morning? Yep! I signed up for a 15-minute massage/reflexology appointment as soon as my shift ends at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I can't think of a better way to end an extended work week, particularly one with extra morning shifts. :)

Working an extended work week with extra early morning shifts is my least favorite and I'm usually utterly exhausted by the time I reach the end of it. So sometimes it's hard not to have a negative attitude about it or at the very least dread it, which obviously only makes it worse. I've approached schedules like this from both angles before, and this time I was determined not to let it get me down. So I've been tickled pink to find these little unexpected joys that have come along to brighten my day. It shouldn't have surprised me though. God's grace is sufficient to give me the rest that I need and make me smile and laugh at just the right moments to help carry me through my day. He is always looking for ways to express his love to us--even if it something as simple as a cookie to put a smile on our face.

A song I've been listening to off a new worship CD I bought recently keeps running through my head, "He loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves!"

Days like this always make me wonder how many other little blessings I fail to notice on a daily basis, simply because I'm not paying attention. God is always speaking and always showering us with his love. Maybe it doesn't always manifest itself in such a tangible way as cookies and massages, but his presence is always with us and examples of his love for us abound. His loving-kindness is new every morning.

Isn't God amazing?!?

Five years later...

My high school senior picture

I recently realized that it has been five years since I graduated high school! Wow! That anniversary kind of crept up on me.

As that thought hit me, I paused to remember what my life was like five years ago as a starry-eyed high school grad full of big hopes and dreams. Those thoughts inevitably led me to look back over the journey that has led me to where I am now.

And you know what I found? Pretty much nothing about my life now is the way I would have imagined it would be like then. But believe it or not, I'm totally OK with that. Yes, me--Miss I-Want-to-Have-All-My-Ducks-in-a-Row-and-Plan-Everything-Out. And that is all thanks to the grace of God--certainly not courtesy of my own ability to "let go and let God!" It is by his power alone that I have learned to be content with not knowing what the future holds and happy to live my life in the present.

If there's one thing I've learned with certainty over the past five years, it is that God is good and he is faithful. Even when his plans are very different from mine. I still have big hopes and dreams, but some of them simply look a little different now.

As I graduated high school, if you had asked me what I thought my life would be like in five years, I'm not really sure what I would have told you. Probably something general like, "I will have graduated college and be working full-time in my field." That much has happened. It's probably about the only thing that has, but it's taken place in a different way than what I would have imagined.

As a newly 18-year-old high school grad, I would have laughed out loud--hard--if anyone had told me that at age 23, I would be a journalist working in TV news, still living at home, still completely single, attending a different church from the rest of my family, with pretty much a completely new set of friends.

But all of those things have happened and I can't imagine my life any differently than it is now. I am very happy with where God has me.

It's been quite a journey to reach this point, but life is and should be an adventure with God. Yes, there were many uncertainities along the way that drove me absolutely crazy, and to be perfectly honest, there still are. I'm still not exactly sure why God has me where I am. But isn't that what faith is all about? Trusting when we can't see? :) I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that there will always be uncertainties as long as we're here on this Earth. But what is and always will be certain is the fact that I can rest in the joy and peace of mind that comes from knowing that I am where I am supposed to be, and that God is in control and he has a plan in mind, even if I can't see the big picture. I just have to trust Him. Easier said than done in most situations, but true nonetheless. :)

I know several graduating seniors this year and as I watch some of them stress out over deciding what to do with their lives, I can't help but smile. I remember those frustrations vividly. And if I could offer one piece of advice to them, it would be this:

Yes, you should definitely have a goal for the future in mind. Seek God intensely about what he would have you do with your life, then start walking in it. Don't waste any time in living out his plans and purposes for you. BUT... be ready for those plans to look different than what you expect. And know that is a good thing. God knows us better than we know ourselves and his plans are always for our good. What he has in mind for you will be far better than anything you could plan or work out for yourself. He is ALWAYS faithful. Follow God's leading for the next step, even if the steps beyond that aren't clear. He will see you through to the end and meet your every need, even when everything in this world would try to say otherwise. Go be a shining light for Jesus and win others for His kingdom!

My prayer is that when these seniors look back on this season five years from now, that they will have countless testimonies to share of God's faithfulness and goodness at work in and through their lives as they follow his direction.

It's amazing what can happen in five years. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next five!

Graduation Day, May 28, 2005

He was pierced for our transgressions

In my quiet time today, I took some time to reflect on Christ's death on the Cross and his resurrection. Easter is only three days away, and I enjoy taking time to revisit the events of the most pivotal moment in history in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday. The Cross is something we should be mindful of all the time, but there is something special about reflecting on Christ's incredible sacrifice in the week leading up to Easter.

Part of my meditation on Christ's death always includes the eyewitness accounts of the event written in the Gospels, but I also enjoy reading Isaiah's completely accurate prophetic account of Christ's life, death and resurrection as noted in Isaiah 53--hundreds of years before any of it came to pass.

As I re-read the familiar passages and pondered Christ's incredible sacrifice once again, tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. Jesus, the only truly innocent person to ever walk the earth, took on the sins of every person who has ever lived or ever will--and didn't even so much as utter one word in his own defense. He died a cruel, excruciatingly painful death on the Cross for me. And for you. He took on the punishment we deserved--death--so that we wouldn't have to endure it.

And the best part--the Cross wasn't the end of the story! Christ rose again on the third day and descended into heaven 40 days later to prepare for his still-to-come triumphant return to earth. And through his sacrifice, we are completely redeemed and justified through God's grace. Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 53

¹Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitted by him and afflicted.
⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
⁷He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
⁹He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
¹⁰Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
¹²Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."