Whom Shall I Fear?

In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah got the opportunity to see God in a whole new light.  The fact that Isaiah hung on to the death of something in his life showed he had experienced great loss. There was something valuable to him that was there no longer. But what he gained was bigger and better than he ever thought possible.  God gave Isaiah a glimpse of who He really is. Once you get a glimpse of who God really is, nothing else matters.

Isaiah needed that moment with God to fill his emptiness.

Once God filled it, Isaiah was ready to minister again. “Here I am. Send me.”

Like Isaiah, I have experienced great loss. I have nothing left to give. God has emptied my coffers so that all there is is me. But all the takers in my life are still trying to take. They are frustrated when there is nothing there to take. They want more of what they were used to getting, but there is nothing. He brought me to this season for a reason. God is my only source, and I have learned contentment. (Philippians 4:11-13)

In my 50th year of life, the Lord is teaching me how to fear Him. It is the beginning of wisdom. Once you get a good picture of who you serve, it puts everything in perspective. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that there are lots of thunderstorms and earthquakes in this area. God shakes our foundations to show us we don’t control anything.

The same God who loved us so much He sent his Son, is also the same God who turns up the earth in quakes and sends us running for cover in tornados. I serve a mighty God and trust Him with all areas of my life.  He shut the mouths of lions for Daniel. He kept the fire from the 3 Hebrew boys. Ain’t nothing out there can touch me, less it go through Him first. If He brings me too it, then He will bring me through it.

If Noah had brought other people on the boat, they probably would have jumped off after 20 days because they didn’t trust what God was doing with Noah. He got to experience God as a destroyer of mankind and as a provider for his family. I know that when this season of life is over for me,  I will be like Isaiah wanting to share all that He has done for me.

God is in control. He knows what He is doing. I believe that His children will not be forsaken.

Models Needed

The Queens of Freedom is a photography project that will tell the story of 17 women who did extraordinary things in the fight for freedom. If you are interested in being a model for the Queens of Freedom project please email me your headshot.  If you have an idea which of the 17 Queens you would like to portray, tell me that and why.

Queen

My email address is uppcreative@yahoo.com.

Queen

If you need to send it snail mail: PO Box 11082 Fort Worth, Texas 76110.

Share Night

I used to kick “Share Night” to the curb. I had made it through another year of bible study, so I was gonna sit at home and relax. Skip listening to other folks talk about what God had done during their year. I had collected all my points all year by going to class, doing my lesson and even sharing on the personal questions. That was good enough. I was in my 30s and didn’t get it.

Share night is the last night of the study. The whole group meets to hear what others have learned and experienced during the study. There are questions designed to prompt this sharing.

Needless to say, I did not do the last lesson which caused you to reflect on all that you had been through that year. I was so stupid, but God didn’t tell me that. He just continued to nudge me forward. I did not stay stuck on stupid. I did start to attend “share nights” and discovered the Living God working in the lives around me. When you are wrapped up in the media, you can miss what God is doing right in front of your face.

Share night puts God in your face.

One of my favorite share night memories comes from the South Fort Worth class. A majority of the women who got up to tell what God had done in their lives, first thanked Judy Brewington who invited them to join the BSF class. Judy takes the study of God’s word serious an shares it will all who comes into contact with her. She is an incredible woman of God.

Through the years of Share Nights, I have laughed and cried with many woman. Through this journey God prepared me.

What I have learned this year in Bible Study Fellowship through the study of Moses’ life is that taking time to reflect on your journey is a good thing. Whether you know it or not, you are on a journey. And all of the people who are travelling with you are not experiencing the same things as you, but you can still journey together. God will entrust you with a vision that not everyone will understand or comply with. Moses had to bury all but Joshua and Caleb in the desert because they did not understand God’s plan.

During the study of Moses I experienced the most loss I have experience in my life at one time: my mom, my job, some good friends and more. As God revealed the mortality of things on earth, he revealed the immortality of heaven.  The joy is that God does not get old and frail. He does not become forgetful or weak. He can be all of the things we have lost. He has taught me He is the one thing I cannot do without.

My overall principle was He was with me. The Third Day song Spirit hit the nail on the head. When all else failed, His presence was always with me. He would always be my guide.

This year I prayed show me what He wants me to know and protect me from what He doesn’t. I choose to know Jesus Christ and him crucified. That is enough for me.

Thank you for your support

I want to say Thank you for supporting the Queens project to David Cegelski. You will help me tell the stories of women like Betsy Ross. She triumphed over tragedy after losing two husbands to the Revolutionary War. She continued to run the upholstery business she started with her first husband John Ross, raise her family and support the war. She is also credited with sewing the American Flag.

Queen