Called to Hope

"God, where are You? I need to see you in this situation!"

I found myself in a bit of a funk. Wrestling with God over the struggles of a dear friend. I wanted to pray but felt like I didn't know what to say or even how to say it. The long term nature of the struggle and the dark reality of what was happening had popped the cork of my faith and drained me of hope.

As I searched for words, I remembered Paul's prayers for the Ephesians and I was grateful to have a template to follow. I echoed his prayer over my friend's life and inserted their name in the text:

Father, I pray that the eyes of _______'s heart may be enlightened in order that ________ may know the hope to which you have called them... (Ephesians 1:18) Lord, Let them know there IS hope...you've called them to HOPE!

Called to hope? I believe this passage indicates that God has a hopeful future for each one of us. I got that part. But when I landed on those words I felt God calling me to BE hopeful! Calling me to hope, not only in wishing for a distant future place but as an action for the moment.

Maybe hope is not something we hold, something we keep bottled up inside. Maybe it's meant to be poured out over the circumstances of our lives and the lives of those we love.

How do you hear the call to hope?

If you ever find yourself not knowing how to pray, try using Paul's words:

Ephesians 1 , Ephesians 3

HELP

Way back when God created the world, He called it good. The stars were good. The flowers were good. The animals were good. But then He said something a little different. He said "It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper suitable for him." So God made woman. Girls, we are the answer to the first problem on the planet! I enjoy that role. I am my husband's helper. He needs me!

I’m also a mom. Like my mother before me I am now The-Finder-of-Lost-Things in our home. The boys will come to me and ask, "Mom, have you seen my ipod?" I follow that up with questions of my own. "Have you looked in the van? Did you check by the computer?" And this classic Mom question, "When was the last time you had it?" I don't know why I bother to ask, because most of the time all I have to do is get up and look and I find whatever was lost! I enjoy helping my boys, and I must say I am pretty good at 5^th grade homework!

But there are a few things I know about me…

-I am not all-knowing or all-powerful.

-As much as I have my families best interest at heart, I fall short every day.

-My mercies? They are not new every morning.

-I can’t be the only source of help for my family.

Lately I've been thinking about this passage from Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our help comes from the Lord who created each one of us, who created this world we live in. That Creator-God is our Helper! I need a little help in my life right now….I need to hear this! I have family members who are hurting. There are health needs, financial concerns and strained relationships.

So I tell myself Lift up your eyes Lynn! Stop looking to your job, your family, the doctors or yourself to be the source of life and joy and peace.

Lift up your eyes and remember that your help comes from the Lord.

He is a very present help in time of need!

Mysterious Math

One day when Jesus was walking the Earth, some religious people came with a question about divorce designed to trip him up. (They did things like this.) Jesus answered by quoting our Creator. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh… So they are no longer two, but one...” (Matthew 19)

Two become one? Any first grader will tell you something is wrong with that arithmetic. But God’s math can be a bit mysterious. He is, after all, three in one. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One God. 1+1+1=1. Try to define that algorithm. It’s a mystery!

0.5 + 0.5 = 1

We might try an equation like this: 0.5 + 0.5 =1. It seems more logical. Two halves come together to form one whole. Hollywood appears to lean toward this solution. In the famous words of Jerry Maquire, “You complete me”. It sounds romantic, but think about it. Do you really want to be the partial person endlessly searching for your missing half? Or would you prefer the responsibility of being another person’s “completer?” Couples who adhere to this equation are looking to their spouse to fulfill them. They are looking for a savior. Take it from someone who has tried that approach - humans make terrible saviors! They fail us. They disappoint us. They do not make our broken parts whole like we wish they could.

1 + 1 = 2

Here is some good sound math. 1+1=2. I think people settle on this equation in an effort to hold on to their individuality. They don’t want to lose their identity in any relationship. These couples light the unity candle at their wedding but don’t blow out their own candles. In some areas of our marriage, we feel like this equation is an accurate summation. We are two very distinct individuals. Sometimes I ask myself, what was God thinking when he put us together? Our twoness frequently overshadows areas of unity. We see our combined humanity in this equation: two selfish people, two prideful people, and two separate people. Although the product of this equation looks larger, the end result is emptier. It can feel more like 1+1=0.

1 + 1 = 1

So, how can 1 + 1 equal 1? It doesn’t compute. This is not your average equation. Something supernatural is happening here! With God’s math we are all we were meant to be. We don’t bring less than our full self in order to somehow balance the equation, and we are not two people living separate lives. When we reflect on God’s mysterious math, we are thankful that somehow in his kingdom two whole people join together to become one whole unit. This does not happen over night, not even on a wedding night. We believe marriage is a pursuit of this oneness.

Oneness

We like formulas: add this, subtract that and voila! If only it were that simple. When we look at our journey, we see how our strongest areas of union have come through our most difficult trials. Is that encouraging? Maybe not on the surface, but if you look a little deeper we trust you’ll find hope. Doing the hard work, crunching the budget numbers, calling a marriage counselor – each time we choose to face a tough situation together and each time we choose to talk things out instead of pretending, we take another step toward oneness.

Maybe James was talking to couples when he said: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Persevere in your marriage. Know that in every conflict there is potential for growth. As we come together through our challenges we mature. We become complete, not lacking, whole. Mysteriously, two become one.

Try This

Is there a trial you faced together that brought maturity to your marriage? Take time to celebrate!

How do your numbers add up? Check out daveramsey.com/fpu for a Financial Peace University class near you. It is worth the investment in your finances and your marriage.

Plan a quiet evening to have an honest conversation about one area in which you feel more like two and less like one.

(Our September article for Austin Faith & Family received some deep cuts for space...so I've included the entire draft here)

The Family Universe

Our article for the August Edition of Austin Faith and Family magazine also appeared in Bell County Family! We are excited to share our hearts with a new community.

This month is all about The Family Universe. How are things in your home? Does it feel like life revolves around the children? Or is your marriage at the center? Check out this online issue of Bell County Family. We are on page 11.

Grace to Your Mountain!

Years go my husband and I were facing a mountain of debt. Now some people find themselves in that kind of situation when there has been a job loss, sickness or hospital bills...that was not the case with us. We made this mess ourselves with our own poor management. It was embarrassing and intimidating. Things were dark in the shadow of that mountain.

But we swallowed our pride and signed up for Financial Peace class. We started to chip away at that mountain. Honestly it feels like you’ve got a toothpick. For several years we were chipping at this giant mountain with our little tiny toothpicks wondering will it ever go away??

But one day…we got a check in the mail…a big one.

That check swept away what remained of our debt mountain like it was just a little pile of dirt.

It was amazing!

We did nothing to deserve that money…we didn’t earn that money…it was a gift.
It was God’s grace to our mountain!

Zechariah 4:7 says ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the finishing stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"

Zerubbabel was facing a mountain, he was trying to build a temple for the Lord and there were lots of obstacles, there was a lot of opposition…but Zechariah prophesied that mountain would be leveled…the temple would be completed and the people would shout GRACE!

What a great word to shout!

I know that many of us are facing challenges today, and maybe it’s even a mess you that made. You might be saying " I don't deserve help with this." That is what God's scandalous grace is all about.

Today I want to shout:

GRACE to your mountain of shame.
GRACE to your mountain of debt.
GRACE to your mountain of pain.

Grace to the obstacles and opposition you experience in pursing God’s plan.

You can finish…there is victory…there is freedom and hope!

We are saved and our lives are truly changed by God’s great grace!

By His Stripes

He was wounded for our transgressions;

he was bruised for our iniquities (our guilt and sin)

The punishment that brought us peace was upon him;

and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Two weeks ago in our Easter production, The Thorn, there was a scene where Jesus was being beaten. At one point he fell from the whipping post and the devil was taunting him…"haven’t you taken enough?.....just walk away." But Jesus got back up to take the full punishment, all 39 stripes. It brought tears to my eyes. I remembered this verse, by his stripes we are healed.

I was in Jr high when this verse first came alive to me. I was outside and I can’t remember exactly how it happened but I sprained my ankle. I went hopping on one foot to find my Mom, thinkin' we are going to have to go to the doctor, I won't be able to stand for our choir concert, this is awful! Now our family was new to this whole idea that the Bible is for today, and something came over my Mom! She grabbed my arm and said Lynn, we are going to pray, we are going to believe what God’s word says and you are going to be healed.

So right there in the driveway she started praying.

I’m in some serious pain. I’m crying…thinking my mom has lost it! But she prayed this verse, "Jesus you were wounded for us, you were bruised for us…you carried our diseases, you bore our pain….and by your stripes Lynn is healed today." There we were…praying and crying and limping around…in the front yard…I’m thinking My Mom is crazy….we should at least be in the back yard!

But it was amazing…the pain left…my ankle was never swollen and we couldn’t wait till my Dad came home from work so we could tell him what happened.

Jesus is our Healer! If you need physical healing… by His stripes you are healed. Maybe you need healing in your mind, or in your relationships…by His stripes you are healed!

Our God is a healer. He is faithful. He is still active on the earth …healing people Body, Mind and Soul. Today on Good Friday, we remember he was beaten for US and by His stripes our wounds are made whole.

Resurrection Life

We are in the middle of rehearsals for The Thorn and honestly, my family is exhausted. Our boys are acting in the production, my husband is assisting with technical needs and I’m the taxi driver, which as any mom knows can be quite taxing!

What an amazing retelling of the timeless story of our redemption. As I watched the practice, tears welled in my eyes and gratefulness flooded my heart. I remembered this truth:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

"Death and Resurrection" is no longer a theological concept that I simply choose to believe. It is very real to me. I lived in a tomb of my own making for several years. The pain of betrayal and the loneliness of the secret I kept shrouded my life in darkness. If you would have seen me then, you may have never known I was walking around mostly dead - going through the motions of life but feeling very little emotion. God met me in that place with the warmth of His love. He softened my cold heart and planted a seed of faith.

When I see Jesus emerging from the tomb, I see me. I’m alive, because God breathed His life into me. I’m still standing because He strengthened me. I see those grave clothes falling from His arms and I know I am no longer bound. I’ve been set free! I’m moving forward with hope for the future.

Sometimes I just have to stop and take a Long, Slow, Deep Breath. And then another. And then another. It feels so good to be ALIVE!

How has God breathed His resurrection life into your life?