Gratitude...

For getting to literally go "over the river and through the woods" to grandmother's house...Lord, I thank you.

For family who genuinely like and love each other ...Lord, I thank you.

For "faithful friends who are dear to us, gathered near to us once more"...Lord, I thank you.

For opening my dishwasher and seeing baby bottles...Lord, I thank you.

For the fact that my Christmas decorations are almost all up...almost...Lord, I thank you.

For sons grown strong, Lord I thank you. For daughters who are like pillars in the house of their God, Lord I thank you. For a husband who still whistles when I catch his eye, Lord I thank you.

For answering my prayers, Lord I thank you. For all-sufficient grace, I thank you. For tender mercies, I thank you. For strength, both physical and emotional, I thank you. Your gentleness has made me great, I know this, and I thank you.

For my white kitchen, wooden counters, cute new skirts, and Google Sky on my phone, Lord I thank you. For Pandora radio and Christmas music and tartan plaid and the way knitting relaxes me, I thank you.

For people who act so religious, they intimidate the Anti-Christ, Lord I thank you because they make me want to laugh and pick corn on the Sabbath.

For people who act so sinful, they intimidate Christians, Lord I thank you because they make me want to change and have compassion and manifest Christ to them and see them healed.

For all the prodigals who, simply by being who they are, reveal the heart of God and the heart of jaded elder brothers...oh Lord, I thank you.

For orange and clove scented candles, a clean house, and the basketball game I get to go to tomorrow, Lord I thank you. For our newest son-in-love, The Arteest, Lord I thank you. For looking into the "drum cage" on Sunday, and seeing my baby sit where his daddy has so often sat, swaying and bobbing like his daddy, Lord I thank you.

For tender words from Parris Island, for missing my boy so much, Lord I thank you. For love carried on wings for forty-something cents, Lord I thank you. For drill instructors who know potential greatness when they see it, Lord I thank you.

For finally setting in true elders in Harvest Church, men who care, who would never just up and leave, men who will actually obey the word of the Lord to "help us love these people" , I thank you with all my heart. For apostolic oversight and pastors all over the southeast and far north who rejoice with us, Lord I thank you. For men who fly in, just to be there to see a small church set in her elders, Lord I thank you.

For new horizons, and All That Is To Come, I thank you. For architectural drawings detailing a new layout downstairs in our church building, I thank you. For the FIVE new babies on the way, Lord I thank you. For finding out that yet another couple in Harvest is expecting, Lord I thank you.

You are good and Your love endures forever.

No Weapon Formed...

Have you ever had an instance when, all of a sudden, a passage of Scripture takes on "flesh and blood" in your life? All of a sudden, what you've read in Scripture takes on context?

Me, too. About this whole "weapons" thing...

When you walk in a conscious awareness of the unmerited favor of God, He comes to your personal defense. This is because you have made the God of Jacob your refuge by choice, not by default. You have submitted yourself to the righteousness which comes only through Christ Jesus. When you make it all about Jesus, all for Jesus, through, by and to Jesus, you simply live in an unfair advantage. There is no other way of putting it. No weapon formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that speaks against you in judgement, you will, in time, show to be in the wrong.

Not because of any righteousness of your own, but because you are in Christ...no one who criticizes you prospers in their effort because of Christ. Not because you prayed a prayer, not because you attend church, not because you decided to be a better, more self disciplined Christian, not because you perform, but rather, you live in an unfair advantage when you know you can't do anything right! You have believed the report of the Lord, and thus to you is His arm revealed! Your unfair advantage comes by blood. By blood inheritance, you are "unfairly favored" in life, and no one can touch you.

Funny, I woke up some time back with the feeling that something else was going to come to light regarding people we love, who have moved on awhile back. I even dreamed about them recently - an unsettling dream that left me concerned for them. In my dream one of them was sick to the point of death, but keeping up a pretense of being well - all because they wanted to be "right", to be thought of as being well. There was nothing we could do to change that. I woke up sad for them.

Then, that very morning, Tim "just happened" to run into someone else who had left our church years ago - the two of them had an amiable conversation, and he told Tim some things that we found to be...interesting. Of all things, a small part of the conversation was concerning the very ones I dreamed about the night before, and about whom I sensed that more was going to come to light. And more did. Nothing of any consequence in this season, but new information, nevertheless.

Maybe for a moment or two, the old knee-jerk reaction was there. The urge to vindicate oneself resides in every human being. But I realized - "...what they said and did, didn't prosper!"

Then, without my having to choose to feel the right thing, the same concern for them washed over my heart, sweeping away what little debris of self-vindication had collected there. Because of my grace foundation, I know that I am loved and accepted and protected by God. I'm aware of possessing such wealth, that it makes the judgement of another person feel like what a billionaire must feel when the law gives him a hundred dollar speeding ticket.

"I can afford this. Why let it bother me?" I'm way wealthier than the one who is writing the ticket. He can write me all the tickets he wants, and he might even be right, according to the letter of the law. I still get to go home and enjoy my wealth, figuratively speaking, while those who write tickets will go back to doing just that....issuing tickets to others for their infractions. I've chosen a different way of life, and I get to go live it.

So I'll take the ticket. It has no impact on my destiny or my day. "Thanks, officer. And I love you. Come over for dinner sometime!"

Friends, this is what I mean about context. This is what the Scripture means when it says that no weapon formed against you will prosper. It doesn't mean that no one is ever going to form a weapon against you. It means they will! Put that in your Promise Box...there are many, even other believers, who carry weapons and write tickets. They will utilize both.

But it won't prosper. Any weapon, in order to prosper, must "inflict pain" or some level of damage that affects your outcome. If it doesn't inflict at least a little damage, if it doesn't at least alter your outcome a little bit, if it doesn't weaken you, at least....the weapon didn't prosper.

Hear me - no weapon formed against you can prosper, when you have, by conscious belief and choice, placed your faith in the gospel of Christ. You dwell in a Secret Place, where, when a weapon is fired, it doesn't do any lasting damage.

"Tis merely a flesh wound!" I can't tell you how many times I've laughed my behind off at that very movie line. I identify with it - with one exception: When my arm or leg gets chopped off, the blood squirts in a shocking way...but then another arm or leg appears almost instantly. The rest is exactly the same as the movie - I'm still hopping around, talking smack. Now, if I can just learn to keep my mouth shut, I'll be a real leader.

When you understand the unmerited favor you have been given, all because of the obedience of Another, you simply can't be touched.


Another thing that distracts us is the lust of vindication. St.Augustine
prayed-"O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself."
That temper of mind destroys the soul's faith in God. "I must explain
myself; I must get people to understand." Our Lord never explained anything; he left mistakes to correct themselves.

When we discern that people are not going on spiritually and allow the
discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.

~Oswald Chambers

Lord, cause me to be your version of a Godly woman, not my own version. Make me into a leader after your Own Gracious Heart, who is willing to go to all lengths to love those you've put in my sphere. Help me not to criticize, but rather to pray.

An (Almost) Wordless Saturday

Number Twenty-four is our "baby". To everyone else, he looks like just another high school senior playing basketball, I'm sure.

But his dad and I know what it took for him to wear the Ambassador uniform. He almost didn't. He almost threw it all away. We know this for sure: Prodigals come home by grace alone. The law doesn't welcome weary, sick rebels back - just ask that elder brother. Elder brothers see returning prodigals as being Damaged Goods, and they regard the welcoming father as being foolish and gullible.

We literally put steaks on the grill ("killing our fatted calf") this past summer. And that uniform you see in the above picture? Well, that is his "robe".

We have no idea what the next chapter will hold, in this our personal parable of the Gospel, but we are certain of one thing - the love of God is better than we know, and the grace of God is more than we've experienced.

For now, on this night, she who sowed in tears has reaped in joy.

Gratitude Journal

...for a snow white Maltipoo puppy.

...for friendships that last a lifetime.

...board games...

...for the (finally) long T-shirts! I can't tell you how much I love the latest, long, lean shirt silhouette. Please God, may we never go back to those unflattering "belly shirts".

...massages at Day Spas...

...helping a daughter roast her first turkey...

...for friends with names like "Faith", and friends who live in "Faith", and friends who walk in faith by grace through faith.

...for the gift and the grace of the gift...

...for finances...

...berry cobblers, red lipstick, and the cute little blonde my son is dating.

...being blessed with two daughters who outgrew the silly, giggly "need to be the center of attention" phase by age seventeen, more or less. It was fun while it lasted, but it didn't (and shouldn't) last long. That's why it was fun. Today, they are poised and mature and confident.

...the last lettuce harvest of the year, for a garden being "put to bed for the winter" this week, for western boots, and All Things Handmade...

...40's music, cold nights and warm days, the view outside my own kitchen window.

...being literally surrounded by friends and family this past year. Seriously. How many times did they literally surround me with their love? I finally understand the Scripture, "You surround me with songs of deliverance." The songs are raised by the men and women who are committed to you, in relationship. They sing all around and over your life, and your heart is restored.

...a man who "gets me", who isn't threatened when I say what I am thinking.

...consequently, my daughters each married men who "get" them. After all, they've never known a male-female relationship to be any different. Don't all husbands "get" their wives? Don't all husbands have a wife who flourishes under his oversight and care?

...for books, blogs, and very, very smart phones. What a bold new world I live in.

...for new direction in my life, exciting new opportunities, new projects I'm itching to get started on...

...for the fact that I get to walk past a beautifully decorated nursery about twenty times a day - and each time, I feel the butterflies in my stomach, as I eagerly, joyfully anticipate the birth of a grandson. Born into my home. That, friends, is stinkin', sloppy blessed.

...for pedicures, hair grown out long this winter, and still being able to wear my size 8 Levi's - with spandex, but nevertheless...

...for Ralph Lauren pajamas - cotton, well made, comfortable, bought on clearance. And the knitted socks-of-many-colors I wear with them.

...for my boy, who scored 25+ points in the second half of his game last week, for a win. For living off of tall cups of coffee from Weigels, as we travel to the games. For falling into our beds after midnight, after the game.

...for a granddaddy who took my boy out to lunch today, and God was lavishing His favor upon the boy, based on the spritual riches of his grandaddy.

Gratitude

I know it's cliche, but giving thanks really is transformative.

There's another cliche, and it's the one about "mixed feelings". Not only is it cliche phraseology, it is half-true at best. The real truth is that we feel what we focus on, and we focus on what we feel. What we choose to pay attention to, and how we choose to pay attention to it, is a choice...a choice that will dictate to our hearts how we feel.

The real truth is that we cannot feel truly thankful and unhappy at the same time. If we focus on all the reasons to be grateful, we feel what we focus on. If we focus on the faults of others, or on what we perceive we lack, we feel what we focus on.

You and I can feel our way right out of boredom or discouragement. We can feel our way right out of anger or anxiety. The miracle antidote is the feeling of gratitude. Last year, I began a tradition of sorts...a November gratitude journal.

Here is the second annual Season of Harvest Gratitude Journal ~ because I want to feel what I focus on, and I need to focus on what I feel. The warmth and joy that ensues from giving thanks brightens my November afternoons, and makes me feel tranquil and privileged. I really am a daughter of privilege. My Father has given me an unfair advantage called Grace. There is nothing "balanced" about that.

...I am thankful for orange woolen yarn - it knits into such soft folds of scarf pieces or cowls or those cute fingerless gloves or even a hat.

...for the clicking of those rosewood or bamboo needles, as they obey my hands, as my hands perform the intricate task of knit and purl. I love watching my hands do it, the yarn woven in, out, around, through into something beautiful and useful.

...for half price sales at Hobby Lobby, where I picked up some adorable vintage-looking French-design wrapping paper. The wrapping paper has to speak value to the hand made gift it will soon wrap.

...that he always makes me coffee, first thing in the morning. And it's always sweet and creamy-good.

...for the miracle that is Pandora radio, streaming songs and songs and songs from the 40's right into the palm of my hand - my newest Happy Thing. (I know - I'm always two steps behind with my technology.) That 30's and 40's generation lived in such difficult and uncertain times, yet their music was so happy and positive. "You could be swingin' from a star!"

...for my vintage record player and all the Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Acker Bill records.

...for a certain grandbaby, who is soon to make his grand entrance. Ten years of cheek pinching, for all those times he stopped kicking just when I'd put my hand on his mommy's belly!

...for sons who serve their country.

...for being made righteous.

...the fact that I grow into righteousness, righteousness does not grow in me. I grow into the Unfathomable Gift, as I behold the Giver.

...for daughters who laugh loudly and contagiously, the sound floating up the hallway of a nest that thought it would be empty, but isn't ever.

...for a man who still takes me to the movies. (Megamind is hilarious!)

A Slice of Church Life

Those who follow this blog know that my dear friend, over at Hope Springs, is expecting her fourth baby at forty years old. This past Sunday, Harvest Church joyfully attended her "Forty With the Fourth" party...

This is our Wendy...who is "Forty with the Fourth"...and adored by all at Harvest for her faithful friendship and continuity. This woman honors relationships, remembers details, and treasures all the little traditions that come with church life.


See the little desk? My daughters Hannah and Sarah purchased it at an antique store, painted the bottom that pretty blue color, and painted the top surface of the desk in chalkboard paint. Then they painted Ethan William Cantrell's initials, and glued them on the front. Sarah's husband Jonathan then painted a small Snoopy on the chair...wish you could see it - I forgot to snap a picture.


But I did remember to snap a picture of my gift...crochet baby booties

and a knitted matching scarf - so Ethan and Mommy can match this Christmas. Yup, I made them. ::perky sniff::


The Fancher's house was packed...inside and out.

Everywhere you looked, you saw a woman with child...

Where did all the men go?? Didn't they want to see all the cute baby stuff? Why are our men outside?

Oh well...let's open presents!

There's dad, on the left, with the "Joe Cool Dad" Snoopy shirt on...


Gathering everyone into the room for a time of prayer.

Friends like Joe Cool Daddy Doug and Wendy are worth the stickin' and the stayin'. I would not trade continuity in relationships for anything. You have to remain on your plot of ground to reap the harvest of the seeds you sowed. I feel so privileged by God to have "built houses, and dwelt in them, planted vineyards and eaten the fruit of them." God forbid that I build, and someone else inhabit. How sad if I were to plant, and another eat.

"Dwell in the land and cultivate continuity (faithfulness)...and verily, you shall be fed."

~Proverbs.

Legalism

The law was and is the school-master, ever pointing us to Christ. Legalism mistakes the classroom for graduation. Gentile legalists have taken the law and made it the end instead of the means. They live life, figuratively speaking, chanting their long and short vowel sounds, drilling their math facts, strutting their Geometry theorems...thinking that the Greatest Teacher of All is giving them a straight "A".

When the point of the law was to point us to the One who is not a ordinance, is not a law, is not a rule, but is a person.

The difference between living under the law and living under grace is the difference between being in school all your life, making straight A's...

...and graduating, falling in love, starting a family, and nurturing that family by all means possible. Legalist believers and Grace believers know the same things and do some of the same things - but only the Grace believer , who truly understands grace, is able to take what she knows and apply it to her relationships. Only the grace believer does what she does for the higher and deeper and better reason. Because of relationship.

And relationships are all that matter - loving God and loving the people He has placed in proximity to us in this life.