What To Wear

I wonder if it shows?  I hope it's obvious.  

Brittnay was my friendly Wal-Mart associate. She was pleasant enough, but i sensed that morning she dressed in worry.  I overheard her talking about her brother who had been fighting fires recently.  I saw worry on her face, I saw the need for Jesus on her heart.  So I handed her an invitation that I had received in church that morning and said "if you are looking for a church home, might I recommend mine."  

I was wearing Christ that day.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."  Colossians 3:12-15

We should don Christ-like garments everyday. There will be someone you meet that is searching for answers, there will be someone who has a need for Jesus.  And I don't want to just dress the part, I want to live it.  I want everything I say and do to point to Him.  

Ever wonder if we wore Christ-like kindness, gentleness, patience, and self-control how different our world would be?  How would you act differently?  

If we wore peace, we might desire God's quiet and not be distracted with this world.  

If we wore grace, we would forgive others quicker for their faults.  

If we put on goodness we would desire others to be more successful than ourselves. 

If we wore love, we would crave Jesus more than ever before.  
If we wore faithfulness, we would trust God completely in everything.

Wearing love, grace and peace are far more difficult than zipping up jeans or buttoning a shirt.  It's spending time with and allowing the Spirit to bring His fruit to your closet.   It's putting on your big-heart pants and clothing ourselves in these grown-up, mature Christ like characteristics that mirror His heart, share His mind and reflect God's change in our lives.  

It's dressing for success.  It's what I want to wear daily.  How about you?

Father Knows Best

Watch out sparrow I have my eye on you!

God sent a visual reminder of His presence and it wasn't in a piece of toast or a potato chip.  Here's what happened...the other day I saw God in a sparrow.


This past weekend my husband Terry and I were having one of those discussions about "what-would-happen-if-this-happened" conversations.  You know...those uncomfortable conversations you don't really like to have unless you have all the answers.  Guess what...there were no answers.  


As a realist and as a fixer, you can imagine that the "no-answer" to the question went down a little hard.  It seemed I had opened a can of worms.   But as we continued to discuss, we reassured each other that we would have to trust God for the "no-answer". The answers we were looking for are buried in a huge step of faith.   

We would just have to trust...God.  

Next I opened my Bible and read Matthew 6:25-34 which again reminds me that God is in control and is faithful.  God doesn't change.  Don't forget that. 

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Refreshed in His promise tucked in truth, we both looked out the window at the same time and there we saw a little sparrow looking in the window at us.  It was odd really, because birds don't sit for long, well maybe on high wires and in trees.  Very rarely do they come in close like that.  We looked at the sparrow, and he looked back at us.  We stared as he stared.  Time stood still.


He looked back at us to say... 
Do I look like I am lacking?
My song is strong.  
My fine feathers cover.
My wings have sufficient strength. 
My belly is full...quite plump actually.
I have enough, you will have enough.


He tweeted...."trust and obey" over and over and over like a melodious chorus.  It was a spirit-filled interval that refreshed our souls.  It was like a direct touch from God at just the right moment.  So calming and peaceful.


There in the middle of our unanswered questions and what seemed like a fear-filled future, God met us face to face with his visual tender care of the sparrow.  We had let eggs of fear and doubt nest into our faith.  Fear rages war against our trust in God.  But God offers peace in every situation.  We need to receive His peace and fight the fears that hatch.  God takes care of even the smallest of birds with such care.  He will take care of us more than those.  There is nothing that He can't handle for me today AND tomorrow because He already knows what we need.  He knows... 


So matter what you are struggling with today, whatever trust issue, whatever area of your life, know that God cares intimately and intently on each and every detail.  There really are no worries if we give them all to God who already knows what we need.  He knows what is best.  Always.


Our Father in Heaven knows the answers, the solutions, the fixes, the remedies, the "whatever can-of-worm situations". He knows...the desired outcomes, He knows whats best for you, and for me.  He knows...

I find peaceful refuge in the assurance that when I seek Him, I find Him.  

And when I find Him, I know He has His eye on this sparrow.  

It's not a step of faith if you know where you are going to land.

Where is God trying to grow your trust?