For those of you ladies who attended His Broken Ground last night, here are your 5 Declarations! I pray God continues to remind you to stand your ground! I loved seeking Jesus together and the Word He gave us!
XO,
Tammie
Faith Can Multiply Your Little Into Much
Continuing to grow in Jesus, especially after knowing Him years upon years, is a beautiful and beggarly feat. It's a longward journey, often marked by highs and lows, by which we follow Jesus into the depths upon depths of an ongoing intimate relationship, conforming more into His likeness, and walking out a life of Spirit-driven oneness as we love Him obediently in the mountains, valleys, and plains of this amazing thing called life. Surely the Lord beckons us onward day-by-day if we are willing to have ears inclined to hear Him, eyes open to see Him, and a tenderness of heart to steadily worship Him as He bids us to, "Follow Me."
That's the life I see Jesus trying to teach His disciples how to walk in the pages of Mark, chapter 6. Jesus is training them up to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving them access to the Father and Son's heartbeat for His people and, often, in the midst of His disciples lack of faith, lack of rest, and lack of understanding. After completing a mission Jesus had just prior sent His disciples on, Mark 6:30-44 tells us:
"The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men."
In this passage I see two sets of beautiful and beggarly people; the disciples are beautifully beggarly for rest and refreshment while the masses of people are beautifully beggarly for that, too, but they are also famished for spiritual leadership. And Jesus has an abundance of compassion on them. Furthermore, to meet their physical and spiritual needs, He instructs His disciples to do something about it, while also lovingly teaching them how.
I wonder how many of us, much like the disciples, think we have nothing to give? Furthermore, I wonder how many people in our lives are like the 5-thousand, sheep without a Shepherd?
Recently our family had a situation where a cable guy was in our home, and as the time was growing late, we ordered some pizza's and invited him to eat with us. I didn't know anything about him - only that his countenance struck me as one riddled of shame and pain. As we talked, he remarked of hard things he's walked through and called himself, "white trash." I ached for him because I, too, have felt like trash in the course of my life. Before I knew it, I entered the Lord into the conversation and, to my astonishment, he made a confession of a prior church-going. Immediately I thought of the 5-thousand. Like them, this young man was living as a sheep without the love, care, or leading of his Shepherd. I couldn't help but to share some of my own testimony with him, even asking him to join us at church sometime. He mentioned several times he might. I pray he does!
What I shared with him didn’t seem like much, but faith can multiply our little into much.
So, this has left me wondering—
Is there someone in your life that the Lord is nudging you to have compassion on and to meet their needs? If so, you can surely look heavenward, ask for Jesus' blessing, and break what's He's given you into usefulness over that person's life. Even if you're exhausted in this season, as were the disciples, you have a faithful supply from your Father's blessing to give even still. In the natural, your resources might seem depleted, but in the supernatural everything you need is a prayer away. While we may think what we want is rest, Jesus often calls us to put other's needs before our own. In the end, much like the leftover basketfuls, the Father provides us with more than enough to be servants of all—and, interestingly, we're often refreshed too.
I’d love to close in a prayer:
Father, thank You for Your life-giving Word and Your gracious disposition to all people. Not only do You care for our physical well-being, You care for our emotional and spiritual well-being too. More than anything, Lord, we ask for Your heartbeat to consume us through and through. We are nothing without You, but we are full of worth and the Spirit in You. I ask for Your love, leadership, and gracious compassion for others to be abundantly supplied in our hearts and lives. Unto You this life we raise.
In Your mighty Name, Jesus --
Amen
The Broken & The Beautiful
Life is the wildest ride, don't you think? Within its days the mix of the wonderful and worrisome abounds. One minute we're happily soaring on life as high as kites. Then, all a sudden, we're broken and bruised from crashing down against the harsh, jagged rocks.
Thus was my last week and a half.
Beautiful things, hard things, then pining to find my Savior in it all.
Once again, I wonder how people do life without the presence of Jesus? The thought of not having Jesus’ love tenderly tending to my bruised and battered soul is frightful. I'm too self-destructive in my humanity to endure life's chaos on my own. Even so, not having His abiding presence to savor the joys of life with is a literal void without explanation. Aside from swimming in His marvelous love and grace, my life cannot make any sense. I'm undeserving of such goodness after the life I’ve lived with all its sin.
This week I've been thinking how...
Jesus alone turns the bitter into sweet and gives life its context within us. When we loyally search out His magnificent Word, He faithfully supplies us a personal application for both our highest highs and lowest lows. For in Christ alone all of life—the broken and the beautiful—gets bundled right up into the holy and sacred. In each of life’s circumstance, we are summoned to imagine our Savior in all His goodness and glory bestowing His lavish, gracious, bounteous life upon us.
“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
Surely He is the wind in our sails, day after day. Upon the heights, and when we've found ourselves dashed upon the rocks. In Him life bubbles over, makes sense, and most assuredly prevails.
A Simple Thanksgiving Prayer and Psalm
Today is Thanksgiving, Lord
Would You drench us in Your love?
Amidst turkey, dressing, and family ties
Would You drench us in Your love?
Pondering on this day of "Thanks."
Would You drench us in Your love?
Looking forward and glancing back
Would You drench us in Your love?
Some are here while others are not.
Would You drench us in Your love?
Today we come, hearts bound to praise
Would You drench us in Your love?
While laughing rings, our stressors flee
Would You drench us in Your love?
For none are Worthy like You O' Lord
Thanks for drenching us in Your love.
…………………………………..…………..
Psalm 103, Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul
Let The Wedding Bells Ring
Saturday proved to be a fantastic day around the Head home. Our beloved daughter said, "Yes," to her handsome man as he lovingly dropped to one knee. Sometime this upcoming year Peyton will joyfully become Connor's bride. Our happiness as a family is spilling over; we can hardly contain ourselves. We couldn't ask God for a better pick to fill our lives than Samuel Connor Campbell. He's everything we prayed for Peyton's husband to be: he loves Jesus, he's crazy about our girl, he's a godly leader and, honestly, he’s a pure delight to be around. Everyone who meets him likes him; he's such a likable young man. We love him, and our extended family does, too.
I had the joy of accompanying him to design Peyton's ring. We had the biggest blast! Her engagement ring band is lovely; we had it made from one of her grandmother's first wedding rings, as well as one of mine. The sentimental value is enormous to Peyton and, of course, her Mimi and I are simply thrilled. Connor relished in the satisfaction of surprising Peyton, and he swore me to secrecy. She’s as sharp as a tack, discerning as ever, and usually hates a surprise. Connor likes to call her a snoop. So it took stealth action to keep her unaware. But this particular time I don't think she minded the surprise too much.
As you can imagine, she and I will soon find ourselves buried in all manner of invitations, dresses, flowers, cakes, and the like. I cannot wait, honestly. Being a mom of a daughter, it feels like I've dreamed of this day since her birth. I have loved being a mom to two daughters.
For you moms of young ones, I'm especially tendered today to tell you how much it's meant to me to see God's man for Peyton's life come to fulfillment. You probably already pray for your child's mate but, if not, can I encourage you to start doing so now? So often through the years I'd try to imagine where he was or what his life was like. In many ways, I feel like I prayed him through his middle school years, then right on through his high-school days too. It's the biggest blast hearing about his life growing up. Even now I'm feeling all goose-bumpy. As I think back, not one prayer over Connor’s life was wasted. He's a fine young man that loves Jesus—so loving, strong, and wise. Everything I hoped Peyton would call her “husband” one day.
We feel incredibly graced by God in this season. Our lives are far from perfect. We have our crosses to bear. As I imagine, you do as well. But when there's a moment of generous reprieve, there's no shame in savoring it. You better believe that's what we're doing. God be praised!
If you think of us in the coming weeks and months, we welcome your prayers. As wonderful as this time is, we have a few challenges ahead. Then again, when is there not a time for all of us to believe God, right?
So much love to you and yours from ours,
Tammie