Cross My Heart Ministry

If any of you lacks wisdom,

he should ask God,

who gives generously to all

without finding fault,

and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

Four great things about asking God for wisdom:

1.  He gives generously.

I love those “ly” words!  Adverbs are powerful communicators.  Our great God doesn’t just give—He gives generously.  He is not stingy.  He does not hoard.  He never runs out.

2.  He gives to all.

As a mom of four kids, it’s difficult to simultaneously meet everyone’s needs.  When they were growing up, we instituted “Kid of the Week” in an attempt to give everyone an opportunity to have special privileges like sitting up front and going out to breakfast with Daddy.  In God’s Kingdom, we are all the “Kid of the Week” every day.
3.  He doesn’t find fault.

No condemnation! All those things we promised we would never say to our kids, but have already said maybe a zillion times,

“How many times do we have to go over this?”

“Why did you wait until the last minute to tell me about your science project?”

Yep.  That’s probably condemnation.  None of that from God.

4.  He delivers.

We ask.  He answers.  Then comes the hard part:  doing what He says!

In what decision, relationship, or challenge do you and I need to ask God for wisdom today…and then follow through with the advice He provides?

My first webinar was on the topic of Mentoring:

HeartLife 3D:  Women Mentoring Women

My thanks again to Sandra Hardage, My Journey of Faith, for both the invitation and also for facilitating the seminar.

If you missed it, you can watch it here:

http://connectpro19068335.adobeconnect.com/p4k5vgl8o9v/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

All of scripture applies to all of us.  That’s a given. But there are also a few key passages where women are specifically targeted.  Ladies, I think we need to sit up straight and take note when we encounter these.  There really will be a test.

Titus 2 is one of those passages.  The book of Titus is a letter written to Titus to provide insight and guidance on getting the church on the island of Crete organized.  Titus 1:12 describes the Cretans as being dishonest, evil, lazy, and gluttonous.  Sound like any other modern day society?

Though written specifically to the women of Crete in the First Century, the inclusion of Titus 2 in Scripture means it also applies to the woman of our world in the Twenty-First Century.

All these thoughts rolled around in my head a few years ago as I realized that I had reached the age where I should be considered a “Titus 2 Woman.” Yikes!

The Titus 2 Woman has always conjured up words like wise, godly, and mature.  Certainly not words that automatically roll of the tongue when I try to describe myself.  This passage, however, makes it clear that older women are to speak into the lives of the younger.  When the word “mentoring” is mentioned in Biblical circles, this is the passage that comes to mind.

As I grappled with fulfilling my Titus 2 mandate, I asked the Lord for guidance on what it actually looks like to mentor a younger woman.  How does mentoring differ from teaching a Bible study?

As always, God was faithful.  He not only helped me to understand what mentoring is, but gave me a practical way for making it happen.  And, knowing how I love alliteration, He even threw that in, as well.

This straightforward, easy to remember method for mentoring does not require the purchase of a book or manual and can easily be remembered by its title:  Heart Life 3D.  The three D’s are:

• Devotion
• Disciple
• Do-Over

To learn more about how these three words can provide a framework for either a mentoring or an accountability relationship, please join me for an on-line webinar on Monday, September 12, 7:00 pm (Central Time).  You can log in from any computer by clicking here at that time:

https://connectpro19068335.adobeconnect.com/myjourneyoffaith/

I would love for you to join me and would especially be blessed if you would prayerfully consider becoming a mentor or a mentee (or both) or perhaps finding a peer and forming an accountability relationship.  We will discuss all this during the webinar.  Hope you can meet me on line!

Facebook. This website has become the communication method of choice for young adults (and not-so-young adults and even non-adults) in the 21^st century.  It offers a means to have a personal conversation with a plethora of friends.  Though not young (and certainly not hip), I’ve joined the Facebook community –largely to eavesdrop on my children!

One of the features unique to Facebook is the “Status.”  It permits the writer to update her “profile” by giving her “Status.”  Die-hard Facebookers may update their Status daily or even several times a day.  (My status is updated on a time frame best described as “seasonal.”)

The Facebook Status clues in friends and acquaintances as to the mood, the situation, the challenges, the anxieties, the agenda faced by the Facebooker.  Friends can then respond accordingly by sending messages or posting comments.

The original Facebook status began with the words “Laura is…” (in my case) and then the writer would finish the sentence. An interesting third-person approach that perhaps invited a higher degree of honesty.

Consider these Facebook Status options:

o      “Laura is praising God for His goodness.”

o      “Laura is frustrated with her enemy—the bathroom scale.

o      “Laura is weary of having too-much-to-do and not-enough-time-to-do-it in.”

o      “Laura is so blessed to be a Mom!”

o      “Laura’s envelope is empty and there are still 11 days left in the month.”

o      “Laura is depressed.”

o      “Laura is ecstatic.”

o      “Laura loves her man!”

Perhaps you read these status updates and would respond:

“Laura needs counseling.”

Or maybe you would respond:

‘Laura is a real person — just like me.”

If you are one of the latter, then perhaps you can also relate to another real person — the Psalmist(s).  Dropped like an anchor in the center of the Bible are 150 Psalms penned by an estimated dozen or more authors.  Many of these were written by David.

When I first became a student of the Bible, I did not appreciate the Psalms.  Preferring to chase the exciting history of the Old Testament or follow close on the heels of Jesus in the New, I opted to bypass the Psalms in my reading of Scripture.  Poetry required too much of a “Mary” mindset for this “Martha” gal.  As I have matured, however, I have come to love and embrace the Biblical treasure trove that we call “Psalms.”

The Psalms are primarily poetry and need to be read as such.  But they are packed with prayers and praises.  They offer wisdom, guidance, and encouragement as they eloquently and vividly draw us to God. Like the Facebook Status, there is a Psalm for every human condition, challenge, mood, and mindset.

Try beginning and ending your day with the reading of one Psalm this fall.  Accept this challenge and you will cover the entire book of 150 chapters in only 75 days — if you begin now, you will easily read through the Psalms by Thanksgiving.

If your Facebook Status is “discouraged” when you begin Psalm 5, you’ll be updating it to “filled with joy” when you finish it.  If “needing forgiveness” is the topic of your status, you might identify with David’s Psalm 32–written as a testimony of God’s forgiveness following his sin with Bathsheba.  If you are a mom, try praying Psalm 139 over your children.  If your heart longs to praise the mighty God, but your mind just can’t find the words, try praying aloud passages found in Psalm 136, Psalm 100, or Psalm 23 back to God.  Conviction, frustration, elation, tribulation, confession, jubilation — whatever “tion” describes your status, there is a Psalm for you!

Do keep in mind as you begin your journey that the Psalms are poetry.  Read these one at a time.  Allow the words to marinate in your mind and in your heart.  Read the words in the morning and allow them to simmer in your thoughts throughout the day.  Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind what you have read, to quicken your heart to understanding, and your mind to grasp the deeper truth.  Pray that the aroma will continually draw you to Jesus as you go about your day.  You will be blessed as you realize that laundry, driving, gardening, exercising — all the seemingly mindless, gray, boring tasks of your day become vibrant and colorized as they are done with a heart and mind engaged and connected to Him who is able.

The Psalms do not offer a story line to be devoured, but deep truth that must be pondered and digested slowly.  Dish yourself up a daily serving of Psalms this fall.  I’m confident you’ll find it delicious food for your soul—sometimes sweet, occasionally bitter, but always healthy and power packed.

My seasonal Facebook Status for this fall:

“Laura is feasting on the Psalms and invites you to join her.”

In Acts 3:1-10, Peter and John were headed to the temple when God provided a holy interruption.  This interruption in their path, a lame beggar, wasn’t just seen–he was also heard.  Like those irritating phone calls and letters that annoy us today, this man was asking for money.

How easy it would have been to shrug him off, especially since they were on their way to do something “holy.”  (“Sorry – late for church!  Catch you later!”)  They could have used the avoidance method employed by the priest in the Good Samaritan story: just cross the street or take a different door into the temple.  Anything to avoid eye contact.

Peter and John, however, embraced the interruption as God-ordained.  Their day planners may have said “Prayer Time,” but the Holy Spirit prompted a change in their schedules: “Time to Share the Love of Jesus.”

It’s notable that verse four records that Peter and John “looked straight at him” and also required him to look back at them.  Then (and now) it was (and still is) easy to avert our eyes– to look away from poverty and pain, to pretend it’s someone else’s problem, that “someone else” will do “something.”

Where am I shirking?  Where am I refusing to be interrupted–to follow the detour God offers?

Do I cling to my calendar, unyielding, unwilling to be late or even miss an appointment?

Am I so consumed with self and self-interest that there is little time for the needs of others?

Is there no margin in my life to make responding possible?

Is there pride that needs confessed–do I look at the “cripples” in my path as being in that condition because of their poor choices?

We think of greed as related to money, but in the 21^st century, Western world, time is the most valuable resource.  We may give (or throw) money at a problem to appease our conscience, but adopt a greedy attitude with our 24 hours a day.

God, show me how you want my 24 time bucks spent today.  Reveal to me any greediness that needs confessed.  Forgive me for failing to do the small things because I am unable to do the big things.  Open my eyes to expect God-ordained interruptions and to align my human day planner to your divine plan.  Bring on those divine detours and use me to do your will in my world today.

Peter responded to the cripple: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Then–and now–money was not the answer.

Jesus is the answer to every need.

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan

If you’ve prayed about something –or someone—for years and seem to see no results, you might understand why I compare prayer to riding a stationary bicycle.  We’re pedaling hard, but we seem to be getting nowhere.

In Luke 18, Jesus taught His disciples about prayer using the Parable of the Persistent Widow.  Though I have no desire to be a widow (I’ve made my husband promise to let me go to Jesus first), I would love to be described as persistent.  (Some might say that’s one thing I could go ahead and check off my bucket list.)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1

Jesus provides two words of instruction regarding prayer in Luke 18:1:

1. Always pray
2. Not give up

At first glance, we might assume that Jesus is simply repeating Himself for added emphasis.  Aren’t both points saying essentially the same thing using different words?  I thought so, too, until I checked in with our kind and gentle teacher.  The Holy Spirit brought some added illumination to me as I pondered and prayed.

Always Pray

This doesn’t suggest a morning or evening prayer, but a consistent walking (or pedaling) in a spirit of prayer.  I think of it as a continual conversation with my Lord.  This is not just prayer-walking or prayer-pedaling, it is prayer living.  It challenges me to redeem my thought life—to be praying as I go through my day.  Mindless tasks such as loading the dishwasher, folding the laundry, or driving to pick up a child can be transformed into time to pray for those I love, pray for guidance for myself, and pray that God is glorified in it all.  I’m finding that I’m really not “too busy to pray.”

As I send up those “arrow prayers” to Jesus, I find that He is faithful to stir up my heart and mind.  He provides an appropriate response to others.  He provides practical solutions to the decisions I need to make: how to discipline a child, how to organize my day, how to remedy a sticky situation.

A woman of God leans into God for the big, as well as the small, decisions, responses, and actions that make up her day to day life.

To always pray also suggests that I must keep coming back to God with the same request. If you are like me, there is something or someone you have prayed about for years, having little faith that God will bring about change.  It is easy for a prayer to become a mindless chant, a repeated refrain—words uttered by our mouths, but having no connection to our hearts.

Lord, reveal those prayers that my mouth speaks, but my heart does not echo.  Stir up my heart to ask – and to keep asking –with passion and pleading, with faith and focus. Delight me, surprise me, bless me with Your answers in Your way and in Your perfect time.

Not give up

The rules of courtesy, human pride, and self-consciousness lead many of us to ask once…perhaps twice.  Pride, self, and human methods are cast aside as a woman of God –a true believer and follower of Christ – recklessly, wholeheartedly, repeatedly casts her burden upon the Lord.  To ask, to keep asking, to never give up says much about her faith, her expectant heart, and her confidence in God.

In the parable found in Luke 18, the persistent widow keep coming to the judge “who neither feared God nor cared about men.”  She finally wore him down and he doled out justice in her case.  If this ungodly judge would finally answer, how much more can we expect our holy, kind, and perfect God to answer our pleas?

To give up is human; it is expected; it is logical.  But being a woman of God means that I am called to walk in the opposite spirit—to do the unexpected and to sometimes do what the world sees as illogical.  To keep asking is divine, counter-cultural, and perhaps embarrassing.  It is also the most powerful, Christ-honoring, and humbling action we can take.

To ask and to keep asking demonstrates my inability to fix what is broken.  It reveals my complete dependence upon Him who is able.

God, in what area (relational, medical, or financial), for what person or situation, for what decision, do I need to “not give up?”  Stir up my heart to keep pedaling.  As I wait for the answer, teach me patience and perseverance.  Teach me humility and hope.  Enable me to depend upon you.  Build my trust.  Give me an expectant heart.  Change me into a woman of great faith.

The Holy Spirit has reminded me today to not give up in these specific areas:

• Lydia to be healed of juvenile diabetes
• The salvation of extended family members
• Committed Christian spouses for each of my children

Each of these requests float on and off my prayer list.  They keep resurfacing, as other prayers are answered and then forgotten.  Each request may not bring an answer today or tomorrow or next week, but that does not change my responsibility to keep praying.  Because of the power found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope floats to the surface along with these on-going requests.

As you and I keep prayer-pedaling, we might find we are actually getting somewhere after all.

With all glory to Jesus—the ultimate life preserver and eternal life-saver!

Photo Attribution: Posted with permission from Dawn Olsen, http://theloveofeloquence.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan

If Mapquest is correct, there are 3921 miles between Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Kenai, Alaska.  Other than both being “A” states, I can think of little that the two places have in common.  However, much of going on mission there has changed the way I will live on mission here.

Along with nine other women, I was blessed to be part of the first FBC Heart Life Women’s Ministry mission team.  We served with Brenda Crim and Alaska Missions during Salmon Frenzy on the Kenai Peninsula.  Alaska residents come to dip net salmon from the Kenai River and we were there to serve them.  Most of our team operated a Kids Camp – delighting the kids with stories, skits, crafts, and music – all to teach them about Jesus.

I helped to prepare and serve about 1200 hot dogs each day, give away free water bottles and hot chocolate, and to walk the beach picking up trash.  I loved every minute.  Giving something away for free opens up the hearts of those you get to speak with.

My assignment – physically and spiritually – for the week was to be a servant.  God, as always, prepared and equipped me for what He called me to do.

This verse from Mark 9:35 just “happened” to show up in my morning Bible reading while in Alaska:

…If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.

Mark 10:44-45 hammered it in again:

and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

I wasn’t in charge of anything in Alaska—I was assigned the role of servant.  In Arkansas I often find myself in a leadership role.  The two are not mutually exclusive.  Servant leadership is a phrase that has taken on cliché status in its overuse, but it became more than a Christian buzz word for me last week.  Being a servant is more than merely performing tasks.  It is also a choice, an attitude, and a decision to walk in obedience.

I also learned a lot about my own inhibitions.  There’s something about talking to people you will most likely never see again that makes it totally okay to ask, “Is there anything I can pray about for you?”  Walking along the beach and praying for people as you go opens the eyes of one’s heart to see people as God sees them – as just simply people.  Meeting people and telling them I had traveled from Arkansas to deliver them that hot dog opened up the lines of the communication.  Giving away something free earned me the right to ask, “How’s the fishing going today?”  (Another Alaska and Arkansas commonality:  fishermen from both states have the-one-that-got-away stories.)

Suddenly, I am looking at people differently.  Seeing them as folks who need to know that Jesus loved them and died for them makes it much easier for me to look for opportunities to bring Jesus into the conversation.  I want to be wise.  I want to walk in wisdom.  Sticking my hand out and saying flippantly, “Hey, man – Jesus loves you!” might have me labeled a religious kook.  I don’t want to defame the name of Jesus or make it difficult for the next person who might come along and water the seed God lets me plant.  But I do want to walk in obedience.  For too long I’ve viewed evangelism as if I’m “selling” something someone doesn’t want instead of telling them about something totally free that they desperately need.

In Alaska, I learned to be free – free of anxiety and fear about “what will people think?”  I learned to naturally and honestly engage in conversation.  I was enabled and empowered to represent my Lord.  I want to live that way from here on.  I pray that my AA (After Alaska) life stands in sharp contrast to my BA (Before Alaska) life.

I went ON mission to Alaska.  My assignment now is to LIVE on mission in Arkansas.

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan

A happy heart makes the face cheerful…
(Proverbs 15:13)

On this Easter Monday, join me in smiling because HE LIVES!  Regardless of the challenges and hard things this day holds, my face can smile because my heart is happy with the truth that my Savior is alive.  Death could not hold Him.  The grave could not keep Him.  And today, my heart is filled with Him.

Jesus said that “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”  The verse above from Proverbs also teaches us that out of the overflow of the heart, the face smiles.

Today you and I may face difficult things, hard situations, and challenging relationships.  None of these offer anything to smile about.  But as we face each of these with the assurance that He lives and that He abides in us, we can allow our hearts to be happy, and our joy to overflow from our hearts and onto our faces.

Go ahead – smile! Let the joy of JESUS ooze out of you on this Resurrection Monday.  He lives!  And because He lives – we can live too.

Now that’s something to smile about.

Graphics attribution: https://delfigunardy.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/smile/

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…”  Isaiah 55:1a

When we’re really thirsty, nothing quenches, satisfies, and refreshes like water.  After an afternoon of yard work, an hour on the treadmill, or a hike in the woods, our body craves what it needs most:  water.

Think back to the last time you were hot and thirsty.  Did milk, a soft drink, or a cup of hot coffee offer any appeal?  Of course, not.   Our dehydrated body craves water alone to quench its thirst.  Nothing else will do.

I was jolted awake from a sound sleep last week by a painful charley horse in my calf muscle.  Like punching the accelerator to move from zero to sixty in ten seconds, the RPM’s on my pain meter spiked as I screamed out in pain…loudly.  If you’ve ever had a charley horse, you know it’s one of those paralyzing kinds of pain.  Do I point my toes and try to stretch it out, just try to be still, or massage the muscle with gusto.

Of course, my dear hubby was also startled awake and into action –experiencing it vicariously with me, as a good husband should.  The I’ll-fix-it part of his maleness kicked in, as he began to massage my calf and, thankfully, in a span of seconds-that-felt-like-hours (people always say that, but with a Charlie horse it’s more than a cliché), the pain subsided from a twelve on a scale of ten to around a four.  Still hurting, but no longer demanding that the neighbors next door know how much, I marveled at the blessing that comes when the pain abates.

Hurting not enough to scream but too much to sleep, I hauled myself out of bed and arrived early for my daily appointment with Jesus.  My calf was sore, aching dully, and I was even limping a little.  Our 16-year-old Luke, my sole fellow family member of the early riser’s club, joined me a bit later.  When I asked if I had awakened him with my screaming and shared about my hurting muscles, he wisely reminded me that muscle spasms and tightness are often the result of dehydration.  Then he cocked his head sidewise, raised one eyebrow, and allowed his blue eyes to looking penetrating and serious, as he asked in his best Dr. Luke voice, “Mom, have you been drinking enough water?”

“Of course, I have!” I responded a little too quickly, as I also quickly remembered meeting a friend for lunch the day before and forgoing my usual order of water with lemon for a diet soft drink, followed by at least one refill.  And I had felt so good about ordering the salad, too.

I wrinkled my nose and then returned to my Bible study.  Suddenly “come thirsty” had taken on a whole new meaning.  Just as a lack of water had caused my physical body to knot up, experience pain, and interrupt normal life, so also does discomfort and pain come when we are spiritually dehydrated.

If life has lost its color, relationships are strained, or you just feel out of sorts, perhaps you are spiritually dehydrated.  Rather than looking for a complex solution such as therapy or counseling, the first check should be –am I thirsty?  Have I neglected that daily drink from the well, the daily meeting with Jesus—our source of living water.

My prayer for today:

Jesus, I come to you thirsty.  Keep me thirsting for you.  Let my thirst for your Word never be quenched completely.  Just as I cannot drink all the water I need for the week on Sunday and then be set for the week, so I need to keep coming to you every single day for refilling.

As you pour into me, I pray that I would be filled to overflowing –and that your love and your truth would splash out on those all around me.  I cannot pour out of an empty pitcher.

Keep me spiritually hydrated.  Use those spiritual muscle spasms to remind me that I may be in need of a drink from the living water.

Thank you, Father, that your well never runs dry.

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan