Faith in the midst of Failure

I had a dream last night that I was sitting around a table with my mom, hubby, and a former Pastor. He was sharing with us about how his current endeavor was failing terribly and all I could say is ...:"I know, we have been there,..."  I woke up before I could say any more and as I went about my morning routine, the Holy Spirit spoke something to my heart that stopped me in my tracks!  He said, "I lose more of my people in failure than success."

Whoa, news flash!

Immediately my thoughts turned to two examples in the Word...Peter and Judas.  The only difference between them was that when they both failed Jesus, one ran TO Him and the other ran FROM Him.

In Luke 24:12 The Voice, we read:

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he reached the opening, he bent down, looked inside, and saw the linen burial cloths lying there. But the body was gone. He walked away, full of wonder about what had happened.

Peter was full of wonder and we know that he went on to be a man of such great faith that he died the death of a martyr.  However, Judas' story had a much different ending, in Matthew 27:3,5 The Voice:

Judas—the one who had betrayed Him with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver—saw that Jesus had been condemned, and suddenly Judas regretted what he had done. He took the silver back to the chief priests and elders and tried to return it to them....Judas threw down the money in the temple, went off, and hanged himself.

Believe me when I tell you, I know what it means to fail.  I recently had a Birthday and it caused me to look back over my life.

What I found was that there were many times that I knew I should have done things differently, but I did it wrong anyway. In those times I threw myself on the mercy of God and repented and happily went on knowing I was forgiven and it was forgotten.

However, there have been times when I did everything RIGHT and yet, I appeared to have failed in every way. 

Now, let's be real, those times are the hardest! It was also when my faith seemed to falter the most.

I racked my brain and tried to determine how did it go so wrong???  I tried to determine what I would have done differently and came up empty because there were no answers.  I felt so defeated that I didn't want to pray anymore and every time I picked up the Word, I could feel the weight of my failure.  You may be asking, "What do you do during those times?"

I have learned that you continue to do what you know to do, even when it hurts.  You get right back in the seat and you try again.

My littlest nephew also just had a Birthday and he received a bicycle...a real one with pedals!  He was s-o-o-o excited to jump up on it and GO!  We even have a picture of him on it, beaming ear-to-ear!

However, he is a little guy and he doesn't have any experience with pedal pushing.  Later on, when he couldn't make it go, he jumped off and ran over to me.  With tears in his big blue eyes he said, "Tata, I will never ride this bicycle again, just take it out to the dumpster!" 

A bit dramatic, I know!  I explained to him that he is growing and reminded him that he's never used this kind of bike before.  Also, it's not the right time to learn since there is 2 ft of snow on the ground right now.  I told him we will put the bike away and pull it out when it gets warmer and then we will teach him what he needs to know to be successful. 

AHA!  A light just went off in my spirit...failure teaches us.  It's a painful and necessary part of life and the biggest lesson it teaches us is that we need to keep getting on the bike instead of running away from it. 

I remember my first time of learning to ride a bike without training wheels...I wrecked BIG TIME!  I didn't have firm control of the handle bars and they skewed left, right into my chest!  It knocked the wind right out of my lungs and I ended up in the ditch. 

It hurt terribly and I cried very hard, but you know what?  After I dried my tears, I got up, dusted myself off and got back on the bike.  Now mind you, it was a big blue bike in a much older style and it was not really cool at all!

However, I learned how to master 'ole Big blue that summer and for Christmas that year I got my DREAM BIKE...The Cactus Flower. 
It was a white bike with yellow and orange flowers with a bright yellow "banana" seat and high handle bars!
You know what....it was s-o-o-o worth the pain!  The freedom I felt when I jumped on it for the first time and took off around the block with the wind in my hair and the biggest smile on my face was priceless!  The pain of the past failures firmly where they belong....in the past! 
Did I ever wreck the Cactus Flower?  You bet, but I would just get back on and go at it again .  This is what we all need to do in the face of failure:
Dry our tears.
Dust ourselves off.
Get back in the seat.

and GO!

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Have you ever been going through something and you keep trudging along and it just doesn't seem as if anything is getting better?  The harder you attempt to press through with praise and thanksgiving the more it seems like its pressing down on you.  You literally feel as if something has grabbed ahold of your arms and lashed them to your side and you can NOT get your praise on!
We see in James 1:2-4 NLT  that when these troubles come we are to look at them as an opportunity:

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Not just an opportunity, but an opportunity for great JOY!  I have to be honest, there are days when that seems nearly impossible.  The last thing I want to do is throw my hands up and do a happy dance when life doesn't play fair.  What do I do in those occasions?
I cry out to Jesus!  He is always there and not only that He sends others to lift me up in prayer.  This is why it's important to have people in your life that you can be real with and just say, "nope, nope, nope I'm not gonna do it!"  Then they rally around you and say, "take a coffee break sister, we got this," and start praying on your behalf.
What many of us don't realize, is that one of the primary tools of the enemy is to not only get us to the point that we become so weary that we can no longer do what we know to do but to also isolate us from each other so that he can cut the weak one from the herd and go in for the kill.
When you find yourself in a weary state, there are some things you need to do:

1. Don't let yourself be cut off from others...resist the urge to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head. 
2. Get honest with yourself and admit that you need a little assistance...we aren't superheroes, we are human and it's OKAY to admit that you need help.
3. When the assistance comes, relax and let them lift you up...just Be still and Be strengthened.
4. Do unto others as they have done to you...when you are strong, don't turn your back on the cries of someone who is weary, lift them up in prayer as others did for you.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all my sisters and brothers who heard my cry and came alongside me and lifted my arms until the battle was won!  We see the same in Exodus 17:10-13 NLT:

So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.  As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.   Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.   As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

Just as Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses, you came alongside me and together we got the VICTORY!  Hmmm, that reminds me of a little ditty...Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends!

Ummm...i LIKE pie!

Our Thanksgiving Feast would not be complete without pie and copious amounts of real whipped cream!  Ok, let's face it, I love whipped cream and I merely like pie!  Don't judge.
I have story after story of my love affair with whipped cream and how it led to my downfall on more than one occasion.
One such story sticks out in my mind and I'm sure my Mom and Dad remember it well.  I was maybe 10 or 11 and I was tasked with preparing the whipped cream for my Mom's dinner party later in the evening.  It was the whipped cream made with milk and an envelope of powdery goodness.   It was supposed to yield 2 cups of frothy delight.
I remember "tasting" it to make sure that it was suitable for Mom's company.  That was the beginning of the end...it was like the Siren's call to me and every 30 minutes or so I would check on it and make sure it still tasted ok.  I would be careful to smooth the whipped cream back up the sides of the bowl to make it still look like there were 2 billowy cups of creamy goodness.

I think I left to spend the weekend at my Father's house because I don't recall being there for the reveal.  I do however, remember my Mom asking me if I had sampled the whipped cream and I, um, well, couldn't lie and I told her I just tasted it!
Unbeknownst to me, when my Mom pulled out dessert and went to portion out the whipped cream she realized that she didn't seem to have quite the full 2 cups yield...she scraped out the remaining whipped cream into a measuring cup to find that I had left her only 1/4 cup...total!

This happened close to 30 years ago, and it still gets brought up from time to time...some tales are too good to let die and they just become part of the family lore!
My Pumkin Pie recipe is straight from the back of the can, substituting nutmeg for cloves.  My whipped cream recipe can be from a can, an envelope or carton...it just has to contain dairy!

Homemade Whipped Cream
1 8oz carton of heavy whipping cream
1 tsp of vanilla
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Pour whipping cream into COLD mixing bowl, with a COLD wire whisk attachment whip on high speed until frothy, add vanilla and powdered sugar continuing to whip until soft peaks form.  If you prefer a firmer whipped cream whip until peak tips stand up but not much further than that or you will get sweet butter!

Just a little somethin'- somethin' to get the party started!

Another family favorite at Thanksgiving is the appetizers while we are waiting for the feast to begin. One of my favorites growing up, were my Mom's Stuffed Mushroom Caps.  She used to freeze left over muffins to keep cornbread on hand for this recipe. I found an easier substitute that is a available seasonally this time of year...Stovetop Cornbread Stuffing mix!

Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms
1/2 pkg Stovetop Cornbread Stuffing mix
12 to16 oz of mushrooms
1/2 c Parmesan* cheese, grated or shredded
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 medium onion
1/4 c water, stock or melted butter, optional
Clean and stem mushrooms, do not discard stems.  If needed slice a small piece off top of cap so that it sits level on the baking sheet. 
Finely mince stems and onions. Melt butter in skillet and add minced stems and onions.  Stir over medium heat until soft, not browned.  Add half of stuffing mix, (save the rest in a ziplock bag for another time) and toss to fully coat stuffing in butter. If needed you can add a little water, stock or extra melted butter to moisten mixture.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Heap mixture into caps and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until stuffing is golden brown.
*Can use whatever cheese you prefer - I've used mozzarella, swiss, gruyere, and jarlsberg.
NOTE: This recipe is also a great way to use up leftover stuffing...like that EVER happens at our house, but your family may not be the stuffing hounds we are! :)

Who doesn't love stuffin'?

It's time to give thanks and I'd like to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving Recipes in preparation for the big day.
I love simple things and this recipe for Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing doesn't get much simpler. It is so good just as it is that we have to prepare two batches every year.  You can also personalize it to make it your own!

Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing
2 large onions
1/2 c butter
12 c soft bread cubes
1 Tbsp poultry seasoning
1/2 c water
1 c sliced celery
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Finely chop onions and cook in butter over medium heat until soft but not browned. Add bread cubes, water, celery, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Mix Well.  If not moist enough add more water or melted butter.  Enough stuffing for a 12 to 15 lb turkey or if you prefer dressing, place into a buttered casserole and bake 1 hour at 325.

BEST. SWEETEST DAY. EVER!

If you live in Ohio like I do, then you may be know that the third Saturday of October, is Sweetest Day!  It wasn't until my 20's, after moving out of state, that I discovered this day was not universally celebrated.

Nevertheless, as long as I could remember, I had hoped for a Sweetie to celebrate with on this day. However, year after year I found myself alone. 
I'm happy to say that this Sweetest Day, my Beloved and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss. Thank you Lord!

When I first surrendered my heart to Jesus, I learned that I could begin praying for my husband before I even knew his name. So I did.  I was very specific in my prayers of what kind of man I was believing for and year after year I was hopeful that I would finally be introduced to the one my soul loves.  
Well, it only took 15 years of believing, trusting, and praying and at the age of 37, I met my Beloved.

We were introduced at a volunteer meeting for the outreach program at our church and within 2 weeks we had our first date!
It was on Good Friday and what a date it was!  It was a marathon date that lasted 9 hours. We could have continued talking until dawn but said our farewells.  He couldn't wait to see me again the next night!
On Saturday night, he told me to "not be freaked out, but he was falling for me."  To be honest, I had complete peace.
 We sat together for Easter services and in between the 2 services, he asked me to go out to his car because he has a surprise for me...it was TULIPS!

Before our 1st date, I asked Daddy God for a sign of His blessing and I specifically requested tulips.  

I found out later, my Beloved woke up at 4:30am Easter Morning and had to go to the store to buy me tulips! 
Driving to visit my family that day,I wept as Daddy God whispered to my heart, "it is no accident that today is the day I chose to resurrect your dreams of being a wife."
A week later we were engaged.  We began discussing when we should get married and I mentioned that I always wanted either a May or October wedding.  Well, May was a bit too soon, so we were looking towards October.  I mentioned Sweetest Day and my Beloved gave me a look that said, "ugh, not that day!"  
I quickly shook off my hopes for a Sweetest Day wedding and we choose a different weekend in October.

A month or so later, my mom mentioned that we needed to start looking for reception halls if we were intent on getting married in October.  On a whim, she called the place where she and my Dad were to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary in September.  The lady told her that they were all booked up, but they already had my mom penciled in for October 18th!
She told the woman that can't be because her Anniversary was in late September.  She would have never selected the middle of October for a date.  The lady assured her that she was penciled in for September 21st AND October 18th.  Unbeknownst to my mom she had booked our reception hall the previous year! My mom hung up the phone and called my sister.  
She told her what had happened and before she gave her the date, my sister interrupted her and said, "is it October 18th?"  My mom gasped and said, "Yes."  My sister went on to explain that the day after she met my Beloved for the first time she had a dream about our wedding and it was so vivid that she came downstairs and circled the date on the calendar!
Now, you may call that a coincidence, but there are so many stories of my Daddy God's faithfulness that there left NO DOUBT to any of us that this was exactly as He had planned.
And, yes, you guessed it, October 18th just so happened to be Sweetest Day! 

I would get to celebrate my very First Sweetest Day with the one my heart loves.  Oh, how our Daddy God blesses us down to the last detail!
I want to encourage anyone who is still waiting on the one their soul loves that they should have hope in the one who promised to give us the desires of our heart.  He is faithful to bring it to pass.

I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine. 

Song of Solomon 6:3

Drowning in the shallows

Have you ever taken a trip to the ocean and while you are standing in the shallows, all of a sudden...WHAM, you get knocked down by a wave that you never saw coming?
You gasp as you tumble forward only to get a mouthful of briny seawater as you cry out.  Your nose and eyes sting from the salt as you flail desperately in an attempt to stay on your feet.  You feel your fingers suck into the sand and it makes you feel as if you've been shackled to the bottom.
No sooner do you get to your feet, when another wave comes and knocks you down again.  This time you don't even notice that you were dragged into deeper water until you attempt to stand and realize you are now thigh deep.  You turn around to assess the situation and another wave smacks you full in the face and you fight to take a breath as panic sets in...
I've been there myself, literally and figuratively speaking.  It's been a rough couple of months; my Grandmother passed away in June, a beloved Aunt passed away in August and I lost my job in September due to a "reduction in workforce." 
I have felt that I have barely been able to catch my breath before another wave hit and sent me flailing, trying hard to maintain control.
The funny thing is, the harder I tried to control the situations, the deeper the "water" got until finally, I heard a voice say..."Be Still."
My first reaction was, "how can I be still, God? You know our situation?  You know what needs we have?  You really want me to "Be Still?!!"  I could literally feel fear and panic trying to grip me and drag me under.  I had a choice to either give into the fear or choose to obey.  I chose to obey.  I got quiet and became still.  As soon as I did, the Holy Spirit put me in remembrance of all the times that the LORD had brought me through and commanded the storms in my life to cease.  It encouraged me to do what the Word said to do as difficult as that sounds.  Psalm 46:10 NLT states: He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.
In another example, we see Jesus speaking to the storm in Mark 4:35-41 NLT.  However, I believe that His words were also meant for His followers:

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

The LORD knows that panic leads to fear and fear is the absence of Faith. That is why when the waves start to come, we need to not fear, but speak PEACE to those waves and watch as they subside.  We can be like Jesus in the back of the boat...resting in the knowledge that Our Heavenly Father is going to take us through the storms of life and that we will get to the other side and fulfill all that He has called us to do.  
Years ago, Rick Renner did a teaching on these verses.  What was so interesting, was that he showed us that the storm came because it was attempting to keep Jesus and His followers from one of their greatest victories.  
On the "other side" was the Demoniac of Gedara and He was about to have a life-changing encounter with the Prince of Peace!
I want to encourage all of us that when the storms of life come to blow us off course and to get us in fear, we need to remind ourselves how Jesus responded.  
I LOVE how Jesus didn't leap up, all flustered and command the disciples to row like they never rowed before!  He also didn't command them to turn the boat around.  Many who were in that boat with Jesus were seasoned fisherman who knew a storm when they saw one and they literally shouted at Jesus, so either they were already panicked or the storm was so loud they didn't have a choice.  This shows me that this was no light summer rain.  It was a doozy!  
And yet, Jesus gives us the example to follow, He wakes up and then He speaks to the storm with His authority and tells it, "Silence! Be Still!" 
He wasn't done though, He next turns to his followers and asks why were they afraid?  He asked them "where is your faith?"   He had already told them that they were going to the other side and that is EXACTLY what He meant.  Jesus is speaking to you today...Silence! Be still!  Don't talk about the storm...talk to it and tell it to STOP!