"I'll be blogging in/all the old familiar places/that this heart of mine embraces...."
For the next few days John and I are taking time together, so I won't be blogging. I will be posting new photographs which you can view on The Photographer's side tab within my website. I'll be blogging again soon! "I'll be blogging in/all the old familiar places/that this heart of mine embraces...." I got up this morning and started my devotions little knowing what was going to transpire in just a few short hours. My time with the Lord was beautiful. In the rountine of my every day, spending time with the Lord is always the best time of day. I got John off to work, but just before he left the truck for his office, I told him I felt the Lord has us right on the edge of a precipice; a great precipice of learning to soar like eagles. I had to run to Wal-Mart right after dropping him off at his office. While on the way it hit me: The Lord gave me the next step in Ebenezer Productions. He showed me something that hasn't occurred to be before and I am excited. No. excited is too small a word, but there's no word big enough to express what I am feeling. I went back to the house, did a few chores and then went to walk my Ebenezer Path around Ebenezer Productions. This morning I decided that since I'm praying and believing God for this miracle, I need to start walking this prayer path owning it. From here on out, I will be picking up and keeping the trash cleared with the same dedication I will when the building has become mine so that everyone else can see it as well. And this morning, on the way to shop sitting for my friend at On the Rebound, I told the Lord I'm ready to look crazy and foolish for believing in something that seems so “out there”. That's the first time I've ever been able to say that. So, if people think I'm crazy, I'd like to say, “Wait and see what the Lord is going to do with this crazy middle aged lady!” I'm back on Face Book. It was such a great thing to do, but I'm glad to be back to keep up with people, their doings, their prayer requests, their victories and yes, even the pain they sometimes suffer. I'm also glad to be back so that I can give others my doings, my prayer requests, my victories and yes, sometimes even my pain.
All this time I've been walking around the church on 9th and Cherokee and growing closer to the Lord, and this is the best thing about believing God for the astronomical. Every time I walk this path around the church, the path I call The Ebenezer Path, I pray. The Ebenezer Path is a path of prayer. Each day I thank the Lord for this opportunity to believe Him for something big like this. “Big” isn't even the right word. “Big” is too small a word for what I'm believing God for. So The Ebenezer Path is the Path of Prayer. Are you believing God for something astronomical? Ask Him to show you what He wants to do in your life. Then hold on; it's a wild ride! Unfortunately I missed a few days of blogging, so I thought I'd post a poem I wrote several years ago about my favorite time of year: Autumn The Tapestry of Life Quiet, somber gray sky Bite of cold on cheek and nose Warm aroma of smoke pervading the air The day, though dark and drear Is brightened by the brilliance of color A canopy of autumn, overhead Resembling the tapestry of fall under foot below Cranberry Reds Warm Oranges Brilliant Yellows Blue Juniper berries Against an everlasting Field of deep green. The Tapestry of Life The Weaver weaves for us Showing His love in every blade and leaf The color of Life Under His Canopy of Love There are times certain stories in the Bible seem to jump out at me and other times just a verse or even a couple of words that were said by one person or another. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Moses, Caleb and Joshua; especially Caleb. I know I wrote about them the other day, but there’s another aspect that’s attached to the health and vigor of the two older men, Caleb and Moses, that has struck me, especially yesterday and today. If you remember, Moses brought the children of Israel to the borders of the Promised Land and sent spies to look out over the land. Eight of the nine spies came back scared spitless and soon made the entire camp afraid to trust God for His promises. They almost stoned Caleb and Joshua for believing God for His promises. And then the Lord came and told the Israelites to turn back around. He was going to make sure none of the unbelievers would enter His rest in the Promised Land. Moses, Caleb and Joshua, as part of the children of Israel also had to wander along with those who were unbelievers. But wait a minute! Wasn’t that kind of unfair to make these three wander in the wilderness as well? After all, they believed God and His promises. Why did they have to wander too? As humans we can’t know all the reasons why God does this or that. Who are we to question God? But if we think about it we can see a partial answer anyway. I think part of the reason Moses, Caleb and Joshua had to be included in the wilderness wanderings was because we often grow closer to the Lord when we have to go through the difficulties associated with pain and what seems unfair. From our point of view it seems unfair that Moses, Caleb and Joshua had to walk that terrible forty year road. It seems unfair that one person’s inattentiveness while driving killed the little three year old in the other car. There is hope in this, however and it’s through the most difficult circumstance we can grow closer to God. Ray Vander Laan says that the desert places are the places that we grow closest to God if we allow God to provide for us. How does that work with vision and believing God for His promise of Ebenezer? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that no matter how difficult my life gets, what set-backs I might experience, what hardships and pain, I’m going to hold onto the promises God has given me and know that in His timing all will be as He knows best. And what He knows best is what I want. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes. Wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14. And the most wonderful of all: My heart has heard you say, “Come talk with Me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Psalm 27:8 (NLT) Since today is the 30th day I'm off Face Book. It's not been nearly as tough as I thought it would be initially and I've been told that I'm probably glad I haven't been on it with all this stuff about the government shut down. Fasting Face Book doesn't sound very spiritual, but to be honest it's been so good for me. I feel like I've been drawing closer to the Lord because I have been willing to give up a huge time consumer that I love; but it doesn't mean I'm giving up Face Book permanently. No, I'll be back. And in less than ten days from now. I have always resisted fasting, but now I think I might like to explore it further. Thank you Father, I love being yours. In Jesus Name, Amen. There's a story in the Bible about Jonathan, Saul's son, the first king of Israel. They were at war against a country whose main city was thought to be unconquerable. The entire story is in 1 Samuel 14. As the story unfolds, Jonathan and his armor bearer have left their camp and gone to the foot of the cliff that this city is built upon. Jonathan tells his armor bearer, “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” And it turned out that God worked a mighty miracle with Jonathan and his armor bearer's faith. By the hand of God, they conquered an unconquerable city. This morning that story came upon me so poignantly that I gasped and almost cried. I had to turn to that story right away and read again what Jonathan and his armor bearer said, “Nothing can hinder God.” Wow! The faith of two men moved mountains, just as Jesus said would happen. I wonder if He was thinking of Jonathan and his armor bearer when He said it. And that's the cool thing about the entire Bible. It can be summed up as Hebrews does, “by faith Abel..., by faith Enoch..., by faith Noah...” and several others who are mentioned in the Hebrews 11 Faith Hall of Fame. But there were others that Hebrews talks about in 11:36-40: But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. Even though these did not see the great victories others mentioned in that chapter saw, still they were victorious, giving their lives for the Way, the Truth and the Life.
And just like it was for them, God has something better in mind for us than what we live now and what we see now and this better is for the here and now. One of the best verses in the Old Testament is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God Almighty has plans for us! WOW! Plans for each of us! Ponder THAT! Thank You, Father for loving us so much! Yesterday was my 53rd birthday. I know it’s unusual, but I love my birthday and it doesn’t even bother me that I’m in my fifties. I’ve yet to experience a dread of my birthday. Recently I saw an AARP commercial that I really liked. Their tagline? “Not everyone peaks in their twenties”. For me to believe the Lord will grant Ebenezer Productions as a vision is a direct gift from God, again proving that there’s no such thing as “running out of time.” If God ordains a thing, and He has a person who has decided to believe all things are possible with the help of Christ, then God gives that person all the time that he or she needs no matter what age that person is who trusts in the Lord with all their strength. There might be people who wonder where I get this theology. There are at least two instances in the Bible where a person’s age continued but their bodies never aged. The first one that comes to mind is Caleb; the other was his leader, Moses. Let’s go back to the time of Israel’s great Exodus. They’re just about ready to enter the promise land, and Moses sends ten spies to look at the land and to help him decide how to plan his battles. Caleb and Joshua are two of those spies and of all ten, these two are the only ones to bring back a good report. The Bible says that the Israelites were going to stone Caleb and Joshua for insisting that with the Lord’s help they could conquer the land, but God intervened and gave a curse and a promise. He told the Israelites that none them would enter the promise land except Joshua and Caleb because they trusted God would provide and fight the battles for them even against all odds. Near the end of his life, Caleb gives his testimony in Joshua 14:6-12 “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’ Even at 85, Caleb was still ready to fight battles and trust in the Lord his God with all his heart, soul and strength. And, as it turned out, the Lord fought those battles and made Caleb’s name great in Israel’s history.
And his leader, Moses had the same experience. He entered the desert, after killing the Egyptian, at about 40, received God’s call about 80 and died at 120. Deuteronomy 34:7 was his epitaph. What an epitaph! Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. Now think about how long most people live now. According to the world life expectancy website, men and women in the United States live for about 78.61 years (not counting unnatural causes of death). Caleb was as strong at 85 as he was at 40. Moses was as strong at 120 as he was at 40. The average lifespan of an Israelite at the time of Moses was about seventy. We know this by Psalms 90, which is a prayer of Moses. In verse 10 he says, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. So my entire point in bringing these facts up is that if God wants to extend a person’s life but preserve his or her body to last for as long as necessary, He can do it. After all He is the Master Creator. And so, for me age is not an issue. In fact it’s an opportunity to see what the Lord will do for me, and I can guarantee that He can use me more in my 50s and beyond than He used me in my twenties and thirties all to glorify His magnificent name! The only reason He didn’t use me more as a younger woman is because I wouldn’t allow Him to. Now, my life says “Do with me what You will Lord. I’m ready.” Did you see the sky this morning? Amazing, wonderful! The white clouds against a sapphire blue sky were tinged with a pinkish-orange that was absolutely breathtaking. I looked up and thanked the Lord for the breathtaking view I believe the Lord has set the weather in motion, sort of on auto-pilot but he also knows when the sky is going to be extra beautiful on any given day. I believe when that happens He tells all those present in His throne room, “They're going to love this!” The thing that is such a wonderful thought is that He intimately knows every one who will notice His beautiful sunrises and sunsets. He also knows intimately those who don't notice, and it makes His sad, knowing the joy they miss out when they are too busy to notice His handiwork. Walking my Jericho, I thought of the song by Rich Mullins, Step By Step “Sometimes the sky was beautiful Sometimes the clouds looks so far away Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close You could touch it but your heart would break...” And now that I'm writing, I am thinking of Psalm 19
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. |
AuthorColeen Frazer-Hambrick is a writer and photographer who lives in Oklahoma with her husband. They have raised three boys and now have four grandboys. Along with writing and photography, Coleen and her husband are active members of a Wesleyan church. Archives
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