Persevering with a "Through" Faith

I know it's time to write something when I'm constructing paragraphs in my head and everything else I am doing is distracted by the thoughts swirling about. So, the college students waiting for their essay grades are going to have to wait just a bit longer. They'll be thankful in the long run since I'm not a very fair grader when I'm distracted :-)



I've been thinking about overwhelming situations or circumstances that pop up in peoples' lives and wondering sometimes how it's even possible to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Looking around at the world today, I see a lot of turmoil. Healthcare concerns us - what decisions will be made and how will they affect my loved ones? The economy is worrisome. The unemployment rate rose to 10.2% in October. The fear that wraps itself around a family facing unemployment can be paralyzing. Families are facing relational breakdowns. Soldiers who valiantly face death every day have been attacked on their own turf at Fort Hood in Texas. A disgruntled gunman killed six people in Orlando, Florida, today. I have a dear friend who is facing an insurmountable family crisis. My husband and I face uncertainty each day as business owners, knowing any decision or event may drastically affect our ability to succeed. It would be easy to let fear take over.



You see what I mean? You could probably add numerous examples of your own to this list. We all have our "stuff" to deal with. (I cleaned it up for posting purposes :)
So, my question becomes, what do we do with overwhelming circumstances? I don't want to be Pollyanna and cover up the difficulty with a blank stare and a pasty smile. I do want to know how to maintain hope and optimism despite my circumstances.



I've been learning some tools that help me cope with both the world's problems and my own. The first is to have a "through" kind of faith. One of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore, talked about this kind of faith in her study, "Living Beyond Yourself, Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit." Her contention is that we should always associate "through" with faith - as in when we're going "through" something - we must trust our always faithful God. Consider Isaiah 43:2-3


"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."



Many times we think that because we don't see God acting or doing what we want, that He's somehow not faithful. In other words, we often want God to change our circumstances, and perhaps, more often God wants to change us. Therefore, going "through" something with faith will probably mean that I'll come out of it with a stronger connection to God and a deeper appreciation for Him.



Remembering God's faithfulness is step one for me. It helps remind me not to look at my circumstances, but at God's hand reaching down, holding me. Step two is serving Him with the gifts He's given me. Serving something larger than myself shifts my focus from my circumstances to others and what needs they might have. Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." According to the New Testament Lexical Aids, (again from my favorite Bible Study teacher, not my own library :)) to become "weary" doing good means "to give in to trouble; to become exasperated by difficulty, be defeated in spirit, discouraged, or faint-hearted; to despair, lose heart. . . . to turn out to be a coward, to lose one's courage." Well, the last thing I want to be is a coward, especially when it comes to doing good for God. So, I will persevere. I will persevere, "because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Rom. 5:3-5.



And so my friends, I urge you to keep pressing on and to rely on the ever faithful and true Jesus Christ. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Halloween 2009

a ballerina, banana, polar bear, Ariel and a bunny (Grandma Tibby in the back)
aren't they cute?

Hannah Banana & Isabel polar bear

trying to be taller than her sister :)

Happy Birthday Gracie Joy

Just adding pics to Gracie's birthday post :0)

cupcakes were a hit!

Today was Grace's 6th birthday. She was very excited and got to wear a purple birthday crown all day at school, plus pass out chocolate chip cookies to her class. For this birthday entry, I got a new idea from a friend of mine. She wrote a prayer for her daughter, so I think I'll do the same. (Thanks Mirm)

Dear Jesus,
Thanks for a lovely daughter named Gracie. You know how long I prayed for her arrival and it was a very special occasion. She is a delight.

Please protect her innocence. It sometimes feels like she's growing up into a scarier world than I did.

Please bless her efforts at school. Give her the inner confidence to work hard until she gets things - even the hard ones.

Please continue to guide her friendships. Help her be a good friend to others and stick up for the "little guy/gal". Help her pick out friends who encourage her to be her best and not her worst.

Please continue to hold her hand when she's scared or lonely.

Please bless the young man she may one day marry. May he love you and her with all his heart.


And, please give her father and me wisdom, patience and perseverance as we raise her to be an adult.


Thanks for giving her to us. She is so precious!


Amen! - Gracie's mom

Some thoughts on retirement

Okay, Let's get to work.

Yesterday was a great day. It meant a lot to myself and my entire family to hear and read the stories, both funny and tender, about how my parents have touched people's lives. I, too, could recount a large number of those as well. This morning, I'm adjusting, as I'm sure all of you are too. You know what, that's all right. Life is full of adjustments, some easy, some difficult. It's appropriate to take a little time to reflect and regroup.

Having said that, there is also much to be done and many challenges and uncertainties that loom large. However, my mother did leave us a bit of a "to-do" list. I know from experience that if she comes home and the list isn't completed, it is not a pretty picture. So, let's get to work. Then whenever they "pop in," we'll have some progress to report.

First, let's get to work praying. Pray for direction; pray for each other; pray for creative solutions to complicated problems. Pray for unity in purpose and diversity of ideas. Next, let's get to work trusting. Trust God above all others. It's His church; it's never been Bob & Dianne's. He loves it and cares about its future even more than we do. Trust leadership. Ask questions and offer ideas, but don't forget they love God and this place too. They dedicate countless hours - volunteer and paid alike. Their desire is to see us thrive and Jesus glorified. Trust when God's timing seems incompatible with ours. News flash -- our timing is frequently incompatible with God's. Yet amazingly, He consistently pulls us through.

All right, so pray, trust, now do. It's hard to imagine church services, KidZone worship, VBS, KZFriends, Bible Study, hospital visits, etc. without Bob and Dianne's presence. I know - I feel that. It's obvious to me that they loved doing those things, so let's copy them. In this case, copying is a good thing. Pick something out that you like doing and jump in - even when you think it's beyond your capabilities. In so doing, you'll find Jesus moved in and replenished your energy. You may also start to collect some of your own "say a good word for Jesus" stories.

Another "do" - let's generate and discuss. I'm going to make an assumption here and say that all of us have the same desire - the same goal. That is to see the church grow and serve more and more people, to fulfill Christ's Great Commission. Since we have the same goal, let's pour out our gifts, our resources, and most of all, our ideas. And let's do it constructively. Churched people are notorious for being stubborn and inflexible when it comes to their own ideas and agendas. I'm tossing myself right in here - I've been a "church person" my whole life. Let's be better than we've been. Let's listen, let's clarify, let's ask, let's answer, let's all contribute positively to our "pool of shared meaning." (Feel free to ask me about that pool - it's from one of my favorite books ever.)

In conclusion, I want to share one of the most significant lessons I've learned lately because I feel it is applicable to our situation. I am learning to keep the special, influential people in my life in proper perspective - that is, in the right order. Jesus Christ has to be numero uno. I confess; I haven't always kept him in that premium position. I've placed my husband in my number one "go-to" spot. He's great and I'm blessed to have him, but he's not always available. He can't meet my every need, no matter how hard he tries. I've placed my children in that spot, trying to meet their every need and placing them above all other priorities - trying to pull off Super-Mom on my own. That simply exhausted me :0). And, I've placed my parents in that #1 spot too. It was easy to do. They're pretty wonderful, wise and dependable. But, occasionally, their telephone ringer has been off (check the phone, Mom) and I haven't been able to reach them in the middle of my deepest need. Now, all these people are special and I love them dearly. But, guess what, if I've got Jesus in his rightful #1 spot, I am never alone. His ringer is never off; His voice mail message never comes on. He meets all of my needs. He refreshes me. He is always available, always dependable, and He will never retire. I can't tell you the amount of peace that brings me. Seriously. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

Last thing and I'm done ruminating. Before one of us girls would walk out the door for an activity, a trip, etc. our father would admonish, "Remember who you are, _______. You're a child of the King, and you're a Brouwer, so you never quit." As young children and teenagers, this was often met with an "I know this already" kind of eye-roll. Now, it rings in my head as a constant encouragement. Let me tweak it a bit so it fits our purpose. "Remember who we are; we're children of the King and we're FBCSers, so we never quit." Okay? Now, let's get to work!

Hope's first day of Preschool

Hope started a new preschool this year - King of Glory Lutheran Preschool. She was very excited to attend. Here she is on her carpet square.

Hope and her teacher, Mrs. D

her very own bag :)

Hope started at a new preschool this year. We loved our old one, but big changes seem to have sunk it. So, we found King of Glory, the preschool my nieces attended and loved. After her first morning, Hope announced, "I just love my new preschool!" Very cute and emphatic. She just got to have Pooh Bear stay at our house for 5 days, and we have to write in the journal and put pictures of what we did with Pooh Bear. She told me today she wants to keep him and not return him to preschool. She's having a blast.

STITCHES!

Below is a fuzzy picture of Hope's hospital bracelet. This marks

her first trip to the ER, and Brent and I are are kind of counting on making more.

Seven stitches :0(

But she's no worse for wear :)

I was headed out the door Tuesday evening for a relaxing hair cut when Brent raced in, Hope in his arms, crying, holding a blood-soaked towel to her chin. She had jumped off the side of our pool, but not jumped out far enough. As she came down, she was too close to the side and Whammo! she smacked her chin. It was a deep gash, very ugly. I held her as we raced to the nearest hospital, wet children in tow.

We were racing so fast, I'm pretty sure we got a red-light photo ticket too!

We walked into a very crowded emergency room and started to wait. Fortunately, Brent's parents were on their way to pick up Grace, and our sister-in-law, a nurse, called other hospitals inquiring as to the wait in their ER's. We found one with a 2-minute wait and got back in the car. Hope was doing pretty well, asking me lots of questions like, "Will you stay with me?" and "My neck and hair are itchy." (The blood had dried and was matted on her neck and hair - gross). The nurses and doctor took great care of us, bringing her goody bags, stickers and all sorts of things. She ended up getting 7 stitches - not fun, but she was very brave.

We're scheduled to get them removed Monday and we're thankful for good care. We're pretty sure this might be the first of many visits to the ER since Hope is quite adventurous!

First Day - "the big one"

Whew! This was a big day! Kindergarten. No going back now. School years will start to rush by. I remember back when Grace was about two weeks old. I had this sudden realization of what was ahead of me (us). I actually thought to myself, "What did we do? What were we thinking? How can we be completely responsible for another human being's every need? This is too big." Obviously, I talked myself down off the ledge and we took it day by day. And lo and behold, that little two-week-old is almost 6 and starting kindergarten. Yikes! As this was approaching, I was quite nostalgic and also apprehensive. Had I prepared her for everything? Was she going to be okay away from me for 6 1/2 hours every day of the week? (AZ has all-day kindergarten). As a teacher, I tended to "poo-poo" nervous parents when I met them, patronizingly reassuring them, "Everything will be just fine." Now I was on the other end, and suddenly the thought of turning over my child to someone else, who I barely knew, seemed highly irresponsible. We drove by the school, we met the principal, we talked to neighbors, we began to feel comfortable. We pumped it up to Grace and she grew excited, with just a little bit of anxiety. The night before kindergarten started, I was blue. I looked through her baby book, and just thought that after this moment, things would be different. Not necessarily bad, but different. My mom always said that when we entered a new phase, she mourned a little while, then discovered a new freedom. It's true. Today was free of sibling rivalry. :0)

So, here are some pics and more reflections on our first day :0)

the kindergarten playground - the dropoff zone
backpack shot - Ariel pack and matching lunch tote (so fashion-forward)

school girls

Line up for class - boys' line and girls' line

She walked right in and found her seat. No tears, except for a few in my eyes :0)

I was thankful as the "meet the teacher party" didn't go entirely as planned (see later entry).

Before we left in the morning, Gracie was eating her breakfast, looking thoughtful. I asked her what she was thinking about. She answered, "My brain is telling me what a good day I'm going to have." Ha! You go girl!

Then we gathered as a little family to pray. She looked up, rolled her eyes at me and said, "Mom, I'm fine. You don't need to pray for me."

I told her, well then we're praying for me :0)

Nice, huh?

I had a Bible verse all picked out in case she needed some encouragement.

Isaiah 41:13 "I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says, "Do not fear; I will help you." That verse is such an encouragement to me.

I was going to give her a "kissing hand." This was from a preschool story where the mom kissed the little girl's hand and if the little girl felt nervous or scared throughout the day, she could hold her "kissed" hand up to her cheek and feel better. Gracie ended up giving Hope a "kissing hand" and marched right into class unafraid.

We are celebrating our little girl's new phase, excitedly with some happy tears!