Updates

A is for Advocate

One can hardly read a news story without seeing the word advocate. In our area the natural gas companies are pushing to drill through the copious deposits of Marcellus Shale. The process of “fracking” is thought to contaminate ground water thus threatening our environment.

There are advocates for a myriad of causes. Nature advocates lobby for practices to protect the ecosystem. Rachel Carson of “Silent Spring” fame one of the most famous in our area.

My mother and her husband are advocates for the Monarch Butterfly.  They retreive the eggs before the Milkweed is sprayed with chemicals and hatch them and set them free.  Any given season they protect and launch between 300 and 600 Monarchs a year.

Photo courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography

Last month in the Emergency Room the nurses were not listening or just not hearing that my husband was losing consciousness. His warning that the room was spinning, he could no longer hear and things were getting dark were not heeded. I had to step in and in one motion elbow nurse out of way, lower the bed with my foot and catch him on the way down before he pitched headlong onto the floor. I was his patient advocate. When his pain reached critical levels I was the one that tore the nurses from their dialog to increase his meds interceding on his behalf.

Several years ago I was in a courthouse lobby with a bible praying for a mom who faced lawyers and judges as they decided the fate of her children during a brutal custody battle. I became a court appointed advocate to accompany the children on their paternal visits.

Everyone needs an advocate. The word ADVOCATE has been on my heart so I began to research it.

Initially I looked to the Bible for my definition and learned that in Greek , the word translated as ‘advocate’ in some versions such as KJV – parakletos – is also translated as ‘comforter’ in verses : John 14 : 16, John 15 : 26, and John 16 : 7.

This word advocate often refers to the Holy Spirit.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

John 14:26 (NIV)

Looking at the dictionary the definition says Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor

Equally impressive are the synonyms listed:  Synonyms: champion, proponent, backer, counselor, counsel

The purpose of all this “advocate” pondering became real this morning.

I found myself this morning with a word on my heart. “May you have peace joy and hope! God has a plan.” And while I thanked God for the peace this gave me I was still stirred in my spirit that maybe it wasn’t just for me. I shared it with some of my friends by going through my twitter follower list and when I felt the nudge, I shared the words with them. I was not prepared for the response and the opportunity it afforded me to pray or intercede for those who received the word for them.

We all need an advocate and we are often called to be one. I posted the query, “what is an advocate” and  the responses all spoke of ‘standing in the gap’ for someone.

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“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” – Proverbs 31:8

And sometimes that means praying for someone when they can no longer find words.

Those who know me well, know that if they ask me for prayer, that I “stop, drop and pray” Followers on twitter or Facebook see actual prayers in response to a plea for prayer, not just a “sure I’ll keep you in my prayers”. How often do we say “prayin’ for ya” but get caught up in our stuff and forget? How many of us have forwarded an email or retweeted a prayer request and that’s as close as we got to actually praying?

Taking on the role of an advocate can yield a bounty of blessings for both parties. When our Advocate calls us to be one for someone else, we need to act. If you have put it off, today is a new day.  Step into your role of Advocte, a title with responsibility – you are in good company.

Point to Ponder: Who can you be an advocate for today? How is our “Advocate” encouraging you to move?

FYI  My Blogs are being changed over next week to http://www.kissedbythecreator.com/ so you might want to update your RSS Feeds

Fool’s Gold (Guest Blogger)

Guest Blogger: Pastor Chris Gibbs of CrossWay Church

“You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).

In the late 1840’s, the Gold Rush was in full swing. Everyone was eager for the certain riches and wealth, prestige and success that would come from discovering the life-changing powers of gold. What many people found, however, was not gold, but was pyrite, knows as “fool’s gold.” They found this with excitement, abandoned their search any further and went about to trade this “treasure” in for the life-change they were dreaming for. To their great disappointment, they found that what they had only “looked like” what they were really seeking. They had settled for a fake.

The Pharisees, like many in our current society, were more focused on the the disciples of Jesus did not fit into their traditional and “acceptable” mold. They had traded seeking the face of God, the true gold, for seeking the praises of men, and judging every man against the standard of appearance. They judged Jesus’ disciples’ hearts based on how they followed traditions, rather than how they followed God. They equated godliness with appearance, ritual, and tradition.

It is so easy to get caught up in the trends and styles and leave the commandment to worship God alone. He IS the true gold. Everything else is a fool’s copy. Styles are not my god. Traditions are not my god. Opinions of people are not my god. Jesus IS my God. I live my life to honor Him. He is the One who matters to me and how I live each day.

If we live each day this mindset, we will live blessed with Jesus. He is more valuable than gold, silver, and precious rubies. Our minds and hearts must be set on Him. Be encouraged today to seek Him, not to settle for anything less than the One, True, Living, and Loving God!!

You can read more here http://www.chrisgibbs.net/

Wind of HOPE

Recently our town was buffeted by winds of more than 40 MPH for several days. As I lay in bed waiting for the roof to be ripped off, I thought when will it tire? How much wind is there?

This wind was relentless it just kept coming as if the supply was infinite.

I looked outside and could not see the wind during the day or night.

The wind was invisible but the results the next morning were tangible. Recycling bins had toppled spewing forth plastics from blocks away. Branches and sticks laden with buds were strewn across the yards  like tombstones marking the death of the tender leaves that would never see spring.

Hope is like that. You can’t see it with your eyes or touch it with your hands. But hope or the lack of it leaves tangible evidence. It is amazing that the presence or lack of something so intangible can be so significant in our lives.

Martin Luther said, “Until a person experiences suffering, he cannot know what it means to hope.”

What does the Bible say about hope? In Hebrews 6:19 the NKJV it says:

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil…

The Bible refers to HOPE as our anchor, but what’s more, it says that HOPE allows us to enter into the presence of God. Since the Lord’s presence is where all the treasure and life-giving, life-sustaining power is – that is where we need to be. We need to maintain our hope.
Herman Melville said, “Until we learn that one grief outweighs a thousand joys, we will not know what Christianity is trying to make us.”

Worse than whatever pain we are dealing with or crisis we are experiencing is that hopelessness that comes with a sense that there is no purpose or value to the pain.


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Sorrow can cause our prayers to cease. We begin to doubt and ask “How can a good God allow anything so bad?”

Sometimes in these situations, holding on to hope requires that we let go of EVERYTHING else.

The Bible records several examples of prayers that were not answered the way the petioner hoped. First, we have the family of Lazarus who prayed he would not die. He died. But Jesus eventually raised him from the dead, giving GOD bigger Glory and building the faith of many. We have Paul who prayed fervently 3x to have the “thorn in his side” removed. It never was, yet this man went on to have a successful ministry and his perseverance has given countless Christians hope. Then we have Jesus, the son of God, who prayed to have “the cup removed” from him prior to his death. It was not removed. God allowed his son to be tortured and killed which resulted in our Salvation and eternal life.

So when we are enduring, it really might not be about us. It could be about giving others HOPE to endure and believe in a God who’s strength they see lived out as we walk out our grief.

How do we hold on to our hope when the storm comes? I believe it has a lot to do with what we do when times are good. Building our relationship with Christ through daily prayer and study of His Word creates a foundation with deep roots which can anchor us when the storms come.

“In my deepest wound, I saw your glory and it dazzled me.” ~ Augustine

No one could probably relate more to deep wounds than Joseph in the Old Testament. Few innocents endured more pain and suffering than Joseph. He was sold, beaten, imprisoned, falsely accused, and imprisoned again. But his twelve years of trials put him in a position where he could spare a nation from starvation AND bless his own family. There are no pity parties recorded as he faced his trials.

One of my favorite Hymns is “It is Well with My Soul” the story behind it is amazing. Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy businessman who lost his only son to illness and then much of his wealth in a fire in Chicago. He and his family scheduled a trip abroad to recover from their heartbreak. His wife and four daughters set sail before him. The ship they were sailing on was broadsided by a tanker and sunk within ten minutes. The cable he received from his wife said, “Saved Alone”. It was on his way to his wife that he passed the spot in the sea where his four daughters perished – and there above the dark waters during the darkest of his days he penned the words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Why was Horatio able to withstand such tragedy?  He was connected with the Creator. We grow relationships by interacting. The relationship with our Creator is also forged by interaction. Daily interaction in the form of prayers and study of his word, helps us form a foundation that is not easily shaken.

He becomes our anchor and what we tether ourselves to when the storm hits.

Point to Ponder: What are you tethered to? Where do you place your hope? When the storm comes, will you be ready?

Power of a Name

Pondering the dog. Yes at 6 a.m. the thumping of a lab tail can only mean one thing. Someone said the name CAMEO. She knows her name.
The minute someone says her name she jumps to attention. If you are going she’ll be on your heels. If she’s doing something naughty she stops instantly at the sound of her name. Her name – simply spoken, evokes immediate response.
At the pool there can be hundreds of kids but the MOM! Yelled from one of my children stops me in mid stride, mid sentence, mid bite – whatever I am doing, immediate attention is shifted to the calling child.



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Our Creator has many names.
ELOHIM: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong”
EL SHADDAI: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob”
ADONAI: “Lord”
YAHWEH-JIREH: “The Lord will Provide”

YAHWEH-RAPHA: “The Lord Who Heals”

EL ROI: “God of Seeing”

From the Old Testament through the New Testament scriptures abound of people calling on the name of the Lord and Him answering in their time of need. Whether for rain or for dry land, wisdom or power, protection or offspring, God routinely answered their call.

In the Old Testament it says  “…whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD [YHWH] shall be delivered.”(Joel 2:32) In the New Testament it says “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)

When I am in doubt or in trouble I call on the name of God. He is listening, even when it doesn’t seem like it. God has a name for every need we have. Like a parent who can sense their child’s desperate cry, the maker of us, knows our voice when we cry out.

No matter the need our God already knows it, he just wants to be asked to help. My friend calls Him “Daddy God”. She never had a real father and God was the only Father or “daddy” she knew.

God will not force himself on us. Allow your Heavenly father to be involved in your needs. No need is too big or too small. Call on his name like David did when he defeated Goliath, like Moses did when he bumped into the Red Sea, like Daniel did when the lions were circling.

That same God who helped David’s aim, parted the waters and closed lion jaws is waiting for your call.

Point to Ponder:
Do you have a Goliath, a Red Sea or some circling lions in your life? What is holding you back from calling on the name of God?

Erosion of the heart

Photo Courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography
http://lindajackmanphotography.com/

The other day I watched rivulets of water from melting snow trickle down my driveway creating ruts. Today in the freezing temps, those water filled ruts have frozen and widened. I watched my daughter navigate these obstacles trying to avoid them on the way to bus.

According to the dictionary….. Erosion is the natural process of weathering and transport of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) in the natural environment or their source and depositing them elsewhere.

Recently, I used the following analogy about erosion to draw a word picture of how our hearts can be eroded by our loved ones, specifically our family members.

Often our loved one never “intends” to hurt us. Reality is though eventually they do actually wound us. They do things over and over which causes ruts to be carved on our hearts. Rarely do we bring this up. We just react. We pull back, hurt back or just ignore both the issue and the offender. We get over it and move on, but the rut grows deeper with each hurt.

Gradually all their stuff (words/actions) washes over our heart and trickles down the eroded grooves widening them. So we hear or feel things based upon it washing over the grooves and picking up remnants of the hurts that are deposited in the troughs.

Eventually everything they say or do…is covered in baggage and offensive. The result is defensiveness which is divisive.

Watching flood ravaged areas, one sees sandbags to prevent erosion and trucks backfilling things as earth is washed away. I pondered how to fill the grooves in my heart left behind by others whose words or deeds have gradually etched my heart and wounded my spirit. People I am forced to interact with daily.

Backhoes would destroy my heart. A sandbag would squash it. Avoiding people is not an option especially when you are related to them or even live with them. How to fix it?

According the Mayo Clinic: “Generally, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended you may always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, positive parts of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you.”

Our Creator’s word says:

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.
Proverbs 12:25

Forgiveness is an act we do without any action on our offender’s part. It is giving up our right to revenge. It’s our choice and it would seem forgiving is heart healthy for us.

Point to Ponder:
Does the erosion of my heart affect my relationships? What can I do to heal my heart? What choices do I need to make and whom do I need to forgive?



Life’s Tsunamis

In reading about deadly storm surges and tsunamis, I learned the height and speed of the water are determined by the landscape of the deep ocean floor. What we see in the surge, is based on what lies unseen in the formation of the ocean floor.

In December 2004 a tsunami hit Indonesia and left more than 150,000 people dead or missing and millions more homeless in 11 countries, making it the most destructive tsunami in recorded history. It was a normal day. Sunny blue skies, but unbeknownst to the masses, an earthquake deep in the Indian Ocean generated enough energy to send a wall of water rushing the shorelines and waterways hundreds of miles away. There was no real warning for many.

Walls of water can rush at 600 MPH leaving in their wake desolation and devastation.

Tsunamis can be a result of seismic activity or storms.

The 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia affected people who didn’t feel the earthquake and were nowhere near the epicenter, yet the consequences for many were life altering.

Occasionally life can resemble a tsunami leaving desolation and devastation in its wake. Conflict, betrayal, a lie, a diagnosis and a clear sky day can turn on a dime without warning. What about the times when we are caught up in the surges of someone else’s life. We aren’t the cause or even near it when it happens yet we are rocked by its shockwaves…often unexpectedly.

Surviving a tsunami or storm surge is about leverage.

Our only salvation from being swept away in a surge is being tethered to something larger and stronger than ourselves and the force of the surge itself.

Emotional tsunami’s can enter our lives without warning. Being prepared and assured of a solid foundation can help us weather the surge. How will you stand firm in the face of that diagnosis, that loss, that grief, that broken trust?

Our Creator promises to be a refuge.

Psalm 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Point to Ponder: What lies unseen in our hearts? What determines the force of our surges, of our waves as they crash ashore? Where is our stronghold?

Big Snows and Little Flakes (Guest Blogger)

GUEST BLOGGER INTRO Today I am hosting my sweet friend Annie as my guest blogger. A nature lover and a God lover like I am, her take on the snow is simply wonderful. She is also the writer who wrote the questions at the end of the chapters in “Beside the Sea with Thee”.

Today is Epiphany! An apt day to write about insights and ideas. One of the thoughts that has been floating around in my mind these past few weeks is about snow. We have had an unusually snowy December and the first truly white Christmas since our family has lived in this house. The snow-covered world around us is quite welcome at Christmastime and makes it easy to enjoy its beauty.

I love the look of trees and bushes that have been draped with lights, then smothered in the snow so the lights glow through it. I love the way a blanket of snow makes everything more beautiful – from bare tree branches to a pile of junk in someone’s back yard. I love the sweeping scenery that snow creates across the landscape of hills and forests around western Pennsylvania. And though I don’t live in the mountains, I have been to the Rockies in winter, and I carry pictures in my heart of their grandeur beneath the falling snow.

These visions outside my window and inside my memories stir my awe and wonder at the vast and majestic nature of God and His creations.

Then, there are the snowflakes themselves. If you get really close to them, perhaps with a magnifying glass, you see another world of beauty. Not being someone who enjoys getting cold, I prefer to look at photographs of snowflakes! We have books with incredible pictures of snowflakes along with detailed explanations of how they form, the different classes of flakes, the conditions that create the facets and branches of each kind of flake… it’s amazing. The crystalline structures are exquisite, and there are so many different kinds of snowflakes! We rarely get to see them in all their glory, but they are there nonetheless.

These stunning photos astonish me with God’s creativity and attention to details.

Snow, on a macro scale or a micro scale, reflects and reveals its Creator. Where do you find Him?

Think about it!

Annie
Photo of Road Courtesy of Hannah I. Shoemaker
Photo of Snowflake Courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography http://lindajackmanphotography.com/

Regifting at Jesus’ feet

What are you bringing to Jesus’ Feet?

The story of the birth of Christ talks about a trio of Wisemen who came from afar to worship and acknowledge the birth of the newborn king.

They brought Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh each of which was symbolic of what was to be come in the future for this tiny bundle who was to be our Savior.

I thought about “HIM” – the best gift ever given- thank you God! But I also pondered the gifts given to him and their origins.

Gold a precious metal indicating wealth and royalty, Frankincense a substance used in religious ceremonies, and Myrrh also used in religious ceremonies and a medicine.

Gold is mined. It is ripped from the earth while both Frankincense and Myrrh are produced by bleeding trees. The substances are a reaction to a purposeful wounding of a tree through the bark and into the sapwood. Ripping and bleeding? A coincidence, I think not.

These gifts were treasured by Mary who would eventually see their significance as the life of her child played out in the most dramatic role of all time.

I ponder what gifts I have befitting of a king? While I often lay my troubles at his feet and he routinely takes on my pain and restores my soul. I want to give him a gift not my grief.

In this gifting season, I find myself pondering what gifts do I have? What can I lay at His feet?

Shall I lay my dreams and desires for my writing and leave them at His feet? Shall I lay the creativity he has birthed in me? Shall I lay the children he has given me at His feet? Shall I give Him back my heritage and my legacy of faith with which he has gifted me?

All the precious and meaningful gifts I have – ultimately He has given me.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”
(James 1:17).

So this Christmas I want to be a re-gifter. I want to thank you Jesus for the gifts you have given me. I want to lay them at your feet to use for your service. Take them and use them.

Point to Ponder: What gift has he given that you are holding on to which could be magnified by laying it at His feet?

Embracing the Slumber

I don’t have a favorite season, I love all of them for different reasons, but fall has so many things to love. With the smells, the colors, and the feel of the cool yet sunny days comes the earthly reminder that much outdoor life as we know it will be moving into sleep mode.

When I was younger, I equated fall with death. Things seemed to die and it made me sad. We were gardeners and the produce bounty would diminish as the plants got skinny and brown. My favorite ash tree would shed its leaves and look barren. Our grass would turn brown and many of the birds we loved to watch would speed away. Then I learned the truth about fall.

Fall is the beginning of a season of slumber. I thought the trees were dying but in reality all their power and energy was sinking back down into the trunk of the tree where it was conserved until it was needed to spur new growth in the spring.

And while the leaves were falling off and “dying” they were really creating matter for new growth. Leaves insulate the ground and protect small plants. They decompose making for rich nutritious food for new life.

Just like nature, our Creator provided us with a way to recharge. We all need time to conserve our resources so that we can regenerate and be ripe for new growth from a cell level to a spiritual one.

Just like nature, we have seasons of mass productivity and then other seasons where we seem stilted or stifled in our growth. But just like the stillness of growth in winter, our winter season can be productive in a different way. And just like the work unseen in winter, God can work in us in our unseen places.

When we begin to feel we are not being productive or “making a difference” we need to look inside to see if maybe something else is going on down deep. God might be setting us aside so that he can birth something in us or restore us from a wound.

If we suspect we are there, the first thing to do is wait and pray. Don’t rush it. Pray for wisdom and direction. Embrace the stillness. Don’t move forward until there’s a tugging from the Creator. We’ve all seen what happens to plants when there is an early thaw followed by the remainder of winter. Buds that thought they were ready for spring, encased in ice and snow meet their demise. So give it time. Don’t rush the spring.

To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heavens
Ecclesiastes 3:1

For an additional resource on this concept I recommend the book “anonymous” by Alicia Britt Chole – it is an amazing look at the journey of growth in those seasons where we seem invisible. It provides encouragement for embracing the pause.

To see how my family embraced winter by camping check out The Kissed by the Creator Photo Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kissed-by-the-Creator/141769015852210?ref=sgm#!/photo.php?fbid=171220099573768&set=a.171220039573774.40718.141769015852210

Point to Ponder: Where are you? Are you in a hidden season? If not, what growth would you like to see in your life?

The Reckless Abandon of a Child

Watching home movies the other day I saw my kids embracing Nature with reckless abandon and it warmed my heart. One film showed them swinging on vines in the woods while another showed them relentlessly tackling the waves at the sea. I’ve witnessed these kids gleefully leaping off rocks into lakes, climbing up waterfalls and wading through frigid creeks and rivers in their bare feet in search of the crayfish with sharp wicked pincers. Their pursuit of nature is adventurous, hopeful and eager. As a mom, I find myself frequently holding my breath as they explore. Why? Because I am aware of the dangers, that they aren’t.

During devotions I came across the scripture:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17

It made me think about the way children approach things and the home movies. Adjectives like relentless, gleeful, fearlessly, adventurous, hopeful, and eager come to mind.

It would seem that children can battle waves for hours without exhaustion. Their excitement is contagious. Often more wary children can be encouraged to join in the fun by watching and catching onto the excitement.

Oh to love Christ like that with reckless abandon that is contagious!

Even after getting hurt or injured, a band aid or a kiss is all it takes and often the child heads back to the adventure.

Often when we get hurt in the church or by the church (which is human afterall) we shut down and turn it off. We aren’t quick to reenter into that state of relentless faith. How awesome it would be to allow God to kiss our boo-boo and move on with our walk, our faith, to NOT let the devil get the victory in our ouchie.

When I think of that verse, I have the desire to live my faith like that. Live out my faith adventurously, relentlessly and yes, recklessly! Taking risks for the Kingdom.

“Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” Luke 18:16

Today I pray for a childlike faith. I want to sit on His lap and learn how to follow. What about you?

Point to ponder:
What is preventing you from living out your faith with “child-like” enthusiasm? What steps can you take to catch that excitement about Christ again and spread it to others?