Digging Wells

This is a repost from two years ago, but I needed to read it today, maybe you will be encouraged too.

Have you been pursuing something diligently only to encounter contention and opposition? Perhaps you have been praying for someone you love for a long time, with seemingly no answers from the Lord. Perhaps you have been pursuing a dream that the Lord has laid on your heart of writing or establishing a ministry. The more you put into it, the more you encounter obstacles or opposition. People doubt your calling, or you doubt it yourself. Or they oppose it, or get in the way...


Genesis 26:17-22

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.


19 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

What the Lord showed me in this passage is how Isaac persevered in seeking the water until he found it.

The first well was named Esek (contention).

The second was named Sitnah (opposition).

and finally the third Rehoboth (Broad places of fruitfulness)

This is a common experience for God's people in their journey with Him. If we think of stories of Joseph,

Moses, Nehemiah, David, Ruth, or modern ministers like John McArthur, or missionaries like Hudson Taylor...we find the same story. In any pursuit or calling there are wells of contention and opposition that come before the broad places of fruitfulness.

Hang in there! Press on, sister! Keep going! Never stop!

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.

Force of Fear?

Today my son-in-law left for the Air Force bootcamp. He is going in the reserves. I have been dealing with a certain amount of concern fear for his six week experience there.

He's so...young. He's...small. How will they treat him? How will he respond? Will they crush his spirit? Will he respond with faith? Will he remember that the Lord God Almighty lives inside of him and is right there with him?

For a woman of faith, the concerns fears lead me to cast my cares on the Lord who promises to care for me and my family. (and I must fight to believe it sometimes!) As soon as the questions enter my mind I turn them into a specific prayer: Lord, please make Andrew aware of your Presence. Surround him with the right people. Help him respond with faith to the hard things. Help him grow through discipline. Help him be the man that you desire him to be...In Jesus' name! ~how grateful I am to be able to message the King of the Universe on behalf of Andrew!

Amazing to me is how "images" from movies or news stories seem to effect my thought process...and it's the worst images that come to mind. It has been a looong time since I have seen "An Officer and A Gentleman". But I remember scenes...and they impact my thinking. They bring fears to the surface. Ideas that I received from watching the film. And Top Gun. I imagine if you have seen these, you have images coming to mind immediately. Powerful, isn't it?

I have been mulling this over for a few days due to other stories I have heard recently. People's fears in certain circumstances become exaggerated due to images and movies they have watched. So I wonder...should we be curbing our viewing more than we are? I wonder, are we making our battle more intense?

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

Parenting After Empty Nest?

I ate two meals with College Boy today.

We talked about goal setting and list making.

Watching adult children be...adult children is interesting.

To say the least.

When your children leave the nest you get a chance to observe.

What things they have gleaned from home.

And what they HAVE NOT. (yet)

lol

When I entered said College Boy's room to get him a shirt tonight,

I thought to myself,

"he is going to be an engineer and does not know

how to close a dresser drawer." ~hmmmm

Back to "list making"...

I have observed College Boy has become used to staying

up until wee hours of the morning and then sleeeeeeeeeeping in

until. late.

Mom of College Boy thinks to herself,

"It's not good for boy to be lazy. He needs to make goals."

Mom makes goals and writes them down.

Dad makes goals and verbalizes them to Mom.

College Boy needs to learn to make goals so he prioritizes time

and makes wise decisions.

He says, "It was New Year, Mom."

Yes....it was, but now you have one week left of vacation.

What will you do with it?

So a list he makes and worked on it all day.

Mom thinks College Boy is feeling quite satisfied!

(So is College Boy's mom!)

A Look Back

I've been inspired by my new blogging, & tweeting friend, JoAnne in Australia. As I read her overview of her blogging year, I was enabled to get to know her better...So allow me to introduce a (very) short version of my year 2010...

January: 2010 started off writing about my new role  as Women's Ministries leader in our church. In 2008, the Lord took me to She Speaks on faith. I had no idea what for at the time; speaking, or ministry...but I went with Him and attended workshops on a little bit of everything. Guess what? Since then I have done a little bit of everything! Who knew? LOL

February: Found me pondering the past and learning from it. I put up a lengthy post of my former pit, as well as a post stemming from my deep desire for balance in Christendom...

March: I HAD to do a little more reminiscing of our daughter, Kayla's wedding from 9/4/09 before sharing about the coming changes in our lives...Empty nest and grand parenting!

April: I was deep in preparation mode for the coming graduation party and the upcoming strain on my heart (ie: letting go!).

May: I posted out of my grief over the disunity and self-protection I see among professing Christians when we engage in arguments, name-calling and finger-pointing.

June: Because I spend so much time in the yard, I learn much about God, truth and life there.

July:  Garden meditations continue...on walking with Jesus...and then a spiritual check-up for my "eyegates".

August: More marriage meditations. (AND we dropped Ethan off at college the same weekend that my husband's grandmother died, but I didn't post about it..)

September: I was busy with preparations for the Anniversary event and Harvest Open House in my little gift shop, Bittersweet Farm.  I posted on Bittersweet, the plant and the name. I also was asked to speak at a "Single Mom's Spa Day" and discovered that I need to feel more free to share my story...because it is really HIStory!

October: In the midst of the busy season of BECOMING A GRANDMA, gift shop ownership, and Women's ministry events, I joined a Thanksgiving meme in gratitude for my Dad's successful surgery, and the simple pleasures in my life.

November:  Our Pastor started preaching through the book of Jude for "such a time as this"...for I found the Lord calling me to Contend for the faith.

December: Early in the month our Women's Ministry hosted a Christmas Cafe outreach with my bloggy friend Heather Cox speaking. Then later, I found the Christmas story took on new significance with a grandson sleeping next to us in church.

And THAT'S my year in a nutshell!!!...May the Lord bless and prosper your New Year!

Livin' in Love,

Kathy

A Baby Boy

I want to introduce you to my grandbaby, Bennett. He is two and a half months old. (isn't he cute!) He was sitting, sleeping actually, two chairs down from me in Church on Sunday. I kept glancing over at him when baby Jesus was mentioned in the message. Words popped in my head like "vulnerability", "trust", "growth process"...

In my mind, I imagined the span of the life of Jesus. What was daily life like in the home of Mary and Joseph? They must have lived in wonder at times...and at times, probably forgot that Jesus was who he was. I am struck with awe after having witnessed Bennett's birth, that the Lord God Almighty made his entrance into our world in a similar way. Through a dark canal.

Have you ever thought of how much darkness there is in the story of Christmas? The story of Light coming to earth? Beginning with the long, rough trek to Bethlehem that Mary endured at an advanced stage of pregnancy. Then at the end of her journey, giving birth in a barn, and soon after having to flee the country with her little boy. All the while pondering reality in her heart, and remembering the prophecy..."he will pierce your own soul too"...

What about your own life and walk with the Lord? When we meet Him, and receive Him, the Light enters our own dark hearts...but His presence in us doesn't automatically shield us from dark things in our lives either. As we know, life on earth continues to have dark events.

After pondering dark times in your own life, think of how profound grace is. The enabling of God. The giving to us what we are unable to produce...everything really. What do we have that we were not given? It's all grace. All things good are a result of His Light in our darkness.

Immanuel, the greatest gift of all came through a dark canal. Mary and Joseph were given grace to trust and teach and guide Jesus as his parents. Now we can have the Light inside of us that overcomes even the deepest darkness!

That gives us great reason to celebrate Christmas!

John 12:46

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Psalm 18:28

You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Sixpence None The Richer (ft. Dan Haseltine) - Silent Night [Official Mu...

Not much to say beyond...enjoy this! It is beautiful and sweet...

Why God?

I sometimes like to think why God made us...(I know that's an elementary sentence, but I am feeling a bit elementary girlish right now!)

I was driving toward the river that separates Wisconsin from Minnesota today. The beautiful St Croix River...I was out getting last-minute things for our Ladies Christmas Cafe that took place this evening. I had red dogwood twigs from my yard, but needed boughs for the glass cylinders we were using for the centerpieces. Being the cold~weather wimp that I am, I didn't want to trudge through the snow in the back yard on an 11 degree day, so I did what any weather~wimpy girl would do, I went SHOPPING!

The river....we live in a magnificently beautiful area with dense forests, rivers, streams, lakes, bluffs, and hills; nature's beauty abounds. As I traveled along the highway to the florist, the snow-covered pine trees drew my mind toward God. I felt compelled to pull over and take a photo to share with someone. I felt so... "incomplete" enjoying it by myself!! ...and that got me thinking....

When I experience beauty like that, I JUST WANT TO SHARE IT WITH SOMEONE!! I found myself wishing I could express my  delight over the beauty I was passing on my drive. And I thought of God. Why did He create us? He knew we would sin, He knew He would have to send Jesus and sacrifice Him to get us back. Why?

I know I felt something of the heart of God when the desire to share my joy overwhelmed me. He made us to DELIGHT with Him, TO DELIGHT IN HIM...

Suddenly I had an overwhelming sense of His magnificent love for us, and for His desire to have us near Him. 

I wanted someone I LOVE to be in the vehicle with me to share my delight in God's amazing creation. (He wants me to share His delight with Him in His creation and in Him!)

ISN'T THIS THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS? ~I THOUGHT...AS I DELIGHT IN HIM, HE DELIGHTS IN ME! AND YOU! As soon as one sinner repents and opens his/her heart to Jesus, He jumps in! He swoops down to make His home in us. OH!!!! How He loves us!