I'm a fan of Pinterest. It's interesting, and challenging, addictive, and often, even inspiring. Last night, a posting explained how a mom had led her three daughters in a new approach to Advent last year by creating 25 ideas for Random Acts of Christmas Kindness. Each was put into a brown paper lunchbag and the girls participated each day in one of the random acts of kindness . . . from taping a card and a quarter on a parking meter to surprising their teachers with a favorite beverage from Starbucks. Each act was accompanied by a card that focused on the joy of celebrating the birth of Christ.

I also have friends who have faithfully posted daily five things they are thankful for. No repeats are allowed. They've found that it reminds them of how great God's blessings are.

Thanksgiving and Christmas can easily become overwhelming . . . too much to do in too little time . . . and God's blessings overlooked along the way. So what do you (and your family/friends/church) do to make sure the blessings are not missed?

Maybe by sharing, we can inspire each other through the next weeks!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Last week, I went to vote early. I expected no one to be there. I was amazed at the lines, the people, the wait . . . and the seriousness of the moment. I don't know when I've ever felt the tension throughout our country over an election as I have this time. A friend of mine posted on FaceBook that she was concerned that after all the political postings on-line, friends would have trouble remaining friends after the election.

What can we as disciples do as our country prepares for Tuesday? NavPress has published a series of scriptural prayers to help our churches pray for those in authority, such as:

"Lord, give our country leaders who . . ."

If you've read my blog in the past (which I know is extremely sporadic!), you know that I love stories. And I love the way that God uses these stories from friends and acquaintances to speak to me in a very personal way. I was with three friends at lunch this week, enjoying the food, the conversation, and the companionship. After lunch, one of my friends shared this story with me:

Her family has been going through a lot recently. While the whole family has struggled, her grandsons seem to have had the hardest time knowing how to handle things. Recently, the boys spent the week with my friend and her husband, even sleeping on the floor in their room because they didn't want to be by themselves.

Every night, the four would spend time on the bed in prayer as the boys called out their fears and concerns before God. Yet, any level of peace seemed illusive. One night, my friend told the boys that they prayer time that night would be different. "Tonight," she told them, "We're not going to pray for the things that are worrying us. Tonight, let's pray for the things we're thankful for, for the blessings God has given us. And then, before we close, we'll ask God to protect us during the night and tomorrow." The boys nodded silently, and then the family prayed together. They prayed as she had requested . . . of their thanks, of the blessings God had given them, of the promises He makes, and ended in praying for His protection through the night.

After the prayer time, the oldest grandson, the one who had struggled the most in handling all the family was going through, looked at his grandmother and said, "I liked that prayer time better." Her response? "Me, too!"

What a wonderful and clear lesson from this child! It's so easy to focus on the negative things going on in our lives that we miss God's promises and blessings. And it is through those that we can find true peace.

Times are tough in our country and our world right now. Churches and families are face tough economic times and even tougher decisions of how to handle the challenges that come with those. And, as I write, the Muslim world has risen up in protest of a film that teachings against the Muslim faith, rioting in the streets, attacking embassies, and even killing representatives of our country abroad. It's easy to focus on the frightening events around us. Peace seems illusive at the moment. 

I want to challenge us all to do two things between now and Thanksgiving.

First, listen for the lessons of God that can come so beautifully and simply through a child.

And, second, share those lessons with us through this network, either in response to this blog, or in a blog of your own.

Will you accept that challenge? 

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

My friend Ron passed away Saturday morning. He was a retired educator who was passionately devoted to Christ and who continued to learn and to lead others to do likewise. Ron was an amazing man.

He received word on Wednesday that there was no hope for him and he had no more than 5 days left. His blood had so little oxygen in it that it could not sustain life. He was with a good friend and former pastor when he received the news and spent much of the rest of the day planning his memorial, and talking to his children about their lives to come.

His former pastor encouraged him to use the time he had to look over his life--the churches he had participated in, the schools in which he had taught and the students whose lives he had impacted, the relationships he had with his family members and friends, and even those of whom he needed to forgive or ask forgiveness.

On Thursday, his hospice room was full of people who came to see him and say goodbye, one who even brought his guitar. They sang hymns, and prayed, and praised God together during that time. And Ron was able to tell his pastor that as he had looked over his life, he realized that there was no one he needed for forgive or ask forgiveness. However, there were some people he wanted to talk to. When they were notified, all came to his room to speak with him one last time.

A member of Ron's Sunday School class told me this morning that he had gone to the hospital on Wednesday with a heavy heart, but left having been uplifted through the sermon he had witnessed Ron live that day. He told me that Ron had continued to teach until the very end.

What a beautiful picture of a disciple! 

Thank you God for Ron and for others whose very lives are a living sermon of the hope they have in You!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

A friend from church was telling us about a gift he and his wife received a few years ago. Since both are avid baseball fans, their kids offered them choice seats behind home plate for an Atlanta Braves. Or, they had the choice of the entire family attending the game with seats in the outfield. They chose the outfield, but decided to have their own transportation home in case the grandchildren didn't make it through the game.

That first year, the grandchildren only made it a few innings. However, it became an annual family event.

The next year, the grandkids made it through the entire game, hooting and hollering for the home team without understanding what was happening on the field.

The third year, the grandkids started asking questions about the game and what they saw.

This past year, the grandson wanted to sit beside Granddad. Why? "Because he talks baseball."

The story was told as Granddad anticipated the upcoming baseball outing and time with the grandkids.

I may be wrong, but that sounds like discipleship to me . . . sharing passion for the game, providing opportunities to be there, teaching them the basics.

I just wonder how many of our children and grandchildren want to be close to us because "we talk Jesus"?

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

I haven't blogged in a while. You may not have noticed, but I have.

I've felt guilty about it.

I've thought of a dozen things I wanted to blog about, but then didn't follow through.

That made me even more guilty.

I have feeling guilty . . . 

When I feel guilty for two long, I have a panic attack.

That's never pretty and it brings on more guilt.

And the bottom line is I haven't blogged because I've been too busy to stop long enough to do it.

It's not like I'm never thinking about God. For example, during the past weeks I've spent a ton of time in the Bible. I teach two Bible studies a week and spend time preparing for both. I'm editing Bible curriculum each week (usually two a week) and working through parts of curriculum with new writers every week. I'm editing a manuscript about that curriculum. This week I worked through 8 chapters of it. Lot's of time spent in the Bible.

But if I'm not careful, I get caught up with the work load, the deadlines, the expectations I've put on myself, with the other 12 things I'm trying to do for my family . . . all good stuff, by the way . . . and neglect to take time to be quiet and reflect in one's happening in my spiritual life. That doesn't mean my prayer life is non-existent, or that I never worship.

It just means that blogging is a time for me to be quiet for a few minutes and listen for God's voice. Obviously, I haven't had much quiet time lately. 

I wonder if I had more quiet time if I'd have fewer feelings of guilt?

Now, that's a "no-brainer."

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

I've given up on New Year's Resolutions . . . eat better, exercise more, lose weight, study more, be nicer . . . All resolutions do for me is make me feel like a failure. A former student of my posted on FaceBook last night that the gym was packed with people who didn't know what they were doing on the weight machines. Another friend responded, "Don't worry. They'll all be gone in a week."

There's something about the New Year that makes us take a new look at our life and think about what we'd like to change. But change, real change, takes plans, not resolutions.

I've tackled my biggest challenge for the new year with a plan, not a resolution. After two surgeries, and a lot of weight gain from all the steroids, and the fact that I just turned 59, I have to get serious about getting healthy again. This time I have a plan, and a partner to hold me accountable. I think this year I'll make it.

I'm praying at the moment about my spiritual life. I'm asking God to show me the area in my spiritual life that needs to be focused on for the year. And, I'm praying to see what He would have me do.

What about you? Do you have resolutions? Plans? Has God shown you an area in your life that you want to change, challenge, or strengthen?

Let us know what you're focusing on for this year so we can pray for each other. I cannot wait to see what God will do in 2012!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Late last night fourteen of us gathered in a seminary parking lot to pray about the opportunity to share Christmas gifts with the community. Sounds like a normal church outing, but there was nothing normal about it.

The group was not a church gathering, but a gathering of the larger Church that included family members, friends, former church friends, and seminary students.

The gifts were just plates of cookies covered appealingly in clear wrap and ribbons.

The recipients were the dancers at a local strip bar in east New Orleans, during one of their busiest hours of work.

There was nothing normal about the outing.

The group of ladies who are working to establish relationships with the young women who work in these clubs had already made contact with the manager, and had been invited back on a night (Friday) when the club would have a larger group of women working.

We gathered together, the four who were prepared to go into the club, and the ten who would provide the prayer support and the protection. We prayed and talked about what to expect and prayed some more.

We divided into three cars and prayed on the way to the club.

We parked a ways from the club entrance and continued to watch 4 women with their wrapped plates of cookies walk to the door. It is one of the bravest moments I've ever witnessed. And, I should tell you, one of the women who boldly approached the club was my daughter, my baby, my youngest . . . you get the picture!

We sat in the car and prayed. They would hit a snag getting past the bouncer and send out a text asking for specific prayer, and we'd pray more. They were finally given access to the dancers in the dressing room and had the opportunity to meet and talk with young ladies they would never have encounter in any other way, to begin the slow process of building relationships, and to be the presence of Jesus Christ in that place. They went into the one of the seediest places I've ever seen so the women who worked there could "see" Jesus. 

I must confess that I started crying during the first prayer as we gathered and prayed throughout the process, one of the longest and most anxious experiences of my life. But God blessed their actions, their boldness, their dedication, and their concern. Only God knows what will come from their efforts, but those women at the club will know that on a cold, rainy night in Louisiana, 4 women went through the "gates of hell" with homemade cookies to meet them where they were. Those four ladies have become heroes to me . . . for allowing God to use them in a mighty way. The youngest of the four had never been in such a place before and she was obviously nervous. But after the experience, she glowed with what God had allowed her to do.

But what struck me most of all is that they were doing something extravagant in the name of our Lord––they were delivering the news of the birth of Jesus and demonstrating the the consequences of this birth in their own lives. It hit me in that moment that they were giving the true Christmas gift, the presence of Jesus, in the lives of those He came to save from this type of existence. It was a holy time. Is there any clearer picture of what this gift would mean for the world to receive the one who comes for all men and who is  love for them all? 

Would you join me in prayer for this group of ladies who are working to create relationships with the club workers and dancers so they will be able to see Jesus? Pray specifically:

1.  That management will continue to be open to allowing these ladies to come back into the club and to spend time with the dancers and workers.

2.  That the bouncer will continue to being open to allowing these outsiders into the club as well as in developing his own relationship through some of the husbands of these women who were there.

3.  That the women who entered these clubs will have a hedge of protection around them and that they will be physically safe while in the clubs.

4. That the women visiting the clubs will not be pulled into any of what they see in the clubs.

5.  That women will continue to open up about their concerns and their desires to get out of the business.

6. That the ladies who visit the club will feel they have been given a task that they are uniquely qualified for and were uniquely chosen.

7.  Pray for the family members and friends who become involved as prayer support that they will never take this kind of service as lightly done, but rather that what these ladies have done has the power to change the city of New Orleans and consequently the world.

Would you pray with me toward these ends?

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Every year, my Sunday School class adopts some people to provide Christmas for. In the past, we've focused on children. But, this year, we adopted two senior adults who are often overlooked. Someone bought the gifts for us while I was in Israel. I wrapped them all yesterday to get them ready to deliver today. Their "wish lists" remind me that God is our provider . . . even for the little things.

One of the ladies, Bessie, wanted a warm jacket, a new set of sheets, pjs, kitchen towels, and a boiling pot. I wrapped each, along with a couple of other things she had asked for, and thought about how hard it can be to replace things when the money is tight.

The second lady, Lille, asked for a sweater, a blanket, a gown, soap, laundry soap, and dishwashing soap. I was overwhelmed. No matter how tough things have been for us, I've never struggled to buy stuff to do the laundry and wash the dishes.

As we graduated from seminary (the first time!), Bob and I made a conscious decision that money would never be a deciding factor in where we serve. That's true to this day. Yet, God has always provided for us. He has met our needs.

I was reminded yesterday, that sometimes God meets our needs through others . . . even if it's just providing the laundry soap.

It really is the little thing that can remind us of the greatness of our God.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager 

Today we visited the ancient city of Megiddo, crossed the plain where Armageddon, and overlooked the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew in wisdom and stature to become a man. It occurred to me that in that one place, Jesus was surrounded by His past, His present.  And he was and is the world’s future. I realize that may sound a little preposterous, so let me explain.

Nazareth was a tiny town, a town so insignificant that, when people heard that the Messiah was in Nazareth, people replied, “What possible good thing could come from Nazareth?”

Think about his childhood in Nazareth. There were only 120 to 150 residents. Everyone knew him, knew what he did, corrected his actions, judged his parents based on how he acted. Probably most of them were related to his family. Talk about having “too many” mommas and everyone knew his business.

We know he was raised as a devout Jew. He knew the scriptures and was taught how to understand them. He was taught a trade, which meant in spent lots of time with his earthly father, Joseph. He traveled with his family yearly to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and to worship in the temple.

When he climbed up the hill above his village, or traveled along the route toward Jerusalem, he would have been reminded of the importance of the plain of Armaggedon. From there he could see 30 miles and could see over twenty battlefields . . . the victories of Barok and Gideon, and the defeats of Saul and Josiah.

He could see the evidence of the past.

What could thing could come out of Nazareth? Only the perfect presence of God’s Son.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

We arrived last night in Galilee after two days of traveling through the Negev Desert and along the Dead Sea. One of the students with us described the journey as layers of technicolor in tan and beige and brown until we crested the hill and saw the Dead Sea for the first time. The emerald green and turquoise of the water created a sweep of color across the landscape that was almost beyond description. I was so impressed with his description that I wished I had said it.

The area that grabbed my attention was the wilderness of Zin, which is considered to be the area the Hebrews first entered into the Negev Desert. It's stark and empty, with deep canyons, no vegetation, and little shade. Yet, even driving along the edge of the wilderness, I could hear God's voice . . . reminding me that things back home were under His control and that He was still taking care of me every day, just as He did the Hebrews. In that wilderness, the Hebrews wouldn't have lasted more than a day or so without God's provision and protection. They survived 40 years.

I realized that I have the same provision and protection from God for the stuff that creates my own personal "wilderness". That was a message I needed to hear. Pray that we'll all continue to hear God's voice . . . not just in Israel, but wherever we are!

Shalom!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

One of my favorite lines from the movie Toy Story is "To infinity and beyond." Of course, it's spoken by a toy who never seems to recognize his own reality. As I'm preparing to head back to Israel today, though, those words keep running through my mind.

We (NavPress) are in the final stages of completing a free Christmas lesson that will be available on-line by the beginning of December. We used two passages: John 1 and Luke 2. For me, it was a wonderful experience. One writer described Jesus as "the living expression" of God. Love that picture! It is through Jesus that we can see God, that we can begin to understand His love for us, that we can glimpse His glory. Without Jesus, it would be really difficult to "picture" God at all.

Going to Israel is like that for me . . . I get to "see Jesus" in a new way . . . in context . . . and by seeing Him differently, I also get a glimpse at God that I might not have had before . . . "to infinity and beyond."

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Vonda Skelton, Christian author and speaker, begins every November by listing 5 blessings in her life daily. The challenge is that once a blessing has been listed, it cannot be listed again before Thanksgiving. The first days are the easy ones . . . the blessings that are so visible that they sometimes block out the others. It's a great challenge that I can't live up to daily.

But I can revisit it often so I don't lose sight of what God is doing in my life. Will you join me? I offer two ways. You can just comment below with your list of blessings, daily or periodically, during the month. Or, especially if you're a blogger, you can blog about those blessings. 

My first listing is below and I want to focus on the people God has brought into my life:

1.  My husband, a godly man, loving husband, incredible father and grandfather

2.  My son who has grown into a strong man who cares for others and willingly puts his life on the line for others through his work as a fireman

3.  My daughter who has become an incredibly strong young woman as she has found her identity in Christ and her call to work in missional areas others try not to notice

4.  My son-in-law who totally loves the Lord and my daughter, in that order, who is on journey with God

5.  My son's new family, although not yet official, that has brought joy into our lives.

Where do you want to start?

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Just over a year ago, I was at a writers' retreat, trying to figure out what to do next. I had big aspirations to write fiction, and had started five or six manuscripts, but never felt good about them. God used the ladies at that retreat to confirm not only what God had gifted me to do, but what He had called me to.

Confirmation in our Christian lives is HUGE! Sometimes, I think it would be so much easier if God would just whisper in my ear what I'm supposed to be doing. And then I realize that He is . . . He's just using other Christians to say the words.

Yesterday I taught a Bible study on Ephesians 4. A couple of ideas stuck out for me: Believers are brought together to be the body of the church, to help each other grow in spiritual maturity, and to work in unity with one another. Then I had dinner with an old friend and a new friend last night. And God used them in a mighty way to speak to me.

God's confirmation is all around . . . when we listen.

How have you heard God's confirmation for what you're doing?

Margie Williamson

Community manager

Lee and her husband are members of our church. But when her husband fell victim to Alzheimer's, they moved five hours away to a senior adult community that specialized in treating patients with the disease. On vacation with friends, two of us visited the couple this week.

It was good to see Lee.

It was good to see they were settled in a beautiful place.

It was good to know that Lee had help with her husband.

It was also heart-breaking to see her at this stage of life.

She is incredibly thin because she literally made herself sick taking care of him. She's living alone and struggling with the transition of leaving her home and her church that had been so important to her for her entire adult life. And, she is alone in her apartment, with her husband locked in the Alzheimer's unit.

But I saw a disciple who had continued in discipleship through it all. Lee spent 35 years at the church in the nursery, loving and rocking babies. When she became too weak to be able to pick them up, the babies were placed in her arms so she could rock and love them. She embodied the love of Christ.

Now living alone in her apartment, when she's not at meals or with her children or her new friends or visiting her husband, she sits studying an old leather Bible. The Bible seems to stay next to her on the sofa all the time. When I looked at the cover, I realized it was her husband's . . . his name was imprinted on the cover.

For me, that's a beautiful picture of love and discipleship. The Bible demonstrated her connection to the two people most important in her life, Christ and her husband. One is slowing disappearing from her as he forgets more and more; the Other will never disappear from her. In a dark time, Lee continues to rely on her "hope for things to come."

That's a disciple.

Sometimes, a mom can do nothing but shake her head at what God is doing in the lives of her children. I'm shaking my head today as my daughter and son-in-law are in flight to Athens, Greece, to minister to refuges there for the next week.

You would understand my head shaking if you knew my daughter. She's an amazing young woman with a heart for ministry and missions. In fact, she'll be graduating in December with a Masters in Missiology from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and her husband is working on a Masters of Divinity with his sights on the Ph.D. program. During the past two years, she has been involved in a ministry to sex industry workers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and then in the area of human trafficking there. She is also one of the shyest people I've ever known.

She's funny and smart and has a discernment about people that is far beyond her years. She also goes into anxiety attacks when put in an uncomfortable situation. She really reminds me of her mother (that would be me) when she  was younger.

Yet, God sees the heart and the ability. As God proved to Samuel when he chose the youngest brother David to replace Saul as king, He sees what others do not see within us, instead of the outward appearance of who we are.

When involved in missions, my daughter's shyness is gone, the discernment is in overdrive, and most of the anxiety is missing. If she follows in the path of her mom, the anxiety will eventually be gone as well.

Isn't it amazing how God can lead us to be more and do more than we can even picture for ourselves?

This week, would you pray from them and the team from New Orleans Baptist Seminary who are not only ministering to refugees, but our building relationships and developing long-term ministry opportunities in Greece? 

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

I am speaking tomorrow at a chapel service in a senior adult community in Atlanta. I get to do that three or four times a year. 

I love doing it and I never turn down the opportunity. The seniors there are so sweet. Several I know from our church and others I've gotten to know over the months when I can be there. Some show up in walkers or wheelchairs; others are brought with their caretakers; still others come in slowly under their own, if diminishing, steam. What always amazes me is that they continue to come––consistently, week by week, to participate in this chapel service.

As much as I love the opportunity, I also struggle to know what to say. I've realized over the past months that what these seniors want, more than anything else, is to hear a word of hope! As I've thought about their need and prayed for guidance, God reminded me of a Bible study I led recently about God's call upon Ezekiel to speak His message to His people (Eze. 2-3). The message God gave Ezekiel wasn't that hopeful on the short-term: He commanded Ezekiel to share with the people of Judah that their disobedience was going to bring them God's judgment and punishment. On the surface, that's not really a hopeful word! 

But to that instruction, God provided His servant Ezekiel with the following information:

First, God described those Ezekiel would face as "briers" and "thorns" and "scorpions." I can't imagine Ezekiel being thrilled with the opportunity. Yet, even though the people wouldn't be receptive to His message, God reminded Ezekiel that he only had to obediently repeat the message to them (Eze. 2:6-7).

Second, God showed Ezekiel a scroll that was written on both sides (Eze. 2:9-10). If you've ever seen a scroll in person, you know it's constantly unrolled and rolled to reveal God's scripture. It's impossible to read both sides. Some scholars believe the two-sided scroll symbolized the completeness of God's word, while others suggest that the scroll showed Ezekiel that there was only room in his ministry for God's words, not his own.

Third, God commanded Ezekiel to eat the scroll, the entire scroll, before he went to speak God's message (Eze. 3:1-4). God's instructions were for Ezekiel to consume the scroll, to take God's word internally so that it became a part of his being, to absorb the word completely.

God's message, to me, was clear. Obediently teach His word and keep myself out of His way!

Many of our senior adults are struggling with loneliness, with financial difficulties, with memory loss, with distant children . . . the list goes on and on. One senior adult who was a part of my weekly Bible study struggled with knowing what would happen when he died and went to be with Jesus. He said he was sure of where he was going, but wished he understood what would happen there. His need to know became clear as he struggled with a second round with cancer and passed away a few months later.

Our senior adults desire and need a word of hope that comes from God. I'm going to be speaking tomorrow about Daniel at the age of 80, when he continued to faithfully worship His God. It's a word of hope.

What passages would you or have you used to bring hope to our senior adults? Please share the words that God has pointed out to you and pray for our senior adults that they may cling to God's grace and hope during these years.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

It's been awhile since I've posted . . . life has gotten in my way. I spent last week in New Orleans with my daughter and son-in-law, so I didn't teach my Bible study class last Sunday. When I returned this week, the large marker board in the classroom was covered with notes and a second marker board was beside it with one statement: "And Margie's answer is . . . " I wasn't even sure what the question was until class members began to arrive. The question was about how we see God in control.

The class I teach is made up mostly of people in the 50s and early 60s (my age group). We have couples and singles, and we share the struggles of being a part of the sandwich generation.

Most of us are parents. Some have teenagers still at home; others have kids in college, starting careers and/or marriages, and starting families. We have some whose kids have gone through divorces, marital separations, job losses, bankruptcy, home foreclosures . . .  The hardest thing a parent ever figures out how to do (at least in my opinion) is to parent adult children!

Then, many of us are dealing with aging parents. We've faced catastrophic illnesses, deaths, finding in-home care, the loss of memories, and dealing with hospice or long-term hospitalization. We've struggled with the emotional baggage that comes from trying to take care of those who spent so much of their lives taking care of us.

And finally, most of us are in positions at work in which we are covered up with responsibilities and high expectations. We work more hours than we should, use weekends to catch up, and feel guilty that we're so stretched that we don't feel we're doing anything well.

Sound familiar? It's a constant theme with our class members in prayer requests as we all try to handle this stage of our lives. In the midst of all that, when our lives feel so out of control, the class members were challenged to recognize how God is in control of their lives. I guess it's no wonder that they tried to pass the buck and let me answer the question.

As one wise person told me recently, "I see how God is in control of my life most clearly when I look at my past. It's there that I can see how God has orchestrated my path in a way that makes sense now, even if it didn't make sense at the time!"

That's a good reminder of how God is at work in our lives, even when we're too overwhelmed to recognize how He's at work in our lives. For, "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1).

Blessings.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager