Can God Find Me Anywhere? Even in a Restroom?

By Lori Freeland –

I ran down the hall desperate for a quiet place to meet God. Around the corner, through an old wooden door, an alcove hid a tiny restroom in the north end of the hospital. I pushed through the door and locked myself in the cold, grey refuge of the single stall. A knot formed in my chest, tight and suffocating.

“Lord, please. I need to be alone. Don’t let anyone need to use this restroom.”I stared at the chipped, stained tiles. Would God meet me here? In a worn, broken down, dirty restroom?

Footsteps echoed outside the door. I held my breath as they paused, then continued on.

Unexpected laughter bubbled up and I sagged down onto the worn toilet seat, balancing over the oval shaped hole. Even if this was an odd venue to beg for Kyle’s life—it painted an accurate picture of the day.

Was it better to leap right into the begging or make a bunch of lame promises first? God knew it all anyway. And my time alone was limited. Straight to the begging seemed the best option.

“First, I need you to forgive me. For getting too busy for You. Please don’t be too busy for me.” I flexed my foot, moved my ankle in a circle. Fixated on my dirty shoes.

The air conditioner kicked on and I slid forward on the seat.

Shaky laughter escaped, echoing through the bathroom. “Lord, please. I don’t want to do this. I’m not strong enough. The whole concept of You only give what I can handle? Well, I can’t handle it.”

I rubbed my palms along the rough fabric of my jeans. “I don’t want to handle it. So maybe we could do something else instead? Something easier? I could get sick.”

I stared at my wedding ring. Watched the diamond sparkle under the fluorescent light. “Or Pat? He could get sick. What about a fire? Tornado?” My bitten off nails dug into my legs. “Pat could lose his job. That would be character building.”

I squeezed my eyes together. “Pick something else. Please. I’m begging from a toilet seat.”

I paused to give God time think it over. But there was no great booming voice.

“You could wave the last few days away.”

The air conditioner chugged louder. Tears escaped and I turned my face to wipe them against my shoulder. “This isn’t supposed to be my life.”

The shape of the hard porcelain indented the bottom of my thighs so I stood. “You’re not letting me out of this, are You?” I sagged against the smooth metal wall. Slid down to the floor.

“I guess we’re going with cancer then.” Goosebumps formed on my back where my tank top scooped down.

“I can’t do this alone. And I can’t waste time and energy wondering if You caused this, or allowed this, or could have stopped this. I need to feel Your love, Your goodness. Every day. You are my rock.”

Tears rolled down my face—no point in trying to stop them. As the tears flowed, the hard knot inside my chest stretched and softened.

Still no booming voice.

But for the first time in days, my shoulders relaxed. A verse filled my head. “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” (Psalm 139:8 NIV). God could find me anywhere. He could fill me anywhere.

That day, six years ago, God found me in the restroom of the Children’s Hospital. He heard my plea and answered. No, He didn’t take it away or swap it out for something else. But He met me where I was, in that dirty old broken down restroom, lifted me up and reminded me why He was my rock. Throughout the entire four-year journey, I walked alongside my son with God as the glue that held us together. And not for one minute did I question His love.

Purposeful Steps

By Sherri Holbert –

Do you have changes you’d like to make in your life? Perhaps you would like to exercise more during the week. Maybe you would like to have more time to simply relax and read a book. Perhaps you love to read so you’d like to read 10 new books to learn about a new area of interest. Maybe you’d like to start planning for a family vacation you’ve not been able to take. Maybe you have that one thing you keep saying, “I wish I could do this. I wish I could do this.”

We all have changes we’d like to make in our life. This means we all have goals we want to accomplish. Yet many people say, “I’m not goal-oriented.” The word “goal” can be scary to some people.

If you were an athlete in high school or college, what was your team goal? To win, of course. Everything you did in practice was designed to help you achieve that goal. What is your goal as a Christian? It’s to be more Christ-like. This means we work to take purposeful steps, creating the change we want in life. Train our minds to focus on the positives and train our mouths to say kind and loving things to others. It takes work—especially patience and faith. There is only one way to do this and do it well. Have a plan—a plan to keep yourself on target.

You may not see the need for putting goals into a written plan on paper but Paul taught us goal-setting is scriptural. Here are some key points we can learn from Paul to apply to our lives:

• God has a plan for my life. He will guide me with the plan.
• I will practice strict control.
• I will make each step purposeful.
• I will run straight toward my goal without wavering.
• I discipline my mind and body to do what it should.
• I strive for eternal riches.

Paul said it best when he said that the important thing is to take small steps to accomplish the goals God wants you to achieve so you don’t get overwhelmed and quit.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, help me to run the race with strength and courage so that I am accomplishing the goals that are part of Your big plan for my life. Keep me focused on things that make an eternal difference. Keep reminding me that I accomplish Your work through daily small steps.”

“Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So, I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step… I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT).

This devotion is by Sherri Holbert, a life coach, author and co-founder of Walk of Purpose Ministries. Her study, DIVAS of the Divine:  How to Live as a Designer Original in a Knock-Off World guides you through setting a step-by-step plan in place to help you accomplish the changes you want to make in your life. Learn more at www.walkofpurpose.com

Someone to Hold

By Heather Allen –

This summer I met a stocky toddler with honey brown eyes. She and her baby sister are wards of the state.  Over the past year I have spent some time with foster children. In the sadness of their situation there is also joy.  Many believers open their lives and homes to help care for these children. The duration is uncertain; it can be weeks or years. A housemother from a children’s home said girls in her care are constantly moved, often with only ten minutes to gather their belongings and adjust emotionally. I think about my belongings filling shelves and closets and counters while theirs fit in a solitary bag. What would it be like to not know the people you live with or how long you will be with them?

My friend Stephanie is fostering two little girls, and knowing their time together may be short, she longs to give them hope. Zephaniah 3:17 is painted on their temporary bedroom wall.

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV)

Hurting over the toddler, who insists on keeping every possession by her side, Stephanie asked, “If that were you or I, stripped to one small bag that held all our belongings, would we still believe we were loved?  Would we believe our life had purpose? And how tightly would we cling to that bag?” She went further. “Imagine everything you hold is lifted from your grasp. Who would you be?”

In Egypt, the Israelites cried for a deliverer. They prayed God would rescue them. He did. Plagues that struck the Egyptians did not touch them. They were set apart but it was not because they had done anything right, they simply belonged to Yahweh. There was a distinction made. Sadly, knowing they were set apart was not enough to keep them content in the wilderness. Instead a generation fell.

I wonder if the longing to be free ever went beyond idealism.  Instead of having a micromanaged life, they could choose. And in choosing they longed for the certainty that captivity had provided. I feel conviction as I write this, compelled to admit that I sacrifice freedom for certainty too.

I think about that small bag of belongings and my hope that Stephanie’s tot will know there is more. I wish she knew that her little bag held no assurance, that Jesus is enough. And I wish that took the ache and loneliness from her small heart. If it would make a difference, I’d put my hands on her cheeks and kneel and say “let it go sweetie, let it go.”

As I contemplate what might help, a holy hushed whisper asks me the same question, “What would it take for you to lay down your bags and just hold on to me?”

I am bereft and filled with an intense longing for that to be our reality, hers and mine.

Heather Allen spends most of her time caring for her hubby and 3 kids.  Check out her blog: http://www.theknottedapron.blogspot.com/

Pouting Elmo

By Hally Franz –

Elmo is a favorite buddy of my good friend’s adorable two-year-old son. We had lunch recently, and she told me how much he enjoyed anything Elmo. Elmo is a classic. My son hung with Elmo, too; he had his own “Tickle Me, Elmo” doll.

This pal of mine is a young mother and assistant high school principal, and, as often happens, our conversation that day turned to parenting, education and discipline.

Her primary discipline challenges come daily at work rather than with her young son, but soon she’ll be facing them at home too. I know there are children in the world who snap into perfect behavior with a stern look or simple sentence of disappointment. They don’t live at my house.

So, whether out of careful contemplation or desperation, we have sampled a number of forms of discipline. I talk through these issues with our children, while my husband, with his military background, keeps things short and simple. We’ve counted them down, taken away privileges and possessions, and spanked. Success with any form of discipline depends almost entirely on assurance that something bad will happen when children don’t comply with the parental request.

It’s important not to make a threat or consequence that you can’t actually keep, because it blows credibility. I have taken away school field trips when behavior leading up to the day was poor and donated favorite toys when they weren’t being taken care of. Sometimes the follow through part is heart-wrenching.

When I’ve had a rough time with one of my children, I reframe the situation something like this. If God only gives us what we can handle, He must have confidence in me, because he (or she) was a real pain today. It makes me feel better. On those days when my confidence falters, I am careful not to let my kids see it. When it comes to matters of discipline, they simply can’t see me sweat. Kids can be like sharks when they smell blood in the water, merciless.

Consistency, confidence and compassion combined with consideration of the child’s personality and offense, and, of course, love, are perhaps the most important tenants of successful discipline.

Did I mention we used time out… a lot! Ivan became so comfortable with time out that he often disciplined Elmo and other friends, likewise. Occasionally, Elmo Schmelmo got downright cranky and in no mood for tickling.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for blessing me with my beautiful children. With Your help, may I model good behavior and train them in godliness so that they may better serve You.

“Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Hally Franz. Hally is a former high school guidance counselor, turned homemaker. Hally sees each day as a new exercise, where routines change and weights vary. Her goal is to maintain all-around fitness for service, while training her children to be competitive, compassionate and Christ-like in the world in which we live.

The 12 Steps—Life-Changing Baby Steps

By Julie Morris –

Last month I told you about how my version of the 12 Steps helped me to lose my harmful extra pounds in 1982 and keep them off. This month I want to tell you how I began taking each of the Steps—in hopes that you might want to join me on this exciting journey.

Short Form of 12 Steps and How I Began Taking Each Step

• Step 1 I can’t! I began taking Step 1 by giving up on the idea that I could lose weight by dieting.
• Step 2 God can! I began taking Step 2 by reminding myself of God’s awesome power and His promises to help me…if I’d let Him.
• Step 3 I’ll let Him! Eating too much and thinking about food all the time were making me miserable so I made a decision to cooperate with God every day rather than complaining and overeating.
• Step 4 What needs changing? I began taking Step 4 by listing my sins and the ineffective choices I had been making. Fortunately, in Step 4 I didn’t have to do anything but list these things. God would help me with them as I worked the rest of the steps.
• Step 5 I confess! I began taking Step 5 by admitting to God, myself and somebody else the things on my fourth step list. I felt a wonderful sense of freedom after I confessed these things to a friend who was also working the steps.
• Step 6 I’m ready to change! While taking Step 6, I thought about the harm the things on my list were doing to me. For example, overeating made my blood pressure soar; it caused me to feel ashamed of how I looked; and it caused me to beat myself up over being so weak.
• Step 7 Change me, Lord! This step reassured me that I didn’t have to change myself; all I had to do was to be humble toward God—teachable, willing to do things His way, and stay close to Him–trusting Him to change me.
• Step 8 Who have I harmed? Again, I didn’t have to fix anything while taking this step; I just had to make a list.
• Step 9 I’m sorry! Originally, I thought this step just encouraged me to apologize to a few people, but I realized that it also encourages me to recognize and put a stop to ineffective ways I relate to people every day.
• Step 10 How am I doing? (Steps 10-12 are the maintenance steps, and, though they come at the end, I started doing them as soon as I began working the steps.) While taking Step 10, I realized that I had been so busy doing, that I had little time to think about what I was doing! I started taking several minutes each morning to plan my day, evaluate how I had done the day before and confess my mistakes and ineffective choices to the Lord.
• Step 11 I’m seeking you, God! While taking the 11^th Step, I realized that I had been focusing most of my prayers on telling God what I wanted Him to do, rather than seeking what He wanted me to do and relying on Him to help me do it.
• Step 12 I’m practicing and praising you, Lord! When I began to take Step 12, I thought about the word “practice” and how much Olympic skaters have to practice. I determined to practice 12-Step principles every day and to tell others about how God is helping me as a result.

Why don’t you join me today in the life-changing 12-Step journey!

Julie Morris is founder of Guided By Him, a 12-Step Christian weight-loss program you can do by yourself or in a group (www.guidedbyhim.com). She is the author of 12 books and an inspiring motivational speaker. Email her for questions about working the Guided By Him program Julie@guidedbyhim.com.

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