"SEASONS" by my daughter, Kara

I woke up with this on my mind, along with the corresponding song by The Byrds…which is now stuck in my head.

“There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.”

                        --Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

On more than one occasion, I have wondered why I went through applying to nursing school, starting, dropping, reapplying, completing the first year, starting second year, then having to drop again. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea why. For whatever reason, there was a season in my life for nursing school, but now that season is over. Maybe not forever, but for now.

Anyone who knows me knows that the ending of that season broke my heart. I loved what I was learning, I loved taking care of people, and (most of the time) I loved the challenge of learning new concepts and skills. One day, in the middle of a pity party, I remembered something. The whole reason I wanted to become a nurse was because I wanted to help people.
 

I got to do that!
 

In clinicals and in my job, I had the privilege of helping many people. I got to be involved in treatments and procedures that would help them. I was there to listen when they were upset or scared and just needed to talk. I held their hand while they cried. I did everything I could to help them feel cared for, and not like they were just another body in a bed.

Not finishing nursing school wasn’t a failure or the death of a dream. It was the completion of a season. As much as I love spring, it’s a season. It will pass, and the next season will begin. But every season has something to enjoy: beautiful flowers, abundant sunshine, gorgeous foliage, or sparkling snowflakes. They’re all wonderful, but they are all different. They all have a time to begin and a time to end.

There was a time for nursing school, and that time has ended. Oddly enough, I’m okay with that now. Yes, I feel sad sometimes. But to quote my favorite author, C.S. Lewis:

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

(c) Copyright 2012 by Kara Stephens. All rights reserved.

The Pearl of Great Price

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls.  When he had found a very valuable pearl went and sold everything he had and bought it."  Matthew 13:45-46.

You have probably heard many teachings on this great passage.  It is referring to how valuable the Kingdom of God is and how we should be willing to give up everything for the sake of pursuing the wisdom of God.  That is not the viewpoint I desire to take at this time.  Instead, I want to approach this from a different perspective.

I would like you to consider for a moment that the man looking for treasure or fine pearls can represent God (or more specifically, Jesus). 

God knew from before the time that the world was created that the enemy would tempt the first man and woman to sin and that he would succeed.  His plan had already been prepared.  There would be an appointed time for God to send His Son to rescue humanity from the clutches of the enemy.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have eternal life."  John 3:16.

The word "so" in this verse means that there is no more.  There is no more love He could show beyond giving His Son to die in our place so that we could live.  This is extreme love.

Jesus also has this love in Himself.  We read in Philippians 2:6-8,  "...who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Now, as we look back to the passage from Matthew, with the verses from John and Philippians in mind, we can see the picture of God, the Father and the Son looking at the "pearl" of great value to Him.  I want to encourage you to see that YOU are a pearl of great value and worth to God.  The value of something is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it.

You may be thinking, "Well that's okay for my friend or family member, but I'm not worthy;  I've messed up too badly;  I'm filthy;  I'm too broken",  and on and on I could go, but I believe you get the idea. All of us were enemies of God.  In fact, Romans 5:10, in the New Century Version of the Bible, states:  "While we were God's enemies, He made friends with us through the death of His Son.  Surely, now that we are His friends, He will save us through His Son's life."  This is an incredibly wonderful verse.  He died while we were still hating Him.  Dying for a friend shows great love, but how many of us would die for an enemy?  Not many! 

I know it's difficult to think of God loving you, specifically, when you read words that are all inclusive like the "world" in Jn. 3.  Truthfully, if you were the only one that needed Christ to die for you, He would have come and done everything He did for the masses, just for you!  I am praying for you to hear what the heart of God is saying to you.  You are HIS Pearl of Great Price.  He saw YOU, when as yet you weren't even born. 

Then, He placed so much value on you that He left heaven which means He chose to leave all He had ever known and experienced and a truly perfect world, to come here to be humbled and mistreated in every way imaginable to "buy you back" -that's what redemption means-from the enemy.  He paid the price that you could never pay to present you to His Father as perfect, blameless and HIGHLY valuable.  And, true to His Nature, He paid above and beyond!!  He wants you for His very own.  He considers everything He paid for you worth it.  He loves you so much that He has done everything so that nothing could ever separate you from His love (Romans 8:39).

His desire is that you see the value that He has placed on you.  No one can love themselves or any other if they don't see the value.  To walk in love for others requires you to truly love, value, and respect yourself.  Note that I'm not talking about rudeness or haughtiness.  Rather, it's the true worth and value God has given you.  You are truly free when you embrace that and allow others to be how God created them to be.  When you know that the Creator of the Universe loves you perfectly and accepts you AS YOU ARE, how can you not treat others from that same perspective?  This is why it is so important.

Know that you are truly worth everything, and loved dearly by God.

Then recognize that God loves everyone with that same love and value. The outcome will be a deeper relationship with God.  Worship and gratitude will begin to flow from your heart.  You will experience a new-found freedom to be all that God created you to be;  truly free to just enjoy God.

Let There Be Light

Sensing the power and presence of God that surrounds us, and lives within us, is unspeakable and almost incomprehensible. Endeavoring to put into words this reality is an action that seems impossible to verbalize. Dreams are often messages from the Creator that takes us into a realm of spiritual understanding helping us to identify who He is, who we are, and at the same time revealing the unfathomable love he has for us as He invades our lives in the silence of the night.

It is during these special times, when the Holy Spirit joins with our spirit, that His light is able to burst forth conquering our personal fears bringing healing coupled with teaching us truths that open the windows of heaven to divine intervention and communication with the one and only God, who is the Creator of the universe. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Oh! How true it is. In one message of the night we can learn more about ourselves than we could ever imagine.

As colors burst forth in our dreams with His brilliant light, they become vibrant, full of meanings that enlighten our minds and emotions resulting in an infusion of divine wisdom and guidance. These revelations catapult us into another dimension, a spiritual realm, that is unimaginable… messages that can bring us closer to God‘s spiritual purpose for our lives. In order to truly represent God we must first know Him and that he uses our dreams to reveal who he is, who we are, and what is our spiritual destiny.

The maker of the universe, the all-powerful loving God, who has created us in his image, flows through our hearts and minds in the nighttime hours. He speaks directly through our dreams. He forms a collage of pictures, a tapestry of images, infused with divine light, offering love and intimacy that instills hope, purpose and destiny.

Pastor Mary Ann Kotch
12/11

Did You Hear That?

While thinking about writing this article, I remembered a real-life experience.  As you may be able to tell, looking around my blog, fitness is an integral part of my life.  On one particular day, I was heading out for my daily 5 mile walk, when a thought popped up to “take my umbrella.” 

 

“An umbrella”, I questioned, as there was no sign of rain as I searched the sky.  Can you guess what I didn’t do?  You’re right!  I left home without my umbrella.  Before I could get back home, it started sprinkling, and then it happened.  RAIN!!  I was soaked to the skin by the time I returned home.  Thankfully, it was a late spring day, and the weather was warm.

Have you had “unctions” like this?  Have paid attention to them?  I want to encourage everyone to pay more attention to those unctions.  In my experience, above, I just got wet.  What if it had been an unction to take a different path that might have made the difference in being safe or kidnapped or harmed in some way?  Many times we are unaware that we have taken the path in accordance with unctions.  We may never know how many times we’ve been kept safe until we reach Heaven.

Another name for ‘unctions’ is discernment.   Webster’s defines ‘discernment’ as follows:“the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.”

In the Bible, discernment  refers to:  “judging, to discern, to examine accurately  or carefully, to inquire, ask questions in general;  to distinguish, decide, judge, in particular: to separate oneself from, exercise discernment;  a distinguishing, discerning clearly—spoken of the act or power. It has the notion of proving a thing whether it is worthy or not.   Able to decide or discern, critical, skilled in judging.  To understand, to know, to see, to hear, to decide, to hesitate, estimation, to approve, to test, discriminating, estimation.

What I want to focus on is the Supernatural Divine Power that we, as Believers in Christ, have available all of the time.  It isn’t anything we “work up.”  It is one of many ways God speaks to us.  Our part is to learn to pay attention to the many ways He speaks.  And, not only to pay attention, learn to be slow in dismissing any unction.  Often, God brings words/suggestions to mind, or a sense of something to take note of, and then our soul:  our mind, our will and our emotions will often kick in and rule over the thought as I did in choosing to forgo grabbing my umbrella.  Everything ‘looked’ normal to me.  The key  is that I LOOKED ( with my natural eyes) and made a natural assessment.  I did not take a moment and ask God for confirmation. 

 

A simple thing for me to have done would have been to ask, “God, is that your direction for me, right now?”  If I had done that, I know that I know, God would have given me an answer and with possibly more insight.  How do I know this?  It’s come from lots and lots of experience.  Many learning experiences like my umbrella story that I didn’t pay attention to, and experienced unpleasant results.  I’m  aware of many near-death situations where I discerned something, but then “I” checked it out with my natural mind, and dismissed those things.  I am very thankful to have been spared many negative “might-have-beens,”  though I have not been spared a lot of pain. I’ve also paid attention to certain unctions and later discovered that it was a good thing that I had.  I avoided some things that could have been very negative. So, I learned, and I continue to learn. 

My desire is to encourage YOU to begin paying closer attention.  Don’t dismiss anything as your own imagination without asking God for His thoughts.   The more you learn, the more you’ll recognize it’s God speaking to you and NOT just your own thoughts.  Perhaps, you will have the sense to take your umbrella and avoid the soaking, unless you LOVE getting wet.