"And what can I do for you today?"

“And what can I do for you today?”

That question is the typical response from my husband whenever he answers the phone.

With a lilt in his voice, even though that word would probably embarrass him to hear, he’s pleasant and sincere. He wants to help. He listens. And he doesn’t tell the person on the phone what he’s going to do for him or her until he hears the answer to the question: “And what can I do for you today?”

He does it gently, too, most of the time. And gentleness in a manly 61-year-old voice is endearing. Many times I stand within earshot waiting to hear, “And what can I do for you today?”

Once I asked him why he didn’t say that to me. Most days, I don’t think I give him time to ask it! I’ve got an endless list of things I want him to do for me!

I thought about that this morning when I read 1 John 5.

John was telling those “who believe in the name of the Son of God” that they could know, not just hope, that they “have eternal life.” And then John continues, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

The will of God.

“And what can I do for you today?”

A wonderful way to begin my day with God.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him”

(1 John 5:13-15 NIV)

Book Launch!

I didn’t start off writing a book; I started off by stepping out of the boat. Inspired by John Ortberg during a summer Bible study that was meeting in my home ten years ago, many of us launched out that summer.

At first, I thought I was going to change jobs, but that wasn’t it; instead, I began to study the Bible more intensely than I had ever studied God’s Word before. I researched and read and prayed and prayed and prayed. I listened. I learned. I shared what I learned. And as the years went by, I met many interesting women.

Some had names -- Miriam Rahab, Ruth, Tamar, Hannah – but many were known only by their occupation (prostitution!) or by their mistakes (bathing naked in public!) or by an affliction (hemorrhaging that would not cease).

One was a worship leader. One was desperate for a child.

One slept with her father-in-law. One lived with her mother-in-law.

Several shared the same husband.

They were rejected women and lonely women and women living with regrets.

Some were desperate. Many were searching. Others were exhausted. All wanted peace.

As diverse as the flowers across Texas in the springtime, each woman beckoned me to pay attention. Each carried a unique fragrance that reminded me that God is at work even when we can’t sense that He is.  

And all were worthy of reflection.  

And then after five years, I realized I had a book of stories that were similar to the lives of the women I saw everywhere -- in the grocery store and in the church congregation, in restaurants and in Bible study, at school and walking their dogs on the street.

And now after ten years, a book has been launched that shares the lives of many of these women from the Old Testament and the New Testament; but it’s also a book that shares a special time that I spent with God, studying the lives of these women.

God and me. Together. Ten years. One project.

A long time in our earthly lives; not so long in eternity.

Jesus died for my sins. Mine. (And yours, too, of course!)

So even if one person reads my book and is moved to sense more of God, then the ten years I spent writing it would be worth it. Every minute.

And today, the paperback has been launched on amazon.com!

Like a Sweet Fragrance.

A decade of God and me.

Ten years ago I was inspired to step out of the boat. Today, I pray Like a Sweet Fragrance inspires you to look for God in whatever situation you might find yourself.

And then go do what God made you to do – spread the sweet fragrance of Jesus throughout the world wherever you go.

“But thanks be to God!

For in union with Christ we are always led by God as prisoners in Christ’s victory procession.

God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance!”

(2 Corinthians 2:14 GNT).

Lola

Her name is Lola, and she’s a six-year-old pug. A solid mass of a dog. A thick brick of a fawn-colored canine. A rectangular chunk of fur with wrinkles. Lots and lots of wrinkles on her smashed, but charming face.

Marie Antoinette had one and so did Josephine Bonaparte. Queen Victoria had lots of pugs. My sister Janie has Lola.

Lola eats and eats and eats, but she’s mostly hungry for love. Lola loves to be loved. It’s her favorite thing. She’s a lap dog who laps up all the love she can get.

Except for shedding, she’s low-maintenance. She’ll even play dress-up when my sister wants to dress her up and rarely complains as long as she can sit in your lap. And she has lots of holiday spirit. 

But she disappeared one day and couldn’t be found anywhere. The other dogs are roamers; not Lola. It was odd that she wasn’t around.

My sister and brother-in-law searched the house, the yard, the fields, the barns; but no Lola.  Janie has already buried two dogs in the three years she’s lived at this house. Please not Lola, too.

And then my brother-in-law happened to walk on the other side of the bed in their room, and there she was.

Stuck head-first inside a pillow case.

Quiet. Calm. At peace.

Not yapping or whimpering. Not bothered by all the commotion caused by her absence.

Lola was simply waiting to be found.

My sister thinks she crawled inside the pillow case, looking for a place to cuddle, and then fell off the bed while still stuck inside. And when she couldn’t get out, she simply waited.  

Not a stick-in-the-mud, but a stuck-in-the pillow-case kind of dog.

I guess she knew they’d find her.

OK, Lola. You’ve figured it out. There’s no need to worry when you trust the one who cares for you the most.

Just a thought.

 “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 MSG

 

Raise the Red Flag!

Not long ago my husband and I exchanged our post office box for a mailbox in front of our home, and I was irritated that our mail wasn’t being picked up.

We were receiving our mail; that wasn’t the issue. But our letters and thank you notes and invitations and bills would remain in the slot where I deposited them; and I’d have to retrieve them, drive to the post office, and drop them off there once more, so they would get where they needed to go on time.

I was aggravated.

These things needed to be delivered to the right individuals at the right time.

“For crying out loud,” I griped to Ian. “Why in the world won’t they won’t pick up our mail?”

And then Ian, who was not irritated but amused, looked at me and asked, “Well, did you raise the red flag?”

“Huh?”

“Yes, Becky, there’s a red flag that you are to raise when you have something that needs to be picked up.”

Yikes! I was mad the post office hadn’t picked up my mail, but I hadn’t requested that they do so. I hadn’t raised the red flag.

And isn’t that sometimes true of prayer as well?

I confess that I’m guilty of saying I’ll pray, but forgetting to do so. That’s like leaving the mail in the mail box without raising the red flag. Knowing there is a need to pray and actually praying are two different things.

But when we do pray, our prayers are the red flags that get God’s attention. He sees those flags, he picks up our requests, and he does what we cannot do. He delivers.

The difficulty of our prayer request isn’t even a consideration when we pray, which is really mind-boggling, isn’t it? 

For now, God is training me to pray as soon as a prayer request is uttered or a prayer need is stirred. My part is to raise the red flag at that moment. His part is to do what I cannot do.

I was talking to someone the other day about what happens as we grow older. At different stages of our lives, we leave behind some things that we cannot do as easily as we could do before. And being prone to act, to do, to help, this can be frustrating.

But what if the best things we do are the things we do when we can’t do anything else? Like raising the red flag in prayer. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).

 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2 NIV).

 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV).

State Representative

Yet another election day has arrived, and with that day, a chance to make ourselves heard. Yes, our vote matters because we matter and what we stand for matters too.

How interesting it is to choose a person to stand in our place.

If I can’t go, who would best represent me? The way I think? The beliefs I have?

It’s easy for a volunteer to offer to go in my stead when things are running along swimmingly. When the economy is sound and there are no border problems and the water is as it should be. But what about when things are more difficult?

And why would someone volunteer to represent me anyway? What are their reasons? It’s an interesting question, I think.

Who wants to stand in my place and speak on my behalf and respect my opinions? Who can I trust to take my place?

I’ve cast my vote, and now I wait like everyone else to see who will stand in my place.

But pondering this election -- the candidates, what they stand for, their education and experiences, how well I know them or don’t know them --  all these things have made me also ponder my own state of representing the person that matters the most to me, Jesus Christ.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about as I’ve driven by the campaign signs and listened to the debates online and read the newspaper articles, and, of course, listened to the opinions of those I love and respect.

How am I representing Jesus on this earth? I’m standing in for Him. What kind of a job am I doing? Can He trust me to do it with integrity? Am I respectful to Him? Do I listen to what He has to say so that I can represent Him in the way He deserves?

My own state of the union address, I guess.

It’s easy to mark the ballot, but it’s really not easy to vote. There’s a lot to consider. But regardless of the outcome of this election, I’ll pray for the person who wins, for he or she will be my state representative, going to Austin in my place. And that matters.