Yokemates

When a new project has been set before us, why do we often slip into the default mode of insecurity and self-doubt? Feelings of hesitancy and uncertainty make sense when the challenge is not of our own doing or creative imaginings. But, why do we become timid and self-focused when we are actually moving toward our dreams and goals? It's crazy! That’s where my mind was earlier this week. I’d had a nudge from God. I’d done all the homework. I’d pondered and prayed about it. I’d even talked to the boss and cleared it with the supervisor. Both gave me their blessings.   And then, I simply froze.  Should I really keep going, or am I simply dreaming? Who do I think I am trying to put this together? What if it doesn’t work, and I get no positive response? …and then I read this quote from Stephanie Shouse “Have you ever felt like you were not good enough to do what God was calling you to do? Stepping out to face a challenge often brings out our old fears and insecuri...

As I walked down the long hallway, my eyes were drawn to the quotes hanging prominently on the wall. I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures of these wise words of counsel and witness of God’s grace. But, then I read this statement and it stopped me in my tracks. Wife - “God has given you the gift of an evangelist. I’ll back you….you travel and preach.” Husband -   “She   urged me to go.” (Wow! I wonder if I could have had the courage to say that to my husband – and really mean it?) Husband – “I’d come home, and she had everything so organized and so calmed down that they all (the children) seemed to love me. But that was because she taught them to.” (That’s a very insightful perspective on life and marriage, I thought.) “She taught them to.” Those words show the true character of this dedicated wife and mother. Here she was with several children and a husband that traveled for a living. She was basically living as a single parent, but she w...

“Father God, You are leading me on a journey into the unknown. Thank You for the path ahead and the choices You have placed before me. Help me make the right ones. Take control of all that is before me, Lord. It is Yours. As am I.” (JJC) This quote was taken from a historical novel I recently read, but the words could have just as easily been mine 35 years ago. On a snowy day in March - much like this past week - we ended one life-changing 'journey into the unknown' with our two girls (both under the age of two) and our 90 lb. dog in tow! I have no doubt, we made for an interesting sight as we traveled cross country from the state of Washington to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Oh, we knew where we were supposed to land, and we had traveled over 2500 miles to get there, but that’s almost all we knew. My husband had been reassigned to a new church. He thought he may have visited once as a boy, but that is the only personal knowledge we had about our destination. ...

What's on your 'To Do' list for this week? Are you overwhelmed at just the thought? Or, do you look forward to checking off each task as they are completed? Do you push the least desirable chore to the bottom of the list - hoping somehow that it might miraculously get done on its own? "Where to start?" is a question that can seem to have no simple answer. Often when I've felt overwhelmed, I find myself coping by stress eating or binge watching a favorite show. On my better days, I turn my anxious energy into more positive outcomes - while still ignoring my personal To Do's. I take a friend to lunch, pray extra or get crafty and deliver a little gift of love to someone that is having a much harder time in life than I. And then there have been moments when God sends a great resource my way. A few words in a text or email, nestled within a song or held within a Bible verse like Isaiah 50:7 - "Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed; th...