Sharing IN the Gospel

If you are like me, as you traverse your Christian circles you have no doubt heard the phrase “sharing the Gospel.” Over the last week or so, different events have caused me to have some new thoughts about sharing IN the Gospel. My contemplations began as I have had the opportunity to actively encourage another Christian gal on in my department about trusting God when it hurts and dealing with the anxiety of the unknown. In an email to her I wrote:

"… think about this... (it is something that brought me comfort and a fresh perspective today)...all of the prayers you have ever prayed about growing in the Lord are being worked out right now in all of this (the difficult situation).

My Pastor once said that all of the pressures pressing into us can be used to press God closer into the center of our heart and lives. No, God isn't done with you or me, Nickie…. praise Him!"

Later, in an email to my older sister I wrote:

"It has been amazing and yet funny for me to be the one to encourage her (Nickie) in God's word, to talk about God's faithfulness and to discuss what it is to renew your mind constantly, only to turn around and struggle to do the same in my own, unique situation. :) God is reminding me of what I myself need to hear. I am so glad that I can share the strength of the Gospel with others like Nickie while letting it uphold me to! :)"

Upheld by the power of the Gospel.

Yes, that is what I mean by sharing IN the gospel. It is being upheld IN and BY the Gospel’s strength while seeking to serve and minister to others.

In my journal I mulled over these thoughts more…

"Both Nickie and I need that same truth. In my own distinct and immediate weakness I can put my arm around her and let the staff of Gods truth uphold us both. I can offer her nothing other than that which God has given me. It comes not from me (as if I were the source) but I through me. And it must be a seamless passing. "

Perhaps you have burdens resting on you today. They can be either the burdens in your hands that you are helping to carry for others or they can be your own personal burdens that reside in your heart. Most likely, you have both. Be encouraged today to carry those burdens in the strength and power that the Gospel provides….the everlasting, resurrection strength that Ephesians joyously proclaims in chapter 1 verses 18b-20:

“ …that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly places…”

Let those burdens lift.

A Prayer of Longing

One of my new "favorite friends" whom I am getting better acquainted with during my morning devotions is The Valley Of Vision.  What a gem of a book it is!  It is not uncommon for my soul to be both smitten and comforted when reading these prayers of the puritans who lived so long ago.  

Several weeks ago, I was struggling to trust the Lord over a particular issue...the issue of where I am in my life journey.  I would generally consider myself contented with the lot God has so graciously given me, yet this particular week I felt burdened with unbelief at God's promises. I read God's Word and prayed back the Scripture I  had been memorizing.  The sincerely of heart just wasn't there.  It wasn't coming from within me.

So I wrote out a prayer, my own psalm of sorts.   This undertaking proved to be such a release for me.  A release to rest.

All of the prayers in The Valley Of Vision have titles (which were given only for the convenience of publication).  At first it seemed like my own petition should be entitled " the Prayer of a Single Woman"  yet I realized the heart-cry of these lines transcends the specifics of circumstances and addresses the various situations of any longing.  You have my permission to print it up if you wish, cutting out the lines that don't apply and adding ones that do.  Soli Deo Gloria. 

Lord, forgive my sin of not trusting You for my future happiness and my sense of worth and value. Lord, in surrendering my fears to You I give up nothing but unhappiness, I loose naught but a restless spirit that is crippled to do Your Kingdom purposes. I am robbed of nothing except that which would pilfer my joy and sour my gratitude, making my life a stench. Thank You for this season in my life. Your seeming withholdings, Your “waits” are Divine gifts and opportunities.




It is not because you can’t,


Or that you aren’t good enough,


Or because my inadequacies or lack of the World’s measure of charm hinder You.


It is not because You delight in withholding good things from me


Nor that you are trying to taunt me.


It is not because you want to mock me or because You are angry with me.



It is because you love me.


Because You are carefully shifting and organizing the various pieces of circumstances, life goals and hearts to fulfill Your plan.


Because Your Kingdom purposes would not be as ripe as evident than if I had waited.


Because You wish to teach me that You are good.


Because You wish to show me Your sufficiency.



Because You desire that I come to You for the fulfillment of ALL my needs and longings.


Because You wish me to “acknowledge You” and not “lean on my own understanding.”


Because You want my heart to grow, to see the bigness of God and His care.


Because You want to teach me to rejoice with those who rejoice.


Because You desire that patience have it’s perfect work in me.


Because You want me to serve wholeheartedly in a capacity I would not otherwise be able to do.


Because you desire me to stay longer under my parents roof, in order that I might learn, serve and bless them specifically.


Because You want to teach me that the “Shalls” of Psalm 37 and other promises of the Bible are certain and true.


Because the lessons of today’s season are preparing me for the next and if I were to rush into that upcoming season I would be unfit for its tasks and for service.


Because You want me to worship.

Cathryn  2010

Redeeming the scraps...and time!

You have seen them before. Those little ity bitsy of scraps of paper...or ribbon...or twine that pepper your table (or floor).  They are the unavoidable residue after your grand project of scrap-booking, envelope-making, or gift-wrapping.

You sigh.

You brush them into a pile with the side of your hand, your fingers curling towards the doomed scraps. One final push and they flutter into the trash bin.

Before you do that again...WAIT!

Just recently I started re-using all of those ity-bity scraps of paper that I so often threw away after making pretty envelopes. Now I use save them for decorating cards.

After making a new friend (who happens to have rather creative mind) I got to rethinking the opportunities that these scraps and bits of extras left over from my bigger projects provided. Take a look at some of the cards I made with those extras...

Isn't it sweet how this little red piece comes out of the pocket?  I thought so!

These little bits remind me of those spare moments scattered throughout my day. How often I "throw away" that time considering them as "too small to be used." How wrong I am! The Lord desires that I use every itsy bit of my life and not just the big chunks for His kingdom purposes.

Some Thoughts

I have had many things on my mind this last week. Yesterday, in Sunday school as my thoughts bounced hither and thither, struggling to focus on the lesson, the truth and peace of the Gospel came back to me:

If Jesus left the courts of Heaven to clothe Himself with a limiting, mortal body, and to endure those limitations and difficulties, and to take upon Himself the wrath of God for the filthy-heartedness which He never committed; if He expressed His love for you like that, then will He not express His love and understanding to you in those weighty decisions which your heart feels burdened with and for which you lips cry out "Lord, give me wisdom?"

For those who know Christ, know that God has already lavished on you the greatest act of love possible. That gives courage to face the day with peace.

Seasonal Thoughts...

What does love look like?

God sending Jesus.

What is the definition of love?

Sacrifice.

How do others know what God looks like?

When we love like Jesus.

1 John 4: 7-9