Posted on

The God Who Whispers

Last night, as I knelt beside my bed and prayed – a habit I developed as a child – I felt like my prayers weren’t reaching God. But knowing Him as I do, I knew my thoughts were foolish. He is faithful, even when I am not.

The troubles and trials of life become overwhelming at times. My soul is thirsty for Him. My body is weak from work. My mind is boggled. Yes, He is faithful. But sometimes I can’t sense His presence and that faithfulness for which I yearn.

This morning, after a restless night, I awoke to light instead of darkness. The light brought refreshment to my weary soul. I was thankful for it, but . . .

I dropped to my knees again – this time in the light of day – and simply prayed something like, “You are faithful, even when I am not. And I need You, Father.”

No photo description available.Then I saw a posting I had put on my Facebook Writer’s page. It was from Psalm 63:8, and it read, “My soul followeth hard after Thee.” (It was the King James Version – beautiful Shakespearean language!)

My own posting caused me to wonder – Does my soul follow hard after the Lord? Is my soul “clinging” to Him? Am I yearning and seeking His Word? Am I pursuing the message of my own posting, intended to be a piece of hope to others?

And so I opened the Word to Psalm 63, and I read it first as my question to Him:

“Oh, God, am I earnestly seeking you? Is my soul thirsting for you? My  body longing for you in this dry, weary life, where nothing else quenches my thirst? . . . It is true that I have seen you in worship; I have witnessed your power in miracles – both in my life and in others’. . .”

And as I read the Word as my question, it soon became my praise!

And my soul clung to Him and to His Word. When this happens, He whispers. And I listen!

Let your soul cling to Him in this sometimes dry and weary life.

Let Him whisper to you, my friend, through His Word.

I respond by speaking and praying His Word back to Him:

From Psalm 63

1 You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
My soul thirsts for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

Kathi

Posted on

Increasing Weight.

I wrote the following article two years ago, feeling weighted down by a grandson’s ongoing health problems.  I’m still shouldering that weight – and yet another – the illness of my son. Sometimes the weight of both is so burdensome, I feel I can’t breathe – I can’t sleep. It’s heavy. But let’s read on . . .

It’s one thing. Or another. You know. For you, it’s a certain situation – a health issue, a break in a relationship – whatever.

(more…)
Posted on

Social Distancing

Social Distancing. Is this term an oxymoron? How can one truly “socialize” while being “distant”? Social distancing is certainly more difficult for some of us than others. But none of us can use it as an excuse not to socialize. We simply need to learn how to socialize at a distance.

Jesus never practiced social distancing. No barriers existed between Jesus and the people.

He was going from Judea to Galilee. The Jews did not “socialize” with the Samaritans, so it was especially unusual that Jesus would go through Samaria on His way to Galilee. But He did. “Smack dab” through Samaria, purposely pausing at Jacob’s Well, near Sychar. It appears He planned it that way to “socialize” with a Samaritan woman – a broken, sinful, spiritually thirsty woman. A woman who needed Living Water. “I Am,” He said.

On another occasion, when His disciples tried to “shoo” the children away, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” He blessed them. He washed the feet of others. He healed multitudes. He fed thousands. He raised the dead. He was God in the flesh, truly above all, yet nothing was beneath Him. He socialized with purpose.

And Jesus sent us to do the same. We are clearly given what is called “The Great Commission.” It involves socializing.

Jesus is unchanging.

He is the “same yesterday, today, and forever.”

And His message is unchanging.

We are accustomed to meeting with people – face-to face. Large groups. Small groups. One-on-one. We are used to going next door to meet with others, or flying across the country.

Now things have changed. But Jesus hasn’t changed, nor has His message. It is the same message:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He says. We still are commissioned to “go” and “baptize” and “teach.” Only our means of doing so have changed.

During this time of social distancing, small businesses have had to become creative. We call and order paint and supplies from our local Sherwin Williams, drive up, and open the back gate of our Enclave. The employee comes out the door, masked but her eyes displaying a brilliant smile. She loads the supplies into the back of our car and thanks us for our business.

A couple began a new cereal company shortly before the pandemic shutdowns began. Now, they safely and distantly provide samples to potential customers who drive around the couple’s u-shaped driveway.

We have more opportunities today, even while practicing social distancing, than people have had through the ages before us. Telephones and the internet offer a multitude of options to serve and minister to people every day. Zoom enables congregants to gather online – for meetings, prayer, and to socialize. People meet one-on-one, six feet apart in front yards, parks, or driveways. The purposeful are creative.

Social distancing requirements do not obstruct our commission. It’s still the same commission from an unchanging Savior. Be creative, my friend. People are thirsting, now perhaps more than ever. Share the “Living Water.” Go.

Further Reading: Matthew 28:19; Hebrews 13:8 

Posted on

Shelter in Place

It’s a new term to me – first introduced a short time ago when we Americans were told to stay home!

My home is indeed a shelter. In the middle of the Michigan mitten, about halfway between Detroit and Chicago, our country home becomes the perfect year-round shelter. Cool in summer, surrounded by sycamores with leaves larger than dinner plates and abundant maples with deep green leaves – thousands of leaves – all creating shade from the hot sun. Comfortably warm in winter, heated by a massive outdoor furnace, boiling and pumping water through pipes, radiating throughout the house. So the home itself is a greatly appreciated and welcomed shelter, but staying there – sheltering in place, day after day, week after week, month after month – is quite another thing, isn’t it?

Natural disasters draw me home.
Man-made or mistakenly-spread disasters, such as COVID19, also draw me home. I
feel safe, secure, and comfortable in my home. It’s where I most often want to
be. But it’s not where I want to stay
or truly shelter.

My body is comfortable to Shelter in Place,

but my spirit yearns for more.

When I became a Christian, I became a new person in spirit. And ever since, my spirit yearns to shelter in the Father. The Psalmist (Psalm 91) refers to that place of shelter as the secret place of the Most High God, El Elyon. And when we dwell, actually reside, in that secret place, we find rest. Rest of mind – peace – assurance. Isn’t rest what we really want? I do.

I look for that secret place.

I yearn for that secret place.

And I find that secret place.

The term secret place most often refers to the way our soul is in
relationship with God. It is the place Jesus speaks of when he instructs us to
go to a room with the door shut when
we pray – a place of solitude with God – a place set aside for time alone with
God. It is an intentional decision to spend time in the Word, praying and
listening. God meets us there. It is in this secret place we discover Him as “our
refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust.”

The stay at home order from our government is nothing
like the stay at home offer from God.
God doesn’t order it. He offers it.

 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

Charles Spurgeon, renown preacher
of old, wrote about this first verse of Psalm 91: “The blessings here promised
are not for all believers, but for those who live in close fellowship with God
. . . all do not dwell in the most
holy place; they run to it at times, and enjoy occasional approaches, but they
do not habitually reside in the mysterious presence. Those who [do] . . .  become possessors of rare and special
benefits, which are missed by those who follow [from] afar.” He refers to those
believers who reside in God’s secret place as “constant guests,” remaining
under God’s protection.

Psalm 27:5 tells us that in our days of trouble God will keep us safe in His secret place- He will hide us there and shelter us in place.

So, while I am in mid-Michigan,
sheltering in place in my comfortable surroundings, my main focus will remain finding
shelter, being a “constant guest,” in the Father’s secret place. That’s where I
– and you – will find true refuge – not just through the COVID19 crisis, but
every day – forever.  

John 3:3

Psalm 91:1,2

Matthew 6:6

Psalm 27:5

Look for Kathi’s other articles: Today’s new language. Informal discourse from a stay-at-home English teacher.

Posted on

The Cross Still Stands

Our eyes are attentive to our screens, taking in every word, every image. Our hearts are breaking as we watch: Notre Dame Cathedral is burning.

French Catholic Newspaper, La Croix, shows the spire’s collapse on its front page, with the headline: La Coeur en cendres (The Heart in Ashes):

And those words, probably inferring the heart of the church, nonetheless describe our feelings: our hearts are in ashes. We are a suffering people, anyway, our hearts shattered by evil in the world: deliberate killings, deliberate abortions, deliberate hate. Cancer, suffering, disease. We wonder how much more our already-broken hearts can take.

But we keep watching the reports of the fire; we keep listening; we keep hoping.

And we find it. Hope in the final photos – the photos taken after the fire is out – the photos showing what remains. The altar remains, and . . .

. . .the cross still stands! Not only does it stand, but it shines. It radiates. It glows. It reminds us that in this world filled with evil, we have hope – the confident expectation of God’s promises.

Click here to hear the beautiful reminder of what the cross stands for. “It stands to heal and to restore and to comfort those who mourn. . . it stands for hope; it stands for peace; it stands to set the captives free; it’s where the only Son of God reveals love for you and me; It stands to heal and to restore and to comfort those who mourn. . . “

Let the cross bring you hope today. Hope in the very purpose of this Holy Week. Hope in Jesus Christ alone, the Savior of the World.

When your world feels fallen, hopeless, remember – the Cross still stands! Jesus suffered for you and for me. The altar remains open; His arms are open, waiting for you to turn to Him.

Click here to learn how to become a believer.

Posted on

Today I Celebrate Her Birthday.

Today is her heavenly birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

When she passed years ago, just one month after Daddy, I thought I might adjust to life without them. Then I saw your Facebook posts and heard your words, spoken as you hugged me at the visitations, written on your cards of sympathy:

“It’s been ten years, and I miss her every day.”

“My dad’s been gone 18 years and I still cry.”

Suddenly I knew. The pain would never go away. It was frightening, overwhelming, to think of living with this dire grief for the rest of my life. I could not go through it alone.

“Jesus wept.” I knew He was weeping for me – with me. I not only accepted the compassion of this Savior, but I pleaded with the Father for it.

Then I started digging. Old photos. Memories. Aprons. Dishes. Walking sticks. Blankets. The sight of his binoculars caused a swelling in my throat; the smell of her Ponds Cold Cream drew flooding memories down my cheeks. How can I ever get past this?

I shared my grief with others. They understood. I was not alone.
Many had grieved. Like me. Looking at them from the outside, I hadn’t realized that their insides had once been heavy and weighted. Like mine. Would I ever appear normal on the outside again, like they did?

I did not find comfort in those common feelings of grief. But I did find comfort in knowing that I grieved much because I had loved much. I had years of memories to carry with me on the lonely, painful path ahead, the path I’m still traveling today. Are the memories worth the pain? Is the pain worth the memories?

I’ve stopped trying to figure it out. I’ve stopped trying to distinguish grief and sorrow from mourning. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what stage of grief I’m passing through. And I’ve stopped feeling guilty or shameful that I’m still grieving after all these years – that others have more reason to grieve than I.

It is what it is. A broken world full of suffering and full of grieving people. Not by God’s design but because of the sin of the first created.

It is what it is. A beautiful life, speckled with pain and grief.

But He is what He is. A beautiful Savior who weeps with us and says, “It won’t be long. I’ll gather you. Let me comfort you until then.”

Until then, Mama, ride your beautiful Buckskin mare down the lanes of the farm. And have a Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mama.

Mom on Gypsy, her Buckskin

If you haven’t yet, please read my book, When Life Roars, Jesus Whispers. To order, message me through this site or on my FaceBook Writer’s page https://www.facebook.com/KathiWaligoraAuthorSpeaker/

Posted on

Forty Days

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.  (Luke 4:1,2)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit . . . led by the Spirit.

He had just been baptized by John in the Jordan River. The Spirit of God had descended upon Him as a dove. He was full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit. (My last post was about these two phrases.)

Nearing the end of his ministry, Jesus told his disciples that He was “going to the Father . . .” He said,

And I will ask the father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – “the Spirit of truth.” The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him, nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14: 12, 16,17)

Shortly after this, Jesus suffered, was crucified, was buried, and rose from the grave. Then he walked with – and talked with many people. After he was taken up to heaven, the disciples waited, as he had instructed them:

. . . wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1: 5).

And they waited.

And the Holy Spirit came to them on the day of Pentecost.

And they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.

And that same Holy Spirit indwells each believer!

So especially during these 40 days, I’m looking ahead – toward Good Friday and toward Easter Sunday. I’m thanking God for His Holy Spirit – who descended upon Jesus as a dove – who now is in me. I’m yearning to be filled with and led by God’s Holy Spirit – the Counselor – my Counselor!

Posted on

So I’m Speaking “Trust” and I’m Praying “Trust”

Trust.

I’m writing this because I need to trust. It’s not easy for me. I want the joy and peace. I want the overflowing hope. It’s just so hard to trust. Some times more than other times.

So I’m speaking Romans 15:13.

I’m praying it for you.

I’m praying it for myself:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

May God bless us as we trust.

Contact me through this site or on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/KathiWaligoraAuthorSpeaker/

 

Posted on

We, the Voters: A Three-Step Strategy

what do we Christians do?

Are you overwhelmed, frustrated, or distressed by the upcoming election?

You’re not alone!

A September Associated Press poll reveals that the majority of Americans are frustrated and/or angry, and that most Americans feel hopeless in this year’s election. NPR.org reports a Harris online polling for the APA (American Psychological Association), which exposes a statistically equal amount of “significant stress” crossing party lines – both Democrat and Republican. The APA provides sound, detailed suggestions to handle this election-time stress.

A July commentary by Ed O’Brien and Nadav Klein on Fortune.com, refers to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as “the most disliked presidential candidates in U.S. history” and further, the commentators “. . . think that more fundamental elements of human judgment are at work. Each candidate has a well-known past composed of both admirable actions and bad behavior. ” Many of us agree. These are some of the factors that make this election more stressful for us. Those – and social media.

If you’ve “been around” for a while, you might be comparing this election to those in the past – those in which the candidates spent more time conveying their plans for the country to the American people than they spent time trashing each other.  Today we see the residue of that trashing sifting down through the media (those sources we once trusted), dropping into the landfills and junkyards of the office water cooler or the ever-growing social media, resulting in the dregs and residue of half-truths or no truths unreliable, untrustworthy, and unrecognizable. No wonder most Americans are frustrated and/or angry!

Now we are just days away from the crucial and fateful decision of the American people. What do we do? More importantly, what do we Christians do?

  1. First, we pray! We pray for ourselves and other Christians; we pray for our country and our leaders; we pray for God’s will; and we pray for mercy. Remember that God loves our prayers. And He welcomes our prayers (Philippians 4:6). I invite you to link to the Election Prayer Guide, put out by David Butts, Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force Board of Directors and America’s National Prayer Committee. Pray whenever you can and wherever you can – unceasingly.

  2. Next, we pray as we conduct our final research! Certainly we should seek counsel from those we respect, but we don’t need others, especially not social media, to decide for us. When you see something on social media, test it – research it to discover truths. We “have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of us know the truth. . . the anointing we have received from Him remains in us . . . His anointing teaches us . . . it is real . . . remain in Him.” (I John 2:20, 27 paraphrased) Trust that anointing. Ask Him to show you. Go to His Word. Dig into His Word. As you research the candidates, compare them in aspects of leadership, morals, and matters of integrity. Because many Americans lack trust in either candidate, some people are voting for the “platform” of a party, rather than the “candidate.”  Do your research and compare the platforms of each of the parties. (Click here to read the Democrat platform – Click here to read the Republican platform) Which platform most aligns with the Word of God? We must pray as we research.

  3. Finally, we pray as we vote! Your voice matters. And your prayer matters before God. As you vote, pray for the unleashing of the Sword – the Word of God – living and active (Hebrews 4:12); pray for Christians to show their faith; pray that the Lord would be pleased with the results; and pray that you will trust in the authority God has established (Romans 13).

 

Be still, my Christian friend, and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10); thank Him and trust that He reigns (Psalm 93).

Posted on

More and More of You

I don’t really want to take time to write a posting today. I leave for Writer’s Conference in one week. I need to complete final revisions on my manuscript and write a dynamite proposal – both to present to publishers with whom I’ll be meeting. It’s exciting! I’m pumped!

But I DO want to share with you a few thoughts – I think you’ll understand and connect, as I suppose similar “obstructions” occur in your life, as well, interrupting your plans. Is it coincidental? I think not.

  1. I’ve finished my manuscript – am just making final revisions. App. 220 pp.; nearly 62,000 words. I’m remembering the many times I sat down to write, often after weeks of neglect or lack of time to write. I’m remembering the “obstructions” that occurred: a stabbing pain, an injury, fears, depression, writer’s block. Why? Is it coincidental? I think not.
  2. I’m “down to the wire” – a book proposal to complete before the Conference. It seems more overwhelming than most chapters did. “Obstructions”: inner ear dizziness and sickness, a pinched nerve (self diagnosed!), pain, standing instead of sitting, to write. Is it coincidental? I think not.

I think the enemy does not want my book completed – does not want my book published – does not want people to read about the awesome God who loves us; who extends grace, mercy, and comfort in the darkest of times; who favors us; and who fulfills His promises.

And so the fight continues and the Lord God wins. The healing comes and the book will be finished. The Father will be glorified. People will learn of His faithfulness.

Has it happened to you? I think so. When it does, let the fight continue. Our job is to trust in His promises.

Two separate vehicles – two separate days – two separate people (Ron and I) listening to one awesome song on the radio. We come together and share the words of that song with each other and realize that our Father is confirming His presence in our lives – through His Holy Spirit:

We have had enough of getting everything we want

We are weary of living this life just for us

Oh, forgive us all for seeking Your hand and not Your face

Come and empty us, Father, we are desperate in this place

Holy Spirit fill us with Your fire

Give us Your desires

Hold us close to You

Holy Spirit, give us revelation

Your healing visitation

Nothing else will do

We want more and more

And more and more of You.

Is it coincidental that you are reading this post? I think not. I’ll pray for you, my reader, as you continue your fight for His glory. Please pray for me. Click here to listen to this beautiful song, recorded by Selah.

 

Sun in hands