God Use Me

You know how you head into a day and kind of know what to expect?  Don't get me wrong, the same ole, same ole can be pretty awesome, but some days  completely take you by surprise and turn an ordinary day into extraordinary. 

On Sunday we went to church.  We had been gone for several weeks so it was nice to be back again.  I had signed up to help with a mission project the women were doing.  A year ago our church collected  food for the local community action organization.  This year the organization called our church asking for help.  So 750 grocery bags with a needs list stapled to the front of each were made up and all the bags were taken home by churchgoers. This last Sunday those bags were being returned.  We had vans and trailers waiting by the front doors to load the sacks into.  Immediately following the second service those groceries were going to the organization to be available to help those struggling to put food on their table.  

Going to church is always a wonderful experience, but this day God had some surprises in store for us.  

The first thing that made the day so unique was seeing the generosity of the people at church. We filled a van and one trailer (grocery bags stacked floor to ceiling) by the time the first service was ready to begin.  There was a second trailer waiting to hold the donations brought by those attending the second service.  You can't help but feel full of joy and blessed when you see so many people walking in from the parking lot with full grocery bags in hand. 

As I was taking the bags and loading them into the trailer I saw a woman walk by and realized she was someone I had known about 20 years ago.  I hesitated, thinking she wouldn't know me, but then caught up to her and stopped her.  I said, "Are you Kay?"  Amazingly, she recognized me and even remembered where I had worked.  We both attended hockey games in Northern Iowa.  Two years ago she and her husband moved to our area as her daughter and family live there.  We talked a bit about what was going on in our lives and about our families.  She was so happy I had stopped her!  She gave me her phone number and asked me to call her so we could get together for lunch as she really does not know anyone in the area yet.  I totally understood that.  It took me a while to meet people when I first moved here too and I know that fish out of water feeling.  We talked so long that her daughter came back out looking for her.  As we finished up our conversation and she was ready to head into church she said, "Barb, thank you so much for stopping me.  You made my day!"  I was amazed that such a small gesture could mean so much to someone...and was thankful I didn't let the opportunity to talk to her slip by.  

With the groceries collected I headed into church, which had already started.  When I got to my spot I had to slip by a woman sitting near us to get to my seat.  Since I had missed the time where we greet those around us, after the message and before we sang the last few songs I leaned over and introduced myself to her (Michael had met her earlier).  After the service I turned to talk with her a bit more and saw she was crying.  I asked if she was okay and all she could do was nod her head. I offered her a hug, which she gladly accepted. She was visiting and apparently very touched by the service and music.  We talked for a bit.  I told her we were in those seats almost every Sunday and to please look for us again next Sunday.  All she could do was cry and ask for a second hug.  

It was amazing to see God at work.  He doesn't always need earth-shattering events to use us to share His love, often it is things that seem trivial to us that are so important to others.  Michael and I pray often for God to use us in whatever way He needs.  To see Him place us right where He wanted us on Sunday in order to interact with a familiar face and a new face, was nothing other than... divine.

It was a great reminder that God can take the smallest of actions and make them the biggest of blessings if I am only bold, like Paul. 

God is slowly getting me out of my comfort zone.

Foodie Friday! - Cocoa Medallion Cake - Salt Not Optional

Our church's college ministry is called "The Salt Company."  The Salt Company has over 100 connection groups (Bible Study groups), and we were fortunate enough to host one group for their weekly study a month ago.  We loved having the girls here so I thought it would be fun to get together and bake.    

So Ceara, Ashley, Elizabeth, and Kristin came over last Saturday to spend some time visiting and baking. 

The girls wanted to make a cake, so I thought nothing sounded better than a homemade chocolate cake.

In addition, my best friend Linda was spending the weekend with us, so she was able to meet the girls and get to know them as well.  

Since we couldn't start baking without food on board, Michael picked up pizza for us and Linda got our sugar levels going with Scotcheroos.  

Then the cake making started.  Here's the recipe we used:

Cocoa Medallion Cake

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

3/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1-3/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Stir together cocoa and boiling water until smooth; set aside.  Cream butter or margarine, shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs; beat well.  Stir baking soda into buttermilk or sour milk; add alternately with flour to creamed mixture.  Blend in cocoa mixture.

The girls thought it would be fun to make a layer cake so we (Ashley really did all of the work mixing the cake up) used 3, 8-inch cake pans.  

Ashley sprayed each one with nonstick baking spray, then cut a circle of wax paper so it lined the bottom of the pan.  Lastly she sprinkled each pan with a bit of flour and shook the pan to evenly distribute it. 

Ashley divided the batter between the three pans. 

The recipe says to pour into 2 round layer pans or 8-inch square pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Our cakes were done at about 25 minutes or so since we used 3 smaller pans rather than 2 larger ones, so check the cake earlier than indicated. Use a toothpick to make sure the center is done.  

We let the cakes cool in the pans for a bit.  They had pulled away from the sides of the pans, so it was  easy for Ashley to tip them out, peel off the wax paper and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack.  

While the cakes were cooling we made the frosting.  We used my favorite frosting recipe that is wonderful on anything: cakes, sugar cookies, etc.  (See the "Sugar Cookie Bars" recipe here on my blog for Linda's frosting recipe.)

Ashley has a Wilton cake decorating kit so the girls decided to make a spring-themed cake with different colored frosting.

Kristin stirred together the blue frosting.

Ceara worked really hard to get just the right shade of purple!

And Elizabeth gave Belle and Willow attention.  Actually Elizabeth also made the pink frosting.

Ashley loves to bake, so she frosted the layers and assembled the cake. 

  

Aren't the colors beautiful?  The cake looked so amazing and pretty!  Linda and I laughed that we had never had a layer cake turn out as tall and nice as Ashley's cake did.  

And Elizabeth put the final touches on the cake.  This was her first try at using the flower tip and writing on a cake.  She did awesome!  You should have seen the photos being taken of the cake!  I had my camera out and several of the girls were taking pictures with their phones!

And just because you can never have too much chocolate, after we all got our pictures.... we drizzled the top with ganache. That recipe is on my blog too.  

Doesn't this look amazing?  

But you can only admire a cake for so long, then you have to dig in. We  all sat down and had a piece of decadent chocolate cake... and before long the 6 of us ladies (and Michael) were in a chocolate coma.  I wish I had photographed some of the dazed looks this resulted in.  

These girls are such a blessing to us.  It is fun to spend time with them, find out what is going on in their busy lives with college and work, and just laugh with them.  

Salt is usually optional in a recipe, but on this day Salt was definitely the perfect ingredient!

Mine! Mine!

How much stuff do you have?  
Are your closets overflowing?  
How about your basement or garage?  
Is your car a moving storage unit in addition to a mode of transportation?  
Do you have actual storage units for the things that don't fit anywhere else?

I'm guilty of chasing after stuff.  If I had a dollar for each time I've said, "Oh, I want that!"... well I would be able to get a lot more stuff!!  

(sigh)  

It's sad, but true.

There have been times in life when I have been pretty focused on getting material things I thought I "deserved."  I would like to think it is a phase we all go through.... at least that thought makes me feel better. 

A month or so ago I was dusting around some memorabilia-type things.  I enjoy having them, but thought maybe it was time to put them away as I was tired of having to move them each time I cleaned.

Enter God.

The message in church the following Sunday was about our "stuff."  

How we yearn for it.  

How we collect it.  

How we covet it.  

How we always, always want more.   

It is a vicious circle:  chasing after, buying, and squirreling away things we don't really need.  This constant craving keeps us in a state of discontent and as a result we are never happy with what we have, because it is never enough.  We spend so much time and energy in the pursuit of our stuff that often we have no energy or time for the really important things in life.

This topic made me think of the seagulls in the movie Finding Nemo.  They are continually plowing each other over trying to get fish, unashamedly and exuberantly squabbling with each other for what they feel is rightfully theirs, while  the whole time screeching at the top of their lungs, "Mine! Mine!" 

Not a very pretty picture, is it? 


Like the seagulls, we get a "fish" and should be content for a bit, but then we spot another one that looks even bigger and better, screech a possessive "Mine!"... and we are off again.  Once in our possession,  those things we worked so hard to get suddenly lose their sparkle and luster...and our interest,  and we find ourselves wanting something new. 

So with the message in church received, I came home and started cleaning closets...again.  I made a pile for Goodwill, a pile of things to give to people that I knew would use them, and a pile of things to put 

on E-Bay.  I told Michael whatever money came about from the sale of the Ebay-items would go toward acts of kindness or charities.  We aren't talking expensive things, but a few items added together can do some good for others.  

Here's what I have done with the money from the E-Bay sales so far:

- Act of Kindness for Shawn B-T (Facebook RAK Project)

- Act of Kindness for Marcia S  (Facebook RAK Project)

- Act of Kindness for Elizabeth R  (Facebook RAK Project)

- Act of Kindness for Chelsea M (Facebook RAK Project)


In addition I purchased items for Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Waterloo, where my stepdaughter Lindsay works.  

 - Diapers for the babies.  

- Devotional books, toothpaste, and shampoo for the moms.  

- Cleaning items for the pregnancy center.

- And we gathered change for the Baby Bottle Drive.

- Lastly, I made a donation to Life 107.1, my favorite radio station.  It is listener funded and keeps me encouraged and inspired whether at home or on the road. 

- An added blessing of the above was that we were sent 2 CD's as a thank you for our donation to Life 107.1.  We kept one CD and passed the other on to share with someone else.  


And I'm not done yet.  

There are still more things that will hopefully sell and I can use that money to do more good.  In addition Michael has been going through things as well and found some items to donate and some to sell.  He will choose where to donate any money that his items bring in.  Talk about fun... there are so many great causes and those checks are so fun to write!

On a deeper level, the message in church that day was a reminder that everything we have is from God.  We don't deserve the blessings He sends our way... but He chooses to bless us anyway.  We do earn our paychecks, but even our jobs are provided by God. All things are from Him, we are simply the temporary caretakers of what He has blessed us with. 

I love the movie Finding Nemo.  I can so relate to Dora.  And I can laugh at the seagulls - even though they get pretty annoying.  But the more I think about it, I wonder if that is how we look to God sometimes.... constantly running in circles, pursuing the next thing that catches our eye,  and screeching as loud as we can, "Mine!" rather than appreciating and doing good with what He has already given us.  

So what are you collecting? 

I'm pretty sure we are all guilty of wanting.  I don't think God begrudges us having nice things,  but I do think some day He will ask me: 
"So Barb, what did you do with all my blessings? Did you use them wisely to benefit others or did you tuck them all away for yourself?"

He will already know the answer.  

I need to make sure it is an answer I can live with.  

I have some work to do friends.

Bye Bye Chocolate

I have never given anything up for Lent before.  To be honest, I have never really understood the whole concept and didn't take the time to learn more about it.  Our church is doing a Lent blog and encouraged us to sign up to follow it and to consider giving something up for Lent.

So I did some thinking and on the way home from church I told Michael I thought I would give up hot chocolate.  His response, "Really?"  He knows how much I love hot chocolate.  I  felt that was something I could give up fairly easily.  Key word: easily.  I said to Michael, "It's not like I'm giving up chocolate or anything - that would be crazy!"  

Once home, I went online and signed up for the blog.  I also read all the information they shared about Lent to get a better understanding. I'm probably the only person who didn't truly know what Lent was all about, but the purpose is to deny yourself something and instead of indulging or spending time doing that you are to give your time and attention to God by praying, reading the Bible, etc.

I thought long and hard and decided that if I really wanted to spend more time in prayer, I should aim high and give up chocolate.

(gasp!)

For 40 days!?

(double gasp!)  

I'll be honest, part of me thought I was nuts.  Part of me still thinks I am nuts. Yet another part of me knows I am nuts and just embraces it.

I am female.  I am in midlife.  At this point in my life chocolate is its own food group.  Giving it up will not be easy.

So beginning today I am going to stay away from chocolate for 40 days,  as far away as possible.  It will take a lot of praying to accomplish this.  

I guess that is the whole purpose of Lent. 

God sacrificed much more.  

Linkup: I Am Currently...

Reading....

Dean Koontz's book Your Heart Belongs to Me.  The book is about a man who has a heart transplant then begins receiving ominous messages from someone saying.......you guessed it: "Your heart belongs to me."  I love a good scare and Stephen King and Dean Koontz are my all-time favorite authors.  If I go to bed and securely tuck my feet under the covers rather than dangerously dangling one uncovered foot off the edge of the bed, you know I'm reading a really scary book.  The thought of something evil lurking under the bed just waiting to reach out from the depths of the darkness and grab my foot once the light is off is an old fear of mine that dates back to my childhood.  Once in a great while that childish fear rears its ugly head when I spend too much time with Steve or Dean.  Yes, I am 52, and I know there is really nothing under our bed but a growing collection of dust bunnies, but can you ever really be too careful? 
I don't think so.

Listening.....

to basset hounds snore.  Call me crazy (trust me you would not be the first), but it is a comforting sound.  Hearing them peacefully sleeping, slowing breathing in and out, even with the snoring, relaxes me.  On the weekend if I am tired and want to take a nap I curl up on the sectional with the dogs and our growing pile of blankets and we nap together. And if I happen to snore a bit too they don't seem to mind either.  Life is good. 

Reliving...... 

my childhood through Rice Krispies.  It has been years since I have heard the sound of snap, crackle, and pop.  There's just something about pouring milk into a bowl of Rice Krispies and hearing them talk to you. It's a happy sound that makes me smile.

Anticipating.....

hosting a group of college women from our church for their Bible study next week.  We will be having them over for dinner followed by studying God's word together.  We are anxious to meet them and feel blessed that we can spend some time with them.  I  am sure we will learn much more from them than they will from us! It will be an awesome night!

Learning....

by taking a writing course.  I wanted to try some new things with my writing this year and an opportunity popped up.  So I did what any other middle-aged woman who can't remember why she walked into a room would do:  I said, "Sign me up for that course!"  I know, right?!  One minute I can't remember what I had for lunch and the next minute I'm signing up for a writing course!  I love writing.  I love putting my thoughts down.  It doesn't matter if they are silly, serious, thought provoking, or random... they are mine.  Best case scenario: it will give me more confidence to tackle other writing opportunities that may come up.  Worst case scenario: I learn more about writing, keep those brain cells busy, and have fun.  Either way it is all good! 

Wondering.....
what happened this weekend.  In a short period of time I decided to:  
1)  Open an Etsy shop for my greeting cards (I got it pretty well set up and stocked for the moment- whew! - see the link to my shop on the sidebar)

B) Take a writing course, and...

4) We are considering starting our own connection group for church.  Huh?   

It seems the best ideas are those that just come about quickly and have me wondering "Where did that idea come from??"   I'm pretty sure when that happens it is a God thing.   And the 1), B), and 4) were intentional.  I haven't completely lost it......yet. :)

Praying....

as always for God's guidance and grace.  I thought by midlife I would have it all figured out and know exactly what each day was going to bring for the most part.  But life just isn't that predictable, and if it was I guess it would be pretty boring.  Life is a journey, and even at my age it isn't always easy to see what God has planned for me and what He wants me to do.  I just keep praying and asking that He leads me in the direction He wants me to go.  I pray that if I should stray off course  He nudge me back in the right direction.  Some days are nudge free... other days I need a lot of redirecting.  

So that's what I am currently up to.

****

This week we are welcoming Lindy to our linkup!  

See what Lindy is currently up to at Candid Negative
As well as Liz at My Life Project
And Melissa at Growing Like Weeds

My Goals for 2014

Here's another linkup with Liz and Melissa!


*****


Goals.  

I have to be honest, when Liz and Melissa mentioned this subject for our January linkup, I groaned. 

Yes, I groaned.

With the new year comes resolutions and goals and I immediately thought of  failed resolutions and goals not met in past years.  To put it bluntly, this time of year can make me feel like a failure.  I think back to what I resolved last year and the year before that and the year before that and I am reminded that I typically haven't done so well with resolutions and goals.  

So I really had to put a lot of positive thought into what goals I could possibly have and realistically attain.  I'm not on the cusp of a new career or any earth-shattering life change.  I'm middle aged.  I spend my day working in my home office in the company of two basset hounds who think I am the best thing since sliced bread (I feel the same about them).  

So what kind of goals could I come up with?

I found this quote by Michael Altshuler and love it!

That really made me think about what I want this year to say about me. 

Then I realized I didn't need to have big goals - I have small things I can work on.  I gave it some thought and you know what... first I thought of one goal, and then another, and another.  It turns out I have a lot of things I can work on!

Who knew?

Truly Attainable Goals 

Spend less (I love to shop)

Eat better (not perfect, just better)

Be better about cleaning those corners and places along the wall that the vacuum doesn't always get (you know, actually using the hose attachment)

Get Christmas things put away before Valentine's Day


Move more

Give more generously 

Eat more fruits and veggies

Sing louder and more often 


Be a little more patient (keeping it real)

Do my back exercises

Buy fewer potato chips 

Hug more

Make a snowman

Tell our kids and grandkids "I love you" even more

Learn to cohabitate with any garter snakes I spot in the spring

Continue to turn the TV off in the evenings and read more

Try more Pinterest ideas

Journal more

Try to let the little things go

Start a writing project 


Drink more water


Do more random acts of kindness


Be thankful for my blessings

Pray more

Worry a bit less (again...keeping it real)

Blog better

Be content


Be kind to myself

 There's only one me (don't be jealous).   God loves me just as I am and rather than sit and wish I had the body of Heidi Klum, the voice of Beyonce, or the cute nose of Sandra Bullock, He simply wants me to love myself as much as He does.  


My overall goal is to be a better me in 2014 than I was in 2013.

And that, my friends, is doable.

Check out Liz's goals here
Check out Melissa's goals here

Giving Up Control

I am not a control freak.  Most of the time I am pretty laid back, but I have to admit there have been times in my life where I have wanted to just take control, right a ship, get something done, and move on.  I've come to realize this usually occurs out of fear or when I worry.  

Ugh, there's that "w" word again.

When I was in high school a friend and I decided to enjoy a beautiful winter day by going to a movie... 25 miles away.  Sounds like a great plan, until we found ourselves on an ice covered blacktop that we honestly should not have been on.  The car started to slide on the ice a bit.  As the passenger I was instantly scared and without even realizing what I was doing I grabbed the steering wheel....I guess to help!?

The next thing we knew we were in the ditch.  You probably saw that coming.  Luckily no one was hurt and the farmer who lived close by pulled the car out for us. 

And so it seems to be, whenever I feel things are out of control and/or not moving at the pace I think they should,  I tend to grab the wheel in an attempt to steer things in the direction I know they should go.   

You would think at 52 I would know better by now.  

I really try to separate the things I know I can control and those I can't.  Once I decide I want to do something,  I want it done... now.  If it is something I can control, that is great - I do it ASAP.  However, the world does not move at the speed of Barb (ideally speaking, not physically speaking).  So there are many things I have to pray about and give to God to handle.

The hard part? - leaving them in God's hands.  At times it is as if I am saying, "You know what God, you really aren't taking care of this in the timely fashion I would prefer, so let me take this one back so I can worry and fret about it some more, because that is totally going to solve this issue...and here... I'll give you this problem to work on instead."

Have I mentioned I struggle with patience?  Yep, it's the "p" word again. 

I have had a few reminders in the last few weeks that I need to let go of the things I can not control.  If left to my own devices I could easily put myself in a ditch (again).  

About a month ago during Advent, our Family Pastor at church, Pastor Shane, was giving a message about peace.  Not peace in the sense of the "absence of  war" and everyone around the world doing a big group hug.  The peace he was referring to was "Shalom."  The word that comes closest in translation is "peace".  

This Shalom, or peace, is best defined as "That state of existence that is achieved when everything and everyone works in perfect harmony to fulfill their intended purposes.  Shalom is achieved when creation does exactly as it was created to do and the world is as it should be."

Simply put, for everything to be the way it ought to be.   

Ah,  now that's a world I want to live in!

I loved Pastor Shane's message, especially when he reminded us of the need to put our trust in God and hand things over to him, big and little, in order for us to be at peace in our relationship with Him.  

When referring to the times in life when we feel things are out of control, he said:  

"Out of your control?  Absolutely!  
Out of His control?  Not a chance."

So I am going to try really REALLY hard this year to be better about giving the things I can not control to God,  praying faithfully about them, and leaving them in His hands.  

God's ways are better than mine.  I may not always understand His timing, but I need to trust it and quit grabbing the steering wheel.  


....And from the heavens above God's people heard Him utter an exasperated, "finally!"  

Unto You

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them: Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...." - Luke 2:8-11

We read and hear the Christmas story detailing the birth of Christ every year.  It's a big event in the life of a Christian and often times I am so in awe of the hugeness of it that I overlook some of the important little things.

Like "unto you."

These were the words spoken to the shepherds.  Even 2000 years ago there were socioeconomic classes and to say shepherds were considered at the bottom would be a pretty fair statement.  They spent their time in the fields and when they did venture into town they were not very fragrant and often were rebel  rousers.  So for God to send an angel to them to share the news of Christ's birth is amazing.  He didn't send the angel to visit a priest, or a prophet..... instead He announced the birth of His Son to what were considered "lowly" shepherds.

I love that the angel of the Lord said, "Fear not."  If you were a shepherd doing your job day in and day out in the fields, with little to no human contact but each other, wouldn't you be a little overwhelmed at suddenly having a visit by an angel of the Lord one night?  

I have to wonder what the shepherds were thinking.  Did they look at each other for just a second and doubt what they had seen and heard?  Did they just for a moment think, "We have been out here way too long!"  They had to have wondered, "Why us?"

Nothing about the birth of Jesus is what you would associate with the birth of a King.   

Mary and Joseph were likely shunned because of Mary's pregnancy.  

Jesus was born in a "barn."  

He was surrounded by livestock.  

And the people God chose to share this great news with the world were some of the lowliest on the socioeconomic scale.

God could have done much better for His Son.  But He chose not to.  


By having the birth of Jesus happen as it did,  it is a constant solemn reminder that He was not a King for the kings, but instead was born for the lowliest of us all.... for me and you.  

As you celebrate Christmas I pray you will always remember that the greatest gift you could ever receive arrived more than 2000 years ago, in the form of a baby.  

That is something to truly rejoice about.   

"....For unto YOU ...."

God Through Pinterest

Lately God has been blessing us in some amazing ways.  We recently took a class to become members of our church and ended up sitting at a table with a wonderful couple our age.  Not only did it give us some faces we knew in worship, but they invited us to their connection group (Bible study group) and we were able to meet even more people.  

God has provided for us so wonderfully.  Sometimes I don't even know what we need, but He always does.  

He gives wonderful reminders too.

I've blogged before that Michael and I pray at night when we go to bed.  Not long ago I was completely exhausted at bedtime, both mentally and physically.  It was my turn to pray, but I asked Michael if he would pray instead and told him I was just too tired to even form sentences.  And of course he did.

The next day I was on Pinterest and spotted this:

Not only did I see it, but one of our daughters-in-law did too, and was going  to comment on it for me, then noticed I had already pinned it.

I immediately remembered the night before when I felt I just wasn't able to put the energy into praying. I am continually amazed at how God does little things to head me in the right direction and remind me what is important. 

In hindsight, not having the energy to pray was just an excuse.  I had a lot of things I wanted and needed to pray about, but in all honesty I felt overwhelmed by all I had on my mind and just didn't know where to begin.  

"Dear God" is always a great start.

That was exactly when I should have been praying. God doesn't care how garbled my sentences may be at times or how rambling my prayers may get. He knows what is on my mind and in my heart.  

I am so thankful God is patient with me.  


I am thankful God guides me.


And I am thankful He gives me constant reminders of His love and presence.


I hope you feel God's nudges too.

400 Years

I am the youngest of 5 with my siblings ranging in age from 7-12 years older than me.  Growing up, from the age of about 10 on, many of our Sundays were spent traveling to see my older siblings and their families. My parents and I often went to church on Sunday, but would leave right after the service in order to get to my brothers' or sister's in time for dinner with them.  I loved those visits with my siblings (and eventually nieces and nephews) and wouldn't have traded those visits for anything, but as a result  I didn't attend Sunday School regularly during those years and am still learning a lot about the Bible.

Our church is celebrating the Advent season with the theme, 
"Breaking The Silence."   

This theme refers to the 400-year span between the last book of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the first book of the New Testament (Matthew).  Did you know that in the time period between when those two books of the Bible were written, God was silent?  His people did not hear from him for 400 years!

That just amazed me.  I never realized that before.  Throughout the Old Testament God kept promising a covenant that He would fulfill and His believers kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting.  In those 400 years not a single prophet, priest... no one... heard from God, yet all continued to worship, pray, and live in expectation of Him fulfilling his covenant.


I love jotting down things that are important to me during worship.  Here's what I wrote in my Bible:

Can you imagine being a believer and waiting like that?  You could have lived your whole life and never heard another word from God.

You know I am impatient, so obviously I would have struggled with this period of silence greatly.  In an age where instant gratification is the norm, at least in our country, I am guessing I would not be alone on the impatience train.

I like to think I would have been a faithful follower and kept on believing.  But I have to wonder, "Would I have?"

It reminds me of the look I sometimes get from my husband after I have said something like this:  "We should get _______."  

Fill in the blank - it could be a new dining room table, a new bedroom set, and yes it usually involves a larger sum of money.  Michael will get this faraway look, gaze off in the distance as if seeing some timeline only visible to him, and say, "Yes, someday we can do that."   I often turn my head and look in the same direction he is to try to see whatever it is he is looking at, but I don't see anything.  Then he laughs.


This is good, because while Michael and I are alike in my ways, we are also opposite in some ways.  I come up with some great ideas, but they are not always practical, so I am the idealist and Michael is the more practical one in our marriage.

I know what that faraway look and "someday" really mean: "I listened, I heard you, I love your ideas and your heart, but don't get your hopes up anytime soon!"

(If you are asking, why doesn't Michael just say "no", it is because that hurts my feelings and he knows it.  It may be silly, but it works for us!)

And that's okay.  I need to be reigned in at times.

I wonder if I had lived in the days before God spoke again in the New Testament, during that 400 years of silence,  would I have had that faraway look in my eyes if someone had said to me, "God really is going to fulfill His promise you know!"  


Would I have kept believing? 


Would I have thought or even said a bit sarcastically, "Yeah, right, someday"? 

Not only did God's followers continue to believe, but they believed strongly. 

At this time of year there are so many things that amaze me. That list now includes the unending faith of God's believers, even in silence.

That humbles me.


*******

"This is God's universe and He does things His way.  You may have a better way, but you don't have a universe."   - J. Vernon McGee

Doesn't this quote just make you smile?!