Some Quotes from THE WORD

^13-15And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money." You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that." –James 4:13-15

³⁴"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. –Matthew 6:34

 ^6-10Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. –John 10:6-10

Today is just like any other day in the Whisnant family.  At least just like any of the past few months.  See, Jon and I have been looking for jobs.  At last count we have been on 8 interviews all together.  All that ended the same way.... NO JOB.  I am trying not to be frustrated.  But with the next interview being in 4 1/2 hours, the discouragement, fear, and anxiety have already set in.  

The opening verses were in "Jesus Calling" today.  Quite appropriate.  The job interview today would definitely have lots of details to work out.  That is the encouragement of Matthew 6:34.  I need to quit looking at the "ifs" and really start living in the present.  "IF" the job comes, then HE will work out the details.  From experience I know He can do a better job at that anyways.  

Then I open my other devotional guide, "God's Best for my Life."  Today it focused on the Israelites prior to the Exodus.  They groaned and pleaded that God had forgotten them.  This was not the case.  God had to wait many years after Joseph's death to fulfill His promise.  Prior to slavery, the Israelites were content in Egypt.  There was really no hurry to move on.  God had to bring them to a point of need.  If God had delivered them too soon, then they would boasted that it was their own doing.  By waiting, God knew He would be made known.  At the same time, God had to prepare Moses to be the leader of his people.  


For whatever reason, God is not "moving" in my life as fast as I think He should.  I am like the Israelites in that I am beginning to grumble, complain and live in pity party mode.  However I have had insight today.  All the details, are being worked out. For some reason, God is still preparing our hearts for what is next.  


"Father God, Thank you that you know what is best.  Please let Matthew 6:34 be my promise today.  Help me focus on what you are doing right now.  Help me to let go and trust you to work out the details I worry about so frequently. Thank you in advance."

Breakfast Fun

LA was out of school today.  With it being gloomy outside we knew it would be difficult to keep her entertained.  We have been trying to encourage positive peer relationships with our neighbors.  Last night, we invited 3 girls to breakfast at our house at 9:00.  LA made cute little door knob decorations and we got an RSVP.  

This morning LA got her first lesson in table setting and hostess etiquette.  It was a lot of work to set a table with 9 pieces for each child.  However when the girls walked in and saw the beautiful table setting LA was beaming with joy.  

After the girls were seated and eating their "formal" breakfast, Jon and I transitioned in the living room.  We overheard the sweetest conversations.  One of them said, "We get to drink out of this?"  (It was a cheap wine glass with orange juice.) The same child asked, "Where are the napkins?"  (She was shocked to realize she was getting to use cloth napkins.)   The older girls asked if LA gets to eat at the table every day.  LA said she eats dinner with her family every night at the kitchen table.  (What a testimony to hear my daughter say with confidence that her family eats together every night.)

The girls were reluctant to eat the muffins and make hot drinks from the teapot.  With much prompting, the girls chose from hot tea, hot apple cider or hot cocoa.  Of course they all chose the cocoa.  But again it was fun to watch them experiment with french vanilla creamer to make their cocoa smooth. 

I learned several things from this special breakfast:

• The best memories my child will have are not extravagent.  The can be impromptu and low budget.
• My daughter can learn new skills through special activities.  She knows how to set a proper table now and has learned to serving others.
• Peer relationships are so important for middle schoolers.  I need to make the most of each opportunity to support her in friendships.  (Rainy days and days off from school are great opportunities.)
• The things that my daughter complains about the most- having a set dinner time at the table where mom and dad are focused on her- are the same things that her peers' are longing for.

So, today's lesson was a success.  I know this will be a memory making day in her life as well as in the lives of her friends.  Isn't that what being a parent is all about?

Complain no more!!!

Romans 9:20-21

The Message (MSG)

^20-33Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn't talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people.

Hosea put it well:

I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
      I'll call the unloved and make them beloved.
   In the place where they yelled out, "You're nobody!"
      they're calling you "God's living children."

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
   If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
      and the sum labeled "chosen of God,"
   They'd be numbers still, not names;
      salvation comes by personal selection.
   God doesn't count us; he calls us by name.
      Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
   If our powerful God
      had not provided us a legacy of living children,
   We would have ended up like ghost towns,
      like Sodom and Gomorrah.

How can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their "God projects" that they didn't notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling.

Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

 Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
   a stone you can't get around.
   But the stone is me! If you're looking for me,
   you'll find me on the way, not in the way.

Usefullness verses Busyness

It is not in my nature to "be still and know I am God."  I want to be doing... talking to friends, going grocery shopping, doing something with my hands, serving others... I am happiest when I am "doing."  However over the past couple of months, I haven't had a leading to work anywhere.  Sure Jon and I have been applying for jobs, EVERYWHERE.  But I used that as an excuse not to serve.  "I don't want to burn out before we go into God's mission field."- "I don't want to get involved only for God to move us to another state"- that was my pathetic mentality.  Then, I realized the truth...  It came to me through a devotional book I have been reading, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young.  

"Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My Presence.  

Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything.  

This sacred time togetherstrengthens youand prepares you 

to face whatever the day will bring.  

By waiting with Me before you begin the day's activities, 

you proclaim the reality of My living Presence.  

This act of faith-

waiting before working-

is noted in the spirit world, where you demonstration of trust 

weakens principalities and powers of darkness.  

...The world is so complex and overstimulating 

that you can easily lose your sense of direction.

Doing COUNTLESS UNNECESSARY ACTIVITIES

will dissipate your energy.  

When you spend time with Me, 

I restore your sense of direction.  

As you look to me for guidance, 

I enable you do to less but accomplish more.

This devotional was followed up the following Sunday in church.  (Isn't that like our God? better yet, Isn't that like my stubborn heart, to need a follow up to God's direct leading???)  So I took heed, this time.  I took what God placed in my heart and I began to serve.  Serve God faithfully in my church, serve others in a local Children's Home, serve my daughter more faithfully with more patience in the afternoons.  Pray more diligently for my husband and our situation.  It looks like I am more "busy" on paper, but in my heart, this service is the restoration of my sense of direction.  I feel more relaxed and at peace than I have in the past 3 months.