Answer Your Call

 

 I have a confession to make. If my phone rings & I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. I listen to the message right away if one is left & I return calls quickly. And I do answer the phone if I know the person calling. I don't feel compelled to answer the phone when I don't know the caller. 

 Let me tell you though. If caller ID told me God was calling, I would answer right away! Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you be curious to know why God was calling, what He wanted? Wouldn't you answer right away?

 Now I know how silly this sounds! God doesn't use cell phones to call us. I just want you to consider for a moment how quickly you would respond if there was a chance,even a slim one, that God might use a cell phone to contact you. I think most people would quickly answer even just to satisfy their curiosity. 

Yet many of us hit "Decline" button when God calls us. And believe me, He does call each & every one of us that believes!

The quote on the graphic above is taken from the story of Samuel being called by God. Samuel lived with Eli, the high priest. Samuel's mother, Hannah gave her son to Eli to be trained in service to the Lord. Hannah had promised her son to the Lord if the Lord would only bless the childless woman with a son. When the Lord blessed her with a son, Hannah kept her end of the bargain, taking Samuel to Eli to stay once Samuel was old enough.

Eli had 2 sons that were also priests. Scripture tells us the sons were "scoundrels." The Lord was not willing to let scoundrels take over the ministry of Eli. Plus, the Lord was very upset with Eli because he did not correct his sons. So, the Lord called Samuel.

One night, Samuel heard a voice call his name. Naturally, he assumed Eli was calling him. Yet when he went to Eli, the old man said he had not called. This happened a few more times. Finally, Eli told Samuel it must be the Lord calling his name. When it happens again,say, "Here I am,Lord!" And that's just what Samuel did! What a difference that made in the life of Samuel! And in the lives of Eli & his sons!

How do you respond when God calls you? I know,you're looking at the screen & telling me, "God never called or calls me! Why would He call ME?"

If you go to the passage in 1 Samuel, you'll notice Samuel did not stand in Eli's room arguing about whether or to the Lord would call HIM! He simply accepted what Eli said & went back to his room to await the Lord's next call. Samuel didn't even doubt the fact the Lord would contact him again. What faith!

We all need to be open to God's call on our lives. As Jesus said, the harvest is great & the laborers are few. Time to get to work!

I Know the Plans I Have for You

When we last spoke, I was sitting in a dark closet, waiting to hear the answer to my prayer. I knew I had lost direction. I also knew I had a lot to offer women. My experience, my education, my concern for the welfare of women & their families in our nation gave me a good starting point. But WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH IT?! I know a lot of football fans that are very passionate but they are NEVER going to play in the NFL.

My biggest concern was that it was too late for me. Had I waited too long? Had God given up on me? (No on both counts!) However, I did need to get busy. I also felt I needed a new direction, a new message since so many people were now sharing my original message in their own way. And doing it quite well!

So as I said, there I was sitting in the closet quietly, listening. And I heard His answer.

"What can you do that no one else can do in exactly the same way?" In other words, what do you bring to the table?

Well, I had to think about that for awhile. Not a long while. After all, it gets lonely sitting the closet. But I am able to think. And I am able to talk to God. So that's what I did.

I had to consider what I could do in my own unique way. While many women were now talking about simplifying life, I am able to do ministry. After all, I have my M.Div. I've been in ministry for years but I had only been "playing" at it for the last few years. I knew I needed to get serious.

I know I am passionate about helping women improve the quality of their lives &, through them, the quality of life for their families. While other women are sharing ways to improve the lives of women by simplifying life, I can teach them how to improve their lives through ministry.

I am very good at showing how the lessons in Scripture are applicable today. I can offer practical ways to incorporate Christianity into your life & share your faith with others through your actions, not your words.

I sensed God telling me that I needed to begin teaching women ways to determine & utilize their Call in life, why service is such an important part of our faith & help organizations develop the new leaders in their midst & help women discover ways to develop their own leadership skills & ways to use them.

Oh, I'm still feeling my way along in the dark but I have a better vision of God's plan for me. He has made it very clear that my focus must be on ministry. There are so many ways for me to serve Him by serving women across the country.

So I'll still be sharing recipes & tips to help you reduce stress so you have the time & energy to focus on the work God is calling you to do for Him. And He is calling you!

So enough of this. On this blog, I plan to share tips to help you answer your Call with a BANG! I am very excited & I promise to be patient. I know it will take time for the message to take hold & spread. But I know God has a plan for my life in 2017 & I am dedicating myself to fulfilling that plan to its end!

Let's go!

Simply Ask

I Am Wonderfully Made

My darling husband, the infamous Mr. D. is always asking me, "Do you EVER listen to yourself when you are speaking at an event or teaching a group?" He thinks he knows so much but in this case, I know what he means. I tell the women in my Tuesday Bible Study that those of us that preach or teach in the church tend to speak on the topics we most need to hear. (I won't even go into the ramifications of THAT!)

I tend to talk a lot about self confidence & listening to God to get direction for your life. Believe, I DO listen. Sometimes, I simply get sidetracked, distracted if you will. And I have paid a price for this, not only in wasted time but in terrible anxiety which was mostly God's urging that I was ignoring.

Many, many years ago, God shared an idea that grew into Simple Joy. I accepted His challenge to begin teaching about the relationship between stress, joy & the Holy Spirit. This was at a time when NO ONE was talking about the affect of stress on our lives let along the power of joy. Still, I kept on & was able to share the message with women across the country. Then I became too clever by half.

I won't detail the ways I went wrong. Let's say I lost site of the vision God had shared. I thought I needed to wrap His message in a cute package that women would love. They would come flocking to me to hear my words of wisdom. Can you believe it didn't work? Can you believe it took me so long to see my mistake & try to back track?

Unfortunately, by the time I tried to reclaim my original message, all kinds of people had jumped on the simplification band wagon. And they were doing very well sharing their message. I tried to lure my audience back but I only looked like a late comer to the show. Not only a late comer but a late comer that needed to piggy back on the success of others. No one remembered how I had once led this parade. When I say it made me sad, I really mean it.

For a year or more, I only went through the motions. I saw no results from my work. I bounced from one project to the other, hoping the next one would be the magic formula to bring back my former glory. Didn't happen. Then, I decided to take Mr. D's advice & listen to things I was telling women in my Bible Study, especially when it came to listening to God's words & focusing on His vision for my work.

So, I needed to go into the closet. No, that's not an expression. Our home is light & bright with an open floor plan. When I need to pray hard & focus on the answers, I take a chair into our walk-in closet. I sat in the dark & prayed hard. And then I shut up so I could hear what God had to say to me. It was very simple & so obvious I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it.

But enough for now. In my next post, I'll share the answer God gave me as I sat in the dark closet & what that means for me & Mr. D in 2017!