Beauty From Ashes By Dawn V. Cahill

My friend, Dawn V. Cahill, is our guest blogger today and I'm thrilled (and honored) to have her. When I attended my first writing conference last year, she was the first person to greet me. She turned around in the lunch line, noticed my name tag, and said, "Wow. I read your blog." I was utterly amazed and we became instant friends. She gave me the tremendous gift of validation as a writer and I will never forget that moment. You'll enjoy this sweet devotion. Even if you aren't a single mom, you've experienced hurt and barrenness in your life. This will be an encouragement. Be sure to share some love with Dawn and check out her author links below.

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Beauty From Ashes - A Devotion for Single Moms

Isaiah is one of my favorite Bible books. It may seem stuffy and archaic to some, but to me, it magnifies the glory of God. Certain sections in the last third of the book get delightfully apocalyptic in a Back to the Future sort of way. It reminds me of Daniel. Or Revelation.

Tucked inside all this rich, end-times prose, you'll find this jewel:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

(Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)

If you're a solo mama, you probably know a lot more about ashes than you do about beauty, and mourning than joy, heaviness than praise. But how comforting to know the Lord promises to console those who mourn. Like those of us who mourn the loss of a marriage.

Stability. 

Companionship.

Do you see anything missing in the passage? What about God's promise to take away my troubles and give me everything I ask Him for? You mean it's not there?

So much for health, wealth, and prosperity.

I keep having to come back to this verse every time I start thinking I don't deserve my lot in life. Railing at God for the trials he's forcing me to endure.

But, if I didn't mourn, how would I ever know His sweet comfort?

If I didn't know ashes, how could I know His beauty?

Comfort is much sweeter in the valley than on the mountaintop.

You may be skeptical that God could make anything beautiful from your trials, but I have a real-life, visual example of God's handiwork for you. Check out these two photos:

Before:

After:

Most people aren't familiar with the name Mt. Mazama. But if you say Crater Lake, most folks recognize the name of Oregon's National Park, tucked into the Cascade Range in Oregon. Six thousand years ago, Mt. Mazama blew its top (above) and, over the years, transformed into the beautiful jewel you see below. Don't you think Mt. Mazama is even more beautiful as a crater than she must have been 6,000 years ago as a mountain?

Isn't it amazing how God can take a barren wreck and turn it into a work of art?

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#DawnVCahill #beautyfromashes #hope

The Blessing of Family

I intended to write about David and Absalom today. The topics of true repentance and restoration were on my mind but, when I opened my laptop, all I could think about was what happened last night.

I'm working hard, writing non-stop. I'm doing a lot of caregiving. I'm tired. But a break is 24-hours away. I can make it until then. That's what I've been telling myself for the past two weeks.

Last night, the Wednesday night Bible study, as usual, ended with us dividing into groups to pray for the people on our prayer list and for each other. 

"Pray for each other. If you have a need, share it," Pastor Scooter said.

I was afraid I'd start crying if I tried to share my burden, so I intended to keep silent. I knew I needed prayer, but my pride nearly kept me from speaking up. When no one else was quick to share their burden, I finally said, "I'm going out of town for the weekend and I'm worried about Sam." We've prayed for Sam before, so it was no surprise.

When it was my turn to pray, I got out a few words and what I'd feared the most happened. "I don't know what to do, Lord," was as far as I got. Tears started streaming down my face and I couldn't get them to stop. I cried and cried and cried. I was mortified, but I couldn't help the tears.

Caregiving is the most precious act of love you can give, but it's emotionally exhausting. I know about exhaustion and I know about needing a break, but I couldn't see how to take one. 

I was just holding on.

When the amen came, I was still wiping tears. I apologized profusely and the young man who led our group said, "We're family here. It's okay. I'm going to pray for you and your Sam. When are you leaving and when are you coming back?" I told him and he made a note. When he said he'd pray, he wasn't kidding.

A young woman in our group handed me a slip of paper. "My husband's aunt loves to help in this kind of situation. Her husband died of Alzheimer's. Here's her number." 

A friend in the group gave me a hug. She had tears in her eyes, too. "I always cry with people."

No one was over-solicitous. They accepted my pain and did what they could to help. They spoke hope into my situation. They cared.

The circumstances didn't change, but my heart did.

I left church last night strengthened and empowered to go a little further. To love a little more. To hope a little longer.

It would be nice to have a bucket of strength, but I received exactly as much as I needed. The strength for one more day.

I'm probably not the only one who's walking a hard road. I'm not the only one who's teetered on the edge of exhaustion. If you're on this road, don't let pride hold you back from the help and support the family of God longs to offer.

If you're not on this road, look for the ones who are loving so hard, and offer an encouraging word, a bit of help, but most important of all, don't forget to pray them through.

We're family, and that's what family is for. Last night, I was reminded of that all over again. 

I experienced the body of Christ in action, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.

"Bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." 

Galatians 6:2 nasb

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I'll schedule the guest blogs later today, but I won't be blogging myself again until Monday. (Be sure to read what our guests have written) God has given me the beautiful gift of a weekend off. For the first time since 9/23/2015. It's long overdue.

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I'm the featured guest on Whispers in Purple today. Check it out! (http://wp.me/p5BLdw-SE)

If you missed yesterday's blogs, here are the links:

Delayed Consequences and the Price of Sin (http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/delayed-consequences-and-price-of-sin.html)

How Will We Respond to God? Fear or Faith? (http://ow.ly/ZoHTe)

#bodyofChrist #burdenbearer #Christian

Guest appearance

Good news! I was interviewed by my friend and fellow writer Peggy Blann Phifer as guest author for her blog, Whispers in Purple. Check it out. Here's the link. http://wp.me/p5BLdw-SE

Delayed Consequences and the Price of Sin

The Chronological Bible reading this morning was the story of the rape of Tamar and the subsequent destruction that followed. As I read it, I considered writing about pulling weeds in my garden instead. (Yes. My own weeds were out of control. It took lots of weeding to get rid of them.) Weeds could symbolize the sin in our hearts. Pulling them out could symbolize repentance. It would work, I thought.

Pulling the weeds of sin out of our hearts is critical, because sin left to fester leads to action, often with catastrophic results.

David "took" Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. He let unbridled desire drive his actions. Lust turned to adultery which led to murder. 

As one of the consequences of his sin, Nathan brought a pronouncement from God. Evil would come against David from within his own house. The sword would never leave his house. 

Perhaps David was like a lot of us. Time went by. Nothing happened. He probably thought he'd gotten away unscathed, or relatively so. 

When he least expected it, his world began to unravel. It seemed as if a runaway freight train of disaster was barreling through his family.

David had a beautiful daughter named Tamar and a lust-filled son (Tamar's half-brother) named Amnon, who desired her. There were legal ways he could have had her as his life-long wife, but that was not what he wanted. He didn't want a delay or a commitment. He wanted desire fulfilled and nothing more.

Amnon tricked David into allowing Tamar to come to his house. He made an opportunity to get her alone, raped her, sent her out in disgrace, and refused to accept his responsibility to her.

Whether David saw Amnon's actions as similar to his own in taking Bathsheba is not known. David was "very angry" but he did nothing. 

Absalom was Tamar's brother. He was in a rage, too, and he would not be denied of his revenge. He took Tamar into his home and plotted vengeance. 

Two years went past. Amnon probably thought he had gotten away with his sin. Seemingly out of the blue, Absalom's plot unfolded. He killed Amnon with all David's other sons looking on. Absalom went a long way before reaping his own consequences for his actions. 

Newton's third low of motion says, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." In a way, we could make a similar law about sin. Amnon's lust and sin triggered an equally intense hate and sin in Absalom. His sin triggered equally intense reaction in Joab.

Every sin has a consequence, and it is not usually one we like. That could be a law of sin-motion, too.

My grandmother used to say, "Your sin will find you out." I'm not sure about that wording, but even forgiven sin has a price.

This morning, I'm remembering the hours I spent weeding my garden yesterday and wishing David had pulled the weed of sin out of his heart before he took Bathsheba. Wishing Amnon had pulled the weed of lust out of his heart before he raped Tamar. Wishing Absalom had pulled the sin of hate out of his heart before he murdered Amnon. On and on.

But what about the weeds of sin in my heart? In your heart? Our sin, if left unchecked, will lead to action. That sin-action will lead to consequences, all too often in the lives of our children. 

My own sin has left more than enough destruction behind. Hasn't yours? Let's take a close look at our hearts today and ask God to help us remove every weed of sin that's growing there, before they bring forth costly action.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 nasb

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In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: Safest in the Battle. (http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/04/safest-in-battle.html)

There is still time to join the Hosea Bible study. The assignment this week is to read the intro (found at http://lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com) and read quickly through the book of Hosea for an overview. The first weekly lesson will be posted on the new blog site on May 1. It's deep. It's intense. It's worth it.

#consequences #sinhasaprice #disciple

Safest in the Battle

2 Samuel 11:1 is one of those verses that make me cringe every time I read it. It foreshadows a terrible catastrophe. I read the words, "Then it happened in the spring..." this morning and prayed, "Lord, I'm not sure I can stand to read this story again." But I did.

You know the story. It was springtime. The skies were the bluest ever. The temperature was perfectly comfortable. Flowers were blooming. Steps were quickened. Hearts were full of joy. Just like the spring we're having now.

It was also the time when kings and their armies go to battle.

That particular spring, David decided to stay home in Jerusalem and send Joab and the army to battle without him. 

David, however, was a warrior and warriors are born for battle.

I don't know why David decided not to go with the army. Maybe he thought he was getting older. Maybe he was tired of the hardship and privation of battle. Maybe he thought he was too valuable to the nation to put himself at risk. 

One thing I do know. It's not likely that David asked God about staying home.

David's downfall with Bathsheba didn't begin on the rooftop. It began in the council room when he decided not to do what God had created him to do. It began when he relinquished his God-given battle authority to Joab.

Nothing good came of it.

There's so much more that can (and probably will) be said about this passage, but for today, let's focus on one fact.

For God's warrior, the safest place to be is in the midst of battle. 

The battleground is not free of danger, but the palace is full of temptation and snares, as David soon found. There's danger at every turn.

There are things worse than death. Had David died on the battlefield, it would have been an honorable death in defense of his nation. 

Instead, he stayed home and dishonored one of his most loyal servants, Uriah. He committed adultery and murder. Innocent men died. His infant child died. A cascade of destruction began in his family that could not be stopped. 

The fallout from that one decision to stay home in the spring was immense.

When we decide to "take a pass" on doing the work God has called us to do, we set ourselves up for trouble. For temptation. For failure.

Some years ago, I was in the midst of a very tough time. It was a battle for me. I was asked to take a position as chairperson of a 3-day prayer room. It was a serious battle position that would require months of preparation, incredible sacrifice, and focus on the lives of the people for whom I was to pray. It was a sweet job, but a hard job.

I didn't want to do it. I was tired. I felt defeated already. I didn't think I could bear to do another hard thing.

I said no.

I still thank God that the one in charge wouldn't take no for an answer. "All I want you to do is ask God. Don't decide for yourself." It was wise counsel. 

That's what I did. I surrendered my will, my fatigue, and my hurt, and chose a willingness to do whatever God desired. 

He sent me to the prayer room, and I went.

It was one of the sweetest sacrifices I've ever made. 

Warriors are born for battle. Not for staying home and licking their wounds.

Today, let's look at the work God has called us to do as a place of protection, a safe harbor that keeps us away from the opportunity to make terrible decisions. No matter our age or physical capacity, God has work for us to do in the Kingdom. Time is short, and we must be about His business.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23 niv

#work #warriorsarebornforbattle #GoodTuesday

When Our Enemies Flee

The king of the Ammonites had died. David sent a delegation of men to the funeral because the king had previously done a kindness for him. The advisors of the deceased king's son accused the men of being spies. 

The son believe the lies and treated David's men badly. He cut their clothes off short and cut their beards. It was disgraceful conduct. David was, needless to say, upset.

The Ammonites took it one step further. Since David was so upset, they decided to attack him before he could attack them. They hired extra soldiers and gathered outside the gate of Jerusalem. 

If I were going to do what they did, I'd never have gathered to attack in the first place, but there's no accounting for some people's choices.

With multiple armies outside the gates, David sent his army out, too. The hired Arameans saw the army and fled. The Ammonites saw the Arameans running, so they fled, too. 

That fleeing seemed remarkable to me, so I checked the Hebrew. Newc is the word translated as "fled" and it does, indeed, mean they turned and ran.

As I've read through the exploits of the armies of Israel recently, I've been surprised by how often the army showed up to do battle only to have their opponent flee.

In 2 Samuel 5, the Philistines heard the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees and fled. I read that and wondered what kind of army they thought marched in trees instead of on the ground.

In 2 Kings 7, the same thing happened. The Aramean army showed up, but left in the middle of the night because they heard the marching of a mighty army.

I wonder how different this nation would be if we understood that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) 

How often would the enemy of our soul flee before us if we simply showed up for battle, dressed in our full suit of armor, instead of cowering before him? 

I can't even remember what the project was now, but there was so much resistance that a friend said, "God must be planning to do something or the enemy wouldn't be trying so hard to stop it. What are you going to do?" 

"I'm gonna do exactly what God told me to do. Why waste all this warfare?"

Resistance from the enemy is not the time to stop. It's the time to press in, work harder at righteousness. It's the time to rejoice, because he knows his kingdom is in danger.

Just as a review, let's look at the spiritual armor we have available:

Girdle of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Boots of preparation of the gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God

The only offensive weapon we have is the Word of God, but we can't wield the weapon if we don't know the Word. That's why in-depth, dig-it-out-for-yourself Bible study is so critically important. It plants truth deep in our hearts so we'll have it when we need it.

It's important to realize that neither indignation nor outrage are part of our spiritual armament. Those emotions may be popular today, but, if I read Scripture correctly, they are useless against the evil one.

Today, let's stop cowering before the enemy and his minions. Let's put on our battle gear and stand, with all the love of Christ in our hearts, before our enemies.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength; And your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27 nasb

"Our battle is not against flesh and blood..." Ephesians 6:12 nasb

#spiritualwarfare #MondayMeditation #armyofGod

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In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: A Heart Like King David's

A Heart Like King David's

Yesterday, I wrote about David's mighty men of valor from Zebulun and their undivided heart. The issue of an undivided heart has been on my mind ever since, so I thought we'd look at David's heart today.

You probably remember the story from 1 Chronicles 17 of David's desire to build God a house. (Leanna Paraphrase coming up) "That's an admirable thought, David, but I don't need you to build Me a house. Instead, I'll build you a house. A house of descendants that will never end. A throne and kingdom that last forever." 

David was speechless for a few minutes.

"I brought you out of the fields and made you the man you are, David. I've put you in this place."

Finally, David sat before the Lord and worshipped. "Who am I, God, that you would bother with me at all?"

Even when David was king, he remembered the fields. He remembered his days as a shepherd boy. Even when he was old, David was a shepherd at heart. Did he make terrible mistakes? Yes. He did. We all do. He made mistakes and he suffered for them, but he always found his way back to his Heavenly Father.

David understood who he was (and who he was not) in relation to the awesomeness of Almighty God. 

He understood who God was, too, and he loved Him.

David wanted to do something huge for God, build a temple of gold for Him. 

What he didn't quite see was that sitting before God in worship and humility WAS something huge. 

Giving God credit for all He did WAS something huge.

Shepherding His people with God's own heart WAS something huge.

Following God into battle against His enemies, when he was a poet at heart, WAS something huge.

Loving Him without reservation, dancing before Him in the street without self-consciousness, WAS something huge.

David loved the Lord His God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength and it was huge. All-consuming. 

He fought for the Lord and His people and wrote poems and songs while he did it. His was a heart that worshipped all the time. 

His mind was set on God.

How do we have a David heart? We do what David did. When he took spoils of gold and silver and bronze, he dedicated it to the Lord. David had a house of cedar. The gold he collected was for God's house.

He didn't allow his eyes to linger on the riches of this world. Instead, he put them on God alone. 

If we put our eyes on God alone, if we focus on seeing people and things the way God sees them, treating them like He says, we'll begin to have a heart like David's. 

An undivided heart.

And that's the best heart of all.

Today, let's take our eyes off the things of this world and focus them on God. We sang this song by Helen Lemmel (1922) when I was a child, and the words are still true today. 

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face;

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim 

in the light of his glory and grace." 

(Helen Lemmel 1922 -public domain)

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In case you missed the post yesterday, here's the link: Zebulun's Undivided Heart Helped Change a Nation

And here's the link to an indepth look at loving with our whole heart: Loving with our whole hearts
#undividedheart #goodSunday #kingdavid