As Is

I am a bargain shopper. Always have been. I love a good deal. My first direction in a store is to the clearance rack or bargain table. In my life time I have found some jaw dropping deals. Every once in awhile I find an item with an "as is" tag on it. Usually the item is defective in some way. Perhaps there is a chip, a snag, a hole, a crack, or a piece missing. Upon extreme examination and much deliberation I determine if I can repair the damaged item for good use. When an item has the "as is" tag on it, the item cannot be returned for any reason. Once I pay for my bargain, it's mine whether or not I can repair or use it. Looking at the first chapter of Ephesians I see how I once was on a bargain table. I was cracked, chipped, full of snags and holes. I had succumbed to the harshness of life and been discarded as one damaged item. Yet God in His goodness and grace picked up this human being that had no value in human eyes and saw a finished product. He paid a high price for someone of so little value. In a plan that took place long before my birth,only He knew my value. He counted the cost and sent His Son to pay for my redemption. He washed me in the blood of Christ and sealed me with His Holy Spirit. I cannot be returned to the bargain table. I am a trophy of His grace. He didn't purchase me only to realize later I should just be thrown in the junk closet. He doesn't kick Himself for purchasing one that is "unfixable." He has a purpose and plan for my life and it is good. I can't see the end results of my journey but He does. God delights in me as His good deal. This overwhelms my soul!

The Work of His Work

The power of God's Word can settle your heart like a summer breeze. God's Word can also grab hold of your whole being and stop you in your tracks. You can't run from it or stop it from echoing in your heart and mind. You can rip a page out of your Bible if you don't like the content. Yet, if the Author wants to speak to you, the torn out page will keep haunting your spirit like the whistle of a train long after it's passing. We've all had a passage that has taken us captive and set us free, or taken us captive into deep conviction. The average man cannot understand the power of God's Word as it works on a man's heart. The believer can only react to or refuse the work of the Word. Ephesians 1:11 says that God works all things according to the counsel of His will. The word "work" here comes from the word "energeo." Do you see energy in that root source? Break this down into a simple concept. God is the source of energy that put the world into motion. He's the same Source that created us human beings. And this same God is the One who energizes us to work out what He works within. The power of the Word being worked in us and through us is the Author, the Creator, the Energizer. Do you and I have any responsibility? Sure we do! We don't run from God, His Word, or the works He has planned for us before time. Yes, we can ignore, rip out, or refuse to be or fulfill His "energeo." The choice is before us. Will you and I be the work of His work?

On the Right Side

News headlines often capture the worst side of mankind. One that broke my heart this week was about a man leaving a stadium who was beaten to a pulp. Why? He was wearing a jersey supporting the team he was rooting for. Fans from the opposing team didn't like his choice of teams nor his wardrobe. Their solution was to almost kill the guy. I shake my head and wonder what causes evil to prevail in the heart of man. I just can't understand why someone roots for evil. I pity the parent who has family members playing on opposing teams. To sit in a stadium and try rooting for someone on the other side would cause utter chaos and most likely end up with blood splattering everywhere. Perhaps cheering from a distance would be the best case scenario here.

Last night I watched a movie about a child whose parents were murdered in front of her by a mob. She devoted the rest of her life to hunting the mobsters down and killing each one of them with brutal methods. While I thought what she was doing was wrong I found myself rooting for her to get the creeps who had caused so much pain to her as an innocent child. For a moment I got caught up in blurring right from wrong. The ends justifies the means is the world's mantra. I forgot my side of the stadium is for peace and a justice that does not belong in my hands. I had quickly switched allegiances and joined forces with the evil side. A gentle nudge reminded me that I needed to keep my mind from evil lest I act out on my thoughts.

In the fourth chapter of 1 Chronicles, the man Jabez prayed and asked God to keep him from evil and to not cause pain to himself or God. Every day I wake up I pray that prayer. I do not want to be an "pain spreader." I do not want to be on evil's side of the stadium rooting for victory. Like Jabez I want to pray against spreading evil and pain. This requires daily surrendering my thoughts and words to the only One who can keep me on the right side. So today, I surrender to Him.

2011 Newsletter

Isaiah 6 Ministries Newsletter
A Mooring for the Moorings
A hardbound dictionary will never go out of date for me. I love pulling the one off my desk to either look up an unfamiliar word or to see how Mr. Webster defined a familiar term. This year I looked up our last name- mooring. It comes from the root word moor. Some of the definitions for moor are - to secure a boat by mooring: ANCHOR; to be made fast.
2011 was a defining year of the mooring to the Mooring’s. 2010 had been a year of some deep highs and lows. Our hopes for 2011 had been for a smoother sailing kind of journey. God had different plans for us.
In the Spring, Mark’s dad took a turn for the worse. After a month long hospital stay he finally went to be with His Savior. In July my body started producing strange lumps and painful extremities. I saw just about every kind of specialist, had MRI’s and CT scans, and donated most of the blood in my body for research. The culprit was a herniated disc pressing on the spinal cord thus causing extremity problems. Physio- therapy has helped immensely. In August we received a new granddaughter, Joy Canaan Overholser.(She lives up to her name bringing much awaited joy.) October brought Mark a new awakening. No job is permanent. He was downsized after 17 years with AIG.
So what has been the mooring for the Mooring’s? Our God. He is an anchor for our souls, our minds, our bodies. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Oh how I want to be preserved blameless! I want the God of peace to be our peace. Job or jobless I want my peace to remain in Him. In life and death and birth and health I want the Prince of Peace to be our mooring.
I have had some ministry changes. I stepped down from teaching my ladies Sunday school class in March. I am now working in a young singles class. I serve as a mentor to the young women who desire an “older woman” to disciple them. At 55, I guess I am truly an older woman, though I still feel very young at heart! I had many speaking engagements over the Spring months and some in the Fall. My heart’s desire still burns to teach women the Word of God as their anchor, their mooring. 2012 already has some filled up dates with several pending. This excites me as I study and prepare. I am also working on a new study on the heart, mind, and MOUTH connection. As I look up verses I see my need to be careful with my mouth, my lips, my words. My desire is to teach believers how to edify one another and glorify God with what pours out. I am still needing God’s help and grace in this area of my life. Please pray for me as I finish this assignment God gave me awhile back.
Please pray for Mark and I as we decide what to do with our lives and ministries. We are at pivotal places in how we spend the second half of our journeys. Through it all we want to be obedient and honorable as kingdom builders. We pray the same for you with love!

Sole Survivor

About 15 years ago I participated in a "Right to Life" march. This event took place in the latter part of January.The weather that day was below freezing. In fact, the weather prior to the march had hovered around the freezing point all week long. I bundled up to stay nice and toasty, to keep from becoming a popsicle before the day was over. Unfortunately, I put fashion before reason with my shoe choice. Flat leather Keds were quite the rage of the times. So.... that is what I wore. I thought thick socks would keep my feet from getting cold. Wrong! Oh so wrong! The march lasted for hours and miles (or so it seemed.) About half way through the day, the soles of my feet were numb. I picked up my legs and hoped the appendages were still attached. If a lead ball had been dropped on my feet I would not have noticed. Thoughts of frostbite and amputation raced through my mind. Yet when the day was over the soles of my feet had carried me to march for a cause I believed in. Down in my soul there was peace. I stood up ( marched) for what I believed to be right. Before night fell both my soles and my soul were warm.
Listen to what Luke 1:78-79 says. "Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
I pray my soul's desire be for the soles of my feet to be guided in the way of peace.

The Destination

If you own a GPS (global positioning system) you have experienced a love/ hate relationship with an inanimate object. You rely on a device to direct you to a necessary address. In full confidence you proceed in obedience to a voice you have no idea how it is generated. You trust in something which you do not have a relationship with. The relationship with your plastic/metal object is purely conditional. If it steers you correctly you love it and cherish it. If it lands you at the wrong place you get angry. You feel defeated at being lost with no clue as to how to get where you need to be. You may toss it in the back seat or possibly out the window! Perhaps like me your device has told you that you have arrived at your destination. You look out your car window to see an abandoned building or a dead end road. The "voice" keeps repeating, "You have arrived at your destination." You know you are lost.
We humans have the tendency to rely on the wrong voices to steer us where we think we need to be. Perhaps family, friends, or even a spouse can tell us we need to head in various directions that do not take us where we truly need to be. So where do we go when the voices of so many sound right? Where do we turn when an inner voice tells us to go a particular way but the popular vote tells us to go down another path?
Those who listen for directions from heaven won't get lost by this world's distractions. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us and they are good. Proverbs 3:5-6 says that when we trust God and acknowledge His ways, He will direct our paths. Isaiah 30:21, "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
The voice you and I need to heed is God's. The directions and destination may be unfamiliar but they lead us to the exact spot we need to be. Obey the One who's voice that is never wrong!

Shattered Pieces

Have you ever dropped a glass that seemed to shatter in a million pieces? You sweep endlessly thinking the floor is clear. Then a small piece in a corner reflects the light shining on it. Out comes the broom once more. Absentmindedly you walk barefoot across the floor and a shard of glass penetrates your foot. You wonder how such a small fragment could cause that much pain and even blood.
Note the similarity between a crystal goblet and stream of words. Both can enhance the beauty of time spent around the dining table. An empty goblet may be worth much by book value but at a table the glass is worthless without contents to enjoy. Empty words are like that, a wind without end. In Scripture Job spoke to his friends who had given him both useless and hurtful counsel. He admonished them by saying, "Shall words of wind have an end?" (Job 16:3) Long winded speeches often leave the recipient dry, like an empty goblet. However, a goblet filled with strong drink can pack a powerful punch. So can words. Listen to Job in verse 4 of the same chapter. "I could heap up words against you." Translation - I could knock you out with painful words just as strong drink knocks a person out.
In Job 19:2 he questions his counseling friends, "How long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words?"(Painful words that cut like glass. Words that leave a heart broken and bloody.) Job's friends had words that affected him like shattered pieces of glass. Their words hurt.
Our words can easily hurt as well. A bride-to-be carefully selects goblets for her wedding registry. Our words should be chosen as carefully. Words can be useful gifts or leave others empty and dry. Worst of all we can shatter people with words. Proverbs 25:11 states, " A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver."