The Results Are In

Well ~ election day is over and we have a new president-elect. Wow! The intensity of this election is like nothing I remember for previous ones. I'm glad it is over. Passions were/are high, I heard we had record voter turn-out, and the process we believe in worked. But our responsibilities for this election are not complete. A couple of things spring immediately to mind.

1. Phil. 4:8 "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~ think about such things."

2. Our nation and this new administration need our prayers ~ now more than ever.

Our God is still on the throne. Read Daniel chapter 4. God has a plan. It is He who sets up kings and takes them down ~ for His own purposes, which we can't fully know or understand, because His ways are sooooooo high above our ways.

Daniel 4:3 says, "How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation."

Daniel 4:17b says, "The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and He gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men."

As far as God is concerned, nothing has changed. He has a plan. And nothing takes Him by surprise ~ He knows the end from the beginning. His purposes will be served. No election of man can ever change that truth. I pray we all can rest in the eternal truths of God's word, and remember Phil. 4:8. No matter what changes we see taking place all around us, remember that God's word is true, and He never changes, never slumbers, never makes mistakes, never lies, and never leaves us.

Praise be to the Name of the LORD!

By God's oh-so-amazing grace,

The Rewritten Princess

Go to this website to join thousands of others (including myself) for 77 days of prayer for the new administration which will be sworn in 77 days from now.

Vote on Nov 4

I wish everyone would vote. I believe it is a right, a privilege, and an obligation. I was surprised to hear my 21 year old say recently that he didn't think he was going to vote. I absolutely can't understand this mindset. I am very passionate about voting ~ about being informed and having an opinion and casting a vote. He said he feels he doesn't have enough information to vote in good conscience. WHAT?! Okay ~ if voting is important (and it is) it should not be viewed as being optional. And if voting is not optional, then you have to take the time to become informed. I do agree you should not vote without knowing who or what to vote for ~ it shouldn't be like a pop quiz where the answers don't really matter. There are many, many ways to become informed, and it's not that difficult. And it's not like the election comes up unexpectedly ~ we have plenty of warning and plenty of time to prepare ourselves. One way to become informed is to check out the non-partisan voters' guides put out by focusvoter.com. They get the voting records of the candidates, they find out what organizations support each candidate, they get the actual wording of the proposals, they ask ALL the candidates the same questions and post their answers, and they put it all out there in one convenient location so it is quick and easy to learn a great deal. It is true there are no perfect candidates, but there are not perfect voters either. We just need to take it seriously enough to get involved and to vote.

My husband pointed out to me the other day that in Michigan, where we have the worst economy of the whole nation, and where our economy was a disaster long before the nation's economy took a down-turn, many people blame it all on Bush and the Republicans; and yet, we have Democratic Governor Granholm, Democrat Carl Levin, Democrat Debbie Stabenow ~ all career politicians in office here for many a year. Why are they not held responsible? And as for the nation, we have had a Democrat-controlled congress for how long? And apart from making excuses and blaming everything on Bush, what else have they done? But... those who have not taken the time to be informed are susceptible to being led around and manipulated by the liberal, "Democrat" media who certainly are not informing people of the truth about our candidates, our proposals, our economic condition and its causes, or our future. And we blame those the media says to blame, and we re-elect the ones who are actually responsible.

Be informed, vote, and then, no matter the outcome of the election, remember that God is not up for re-election. He can't be voted out. He always has been on the throne, and He always will be. And His ways are perfect, His word is true, He is just and faithful and merciful and eternal. Kings and kingdoms rise and fall, but one thing never changes ~ Almighty God. Our leaders can worship Him or deny Him, they can seek Him or ignore Him, they can trust Him or try to forget about Him, but that never changes eternal, absolute truth. God IS.

God and Life's Trials

I think my favorite verse of scripture will always be Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." It was a high school girl who showed me this verse when we were together on a short-term missions trip to Russia about 15 or so years ago. I couldn't believe that verse had been there all along, and I had never noticed it before. It has come back to me over and over again and always brings me peace and comfort. We do live in a fallen world, a world at war ~ and I don't mean the war you can see with physical eyes. We live in the midst of a very brutal war raging all around us ~ a war for the souls of man. But ~ here are some things I know to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8 (NLT)

I will provide their needs before they ask.  I will help them while they are still asking for help. Isaiah 65:24 (NLT)

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:13 (NIV)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46: 1 (NIV)

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.   My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63: 7-8 (NIV)

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 (NIV)

I could go on and on listing the powerful words of God. Did you know that the phrase translated "almighty God" in scripture, in the original language actually means "God of angel armies"? The God of angel armies goes before us, leads those armies in battles on our behalf, and tells us not to worry about a thing!

A good friend of mine underwent very serious brain surgery yesterday. The words of the doctors leading up to the surgery were not encouraging. The tumor was large; it was located in a very dangerous place; they advised her to get her affairs in order, maybe go do something she had always wanted to do. But this woman of God had such complete trust in the love and care of her Savior that she had no fears, no doubts, no regrets. Not because she believed that because God loved her she would not have to go through it, or even that because He loved her he would see that she came through the way she wanted to... She was at peace because she fully trusted that, whatever the outcome, He was in control, His ways are perfect and beyond our understanding, and He has a plan which includes ALL the details of her life.

The doctors and nurses were all astounded at her level of peace, even as the time got closer and closer, and even as they came to wheel her down the hall into surgery.

She did come out of the surgery fine. The tumor appears to be benign. "Coincidentally" there were no blood vessels or arteries feeding the tumor. "Coincidentally" there was a sheath between the tumor and the nerves in that part of her brain, so there was no nerve damage. She is now in recovery and we continue to pray for her and her husband and four young children. 

God is in control. And who, by their worry, can add one hour to their life? Isn't it better to allow the God who created the universe to be in control in our lives. Now He has the power to do what needs to be done ~ not you, not I ~ He alone has that power. And He loves you and offers you perfect peace.

My Lover

John Wesley was thirty-five when he experienced the  “warming” of his heart toward Christ (not his mind but his heart). In that moment he became not only a "Christian," but a lover of God.  There really is a difference. According to author John Eldredge, it was shortly after this that Wesley penned the hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” whose first verse goes like this: “Jesus, Lover of my soul/Let me to thy bosom fly.” John Eldredge says that down through the years the hymn has left many a hymnologist searching for a more acceptable translation. “The difficulty,” as John Julian said, “is the term Lover as applied to our Lord.” Revisions now in hymnbooks read, “Jesus, Savior of my soul” or, “Jesus, Refuge of my soul,” which are touching but nothing close to what Wesley meant. He meant Lover. This is a phrase that has always deeply stirred me ~ "Jesus, Lover of my soul." I often repeat it to myself, in good times and bad ~ it has a very powerful impact on me.

The idea that “reason and knowledge are everything” has permeated all of our culture, sometimes subtly, and sometimes not so subtle. It has even permeated our churches, which is very sad. I believe Jesus was a man of great passion. I believe He passionately sought to save us from our sin so we could be with Him for all eternity. WOW!

David, who wrote many of the Psalms, wrote with passion about God's love. The poetry that flowed from his heart is filled with unapologetic emotion toward God. He speaks of drinking from God’s “river of delights” (Ps. 36:8 NIV), how his Lover has filled his heart “with greater joy” (4:7 NIV) than all the wealth other men have found, and he writes in many places how his heart sings to God. He cries through the night, aches to be with God. “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” (16:11 NIV). "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God." (42:1–2 NIV) These are not the words of "reason and knowledge". These are not the words of even your average pastor. For David (and for me), God’s love “is better than life” (63:3 NIV). David is captivated by the Beauty he finds in God. On and on it goes. The man is undone. He is as smitten as any lover might be, only his lover is God. Read the Psalms for yourself. Look for the passion in David's words. And do you think Jesus would have endured the agonizing torture and death before and on the cross for anything less than passion? Or for that matter, leave His throne in Heaven for anything less than passion? I think the term "lover of my soul" is already inadequate to capture the power and intensity of God's great love for each one of us.

As John Eldredge says, "It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God." Ask God to awaken the passion of your heart toward Him. He will take you on an amazing journey of discovery. And you'll never want to go back.

Grief

Grief is part of the healing process.  For me, I had to grieve the fact that I did not have the family I had always longed for growing up.  I grieved that I did not grow up being the apple of my daddy's eye, that I was not unconditionally loved, that I never really got to be a "little girl." Grieving the loss helped me to let it go, but I didn't want to get stuck in my grief. And I didn't want to get stuck in anger or bitterness. I can now rejoice in the blessings of today.  I can't change the past, but I chose not to let it ruin my present or my future. And I certainly don't want history to repeat itself in my kids and grandkids. When we don't deal with past hurts, we usually go on to hurt the people we love most, consciuosly or unconsciously. Perhaps you need to grieve the losses in your life. Here are a few to consider:

• Loss of innocence
• Loss of a nurturing family
• Loss of security
• Loss of a close relationship with your mother
• Loss of a healthy relationship with your father
• Loss of trust
• Loss of employment
• Loss of a marriage
• Loss of a spouse
• Loss of a child
• Loss of a friendship
• Loss of hope

God's resurrection power is more than sufficient to resurrect hope in you again. Allow His love to resurrect and re-write your soul. Take the time necessary to really heal. He has come to give you LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE.

Walking With God

I have been so incredibly blessed. Here is a quote from the book Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge. "Hopefully you will find a few folks who walk with God to also walk with you through the seasons of your life. But honesty – and Scripture – forces me to admit they are a rare breed. Few there are who find it. All the more reason for you to make the number less scarce, by becoming someone who walks with God and teaches others how." I have a number of very close Christian friends, friends who do walk closely with God, friends who have stood by my side through some really terrible times. These are friends I could call at any hour of the day or night and they would be right there to comfort and support me. And I would do the same for them. And I am married to an amazing man. His unconditional love never ceases to amaze me, and often brings tears to my eyes. I sometimes watch others struggle in relationships. I see families who live their days screaming and yelling at each other and their kids, sometimes coming to blows, and I remember what it was like growing up in that kind of environment, and I wonder why people CHOOSE to live like that. Can they really not see there is a better way? I remember as a child deciding I would never get married, because I never wanted to live the way my family lived, I never wanted to be treated the way my mother was treated by her husbands. I thought being alone was the only way to be happy. I was wrong. God created us for relationships. And when those relationships are conducted according to God's perfect plan, there is no greater blessing. Friendship, marriage, family ~ these were all created and designed by God to bless us. The enemy twists and perverts everything if we let him. So it is really a choice between blessing and curse. My mother chose the curse ~ and I can't imagine any greater pain. I chose the blessing ~ and I never could have imagined how great the wonder, the joy, the peace. God is good and awesome, powerful and amazing. I have been richly blessed beyond my wildest dreams. (That doesn't mean that any of us are perfect, or that there are never times of tension or struggle, but with God's guidance and strength, we work through those times.) And I take nothing for granted.

Honesty, Humility, and Friendship

Well, I had an old lesson reinforced the last couple of days. Friendship is a very precious thing. It is worth fighting for. Lasting friendship takes work, but it is well worth the effort. Even the closest of friends are going to have differences, or times they get under each other's skins, even times they get so angry they don't like each other very much. But if we let that be the end, the enemy wins. 

I have had to learn over the last few years to be angry, believe it or not. My childhood was such that anger was an emotion I cut off and separated myself from for survival. And when I learned that anger can be a good thing (what a shock that was), I tried to let it in, but I was afraid it would choke me, overwhelm me, take over. It didn't. But I still keep a wary eye on it. 

Anyhow, what I have learned about friendship is this: it always pays to be (tenderly) honest; anger can be a good thing; issues should always be dealt with pretty quickly; and a little (or a lot) of humility goes a very looooooong way. Never make decisions while you are angry. Anger taints everything.

When I get hurt or angry, I have a tendency to see everything from only my point of view. I feel it is so unfair, so unjust, my motives were so pure, the other person is behaving out of line. But I have found, for me, that it is best to sort of step back, take a deep breath, and humbly ask God to show me what my part in the fracture is, and what He would want me to do at this point. 

God usually tenderly, but firmly, shows me how I am not as innocent as I would like to believe. And so far He always asks me to take the first step in mending the broken relationship. Usually I find that, after honest discussion with soft voices, issues are not only worked out, but the friendship grows stronger than ever before.

When this happens, everybody wins. Well... everybody except the devil. He loses. Big time! Unity is restored, fellowship is rich, and a rift in the body of Christ is healed. Yes ~ friendships are worth working on and fighting for ~ even when it forces us to take a hard look at ourselves and swallow a large dose of humility.

By God's oh-so-amazing grace!

Rewritten Princess

Forgiveness

Paul warns us that unforgiveness and bitterness can wreck our lives and the lives of others (Eph. 4:31; Heb. 12:15). As someone has said, forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and then discovering the prisoner was you. I used to think forgiveness came easy for me, I didn't feel I harbored any anger or bitterness over my childhood abuse. It took quite a bit of counseling to realize that I hadn't really forgiven, I had simply split from my emotions so effectively that I didn't "feel" the anger and bitterness that I had hidden deeply away below the surface. But even though "anger and bitterness" were hidden and buried, they still had a very powerful impact on my daily life, and on the people around me. I first had to believe that I had not deserved all that happened to me, none of it was my fault. As I began to look at myself as a normal, lovable child with value, then look at what my abusers did to that small child, slowly the anger began to surface. This was a necessary step. I was terrified that the anger would overwhelm me, so it took a while for me to let go and trust God to walk with me through it, but God was so patient and tender. The anger surfaced, and there was a lot of it, and I had to keep letting it come until God seemed to say "enough." He even had to identify for me all the people I was angry with, which meant bringing up more memories I hadn't thought about for many years. In the end, choosing to forgive, acknowledging the truth of what I had suffered, made the forgiveness real, not cheap. It also wasn't easy ~ it had to be a process of letting go over time. Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling, but an act of the will. As Neil Anderson wrote, “Don’t wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving; you will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made.” I had to acknowledge that it did hurt, it did matter, and I didn't deserve any of it. I think the reason I feel so free and at peace today is because of this step of forgiveness. I found that I had to forgive more than I at first realized. And then I had to deal with anger I felt for God that I hadn't recognized before. I would never want to walk through it all again, but it has been more than worth it to be where I am today. I have learned much about letting go of control, about trusting God. Still more to learn, but I am not who I used to be. I am a new creation. God is more amazing than I ever could have imagined or appreciated before. My heart is so much more capable of receiving the love he has lavished and is lavishing on me. I can't get enough of him. I just want to soak him in like a sponge. If you struggle with forgiveness, I pray you can also come to this place of peace on the other side. God is so very, very faithful.

Christian Love

Question: When we show love to someone who is living in sin or has committed an obvious sin, are we condoning their sin? (Let me preface my remarks with this: I know that because of my abused background and the commitment I made with myself as a small child that I would never treat anyone else that way, I tend to lean heavily toward grace and I may get a bit out of balance in that direction. Balance is always the key, I think, even with grace, but "tough love" is a concept that completely escapes me.)

I am speaking of those who know right and wrong or some sense of it. I feel that what a person in sin needs to know is that their sin is not a reason to be unloved, or unaccepted ~ by me, by God, or by the church. (Now, I do know that there is such a thing as evil ~ there are evil people. And that is a different story. An evil person has a black heart, does what he does deliberately, with no thought of right or wrong, just twisted personal pleasure at someone else's expense. No conscience. No repentence. God may not have given up on them, but they scare me, so I try to stay away.) Most people don’t need people to shun them so they know they have sinned. They are very away of their sin, and they pretty much expect to be shunned in the church, and this ought NOT to be the case. It is so true that “they will know we are Christians by our LOVE,” and they will desire to know the Jesus we know. Not by our judgmental attitudes. Not by our well-placed words of reminder to let them know our disapproval.

Please permit me to tell you a story about when I got saved. My best friend at school invited me to a revival meeting at her church when I was 14. If you’ve heard anything about my testimony, you know that I was not a happy child, did not come from a good home at all. My extremely abusive stepfather had passed away recently. So I went to the revival and I was blown away by the message. I had never really heard about Jesus before. I had heard OF him, but not about his love or grace, or how he died for me… I started crying some time during the service, and by the time it was over I was sobbing my eyes out. Maybe you can imagine how love-starved I had been my entire life, so the words of God’s love were more than my young heart could stand. My friend offered to go to the altar with me as they played “Just As I Am.” When they prayed with me I continued crying, but it felt like an amazing weight had been lifted from me. I was more excited than I had ever been about anything. (I remember it all like it was yesterday.)

Over the next several weeks, I continued going to church with her and coming home all excited, telling my mom and my two brothers all about this Jesus. My mom had had an even worse life than my own, and as an adult had been married many times at this point. She had divorced the first several extremely abusive husbands, given up 3 children for adoption, was now trying to hang onto the 3 kids she currently had, and had just buried her latest abusive husband. My mom and both brothers agreed to come to church with me one Sunday, all three of them were picking up my excitement. They dressed up in the best they had and we all went off to church. I couldn’t wait to introduce my family to the church members and the pastor. Well, when the time came, every single one of them made sure my mom and my brothers (1960s rebellious long-haired boys) knew that they didn’t “condone” their lifestyles. I couldn’t believe it. I cried all the way home. I never did get my brothers back to church after that. After several weeks I did get my mom to come to church with me one more time. The reception was the same. She never came back again. A few years ago, shortly before my mom died, she let me know that she had accepted Jesus into her heart. Those were 3 souls that were ripe for the harvest that Sunday years ago, and I believe Satan used GOD’S PEOPLE to place a major stumbling block in their paths. The picture of my mother’s face that first morning in church will stay with me forever. She already knew shame, she already felt unloved and unlovable ~ she really didn’t need to be reminded of any of it. This picture always comes back to me when I am tempted to be unloving toward another sinner. Generations of family history could have been broken that Sunday morning. Who knows how things might have been different had God’s people LOVED my family that morning, and introduced them to the God who, “because of his great love for us…made us alive with Christ even when we were DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS.” God ~ who is rich in mercy!!

None of us are perfect. But most of us are doing the best we can under whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We as Christians are instructed by God only to LOVE the unlovely, the sinner. Love them into the church. Not by “condoning” their sin, but by showing them that “while they were yet sinners, Christ died for them.” They are not unlovely, unlovable, untouchable, unacceptable, shameful, or trash. They are sinners who need to know they can be saved by Grace. They need to know of God's great mercy, forgiveness, faithfulness, unending and unconditional love. And they are very precious to my Savior, who even now is interceding on their behalf at the right hand of God Almighty.

When we reach out as missionaries, are we condoning sin? When we invite our neighbors to church or show kindness to a stranger, are we condoning sin? When we give out groceries from the pantry, or help a new mom with baby formula and diapers…? When we tell someone Jesus loves them just as they are…? There is a quote in a book we have been studying in Sunday school from “Philo of Alexandria.” It says “Be kind, for everyone you know is facing a great battle.” I find this very helpful in reminding me to be compassionate to all people at all times ~ we have no idea what each person is going through or struggling with, or how God himself may be dealing with them. But we can always be kind and encouraging ~ I try to be the one who “makes their day.” There is too much else out there that adds to our struggles.

I would truly love to hear feedback. I know there is right and wrong. I guess I just feel it is God's right to deal with those areas of our lives after we have come to Him. It is not my place to play the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others, Christian or not, and try to convict them of their sin. That is not to say that loving everyone is easy for me ~ far from it. (And some are harder than others, as you can imagine from what you know of my background.) Nor am I one who NEVER judges. I have not arrived at perfection, nor will I this side of heaven. These are just my thoughts.