Category: Faith

“I’ll Pray For You.”

Published on by farmerswifesouthernlife2 Comments

Bible over Facebook

Today as I walked down the hall of my church carrying my sick baby I got a sign from God.  I know what you’re thinking…here’s some Jesus freak that is trying to make sense of a crazy world.  Well yes and no.  Did I see a burning bush?  Nope.  Did I hear angels singing?  Not really – even though I did love the worship music this morning as I was getting settled into my pew!  The sign was much more simplistic folks.

My daughter, Ruby, has had a rough time lately trying to fight off an upper-respiratory infection even with multiple rounds of antibiotics that just don’t seem to be working on her little four month-old body.  Today among the typical “Good Morning” greetings a friend asked, “How’s Miss Ruby doing this morning?” About that time a sweet gentleman walked up and heard my reply, “Not so good…y’all pray for her please.”  What happened next has been on my mind ever since.

There in the middle of the crowded hallway he stopped and asked if we could pray right then for her little body to get well.  For a moment it caught me off guard.  I thought, “Here…right this second, with a buzz of folks around us and blocking traffic?”  Five of us bowed our heads and he said a simple, but beautiful prayer for my precious little girl and I immediately felt more calm and encouraged.

As 2017 comes to a close and we look forward to what 2018 may bring, I’ve been reflecting heavily lately on the changes I’d like to see in my life.  I’d love to have a more organized home and more balance in my life.  I’ve got big plans to finally drop ALL my baby weight accumulated through now two kiddos!  But the most important resolution I have for 2018 is to get back to the basics…the basics of praying as Jesus taught us with sincerity and never ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

How many times have you seen on social media someone asking for prayer?  If you live in the Bible Belt like I do it’s seen daily I’m sure.  How do you respond?  Are you like me and leave comments like “praying for you”, or “you’re in my thoughts and prayers.”?  I was discussing this with a friend the other day, and we concluded that it has basically become one of those auto responses we say so quickly without really stopping to fully think about our answer, nor actually delivering the prayer.

Maybe its just that our good intentions are quickly railroaded by the next post of a funny meme or new album uploaded by a friend.

Is it just me, and I am the only one that needs a huge kick in the rear end for not dedicating the time and attention to doing one of the most important aspects of being a follower of Christ?  If that is the case, everyone reading this is my accountability partner in 2018.

If I am to model my life after Him, I can take a few lessons from the pages of the Bible and see that Jesus gives plenty of examples showing the importance of a dedicated and intentional prayer time. In Luke chapters five and six we see that Jesus would withdraw away often to privately pray in nature.  In Matthew chapter four, we read He spent 40 days isolated in the wilderness being tested by Satan.  No doubt as he fasted he prayed for a focused mind and strength.  Maybe it’s not a coincidence then that psychologists say research suggests it takes 40 days to form a habit?

Maybe we can start a revolution than instead of a resolution?  Maybe we can change the world to be a better place through the simple but important act of praying.  A place where there is more joy and less sadness and anger.  I’m not in a political position where I can change laws and I don’t own a huge company that can donate millions to charities, but I CAN take the lesson from Jesus asking his closest friends to join him in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew: 26:36), and lean on the fact that the Bible tells us God hears every prayer.  The thing is – we’ve got to first SAY it.

Looking back, for the first few years of my marriage my husband and I didn’t pray out loud together much at all.  When we made the decision to make that a priority in our lives it was awkward at first.  I’m embarrassed to say I was even a little uncomfortable to pray in public at restaurants.  Even when praying in the private of our home, I felt vulnerable to voice my thoughts out loud for my husband to even hear.  But, just like with a lot of other things in life the more you do something the easier it tends to become.  Now everything feels “off” if we don’t first say grace around the table.  Bedtime prayers have evolved as a time to reflect on the day, give thanks, and put into perspective the next day.  I’m also amazed and humbled at the sweetest prayers children can whisper!

As a side note there are no magical words and sometimes I don’t know what to pray.  In those times I’ve found comfort in saying just that.  “God, I’m not sure what to pray for right now but I do know that you are in control and you are the ultimate healer and you know what is best for us.  Please send just that and help me to have clarity and comfort in all things.  May my every thought, word, and action be pleasing to you.  Amen.”

So…I invite you to search your heart and join me in finding a way to become more intentional and dedicated to prayer in 2018. Maybe that means:

  • You focus on talking to God while taking a shower or driving to work
  • Start a habit of intentionally praying for first responders and the victims when you hear emergency sirens
  • Attend more actual church services to pray together corporately with other believers
  • Talk to Him while doing outside chores like mowing the lawn
  • Make it a goal to memorize the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13) as a family
  • Send random prayer texts to people in your life that you know need to read them as encouragement
  • You start a prayer journal
  • Pause to whisper a prayer for wisdom and peace when dealing with a tough situation before speaking
  • When someone requests prayer, stop right then and send that prayer up on their behalf!

I needed that reminder this morning as we prayed in the hallway that God is great all the time and there is no better time than NOW to talk to him.  Praying is our way of communicating with God and just like in marriage, good communication is key! I know I’ve got room for improvement in 2018 and I’m just one person – but God is mighty and he can do great things!

“Lord I pray you open my eyes to opportunities to share the Gospel with others.  And when those opportunities are presented, Lord please give me the courage and boldness to speak.  Amen.”

 

Life Lessons Learned from Loretta Lynn

Published on by farmerswifesouthernlife2 Comments

The circle of life can be a tough concept to grasp.  I thought I had it all figured out until one Saturday night last March.  In the middle of shooting a photography session, I got the text I had been waiting for.  It was lambing season and we were anxiously watching a ewe that we knew was very close to going into labor.  I hurried to our school barn and arrived within two minutes of the first lamb being born…it had taken well over an hour of active pushing to deliver.  Clearly the mother ewe was having a hard labor but took the time to clean off the newborn and bond with her for a few moments.  We realized however that there were twins and the second lamb was beginning to show.   We quickly assisted the weary ewe and were relieved when the second lamb had arrived!

But this time it was different.

No licking.  No typical “mothering” noises.  No nudging.  There she laid with steam coming off her in the crisp air with no interest whatsoever from her mother.  It was as if she didn’t even exist.  In the dozens and dozens of births I have assisted with in my life I had never witnessed this harsh of a reaction.

As the shepherds on duty we sprung into action.  Experience had taught us that the pitiful coughing we heard meant the lamb was alive but in distress and needed help.  We grabbed old towels and t-shirts to use to rub the baby dry and get circulation going.  We ensured the nasal passages were clear.  We went to inspect the umbilical cord and dip it in iodine and noticed it looked a little abnormal.

Still struggling to breathe we went to plan B.  We began a modified “lamb CPR”.  What did we have to lose?

I understand life and death.  I teach my students that it in the animal world it is survival of the fittest.  Sometimes mothers sense there is something wrong with a baby and make the choice to reject one to focus attention on another baby to increase chances of either surviving.  I’ve seen that play out more than once but for some unknown reason this particular evening we didn’t want to see this little ewe leave us just yet.

The next few days were touch and go for this little gal.  We tube fed her every couple of hours and made her bed in a box resting on a heating pad.  My teaching partner decided she needed extra TLC  more than once and let her snuggle with her on the couch! Spoiled rotten!

loretta-in-box
Early days in her heated box.  Before she had the strength to stand.

Slowly we saw improvement.  Slowly. 

For every step forward it seemed we were two steps back.  Every professional we sought advice from seemed to think she had very little chance of survival.  Yet we kept plugging along.  She seemed to have a spirit of a fighter unlike anything I had ever witnessed.

Our barn has a tradition of naming all new animals each year around a theme.  We’ve used presidents, flowers, and Disney characters in the past but for 2016 we chose “Famous Musicians”.  Sitting outside the barn two days after her birth we watched her attempt to take her first few steps into the warm sunlight.  We named her Loretta Lynn thinking that sounded like a strong name for a lamb who had lots of obstacles and challenges!  If the coal miner’s daughter could make it so could this little lamb who looked like she was covered in soot!

loretta-in-dog-bed
Yes.  Loretta took over the dog bed and made her home in my powder room.  My husband has lots of patience with me when I bring animals home!

Over that first week we begged, we pleaded with all the other momma ewes to adopt Loretta as their own but it failed miserably.  It was as if the whole herd of animals knew something she and her adult caretakers did not.  We continued to bottle feed her around the clock.  Students took on the responsibilities of milking out extra milk from the lactating ewes and setting up a calendar of who carried Loretta home each night to keep up the feedings.

feeding-loretta-bottle
Once she finally learned to suckle she was hooked!

I began wondering what her purpose was.  She couldn’t be a show animal, nor large enough to breed, or sell to the market.  Were we going to all this trouble with no clear plan in the end? She seemed to know we were working hard to care for her and her affection for us began to grow as she did not like to be more than a few feet away.  We noticed her knack for bringing huge smiles to even the biggest Grinch. Maybe that was why she was still here?

loretta-in-backseat
Ready for the ride home for the weekend shift.

I began to compile a list of lessons learned from Loretta Lynn:

  • Sometimes things will get worse before they get better.  Just hang on! When Loretta began to have seizures from low blood sugar we just knew her hours were numbered.  I was shocked when my teaching partner text the next morning that she had made it through the night.  She then endured two umbilical cord infections that required additional special treatment. Looking back what if we had just given up?  What sweet joy my daughter (and the rest of us) would have missed?
  • Children really do follow the example set by their parents.  Make it a good one!  It was as if we were watching the real “Rudolf” story line play out in our barn!  We knew Loretta needed to learn to be a sheep – and act like a sheep – and those were things we as humans could not teach her.  Once she had enough strength and the weather turned warmer we began to leave her with the rest of the newborns and their mothers in group housing.  Loretta was relentless in her quest to play with the others.  She yearned desperately to be accepted.  The mother ewes were so cruel.  They didn’t want her anywhere near them, and their actions were loud and clear. We set up a creep feeder in hopes that Loretta could successfully mingle with the other young lambs, but they too had learned from watching their moms and became bullies. It was heartbreaking to watch.  I learned a hard lesson.  We’re not very different in some ways from the livestock in the barn.  That same event plays out over and over in our own society too.  I made many mental notes to be mindful of the actions my daughter witnessed in my presence, for they surely would repeat themselves.
  • Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!  It was a struggle, but Loretta made it to the “Super Bowl” of livestock shows in North Carolina – the State Fair!  My daughter had created a special bond with Loretta and knowing she would be too small for a high schooler to exhibit, it was an ideal pair.  Her lack of colostrum and eating challenges had stunted her growth.  It allowed her to be more susceptible to parasites that we had to actively manage…unless you knew her story you’d have thought, “why did you even bring such a lamb to this show?”  But to many who knew her story she was a star – and happy and healthy even though she would never win a blue ribbon…but guess what?  She didn’t place last!

    loretta-state-fair
    Ready for the show at the NC State Fair in October!
  • God can use anything and anybody – even a misfit lamb – to bring others closer to him.  What amazing opportunities this little lamb has had to connect and reach out to us in her short life.  She loved on hundreds of children at our Harvest Festival.  She won tons of cheers from the crowd as our FFA “Princess” during the Homecoming parade. Most recently, she assisted a local pastor with a sermon during the Christmas season!  Through all the ups and downs she has had more of a positive impact and taught us more than any other livestock animal I have ever owned.  I want to be just like her!  Shouldn’t we strive to seek out people and make them smile?  Make them feel loved?

God used this discarded, unwanted, pitiful runt of an animal to remind me how he responds to each of us.  And how he can use any one of us.

This year, while observing the flock (it’s super peaceful and relaxing to me to just watch them eat) I’d find myself quoting the 23 Psalm many times over.

Harvest Festival Fun!
Our “princess” in the Homecoming Parace
Actually went on stage in church as part of Christmas service!

Psalm 23

The Good Shepherd

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff — they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.

Loretta has earned a permanent home in our FFA program.  She is hands-down the friendliest and most gentle door greeter and mascot I could ever dream up.  She captured our hearts and won us over with her determination and goofy personality…and taught us some valuable life lessons along the journey.

Watch out world, who knows what Loretta Lynn will do in 2017!

riding-shotgun

 

loretta-silouhette

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Blessed Assurance

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Before Christmas I sat on a pew in my church and listened as two visiting missionaries lead us through a training to help equip us with tools to share our story and the Gospel of Jesus with others. At the conclusion of the evening Keith and Talia Comer challenged those in attendance to share our story of faith with someone in the next two weeks (Check out their work at http://www.goandshine.org/).  I thought that was simple enough but I was SO wrong.  I spent the next week driving to work with their words echoing in my mind trying to make sense of how I could summarize my story to someone in just a few minutes.  That week lead to the business of planning a birthday party and then the holidays…and the challenge quickly faded into the background.  On New Years Day basking in the popular theme of making resolutions, I took a hard look at my life and decided that I needed to make some priority changes and start putting my energy into things that matter the most.  I tried to map out in my mind how I could make small changes to work up to a “new and improved” 2.0 version of myself and the testimony challenge once again resurfaced in my thoughts.

If I am going to start a blog I cannot think of a more fitting topic to introduce myself than that of my testimony. If I haven’t bored you by now or maybe you’re a little curious let me introduce you to #thisismystory.  I pray that He will strengthen me and you through this blog and that others may see His perfect and abundant love for all of us.  It is scary to put yourself out there but the greatest reward is not of earthly things.  So on this Easter Eve, here it goes…

Looking back over the course of my life it is now clearer the older I get that God truly is in control. There is no way I accidentally fell into places at the perfect time to just “happen” across people and situations that could shape my life into the beautiful mess that it is today.  He has a plan.  A perfect plan – that even when we think our world is falling apart and there is no saving it…there is light at the end of the tunnel if we trust in his promises.  God’s love is always enough no matter the circumstances if we will humble ourselves to “let go and let God”.

My sophomore year of high school I hopped on a bus with my best friend and headed with her youth group to Panthers Stadium in Charlotte, NC for a Billy Graham Crusade.  In typical teenage fashion hardly any of the teens on board had paid any attention to the weather but as we headed down I-85 the black clouds were swirling and rain began pounding the windows about the time the stadium came into sight.  It didn’t let up all through the musicians sets with everyone drenched and hovering under trash bags ripped in half as makeshift shelters.  We bought newspapers to spread out in layers on our laps to try to absorb some of the water.  My mind was nowhere near focusing on what the speakers had to say, however when Billy Graham stepped on stage and prayed for God to hold off the rain long enough for him to deliver his message…and the rain ceased…it caught my attention.  I held on to his every word forgetting my friends around me and when he asked us to look into our hearts and surrender to Jesus I did just that.  It is one of those moments that echo in my mind quite often.  Even now, I can close my eyes and picture that day and hear his voice like it was yesterday.  Click here to see a summary of this crusade and others: http://billygrahamlibrary.org/crusade-city-spotlight-charlotte-nc/

I don’t think for me it was this earth-shattering moment that I just by chance got on that church bus that day though. The seed had been planted from the time I was a little child attending church weekly.  I grew up with strong religious role models on both sides of my family so “God” was not a new concept.  I remember feeling excited to get to ride home from church with my grandparents for a weekly family meal when I was a young girl.  My grandfather, a pastor, would be in deep conversation with my grandmother about his sermon and the issues and concerns of the church.  They had no idea that little girl in the back seat was listening very closely and taking notes.  I try to be mindful of that today when my husband and I are in conversation while traveling.  Every now and then when I think my daughter is busy looking out the window she will surprise us by adding something to our “adult” conversation.  It is never too early to introduce big concepts to our little ones.  I believe they are capable of understanding more than we sometimes acknowledge.

grandpa baptising

My grandfather baptising my mother when she was a child.

College days can be challenging for even the most stable and level-headed of young adults. For me it was a time of true independence to stretch my legs and dream of the impossible and try out new adventures.  I’ve always had a flair for new places and new experiences and college didn’t disappoint.  Fortunately for me, I was grounded in a strong conscience of “doing what was right, even if no one was looking” due in part to positive role models in my life.  So while I clearly wasn’t perfect, I had God’s grace and mercy that I know protected me through some times that looking back I did not make the smartest of decisions.  That freshman spring break trip to Miami Beach…what was I thinking?  The 10-hour lone trek to Kentucky to visit a friend without any directions (GPS didn’t really exist then…we had printed Mapquest at best) was not intelligent in any way, just to name a few examples.  In all those life experiences God was there and through chalk invites on a brickyard and a big sis in my sorority I came to become a part of Campus Crusade for Christ Reynolds Coliseumwhere fellowship among similar individuals kept me accountable.  I became more aware of my need to spend time studying the Bible to grow closer to Him.  There was one particular Crusade night held in the historic Reynolds Coliseum that again is one of those “moments” for me.  It was right before Easter and our speaker was using the movie The Green Mile as a comparison to Jesus’ life.  It was phenomenal discussion and I will never forget hearing for the first time the song  “Thief” by Third Day .  To this day it is one of my absolute favorites…even though it’s quite a tough song to process as it is written from the standpoint of the thief that was on the cross next to Jesus.

College days had passed and I found myself engaged to a handsome young man (the same “farmer” who inspired the name of this blog) who had my same outlook on life. I had been given an awesome job opportunity to start a program at a new high school from scratch.  Ambitious and full of energy I set out on what would become a kamikaze mission of building a strong program at all personal costs.  I had my priorities set on professional gain without putting much attention into anything else in my life including my spiritual walk and working on a strong foundation for my marriage.  After two years the newlywed phase had clearly wore off and the strain of my husband and I lacking the right priorities in our lives had taken their toll.  We found ourselves searching for answers that could only be found if we laid all our troubles, and hurts, and angry words, and mistakes at the feet of the only one who loves perfectly.  A decade later we look back on that time with sadness but also thanksgiving that we were able to humble ourselves and “let go and let God” rebuild what is the most sacred of relationships ever commissioned by God – marriage (Matthew 19:6).  I can’t imagine my life without him, nor do I ever want to.  What blessings we would have missed if we had taken a worldly approach and went our separate ways.

We had happiness in that we were finally focused on leading God-centered lives and were excited to start growing our family beyond our furry friends.  While in college a botched appendectomy and adhesions had wrecked havoc on my ability to start a family.  We were sent into yet another tailspin when after yet another surgery I was told our only chance at having biological children was through procedures such as IVF.   The next few years brought a whole new series of heartache.  Conversation surrounding infertility tends to make people feel uncomfortable and the result is a deafening silence. Unless you’ve been through it it’s hard to fully understand.  The treatments aren’t covered typically by insurance and the costs can add up to amounts that could easily purchase a car.  The long processes are painful physically, emotionally, mentally, and for me even spiritually as we were faced with decisions that challenged beliefs at our core.  All in all we went through the IVF process three times and I wonder often how differently my life could have been.  I still cry for the babies we lost but God is the great healer and comforter and just when I think I am in the depths of once again a pity party a loving friend happens along to give a hug or the perfect song comes on the radio (most recently is  Lauren Daigle’s Trust in You).  During our first IVFSun Stand Still cycle our pastor encouraged me to read Steven Furtick’s book Sun Stand Still.  Though nothing can compare with the scripture straight from the Bible, in those moments God used this book to help me understand the power and might that He holds and that He is still in the business of miracles.  Now, when I look at my daughter I am humbled daily that God entrusted us to be her parents, and it empowers me to work even harder to show him praise and honor for that privilege.

Growing up one of my favorite church hymns was “Blessed Assurance”.  I love the lyrics:

Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchased of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Last Sunday my pastor’s sermon was encouraging us to not be afraid in sharing our faith as missionaries in our everyday lives.  It stepped on my toes a bit.  We’re so quick to fire off our love and support for a sports team, comment on the latest #trending event, or even speak out in our strong opinions of political debates (I am guilty of EVERY one of these).  Why is it then that we find it so challenging to speak out boldly on our faith for God…the one who on this day (Good Friday) died publicly for my sins, so that I could be saved and one day join him in Heaven?  For the unbeliever this may sound like nonsense but I assure you that my life is full of so much joy even on my worst days because of his amazing love.  I pray that if you are reading this and you haven’t had any “moments” in your life where you felt this blanket of assurance and comfort…that you seek out a church that uses the Bible as their foundation this Sunday morning and attend.  Take an hour of your day…if for no other reason but out of curiosity and attend a worship service.  It’s not scary.  People won’t look at you strange (and if they do it’s THEIR problem, not yours).  I can’t think of a better day to attend church than on the day Christians celebrate when Jesus was resurrected from the tomb!

He-is-risen-wallpaper.jpg

I leave you with this. I hope you have found through my transparency a nugget of commonality that somehow may enrich your life and be encouragement to keep moving forward to seek God’s plan – no matter where you may be in life.  I fail daily and reguarly borrow a line from another favorite song written by Matthew West, “He’s not finished with me yet” and neither is he finished with you!  There’s a magnet on my fridge that summarizes my thoughts today.  It reads, “God sees us as we can be, but loves us as we are.”  Amen!

#thisismystory. I’d love to hear yours!