Growing in Grace

As we look back on 2011, we are reminded of the many ways the Lord has blessed us this year. January began with Dennis recovering from the radiation/chemotherapy treatment he had done through the months of November and December. We were overjoyed when the results of his ultrasound showed that his tumor had not simply shrunk, but was gone! During the month of February and the beginning of March, Dennis completed six weeks of chemotherapy. This was much less intense as it only involved two trips to UCI every-other-week instead of the five a week we previously did. Dennis tolerated the chemotherapy quite well; another of God‘s gifts. He experienced numbness in his fingers and toes, loss of appetite and fatigue; but his nausea was relieved with medication and he lost very little of his hair. We were able to enjoy a day at Legoland as a family several days before Dennis’ surgery in April. The surgery went well and biopsies revealed no cancer! We once again were so thankful for the Lord’s in

I had the opportunity to attend our church’s women’s conference today. It was a really nice time to be away from the responsibility of home, to sit at the feet of the Lord in worship, hear the Word of God and visit with my very good friend at lunch. The theme of the conference was “Follow Me” based on the Scripture Luke 9:23 which reads, “Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Sandy MacIntosh was the first speaker. She talked about the three parts to this verse. First, is the denial of self. She pointed out that it is a choice. The verse says “IF anyone would come after me”. We must choose to give up our way for His will in our life. Her second point was that we are to take up our cross daily. The verb is in the continual form. It is not a once and for all action. She shared a story from A.W. Tozer. He had said that in every heart there is a throne and a cross. We remain on the throne until we put

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 John was born for the soul purpose of preparing the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was pressed about who he was, he did not give a direct answer. He only told who he was not. Warren Wiersbe points out that “John had nothing to say about himself because he was sent to talk about Jesus. Jesus is the Word; John was but a voice.” Like John, we are chosen by God and God is writing our life story even now. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We can ask the Lord to help us fulfill our calling. Once Jesus came on the scene, John began to acknowledge Jesus’ ministry. In verse 29 of chapter 1, John says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”. The Bible speaks of Jesus Christ as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (R

Dennis and I read this devotion the other night in Oswald Chamber's book "My Utmost for His Highest". God's Purpose or Mine? He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side. . . Mark 6:45 We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to the great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God's purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself. What is my vision of God's purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithf

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Jesus, was there in the beginning. He who came to earth in the flesh existed before anything else (John 1:1). Christ is eternal God. He not only created life, but He is life. People either love the light or they love the darkness. This love controls their actions . I love the light (Christ) and desire to follow Him in all my ways in all my days. John was sent as a witness to Christ. The Jewish nation rejected Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Christ. (John 14:6). Anyone who receives Christ will be born again and enter the family of God. Jesus is the source of all life: physical, spiritual and eternal . I desire to reflect the light of Jesus and be a witness of Him and His work in my life to this dark world. Christ took on human form and identified with us in every way, but yet, He revealed God&

"We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety." 2 Corinthians 1:8b-11 (NLT) "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3 This time of year brings a lot of emo

July 30, 2011 It’s been a while since I shared an update on Dennis. He has had three of his four chemotherapy treatments and is scheduled for his fourth and FINAL one next Wednesday, August 3. The following Tuesday, August 9, he will have his porta-cath removed (this is how they have administered his chemotherapy). "The light at the end of the tunnel" is getting brighter! Dennis has done okay with treatment. The first one was especially hard on him, he felt pretty bad for 5-6 days following the infusion. The next two were a bit easier. Dennis ended up feeling okay on Thursday and Friday after infusion, but by the weekend he felt pretty crummy. His symptoms included an upset stomach, no appetite, tingling in his fingers and toes, altered taste, and sensitivity to cold both in liquids and touch. It’s very hard to get up and go in the morning of treatment knowing he is going to feel bad for the next 5 days. Although he knows this is the last one, he is still not looking forw

This past week I served at VBS. It was a great week with a wonderful emphasis on the Word of God and its place in our lives. It was easy to get up early and go to church everyday because there was a feeling that what I was doing was important; I was serving the Lord; sharing in His work with my church family; seeing the kids enjoy themselves and many giving their hearts to the Lord. Then the "mountain top" experience is over and I find myself at home with dishes, laundry, and "stuff" to deal with. It's easy to look at these things as dull and non-important. But then I remember that caring for my family and home is just as important -maybe even more important - than serving at VBS. I recalled reading this in my study on "A Life of Worship" and it was a good reminder to do whatever is in front of me at the moment with my whole heart. We all know there are things in life that have to be done, no matter how dull or unpleasant they might be. Those who ca

". . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling. . ." Ephesians 1:18 Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way. You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must "work out your own salvation" which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it "out"? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you. God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly - "By my God I can leap over a wall" (Psalm 18:29). God

Dennis and I have been reading through Oswald Chamber's book "My Utmost for His Highest". We have found a lot of encouraging and thought provoking devotions. This one particularly spoke to us as we have faced our own "boisterous wind and high waves". The reason we have been able to endure it all is because we have continued to recognize Jesus and to trust Him with our circumstances. . . . Peter. . . walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. . . Matthew 14:29-30 The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn’t see them at first. He didn’t consider them at all, he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and “walked on the water.” Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went. Why couldn’t our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them? He could have, yet neither could be

I'm watching an old Dr. Quinn episode. The story is about the town thinking that a comet is going to crash to earth and wipe them all out. It shows how people respond to the thought of the end of the world. Some turn to alcohol; one spends her life savings on China; another quits working; a couple wants to get married; one builds a shelter; the young people see it as license to do whatever they want; the reverend cancels school and opens the church for everyone to come for confession and counsel; the doctor carries on as usual and her beau tries to encourage her to live life every day in the moment. There is discussion about what will happen after they die. One woman trusts that when she dies, she and her husband will be in heaven. He doesn't see that as enough of a comfort and begins to have a heart attack. The young people talk about all they won't be able to do here on earth and the misinformation they have "heard" about heaven - like they will look differe

John 5:24 reads, ". . . whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. . . " Salvation. A free gift from God. When we hear the Truth and believe it, we receive the gift of salvation. While this in itself is awesome, there is so much more. I have often heard of the Christian walk being compared to that of a developing child. When someone first comes to the Lord we call him a "baby Christian". He has much to learn about Christ. But the more a person hears teaching on the Bible, reads the Word of God on his own, and enjoys fellowship with other believers, the more he matures in his walk. As his knowledge grows, his relationship with God grows and he develops into a mature believer. This is the goal anyway. But every so often a person who is born again may only remain in the infant stage of his development, or as Dennis heard it called - he is like a stillborn baby - accepting Christ as Savior, and maybe even attending church regularly and perh

I recently read the book "Jesus Freaks: Martyrs" by dc Talk and the group Voice of the Martyrs. It has been very humbling to read about the faith of so many who have suffered great persecution and even death because of their faith in Christ. Even in the face of great physical pain to themselves and often their family - these believers stood their ground and refused to deny their Savior. A story I read that stood out to me was about Pastor Florescu. He was imprisoned in Romania in the 1960’s. He was arrested by the Communists and tortured in the hopes that he would give the names of other believers. He continually refused to give the names of his fellow Christian brothers and sisters. Then they did the unthinkable and brought in his 14-year-old son and began to whip him. The father watched until the writer says “the poor man was half crazy. He bore it as long as he could. But when he could stand it no more, he cried to his son, ‘Alexander, I must say what they want! I can’t

Last summer I began working through a Women of Faith study entitled "A Life of Worship". It proved to be very timely as many of the things I was learning really helped me in the early days of Dennis' cancer diagnosis. I recently revisited the study and wrote out some notes from each chapter. I really wanted to wrap my mind around the concepts. Patsy Clairmont wrote on p. 91 "I know I want to be more than I am today. That means I'll have to use my time wisely, invest myself discerningly, and savor the flavor of every delicious moment assigned to me." These words offer a plan for fulfilling the desire of my heart . . . to lead a life of worship. What were we made for? The answer is a life of worship. “Worshipping in all the moments of our lives changes us because we move from trying to be perfect to resting in the perfect will of a God who loves us passionately.” (Sheila Walsh) God has created us to bring glory, honor and praise to Him. “To glorify somethi