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A Loyal Soldier of Jesus Christ

This past Wednesday morning Andy, Emilee and I had the privilege of attending a Marine Corp graduation ceremony at Parris Island in South Carolina. I cannot begin to tell you all the emotions that I experienced while there. As we sat in the stands and the recruits began marching onto the field in front of us, the announcer began to congratulate them for all the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges they had faced over the past 12 weeks. As I listened, I found myself thinking, "I want to be a part of something bigger than myself like that...I want to be a part of a group that has overcome many obstacles to wear a uniform like that and have everyone know without a shadow of a doubt that I belong to that group!" Even as I was thinking all of those thoughts, the Lord reminded me that I am already a part of something bigger than myself. I am a part of the army of God and indeed I do have a uniform! He has clearly given us all a uniform in Ephesians where Paul describes each piece of the armor that we are all to wear every day of our lives. We are always in a battle and we have every piece of equipment that we will need to win the fight!

But, the most awesome and promising reminder for me was this....I can't even begin to comprehend how challenging those 12 weeks were. I can't imagine how many times one of those soldiers tripped, fell down, cried out, felt despair, or wanted to turn back. However, as they marched onto the field, and as the announcer was congratulating them, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, in front of you are 442 success stories!!" That statement sent chills down my spine and has stayed with me all week. He didn't even mention the mistakes, the falls or the struggles! As Christians, we have tripped, fallen down, cried out, and felt despair. However, when we are faithful to Him no matter how tough this boot camp we call life gets, in the end we will be a success story and we will hear Him say, "Well done!"

So, this experience has caused me to ask myself some pretty pointed questions. Am I following the orders of my commanding officer to the degree that those young men and women did? Am I as proud of who I represent as they are? Am I walking out my beliefs and love for the Lord in such a way that there is not a doubt in other's minds WHO I belong to and WHO I represent? This quote that I read yesterday says it so well, "I want to be one of those rare Christians whose very presence incites others to also be better Christians!" (Tozer).

I challenge you to ask yourself the same questions. What an incredible, "in-my-face" reminder of all that Christ has called me to be as part of His kingdom. 2 Timothy 2:1-4 says it this way, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs - he wants to please his commanding officer!" WOW! May it be said of each of us! That we live only to please our Commanding Officer and one day be counted as a success story!

A DAILY DELIVERANCE

Our pastor pointed out a scripture Sunday from the Amplified Bible that is powerful. Romans 5:10 says, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion ) through His (resurrection) life." The message of that verse holds such hope!! Your salvation is a daily deliverance from sin's dominion! What are you struggling with right now? Are you saved? Well, here is awesome news! Your salvation is working in you a daily deliverance from that struggle! The love that caused Christ to die is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us every day. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that saved you and is available to you in your daily life! Just think, you have a reserve of power to call on each day, for help to meet every challenge you have.

God uses the strangest things to illustrate principles to me. The other day I was outside and the polaris kept getting stuck on the ladder and I kept going over and moving it off and into the pool. After several times I was frustrated and on the way to it, I said to Emilee exactly what the Holy Spirit was saying to me. "There is a whole pool out there and you just want to keep getting stuck on the ladder. It's the same with us when we just keep returning to that same sin, or that same struggle when God has given us so much freedom on the other side." WOW! Isn't it true? Why do we do that? He tells us right there in Romans that He has already done everything it takes to be delivered on a daily basis from sin's dominion. He also promises us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that, "No temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin, no matter how it comes or where it leads) has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man. But God is faithful (to His Word and to His compassionate nature), and He (can be trusted) not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will (always) also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently." (AMPLIFIED) What a word!

I am praying this over you today! You can know that you do not have to fall into the traps that satan has set for you! He will and He HAS ALREADY planned a way out for you, a landing place (don't you just love that?) Picture yourself in a plane (a situation or a struggle) with no place to land and just at the moment that you think you are going to crash and your end has come, you see a landing place! WOW! I love that picture. I will leave you with this wonderful promise: "The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my DELIVERER; my God is my Rock, in Whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation"....He is your DAILY DELIVERER!!

I love you and I am praying for you!

Wendy

I JUST WANT TO BE WHERE YOU ARE!

Our cat had 4 kittens on Memorial Day! I could go all into how much Andy DOES NOT like cats, or how tired I am of taking care of one more thing!, but I am focusing on the positive in order to illustrate a point! :) We have been keeping them upstairs in a big closet area until the owners come for them. Bella, the mother is getting rather tired of being a mother and is ready for her freedom! I guess we can all relate to that at times....anyway, the other day the door was left open accidentally and I looked up to see 4 of the cutest faces all up and down the staircase! They had found their freedom from the confining closet. They were all timidly making their way down the stairs to explore all of this newfound freedom. Just about the time the last one reached the floor, Bella decided to come back in to check on them. As she ran past them, each one of them turned and dashed back up the stairs behind her right back into the closet that they were earlier so anxious to leave.

As I watched them follow her back, the Lord brought Exodus 33:15 to my mind. "Lord, if Your presence doesn't go with us, do not send us up from here." As badly as they wanted out of that closet, as inviting as that "whole new world" looked to them, they ultimately just wanted to be where Bella was! That is my prayer for each of us today, "Lord, may we just want to be where You are! May we want nothing more than to dwell daily in Your presence. Lord, we don't want to worship You from afar, we just want to be where You are!" AMEN!

The greatest part of that passage in Exodus 33 is that the Lord speaks and His response to Moses is, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest!" What a promise when our heart's cry is Him! He will not only be there, but there will be rest and I believe that's something we are all in much need of!

Rest in Him!

I love you,

Wendy

THE GOODNESS OF OUR GOD!

Hello friends! It's been a while and I have missed you! This entry will be more of a blog than a devotional, but I must tell you just how good our God is in my life and I would love to hear how good He is in yours as well!

First of all, what a privilege it was to be able to be a part of the making of Sherwood's 4th film, Courageous. We watched God do one amazing thing after another on a daily, no hourly, basis!! He showed up and showed out in ways that we never would have dreamed. It will be hitting theaters some time early next year and I ask you to pray that it hits the target of the hearts of dads all across America and the world! May it be one of the most powerful tools that we have seen to date to bring the men of this world to their knees to God!

The week after the movie was wrapped, I had the awesome opportunity to go with our youth to Student Life camp in Orange Beach, Ala. WOW!! David Platt is the most Spirit-filled 31 year old I have ever seen or heard! His new book "Radical" just hit the shelves and I dare you to read it AND live it out!! What a challenge for us all! I am praying that as we head into another new school year, our youth do not forget thehead-on collision they had with God in that place!

Well, as incredible as all of that was, I must say, the highlight of my summer was witnessing the marriage of our oldest son Jason! He and Meagan had the most beautiful, God-centered wedding! What a surreal experience to sit there and watch everything that you have prayed for 24 years come to pass!! I literally had flashbacks of his childhood and all the things we prayed over him during the entire ceremony! All praise and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for every good thing about Jason McLeod!! Our awesome God gets all the credit!! Now the prayers are for everything about their marriage to glorify God and point others to Him! The best thing about it was that I gained another daughter without all the morning sickness, dirty diapers and those awkward teenage years!! But, just like you, I wouldn't trade not one of those minutes with my others because as we all know time goes by WAY too fast!

Thank you for letting me share part of my summer with you and please let us know how God's goodness is showing itself in your life as well! Please know that I pray for you continually and I love you!!

Wendy

NOT JUST GOOD, BUT GODLY!

Last week while out of town, I saw a church sign that said, "Be good! God is always watching!" Immediately I was reminded of the way that we are commanded in scripture to BE HOLY, BE SET APART, BE IMITATORS! I would say that based on His Word, God desires for us to be better than just good! He did not send His Son to die on a rugged cross for us to just be good. Col. 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." He has called us to be EXCELLENT for His name sake!

If God is always watching, and He is, then I don't want Him to just see me being good. I want to be all that He has called me to be! Ephesians 5:26 says that Christ died to make us holy, cleansing us by the washing with water through the word, and to present us to Himself as a radiant bride, without stain or wrinkle any other blemish, but holy and blameless!

Let the words to this song speak to you about the way that He has called us to live:

Unshakable, immovable,

Faithful and true;

Full of wisdom, strength and beauty:

These things are true of You.

Fearless, courageous,

Righteousness shines

Through in all You do;

Yet You're so humble,

You laid down Your life:

These things are true of You.

And as I turn my face to You,

Oh, Lord, I ask and pray,

By the power of Your love and

grace,

Make these things true of me, too!

That sounds better than good to me!

Love you in Christ!

Wendy

WALKING WITH THE LORD

Have you ever felt the Lord leading you somewhere that you weren't especially thrilled about going? I bet you have if you have followed Him for very long. I know that I definitely have, but have found out the hard way that it is so much easier to just submit to His ways and go versus planting my feet! I couldn't help but think about the times that I have resisted His leading when I heard a young mom say this past weekend that she has always told her small children that they could hold her hand or she would hold their hair!! Has God ever had to hold your hair?? WOW! That hurts, doesn't it? But I have to admit that even in the times that He has had to pull me by my hair, once we arrived, I knew immediately that was the place to be!! So, I have come to the conclusion that the walk is so much more pleasant holding His hand and enjoying the stroll instead of being pulled bald-headed!!

Follow His leading!

Love you!

Wendy

THE PERFECT ENDING!

I read a quote in Streams yesterday that goes something like this, "Jesus Christ isn't my security against the storms of life, but my perfect security in the storms. He doesn't promise an easy passage, only a safe landing!" After thinking about that for a while, it occurred to me that many situations we face wouldn't be nearly as stressful if we knew ahead of time how they would turn out. For instance, when you are on a plane and the weather gets bad and the plane begins rocking, you could be so much more at ease if you knew for certain that you would land safely ahead of time. Or, when I am watching one of my daughter's soccer games and we are down 2 to 1 I could be still and calm so much more easily if I knew ahead of time they would win.

Well, that is exactly the guarantee that we have about our very life and how it all ends! So, we should be at ease because we already know ahead of time that we are going to have the perfect ending! Not only is He our perfect security in the storms, but Revelation 19:11 says it this way...."I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True...and on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!" WOW!! Talk about a perfect ending!!

I love you!

Wendy

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

Last Friday was "Storybook Character Dress-Up Day" at school. As I was going in the building, Marcus (name change! :) ) was coming in also. Marcus is a precious little boy who happens to have a mental disability. He was dressed in regular clothes, but immediately shouted out to me, "I a cowboy!" I said, "Wow! Marcus, that is awesome!" To which he responded, "Yeah, I ride a horse!" I again told him how excited I was for him and that he was a great cowboy. We walked down the hall in silence for a few minutes then all of a sudden out of nowhere he yelled out, "HeeHaw!" It was one of the most precious things I have ever witnessed!

I know that I was there to be the teacher, but the Lord pulled me into His classroom for a moment where He asked me several questions. He has told me in His Word that I am a "Daughter of the King." Am I as confident of my identity as Marcus was? Marcus had convinced himself that he was a cowboy for the day, with or without the outfit to prove it. There would have been no changing his mind about the matter! He even acted like a cowboy. He was living out his belief about who he was!

Do you believe what God says about you or do you tend to let satan and the world label you? Do you speak truth to yourself and agree with who God says you are? Do you exhibit the behaviors that go along with being royalty? Ladies, it's time that we proclaim with our mouths and live out with our lives the role that God has placed us in. He has written each of us into a story, His story, and let me tell you that it does have a happy ending and you are the object of His affection in this one!!

I love you sister!

Wendy

GOD CAME!

He came in my classroom today and I needed Him to! He came. He slipped His omnipresent, omniscient, all-knowing Self into the skin of a small, approximately four foot body with curly red hair just to wrap His arms around me, lay His head on my shoulder and read a verse of scripture aloud to me. The verse has been sitting in front of me for about 2 weeks, but today He read it to me! It said, "Cast ALL your cares on Him, for He cares for you!" Now, work with me here. You know He has done that for you too! This is what God does with us and for us when we need the warmth, love and reassurance that only He has to offer. He constantly speaks to us and encourages us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit, but every once in a while when we are the most discouraged and anxious, He has a way of just loving on us through a child, a friend, or a total stranger! As the song says it so well, "Oh, how He loves us! Oh, how He loves us!" So, just reminding all of us today that He loves us and He is intimately acquainted with all our ways and still loves us more than anyone ever could!

Oh, How He loves you, my friend!

Wendy

HIS ROD AND HIS STAFF THEY COMFORT US!

All of us have read this Psalm many times and many of us probably even know it by heart. It is very familiar to us, as a matter of fact, sometimes it may be too familiar! Wouldn't you agree? We have quoted it from memory or read it over and over or heard it read at funerals, but how often do we really read it and study it? I read a devotional this morning that gave me a new look at a portion of this well-known Psalm. The writer was talking about a cabinet full of walking canes at his grandfather's house. He pointed out that each time he had reached for one, he was reminded that the Word of God is a staff!

Psalm 23:4 tells us that "His staff comforts us!" In the midst of awaiting to know if the mass growing inside my mom is cancerous, the verse "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord!" (Ps. 112:7) is a staff to walk with on many worry-filled days. On days when I become overwhelmed with the fact that my dad's dementia is getting worse by the day and the future scares me to death, I choose the staff, which has never failed, "For I know the plans I have for you,...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." What precious Word has been a staff for you lately?

"It is quite true that God's rod is like a schoolteacher's pointer to a child, pointing out a letter so the child will notice it. In this same way, God points out many valuable lessons to us that we otherwise would never have learned. BUT, God always sends His staff with His rod." WOW! What a promise! Alexander Maclaren said, "Each of us may be sure that if God sends us over rocky paths, He will provide us with sturdy shoes. He will never send us on any journey without equipping us well!"

Sister, grab your Staff!! We've got some traveling to do!

I love you and I'm praying for you!

Wendy

To:

wendylwm@bellsouth.net

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NEED A RESCUE?

Have you ever been in a situation physically or spiritually where you needed rescuing? This question has been on my mind all weekend. Ben was home this weekend and shared with us that Bob Scott, the guy that shot Facing the Giants and Fireproof was actually in Haiti when the earthquake hit. As soon as was possible he began sending emails to his family and below is an excerpt of one that he sent out to all his friends and family on Friday.

I am home! In my house with my family!

We were evacuated by the US military in 4 Black Hawk Helicopters Friday afternoon to a US military base in the Dominican Republic then flown home and welcomed by a crowd of 400 cheering family and friends. After that experience no one should ever doubt the might of the US Military - I knew they would use any resource and stop at nothing to get us safely out of Haiti and back home to our families. I have never been more proud to be an American!

As Ben read this to us, I couldn't help but think, "Am I that grateful every time God rescues me??" Do I share with my loved ones...."I have been rescued by My Rescuer and I knew that He would use any resource and stop at nothing to get me safely out or to deliver me from temptation in that area....and I have never been more proud to be a child of God!!" We could all proclaim that each and every day!

Psalm 18 promises us that "The Lord is my rock, my rescuer and my deliverer!" So, if you find yourself in need of rescuing, you have Someone so much more powerful to call on than 4 Black Hawk helicopters...the Word tells us that He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways! Psalm 91 goes on to say, "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him."

That is awesome news and definitely something to write home about!

I love you!

Wendy

www.seekerofhim.blogspot.com

WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING?

In Sunday School this morning, we were looking at all the letters written by Paul. We were talking about the fact that Paul traveled much of the time and planted several churches along the way. Being the elementary teacher that I am, I immediately thought about the story of Johnny Appleseed traveling all across America planting apple seeds all those years ago. As I was thinking about that, the Lord asked me the question, "What are you planting?" You know, that is a great question. When your name is brought up, what is the first thing others think of? Do you go about planting criticism or complaints? Do I go about my life planting negative words to others? What if all of us became as purposeful in our "planting" as Johnny was in his distribution of apple seeds? Or as determined as Paul was about preaching Christ? What if we set out from this moment on to plant words of encouragement everywhere we went?

Just as a farmer plants seeds each spring, may each of us be very intentional about what we are planting in the fields that we frequent. As we are faithful to sow whatever God directs us to into our fields, we will see a harvest! I am praying for you right now as you seek the heart of God about what you are to plant in the fields that He has given you because it is always planting season!!

In His Love!

Wendy