God Knows About Your Stress

RAMBLINGS from Evan’s dad –  Evan along with Lacy and Connor, has had the opportunity to travel from time to time on mission trips. The kids have see many things traveling. And they have seen those with many needs while traveling.

In Peru, Evan was as young as 7 years old when he first walked the streets with us. I think he was 10 when we were working with an orphanage in Colombia. He has seen those in serious need. He has also seen people that are very happy, even though they have very little. Even in the midst of poverty, we looked around at the mountains, at the sweet innocent faces smiling back at us, and the beauty of the country, and marveled at God and His handiwork.

This morning I sit here writing this once again from a little cabin up at Cloudland Station. There are no fancy flatscreen T’Vs to distract us. Our phones and tablets get very little signal.  We have to revert to that ancient tradition of interacting with each other.

Last night we sat around and talked. We snacked on food. We laughed and talked some more. A little after midnight we sang happy birthday to Lacy. A few minutes later I went off to bed listening to laughter in the next room. I marveled at God’s handiwork.

This morning there was no CNN or Fox News to watch. There were no sports updates on Sports Center. I went for an early morning walk so I could hang out with God in His creation. It was a wonderful walk. I took in the fresh air while I heard the crunch of gravel under my feet. The only updates I got was from the birds chirping good morning to me. I walked by several brooks and streams and listened to the water tumble over the rocks. I thanked Him for His creation. It was invigorating, yet relaxing. I thanked Him for my wonderful family. I marveled at God’s handiwork.

I wonder how things are back at the house? By now the swimming pool is running, along with the A/C units for the house. The alarm is on and monitoring for any fires or break in’s. The multiple cars need to be checked on. The kids have not learned that they have to be monitored for tires, service and possible repairs, so I still have to worry about that. The office alarm is on and the A/C is hopefully set for “weekend”. Did we water the plants in both locations? Is the rent paid? Is the power bill paid?

Do we really need all this stuff?

Lord, I am noticing things were less stressful when I was just hanging out with You!….

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,  for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them,for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.  (Matthew 6:7-8)

Let God Answer His Way

“But God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” ( Ephesians 3:20 NKJV)

RAMBLINGS from Lacy’s dad – When Lacy was around 12, she took horseback riding lessons with her cousin Gillian. Two weeks into it she announced to me that she wanted a horse. In fact, she “had” to have a horse. She asked me about it multiple times.

Kris and I talked about it. The first obstacle was we lived on property with almost no grass. It would involve clearing trees for at least an acre of pasture, that I was told would need a year to grow in before putting a horse on it. Secondly, we had no barn for the horse to stay. Thirdly, Lacy was only 3 weeks into riding lessons.

So I told Lacy, “not now”. Not “no”, just “not now”. The fourth week it was very cold when Lacy took her lessons. Her nose was red and stuffy and she was shivering. She did not enjoy it. But Lacy asked me again for a horse.

The fifth week at practice it was even colder and she could barely breathe through her nose. She never liked cold and certainly on top  of  a moving horse. But I still found her looking through magazines at riding apparel.

The sixth week it was still cold, and we realized that Lacy’s persistent stuffy nose and sneezing was not just cold, but allergies…to horses. After practice she announced she no longer wanted to take lessons.

She never talked about horses again.

I wonder how often I have plead with God for a “horse”? Not having the ability or means to take care of the “horse”.  I wonder how often I have asked God for a “horse” not knowing I would later not like the climate I would have to tolerate for my “horse”. I wonder how often I have asked, no, pleaded with God for a “horse” not knowing I was allergic to it?  Now that I think of it, how often did I pray for ONE horse, when He wanted to bless me with a whole herd? Doesn’t the Bible tell us He owns the cattle of a 1000 hills?

Father I am glad You  are in control. I am glad You know the difference between our wants and our needs.  Help us to be able to tell the difference, too!

And Lord, thank You for all of the unanswered prayers!….

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,  (Ephesians 3:20) 

Spiritual Habits: Quiet TIme

“Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk.” (Psalms 25:4 TLB)

RAMBLINGS from Connor’s dad – Outside of Christ, I have three men who have impacted my life in a mighty way, my dad, Dr. Jim Lyons, and Phil Downer. All three men demonstrated to me a deep love for Jesus, and more significantly, the importance of spending time each day with him.

I heard my dad early every morning praying. Later, when I worked with him, I saw him reading his Bible every day at lunch. Dr. Jim and Phil, shared with me through breakfast meetings, how they structured their days so that early each morning they spent time reading scripture and praying. It was apparent they did so by the voluminous amount of scripture they could recite to me as we talked. I’ve seen both men get up to speak publicly and recite verse after verse. Often they would nonchalantly hold their Bible open as if to read it, but never look down.

Phil would share with me how he would figure out his next day, and then plan to get up an hour earlier so he could spend time with God. Dr. Jim met me early every Monday morning and talked with me about scripture as he helped me memorize it. Both men gave me example after example of men whose lives were radically changed when they took time to consistently meet with God each day.

As our kids got old enough to work on their own faith, I encouraged them to spend time with God. We worked on memorizing scripture. We had time in the evenings where we sat together, read a devotional and prayed. We called it “circle” time.

As the teenage years rolled around, schedules changed.  There was practice for this or that, meetings, etc., that made the group time harder. So we all were forced to go to individual time with God. Many a time I would ask one of the kids what their devotion was on and they gave me that glazed over look, and then would say they had not done one yet. I would correct them and say they had. Emphatically they would say they had not. I then would point out that Facebook, TV, or whatever they had gotten up and done first, WAS their devotion. Time and time again I would ask them about their devotion, encouraging them to have one. Each night and most mornings I did pray with them, and sometimes shared what I had studied.

Eventually, I felt led to put my convictions into action. So here I am attempting to write 365 of these for my precious children. Hopefully, as the years go by, they will occasionally read one of these. My prayer is when they do, in some small way they will be encouraged like I have so many times by my dad, Phil and Dr. Jim….

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.  (John 15:7-8 ESV)

Let Go and Let God Work

“Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” (Mark 14:36 NLT)

RAMBLINGS from Kris’ husband – It’s been three weeks since we found out my father-in-law has pancreatic cancer. The days since have been roller coaster rides with emotions. My precious in-laws, whom I love like my own parents, lived with us for over four years up until five months ago.

Since my dad’s death five years ago, Kris’ dad has been my surrogate dad. He has been my right hand in running our small medical business. We have had our moments where we butted heads, but my love for him never waned. Many a day I found myself leaning on him. He was there for me when I needed someone, sometimes that someone being a dad. Needless to say we are very close.

The other night we had dinner with them at their new house. The calmness that Tom showed the night before his first chemo treatment was remarkable. Sure, he was not excited about having something put in his body that would probably make him sick. He joked and said the next morning he didn’t know if he was going right or left when he got to the highway. I knew right was the oncologist, so I asked him what was left? He smiled and said “California”, showing his anxiousness about the morning. 

I woke up early this morning with Tom on my mind. I reminded myself that God is our Creator. He is our Healer. He is our Father. This morning I prayed to Him asking that His will be done. Would I like to see Tom healed? Absolutely! Would I like to have him around longer to lean on? Sure! But my finite little mind can’t even begin to comprehend God’s grand design. After all, He is the one who came up with the butterfly. So I guess any “Butterfly effect” is His, too.

Any of us in a similar situation, would pray a prayer pleading to God for healing. I know I did that for my own sweet dad who battled Parkinson’s for years. God in His infinite wisdom, heard my prayer and answered it. He just chose to do so by healing my dad and giving him a new body when He called him home.

Jesus understands the pain we are going through. He understands the flood of emotions we feel as we pray for healing. He understands the moments of hopelessness we find ourselves caught in.

The Bible tells us the night before they crucified Him, the night before they tortured and humiliated Him, He prayed so hard the sweat became blood. He knew what was coming. Jesus knew that His Father who had always been with Him, would have to leave Him, turn His back on him, when God allowed all the sins of the world to be heaped on Him.

The night before He died he prayed for hours. He prayed His heart out. He pled with His Dad, “Father, everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want Your will, not mine.”

God chose to let His Son die a terrible death. Anyone watching would have said “WHY?!?” But God knew why. So today I will once again get up and pray my prayers. But I will try to remember that He is God, and He ALWAYS knows why….

And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”  (Mark 14:36 ESV)

To Hear God, Get Near Him

“He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before.” (Hebrews 11:7a NLT)

RAMBLINGS from Evan’s dad – We have lived in this house for over 10 years. When we first moved from our nice manicured neighborhood, out here in “the woods”, it was a little spooky at night. With all the trees it got really dark and that was very different from our previous home. So Kris took Evan and his siblings to buy an “outside” dog. We ended up with two, beautiful little yellow lab puppies. We had been told by a friend that they would keep each other company outside.

We built them a nice 40 x 50 pen, and filled it with a nice insulated house, and plenty of chew toys. The kids had two new friends to play with and all was well with the world.

One night about 2:00 in the morning I was awakened by a very loud knocking on our front door. I cautiously peeked around the corner and saw a sheriff’s deputy standing outside our door. I disarmed our alarm and opened the door to a very upset deputy. It seems neighbors through the woods, several hundred yards away, had called to complain about our two very vocal labs. The deputy had been driving around for an hour trying to figure out where we lived. She was NOT a happy camper.

An hour later I was laying in bed trying to go back to sleep totally befuddled. You see we had been clueless the dogs were barking. We were on the other end of our house from the dogs. And Kris and I both like some white noise at night, so we sleep with a fan that purrs in the corner of our room.

The next day Kris made fliers with an adorable picture of our dogs, and “they” apologized for being loud. She stuck it in every mailbox she could find anywhere remotely near us.

I wonder how often I don’t hear God for the same reason? Maybe I am too far away. Or maybe I have too much noise going on around me to be able to hear Him. Over the years I have learned if I am not up early reading His word, praying, and listening for Him, before everything else gets going, the chances of hearing Him become infinitesimal!  Once the kids are up, once the phone starts ringing, I do good to hear the dogs barking!…..

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.  (Genesis 6:9 ESV)

Reflect Before You Respond

RAMBLINGS from Connor’s dad – When Connor and his two siblings were much younger, they sometimes actually got in trouble. It might be as simple as doing something they knew they were not supposed to do. Other times it might be a little more mischievous, like scratching their sibling’s name into the new coffee table. Or practicing their penmanship by writing their name, on the dash, of our brand new car, in sharpie!

Whenever a spanking was in the near future, they were directed to a little bench in our bedroom to sit, wait for the punishment, and ponder their transgression. It also gave us time to collect our thoughts, maybe discuss with each other what happened, and decide together the proper punishment. It certainly allowed me time to talk things over with Kris, and maybe calm down, before rushing in to play executioner. Sometimes we would let the transgressor sit for 15 minutes or longer, pondering their fate…while we had time to step back and reflect.

Today I have tried to incorporate that into the way we run our business. If someone in our organization does something wrong, or if we are wronged in some way by another company or an account, I hurry up and WAIT. I wait and talk it over with Kris, or my father in law, Tom. Then I often type up an email saying exactly what I think….and then don’t send it. I’ll come back a few hours later and read that email. After reading it I might start working on a second draft. Sometimes when I finally send it, it might be the fifth draft two days later. I’ve never regretted one of those emails or phone calls. Now the rare times I fired a quick response back off…that’s a different story.

Numerous mornings when I used to meet Dr. Jim, I brought with me a wrong I had experienced. Over breakfast I would go on for 30 minutes or more telling him how that person should be deported to Siberia. Finally, when I came up for air, he would calmly look at me, open his Bible and say “why don’t we see what the Bible has to say about that”.  A strange thing happened. As we read through the scripture he would pick out, I would begin to see things differently. Usually the wrong was still there, it just felt different. My emotions would be different, and my thoughts about the situation usually different, too.

When we left the restaurant we would climb in one of our cars and pray together. I don’t know what the mathematical equation is for prayer, but the answer is always the same. You feel better after talking with the God of the universe about your issue. It typically seemed a lot smaller after we prayed about it. I would always drive away from that place with a different mindset then I did when I drove up.

Umm, I wondering, maybe he was on to something….

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11)

Prayers Have an Impact

“God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.” (Ephesians 3:20 LB)

RAMBLINGS from Lacy’s dad – I just hung up the phone with Lacy.  She was busy doing her school work at home while Kris and I are down here in Florida. Lacy, like our other two, is a real joy to us. I am so amazed at the family with whom God has blessed me. But then again, isn’t this been the basis of so many prayers?

Our friends we had dinner with the other night had recently come out of that bad business relationship.  The rest of the story is a year earlier we were days from entering into the same partnership, and merging our company. Great efforts and expense had been made to prepare for it. Fortunately Kris and I had been praying about it, and in the eleventh hour, we backed out.

There was a lot of pain associated with that debacle.  John was responsible for introducing us to, and bringing us into the partnership. As I have mentioned before, there was a great deal of hurt there for Kris and I to wrestle with. A great deal of pain to pray through. But God helped us through it, and seven months later I was calling John to see how he was doing.

I am so amazed at the feelings I now have for this man and his family. This man introduced us to so much pain and sleepless nights. But I look back at the nights I couldn’t sleep; the nights I really DISLIKED him and his partner a LOT. Finally, after tossing and tumbling, and unsuccessfully finding a good nights sleep, I started praying ABOUT them. In fact, in a few of those prayers I might have mentioned to God something about judgement on them.

Months later, the prayers finally led to praying FOR them. And eventually it led to Sunday night when I saw him and his wife, and could give them both a hug, and be sincere when I told them it was good to see them. God was able to get us beyond that place of hurt, to a place where we could once again love. Maybe prayer is a heavenly version of a healing balm that we are putting on our hurting hearts and lives.

Now that I think abut it, and the power of prayer that has been exhibited in my life, maybe I shouldn’t be so amazed….

Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for. (1 John 5: 14-15)

Pray For Others

“And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” ( Philippians 1:9-11 NIV)

RAMBLINGS from Kris’ husband – My bride and I have gotten away for a few days to relax, recharge, and celebrate her birthday. We are on the 9th floor with a beautiful view of Ft. Lauderdale, watching all the big yachts parading up and down the water. It is quite a show.

Last evening we got together with some friends who live 30 minutes away. They, like us, had eaten a late lunch, so we planned to catch up over a cup of coffee. Kris and I decided before we met them that the conversation would be all about them. We knew they had been through some rough times recently and just wanted to let them talk.  And talk they did…for almost four hours.

John, the husband, one year earlier had come out of a business relationship that had gone sour. His partner had promised the world!  Unfortunately, the world they walked into was one of lies, deceit, narcissism, and questionable business practices. Within months John left the partnership, with major financial fallout from the cost of getting in, and then deciding to get out. One year later they still feel the financial repercussions.

Through appetizers, dinner, dessert, and coffee, they relived experience after experience where promises were made, and not kept. The pain and frustration on my friend’s face was fresh, even though it had been a year.

As we walked across the parking lot my still hurting friend reiterated his anger for the shyster.  I looked at John and told him he would never be able to let it go until he started praying for the guy. He admitted to knowing that, but I could tell it was asking a lot of him.

The subject was soon changed and they drove us around looking at some of the magnificent homes in the area. We talked about our kids, we talked about our dreams, and then they dropped us off at our door.

This morning I got up and prayed for John and his wife. I prayed for his former partner, and the countless families left in the wake of his deceitful business practices.

I should consistently be praying for those I crossed paths with yesterday. I should be praying for those I will cross paths with today. This morning different friends came to mind, so I started praying for them. Maybe a few of them lifted up a prayer for me…

And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

On Mission: Pray for Specific Countries

“If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours.” (Psalm 2:8 NCV)

RAMBLINGS from Connor’s dad – I am so in awe of the kids God has blessed me with. By no means are they perfect, but they are pretty good kids.

Connor is no exception. In the 5th grade he climbed onto a bus knowing no one, and went to Arkansas for a week to work on houses. We had moved, started at a new church where we knew no one, and 24 hours later he was riding with 50 “strangers” to be Jesus to those who needed help. He has slept in hot old “houses” in West Virginia for the same reason.

Connor went with us to Peru and Colombia to witness and minister to those who were less fortunate. He went without us to Panama when he was 15, once again to help people find out about Jesus

It’s easy for Connor to pray for the mountain-folk in West Virginia, for African-Americans in Arkansas, for the people in Peru, for the people in Panama, and for the people in Colombia. He has been among them. When he prays for those places, he can put names and faces to those prayers.

I can pray for Nauru, the world’s smallest island nation, but I have never been there. There are other tiny countries like Tuvalu and San Marino. Places where I have never been, but places with people God loves just as much as me. I can pray for Syria, but I have never been there either.

The difference is I know no one from Nauru or San Marino, but I have several friends from Syria.

So I pray for those faces, those smiles, and I ask God to be with their families and friends back in those countries. Will I pray for Nauru? Sure. But I will probably spend a little more time on Peru or Syria, because I can put a face to that prayer.

Hopefully, there are people in some of those countries who have been to or met Americans, and are praying for us, too!…

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.  (2 Corinthians 1:11)

God Knows About Your Stress

RAMBLINGS from Evan’s dad – Our youngest, our baby, Evan, is now taller then me and has sideburns! It seems like only a few months ago I was changing his diapers. Time flies!!

When the kids were young, we started praying together at night in what we called “the prayer circle”. Typically is was in the living room, but it literally was wherever the 5 of us got together. We sometimes had each one pray for the one to our right, we sometimes just had one person pray, and others we went around and prayed sentence prayers. We were simply trying to get the kids in a habit of praying and showing them that God would listen to us regardless of the delivery, looking instead at the content and intent.

When they were little and saw a pretty flower, Kris would ask them “who made the flowers?” “God.” “That’s right. Why don’t you tell God that you love His pretty flowers?” And that child would turn their little face toward Heaven, and with the sweetest voice, thank God. Early on Evan became a little prayer warrior. He was always looking at flowers and rocks, and it was not unusual to catch him talking to God, or literally giving Him a thumbs up.

Evan quickly became one who when praying, would have a conversation with God. What I mean is he would not simply give God a shopping list of requests and wants. Instead, he had a conversation with God about someone’s aches and pains, about kids who had no food, about our soldiers who were away from their families keeping our country safe, and about people who did not know Jesus. And he did it with a earnest voice, yet one that was confident, to me symbolizing he knew God had things under control.

When I think about Jesus, and Him telling us that we need to have child-like faith, that is what I picture. No stress about work or finances. No stress about today or tomorrow. Just an innocent conversation between a kid and his “Daddy”, who he knows can fix ANYTHING!….

 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:8-13)