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You Have Searched Me and Know Me…

a meditation on Psalm 139:1-6

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It was a week. And like most other weeks in this season of my life, it was a doozy. But this week was a double doozy for a myriad of reasons. Let’s just say that by Friday at 4pm, I felt like I had been hit by a mack truck and couldn’t seem to pull myself up off the pavement.

So I did what any reasonable American mom would do – I phoned a friend. My best friend, to be more precise…my husband. Actually, I texted him these words:

“Don’t have it in me to cook. Can we order pizza tonight?”

I wish that I had a tally of every time that exact text has been sent through space from one phone to another and I’m sure the pizza companies do too for their marketing research!

He replied, “Of course,” but before I could put in a pizza order, I heard a knock at our front door. On our front porch sat a very large box with two frozen deep dish pizzas from Lou Malnatti’s in Chicago. They were sent by my loving father-in-law as an early Christmas gift. In case you haven’t ever tried deep dish Chicago pizza, you are missing out. This is what it looks like, just to make you salivate:

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And here is a screenshot of what my husband wrote in response when I let him know what had arrived:

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“You want pizza – God says – I already knew that..Here is the best pizza you could ask for.”

The God Who Already Knows

I popped the pizzas in the oven to cook and pulled out my Bible to read Psalm 139:1-6:

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

No, God does not always give me what I want or ask for, but He always hears my thoughts and knows my requests even before I verbalize them. And the same goes for you.

He is a God who cares about every hair on your head. He hears the times when your prayers aren’t even technically prayers. Maybe all you can muster up is a groan or a sigh in his direction at that moment, but he hears. He knows. And, when we are least expecting it, when we may think that we’re just trying to get through to the moment when we can put our head on our pillow that night, He shows up at our front door and surprises us.

The God Who Hears Us

My encouragement to you this week is this – in your little moments of frustration or happiness or need, know that God cares. He hears. He’s on it. It may not always be as obvious as pizza showing up at your door, but if we are watching and expecting, we will see His fingerprints of activity all around us.

He’s inviting us to see Him in the details of everyday life. So let him know what’s behind that sigh you are already uttering. He knows already and has a plan and purpose to reveal.

Let Him search you.

Let Him know you.

Let Him hear you.

And in the process, you will come to know Him better, too.

 

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The Other Side of Prayer

returning thanks

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This week, I took my older two girls (and my baby) to the National Gallery of Art for a special tour for homeschoolers. I had arranged care for my youngest daughter, packed lunches, fed them breakfast, and determined the best route via GPS. However, I wasn’t prepared for a few things that might upset our trip:

1) It was raining cats and dogs
2) this trip was to take place during my baby’s nap time – therefore, he cried the entire 25 minute ride to the Gallery plus the 15 minutes of time it took to find a parking place.
3) I forgot an umbrella
4) In my flustration (is that a word? If it isn’t, it should be), I started us out walking in the WRONG DIRECTION towards the WRONG MUSEUM. In the rain.

We had prayed on the way there that God would help us find parking, calm my baby as he was crying, help us find our group at the Gallery, and enjoy our tour.
Then my seven year old (Thank God she can read!) looked across the street and said, “Look, Mom! There it is! It says “National Gallery of Art.”

We headed into the museum and once we got settled into our group and I was able to nurse my baby, all was well in the world. We enjoyed the tour and even got free tickets for gelato at the end. We walked in the rain to the car (but no one complained) and arrived at our car just when the meter expired.

Once I got into the car and we headed in the direction of home, I told the girls that we should stop and give thanks to the Lord for answering our prayers. Even though things hadn’t began as we had hoped, we did in fact find parking, find our group, and have a great tour. It would be easy to sigh in relief and forget the frustration we had experienced only hours before.

Who Comes Back and Says Thank You?

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This event in my week reminded me of a parable Jesus shares in Luke 17:11-19 about ten lepers who came to him crying out for healing. He healed all ten of them, but only one came back and thanked him, “praising God in a loud voice.” “Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?…Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” (vv 17-19).

It is easy to turn our attention and earnestness to Christ in the place of prayer when we are in need. When we are experiencing lack, suffering, or trial. But what about when He actually answers us? When the need is met, the person is healed, the food is on the table, the job is secured – do we turn back and thank Him for answering us?

Do we draw our affection and attention towards Him and pour out our thanksgiving upon Him? Do we let Him know that we are grateful? The needy often know a place of intimacy and dependency on God that the prosperous do not. Why? Scripture reveals this clearly again and again through the children of Israel. Hosea 13:6 is just one example of where this is revealed: “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”

Let’s not be forgetful children, begging for a cookie and then, once it is given, running ahead full speed -all the while forgetting to kiss the one who made that cookie.

Let’s remember that God is the source of all good things in our lives and when He has indeed answered our cries for help, let’s not forget to thank Him.

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5 Tips for Cultivating Contentment at Christmastime

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In a two day period at the end of November, Americans exhibit some strange, polar opposite behaviors. Yes, on Thanksgiving we bow our heads before a table full of food and give thanks to God for all of his bountiful provision for us over the past year. We acknowledge our blessings to one another and rest in a satisfaction of all that has been so graciously bestowed upon us.

And then, early the next morning on Black Friday, many of us get up and wait in line at stores all over the country for stuff – more stuff. We HAVE to get the greatest deals and are willing to push past people in order to do so. Move it or lose it, sista!

Perhaps these pictures side by side best illustrate the irony of these back to back events:

Thanksgiving:

Family Praying Before Dinner ca. 2001

Black Friday:

black-friday

 

 

 

 

Ok, folks. Let’s get something clear. I’m not “anti-Black Friday.” I love a good sale like anyone. If something that I had previously planned on purchasing is significantly cheaper on a certain day – Sure! I’ll buy it then! I simply think that it’s a good illustration for us as we contemplate the true purpose of the Christmas season (um, it’s not getting a bunch of stuff) and consider how we might encourage ourselves and our families to nurture a spirit of contentment during the Christmas season.

Here are 5 simple ways to cultivate a thankful, content spirit during the Christmas season:

1. Making a “Giving List” instead of a “Getting List” – Our view of Christmas and the Holiday Season is shaped while we are young. Are we encouraged to put together long and elaborate lists of things that we want for Christmas? Maybe a different idea would be to sit down and brainstorm a list of ways we want to bless others during the season.

I’ll never forget the lesson I learned from the children of India when I spent a summer there as a college student. On their birthdays, the children in the orphanage where I resided were encouraged to give a piece of candy to each child. Their beautiful brown faces flashed big smiles as they handed out the candy. You could tell it gave them great joy to have the opportunity to give to their friends on their birthdays.

2. Plan Seasonal Activities Around Making Memories, not Buying Stuff – some suggestions that our family has enjoyed are: reading an Advent Devotional every morning, going ice skating, sledding and skiing when it snows, making yummy baked goods for our neighbors, cutting down a Christmas tree together, visiting the elderly at an old folks home, and reading books that pertain to the Christmas season.

3. Try 25 Days of Random Acts of Christmas Kindness – This is a challenge we accepted last year that reaped great dividends in our family. My three girls looked forward with eager anticipation to our “act of kindness” for the day. I planned out the 25 “acts” ahead of time and included the slips of paper in each window of our Advent calendar. Here is the blog that I wrote last year about this experience that gives some examples of what you can do. I included lots of easier acts with some that required more planning and time so as not to make this activity overwhelming.

4. Buy Fewer and More Intentional Gifts – My family of origin has focused for several years on giving one or two meaningful gifts instead of several gifts. We have also given to ministries or organizations that serve the needy “in honor of” a family member as their gift and then sharing with one another why we chose to give to that specific person or people on their behalf.

5. Focus on the Greatest Gift of the Season – Yes, Jesus is the Great Gift of Christmas and He truly is “The Reason for the Season.” So let’s focus on Him and talk with our friends and family about how God becoming flesh, living and dying so that we might receive eternal life is the greatest gift of all.

What are some things you have done to make the Christmas season more meaningful for your family? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

 

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