Blog

• In Hands of Divine Gardener

I am going to go old gracefully, even if it means that I have more gray hairs than my mom, which I do. As my sister put it so eloquently, “You and mom both have salt and pepper hair. Mom’s is just low sodium.”

Even with one of my best friends being a hairdresser, who I know would do a great job, I refuse to be a slave to the dye. She is always begging me to let her color my hair. And no matter how many times she makes the recommendation, it is not happening.

It’s not that I fear someone saying to me, “Your roots are showing,” because I’d take it as a compliment.

Yes, you read that right. “Your roots are showing” can be a compliment—spiritually speaking.

During the difficult times of life, does the wind get knocked out of you or are you grounded in your faith? Do the storms of life blow you over or are you rooted in the Word?

Take a moment today to check your roots. Spend some time in the Word and in prayer. The next time I see you, I’d love to be able to wink and say, “Your roots are showing.”

• destination retreat

The Destination Retreat is a little more than a week away. And, as my mom put it last week, we are facing a Gideon situation with our attendance.

For one reason or another, women who had planned to join us are now unable to. Our attendance has dropped to less than half of the numbers we originally anticipated and contracted with the Ponderosa Retreat Center.

I share this for two reasons:

1.     To let you know that it is not too late to sign up and join us for an awesome Spirit-led weekend in fellowship with Christian sisters. Contact me or visit our website for more details.

2.     To remind you and myself that if we place things in God’s hands—In the Hands of the Divine Gardner—as we will be studying next weekend, things don’t always go as we would plan or meet the potential we thought was needed. But God is always in control and will be the one glorified.

Gideon was going to face the Midianites with an army of thirty-two thousand men, but God said it was too many—that if he gave the Midianites into their hands, Israel would boast that it was by their own strength. So God whittled down the army from thirty-two thousand to three hundred (Judges 7).

And when Gideon doubted God’s strength and purpose, God allowed Gideon to overhear something in the enemy camp that calmed his fears and quieted his doubts.

God was patient with Gideon and his doubts time and again (see also Judges 6).

So, today, join me in thanking God for his patience with us, and for calming our fears and frustrations when they arise.

I am trusting his plan through the Destination Retreat—no matter how much whittling of the attendance, no matter what doubts come my way. May God get all the glory.