I read through the book of Esther recently and something really stood out.

“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink in three days, night or day:  I also and my maidens will fast likewise: and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”  Esther 4:16

Here she was the ultimate beauty queen.  She was living the good life.  She had endured twelve months of spa treatments.  Twelve months, girls!  She won the ultimate pageant.  She was the fairest in all the land.  She didn’t win on outer beauty alone.  Her inner beauty shone through and found her a lot of favor. 

Her "happily ever after" was short lived because just four chapters in, she was thrust into conflict.  Suddenly this beauty queen was on the front lines facing the possibility of sacrificing her life for the greater good of her people.    

 When Esther made the decision to go to the king, even though she had not been summoned and likely faced death – she said, “I’ll go.  If I perish, I perish.”  She was willing to die.  She was willing to make that sacrifice for the good of her people.  

So many times in life, we like Esther must make decisions.  We take that step of faith.  We go in the direction of the unknown.  We face terrifying decisions and we're not sure what to do.  Let's do what Esther did – fast, pray and go forward.  “If I perish, I perish.”

We all know the ending, she didn’t perish.  God moved in a mighty way and her uncle’s words proved true, she was brought to the palace for such a time as this.

So, yeah.  I'm gonna be REAL.  I am a hot mess.  My life?  It's a hot mess.  To be honest with you, I got up this morning and I was like, "Woah!  How did we get here?"  Umm, God!  We can't do this.  We're not qualified.  AT ALL.  It's outta control.  Totally outta control.  The tasks before us surpass our abilities. 

I cried out to Jesus. 

Along came these majestic whispers.

God does not call the qualified.  He qualifies the called.

We are leaning on him.  We are relying on his ability not our own. God did not call us to a task because it is something we can do.  He called us because it is something HE can do. 

  … I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous ... (Joshua 1:5-7)

God has promised to be with us.  The battle is the Lord’s. Both are sure things!

He did not commission His disciples because they were capable of changing the world. He called them because He wanted to change the world through them.

I gave him my hot mess and he gave me the opportunity to be a world changer.  I'm committed!  Are you?

"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  Job 23:10 

I don't like to be uncomfortable, y'all.  I like my life easy.  I want a well stocked pantry.  A well funded bank account.  I want a dependable vehicle.  I want my husband to have a good job.  You get the idea.  I wanna be comfortable.  I wanna have all "God's blessings". 

I've been reading in the book of Job.  Job started out comfortable.  Then some really unpleasant things happened to him.  Job lost  his possessions, his children, and his position in society. He found out how stinky his friends were.  Worst of all he couldn't reach God.  That is a really bad sad place to be.  As bad as things were, God knew him and all about the trouble he was going through.  

When we face distress in our lives the book of Job speaks to us and says, “God knows my distress. God thinks it is unfair and God believes my wounding is without merit."  Job understood something about the sovereignty of God. Satan was the instrument of pain but God was testing Job.

The tough parts of life are tests.  These tests develop the character of Jesus within us.  "I shall come forth as gold."  What a statement of faith! Stripped of everything, suffering from head to toe and persecuted by his closest friends he knew something which Paul would later make clear to us. “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord…” (Rom. 8:28)  

No matter what I face, no matter the way I take, through those trials, I come forth as gold. 

A man and his seven kids were on a train.  The kids were jumping all over and tearing the bus apart.  The man sat there not even noticing his kids were out of control.  The passengers on the train were very annoyed the father was so irresponsible.  Finally, not able to tolerate this horrible behavior even a second longer a passenger nudged him and demanded to know what he was going to do.  At this point, the father began to apologize.  "I'm sorry.  I'm not myself.  You see, I just left the hospital where the children and I kissed my wife goodbye forever.  It all happened so suddenly and I guess I'm still in shock. I'm overwhelmed thinking how I'm going to go on without her."  The passenger sat down and said not another word.

Things are not always the way we perceive.  I am reminded, sometimes we need to give others the benefit of the doubt or at the very least take time to find out where they are coming from. 

Edited:  So I'm totally stammering here.  I don't know whether to leave my blog un-updated for days or keep posting from this peculiar state.  Wednesday I received the message that a dear friend who was also my cousin died in a car accident.  A little younger than me and full of life, she married her Jamaican sweetheart, spent summers loving on kids in orphanages, sang songs of praise to God literally with her whole being, taught a classroom full of kids... Gone to soon.  So here I sit.  Nothing.  It's kinda knocked the breath out of me.  

The weekend will soon be over and hopefully next week I'll be swept up into some inspiration.  At the very least, maybe the kids will do something cute that I can photograph. 

"Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Romans 12:15

There will be times that we will go through difficult situations.  Difficulties of our own or those of our friends and family.  Circumstances that bring sadness and weeping. We should stand together with one another having compassion and understanding, "weeping with those that weep".  

Through our faith and hope in Christ, we can believe that rejoicing will follow. 

There is an element of our Christian walk that has received little press and little attention. This major headline is not in the news,

In our hurt, our Lord moves his hand. 

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a contrite spirit."  (Psalm 34:18)

It may not feel like it, we may not sense it but God is near to the brokenhearted.  God's Word is more true than our "feelings".  His word is truer than our circumstances.  In the hands of the Great Restorer, our brokenness is healed.  As we bring the pieces of our brokenness and wounded hearts to him, he comes to bind up our wounds and restore our hope.

He restores our hope.

My Fantasy:  Thinking back to when I was expecting our first child, I anticipated snuggling close to her and reading book after book.  She'd attentively listen and turn the pages patiently. 

My Reality:  She began crawling at five months and from that point on she was sliding out of my lap exploring the world.  If I did manage to keep her in my lap she'd turn the page before I read the first sentence. 

The Chief, great father that he is, gave me a crash course in devotions for the young and restless.  He tells wild and crazy stories with lots of action and motions.  (Truth be told he's a little restless himself.) I've learned a lot from him.  Creativity is the key to capturing little minds. 

So, if your family is made up of a bunch of littles don't delay and don't despair.  Toss out preconceived notions and unrealistic images.  Here's some help (with a big dose of reality), 

 Family Devotions for the Young and Restless. 

"And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up" (Deut. 6:6-7)

"...my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." Psalm 32:3

Reading this scripture sobered me to the negative power of stress, anger, grief, and anxiety on our health.  It makes me truly regret the times I've allowed myself to suffer from worry and anxiety.  I've literally taken away from my good health.   

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

May the words we speak and the thoughts in our hearts be sweet to the soul, bringing health to our bodies. 

Daniel in the lion's den. The lessons are very clear. Stand firm in a time of testing and trial.  Daniel did just that. He was faithful.  He loved the Lord. He was a praying man.

Daniel would rather spend the night with the lions than to miss a day in prayer. What keeps me from prayer?

...is a good defense.  (Right, football fans?)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped:  therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."  Psalms 28:7

God is our strength and our shield.  He is our defense against all that would harm us.  If we trust in him, he will certainly defend us from the attacks of our enemy.