Wander Woman

Children who have night terrors are usually described as ‘bolting upright’ with their eyes wide open, with a look of fear and panic, and letting out a ‘blood curdling scream’. These kids will usually also be sweating, breathing fast and have a rapid heart rate.   And although it will seem like they are awake, during a night terror, children will appear confused, will not be consolable and won’t recognize you.

The night before last, my husband and I, awoke to the above discription.  My oldest child, Tyler, has had night terrors ever since he was little.  They are not as frequent as they used to be though.  Praise God!  Night terrors can be very scary and distressing for a parent.  I pray hard everytime he has an episode.  But, this is not the only thing.  He also has nightmares that send him running to our bed in the middle of the night.  He wants a nightlight on.  And he always has to have some type of noise in the background.  We cannot say bedtime prayers without asking for protection and good dreams.  Often times, we pray several times before he finally drifts off to sleep and especially if the, “Lord, please give us good dreams,” gets left out.  We have Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety,” written on a card and he sleeps with it in his pillowcase.  While I do not have night terrors and nightmares, I can sometimes struggle with fear.  I used to never stay alone overnight, even after I was married with kids.  The Lord has done a work in my life and this is no longer the case.  When that fear does start to creap in, I try to quickly remind myself of God’s promises and trust Him. 

Here is some of what was in Morning and Evening yesterday.  It was perfect timing given what had happened the night before.  God is good! 

Psalm 91:5 “You will not fear the terror of night.”

…….for whatever the terror is, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid.  Why should one be?  Let’s put it more specifically, why should we?  God our father is here, and will be here all through the lonely hours; He is an almighty Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend.  Nothing can happen without His direction, for even hell itself is under His control.  Darkness is not dark to Him.  He has promised to be a wall of fire around His people - and who can break through such a barrier?  Worldlings may well be afraid, for they have an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within them, and a yawning hell beneath them; but we who rest in Jesus are saved from all these through rich mercy.  If we succumb to foolish fear we shall dishonor our profession and lead others to doubt the reality of godliness.  We ought to be afraid of being afraid, lest we should vex the Holy Spirit by foolish distrust……..  It may be night in the soul, but there is no need to be terrified, for the God of love never changes.   

“Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee; 
Thou are He, who, never weary, 
Watchest where Thy people be.”

I recently listened to CJ’s message entitled “Encourage.”  Here are my notes:

Ephesians 6:24

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,”

“Let no” is a command. Corrupt talk hinders cultivation of godly relationships.  It penetrates and spreads decay.  According to the Savior, every word matters.  We will give account of every careless word we speak on the day of judgment.  How many of my words are characterized by corrupt talk?  Death is in the power of the tongue.

“but only such as is good for building up,”

Edifying words are God centered and cross centered.  They are rooted in Scripture.  They are not just polite, nice, flattering, superficial words.  God is at work in every believer.  Most are more aware of sin instead of grace.  They are unaware of God’s work in their life.  We have the privilege and joy and responsibility to edify and discern how God is at work in others lives.  When we identify evidences of grace in others we leave behind a soul that has been built up and edified. 
Where do we find evidences of grace?  What are they?  We can begin by reading the lists of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) and the Gifts of the Spirit (I Cor 12:1-11).  CJ says we won’t be able to exhaust these 2 lists in our lifetime as we observe God at work in those we love, serve, and care for. 

How discerning am I of evidences of grace?  Do I build souls from the usage of edifying words?  Normally, when there is an absence of encouragement and edifying words, there is a presence of pride and self-righteousness.  Those who are proud are not concerned with others and can be critical.  The humble care and want to serve.  They have a heart transformed by the gospel.  When you examine your words, you’ll discover your heart.

Ferguson said, “Are use of the tongue is an evidence of the condition of our heart.  It is the hinge on which the door into our soul swings open in order to reveal our spirit.  In effect our words are like so many media people rushing to file their reports on the condition of our soul.”  What report do my words file about my soul?

“as fits the occasion,”

We must know, listen, study, and ask questions to someone so we can determine what words are most appropriate for them and what will serve them.

I Thess 5:14 “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

“that it may give grace to those who hear.”

This is God’s purpose for our speech.  We are all in need of grace.  We need to ask the Lord to help us to discern what kind of grace someone needs.  Does my family and friends experience grace in and through my words?  Does my conversation give grace?  Do I give grace in correction?  We should never correct anyone without reminding them of the gospel.

Please pray for me.  I desperately need to grow in this area.  Encouraging others, especially my children, is not something that is easy for me.  I need God’s help.  I want to change. 

 

When the lady in the below video said, “God is with me everywhere I go,” it really struck me.  I already knew this, but it is something I have been thinking about lately.  I had just shared with some friends this past Sun a conviction the Lord brought to my heart.  Sometimes I can go places or participate in things I know are not pleasing to the Lord.  Wherever I am or whatever I am doing is not helping me grow in my relationship with the Lord or bringing glory to God.  If I am trying to “hide,” not wanting anyone to know, it is a good indication that I am in sin.  I want to be a light.  I want people to see something different in me.  If an unbeliever friend or family member saw me somewhere I shouldn’t be, I would not be setting a good example and it could really hinder any attempt to share the gospel.  A friend asked me if this was fear of man/what people may think of me or if it was a true desire to bring honor and glory to God in all I do.  I think this is a good thing to think about.  I don’t want to be motivated out of the fear of man.  I have always been a person that wants peace at any cost (even if that means sinning or not speaking up when I know I should).  I don’t like conflict.  I always want everyone to be happy.  I want to be friends with everyone.  This is definitely an area where I can grow. 

Heb 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”

Nothing can be hidden from God.  He knows about everyone everywhere, and everything about us is wide open to his all-seeing eyes.  God sees all we do and all we think.  Even when we are unaware of his presence, he is there.  When we try to hide from him, he sees us.  We can have no secrets from God.  It is so comforting to know and realize that although God knows us intimately, he still loves us.

This is pretty incredible.  I know I wouldn’t have reacted the same way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDmp967UMds

Death is a king of terror, but not to the sheep of Christ.  Death cannot separate us from the love of God, and therefore it can do us no real harm; it will kill the body, but cannot touch the soul.  Spurgeon says, “What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without!  How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and fro, and the pillars of the earth are removed!  Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian’s heart, but rather makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly, until the last kind act which death can do is to let the earthly strain melt into heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss!  Let’s have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit’s power to comfort us.”  This lady had no fear in death.  I thought of this song we just sang Sunday:

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

More to come…………