sweet maria in portugal

I had the amazing honor and opportunity to travel to Portugal a few weeks ago. What a gift that was! I am continually amazed at the places the Lord lets me set my feet on.

On our last day in country, we got to see Lisbon. It is a beautiful city and full of culture, diverse people and thick Catholicism. I really wanted to see the main Cathedral in the city before we left. As we rounded the corner to the entrance, the first thing my eyes saw was an elderly woman sitting down on the steps. She was obviously crippled, as her feet were folded under her long black crinkled skirt, and there was a crutch next to her. She was holding a cup for people to put money in, and she kept saying to everyone that passed by "you are beautiful. you are beautiful." It seemed that was the only English she knew, or the only thing she could muster up to say from where she was folded down.

We walked right past her too.

As I was walking through the Cathedral, seeing the ornate gold decorations from one end to the other, my heart kept drawing back to this lady. I sat down on a pew in the back of the hall and looked straight ahead to the front, seeing every detail of this massive church. The Lord so sweetly whispered to me, "All of this is beautiful, but she is more beautiful to me than any of this. I am more enthralled with her than this place."

I couldn't walk past her on the way out.

The Lord gave to me His sweet words to speak over her from Acts 3, and I knew we had to share them with her. I was not suprised that He wanted us to read these words over her, as the only words she knew to say were "you are beautiful", and that was the very name of the gate where Peter and John met their friend! How BEAUTIFUL that was!

"One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Look here.” He looked up, expecting to get something from them. Peter said, “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked. The man went into the Temple with them, walking back and forth, dancing and praising God. Everybody there saw him walking around and praising God. They recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Temple’s Gate Beautiful and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing. The man threw his arms around Peter and John, ecstatic. All the people ran up to where they were at Solomon’s Porch to see it for themselves."

I called my friends that were with me together and shared with them what the Lord was saying. We sat there in that place together and prayed and then got up, walked outside to her, sat down on the steps with her and loved on her.

She was able to share with us that her name was Maria, because she did speak a little Spanish. She smiled the biggest smile I had seen all week in this country, with missing and rotted out teeth that made my heart so full!

As we spoke the very words over her that Peter spoke, we were believing that she would get up and walk! I've learned to always be expectant of a miracle. Even though she didn't, we were so full of love in that moment, knowing that the Lord let us be a part of Maria's little world that day. We all walked away from this beautiful lady knowing that the Lord was healing the inside of her. Letting her know she was valuable, loved, worth more than begging on steps, and she was beautiful in His eyes.

And then, there is always the miracle the Lord does inside of us when we are part of what He is doing......

never forget God's goodness

Joshua 4

"When the whole nation was finally across, God spoke to Joshua: “Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe, and tell them, ‘From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.’” Joshua called out the twelve men whom he selected from the People of Israel, one man from each tribe. Joshua directed them, “Cross to the middle of the Jordan and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder, a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel, so you’ll have something later to mark the occasion. When your children ask you, ‘What are these stones to you?’ you’ll say, ‘The flow of the Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest of the Covenant of God as it crossed the Jordan—stopped in its tracks. These stones are a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.’” “Yes, God, your God, dried up the Jordan’s waters for you until you had crossed, just as God, your God, did at the Red Sea, which had dried up before us until we had crossed. This was so that everybody on earth would recognize how strong God’s rescuing hand is and so that you would hold God in solemn reverence always.”

There are many things in my life I try to forget, things that I did before I knew the Lord. But there is so much goodness that the Lord has let me experience, be a part of and lavish on me, that I never want to forget. Moments that I want to freeze in my heart and memory so I can remember every detail of them.

Way before Joshua was a part of this miracle and God's people got to experience this moment, the Lord gave a word to Moses about never forgetting His goodness over them, and this is still for us too (Deuteronomy 8):

"Keep and live out the entire commandment that I’m commanding you today so that you’ll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don’t live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God’s mouth. Your clothes didn’t wear out and your feet didn’t blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.

So it’s paramount that you keep the commandments of God, your God, walk down the roads he shows you and reverently respect him. God is about to bring you into a good land, a land with brooks and rivers, springs and lakes, streams out of the hills and through the valleys. It’s a land of wheat and barley, of vines and figs and pomegranates, of olives, oil, and honey. It’s land where you’ll never go hungry—always food on the table and a roof over your head. It’s a land where you’ll get iron out of rocks and mine copper from the hills.

Make sure you don’t forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today. Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up—make sure you don’t become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,

the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness,
those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you."

The Lord brings us through so much, delivers us, frees us, redeems us - how could we ever forget how He loves us! It is easy to take God's love and protection for granted. How often do we neglect that our car gets us where we need to go, our clothes don't rip and we have an over abundance of shoes that keep our feet from swelling and blistering. Even God's chosen people failed to notice all of this during their 40 years of provision. They didn't take notice to even say "Thank you" to the Lord.

I know I am grateful for moments, but I am going to be even more grateful for His tangible provisions too, for those are extra gifts He gives us, just because he loves us and can.

This is what I am most grateful for today. A beautiful house that the Lord has provided for me to live in and love people from. And He gave me a sweet gift right out front!

moving forward with feet in the water

Joshua 3

"Then Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “Attention! Listen to what God, your God, has to say. This is how you’ll know that God is alive among you - he will completely dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. Look at what’s before you: the Chest of the Covenant. Think of it - the Master of the entire earth is crossing the Jordan as you watch. Now take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Chest of God, Master of all the earth, touch the Jordan’s water, the flow of water will be stopped - the water coming from upstream will pile up in a heap. And that’s what happened. The people left their tents to cross the Jordan, led by the priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant. When the priests got to the Jordan and their feet touched the water at the edge (the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest), the flow of water stopped. It piled up in a heap - a long way off - at Adam, which is near Zarethan. The river went dry all the way down to the Arabah Sea (the Salt Sea). And the people crossed, facing Jericho."

The Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, but first they had to cross the Jordan River, and God gave them specific instructions on how to do so. Step 1 - the priest had to put their feet in the water. What if the priest had been afraid to take that first step? So often God provides no solution for us until we trust him and move forward with what we know we should do.

We will never walk in victory until we are willing to step out in faith, get our feet wet, and trust God to do the rest. If we hesitate with the instructions God has given us, if we refuse to step out in obedience, then we are limiting the blessings that God has for us.

Yesterday I put my feet in the water. In 4 hours, with the help of some amazing servants, all the demo was done on the house. I don't even own the house yet, but God said to move forward in faith, so I did. I was overwhelmed, humbled, and grateful for everything that happened yesterday.

And this is where the promise is beginning to be fulfilled.

"Not for our sake, God, but for your name's sake, show your glory. Do it on account of your merciful love, do it on account of your faithful ways." Psalm 115:1 - 2

full of fault. full of faith

Joshua 2

"The woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, two men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they’d come from. At dark, when the gate was about to be shut, the men left. But I have no idea where they went. Hurry up! Chase them—you can still catch them!” (She had actually taken them up on the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax that were spread out for her on the roof.) So the men set chase down the Jordan road toward the fords. As soon as they were gone, the gate was shut. Before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up to them on the roof and said, “I know that God has given you the land. We’re all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless. We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed. We heard it and our hearts sank. We all had the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you, you and God, your God, God of the heavens above and God of the earth below. “Now promise me by God. I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters—everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!”

I just finished reading a fictional book on the life story of Rahab. While it is not all accurate (not recorded in scripture) it gave me great insight into what her life might have been like.

She trusted a God she had never known, never seen, never understood. She was set apart by Him to be a part of a miracle, even when her life didn't reflect what the world would say could be used as such. She let the borders of her trust be torn down and it opened up limitless space for God to love her.

A life that was full of every fault in the world, even though she lived in a wretched, sinful place - she was still considered "one of those people." Yet, God prepared her heart for things unknown to her, and she didn't understand those things until she was obedient to His spirit in her. God used a lost child of his to bring victory to a whole nation that did know Him. That's His heart.

As I was praying through what the Lord taught me through the scripture, and what insight I was given into her life, I thought of the song "Oceans." It is a pure picture of her life. How faithful she was, even in her faults. When I think I have reached a place of intimacy with the Lord, I am quickly reminded there is so much more to the depths of the Fathers heart, and I am no where close.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

be strong. be courageous.

Joshua 1

After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant:

“Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

Then Joshua gave orders to the people’s leaders: “Go through the camp and give this order to the people: ‘Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to enter and take the land God, your God, is giving you to possess.’”

Then Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said, “Remember what Moses the servant of God commanded you: God, your God, gives you rest and he gives you this land. Your wives, your children, and your livestock can stay here east of the Jordan, the country Moses gave you; but you, tough soldiers all, must cross the River in battle formation, leading your brothers, helping them until God, your God, gives your brothers a place of rest just as he has done for you. They also will take possession of the land that God, your God, is giving them. Then you will be free to return to your possession, given to you by Moses the servant of God, across the Jordan to the east.”

They answered Joshua: “Everything you commanded us, we’ll do. Wherever you send us, we’ll go. We obeyed Moses to the letter; we’ll also obey you—we just pray that God, your God, will be with you as he was with Moses. Anyone who questions what you say and refuses to obey whatever you command him will be put to death. Strength! Courage!”

4 times the Lord tells Joshua - be strong. be courageous. The Lord could see things ahead of Joshua that he would face. Things that would tempt him to quit, back down, lose strength. When we are moving forward in faith, we have to trust that the Lord knows what is ahead. With his promise on the other side, being strong through the difficult things, and being courageous through the temptations, we are sure to see His promise fulfilled.

What may look like a road going to nowhere - this is the place we learn to trust Him more. Our eyes are open only to see what He created, what He crafted for us to experience, and what He wants to give us in the moment. When we run with our eyes and heart open to Him, the road becomes more beautiful and our strength and courage become more aligned with Him.