The Lilac's Agony and Joy

A short time ago, I was reading about how lilac bushes are able to thrive despite harsh winter conditions. This information interested me as we have several lilac bushes on our property as well as very cold winters in the area where we live in the upper Midwest. Through the winter months, the ground is iron, covered over with snow. The cold and wind are brutal, the temperatures plummeting into the negatives for days at a time.

And yet, in the warm early days of spring, the lilac bushes begin to bloom. Frozen and dead to the world during the winter, in the spring their lavish blooms delight the earth with beauty. They emanate a most delightful scent; the air is filled in the spring with the sweet aroma of lilac blooms. They are a treat to the eyes and to the heart that has been rendered winter-raw.

My children gather these blooms in the spring and use them to adorn their sandbox confections and creations. They love to climb into the lower branches of their aged arms. Their lovely smell always delights me as I hang laundry to dry outside in the sweet spring wind. I marvel at the splendor that the Lord has clothed just one lilac bush in!

Their beauty appears most radiant after the harshest months of the year. I am reminded how the Lord often brings us through trials and discouragements in order to strengthen and test our faith. He desires that beauty in our lives will shine through these hardships and reflect the spring grace of our Creator, the Father of mercy and redemption and the One who brings life from death.

Just as the lilac endures to the end of winter, so we are also called to endure the trials that He brings into our lives. Hebrews 12:9-12 says,

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

He calls us to endure—through His enabling strength. He brings beauty out of pain and hardship in our lives when we submit and yield to Him. He promises the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” when we are trained by His hand through trials and chastenings.

These chastenings do not seem pleasant at the time (Hebrews 12:11), but in the end they bring forth the marvel of His grace in our lives when we have been softened and molded by them.

Just as the lilac bush bears beautiful blooms in the spring, so will our lives show forth His beauty through the testing and trials that He lovingly sends us as a Father who wants His children to bear fruit when we yield in surrender to His Fatherly discipline and love. 

A Month of Mercies~~April 2021

 

This is my Father's world,

The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white,

Declare their Maker's praise. 

This is my Father's world,

He shines in all that's fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;

He speaks to me everywhere.

~Maltbie Babcock

I'm sharing another "Month of Mercies" post . . . This past month has been so full . . . we've been busy finishing up homeschooling for the year, cleaning up our property, and working on many projects outside. How good the Lord is! To give us these days of warmth to, as our Amish friends would say, "redd up" outside and to prepare for planting! 

I praise Him this past month for . . . 

My Mom's much-anticipated Easter breads that she makes every year . . . this year, my daughter Debbie, and my niece, Betsy, helped her to prepare them. What a delight when these come out of the oven! It's an Italian tradition that we all hold dear to in our family--one that delights the taste buds and the heart! 

Our sweet outdoor friends . . . this bunny is very friendly and you may see him here relaxing under this bush . . . waiting patiently for me to plant the garden . . . ;-) The little rascal!! But we love him . . . 

Speaking of the garden, it has been tilled; hooray! 

My nephew, Simeon, helping with the tilling--he's a great help to me; always asking me, "Auntie Bek; what can I do?" 

More tilling and cleaning up, too . . . 

The return of the precious hollyhocks . . . 

And here is the row of daffodils that I mentioned in my last post . . . 

This made me smile . . . my little 8-year-old daughter put Jesus to sleep in her room beside Eric Metaxas's book that she found on my bedside table . . . 

Breads baking in the oven for Easter . . . 

Work on the Missionary House has begun and the "First Phase" is complete! We praise God for how He is providing for the ministry and bringing His beautiful plan into fruition . . . 

Tulips blooming outside after the long, long winter . . . 

Praise the Lord for His mercies . . . truly, our Protector never slumbers and He works out all things according to His plan and love for His people . . . We bless His name. 

A Month of Mercies~~March 2021

Morning by morning, new mercies I see . . . March 2021

Instead of sharing a weekly update on this blog's Facebook page as I've done in the past, I decided to share a monthly update HERE instead. I had been telling about how the Lord had moved and worked in my life in words and pictures every week, but it has been difficult to keep up. Therefore, I felt led to do this on a monthly basis on my blog instead, and then to share it with you all! I pray that it is a blessing to you. Truly, it is good to give praise to the Lord--this practice lifts my heart and reminds me that the Lord is at work in His people's lives in both great and small ways. Blessed be His name!

So without further ado, this past month the Lord has blessed me and spoken to me through~

~Starting my flowers indoors with my children . . . this always brings gladness to my heart as we push the tiny seeds into the soil and wait for the Lord to cause the light of the sun to shine upon the plants and to cause them to grow. There is so much of the grace and mercy of God in planting . . . 

~Remembering that HE is our strength and our song through all of the trials and difficulties of life . . . this world is not our final resting place~~

~We celebrated the Passover at our church this month; what an incredible blessing~~ these were the cupcakes that we brought to share for dessert after we celebrated the Passover meal. 

~Daffodils blooming near our home . . . and the anticipation for waiting for our "row" of daffodils to bloom.

~A friendly Robin sheltered on our front step during a late snow . . . 

~And finally, work HAS BEGUN on The Missionary House (a piece of our family's ministry here in the Midwest). More details to come on that later :-). This has brought great joy and hope to my heart in the midst of a very difficult year of sorrow over the direction that our country has taken . . . 

 Praise the Lord; He lives! He moves and works in our lives. I pray that you will have a very blessed Easter . . . I would love to hear about how the Lord is moving in your life as well . . . the Lord bless and keep each one of you . . . 

Ministry Update

I wanted to share an update on our ministry in the Midwest as well as thank all of  those who have been faithfully praying for us. 

Our view outside 

Right now, we are in the throes of winter and eagerly anticipating spring. We have extremely harsh winters here, which makes us all the more thankful when the sweet spring days come. Just recently, I was reading about lilac bushes, which apparently are able to thrive in extreme conditions. There are many, many lilac bushes in Wisconsin! And they flourish, despite the bitter cold winters that we experience here. This fact about lilac bushes reminded me that believers are called to press into the One who is the cleft of the Rock during the harshest times that we face spiritually. We may trust Him to bring life after the chilling winter winds have threatened us with despair. Just as the lilac bush is one of the most beautiful sights in the springtime, so may our lives gracefully reflect the glory of Christ through adversity and hardship. 

Hummingbird near the Missionary House drinking honeysuckle

O Christ, He is the fountain,

The deep, sweet well of life:

Its living streams I've tasted

Which save from grief and strife.

And to an ocean fullness,

His mercy doth expand;

His grace is all sufficient

As by His wisdom planned.

~Anne Cousin

I've shared with you before about an outbuilding on our property which we have affectionately named "The Missionary House." We've been focusing our prayers on that building, asking the Lord to provide the means to renovate it for guests to stay in. 

Last summer, I felt that Holy Spirit was asking me to take a step of faith in using all of the earnings from our small farm stand that my children and I run during the spring/summer months toward the renovation of the Missionary House. We usually use this money toward pint-sized projects/our families needs when things are tight, and so it was a step of obedience for me to trust in the Lord to set it aside. I took a large pickle jar and began putting all of our earnings in it as the spring and then summer wore on.

Next, I set a goal on paper and in my mind to complete "Phase 1" of the Missionary House. This would be part 1 of 4 parts--the storage area that is leaking and needed to be re-roofed and framed. I was hoping that what was set aside during the summer would be enough for that particular project. 

Unusual things began to happen after I had made the decision to use the money from the farm stand for Herrnhut. I hadn't shared that I would be using this money for our ministry with anyone other than my husband and a few very close immediate family members who I asked not to tell anyone (that was what I believed the Lord had laid upon my heart to do). 

My sales in young spring perennials that I dug early in the season went way up. Many people stopped by to buy hollyhock plants that I started in the house. And on two separate occasions, neighbors knocked on my door, one of them asking to buy a hanging plant that was just a decoration on the farm stand! It confirmed to me that the Lord was indeed blessing the earnings of the farm stand and had indeed led me to put them aside.

At the end of the summer, I was hopeful that we might have enough to begin the project. And yet, we fell short. I brought this to the Lord and waited. Miraculously, in answer to prayer, He unexpectedly provided through gifts that were given toward Herrnhut over the winter months, as well as a gift from a family member that was not designated for Herrnhut but that we decided to use toward this project--exactly enough to complete phase one in the spring. 

We praise God for His provision and for His faithfulness to answered prayer. We are waiting at this point for our Amish friend to contact us when he is ready to begin the work in early spring. And we praise God! 

South side of the Missionary House

I am hoping in the next update to share photos with you all of the work that will be done on the Missionary House. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I am always amazed at how the Lord provides for us exactly in His perfect timing. 

We continue to be grateful for your prayers. The Lord bless each and every one of you. 

Wednesday Hymn~O God Our Help in Ages Past

 Our God, our help in ages past, 

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, 

And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou are God,

To endless years the same.

The Word commands our flesh to dust,

"Return, ye sons of men."

All nations rose from earth at first,

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight

Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,

With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood,

And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream

Bears all its sons away;

They fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand

Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower's hand

Lie withering ere 'tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guard while troubles last,

And our eternal home.

~Isaac Watts

Too Much Rubble

 A few days after Christmas, I assessed our situation. It was Monday, and I hadn't decided when we would start up homeschooling again after a few day's Christmas break.

 

I looked around at the after-Christmas clutter in our bedrooms, the decorations that needed to be stored and put away, and at the general disorder around me. 

And I decided that we needed to "clear the rubble" before we began to "build the wall" again. 

It would be difficult and frustrating to delve into our studies when there was so much "build-up" all around us. And so I told my two children (much to their delight), that we would be taking a few days to clean and organize before we delved back into our books. 

We needed to clear the rubble before building the wall. 

 

Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”  

Nehemiah 4:10 NKJV

Isn't this true in our lives? The "walls" of whatever it that the Lord has called us to need to be built. They need to be physically or figuratively built; they need to be spiritually built and strengthened through prayer. The walls need to be built.

What has God called you to build, friend? Is it the spiritual foundation of your family? Is it the strengthening of your devotional life? Is it a ministry or a special project that He has placed upon your heart? What walls are you building? And are they surely the "walls" that the Lord has called you to build?

 

 

I've found, so many times in my own life that I need to STOP and re-access what I am building. Did the Lord really call me to a project or to an endeavor, or am I building the "walls" of my own fancy and design? 

When He HAS indeed called me to a project or to a work, is there clear ground around my feet, or "rubble" that I may trip over and "mess up" the wall that He has called me to build? This "rubble" may take on many shapes and forms--it may be distractions--spiritual or physical distractions that need to be "cleaned up" and dealt with. It may be a besetting sin that "trips us up" and needs to be repented of at the foot of the cross. It may be the "extra clutter" of things and activities that the Lord has not called us to and doesn't want us to pursue, even if in appearance they seem like a "good" thing. As Oswald Chambers says, "Beware of the good that is the enemy of the best." 

 

 

Clear out the rubble, friend. Tidy up your spiritual house. Deal with things quickly with the Lord. Keep short accounts. 

And then "tidy up" your physical house. Has the Lord called you to eat in a healthier way to serve Him better? Clean out your refrigerator; get those offending foods out! Has He called you to wake up a little earlier to spend time with Him? Has He called you to go to bed a little earlier so that you may serve Him better during the day?

Has He called you to "show hospitality?" Give your kids a dusting rag and a broom and together physically clean out the rooms in your home. It will be easier to fulfill His calling when we are obedient to Him in the day to day "tidying" of our homes. 

Has He called you to take the spiritual lead in your home? Dust that Bible off--pick out a good family devotional and clear that rubble of kid's complaining and "lack of time," and pursue the spiritual growth of your home with the simple spiritual "tools" that the Lord has given to us--a Bible, and hymnal, and a mind that can memorize God's Word and hide it in our hearts. 

We don't need all the extra things-the "rubble" is holding us back. 

In the summertime, often my kids will try to start building something in the sandbox while all the other sand toys are lying around and cluttering up the project area. I often tell them--"you can't build with all of this clutter; clean it out first." 

And how true this is for us as well! So come before the Lord. If you can kneel, do so--if not, spread out your hands to Him and ask Him what it is that He has called you to do. Make a list. Get rid of the things that He hasn't called you to, that are just the "rubble" of an extra burden or activity. 

And then get up and build. He has given you the tools. He has given you His Spirit. He will strengthen your hands and your heart. And through your obedience, you will know His smile and pleasure. 

Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!

Isaiah 35:3-4a NKJV

Book Recommendation--this is an excellent one to start off the new year--

Discipline: The Glad Surrender, by Elisabeth Elliot

Wednesday Hymn

Come, Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us,

Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth Thou art;

Dear desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,

Born a child and yet a King,

Born to reign in us forever,

Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone;

By Thine all sufficient merit,

Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

~Charles Wesley

Book Recommendation for the Advent season: 

God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas 

Written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer