Category Archives: Open Doors

Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

The only person who dares wake up a king for glass of water at 3 a.m. is a child.                                 We have that kind of access. ~Tim Keller

I am so excited to bring you a soul-stirring, true story from my friend, Kim Buerky. I met Kim when we pastored in NW Missouri and she was truly a bright spot in my life at that time. She and her husband were also pastors in the same city and they were instrumental in bringing several ministers and their wives together for fellowship, all different denominations! Kim opened her home and her heart and just loved on us all. Several days ago, on Facebook, I posted the following: “Does anyone else turn up the radio when the song gets to “What a POWERFUL Name it is!”?? In reference to the song by Hillsong Worship, “What a Beautiful Name it is”. Kim private messaged me with the following true story. I promise you won’t want to start reading without a box of tissues; you have been warned! Be blessed…

My husband and I recently traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for a family reunion on my dad’s side of the family.  We have family in Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri.  Louisville is the middle location for all of us to gather.  It is also the home of my uncle, aunt, his two grown sons and their families.  One of his sons, Darren, and his wife Jenna, pastor a multi-cultural church in Louisville.

Darren and Jenna have two teenagers of their own but felt a great calling to also be adoptive parents.  A couple years back, they adopted a seven year old girl from the Philippines and then, just seven months ago, adoption was final and they brought a seven year old little boy from China, who also is blind!

Joshua adapted to his new family and America immediately.  He has embraced the language and culture change successfully.  He attends regular classes at school.  They have many resources for the visually impaired so Joshua has learned braille and to speak English very well in his short time in America.

Joshua loves to go to church and has asked Jesus into his heart!  This little boy has such a sweet, gentle spirit about him.  He has learned many songs at home, and in church, with one of his favorites being, What A Beautiful Name It Is.  He loves to sing!  Joshua rides a school bus to and from school with just one other visually impaired boy.

On the last day of school this year, Darren went to meet Joshua at the bus stop.  The bus driver told Darren how much he had enjoyed having Joshua ride his bus.  He said, “I can tell from all the songs he sings that you all are a Christian family.”  He and Darren talked some more and the bus driver began to share some of the songs that Joshua would sing on the bus. He had even gone home and looked some of them up to see who sang them.

While sharing his heart, the driver started to cry and said, “I was raised in a Christian home but have walked away from God, but when Joshua would sing the song, What A Beautiful Name It Is…….What a Powerful Name It Is……The Name Of Jesus, I could feel something stir inside of me telling me I needed to get back into church and start serving God again!”

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10:13-16 NIV

So, at our family reunion we started the weekend off with family worship and communion.  We sang What A Beautiful Name It Is with Joshua up front helping lead.  There were tears throughout the family.  I could hear his precious little voice singing his very favorite song that he has learned since being with his new family in America and it has great meaning to him because he now knows who Jesus is!

I hope your heart has been touched by this story of how God can work even through a child.  He brought a child from China to lead a bus driver in Kentucky back to God!

Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

Kim Buerky has been married to her wonderful husband, Tim, for 39 years. She is a mother of two married children and “Meena” to three beautiful, fun, creative grandkids: An eleven year old boy, six year old girl and a 16 month old girl.

In her spare time, Kim loves shopping for bargains, having the grandkids over and absolutely loves to cook and entertain. Kim says, “Probably one of my favorite things to do is cook a good meal up for my kids and grandkids and have them over for dinner.  I like to make their favorite things on each of their birthdays.  My son who lives in Michigan gets his favorites when he and his family are coming for a visit.  I love spending time with family!!” Kim and Tim attend Cornerstone Church in Chillicothe, Mo., where their son-in-law and daughter pastor.

 

Saying, “Goodbye” to our Small Town

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How lucky I am to have something that makes saying, “Goodbye” so hard.    ~ Winnie the Pooh

Saying, “Goodbye” to our Small Town…

Life has a funny way of taking you down twists and turns, stopping, staying a while and then starting all over again.

I was born in a small town. (Hey, we Hoosiers can say that all we want since Mellencamp lives in our small town!) I love this college town even when the traffic is insane and the lines at Target are long; it’s my hometown. I’ve been a Skibo, a Bulldog, a Panther and a Hoosier, proud of each one even when I have to explain the first and last to others who weren’t born here.

A Hoosier bleeds red and white and eats, sleeps and breathes basketball; the loyalty never leaves them even if they locate elsewhere. (Claim to fame: Have I mentioned that I was an extra in the Gene Hackman movie, Hoosiers? If you look real close in the final basketball game you probably won’t see me but I was there screaming just as loud as anyone for Hickory High.)

Memories are down every road, past every landmark and in every face. I grew up here, fell in love here, had two of My Three Sons here and met Jesus here in this Small Town. In 1985, we moved away the first time to Indianapolis where The Sweetheart began his career as an air traffic controller with the FAA. In 1995 we moved back to Bloomington and to the farm where The Sweetheart grew up. It was a great place to raise boys and we loved it. But then in 2001, the Lord called us into full time ministry and we moved again to Ohio and then to Missouri to pastor. In 2010 our lives took another twist and turn as we left everything we had ever known, sold almost everything we had and flew to lands unknown on our first missionary journey.

small town

We assumed we would be overseas a long, long time but only God knows what is behind every open door and He decides when it is time to close one and open another. So in 2012 we came back to this Small Town to continue our ministry with Revival By Design, traveling around the country on the weekends. We have been living in the mother-in-law suite of my mother-in-law’s home for the last four years, (how is that for a twist!) and caring for her physically as she deals with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

It has not been an easy decision to come to this point and say that we are pulling up stakes and moving again. Anyone who knows me is aware that I have ALWAYS wanted to live in the eastern mountains of Tennessee. Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of actually calling the Smokies home. Then little things happen.

norah jayne

Yeah, this little thing lives on the other side of the Volunteer State and we want to be a part of her life. As a family, we have waited a long, long time for this blessing that has turned all of our lives upside down and we couldn’t be any happier. Norah will have her Nana and Poppy right down the road and her Nanny, Rachel’s mother, Tonya, moved just around the corner a year ago. We want Norah to be spoiled by her grandparents and I am thrilled to get to babysit a couple days a week as well. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle that little bundle all day?! Tonya calls it living in Norah-Norah-Land!

With Goodbye’s come thank-you’s. I want to thank The Sweetheart’s family for stepping up to take over the care of my MIL. It is no easy task to care for an aging parent, especially when their mind is struggling to keep up. Thank you in advance to my sisters-in-law for all the responsibility you will be taking upon your shoulders.

Our church family at Turning Point has been amazing. We will miss you more than you know! Pastors Ron and Cindy Hawkins are simply first class and we will forever be indebted to them for giving us a place to land and feel at home for the last few years.

To Kristopher and Korey: thank you so much for allowing us to leave again and not making us feel guilty. And thank you a thousand times for helping us last night with The Move. Your patience with the two of us was inspiring. Remember, Eisley has a place to stay at our house!

I don’t see my parents or siblings as often as I would like to but appreciate knowing they are close by. Thank you all for being there for us these last few years.

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

That’s the great thing about small towns, you take a part of it with you no matter where you go. I love all of my friends here and the good thing is that nothing else changes, we will still meet here on the blog, still follow one another on social media and still encourage each other in the hard times and rejoice with each other in the good.

Pray for us today as we travel and get settled. Look out Norah, here we come!

nana

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Open doors, open hearts…

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Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Every single time I hear the verse “I stand at the door at knock” I am immediately transported back in time to my paternal grandmother’s living room. She had a copy of Warner Sallman’s painting, Christ at Heart’s Door. I am sure I didn’t understand all that the artist meant for us to grasp at such a young age. Today, I wanted to delve a little deeper and uncover some treasures, truths and even terrors about that door to the heart and the rest of the scripture in that chapter. Open doors, open hearts…
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Sallman painted Christ at Heart’s Door in the late 1940’s while working as a freelance artist and magazine illustrator in Chicago. Decades later, he was dubbed the “best known artist of the century” by the New York Times. But his initial popularity came from a painting he finished before this one, The Head of Christ.
Head-of-Christ
It was finished in 1940 and soon beloved by many. The Salvation Army and the USO distributed copies of it in pocketsize to the U.S. soldiers. That same face of a loving Savior was also used in the painting of Jesus standing at the door. Of course Sallman didn’t know what Jesus looked like and neither do we. But because of His popular painting, this is the face so many of us see in our minds when we think of Jesus, whether we want to or not.
Many things about the painting of Jesus standing at the door are intriguing. You may notice there is no handle on the door on the outside. It must be opened from the INSIDE. Jesus will knock, He will pursue but He will never force His way into your heart and life. His is an open invitation, but if you don’t open the door He cannot come in!

Doors. We can open them, close them, choose whether to walk through them, ignore them all together, slam them, lock them or keep them ajar.

While I was on the island of Malta last month I was mesmerized by the doors there. Most homes give names to their homes with the most popular being St. Mary since this is a predominantly Catholic country.  I saw names such as Hortensia, Felicia, Ave Maria, St. Genevieve, Noe Noella, Silver Lining, Santa Verginella and Cornerstone. I thought I would share some of these beautiful entryways with you.
Door collage 1
door collage 2
door collage 3
In this house below with the big palm tree, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie lived here while making their latest film. They have made other movies in Malta, such as Troy and Alexander and have been seen around the island many times.
door collage 4
door collage 5door collage 6door collage 7That is the explanation of the scripture I have heard my entire life, that Jesus stands at the door of the heart of the sinner and knocks. We can certainly be blessed by the picture of Jesus wanting to come in to our hearts. But this verse is actually at the end of the charge to the Church in Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church. Here it is in its entirety:
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’” Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV.
This Church hasn’t even noticed that Jesus has left! That is terrifying to me! These are those who think they have need of nothing, but are actually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Yet He reproves, corrects and invites them to come back to Him. All they have to do is HEAR HIS VOICE, OPEN THE DOOR and He will come back in.
open doors open hearts
Is this the story of your door, the door to your heart? Are you just overwhelmed with LIFE, busy making money, busy raising children, busy accumulating and building bigger barns that, even though you might not say it out loud, your heart is saying, “I don’t need God, I have it all together.”
Are you so busy that you haven’t even noticed that Jesus isn’t a vital part of your life; He isn’t even there?

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Whichever one describes us, however we have interpreted this verse, we all still need Jesus. He knocks for us. He pursues us. He LOVES us over and over again. He pushes through our darkness, through our pain and whether you have never known Him, or you have pushed Him aside, if you will open that door He will come in.
The coolest thing I found while studying these verses? It’s the first two verses in the next chapter:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and Onesat on the throne.” Revelation 4:1, 2 NKJV.

John was taken up into heaven and there he sees a DOOR. This is an OPEN DOOR in heaven. What was behind that OPEN DOOR?

ONE sat on the throne.

Friends, this is our Jesus, the One who overcame death, hell and the grave. He did it all for you, for me and for now? The DOOR is OPEN and He invites us in with forgiveness and salvation under Grace.
Someday the DOOR will be CLOSED for all eternity. Whatever you do, do not wait until it is too late.

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