Category Archives: heart

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.

 

That time you didn’t tell the truth.

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That time you didn’t tell the truth.

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

Mark Twain

It’s #FiveMinuteFriday and I didn’t want to pass up this word prompt: Truth!

I have a dear friend that I remember when we were teenagers always ending a statement or answering someone else with “This is true!” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were the case? That everything we said was true?

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is told in Acts, chapter 5. This couple had sold a piece of property and then brought part of the profit to the apostles. The problem was that they claimed it was the full amount when it wasn’t. Peter confronts them and asks if it is the full amount and Ananias replies that it is. Here is where it gets interesting:

Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

Peter makes it clear that Ananias did not have to give the money to the church, it was his money, he could as he wished. The problem was that he lied, not to them but to God.

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

Ananias paid for his sin immediately…can you imagine if that were the case today? That if you lied, you died!

Things got worse from there because about three hours later his wife, Sapphira walks in and Peter asks her the same question he asked Ananias and she tells the same story, the same lie. Look at the beginning of the chapter again: He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Sapphira not only knew about the lie, she was in agreement with it. So, when she walked in and lied to Peter?

And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” Instantly, she fell to the floor and died.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25

I love this quote! It is so much easier to tell the truth because you don’t have to remember the lie that you made up!! Yes, sometimes the truth hurts but a lie will follow you forever. Whether it is in the guilt or the worry that you will be found out, or the condemnation that trails you…as the saying goes, Be sure your sin will find you out!

If you have lied? If the guilt is weighing you down, Jesus is in the forgiveness business! He wants you to come to Him, to confess your weaknesses. He is ready and willing to forgive and forget! Don’t let the enemy intimidate you an make you think that forgiveness can’t be found. That is also a lie! He is the father of lies and wants you to think that you are stuck with that guilt and condemnation. Not so, friend, not so! Repenting is turning around, away from the sin and not repeating it over again. Confessing and giving it to God is the best remedy for that guilt. Do it today!

It’s so much easier to be honest, so much easier to not have to apologize later or worry you will be found out. And most of all, your heart is right with your God and that is worth it all.

For the kingdom

 

Loving so much it hurts

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Loving so much it hurtsWe have another year behind us with opportunity and anticipation ahead. One thing we cannot say is that 2016 was boring. I won’t bore you with a repeat of all the highlights from the past year, you will see enough of that on social media.

I have reflected on the year personally, as I am sure you have. This 55th year of my birth brought many, many changes for me and The Sweetheart.

  • Norah Jayne. The miracle we have waited more than ten years for finally arrived 4/2/16. She literally lights up our lives. Those eyes and that smile melt me and if I could give her the world I would.
  • We moved. Well, of course we moved! Six hours south to be near Norah Jayne. A new city, a new church, some old and some new friends, all because of a miracle.
  • I went to work full time. For those that know me at all, I was blessed when My Three Sons were all home to be there for them. Then, with pastoring and traveling, etc., I was busy with curriculum editing for Revival By Design the last five years. Now, I want to be available for Norah, but still have some money to spend on headbands and bows, so I now work at night, from home, for Amazon customer service, in my pajamas if I want!

Norah has brought so many changes to my world, the list could easily be longer. I miss my family back in Indiana terribly but when I walk in the door and that little face brightens up when she sees me and those arms reach out for her Nana…well…I have to admit I am in heaven on earth.

Love so much it hurts at times. I want her to be able to climb up in my lap and know that all is well. I want her to know she is loved and that in the arms of her family she is safe and cared for. (Don’t worry, she is!) But I think about her when I am not with her, I miss her if it’s more than a day or two, and naturally, I don’t want her to forget me.

I have been with The Sweetheart for 40 years, married for 37. It seems as if we have always been a couple, an item, a duo. I can’t imagine my life without him and if I allow my head to go there, to try to imagine losing him, my heart feels as if it would break in two. Many of you reading this, that have experienced that loss, can relate to that. You love so much it hurts!

In 2012, Marjorie and James Landis of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died just 88 minutes apart. They had been married 65 years. One couldn’t imagine surviving and going on without the other.

A few years ago a group of doctors at Johns Hopkins University reported a rare but lethal heart condition caused by acute emotional distress. The technical name is stress cardiomyopathy; we call it broken heart syndrome. A current example of this would be the actresses Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Literally heartbroken over the death of her daughter, Debbie Reynolds suffered a stroke and died one day after her beloved daughter. She is reported to have said that she just wanted to be with Carrie.

I was thinking of all of that in prayer time today. I reflected on the past year and the many blessings of the Lord: the good, the bad, the ugly and the wonderful. I was thankful for it all because God was with me, He was faithful.

And for His love, the love He had for us. He loved so much it hurt too. He came as an infant, knowing He would be wounded, physically, verbally, etc., but He still came. He also knew He would give so much that it hurt; physical torture and rejection from His own people. But that love trumped pain, it triumphed over rejection and even abandonment. He paid the ultimate price all because He loved us so much.

He would do it all again you know; just as you would stand in the gap for your children and grandchildren. You would take the punishment for them, you would likely give your life for them because you love so much.

As we enter a new year, uncertainties abound: Political unrest, terrorism that grows increasingly close to our door and endtime prophecy being fulfilled all around us. The one thing that is definite is that we are loved, we are cared for and we are safe in the arms of our Father. We can climb up in His lap, so to speak, and be assured that whatever comes our way, whatever 2017 holds for us as God’s children, He will be faithful to His Word. Persecution may come, difficulties may be present but He will walk with us through any fire or trial. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

That’s a Father’s love for His children. Unconditional, unwavering, a really good hurt.

 

 

The Daniel Fast DevotionalIt’s that time of year again…a time of reflection, renewal and denial. Many churches begin corporate fasts at the beginning of the New Year and individuals choose a fast of some kind as well. Pick up a copy of The Daniel Fast, a Devotional! Available in Kindle and paperback, it’s an easy read, full of 21 days of devotions for ANY FAST. There are also daily recipes for the Daniel Fast or a no meats, no sweets fast if you choose that route. Whatever you do, fast unto the Lord! Click on the book or this link to order from Amazon.com!