I have a thing for sunsets.

Sometimes you’d think I’d never seen one before. I almost drove off the highway last night trying to watch the most amazing one unfold out in the sky to the west. South Florida is flat. Very flat. But the great thing about that is being able to see from horizon to horizon, especially at sunset. And the sunset last evening took my breath away.

Exceptionally bright rays of gold and pink were exploding out from behind a huge dark thunderhead cloud, while on the complete other side of the horizon to the east, towers of puffy white clouds over the ocean had picked up on the colors in the west, reflecting them back. And there I was in the middle, trying to stay on the road while watching the sky fight back against the coming darkness of night.

Amazing. And all I could think about were the words to the hymn “How Great Thou Art”.

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.”

Maybe I need to be awed more often.

Not just by sunsets and sunrises that leave me speechless, but by seeing God in every aspect of my days and my life. I should be in awesome wonder that God wakes me up each morning for another day of walking with Him. I should be in awesome wonder that He knows me, loves me, speaks to me.

And maybe He gives us amazing sunsets and sunrises and thunderstorms and starry nights to remind us of that. They are only amazing because an awesome God made them that way.

I’m grateful for that sunset last night. Grateful for a moment of worship right there in my car, grateful for reminders that my God is awesome and amazing and loves to give me unexpected glimpses of His glory.

“Thy power throughout the universe displayed.”

The Mighty One, God the LORD, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Psalm 50:1

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. Psalm 145:5-6

You alone are the LORD;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You. Nehemiah 9:6

I posted this blog entry on my birthday last year. Still makes me smile to read it. Hope you don’t mind seeing it again!

It was on a July 19th more than a few years ago that a little girl was born. She came on her due date. And she’s been punctual ever since. God knew all about her, even before that summer night in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Psalm 139:15

And on that night, as she was taking her first breaths and meeting her parents and the world for the first time, God already had all her days planned.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 NLT

God was there as she took her first steps, said her first words and most importantly of all, when as a child, she knew she needed Jesus in her heart.

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14 NLT

God was there as she grew up, went to elementary school, middle school, high school, Bible college, nursing school. And all through those years, He continued to unfold a plan for her life.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

He was there when life didn’t turn out the way she thought it would, the way it seemed to be turning out for almost everyone else. But He gave her a new hope and a new word – Anticipatience.

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:25 ESV

And so now, many years later, that little girl is all grown up, living in Florida, working as a nurse, still believing, and realizing how dependent she is on her Lord. There have been joys and sorrows and blessings and adventures and everything in between.

And God has been there for all of it. And I think that God is celebrating with her today on her birthday. He had a plan for her life.

He has a plan for her life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I took a vacation from being a nurse. And became a patient along the way.

I’m on my break from my job as the nurse at school. And I’m on crutches, which has made my vacation a very interesting one, and not the one I had planned.

Not sure what I’ve done to my knee, and the doctor doesn’t seem to know either. But it has necessitated a very abbreviated version of the activities I had all laid out for my time off. I’ve written quite a few blogs (and a book) in the past about waiting and patience, but I didn’t think I’d be applying it to a mystery knee condition. The best guess diagnosis is one that says that it will improve with “avoiding the activities which cause discomfort”.

That’s walking in my case.

So I’ve been hobbling around, having to put my pride on the back burner, asking others to get me things or slow down or open doors or not pay attention to my winces and sighs.

It’s been an interesting and eye-opening experience to be the one who needs the care, instead of being the one who usually gives it. And it’s been yet another lesson in realizing things are not going to get better on my time schedule. This is a situation which apparently needs…time.

And I can’t fight that. I need to do what I’m told, and not try to rush ahead. Part of me wants to tell God I’ve spent my life learning that lesson, but apparently there are lessons which require what we call in professional circles, “continuing education”.

It’s OK. It could be worse. And there is a small part of me that’s actually grateful for the experience of being on the other side of the medical fence. Sometimes it’s beneficial to learn life lessons in a new, unexpected and sometimes entertaining way.

Maybe there’s a reason why we need to be called “patients”. Patience?

Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; Colossians 1:11

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

I’ve heard countless sermons and Sunday School lessons about the Shepherd and the sheep. But coming face to face with an actual shepherd and his tiny newborn lambs yesterday put those sermons and lessons and scriptures into a whole new perspective for me.

I don’t know why I got it into my head that I wanted to visit a sheep farm and take the “lambing tour” offered at Valley Shepherd Creamery in Long Valley, New Jersey. I’m here visiting my family and I was looking for something different to do. So we piled in the car and drove the 45 minutes to a gorgeous part of my home state, passing by pastures and farms and peaceful countryside.

The young “shepherd” in charge of the “lambing” took us on a tour of the barn where the newborn lambs were kept. You’d think he’d be tired of telling these tour groups the same information day after day after day. But it was like it was his first day. He was excited and passionate and there was no doubt he knew his sheep.

He told us of sleepless nights while the lambs were being born. He told us of having to watch each one very closely to make sure they were getting the milk they needed to gain strength and grow. He knew the weakest ones. He knew the stronger ones. He explained about needing to protect them from foxes and bears and other threats when they weren’t in the safety of the barn.

And as I heard the love and care and compassion in his voice and as I held a wriggling little four day old lamb in my arms, I thought about Jesus and those Sunday School lessons.

There’s a reason why He’s called the Shepherd. I love that He’ll never get tired of watching out for me, holding me, caring about what will make me grow. He knows when I’m weak, and when I’m strong and when I need protecting.

And I know I need to listen for His voice.

That real-life shepherd probably had no idea I was having my own personal moment with God there in that lambing barn. But I bet my Shepherd was looking down on this particular sheep of His – and smiling.

So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations. Psalm 79:14

Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. Ezekiel 34:12

The title of this post isn’t a mistake. I didn’t forget to put in words. That little semi-colon is very much intentional, and Biblically speaking, very significant.

“Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Genesis 25:21)

I have to credit my pastor with bringing this to my attention during a sermon a few weeks ago, but do you see that little “;” there between those sentences? That little “;” symbolizes twenty years. Isaac started interceding for his wife when he was 40 years old (Genesis 25:20). And he was 60 years old when Rebekah’s twins were born (Genesis 25:26).

Twenty years.

That’s a long time to pray. We aren’t given details about what those twenty years looked like for Isaac, and maybe God wanted it that way. Maybe God just wanted to remind us, thousands of years later, that He answers prayer. In His timing. In ways specific to our individual stories and our individual needs. My story won’t be like Isaac’s. My “;” will be known only to God until He chooses to reveal the other part of my story.

I looked up the meaning of the semi-colon on a grammar website. It said, “The semi-colon indicates a pause in the series. It is used instead of a full stop or period.”

On those days when I get discouraged, when the interceding and the pleading seem to fall on deaf ears, I’m going to remind myself that I’m just in a pause, not a full stop. God is doing things in the “;” that I just can’t see or understand in this moment. My story won’t be that “Sharon prayed.” It will be that “Sharon prayed;_________”.

I will wait patiently in this pause. Because I know that God is the author of my life and faith. He will write the rest of the sentence someday and that little “;” I’m living in right now will make perfect and complete sense.

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

It shall come to pass
That before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24

It is because He loves us so much that He tries us by delaying His answers of peace…Love closes the hand of divine bounty and restrains the outflow of favor when it sees that a solid gain will ensue from a period of trial…Who would desire to see the gold taken out of the fire before its waste is consumed? Wait, O precious thing, until you have gained the utmost of purity! These furnace moments when you are in the hands of God are profitable. It would be unwise to shorten such golden hours. The time of the promise corresponds with the time most enriching to the heart and soul.

Charles Spurgeon, from the book “God Promises You” as quoted by Tim Burns in the Bible study titled, “Forged in The Fire”.

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:4

Seems I caused a bit of a stir with something I posted on Facebook last week.

I don’t see myself as a cape-wearing Defender of All That Is Good. I don’t want to be viewed as an uptight, legalistic Christian. I just want us to be in the world, not of it.

There is a popular Facebook site with a rather unpleasant – no wait, let’s call it what it is – there’s a Facebook site with a crude, profane expletive in its title. And while it may have useful, fun and interesting updates, every time one of my Facebook friends “liked” or “shared” the update, that crude, profane expletive showed up on my news feed. It made me wince every time.

And I realized that some folks have become so desensitized to the word, it hadn’t occurred to many of them that it was offensive. So I finally said something. And that’s what caused the stir.

Some cheered me on. Some got offended. Some felt guilty. But all I really wanted was for my Christian friends to think about how our lives are portrayed in social media through the things we “like” or “share”.

I’m not perfect. Far from it. And I’m quite sure I’ve offended others along the way and never even had a clue. So my post was a gentle reminder to myself as well. I need to be reminded who I represent here on this earth. I represent Christ even when I’m not intentionally thinking about it. I represent Him at work and at play. Others are watching. Others are listening…and reading.

Every minute of every day my life needs to be a reflection of the God who redeemed me. We don’t get a “day off” from being one of His. We can’t allow being “cool” and “relevant” and “envelope-pushing” or even being naive to interfere with our primary role of glorifying the One who desires us to live only for Him.

I didn’t mean to cause a stir. But sometimes we need to be stirred. All of us.

Including me.

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak. Matthew 12:36

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:4

I got a Mother’s Day gift yesterday. No, no, I don’t have an announcement to make. But it was Mother’s Day and I did get a gift. Two, as a matter of fact.

My church decided to honor all the women in the congregation, not just those who are mothers, with a rose. It’s beautiful and it makes me smile. So often those of us without children or families of our own feel a little down on days like these. But the flowers and the words paid tribute to those women who invest in the lives of others in ways outside of the roles specifically assigned to parents.

And then later in the day I got a text that made me cry. But in a good way. A young woman I’ve known for years and who now lives on the other side of the country sent me a message to thank me for “sticking around” in her life. I knew what she meant. We’ve been through some challenging times together.

And as the tears streamed down my face, I realized something. I realized that we pray, “God use me”, but that sometimes we don’t know how God is answering that prayer. We don’t know what is going on behind the scenes, or how much time will go by until there is evidence of God’s hand.

But every once in a while, God pulls back the curtain. He lets me know my life makes a difference when I surrender it to Him. And even though I don’t have any children of my own, I can still invest in the lives of others as a “big sister” or “aunt” or simply…friend.

So while so many other women were celebrating with their children and grandchildren and families, I had a quiet moment of celebration with God, thankful for the gifts of a rose and a text and a reminder that He can still use me.

…strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith… Acts 14:22

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21

Sometimes just hearing a familiar idea phrased differently makes you look at it in a totally new way.

I came across this quote by Beth Moore the other day in a Bible study I was working on: “We have been assigned to this world during vital days on the kingdom calendar.” I’ve heard about “being called”, and knowing that God has a purpose for my life, etc. But somehow thinking of my life here on earth being an assignment made me stop and think.

Did God look at the calendar of time and decide to specifically bring me into the world at this particular moment? Did He do that because there was a special role that only I could play? Only I would come into contact with certain people in certain ways. Only I would have this specific mix of legacy and gifts and experiences and challenges and relationships which could show God’s glory in a unique way if I did indeed accept the assignment.

That’s not being arrogant. As a matter of fact, it’s kind of scary. If that is true, then I really do have the responsibility to complete the things I have been asked to do. And if it’s true for me, then it’s true for you as well.

I believe God is intricately involved in all of our lives. I believe it’s not chance that we have been placed into the world now, at this time. Our names were written onto the kingdom calendar before time began. We could have been born to wander in the wilderness with the Israelites. We could have been born to be part of the early church. I could have been born 500, 200 or even 100 years ago.

But I wasn’t. God placed me in this world, in this time, for a purpose. For an assignment. An assignment that may not be all that well defined on my end of things, but one that God has all the details of. He’ll reveal as much as I need to know in His timing. And I must be faithful .

I’ll try to look at this day differently. It’s not just a Monday. It’s another day to work on my assignment, another day to glorify God through whatever He calls me to do, whoever He brings me into contact with and whoever or whatever He places on my heart to intercede for.

It’s not just another day. It’s a day on the kingdom calendar.

May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. Psalm 20:4
Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14
…that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

What if something you did today turned out to be the start of God doing something amazing with your life? What if an act of obedience or risk you take today is something that will impact others for years, maybe even decades?

This past Saturday was the 50th anniversary of the very first radio program my Dad ever produced. While God took my Dad home to be with Him two years ago, that program, “The Word and The World” is still on the air and is still impacting people for the Lord.

I wondered if Dad had any idea how far it would go, and how many people it would reach when he recorded the program that day. Probably not. But it was something God laid on his heart and equipped him to do, so he did it. And God blessed it in powerful and significant ways.

We can’t see down the road. We can’t see what God has planned. But maybe some small opportunity for obedience and faithfulness will be what God is waiting for. Sometimes we don’t know we’re at a turning point until we look back, and see that a seemingly small moment in time was much bigger than we ever imagined.

And so I pray that I am tuned in to the small moments. I pray that I obey the nudges from God to do certain things, speak to certain people or go to certain places. They might not turn into 50 year ministries, but they could still be the start of something big for God.

David picked up 5 stones. Esther went to speak to the king. A little boy gave up his lunch of two loaves and five fishes. My Dad sat in front of a microphone and recorded a new radio program one day.

What is God asking you to do today? It might be a small thing…that turns into a much bigger one.

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 28:2

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143:8