Luuuuuuuuuuucccyyyyyy, you got some 'splaining to do!

Ha! One of my favorite TV shows growing up was "I Love Lucy". I used to watch it in the afternoons, laying on my parent's bed (it was a treat to watch it on the TV in their room). For a while, my mom used to come back and check on me because she thought my incessant laughter was actually me crying! Well, I was practically crying from laughter.

So, that being said... I hope you can understand my excitement about my impending trip to Cuba. All those years of watching Ricky talk about his homeland gave me insight into the country and a curiousity about what it was like.

More recently, Cuba has been on my heart for at least six years! Not sure why. Just has. So, when this trip came up I knew my answer would be "YES"!

Our visas are ready, but my bags aren't quite packed. I'm excited that I'll be taking my guitar down there. Perhaps I'll run into a Cuban musician and jam a little. Wouldn't that be so cool???

If you are so inclined, I would welcome your prayers.

All for now,
Lisa

Is that You, Lord?

A friend just emailed me to respond to one of my recent blog entries. She said something that I really liked... "Every time I ask, 'Lord is that You?' about gets confirmed and reconfirmed in random ways. All I can say is it's just so nice to hear from Him.

WOW!! How cool. She also said she settled on Psalm 25 to read about Truth. I looked it up, and wow... confirmation and reconfirmation about full trust, confidence, and reliance.

Here is the Amplified Version of Psalm 25

UNTO YOU, O Lord, do I bring my life. O my God, I trust, lean on, rely
on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be
disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Yes, let none who trust
and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them
be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without
cause.

Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your
truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for
You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day
long. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercy and loving-kindness; for they
have been ever from of old. Remember not the sins (the lapses and
frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and
steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord. Good and
upright is the Lord; therefore will He instruct sinners in [His] way.

He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His
way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and steadfast love, even truth
and faithfulness are they for those who keep His covenant and His
testimonies. For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity and my
guilt, for [they are] great. Who is the man who reverently fears and
worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose. He
himself shall dwell at ease, and his offspring shall inherit the
land.

The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they
who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal
to them its [deep, inner] meaning. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for
He will pluck my feet out of the net. [Lord] turn to me and be gracious to
me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are multiplied;
bring me out of my distresses. Behold my affliction and my pain and forgive
all my sins [of thinking and doing].

Consider my enemies, for they abound; they hate me with cruel
hatred. O keep me, Lord, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed or
disappointed, for my trust and my refuge are in You. Let integrity and
uprightness preserve me, for I wait for and expect You. Redeem Israel, O
God, out of all their troubles.

It's always so nice to hear from Him. And speaking from experience, most often, all we have to do is get quiet enough to listen.

All for now,
Lisa

Sticking to the KISS principle

Over the weekend, I found the following "Who I Am In Christ" handout in my papers. I had received it from some Bible study along the way and kept it. I'm glad I did. It's a nice, simple reminder of who we are.

Do you believe it? All of it? All of the time? I would love to say yes, but I can't. Too often, emotions or evidence points to the contrary. However, when that happens, I simply have to acknowledge that those things are fleeting and the below is constant. And I have to testify, every time the constant has won out over the fleeting. Praise Him!


I am accepted...
John 1:12 I am God's child.
John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body.
Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I am secure...
Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant...
John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God's temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

All for now,
Lisa

The Real Me

I've heard this song a few times today on KSBJ and reading the lyrics made me want to share it with you. It's by Natalie Grant.


Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know?

But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me

Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance
Living a Charade, always on parade
What a mess I've made of my existence
But you love me even now
And still I see somehow

But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me

Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life into
A perfect tapestry I just wanna be me

But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
And you love me just as I am

Wonderful, Beautiful is what you see
When you look at me

All for now,
Lisa

A Season to Simply Trust

It's been a while since I've last blogged. And that's not to say that not much has been happening. To the contrary, God has been working (as He always is) in me, but just like a cake in the oven, sometimes, once it goes in, it takes a little time to see the results. I think the timer has chimed and my thoughts have firmed up a little. So here goes... I may ramble a little, but humor me.

Actually, I think God started "baking" this topic as early as January. The thought first came across to me as simply following prophecy. And my desire for God to simply give me a sign, especially when the road seems a bit unclear. It was then that I realized that even if God gave me a sign, I may not follow it.

(http://lieseldiesel.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_lieseldiesel_archive.html)

Now, what I'm realizing is in times of doubt or confusion, I should simply trust. So, what is exactly trust? I found the following on answers.com when typing in the word "trust"

Trust, faith, confidence, reliance, dependence. These nouns denote a feeling of
certainty that a person or thing will not fail. Trust implies depth and
assurance of feeling that is often based on inconclusive evidence.

Inconclusive evidence? Don't we live in a constant state of inconclusive evidence? That's why I wanted a sign! And I trusted God to show me it. But instead of showing me a sign, God has been showing me that my desire for a sign was evidence that I really wasn't fully trusting Him. Aha! So, maybe it's not about trust, but about control?

I often remember a magazine cutout a friend had on her refrigerator:

Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding onto

I think the above photo demonstrates holding on. The strength isn't in the little hand, it's in the big hand. All the little hand has to do is to hold on.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that I'm currently reading Ruthless Trust. In it, Brennan Manning talks about an interaction between John Kavanaugh and Mother Teresa. She asked how she could pray for him. When he replied, "clarity", she responded with a firm, "No!". "Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of".

Furthermore, Ken Brumley, at the Reload Retreat, talked about clarity. He said something like "pray for purity, not clarity. With purity, the clarity will come."

One of my dearest friends is Tracey, whom I can always count on for her insight, honesty, and eloquence. She once told me that during a dark time, she really was down to simply remembering three things: "God is soverign, He is good, and He loves me". I have often hung on to those three things, but I think the missing link was that I was still looking for His hand, His plan, and now I'm just going to stick with keeping with the purity of who I am (a child of the King) and fully trusting that what He has in store, although unbeknownst to me, will be better than I could ever have imagined!

1 Corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' [Isaiah 64:4]

Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I'm not saying that asking Him to show you His will shows lack of confidence in Him or a lack of trust. I just know right now He has me in a season of simplying trusting Him and not asking any more questions.

Well, would you believe that a friend just emailed me with this as her ending note, "You can pray for my faith to be strong as I learn to put all my eggs in His basket!"

Putting ALL my eggs into His basket. Well, that pretty well sums up this whole blog entry. Thanks Sarah!

All for now,
Lisa