I wanted to take the opportunity to invite each of you to attend the next "Walking with Hope" gathering that will be held in my home. It will be a time of both refreshment and encouragement as we prepare to walk into the new year with the hope of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Please Come

to

"Walking with Hope into 2012"

Thursday, December 29th

6:30 - 8:00 pm

The Baxter Home

1765 Warren Hollow Road

Nolensville, TN 37135

chrisbax@united.net

Also, for Christmas reflections during this week, please visit www.respitefortheweary.com to find the links Celebrating Christmas and Who is this Jesus and Why did He Come. Thank you so much, readers, for your faithful support; I so appreciate each of you. Merry Christmas.

Isn't it interesting that when we start writing our thankful-list around this time of year, the physical gifts of the flesh seem to make it to the top? "Thank you for my health; thank you for my wealth; thank you for my happiness." These things are indeed reasons to thank our generous Giver; but I think God also waits with hopeful anticipation to hear thankful praises sung to Him of another kind.

I will explain with a picture and a passage. The passage is Psalm 103:1-5, and the picture is of two girls from Haiti 10 days after the earthquake shook their country in 2009. My husband Mac had to amputate their legs in order to save their lives. (When viewing the photo, please avoid "being thankful" that you are physically not these two girls; my point will be just the opposite. These girls have something deeper to teach us...about spiritual wholeness in the midst of physical brokenness.) Now listen to the psalmist sing and the picture speak:

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. (Notice this passage is about the "soul", not the "body.")

...Who pardons all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. (Just as the earthquake came in and crushed these girls' legs physically, sin came in and poisoned us spiritually. BUT, just as Mac compassionately severed the spread of the deadly gangrene, our Savior also lovingly stopped the flow of sin's crimson stain.)

...Who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion. (Just as these two sweet girls were picked up from the rubble and ashes of a natural catastrophe and their wounds were wrapped with bandages of healing, our hearts, too, were gracefully grabbed from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Col. 1:13)

...Who satisfies your years with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. (The girl on the left would have died in the night if Mac had not gotten to her first; this picture was taken the next day--no fever, no sign of infection. We too, are on our spiritual deathbed until the Lord comes and breathes His Spirit, into our spirit, which sets us upright and full of Life!)

So let us praise Him for His lifetime benefits this Thanksgiving. May these benefits--"fits of goodness from above"-- be on the top of our list every morning. The paradox is that these intangible gifts are the only ones we can really hold onto. The single minded focus of tangible blessings have the propensity to become a deep disappoint for those who have them, and a mere mirage for those who don't.

Let His forgiveness, His redemption, and His good Spirit sink deep into your heart, and then...bless the Lord; with all that is within you, bless His holy name.

It seems like for the last few years, our family has undergone some kind of change in its in-home dynamics. Whether its my oldest going to college or my others transitioning from homeschool into high school, there has been... change. And now, for the first time in 20 years, I'm at home alone.

In preparation for this switch and the "jobless" feeling, I found myself praying the familiar prayer that we all have most likely prayed at some point in our lives:

God what is your will for me? Or, another one like it:

God, what are your plans for me?

I don't think these prayers are wrong to pray at all. God Himself even says, I know the plans I have for you... (Jeremiah 29:11). But for some reason, this fall, I had a "catch" in my spirit when I prayed in this way. And the Lord just quietly told me to rephrase the question like this:

Lord, what do you have for others through me?

Hmmm, is there any difference in these prayers? For my heart, yes. God wanted me to put the word "others" before the word "me", in my prayer and in my life. Jesus was others focused; He listened to His Father and walked in obedience...towards people. Then so must I. As Christ followers, that's what we are: vessels of His love to others.

So if He asks me to call somebody, then... call. If He asks me to write and print something, then... write and print. If He asks me to walk and pray, then.... walk and pray. (And this too), if He asks me to respect my husband, then... respect.

To illustrate, the other day, I prayed: Lord, what do you have for others through me... today?

He answered. I knew, without any doubt that the He was asking me to take some lunch to a friend of mine who just had surgery; I was already stretched for time but, I obeyed. While there, we got to talking and she mentioned that there was an exchange student from Italy who needed a host home because the first host situation was just not working out. (I had actually met this sweet young Italian girl 2 weeks prior, and had an instant motherly-love for her; God was already scheming). So, from this conversation at lunch...and a day of praying...and talking it over with my husband and our three kids still at home...we now have Giulia "Jewels" Lizzi living with us for her junior year. And she is more than a delight! Honestly, I never in a million years would have planned this myself; I'm not that adventurous. But how wonderful are His ways. To think, I would have missed it had it not been for that divinely appointed conversation at lunch.

Are you in a transition time right now? Are you waiting for Him to reveal His plans for you? While you wait, pray, Lord, what do you have for others through me... today? Then walk the way Jesus did, with love towards people.

And as you make small steps forward in obedience, have faith that He will unfold His big plans for you...plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

I recently had some recurring thoughts that made me look for a post I wrote many years ago...

Every now and then, I think about the now...and then.

The other morning the thought about the present-day and the unseen-future came to mind when I stepped outside with puppy-Juliet for her morning "duty." Most of our outings together at this wee-morning hour still possess the remnant of night-time, with the black sky and the twinkle, twinkle of the "little" stars. However, for about three mornings in a row, our scenery was different; instead of a clear nightly
sky, Juliet and I were greeted with a dense white fog. When standing on my front porch, I couldn't see our driveway, our black fence, the surrounding trees, the cows in the field... nothing.

I think sometimes our present day, the now, is a lot like living in this kind of fog. There are so many unknowns, whether its about our health, our finances, our direction, or our relationships. The seemingly impassable uncertainties can create a worrisome unsettling in our hearts... so many questions, so many emotions.

But as I was walking with little pup down our driveway in the midst of this penetrable thickness, I heard a whispering in my soul, "Chris, this is what it means to walk by faith not be sight" (II Cor. 5:7). The Lord's sweet reminder to my questioning heart, was that I am walking with the One who holds all the answers. And I am called to put my faith in Him, not in myself or my surroundings. Remember, He is called the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (James 1:17).

And let us also remember this truth on our walk: in the midst of all this faith-fog "now" there is the promise of crystal-clear "then"! You may never understand the goings-on of this life, but if all you do is hold onto the hope of heaven while walking through the befuddlements of earth, then God has been glorified in and through you. Someday He will set all things right, and we will then understand.

As I walked back up the driveway, God set my mind on another Word of His:

For we know in part, and we prophecy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away... For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I have also been fully known. (I Cor. 13:9-10,12)

In light of this truth, let us each walk by faith today, remembering that God Himself is in-step with you. I pray your heart will hear Him whispering words of hope, for your "now"... and your "then."

Every year for about the last 15 years, my sister Peggy ("Pooh") and I have taken a fall weekend trip together. We now have eight kids between us, ranging from ages 2o down to 9, which means we have both traveled the marathon of diaper-changing, nose-wiping, potty-training, attitude-checking, sibling-correcting, laundry-folding, home-schooling miles.

Last Sunday, however, Peggy and I participated in a marathon of another kind. On our fall weekend get-away in Maine, we set out to conquer our 2nd 26.2 mile walk/jog together. I will briefly share the "highs" and the "lows" with you, beginning with the "lows".

Lows: we woke up at 4:30; we started the race in the pelting rain; we continued to jog in this cold rain for hours upon hours; my soggy fingers were so cold I felt like I had ten thumbs which means I couldn't get to my sport's jelly beans in my zipper pouch (biggest low); we almost got hit by a bus; port-a-johns were our only option (not); we were directed off-course around mile 17 which means I think we did a 26.3 mile marathon; and finally, we mis-communicated with our shuttle driver with the pick-up location so we stood with frigid aching muscles in the drizzling rain waiting for what seemed like forever. Was it worth it? YES...

HIGHS: walking/jogging with my sister, observing the wet beauty of Maine, finally getting my zipper pouch open, eating my jellybeans, and PRAYING for many of YOU! One of the biggest reasons that Peggy and I are doing marathons has to do with our Walking with Hope Ministry. The connection is that while we are doing each marathon, we take our list of the women who have come to our Hope gatherings, which is now over 100 names long, and we pray and pray and pray. So mile after mile in Maine, we called out your names and asked the Lord to bless you, keep you, help you, guide you, comfort you, and make Himself real to you. This committed time was my highest of highs! It bonded me with my sister and took my mind off myself, and all my lows.

I wonder, are you in a "marathon", or should I say another marathon, of your own right now? Maybe you are in the diaper-changing years, or an attitude-checking season with your children. Or maybe you're on the other end of life of parental-caring or marriage-repairing. From this literal marathon experience I just had in Maine, might I make a couple of suggestions?

One, find a friend to walk through this long haul with you. Life is too hard to walk alone. Encourage one another and build each other up (I Thessalonians 5:11). I would not have made this endurance trek without my sister by my side.

And two, pray. Praying helps divert our attention outside our own struggles; quite frankly, it even helps us to endure our troubles. In the midst of your mess, cry out for another; it will bless both of you! Remember, the power of prayer travels through time and space. What Peggy and I prayed on the trail in Maine, I know God heard and I know God answers. The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer (Psalm 6:9).

So, another marathon down, and Lord willing, many more to go--bonding with my sis, and praying for you.

One of the biggest "mix-ups" that we humans can make in our personal walk with the Lord is to think that we are the originator of love. I know I spent years upon years in my relationship with God, putting one focused step in front of the other saying to myself, "I love God, I love God, I love God."

How revolutionizing it was for my heart to finally receive what my head had been told in His word even as a child. Listen to this verse found in I John 4:10:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It's as if God is saying, "Don't get it backwards; I loved you... first."

For example, which comes first, grass growing from the earth, or rain falling from the heavens? Or better yet, which is the love-initiator in this relationship, a devoted mother reaching for her newborn baby or the small infant gasping for air? These answers seem obvious, simple. Likewise, God is desperate for each one of us to simply understand His deep affection...

Because... when we finally do "get" this fundamental concept, we then can't stop speaking, singing, writing, dancing, living out this uncontainable love. It pours from our innermost being, and it is better than life itself! Our once focused steps are now freeing steps, accompanied with, "HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME!", which then changes to the second verse, "HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU!" Yes, when we are His to the core, we are overcome with the driving desire to chase the world down with the initiating love of Jesus Christ.

So my friend, I encourage you to rest in this life-altering truth...He first loved us. (I John 4:19). And then, run to the world.