I’m now home from our 25th anniversary celebration in Clearwater Beach. Pondering storms and focus. Three of us four Rickers have been long-battling a fairly serious physical storm, even as we intentionally focus on the Son. Storms feel confusing. They don’t make sense. They’re a test. How do we get to the other side? What should we do? What now, what next? The list goes on. Here are a few short lessons I’ve learned from our storms. As always, I pray you’re somehow encouraged and blessed. When you start to feel overwhelmed, meditate on the Word and the good that …
Sore Spot
The Lord gives me tons of these phrases which I promptly post on Facebook to encourage people. Every now and again, it does the opposite and hits a sore spot. After a positive outpouring, I read this comment a woman named Angela posted: Why do I doubt this? 2 guys tried to break into my home 7 times… I chased after them once, they continued to harass me, I couldn’t sleep for a year and my nerves took years to recoup and only now do I feel a little better. Tonight I spend the night alone and ain’t going to lie, …
Ego, Identity, Humility
Ego. Identity. Humility. Three small words that potentially spark big thought. The world embraces ego. Even gives it special meaning by sticking the word “male” in front of it, making it a thing. Ego is to be no more an excuse than a pursuit. If you want more confidence, pursue identity. When you know who you are and whose you are, you are more grounded, stable, and secure. Identity takes care of pride and its cronies. To grow in identity is to know you are uber-loved as God’s child. Such knowledge swallows up a myriad of uglies and helps shrivel …
However, Whenever
However, Whenever You are My crystal pitcher, pure refreshment, poured out. Depleted, exhausted, spent? Let My Living Water fill your space, richly. Again and again, I satisfy. Making you satisfying to quench. See My sparkling face shining through you, never dulling? You know Me deeper daily, but I know you deeper still. You lived with Me from the beginning, a spirit-seed awaiting place and time. I waited with you before you even knew how to know. I waited to breathe in you and be your love-blood. I waited to get messy for you and raise you …
U.S. Son on Malaysia Flight
News Video: Grieving US Mother Clings To God Grievous disappearance How does a mother respond when crisis strikes? Sondra Wood had just seen her son, Philip, the week before he disappeared on the Malaysian aircraft, flight 370. Philip had visited her Texas home and shared about his IBM job-move from Beijing to Malaysia. “He was excited about his new adventure,” says the devastated mother. “Only people who know God can survive things like this in a good way. I know in my heart I will get through this.” As a Christian, Sondra knows God doesn’t spare us from trouble. He does, however, …
And The Lord Says…
I awaken in the middle of the night, fear-struck and wondering, “How will I finish this task when it’s so much bigger than I am?” And the Lord says, “Nothing is bigger than I AM.” Hovering close, His feathery Spirit slips truth into my worry-weighted one. In healing waves, He pours Himself, freely. So what can I do but freely receive… [box] My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9[/box] Lord, it’s a battle, this worry habit. After so many years of practice, I wonder if I’m too good at it. “Practice letting …
Goodbye Fear, Goodbye Yaps
“Fear hangs out right next to whatever it is you’re most called to do. That means the closer you get to your calling, the louder fear sounds. Keep going – fear is a chihuahua that sounds like a Doberman.” — You’re Made for a God-sized Dream My chihuahua is “Yaps” because he never shuts up. Well, I have a few words for ol’ Yaps – if y’all don’t mind the accent. (I just got back from da South and dis one ‘ere kinda stuck wid me.) Yaps, we’re through. It’s ova! Ya had me going fer a while, wid all …
Poem For God-Sized Dreamers
Dream a dream. A God-sized dream. But never dream alone. Link hearts with God, your dream-Maker, in every dream-seed sown. That hope he planted in your heart to do that God-sized thing~ Keep dousing it with prayer and work, and watch your dream take wing. The path of dark and dirty soil may hide you long and low, but deep in Christ, you’re safe to trust He’ll grace you as you grow. A little here, a little there, as days and nights accrue, your heart will beat as one with His. There’s nothing you can’t do. …
Broken Doors
“I’m tired of our latch-dysfunction,” I told my husband. Our van’s power doors took an early retirement, so we need to manually wrestle them open and closed. “It’s good for your muscles,” we tell the boys. But during Minnesota winters, the doors take turns freezing shut. Until we’re driving; that’s when they fly open! Thus, our “discussion.” Can we afford it? No. Can I afford the anxiety of these surprise door openings? No. In the middle of getting nowhere, I pled my case to God. “I feel helpless, but God’s going to make a way,” I told Dwight. “I’ve been …
Bird Bomb Day
The Ricker household swelled with its usual Saturday morning activities until~ BANG! Something hit the window. Running outside, we saw the small bird lying lifelessly. My husband picked him up and set him on his feet, and the bird remained frozen upright, eyes half-closed like he was unconscious. “Phillip.” That’s what the boys called him. We’d never seen another quite like him. We stood bent over, taking turns praying for Phillip with the laying on of hands. Quite a sight, I’m sure. And still, the little guy never flinched. “God cares about Phillip,” I said. Matthew 10:29, 30 came to …
Through God’s Fingers
That pressing test that rocks your world? It’s either from the hand of God or from the hand of the enemy. The fact is, it must first pass through the fingers of the Almighty, sift through the shape of His mercy. In other words, rest easy. If God isn’t the one nudging you forward through this trial, stretching you into His image, then He’s allowing the enemy to be used for your good and His glory. Even in your vulnerability, you can trust God’s Sovereignty. Satan’s on a rope, and God will always help you cope. God’s got your back; …
Missing: Jesus Keys
My Simple Request It’s amazing the things you find when you’re looking for other things. After a month and a half of phone calls and house rampages for a pair of lost keys, I wondered if I should give up and buy new ones. With two Toyota keys and remotes, however, the replacement cost could be over $500. I decided to keep looking and praying. “God, I know you know where my keys are. Can you please tell me… I know they’re safe with you, and I thank you in advance because I really think you want to bring them …
God’s Detours
[box] When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Exodus 13:17-18[/box] I love how God considers our weaknesses when planning our itineraries. Yo, Gabriel! Better steer that Cheryl Ricker toward Sam’s Club instead of HyVee down the street. HyVee has a sale on chocolate and they’re …
Baby, Don’t Cry
(True story by a doctor working in Central Africa. I only made a few minor punctuation, grammar, and spacing edits.) [box] Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Psalm 105:1 [/box] One night I worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward. In spite of all our efforts, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We had difficulty keeping the baby alive because we had no incubator (no electricity to run one). Nor did we have special feeding facilities. Yes, …
Lost
[box] “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21[/box] With my “creative” sense of direction, this kind of “guidance” could sure come in handy! My GPS usually does a good job, but it didn’t on July 3rd. Instead of taking us to an out-of-town fireworks display, Mrs. GPS took us to a cemetery! No joke. Our first hint should have been the lack of cars and …
Baby Steps
[box] “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4[/box] Our family recently laughed ourselves silly in front of videos of our kids as babes. Highchair time was clearly more about playing than the serious art of eating. Carrot and pea-smothered faces, proud monosyllabic babbles for the camera ~ great material! The boys, now teens, howled watching one of them make his first crawl, or should I say first scoot. “Come on! You can do it!” Frustrated when his body wouldn’t cooperate, he whined and got feisty. Finally, with a grunt and push …
Balancing the Love Scales
Poor poor Leah. I know what it’s like to be picked last on a team, but I’ve never been my husband’s second choice for a wife. Jacob liked Leah’s sister, Rachel, the pretty-faced hottie with a body. Jacob thought he was working seven years for Rachel, but woke up the night after the wedding with a gasp of horror at his father-in-law’s switcheroo. Because Leah wasn’t what Jacob wanted, he kept working another seven years for the one he truly adored. Rachel. Our Compassionate God [box] But because Leah was unloved, the LORD let her have a child, while Rachel …
Scars of Trust
It felt like a punch in the gut. My husband and I wrote this for the classifieds: FREE older playground set, complete with swings, slide, and climbing fort. First person to pick it up, gets it! We fielded constant calls before a couple finally padded across our lawn, inspecting their potential treasure. “Oooh…” they gushed. “Our kids will looove it! But we can’t pick it up until Monday. Is that ok?” The couple won us over, so we deviated from our first-picker-upper-gets-it plan. We shook on it, and it was a done deal for Monday. We thought. Monday was family …
Love-Covered
Do you believe that God rejoices over you, watches over you, and secures you and your loved ones ~ in his forever-hands? Show me someone who knows she is love-covered, and I’ll show you someone who knows how to love. People say, “you can’t give what you don’t have,” but neither can you give what you don’t know you have. How free can I be if I don’t know I’m free? How can I experience the fullness of God’s love if I experience it in my heart, but not in my mind? Heart Imagery Jesus wants us to intentionally remember the …
Who’s The Judge?
[box] The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. John 5:22-23[/box] The apostle John got me thinking… What could be a better way for the Father to show how much He loves the Son than for Him to give the Son the power to judge the world? Digging into this verse, I saw several things… The Father honors the Son. Love always honors and prefers another. The Father …