Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be an ambassador in a foreign country? We would represent our country in a land that is not our homeland. Our home in that foreign land would be called an embassy and considered a safe zone. While it is inside a country with different governmental laws and customs, within the walls of the embassy, the ambassador’s home country laws and cultures apply.

Ambassadors are good negotiators. They are responsible to help with relationships between their home country and the country that is hosting them. And they are charged with the safekeeping of all their fellow countrymen and women who also work in the host country. They must be diplomatic in their interactions with everyone. One summary described it this way: “Ambassadors must navigate complex political and cultural landscapes while representing their country’s interests. This requires a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to handle difficult conversations and negotiations with grace and skill.”*

Sound familiar to you? As believers, you and I are ambassadors for Christ! We are not living in our home country. THIS world is the host country and often we called upon to navigate through some pretty challenging political, cultural and spiritual conversations. It takes some skill, much prayer and a whole lot of grace to do this well. But do it we must! Our charge as ambassadors to the world that we are living in is to know God…and make Him known. To borrow the mission of Red Rocks Church in Colorado…our mission is to make Heaven a LOT more crowded!

1 Peter 2:11-12 (MSG) gives us this great responsibility: “Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.”

We ARE ambassadors for Christ!

*from http://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/ambassador

“There are two moments in life. Those you miss and those you seize.” That wisdom came from an unlikely source…a Hallmark movie! Wisdom handed down from one generation to the next about making wise choices. I’d like to believe that we get more wisdom the more we live life, but the truth is, at any given moment, we can miss out on a really important moment, and we can totally seize the wrong moment and find ourselves in a boatload of trouble.

For sure, the only way to know which moment is best missed and which moment should be embraced is to pray…every day!…for wisdom from God. After all, God knows the end from the beginning, and every page in between of our story. There is no one else more qualified to give us counsel, clarity, wisdom and discernment in every moment of our day than God!

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” That is James 1:5 (NLT)

If you’re wondering ‘how do I get everything done in a day if I have to pray before I do anything?’ Here’s what I have learned about talking with God. When I keep an open dialogue with God throughout my day I will have a thought to reach out to someone and text or call them. Or I might be about to do something, go somewhere, speak to someone, and the Holy Spirit will give me just a tiny nudge or pause before I do it. More times than I can count He stepped in to help me avoid something damaging or lead me to step into something that turned out to be amazing.

For all the big moments in life…and the little ones…just ask Him. We already know that we need His wisdom and His promise to us is that He will generously give us the wisdom we need as often as we need it! Just ask!

I had dinner with a friend the other night that I haven’t seen in over 20 years. It was so good to catch up on our families and on life. I was reminded as we shared stories of different things we’ve lived through that there have been a lot of good days and some hard days as well.

We talked more about the difficult parts of our journey for some reason. Perhaps trying to show that we have weathered some storms and we are still going. Maybe trying to encourage each other that we are warrior women and God is helping us to be courageous.

My friend left radio and became a nurse. And at one point in the evening she looked at me with a smile on her face and said, “I’m so glad I became a nurse. I love helping people.” I know she has gone through some big things in the past two decades. But in that moment I could tell…she’s doing what she was born to do…and it is well with her soul.

Psalm 57:2 (ESV) says, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” Oh we’ve done some crying out over the years, haven’t we?!! Consider this, that when we pour out our heart to God, He receives our prayers, and our tears, and He fulfills His purpose for me. What a beautiful thought that the hard things we go through are not in vain. That God makes something out of them and we can find fulfillment in His plan for us.

My prayer today is that we are doing what we were born to do, or moving toward that goal! And that it is well with our soul. God IS making something beautiful out of the pieces of our life. We can thank Him in that!

My grandfather died when I was about six years old. I only have a couple memories of him and this one made a very deep impression on me. Mom Mom and Pop Pop lived in a house on a bit of a hill. Their house was so fun and they had a nice yard to play in. And I loved staying with them!

On one particular visit, Pop Pop had told me that I could play outside anywhere in the yard but, he said, ‘do NOT play inside the car’. He had left the car outside the garage a little ways down the hill. Well, you know, I investigated the flowers in the front yard and wandered through the garden in the back. I danced around on their back patio a little, but eventually… I got bored. Trying to think of something fun to do I considered my options. Pop Pop said I could play outside anywhere but inside the car…so what did i do? I got in the car.

Oh yeah, this is not going to end well. I don’t know how long I was in the car. I don’t think it was very long. But while I was standing up on the front seat I managed to knock the car out of gear…and it began to roll. Down the hill toward the street that ran in front of their house. The car was stopped before it could roll onto the street…by a telephone pole.

If ever I knew what the combination of fear and trembling felt like…it was at that moment. I remember overwhelming guilt that I had done what I was told NOT to do. I remember a very stern conversation and what kids from my generation would know as the punishment of the switch.

So when I read in Genesis 3 that Eve had all of that beautiful Garden of Eden to live in and could eat of ANY tree in that garden EXCEPT for the tree that is in the middle of the garden…although I get aggravated that we are in the world in the state we are in because she did it anyway…I remember that when I was about 4 or 5 I did exactly the same thing. I didn’t eat a forbidden fruit but I did exactly the one thing I was forbidden to do…get in the car. Both of those were forbidden to us…to protect us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Whatever the enemy is tempting us toward today, focus on this: God is faithful and He will make a way out. In the meantime, it is wise to focus on God’s faithfulness and choose to resist the temptation of the enemy. God is greater…but we must choose Him.

Being a mom is the easiest… and the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life! The most fulfilling, exhausting, joyous and anxiety producing calling I’ve ever stepped into. When my first child was born I could watch him sleep for hours. I imagined that when he smiled while he was sleeping – he was dreaming of angels.

I remember wanting to create a perfect little bubble around him to keep him safe from anything that could harm him. A bang up with the coffee table turned into a skinned knee from the playground became dust ups with a bicycle and then a flip of a quad. I learned that far too soon motherhood goes from provider and protector to producer and promoter as we teach our children how to become well adjusted adults to live and love well and perpetuate the cycle of life as God planned it.

Before I had children I couldn’t imagine how fiercely protective I could be or how tenderly I would love. I didn’t know that I would wake up every morning with them on my mind and close each day whispering a prayer that God would watch over and keep them. And every other daily decision would be weighed by the impact those choices would have on my children.

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Proverbs 31:25-28 (NLT)

There are so many things I love about being a mom but one of the most beautiful revelations of motherhood is realizing that there is a tender side of God. And He wove that tenderness carefully, intricately into the heart of Mom.

Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV) tells us, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. Who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Ephesians 6:15 (NLT) says, “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” The gospel of peace is the message that Jesus gave to those who trust in Him.

I find it interesting that both of these bible verses talk about feet and also mention – good news… and peace. Have you ever thought when you planted your feet on the ground first thing in the morning that they have a mission from on high? It’s true! When we’ve been introduced to the Good News of Jesus Christ we have a mission to share it. I’ve never thought my feet were beautiful. But God says that when we share the Gospel as we go through our day…our feet are beautiful!

And there’s something we must do for our feet every day. There’s a piece of God’s armor in Ephesians 6 that is expressly meant to prepare our feet, and protect them, in our daily journey. Putting the gospel of peace on our feet looks like planting our feet firmly when the devil tries to distract us or tries to make us unsure of the promises that God told us we could trust and stand on.

Our feet can be beautiful AND ready for battle when we put on the gospel of peace, share the good news and trust God is with us every day!

Years ago I made the comment to my husband, Ken, that I would love to have a Japanese Maple tree in our front yard. It just never happened when we lived there.

Seven years ago, we moved into the home we are living in now. It was January when we moved in and the tree in our front yard was bare so I didn’t even think about what kind of tree it was. When Spring came along and I realized that the tree with no leaves months earlier now had beautifully rich, red leaves greeting me every day was…a Japanese Maple…I couldn’t help but hear God’s promise echo quietly in my heart….“Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Long before we knew we would live in this home God had prompted someone to plant a tree…specifically a Japanese Maple tree…that would be here when we arrived…to remind us that God knows the things we hold in our heart. And He delights to make even the little things come to be.

My friend, what is that thing that you’ve been holding in your heart and praying over? Maybe it seems little on your scale and you think it’s insignificant to God. Maybe it’s so big that you’re even a little afraid to believe that God would do it for you! Let me encourage you today to focus on the first part of Psalm 37:4. Take delight in the Lord. I love how The Passion Translation directs us. “Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and He will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way, you’ll find He pulled it off perfectly!” Psalm 37:4-5 (TPT)

While we sometimes long for simpler days, days before technology came to commandeer our attention all day and night, there are some things about it that I appreciate. For example, I love being able to shop online. If I need something, I can research it, view all the options available, compare prices from different sources, purchase it and have it shipped right to my front door…from wherever I am.

One feature I really love is being able to track my purchase. I can see where it is and just about when it will arrive. Have you ever been tracking a package and it seems to be stuck? At Christmas I ordered my son a flying orb spinner ball. It was an impulse buy, looked like fun, and I ordered it about two weeks out from Christmas.

The first sign of trouble for me was that it was shipping from Ireland. Every day, multiple times a day, I checked that little box marked ‘Track Shipment’ to see where it was…longing for the words, “Out for delivery” to show up! For days, it said it was being sorted through “Customs”, then “in transit”, then “US Customs”. It took about five weeks, but it finally arrived. No matter how often I checked on it, that order wasn’t going to arrive any sooner than it was supposed to arrive. I couldn’t shortcut the delivery time…because there was a process.

We don’t always know the ‘process’ of our answered prayers. We just know that some answers come quickly while many others are prayed over and over…maybe even for a lifetime…and still we wait for the answer to come. I’m reminded of the glimpse of heaven’s process of answering prayer that Daniel gave us when he prayed to God for revelation in Daniel 10:12 (NIV). “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.“

21 days is how long it took the angel to deliver God’s response to Daniel. That angel encountered spiritual warfare along the way and was deterred. We don’t know what holds up some of God’s answers. We can’t shortcut the process of God’s plan. But, we can continue to stand firm and keep the faith…that God has heard our prayer and help is on the way!

When my kids were little they loved it when I was whipping up a cake. They always tried to patiently wait for me to disengage the egg beaters from the mixer out of the cake batter and since I had two kidlets…they each got one to lick. One of my favorite memories was teaching them that not everything tastes as good as it smells.

If you bake you are probably already ahead of me. I let them sniff the vanilla extract as I was getting ready to add it in the mix and it smelled so good!! So of course they wanted to taste it. Have you ever tasted vanilla extract?! Not very tasty. In fact, most of the basic ingredients it takes to make an incredibly tasty cake…taste pretty bad on their own. While each ingredient has a purpose and is needed, they are much better when you mix them all together. Together they make a sensational treat for your tastebuds!

When you think about it, that is a lot like people. I’m not saying that individually we aren’t a treat to be around! Each of us was designed uniquely by God for a purpose with His great plan in mind. But when we come together as the body we are an amazing mix that can accomplish so much more than we can on our own. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NLT) tells us, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble…A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

God made us for community…not isolation! We are better together!

My son, Cody, spent a lot of time playing sports when he was younger. So we spent a lot of time on the bleachers! When he played Little League we would cheer him on when he was up at bat, clapping our hands, making some noise! Everyone around us knew that Cody was our boy….and he was about to swing.

I can remember when he was rounding third base, headed for home plate, about to score, and the enemy….I mean…the opposing team was throwing the ball to the catcher to try to tag him out…I was up on my feet, hollering for him to go! Slide! Tag the plate!! The adrenaline was flowing and everything within me was focused on him finding success. Whether he scored or not, I was all in. And whether we celebrated a win or walked off a loss we kept encouraging him to keep at it and to know that we were always going to be for him.

There are dozens of scriptures in the Bible referencing that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Like Hebrews 10:12 (ESV) that says, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Jesus is always interceding on our behalf to the Father. That means He is always keeping his focus on us and what is going on in our lives.

One story, in particular, is a stunning example of how much Jesus is for us. In Acts 7, when Stephen was about to be stoned, verse 55 says, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” I believe when Stephen was facing the hardest moments of his life…Jesus was standing…interceding. Right there.

When you and I are facing the hardest moments in our life….we can be sure…that Jesus is right there, alongside the Father, standing and interceding on our behalf.