About Me

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“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:4

Whatever It Takes–Lord, I Want to Know You Better

Whatever you want, I surrender to You.
Whatever it takes, I am willing to do.
You know I am weak, so I’m leaning on You
To give me the power for yielding to You.
Whatever I’ve gained I now count it as loss.
I want to surrender whatever the cost.
Whatever I’ve cherished can never come close
To knowing you, Jesus, and loving You most.

During the Restore Ministries Women’s Retreat in October 2014. I wrote that poem in my journal.

 In the quiet setting of the retreat center, I sat still and listened with my heart to deep truths God had for me. I hungered for more. I thought getting to know God would involve more intense Bible study and quiet time with Him.  Well, that was part of it. But God had a great adventure planned for me, a journey we would walk together as He revealed Himself to me along the way.

Getting to Know God on the Mountaintop

A month after the retreat, I “accidentally” stumbled on information about a tour to Israel. I casually mentioned it to my husband. Tim had frequently expressed a desire to go to the Holy Land, and I usually responded, “A trip to the Middle East is not on my Things To Do List. It’s way too dangerous.” But Tim wanted to find out more about the tour.  We met with the tour leader and discussed the details of the trip. She related something that a Jewish man once said to her. He said, “No one just comes to Israel.  You are invited by God, and you decide to answer the invitation.” Jesus seemed to be saying to me, “Do you want to know me better? Then come and visit my old neighborhood.”

The trip to Israel was a high point of my life. I felt God’s hand of protection on our group the entire time.  What a thrill to set foot in the place where it all began….where God began His  relationship with man, where the patriarchs and prophets lived and preached and witnessed miracles in their midst. It was such a joy to travel along the rocky paths that Jesus, the rabbi, walked with His disciples. In Jerusalem I envisioned Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and struggling down that road to the cross. Our Jewish guide helped us to understand eastern culture and thinking. I gained a deep appreciation of how God has dealt with the nation Israel over the centuries. I saw how even now prophecies are still being fulfilled, for He is still at work.

The trip was an exhilarating “mountaintop” experience. It gave me a greater reverence for God. But…God had much more to teach me about Himself.

Getting to Know God in the Valley

The second part of my education involved knowing Him through suffering.   Paul prayed “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings” (Phil 3:10). I like knowing the power of the resurrection. But suffering…I don’t like that so much. Shortly after returning from the trip, God had some lessons to teach me through illness.

Through a year-long battle with cancer, I saw God’s faithfulness to me. I saw God’s reflection in the faces of those who loved me and cared for me. I became more intimately acquainted with a Savior who is kind and compassionate. He knows my name and feels my pain, whose love is unconditional and sacrificial.

What’s Next

So I want to know more.

Paul said in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

How About You?

Will you join me on my journey to get to know God better, to delight in Him, and to find the desire of your heart?

More of My Writing

You can find more of my writing on theglorioustable.com and on the blog at restore-ministries.net. I have written guest posts for Proverbs 31 Ministries “Encouragement for Today, ” Living by Design Ministries Blog (https://livingbydesign.org/), and Living by Design “SOULfood Saturday. My writing is included in Everyday Joy Vol. 4, published by The Joyful Life (https://joyfullifemagazine.com/).