Vision4Living

This past Sunday, my pastor spoke on one of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 6 – Faithfulness.

Faithfulness means being utterly reliable and true to your word.  I feel that, today in our society and even in Christian circles, we lack faithfulness.  The question to ask ourselves is: “Do I trust God enough to show up?”

I’m faithful to church, job, family, marriage, and as a citizen of this country.  As my pastor, Dave Teruel, said, “It is more than a religious exercise.”  Our ultimate example of faithfulness is Christ.  I am so grateful that my salvation is not dependent on how I feel, but on God’s faithfulness.

Hebrews 13:5b says that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us.  We must be faithful to glorify Christ.  We cannot hide in our culture, but we must set our light on a hill.  We must be faithful to interact with our culture.  Are you running from it or going and making disciples?

Our faithfulness should not be works based, but worshipping God in truth.  In order to be faithful, we must be open to God’s Word.  His Word reveals the reality of faithfulness in what Christ did on the Cross.

We are we true to our word?  Does the Lord find me faithful in all areas of my life?  Only through His Spirit working in me can I be found faithful.

Psalm 36:5 says, “Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds.”  Ponder what Christ has done for you.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “ It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!“
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Thomas Chisholm

Pam Cavanaugh

 When I was growing up, I had little timeless treasures – you know, things that didn’t have meaning to others, but had a special meaning to me. These were things that brought joy or a smile to my face. I would tuck these special timeless treasures away in boxes, drawers, or other special places I found to keep them.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I reflect on how much I miss my mom who passed away several years ago. I also reflect on the timeless treasure the Lord has given me these past years in a woman named Mrs. Louise Crawford.

When I was young, I lived in the same neighborhood that she lived in. I went to church with her and became good friends with her children. The Lord was setting the stage. Many a Sunday, her son would invite some of us to go home with him for Sunday lunch. It never mattered if he had asked Mrs. Crawford, for the table was always open and ready for many guests. Eventually she and her husband moved to the country and built a new home. Years later, my husband became the pastor of their church. I became Mrs. Crawford’s pastor’s wife and she became my spiritual mom – another timeless treasure in my life.

Her home was always open and it was there that I walked through many hard times and was comforted by her through some dark hours in my life. She taught me the art of hospitality – not just what you put on the table, but what you bring to the table.

She would stop by my house on occasion with a beautifully wrapped gift for me. She told me from time to time that she would give her daughters a “happy gift.” I truly felt like one of her daughters.

She has been a friend of mine for many years even though we live so far apart. She has supported my two sons on their mission trips to Russia and around the World – financially and with prayers. What would our lives be like without the prayer warriors the lord places in our paths!

The Lord, in the book of Philemon, brought a slave into Paul’s life to refresh his soul in times of his bonds. Mrs. Crawford has refreshed me often. She is a timeless treasure. Wisdom is her clothing and she always imparts Scripture to me when we have our chats over the phone.

She is now caring for her husband who is very ill. I call and there is a tiredness in her voice, but her faith in God is strong and rules life’s challenges. She still refreshes my soul by her steadfast love for the Savior and her love for me.

Through the years, every Mother’s Day I make her a homemade Mother’s Day card. She told me that she has kept each card over the years and places them in a special box. I am blessed to be a part of a timeless treasure for a lady who has bless my life. My dear “spiritual mom.”

Malachi 3:17 says, “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.”

Mrs. Louise Crawford, my timeless treasure, you are His jewel and I tuck you away in my heart, never to be removed.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Spiritual Mom!

Pam Cavanaugh

During the course of my life, I have made a mental list of things I would like to accomplish and places I would like to travel. I have learned in recent years that this is called your “Bucket List.

Well, if I had a written bucket list, whale watching would certainly be on it!

This past summer, I traveled to Ecuador on a mission trip. One bright day we had some down time and some of us on the team prepared to go whale watching on the Pacific Ocean. I boarded a boat with about 9 other team members and snapped my life jacket on. The mountains and the Pacific waves were vast an amazing.

I sat in the center of the boat and I noticed a huge strong rope tied to the front of the boat that ran down the middle all the way to the back of the boat. Hmm, I wondered what this rope was for. No one seemed to know why it was there.

As we looked out in the ocean, we could see a different kind of movement in the water running along side of our boat. This is it – the whale we are going to see. The drivers of the boat cranked it up and we started going very fast as we chased this whale. All of the sudden, we hit a high wave at a very fast pace! I thought I was going to fly right out of the boat. I went up and came down very hard. Whew…just then I realized what the rope was for! It was for you to hold onto tightly – to keep you secure in the boat. You guessed it, I was now holding on to this rope until we hit land again!

As we were cruising across the ocean, I was thinking how so many times in my Christian life I do this with the Word of God and the Gospel. It is there like that rope – something for us to hold on to in order to keep us secure and on track. We think we are okay cruising along and we don’t hold on to the rope. We don’t find out what the rope is for! I am so grateful the Lord is my rope and my strength that I can hold on to. He is the one who keeps me on track because of what Christ, through the gospel, has done in my life.

Psalm 121:18 says, “The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.” Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, I will walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” I must never let go of Christ and must never neglect making His word and gospel the center of my life.

So, you are asking, “Did you ever see the whale?” The boat stopped and this huge humpback whale came up out of the water and his tail came flapping back and forth in the air – it was truly an amazing sight.

Bucket List – Whale Watching – Check!

I am holding to the rope and I am not letting go, Lord – keep on teaching me and showing me your ways.

Pam Cavanaugh

The Unseen Hand
A. J. Simms

There’s an unseen hand to me
That leads through ways, I cannot see
While going through, this world of woe
This hand still leads, me as I go

I’m trusting to, the unseen hand
That guides me through, this weary land
And some sweet day, I’ll reach that strand
Still guided by, the unseen hand

I long to see, my Savior’s face
And sing the story, of his grace
And there upon, that golden strand
I’ll praise him for, his guiding hand

I’m holding to, the unseen hand
That guides me through, this weary land
And some sweet day, I’ll reach that strand
Still holding to, the unseen hand

During the course of our life, the Lord graciously brings people into our lives to teach us and instruct us.  I had the privilege, years ago, of sitting under the teaching of Elizabeth Elliot.  Her life has been amazing and the Godly wisdom she shared was powerful.

I think sometimes when we attend conferences or meetings, we are looking for earth shattering or grandiose happenings.  What I learned that weekend was not earth shattering information.  But, what I learned spoke volumes to my heart.

We wrestle with the will of God and all that our busy lives throw at us.  Elizabeth Elliot uttered four simple words: “Do the next thing,”

I would like to share with you the poem that she shared with us in that meeting.

So, do the next thing – read it!

Pam Cavanaugh

Do The Next Thing

From an old English parsonage,
Down by the sea,

There came in the twilight,
A message to me;

Its quaint Saxon legend,
Deeply engraven,

Hath, as it seems to me,
Teaching from Heaven.

And on through the hours
The quiet words ring

Like a low inspiration-
DO THE NEXT THING

Many a questioning, many a fear,

Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.

Moment by moment,
Let down from Heaven,

Time, opportunity,
Guidance, are given.

Fear not tomorrows,
Child of the King,

Trust them with Jesus,
DO THE NEXT THING

Do it immediately;
Do it with prayer;

Do it reliantly, casting all care;

Do it with reverence,
Tracing His Hand,

Who placed it before thee with 
Earnest command.

Stayed on Omnipotence,
Safe ‘neath His wing,

Leave all resultings,
DO THE NEXT THING

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,

(Working or suffering)
Be thy demeanor,

In His dear presence,
The rest of His calm,

The light of His countenance
Be thy psalm,

Strong in His faithfulness,
Praise and sing,

Then, as He beckons thee,
DO THE NEXT THING

The inescapable activity of your day: looking into a mirror, checking it all out! When we look into a mirror it reveals who we are – what we truly look like. The mirror tells the truth! We can’t hide from what is going on with our hair, our face, and what we look like. The mirror is a reflection of us.

There is another mirror that we must dare not miss looking into every day. The Word of God is our mirror for checking out where we are spiritually. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

I just turned sixty and I am afraid the law of gravity is working quite well on my face! As I look in the mirror on the wall, I can see the signs of aging. We can tint that greying hair and we can put on make-up to cover up a little. But, in reality, the grey is still there – underneath it all, our little aging flaws do not diminish.

We look in the mirror and we walk away and we forget. Just like that grey hair that is still underneath, remaining sin is always present in our lives.

Do we become too comfortable with grace?

Oh dear friends, when we look into the mirror of the Word of God, it reflects what is going on in our hearts. We see our Christian walk and sometimes it can be painful. Let us not walk away from the mirror of the Word. May it cause us to look to Christ. So let’s take an assessment of our lives and reflect on who Christ is in our lives. That mirror of the Holy Spirit reveals to us our desperate need of Him. God must live in us, dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us to change.

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

“ For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) One day we shall see Christ face to face and we will know Him fully as He is. This is our hope.

Oh, remember and never forget…

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who’s that person after all?
Mirror, mirror of my heart,
Cause your divine word
To never depart

Pam Cavanaugh

The lights go down and the orchestra begins to play together.  It is rehearsed and ready to perform.  I truly enjoy going to an orchestrated performance and listening to a harmonious group of musicians.

I find in my every day-to-day life, the Lord is orchestrating my life and all that surrounds me.

I decided to go to a local store in my town to pick up a few items at a very reduced price.  It’s a new grocery store that has opened.  My plan was to dash in and get going to accomplish all the other things on my list.  Did I say “dash in”?

The orchestra of my life begins.

I gathered my items and headed to the checkout.  I got in the long line of people.  I looked around and every line was out the door!  So, I was in one line and then I decided to switch to another line.  I pulled up behind a couple whose small child was in a plastic wagon that they were using to pull him around the store.

When you stand in a line for a long time, conversation is going to happen.

I looked down at the young boy in the wagon and remarked to him, “What a fun ride you are having!”  His mom began to tell me that he could not walk because he has had multiple surgeries in the last six months.  Looking closer, I could see his hands and body had some special needs.  I came to find out that this mom and her son had been in Florida (away from home) for some time, but they were home for a short while.  As this mom continued to share with me, I began to empathize with her, remembering that 16 years ago the Lord allowed me to go through that whole hospitalized child scene when my son had brain surgery – orchestration of my life.  There I stood, not an accident, knowing how this mother felt and knowing how I should pray for her.

I asked the boy’s name, Drew, and the mother’s name.  I pulled a piece of paper out of my purse and wrote their names down and told the mother I would commit to pray for them.  I began talking with Drew and found out that he is about five years old.

I noticed he had an action figure toy in his arms and I admired it with him.  He kept saying it was the last one.  His father remarked, “Yes, Drew, it was the last one on the shelf – just for you.”  Oh, how my heart rejoices at the orchestration of little things in our lives.  That toy was there for Drew, to encourage his little heart.

Sometimes we forget about all those seemingly little things that are orchestrated in our lives, that are put together to bring harmonious music to our souls – a symphony of grace, love, mercy, kindness, and longsuffering from our Savior.  Psalm 103:1 &4 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”  Psalm 92:2 says, “To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”

Stop, listen, and look because you do not want to miss the orchestration going on around you.  “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” (Psalm 63:3)

I started to leave the grocery store and Drew’s mom walked over to me and simply said, “Thank you.”

I thank you, Lord, for allowing me, because of your orchestration in my life, to encourage this woman.

I put away my groceries, and I sat down in a chair and began to pray for Drew and his mom.  This is the crescendo of my orchestrated life.

Pam Cavanaugh

I soon have an appointment with my Dentist who is a far piece away from my house. I always leave early, only to arrive on time and have to wait.

We spend so much of our lives waiting. As young parents, we utter the words “I can’t wait till he or she can walk, talk, get all their teeth, dress themselves, be potty trained…” The list continues to grow with each season of life.

Then, one day, we turn around and they are grown and have become adults so quickly. We ask, “Where did all the time go?”

But are we still guilty of saying, “I can’t wait until he or she…? Well, you know the rest.

As Christians, is this true of our lives? “My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say more than they that watch for the morning.” (Psalm 130:6) Waiting can become frustrating as a believer and we can so easily loose hope.

Psalm 33:20 says that our soul should wait for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. When we are in that waiting room, we are not to do nothing or be idle. Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.”

Is our soul seeking Him in the midst of waiting? What are you waiting for in regards to your adult children? Trust, me (especially if you are the mom ☺) this is not an easy task. But it is a necessary task for our soul and our relationship with our adult children.

To quote my husband, Charles Cavanaugh, “Waiting on the Lord will sorely test the reality and measure of your commitment to Him. There is noting quite so trying as the silence and seeming inactivity of God.”

When we find ourselves in the waiting room of our lives, we are not to be passive, but we should be active – actively seeking the Lord, resting, watching, and ultimately trusting in the Lord. Galatians 5:5 says, “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”

We must exercise a confidence of a waiting soul. While most of us don’t like to wait, some of us have learned to make good of those times we have to. We may read a book or work with our modern technology. I encourage you, as you are sitting in that literal waiting room or that spiritual waiting room that is your soul, rehearse and mediate on this Word: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.” (Isaiah 64:4)

Pam Cavanaugh

Ahhh, this is February, the heart month. The month where love is celebrated. I have been thinking about how casually we use the word “love” in our vocabulary.

“I love to go shopping.” “I love chocolate,” “I love snow.” “I love __________”

You can fill in the blank. But the love I want us to think about and focus on is a deeper love – an unconditional love. The dictionary says “unconditional” means without conditions or reservations; absolute.

As parents, do we love our adult children unconditionally – setting no conditions on them or having any reservations about them, loving them absolutely?

Remember, dear parent, Christ has loved us unconditionally.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

When we were sinners without hope, Christ drew us unto himself and saved us. Christ dying in my place on the cross is ultimate love.

Ephesians 1:6-7 says, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

There is nothing we ever could do to earn this salvation – this is unconditional love towards us! No strings attached. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Do we love others unconditionally? We must look at others and our children through the eyes of Christ.

As I reflect and meditate on this unconditional love of Christ towards me, I am challenged and pricked in my heart to keep this thought ever before me: “Lord, help me to love others, and especially my children, unconditionally – no reservations. Help me never to put conditions on my love for my children.”

I want to always have an open heart and love with an everlasting love.

So, this February, I will love the chocolate, enjoy the fun things this month will bring and I will reflect and sing:

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

- S. Trevor Francis and Thomas J. Williams -

In His Unconditional Love,

Pam Cavanaugh

Parenting Package: Stamped Fragile

Have you ever mailed a package that you carefully wrapped up and had the post office stamp ‘Fragile’ on the box; only to find out when it arrived at its destination that its contents were crushed?

I opened my Christmas ornaments this year to find one of my favorite ornaments broken in several pieces. It was an ornament I gave Charles about 20 something years ago that was from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I had wrapped this ornament so carefully, yet it was broken into pieces.

To quote John Piper, “There is no such thing as security or safety in this life.”

As parents, we spend a lifetime stamping fragile on our kids and wrapping them tightly. We are called to protect and gently guide our children in the right direction. As parents, we must not hold to tightly to anything but hold tightly to Christ.

I am learning, and yes, I have not arrived, that none of us will ever be perfect this side of heaven. As my adult children follow Christ, I am learning I cannot stamp fragile on them. I can’t wrap them so tightly as to protect them.

Parenting is by grace. We are not handed any instruction guide tied to our child when they are born. But as believers, we are given the greatest instructions to follow in the word of God.

“Stand fast; therefore, in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” [KJV Gal. 5:1]

As parents, we must not get tangled up with our own ideas or man’s ways of perfection. We must work hard to understand the Gospel and the Word of God. We must teach our children to understand the Gospel and the Word of God in their lives.

Sunday, my Pastor, Dave Teruel said this, “The Scriptures give us understanding of our own hearts and minds, and we must have a spiritual transformation.”

Be careful that you do not slip into bondage in your personal performance or your child’s performance. Beware of rules and law creeping in instead of the Gospel of Christ. Your children need to understand the Gospel.

The rules are necessary, and laws are given to us for our safety and protection. But the grace of God – the Gospel – must be the center of everything we do and believe. The Lord will give us our direction that is proven in His word. We should always acknowledge the authority of God in His word. Let it be our guide.

I must daily give my expectations of my children to the Lord. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him [Ps. 62:5].” Your children are a package that belongs to Christ. We can wrap them and prepare to send the package out – stamped fragile. But we must trust grace and leave the results to the Lord.

“It’s a wonderful life.”

Pam Cavanaugh

For the next couple of months, Pam will be exploring the realities and depths of releasing children into the world for the work of the gospel and the ministry of Christ.  She will be sharing truths identifying the gospel as the reason and center of raising children.   There’s much to look forward to – stay tuned!

Breanna

_______________________________________________________________ 

The car was packed to the top, the door was closed, and I stood there and watched my son of 24 years drive away.  He was headed to Texas to begin a job as a Legislator Coordinator.  It was hard to say good-bye.  He will be gone for six months – so far away.  Then my heart was reminded by the Lord: “Pam, letting them go is just as important as raising, teaching and nurturing them when they are young.  This is the Lord’s will.”

Psalm 127:4 says, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of one’s youth.”  When you shoot arrows, you do not shoot them close to you.  I have observed in some circles of parents, a desire to cling too tightly to their adult children, run their lives, and control their wills.  This is not to be, because our children are the Lord’s arrows given to us, their parents, on loan.

When this son of mine, Micah, was 8 years old he had to have a 9-½ hour brain surgery.  It was at this time that I realized that the Lord has my children in His hands.   Psalm 31:15a says, “my times are in they hand, says the Lord.”  The Lord spared my Micah’s life and I am grateful to have been given the joy of watching him grow into a man.

We must be willing to release our children and continue to parent in faith and not fear.

So, do I stop parenting?  No.  The journey of prayer, love, and encouragement for my son will always be my life’s work.  I still pray for Micah’s future [“This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth” – Joshua 1:8] and his life work [“For this cause we also since the day we heard of it do not cease to pray for you, and desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” – Colossians 1:9].  I pray for his needs, his protection, and for his continued spiritual growth.

But, I don’t look back.  I step forward in faith – a new day, a new season in my life as a parent.  I am so fulfilled being a wife and mother, but my significance must be found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Oh that our arrows would always be ready to be released for His glory – not kept close to us for our desires and designs.  Instead, may our longing be that they will make a mark in life for Christ and Christ alone.

In Faith,

Pam Cavanaugh