My Man

My man is a visionary
 I thought he was just a dreamer
My man is not afraid
 I thought he was just a risk-taker
My man is strong
 I thought he was just forceful
My man is compassionate
 I thought he was just a pushover
My man is a peacemaker
 I thought he was just an appeaser
My man is patient
 I thought he was just silent
My man is a heart-healer
 I thought he was just a busybody
My man has integrity
 I thought he was just self-righteous
My man is funny
 I thought he was just a clown
My man is ambitious
 I thought he was just power-loving
My man is honest
 I thought he was just naive
My man is industrious
 I thought he was just a workaholic
My man is generous
 I thought he was just a sucker
My man is a friend to all
 I thought he was just talkative
My man is calm amidst a storm
 I thought he was just crazy
My man is a God-Pleaser
 I thought he was just a religion-lover
My man is mine
 It’s just the way you look at things
I love my man!

Carla Lindberg
11 August 2007

CD's for Mongolia

Our family is trying to raise over $13,000 to go to Mongolia this summer. Recently, I made a Bible Drill CD for my brother's church to help the kids there learn their Bible verses through songs. Mark worked his magic on the disc and what came out of our printer was a very professional looking CD with awesome songs to boot! People who have been using the CD keep saying it is so good that we should sell it! Well, I never intended to make money from it. But then I realized this could be an awesome opportunity to help our family go to Mongolia!

I quickly began putting together all of the songs I have written over the years. I was able to put together two more CD's and even include a song written by our girls for my oldest sister when she went to Heaven last August. It is so precious! After only a couple of weeks selling these CD's, we have raised over $700! I find it incredibly humbling that God would use me and my songs (which are like pages from my diary - how humbling is that) to get us to Mongolia! I know I'm supposed to say something like, 'we are going to be able to bless the Mongolian people because people here have supported us so amazingly.' But the truth is, the Mongolian people are going to bless us! I know - I've been there before!! Last summer I was able to go and I cannot wait to get back and share my family with them, and especially to get to share my children with their children!!!

Just two weeks ago, God gave us an incredible confirmation to even bring our girls. One couple was giving a large amount to our church on our behalf. They told me that God began impressing on them that they needed to double the amount they were giving because they believe it is so important that our children go with us. They said that our girls will have a greater impact on the Mongolian children than we adults could. And furthermore, when we return, our girls will have a greater influence on American children regarding missions than any adult ever could! It was like God Himself was telling us, "Yes, I want you to take your children with you halfway around the world!" WOW!

OK, here's another WOW! My sister is using that Bible Drill CD with the children in her home church. Here is an amazing story she sent me about how God is using those little songs in a mighty way:
I want to tell you a story about using the bible verse songs you shared with me. I focused the kids on learning Genesis 1:31 starting 3 weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I let the kids volunteer to stand up individually to quote the verse. After a couple of kids volunteered, I noticed a girl in the back timidly raise her hand. (I hadn’t met her yet.) I instantly called on her and saw a visible reaction from the teacher she was sitting next to as well as the other children. (This was during our combined time with about 50 kids.) She very timidly got up and recited the verse perfectly. However, it was immediately apparent why everyone winced when I called upon her. She has a speech impediment and is developmentally disabled. One of the teachers came to me after with tears in her eyes and told me that this little girl had never said a word in the 2 years she had been attending the class. Last week when I asked for volunteers, her hand was the first to go up. I asked her to come to the front and stand by me to help remind the kids of the words. She walked up by me with as much confidence as you could have. When she was done, she beamed and jumped up and down and clapped for herself. I thought you would want to know how your gift is helping others in unintended ways. After church Sunday, her bible study teacher said she actually participated during her class. She attributed her change to her ability to focus and learn the bible verse with enough confidence to recite it in front of everyone. Thank you for sharing your gift with me and all of us at our church.

Isn't God amazing? He takes our feeble offerings and makes them into something beautiful. And it's always more than we could ever have imagined!

The Way Out of the Pit Isn't Up

you won't believe this, but God just revealed the most amazing thing to me as I was just praying for someone else. I am still in awe as I realize how I almost missed the opportunity!!! (the call to be depressed again has been very great. I would have missed this if I had let it overtake my day.)

yesterday, I was almost back to the old despair again. this morning, I was summoning up all the power within me to try to overcome again. I knew that satan had succeeded in making me feel bad about my diet and exercise because my diet has been terrible since saturday and my exercise has been nonexistant practically since I first began my new walking routine in january! so this morning, I got up ready to go walk and realized mark was leaving for a meeting - I couldn't go! I can't leave the girls - even if they are asleep. well, the enemy wasn't going to steal a victory that easily - no matter how much I hate mornings, and no matter how much I hate exercising. fortunately, the Holy Spirit reminded about my step videos. I haven't done them since I was pregnant!!!! I used to LOVE them and did them almost faithfully for years. ok - anyway, I did it. and I felt physically and emotionally great afterwards. wow - a small victory, but one definately worth the drudgery of waking up and the pain of exercising.

think about it, I beg God all day, every day, to help me feel better. and really, all it takes is getting my fat butt out of bed and exercising! ok - there has got to be some motivation there for me somewhere. I probably won't find it, though. I'll probably face the same hesitance tomorrow, but I still REFUSE to let the enemy win simply by my FORFEITING the game.

ok, so on to what just happened... I was praying for my friend and not having a clue where each word was heading, and God took me to the greatest revelation not only for her, but for ME TOO, as I find myself in a pit so often these days!!! ok, enough blabber, here's the prayer I prayed. may it be a revelation to you too.

I was praying Luke 24.45 (Then he [Jesus] opened their minds so they [the disciples] could understand the Scriptures.) for her:

"Dear God, please open her mind to Your truth. Help her today as she studies Your Word to understand your plan for her life. Bring other scipture to her mind today and reveal to her the opening is not at the top of the pit -- but at the bottom."

Wow! we've been looking the wrong direction for the way out! it is not to get out of the fire, but to walk THROUGH it with Him! just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in Daniel chapter 3.

How United 93 and Beth Moore Changed My Life

Well, it really began just after Carol died, terrible depression. It was everything you don’t want to talk about. It’s worse than cancer. It’s embarrassing. It’s guilty. It’s shameful. It’s hopeless. It’s heavy, smothering. Sad. So sad. Sometimes for no reason. It’s helpless. No one can help. Nothing can be done. Nothing will ever change. I will never feel any differently.

This went on for a couple of months. Daily, I went to the Lord. Just take me home. I’m no use here anymore. I’m just making others upset too. Daily, He gave me strength, no, a command - “Keep going.”

I clung to anything He sent me. My husband and best friend who said, “No one is leaving. We are a family and we are staying with you on this.” II Corinthians1.3 that says that He is the God of all comfort and that He wants to comfort me and that I am to take that comfort and comfort others. He knew this would be hard for me and yet He let me go through it. He is just waiting to comfort me from His storehouse of comfort.

“But this is too hard! I QUIT!!!!” The feelings are overwhelming. Way too much for me to deal with. I was tired of trying so hard not to feel so bad. I was running to the cross every day screaming, “Why am I running here? I’ve already been saved!” I didn’t know where else to go. The pain was unbearable. My emotions were on overload. It was like a stereo turned up past the feedback level for days, months. No escape.

God chastened me and said I can’t quit. The job (life) I have was given me by Him and only He can say, “Well done, you’re done!” My employee manual lays out specifically my job description in II Corinthians 5 - Christ gave me the ministry of reconciliation. OK, I can do that on a mission trip, but what about everyday life?! Who am I ministering to then? And of course, the answer came - my family. But they are already saved! So how do I minister to them? By serving and encouraging. Yes, pick up after them. Yes, even though you just did it this morning. And encourage them to learn what they are to learn. Encourage.

OK, a couple of months now of serving and encouraging have gone by. My actions have changed. My attitudes mostly have. My feelings partly have. And then we saw “United 93”. If you haven’t seen it, please do. The parable was perfect timing for me. And it is true for every Christian.

The enemy has come to hijack your life. He will lie to you and make you think you will live, but you will die - it is inevitable. If you know the truth, like those on United 93 came to know, then the lie has no hold on you. Actually, death has no hold on you anymore either. You come to realize that maybe you are living for such a time as this. You can sit in a back seat crying because of the horrific thing the enemy is doing to you, or you can get out of your chair and fight back and do a heroic thing to those around you (and yourself while you’re at it).

I just happened to have seen Beth Moore’s introduction video to the Daniel study the day before (God’s perfect planning). When Daniel was taken to Babylon, he chose not to let Babylon infect him. By standing up for His God, he actually infected Babylon. And so, Beth had me ask the question, “As I live in this world, will it indoctrinate me or will I indoctrincate it?”

God echoed that question after the movie, “Will you stay curled up, crying because of the way the world has affected you or will you stand up and affect the world? ‘Cuz either way, you’re going to die - when I say so!”