Springs of Living Water?

      We have changed our name from "Living Water" to "Springs of Living Water"! We are very excited to provide you with some clarity about who we are and what we are doing. After a wonderful conference in June, we (Niki, Janeene, and Erin) were totally taken with an amazing woman, Beverly Bradley. Bev and her husband, Reb, are the founders of Family Ministries. To know them, is to love them. This fantastic couple exudes the Holy Spirit. We obviously weren't the only ones drawn to them. At our weekend conference, we began following them around like groupies. And the more sessions they gave, the more they filled up. At one point, Bev was speaking to standing-room only. We were approached with the possibility of helping bring Bev back to Colorado for a Women's retreat. She apparently loves Colorado and was eager to come back. How could we refuse? Since then, we have been hard at work trying to make that happen. As the details have been coming together, we have been blessed with a vision that this could be more than a one-stop retreat. So, through the facebook page and the blog, we would love to be a source of encouragement for women from all walks, in all seasons of life.
     We do not know what this amazing opportunity will lead to. But for now, we are busy trying to bring Bev to you. At the same time, join us on facebook for a little daily devotion. Enjoy the blog, as you will be getting updates frequently. We hope to serve as a daily reminder for you to get in the Word and to love on your sisters in Christ!!

"And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
~1 John 4:21

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
~John 13:34
We love ya!
  

When is this job done?

I started serving the Lord in my church when my babies were young. Until then, I thought that pew-warming was my calling. Praise God, He placed an active Christian friend in my life to show me being spoon-fed from a cozy pew had nothing to do with serving the Lord. So, I got off my padded seat and got active. I love how that call to action has changed over the years. I have served as a secretary, a worship team member, a bulletin maker, many different committees member, Sunday school teacher, food bank director, and ladies’ bible study teacher. I would be willing to bet most people have the same story. Much like the seasons of our life change, many times the places we serve also change. Through our lives we will see many seasons come to an end. Your single days will come to an end, your child-raising days will come to an end, your 30’s, your 40's, and your 50's will all end. So then, is our season of service to the Lord ever done? I have in the past heard mature Christians declare that they have put in their time in ministry. Perhaps they have. But that statement has always rubbed me wrong. When is the work you have completed for the Lord enough to cash in for retirement? I have been attending an old-time revival this week about an hour from my house. Under the tent, God’s word is preached by bald-headed cowboy who is moved to tears by his love of the Word. Before the preaching, a man in his 80’s gathers his wife and leads hymns of old. Some hymns are so obscure I don’t even recognize them. But he raises his voice to the Lord, and he means every word he exalts. In his 80’s, with cancer, he isn’t done yet. A couple in the back stands every night at the preacher’s call to be recognized for their work on the morning’s VBS. They nod, humbly, and you can tell they would prefer no recognition at all. Would you guess a couple leading the children’s worship to be a vibrant youthful pair with a passel of toddlers of their own? Not these two. They proudly announce that they are in their 70’s and the Lord isn’t finished using them yet. I have been in awe of this crew of the Lord’s servants. Devotion to the Lord’s work like this, I have rarely seen. So, I try to absorb every piece of wisdom I can from them in the brief moments of our meetings. And the best I can see is that the Lord just isn’t finished using them yet. But the question remains, is He ever done using any one of us? Our command time and time again in the bible is to love one another. Whatever that looks like in your walk, the call is irrevocable. If we are truly loving, we are truly serving, every day until we are no more. So perhaps God did not call you in your retirement to travel around doing tent revivals. But He did call you to love and serve. Every single call on our lives is to Him be the glory, so whatever He has you doing, you should be doing it in such a way that the Lord of your heart is glorified (1Cor 10:31). As long as your feet still touch this earth, and you dance in the rain in this life, your job is to glorify God. That probably means there will be no end to your intended service until you are buried in the grave. Still, we may choose to ignore this call on our lives, packing away the armor of God, rusted and bent. But then, if we are done glorifying God through service, what purpose do we have here? Why are we still here? In your vapor of a life, don’t contemplate at what point you can put your feet up and relax while you are content with a service finished. Contemplate that if you are gifted another tomorrow, in what way will your service glorify God? That shall be your call until you are resting at the feet of Jesus.  1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

Rest Area…….2 miles

     I recently took a road trip with my family. For the 10 hour drive, we loaded the car with snacks and activities and embarked on a journey to a place we had never been.  The trip was going smoothly. The children are a little older and they can contain their little bodies for more than five minutes.  I read book and watched road signs; and my husband navigated the dull terrain. I looked for interesting things to point out to the children. What else could I do? No one needed to hurry up because we were late to piano lessons. I didn’t need to ask if anyone forgot to water the chickens. No cleaning up the day’s mess. So, I noticed the rest areas, intermittently placed along our path: some are big and some are merely an area to pull off the main highway. The word rest has been on my heart lately, so I conjured up some ideas in my mind on the correlation between rest areas and resting in Jesus, the only true rest for the soul. But it wasn’t until my youngest daughter shouted from the back that I understood the message God had for me in pondering rest areas. You see, prior to leaving home, we had all had a bout with the some intestinal discomfort, which had taken various forms in the children. We were only about 30 minutes from our destination when she announced her need for a bathroom. She is 5 now, so I asked her, “Can you wait 30 minutes?”  She told me precisely what she needed to do in the bathroom, and I’ll spare you the details. But, it was enough for me to frantically grab the map, and wonder if there was anything in the next 30 miles. From the back she chanted, “I can’t wait, I can’t wait.” And I tried to soothe her, “Yes you can, big girl. You can hold it, just a minute.” My husband asked if I needed him to pull over. It was raining. The thought of trying to help this small girl do what she needed to do, road side in the rain, was just more than I was up for. And then, alas, there it stood. The big blue sign, “Rest area… 2 miles”. Praise the Lord! There just in the distance, if she could just hang on, is REST!

     We made it to the rest area. And it was one of those BIG rest areas, with real bathrooms and a picnic area.  And there, in the rain, trying to take a picture by the “Welcome to….” sign, it hit me. Rest is not some illusive thing we have to wait for. In the middle of road side emergencies, and kitchens full of dirty dishes, Jesus stands ready to receive my weary soul. How great is Our God that he doesn’t make us wait 2 miles to quench our thirst, or 2 minutes or 2 years. The weary find rest in the Lord the minute they stop self-reliance and fall into the arms of Jesus. Sometimes, we choose to stop before true rest, thinking we can find it in the immediate. Just as I could have stopped the car before I knew the rest area was so close (and sought rest roadside, in the rain) we often try to find rest where we are. We spend time with friends, try to get more sleep, or indulge in a little pampering. All of these things might feel like the answer in the moment, but they are temporary and only superficially satisfying. If we can look beyond our earthly pleasures and seek rest in the Lord, we will find rest that is not just an opportunity to relax, but a peace and refreshment that can only come from the Lord.  “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Jeremiah 31:25.