Para la mujer latina
About Me
Fun Facts about Van Walton
My favorite smell: The way the earth smells after it rains.
My favorite sound: The first notes of a grand symphony.
My favorite way to relax: Sitting anywhere outside - on my front porch, on my deck, or by the lake, early in the morning with my first cup of coffee.
My favorite birthday dessert: a Peach cobbler baked by my husband. He’s my fave chef!
I will not eat: Avocado. They turn my stomach into a volcano that never erupts.
Technology I couldn't live without and why: My laptop - it takes me anywhere I want to go.
One thing that makes me smile: My sons' faces!
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My book, From the Pound to the Palace, is available for $10
from Proverbs 31 Ministries.
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31 Ministries.
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- MOVIN' ON AFTER MOVIN' IN MONDAY
- A FAMILY HEIRLOOM:
- WEDNESDAYS ARE FOR WAITING
- MOVIN' ON AFTER MOVIN' IN MONDAY
- THE SECRET OF WAITING
- MOVIN' ON AFTER MOVIN' IN MONDAY
- WEDNESDAYS ARE FOR WAITING
- WAITING: THE HEAVIEST OF WEIGHTS
- MOVIN' ON AFTER MOVIN' IN MONDAY
- LIFE'S HIGHLIGHTS
- MOVIN' ON AFTER MOVIN' IN MONDAY
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
WAITING: THE HEAVIEST OF WEIGHTS
Do you struggle with the weight of “wait?” I don’t like waiting! I become extremely impatient and frustrated when my plans get put on hold. Life’s detours have a way of brining out the worst in me. But I am learning that everyone’s journey, mine too, requires us to slow down for the yield and stop signs. We have all sat focused on the traffic light waiting for the light to change. There is nothing I can do about it. So, I have begun to seriously take a look at “wait.”
When was the last time you had to wait? Was it a light wait, like a car pool line- ah no more car pool this month – school’s out, summer is here!
Was your wait a heavy wait like a visit to the ER in the middle of the night when you sat with your injured child for hours, waiting your turn?
I’ve spent lots of time lifting heavy waits. I’m not very strong, so God hands me some pretty substantial waits from time to time. Although I would simply be content to live in weakness, God has other plans. He thinks I need a bit of strength training to build some spiritual muscle!
This past weekend, He let me take a field trip to His WAIT ROOM because he decided it was time for this weak spiritual athlete to bulk up!
If you haven’t read yesterday’s blog you might want to right now.
I’ve contemplated the trip I took and wondered, “What was the purpose for hovering around in the mountains? ” Why did we have to wait for such a long time before arriving at the retreat center?
I believe God used the time to teach me some valuable lessons.
1-I call the first lesson, mountain top vistas. Sometimes God has to bring us to a stop so He can show us His majesty. Lately God has me on a rigorous wait training schedule. Some days I think I can’t go on because the wait is so heavy. I believe this weekend He decided to show me His muscle to remind me to call on Him to lighten my burden. If He can push the mountains into place, He can certainly lift my wait. He is the ultimate Spotter, you know.
2-The second lesson, deep valley views, gave me a sense of peace. God brought me to a near stop every time the car slowed down in a curve. There below I caught breath taking views of serene farms, slowly flowing streams, broad green pastures, and tucked away villages. Of course I thought of the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in quiet pastures. He leads me beside quiet streams…I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” My life needs a bit of scenic serenity right now.
3-The third lesson, visions of godly character, helped me realize that trials and tribulations are allowed to build our reputation and strengthen our moral fiber. I fell deeper in love and admiration with my traveling companion with each long mile we traveled through the lost land of we’ll-never- ever-get-there! Tracie could have become testy. She could have complained, whined, or scolded. She practiced none of these vices. Instead she patiently kept her eyes on the road, longing for her destination.
I am aware that my life is often observed by others who look at me wondering… Yes, that’s right, what are they wondering? Am I a godly example? Does my life give others hope, even when I am journeying through valleys filled with long shadows? I believe the way we wait may not be at all about us, but about others who are seeking answers to life’s hard challenges.
Have you ever looked at a well chiseled athlete, one who works out, looks healthy, and well, you just want their body! Is it at all possible that someone is looking at you and well, they just want what you have- a deep confidence that God is walking with you and however heavy the wait is, you are pumping it because it feels good to give it to Him.
Are you in God’s Wait Room right now? I challenge you to consider how He is strengthening you and what He wants to develop in your character.
For the next six weeks at my church, I will be teaching a Bible Study- “Wait Training.” On Wednesdays I’ll post some thoughts on waiting – Wednesdays are for Waiting. Please come back and join me in the WAIT ROOM where we will lift waits together. Be sure to bring your own “waits” and your questions and comments! .
Oh, BTW, Tracie, today’s entry is dedicated to you. I know God has called you to His Wait Room and I am praying for you. Don't let the wait rob your joy of the views and vistas!
When was the last time you had to wait? Was it a light wait, like a car pool line- ah no more car pool this month – school’s out, summer is here!
Was your wait a heavy wait like a visit to the ER in the middle of the night when you sat with your injured child for hours, waiting your turn?
I’ve spent lots of time lifting heavy waits. I’m not very strong, so God hands me some pretty substantial waits from time to time. Although I would simply be content to live in weakness, God has other plans. He thinks I need a bit of strength training to build some spiritual muscle!
This past weekend, He let me take a field trip to His WAIT ROOM because he decided it was time for this weak spiritual athlete to bulk up!
If you haven’t read yesterday’s blog you might want to right now.
I’ve contemplated the trip I took and wondered, “What was the purpose for hovering around in the mountains? ” Why did we have to wait for such a long time before arriving at the retreat center?
I believe God used the time to teach me some valuable lessons.
1-I call the first lesson, mountain top vistas. Sometimes God has to bring us to a stop so He can show us His majesty. Lately God has me on a rigorous wait training schedule. Some days I think I can’t go on because the wait is so heavy. I believe this weekend He decided to show me His muscle to remind me to call on Him to lighten my burden. If He can push the mountains into place, He can certainly lift my wait. He is the ultimate Spotter, you know.
So, when in the WAIT ROOM-I’ll seek God.
2-The second lesson, deep valley views, gave me a sense of peace. God brought me to a near stop every time the car slowed down in a curve. There below I caught breath taking views of serene farms, slowly flowing streams, broad green pastures, and tucked away villages. Of course I thought of the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in quiet pastures. He leads me beside quiet streams…I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” My life needs a bit of scenic serenity right now.
So, when in His Wait Room- I am going to trust that Jesus has already gone before me.
3-The third lesson, visions of godly character, helped me realize that trials and tribulations are allowed to build our reputation and strengthen our moral fiber. I fell deeper in love and admiration with my traveling companion with each long mile we traveled through the lost land of we’ll-never- ever-get-there! Tracie could have become testy. She could have complained, whined, or scolded. She practiced none of these vices. Instead she patiently kept her eyes on the road, longing for her destination.
I am aware that my life is often observed by others who look at me wondering… Yes, that’s right, what are they wondering? Am I a godly example? Does my life give others hope, even when I am journeying through valleys filled with long shadows? I believe the way we wait may not be at all about us, but about others who are seeking answers to life’s hard challenges.
Have you ever looked at a well chiseled athlete, one who works out, looks healthy, and well, you just want their body! Is it at all possible that someone is looking at you and well, they just want what you have- a deep confidence that God is walking with you and however heavy the wait is, you are pumping it because it feels good to give it to Him.
So, while in His Wait Room, I choose godliness-godly fellow wait lifters and imitate their attitude.
Are you in God’s Wait Room right now? I challenge you to consider how He is strengthening you and what He wants to develop in your character.
For the next six weeks at my church, I will be teaching a Bible Study- “Wait Training.” On Wednesdays I’ll post some thoughts on waiting – Wednesdays are for Waiting. Please come back and join me in the WAIT ROOM where we will lift waits together. Be sure to bring your own “waits” and your questions and comments! .
Oh, BTW, Tracie, today’s entry is dedicated to you. I know God has called you to His Wait Room and I am praying for you. Don't let the wait rob your joy of the views and vistas!
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14 comments:
Van,
Beautiful insights. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Blessings,
Pearls
LOVED the devotional this morning, Van. Very clever and meaningful use of homonym. God uses everything in our lives to His glory-- even being on hold!! Thanks for your insight into this frustrating but necessary part of life.
Be still and know that I am God; the Lord spoke this to my heart several years ago and at the time I knew that this was directed toward employment...several times I have accepted employment that I should have declined. During this time one of the things I began to see was that I treat employment the way some women treat dating...say yes to anyone who ask...a few years later while praying over the phone with a friend who has been praying with me for years...spoke and said Ya know , I believe the Lord is showing me that you treat jobs the way some women treat men...
I am still unemployed yet the Lord is meeting my basic needs...last autumn I accepted some jobs only to find out they were wrong...others I turned down because they were wrong for me. By turning them down I thought for sure the right one would immediately follow...I am not comfortable with turning down employment but I do have peace...My heart is at peace...my mind still gets stirred up with thoughts of I Have To Do Something...Anything...
You are right about others looking at you...one of the questions I hear from others...They wonder out loud...What is God doing? They are not asking what is Debrah doing...they are looking to the Lord and wondering what is He working out - how is this going to bring Glory to Him.
Have a blessed day.
Van, I loved your devotional today. I, too, struggle with waiting--for just about anything. I have actually had to go back and apologize to a woman who checked me out at the grocery store, because I was so ugly to her over the long wait I had endured before I got to the front of the line.
Talk about a lesson in humility!
I loved ur devotion and also ur blog.Its an encouragement.I am in the waiting room right now too and i guess that this sharing lifted my spirit to trust myself in Gods hands and to seek Him completely.Looking forward to all ur lessons on Wed.
Great post. I try and realize how much I might miss in the waiting---even someone who needs a smile or a face that looks in need of prayer. GO SLOW--Sense His heart better--don't get mine so bent out of shape--I'm working on it. I also know that when it's the perfect time His response always comes. Now I just need that conditioning to remember it at the moment of the clutch.
Ahhhh! Van your blogs (yesterday's and today's) absolutely hits the spot in my life right now! My heart is so torn to leave this desert and return to my sisters and their kids. I want us all to be a family again. I have been so stressed out about it all lately that I even set tenative dates to leave.
I am also in a situation with a specific person where we are both waiting on something. It's difficult but I made a promise to him and to God. I have been so impatient lately.
Yesterday afternoon, I begged HIM for help because I could feel myself floating off course. BAM! Here comes another devotional from another group and then today yours from both days. Oh I am so happy! My wait problem has been addressed and HE knows my stress but knows I am attempting to be strong at the same time.
Happy Day! Thank you Van for your postings!
Layla Marie
This is so needed right now.
I look forward to Waiting with you on Wednesdays!
shanda
Thank you so much for your words on waiting. I am waiting right now myself. My husband has been incarcerated and I, a stay at home mom for 3.5 years, am trying desparately to find a job and have been looking for a month and a half. So I feel like I am definatly in that "wait room". The things you said definatly spoke to my situation. I was a single mom before I met my husband and it is so easy to slip back into that single mom mindset and try to do everything for myself. It is hard to trust someone you dont see but that is something that God is building up in me. That is my faith muscle. Thanks for the encouragement that we all go through "wait training" and it is all meant for Gods glory.
God showed me today that waiting thru this trial will help our relationship develop to a new level-one He has patiently been waiting for. Waiting, while having faith in God's perfect timing, can be difficult and frustrating. We want eveything instantly "fixed" but God says we must suffer "a little while". Why? To lean on Him step by step (and in my case breath by breath). Thank you for this blog and all of your comments. They have been a comfort to me today.
Van,
I know that wait room, too!
Last August, my husband and I reconciled after a FOUR YEAR separation. That was an incredibly difficult time.
I got impatient several times over that four years, but God, ever the Coach, reminded me that this was strength training.
God used every second. He had to keep showing me that He was "working out", too- that He was moving behind the scenes and in our hearts to bring everything to fruition in His time. Yes, He definitely worked it out.
The result: a HEALTHY, strong marriage.
To God be the glory!
Thanks, Van, for the reminder.
I'll be sure to give my husband an extra hug tonight! :)
Lisa R
Hi Van,
Just wanted you to know that I am praying for you as you get down to the last minute preparations for She Speaks. I pray that God will use you in a mighty way.
Blessings,
Pearls
I'm WAITING for She Speaks, and I can't WAIT! Praying for you & the Team today.
I blogged on Wait Training back in April, and I welcome you to visit it here: http://chattykelly.blogspot.com/2008/04/wait-training.html
I think we all struggle with waiting, but just like with Weight training, we get stronger.
Great post! Praying for you as you prepare for She Speaks!! Can't wait to see what the Lord does!! Praying!!!