Speak to your Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry.  Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live? I replied, “Lord God, only You know.” Ezekiel 37:1-3

I believe this famous vision of dry bones from the Lord to Ezekiel is written to show us what to do when our situations seem hopeless. God took Him to a cemetery and then asked Him if what He saw could be resurrected.

Is there something in your life that looks dead from your point of view? 

The Lord then said to Ezekiel: “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!’ This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”  Ezekiel 37:4

Wow-Are you facing a dead situation in your life: a hopeless doctor’s report, a setback financially, an injustice, or a situation beyond your control then, here are your instructions: Go to the Lord, inquire of Him and ask Him for a word to speak to your dry bones. 

Do you believe He can change it?  I hear you saying this is an Old Testament passage this isn’t for our time. Ok, let’s look at a New Testament text where Jesus is teaching His disciples the power of their words, faith and how to pray.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then He (Jesus) said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly, I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:12-14, 20-24 

Ladies-God doesn’t want us to think we have to live life without His input.  He desires a personal relationship with each one of us.  Through this relationship He desires to communicate with us. This is what Jesus was teaching the disciples from our New Testament passage and this is what God was demonstrating to Ezekiel about the dry bones from our main text.  When you involve God in your circumstances something has to change.  

Because I know God doesn’t want us to be ignorant to the way He communicates with us let’s go to His word again and see how He will speak to us. He said, “Hear now My words: if there is a prophet among you I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.  I shall speak with Him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, he is faithful in all in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord.” Numbers 12:5-8  

What can we take away from this passage? His modes of communication: they are visions, dreams, mouth to mouth, and let me add His written word because He has provided it for us in our time.

 

Last, when He speaks you should be prepared to prophesy just life Ezekiel, say what He shows you, what you see in His word or what He comes to tell you. Your prophecy is the breath of life God will use to resurrect your situation.  Whatever He shows you speak this revelation by faith with a confident hope that God has the final word.  

Father, thank You for inspiring Your prophets to record Your word for us so that we can learn Your ways and put them into practice in our lives. Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus as a Rabbi (Great Teacher) to teach us the power in our words and how to pray.  Father, we know there is nothing too hard for You.  I pray my sisters draw close to You and expect You to communicate with them by Your Holy Spirit. I pray they believe You will speak to them and bring light to their dead circumstances. I pray they will say what You say and believe what You say, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Anointing Kings

We are almost at the end of another hiring season for football. I see this time as God anointing new kings. I shared with you that I was at the coaching convention a few weeks ago. While there, I ran into some old friends from a previous staff. I congratulated them on their recent bowl win and told them how our family was praying for them. I reminded them of the words I heard during the celebration speech from their head coach, “Glory to God! He’s watched after this team all year and watched after us one more time. What a valiant effort by a group of young men and this staff.”

At the beginning of this team’s season many writers questioned if they had hired the right head coach for the job. They were turned off by the lack of luster behind his name. Some even wrote that they didn’t think they would survive their first year. I shared with my friends that God solidified His choice and He quieted the naysayers on their behalf. This triumphant victory for them was God saying, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Ladies, as the dust settles and the carousel stops turning in this year’s hiring season, I pray you know that each new king is in place because our sovereign God decided where he would sit. I encourage you to live above the noise. 

As believers, we understand His sovereignty and we except His plans. Don't listen to the naysayers, turn your back on them and focus on the voice of the Lord. Follow King David's example, Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD. I Samuel 30:7-8a

God knows what king to put in place in every leadership role. Have confident faith in Him and Him alone. 

Father, we give thanks to You for the plans You have for us. You decided before the foundations of the world who would lead what team.  Father, You are in control and we acknowledge Your control, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Wait for Hope to Appear

Wait for Hope to Appear

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
His merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over)
He’s all I’ve got left.
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times.
When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. 
Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full face.
The ‘worst” is never the worst.
Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return.
If He works severely, He also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way. 
Lamentations 3:22-33 MSG

Ladies-these scriptures from Lamentations have been so comforting for me through the most uncertain times as a coach’s wife. I pray they are encouraging for you too.

Are you in a season where life is heavy and hard to take? I pray you can go off by yourself and wait for hope to appear. I pray you know God has not left you and the worst is never the worst.

Does this season feel long? Do you feel like God has forgotten? I pray your heart doesn’t grow bitter. I pray you will be comforted by the fact that seasons have to change. I pray you know he is leading you, keep moving forward.

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide you; I will turn the darkness into light before you and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake you.” Isaiah 42:16


If you are not in this season, I encourage you to grab a pink highlighter and remember these verses because we never know our time.

Father, You are our desire and You are all we got. We are comforted knowing that You will not leave us nor will You forsake us. I pray we know You are the one who will lift our heads. I pray we will keep moving forward in You. I pray we understand that seasons have to change. Thank You for Your word that leads us through the most difficult times, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Get comfortable in that place

Get comfortable in that place

Ladies-I recently attended the American Football Coaches’ Wives Association Convention in Nashville, Tn.  We had awesome sessions, wonderful fellowship, great food and fun! My one take away that I want to share with you came from the AFCA Executive Director’s Wife.  She encouraged us with these words, “Get comfortable in the city where you are currently living.” She went on to share with us that the job your husband currently has is his best job. 

Our word for this week comes from the next prophet in our prophetic series, Jeremiah.  As I began to study Jeremiah and seek the Lord on what to share with you from this book, I was led to a letter Jeremiah wrote to the people of Israel while they were in exile.  I think you will see a parallel between what God had Jeremiah to say and what the Executive Director’s wife shared with us at the convention.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat the produce. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:4-5,7,11

How many of you are treating your husband’s current job like it is his best job?  How many of you have prayed for the welfare of your husband’s current school and city? How many of you pray for the head coach, the players, assistant coaches and the administrators?

I get it! You may not be at the best place according to your standards.  It may be a dump or a pit in your mind.  But you are there and your husband has a coaching job, doing what God called him to do.  

I was at the convention for 3 days and my husband didn’t attend.  He warned me before I went that I would see eyes of desperation, eyes of pride and eyes of desire.  These are all coaches’ eyes from various situations.  The eyes of desperation are the coaches who are just trying to get on with anyone anywhere.  The eyes of pride are the coaches that have made it to what they believe is the promise land at the pinnacle job.  The eyes of desire are the coaches that currently have a job, but they aren’t satisfied with their situation. 

Ladies-the sports world is so fickle!  We have seen men get fired who's records were: 10-2, 9-3, bowl eligible and conference champions.  If the carousel didn’t stop at your house, give praise! If your husband has been at the same place for a number of years, give praise! If your husband continues to get new opportunities after another, give praise!  Or, if you are like my family and you have not got the call yet, give praise!  

Jeremiah was letting the people of Israel know that God wasn’t going to deliver them from exile until the time of completion was fulfilled.  For thus says the Lord, “When the seventy years (only God knows this number) have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you…” Jeremiah 29:10 

The length of time you stay in any situation is determined by what God wants to grow in you.  

One other wife I met at the convention shared with me how her husband had been away from football for 8 years and all of a sudden received a call to coach. He has had door after door opened for him since that day.  This encouraged my heart.  

Ladies-when the time of completion is fulfilled, at whatever school you find yourself, according to the Lord’s schedule, then you will move on.  If today is currently your time of completion and you are waiting for your next assignment, be encouraged.  We serve a sovereign God who controls the outcomes. 

 

Let me remind you, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Father may our hearts be encouraged by Your sovereignty.  May we trust You with the next move.  May we pray for the welfare of our current school, staff, administrators and city.  May we look to You the author and finisher of our faith, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

God Desires to Communicate with Us

Praise the Lord most High for bringing us into a new calendar year! Our goals for this year are: we want to continue our conversation with the Lord, keep walking through His word regularly and intentionally look for things He says to us as His daughters. We have already walked through several books together. We closed out the wisdom books right in time for the holidays. I hope you were all able to glean more from these writings in your private time with God. Let’s jump into the prophetic books. All of these books share common themes: teachings, warnings, calls for repentance and words of encouragement. The authors of these books are people God chose to be His spokesmen, His prophets. Their job was to convey direct messages from God, calling His people to turn back to His commands and away from the world.

Isaiah is the first prophet in this series. His assignment was to deliver a message that many people did not want to hear. During Isaiah’s time, God’s people had allowed their hearts to grow corrupt, centered upon vain emptiness and worldly practices. This sounds much like our world today. Most of the first half of Isaiah you will find God using Isaiah to urge the people to come back to Him and repent. The second half of Isaiah is a message full of hope and forgiveness.

As I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to share with you from these 66 chapters in this book, I heard Him say, “Tell them about Isaiah’s family and My Son.” So Ladies let’s dive in.

Isaiah had 2 sons and his wife is referred to as a prophetess.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Ja-Shub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. Say to Him, “Be careful keep calm and don’t be afraid.” Isaiah 7:3-4a
The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shal-Al-Hash-Baz. And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberkiah as reliable witnesses for Me. Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Isaiah 8:1-3

God Desires to Communicate with Us
The first phrase that sticks out to me from each verse, “The Lord said to me.” Ladies did you hear that?-God desires to speak to us! He is a very personal God and He desires to have intimate fellowship with each one of us.

During Isaiah’s time God chose to speak through prophets because the people did not want to be intimate with God. Still now, God will use prophets to speak and reveal His truths. They are called to help us understand His holy scriptures, teach us how to hear His voice and the proper way to respond. Today Jesus calls prophets to edify, encourage, and build His body of believers.(see Ephesians 2:19-22)

Next, God gives Isaiah His instructions and He is very specific about what He wants Him to do. Here again ladies, when God speaks to us, He will tell us exactly what He desires for us to do.

All of us are created for a purpose on purpose. If you haven’t spent any time talking with God and asking Him about your purpose then, I encourage you to go and get His instructions.

Isaiah’s wife is referred to as a prophetess. This means she was also called by God to speak for Him.

As coaches’ wives God has an assignment for each of us. Intimacy and regular fellowship with the Lord gives Him an opportunity to show us His will and assignments for our lives. (see I Corinthians 12, 13 and 14 Spiritual Gifts for the body of Christ).

Last, Isaiah was an Old Testament writer. He wrote the most about the promise of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. I pray you will read this book on your own, so that you can see all of the references made to our Lord.

Let’s end by looking at some of the more familiar scriptures:

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:2-6

Coaching families have one of the best opportunities in our time to influence our world for Christ. The world is always watching what we do. I pray we seek to use all of this attention for His glory.

Father thank You for desiring fellowship with us. Thank You for choosing to be our God. Thank You for making a way through Your Son, Jesus, for us to come back to You. Thank You for the assignments You have given us here in the earth to build, encourage and edify Your body. Thank you for Your word. And thank You for the influence You have given us, in Jesus' name, amen.