It's Time

Feb 28

I strongly despise … desperately abhor … positively detest all things pertaining to winter! (Sorry … I couldn’t say the word “hate”. McLeod’s are not allowed to use the word “hate”.)

My strong aversion includes temperatures below 50 degrees … fluffy white particles that float down from the sky … icicles that hang around every window and along every gutter of my home … the words “wind chill factor” … as well as short, sunless days and long, artic nights.

But truly … deep in my soul … now listen to me … this is no laughing matter … I am not a girl who was made for endless snow and long days of frigid temperatures.

What do you agonizingly loathe?

Perhaps for you it is potty training … or being a widow … or never having enough money. We all have something that leaves our hearts hollow and longing desperately for tomorrow.

Maybe for you it is being single … or working in a dead-end job … or taking care of aging parents.

For me … it is winter. And I live where winter is not just a slice of the year but is a very large portion of the year. I live where winter starts in late October and sometimes lasts until Mother’s Day.

And this winter, the winter of 2014, has been legend.

Do you remember the book, “The Long Winter” by our favorite childhood author, Laura Ingalls Wilder? Now that’s what I’m talking about…

Since you now understand my peculiar pain … let me share with you the work that the Lord has done in my heart.

I am allowed to love sunshine more than cold. I am able to continue to celebrate days at the beach and to smile when I remember reading a good book on my back deck in the summertime.

However … what I can’t do is complain or wish my life away. The Lord had a heart to heart talk with me this Siberian winter and said, “Carol. Stop it. Stop whining and stop wishing away your life. Stop it right now.”

How did He say that to me, you might wonder. Well … simply the way He normally talks to me … through His Word.

“This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24

God has given me today and when tomorrow comes … He will give me tomorrow. But today is my day and He is here. He is in today just like He was with me yesterday.

If I linger on my pain and discomfort pertaining to a certain season in life, what I am actually doing is wishing away the joy of today.

If all I can think is, “32 more days until spring … 31 more days until spring … 30 more days until spring … ” what I am actually communicating to the Lord that He is not enough for today.

He is indeed enough for today … and for yesterday … and for every tomorrow.

THIS is the day that the Lord has made … I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

Are you wishing your way out of a season? Do you h**e a particular season in your life?

Are you just done with 2 year olds … or being alone every night … or dreading taking your mother to the doctor one more time?

Are you completely over the never-ending pile of laundry … or the stack of bills on the kitchen counter … or the lack of purpose and direction?

Then it is time for you to meet the God of today … and meet Him in the present tense moments of your life.

When God told Moses that His Name was “I AM”, I believe that God was introducing Himself to all of us. He is the God of NOW and we must rejoice in the winter-like moments of NOW!

God is a God Who is strategically with us in the present tense of our life. He didn’t introduce Himself as “I WAS” or “I Will BE” but He boldly declared, “I AM!”

Now … before you go theologically ballistic on me … I know that He was powerfully with me yesterday and that His loving presence will go before me into tomorrow.

But God desires to meet with us today … right where we are! He is with us in the “I AM” moments of life whether it is a winter season or whether we are delightfully sipping iced tea at the beach. God’s blueprint for living commands His children to rejoice today … in the dead of winter!

The truth is this … you are His gift to today. His presence in you is what makes today sizzle with possibilities … stretch with endless boundaries … and sparkle with heaven’s wonder.

You meeting Him in a place of praise will warm up the coldest, most desolate day of your life.

You choosing to worship Him regardless of wind chill factors or depth of snow will determine how much joy you will wring out of today.

Don’t give the weather so much power in your life! Don’t give potty training … or loquacious office workers … or the economy the power to determine what kind of day you will have today.

Allow His presence to regulate the atmosphere of your life!

This IS the day that the Lord has made … I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

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Carol McLeod

Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!

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