Kathy Weckwerth

Everyday Encouragement

Kathy Weckwerth

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed

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Thanksgiving is a day for friends and family.  We invite people to our homes, cook up huge amounts of food and look at the past year to recite our many blessings that God has bestowed upon us. As a little child, growing up in southwest Iowa, we invited my extended family and everyone would pour in the door in a fit of excitement.  The grandmas, my grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins, and Thanksgiving was special.  But my father always prayed a prayer of thanks and we always told what we were thankful for.  But Daddy always reminded us at the end of our day, Thanksgiving was not just a day to be thankful … it was an attitude of the heart.

When we take time to focus on GOD … not just on what He’s done for us, but on a Mighty, Powerful, Loving God, it makes our hearts thankful.

In ll Chronicles 20, we see that there is going to be an attack on King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. In verse 14, we see that the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel.

Do you know who this man Jahaziel was? According to 1 Chronicles, he was one of the Levites assigned to make music for the temple worship and had probably not been a prophet before this time. In verse 15 we learn what the Lord tells the king and his nation, through this singer, Jahaziel, “Listen,King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” Verse 17 tells Jehoshaphat, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.” Look at what these people are doing in verse 18, look how they are living a life full of worshiping the Almighty God, and within worship is our reverence and our gratitude.

“Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. Early in the morning, they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets and you will be successful.’

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.’”

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord created ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

I find it almost amusing that Jehoshaphat sends out the singers. Why amusing? As I’ve been working with musicians for over 25 years, I note specific things about them. They are emotional, caring, diligent,detailed, and yet sometimes spacey. They are supportive and love to cry.

I can honestly tell you that they are not much on athletics. They are not typically courageous, and they are not usually fighters. However, if God allowed Jehoshaphat to send out the bodybuilding youth pastors, or the church members who were at the gym all week, the glory wouldn’t have been there. Within this story, a simplistic lesson is given.

Do you see it? The kind and caring singers went first. They are not powerful.  They are not muscular and athletic. No, they are emotional and worship-filled, they are God-fearing and thankful.

They are probably scared senseless within their awareness of their own humanness, but they are no doubt focused on the protection and power of their Almighty God through worship. They have heard His promise and its simple … walk first … sing the song … worship Me … I will protect you and you will win. No harm will come to you.

And they do just that. They go out with their song, and belt out the words, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever.”

When we put God first in everything, when we have attitudes that are prayerful, worshipful, and grateful, there is POWER to defeat the enemy.

With a grateful heart,

Happy Thanksgiving,

Kathy

Sounds Like a Plan

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When I met my husband, many years ago, I picked up on all of his habit-phrases.  You know the ones I mean … when people say the same thing after the same situation occurs.

One of Farmer Dean’s familiar sayings comes after my delivering some desires and hope of what we should do over the weekend, or some task to take care of at the farm or the little church.  “Will you help me?” I’ll ask.

He’ll respond with his habit- phrase:  “Sounds like a plan.”

He delivers those words freely and frequently and that often brings me comfort and peace.  It inevitably means that my farmer is on board and we’re moving towards a common goal.

But it isn’t always like that with God, is it?

More often than not, I will find myself planning things, preparing for events with specific details mapped out for the journey ahead of me.

And then it happens.  Something completely opposite of my plan.  I find myself impatient with God.  Miffed, grouchy, and complaining.  I can’t understand why I’d create something so precise, and why He’d decide to mix things up.

For example:

I’ll map out everything for work that I’m going to accomplish the next morning … and then a friend shows up for an unexpected visit in need of some coffee and a listening ear.

I’ll deliver the schedule for our Best Life event to the team and someone speaks to long or goes to short.  The timing gets all mixed up.

I’ll create  my shopping list to head to the store and my daughter calls and says she needs a babysitter promptly.

I’ll plan our vacation to the exact minute, and we’ll hit a detour leading us an hour out of the way.

Here’s what I learned from these adventures.  God’s in the plan.  He’s orchestrating His will and His way for a bigger picture.

As I review those examples I just shared, I can tell you … God’s plan was better!

The friend was prayed over and encouraged.   She was much more important than my work.  She was God’s work.

At the events where timing gets off, I see the Holy Spirit working as He needs to so that He can reach the people’s hearts.

The shopping list for the store, well nothing I could have picked up was as important as picking up my granddaughter.

And the vacation, when we went an hour out of our way, we visited a beautiful old church and met someone with wonderful words of wisdom and comfort.

So when I find myself irritated and grumpy because the plan has now changed, and my “Sounds Like a Plan” has shifted to “God’s Change of Plans” I remind myself … God’s in this, He’s got this, and His ways are just better.

Isaiah 55:8, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”

 

Developing a Child-Like Faith

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As I carried my granddaughter up the stairs of the old 1910 house, each step creaked loudly, echoing the sounds of yesteryears.  I imagined how many times the stairs were climbed as a little child was carried off for nap time.

The day was struggling between releasing its summer warmth to embracing the coolness of the fall breeze and I closed a window before I grabbed a book from the shelf.  Cordelia loves to read so books are important at nap time.

But today was different.  Cordie said, “Nan, I’m too tired today.  I’m going to sleep.” And in she climbed to her little bed and covered up.  I saw the cat trying to make her way in the door to prepare herself for a nap at the end of the bed, and quickly pushed her out and shut the door.

There was a still darkness that made me sleepy and began to envelope us both.  A restful, relaxing stillness of the early afternoon began to whisper, “sleep … sleep … sleep.”  But just like that, as I reached for the doorknob, the peace was gone!

There was no doorknob.

In the utter darkness of the room I began to breathe heavily and said, “Cordie!  We can’t get out.  The doorknob is broken.  It’s gone.  We’re locked in.”

I turned on the light and began to fiddle with the 1910 keyhole, where there was once a doorknob.  I could feel the panic settling in around me.  The room began to feel closed in and small and I couldn’t catch my breath.

I threw open the closet door and madly began looking for something to help open the door.  I could find … nothing.

Out of my frantic state, I heard a little voice say, “Nanny, what’s wrong?”

I repeated my frantic words … “We can’t get out.  We’re locked in.”

I held back the tears.  Why was I so frantic?  Well, aside of the fact that I had a recently potty-trained child down for a nap, and that her parents would not be home for another 3.5 hours, I was worried about a fire breaking out or an emergency where we couldn’t get out of the room.  The episode of Little House on the Prairie where the woman and baby end up dying in the upstairs bedroom when a fire breaks out was all I could imagine.

A gentle and unaffected voice sounded out and broke my fear, “Don’t be scared, Nan.  You know what to do. You need to pray.  Jesus will help us.”

I reached in my back pocket.  My phone, something I never take with me when I tuck in Cordie, was in my pocket and I dialed the Farmer.  “Dean, we’re locked in!” I exclaimed.  My poor husband tried hard to bring comfort and calm me down.  “Look out the window,” he suggested.  “Keep breathing,” he said.

Next I called my son-in-law.  He said he’d finish up at work and come home to help us.  He’d not had a chance to put the doorknob back on after it had broken.

I sat in the church and prepared for a long cry.  When Cordie’s little head popped off of her pillow and she said, “Nanny.  We’ll be okay.  I think you should pray.  Jesus will help us.  You pray.”

And so I did.  I prayed out loud and asked for help.  I asked for peace as we waited and for God to send us help.

When I said “Amen,” Cordie said, “Nan, I’m so tired, I have to go to sleep.  You’ll be fine.”

A few moments later, I heard the rhythmic breathing floating across the room and heard the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.  I felt like He said, “I’m here, Kathy.  With you and the baby.  It’s alright.  You’re safe.  There is nothing to fear.  Cordie has a child-like faith in me.  Can you remember when you had that?”

I couldn’t remember.  I work hard at being faithful, but Cordie’s faith was effortless.  It was as though there was no other option than to trust God because of course He was going to send help.  That was that.  It was time to forget about it, rest, trust and sleep.

I put my head back in the chair and after another hour we heard Cordelia’s daddy opening the door.  She shouted, “Hurrah!  My daddy has saved us.  Jesus sent my daddy to save us!”

And so He did.  I knew it was once again time to focus on, pray about, and strive to live life a little freer, a little stronger, and a little more faith-filled.

I need more of a child-like faith.

Can You Live With Silence

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The first thing I do after I open my eyes in the morning is talk to God.  Then, I talk to Farmer Dean.  Then, I turn the music on at my house.

My brother calls it “grocery store music,” but I call it music from the 1940s and 50s.  It’s soothing to my soul.  As a matter of fact, sometimes it takes me back to being a little child, shopping with my mother at the Hy-Vee in Clarinda, Iowa.

Once the grocery store music is playing throughout the house, I talk to people.  The house phone rings. The cell phone rings.  People … people … people.

The doors are opened to let the cool sounds of summer rain into my office, while the dripping drops plop onto the lawn furniture.  A screech of tires go past on the road outside the house, and a familiar honk of a large semi toots “hello” as it passes the little church.

All of these things bring me comfort.  All of these things relate to sound.  I love sound.

As a former Worship Director, I had music playing continuously.  I needed to listen to the latest and greatest so that my congregation could keep up with what was relevant.

Sounds are a constant in this world.

When Dean and I travel, we throw in a CD and listen to a pastor preach.  Or, I read a book out loud to the two of us.

When Dean and I are at home, we have the TV blaring the most recent news, or we have a CD of birds and music floating through the house.

But whatever I’m doing, wherever I am, I have to have sound.

That is … until last week.

Last week I was with my granddaughter, Cordelia.  Cordie and I decided to play with Play dough at the big old farm table.  I quick jumped up after I got everything set out and said to her, “I forgot, I’ll quick put the Little Mermaid CD in.”

And then it happened.  A three year old looked up from her masterpiece of a play dough snowman and said, “We don’t need sound, Nan.  We just need quiet.”

Huh?  What?  No sound.  I don’t think I can do it.

She looked directly at me and said, “Please, Nan, sit down.  Let’s just play in the quiet.”

And we did.

You know what happened?  I was at Peace.  I felt Patience.  I was Listening.  I was fully Attentive.  I was Engaged. I was Resting.

A three year old taught me a lesson I needed to  re-learn.  That sometimes the quiet is what works best.  Sometimes in quiet we can get more done, we can rest our weary minds and souls, we can embrace something that is so necessary in today’s world.

Quiet.  It does the body/mind/soul … good.

Try it today.

Kathy’s Latest Book~The Move of a Lifetime~Moving Frank Lake Covenant Church

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It had been four long years of research and stacking books, papers, memorabilia and photos on a table in the basement office.  Every day that I walked by, I felt a heavy guilt settle in around me.  You know the kind I mean … like when you’re running through puddles of rain and your tennis shoes suddenly become soaked.  You feel completely drenched and soggy.  That’s how I was feeling.

I knew that this year’s topic for my ministry, Best Life (bestlifeministries.com) was Renewed. Refreshed. Restored.  But somehow, I didn’t think I’d ever feel completely refreshed unless I tackled that mound of work sitting on the table.  It was time to dig in and finish the book.

Each and every opportunity I have, I continue to find out more tidbits about the past in regards to our sweet little 1900’s church.  People will show up (especially in the summer months) and tell us stories that their grandparents had passed on to them.  Or new information about a former pastor will be revealed in some online search.

But I did it.  With God’s great help and a gentle push from my inner pushy, self starter personality, I sat down, faced the mound, and got it done.

The book is finished and is in its final faze, headed to the printers and should be ready for sale in about 10 days.

As I wrote, I gathered as many facts and stories about the history of the church that I could find.  Then, I added in my own version of the story of the great Farmer Dean and I and how we moved the little building the entire 26 miles over a course of about 2 months (prep was 8 weeks and move was 1 day).

I tracked the emotions, the anxiety, and the incredible faith that we gathered from friends and family as we moved the building to our grove.

I believe that you will find faith, hope, encouragement, inspiration and motivation when you sit down and read my latest book.  Farmer Dean and I experienced a lot of emotions purchasing and moving this little building.

And now … five years later … it’s here … the complete story!

Buy yours today! https://kathyweckwerth.com/move-of-a-lifetime