Photo by Raychan on Unsplash

 

God Rejoices Over Me? Not Likely

by Marcia Lee Laycock

“I can’t remember anyone greeting me like that before.”

I smiled as my husband and I pulled away from our rental property. We hadn’t seen our tenants, a Syrian refugee family, for almost two months due to illnesses, both theirs and ours, so we expected our reunion would be joyous, but we did not expect that Nabil* would almost skip across the room, his arms wide, his eyes dancing with delight. His embrace was obviously heart-felt.

Then Nabil’s mother embraced me with the traditional kiss on both cheeks, then it was his wife’s turn, and then the children came one by one. We sat in their living room and had tea, then Yara disappeared into the kitchen and it wasn’t long before a huge meal was on the table. In their limited English they told us how well the children were doing in school and some of the health issues they’d been dealing with. As we visited it amazed me, once again, at how much could be communicated with so little ability to speak one another’s languages.

I still smile when I think of the delight in Nabil’s eyes that day. The scripture tells us that God, too, delights in us. Psalm 149, verse 4 says, “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” And the prophet Zephaniah tells us, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

There have been many times when I’ve had a hard time believing those words. When I examine my own heart and see the twisted motives that lurk there, I can’t believe God would be delighted in me. When I hear harsh or cynical words come out of my mouth, I doubt that He would rejoice over me with singing. There are days when I think that I’m just a big disappointment to God and imagine Him giving a deep sigh as he turns away.

But my unbelief is cut to shreds by verses like these:  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5); “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

And my personal favourite, Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

These verses are true because of what Jesus did on the cross. If we accept that sacrifice, if we seek that forgiveness, there is nothing that can come between us and His love, not even our own flaws and failings. Yes, then He delights in us and sings over us because we are His children, adopted into a family that will never be dissolved, a community that will live with Him forever.

Because of the cross I will one day see an even greater delight in the eyes of Jesus than I saw that day in the eyes of our friend.

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5).

*Names have been changed

 

I stood at the exit from the airport and couldn’t help but shiver as the doors in front of me slid open and the cold air rushed in. Returning to -20 degrees Celsius after basking in sunshine and strolling on white beaches was a bit of a shock. When my husband and I chose the dates for our vacation we had no idea that we would miss the ‘deep freeze’ that hit much of western Canada during those two weeks. Our timing couldn’t have been better! But now we were back.

The doors behind me opened and a young man dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals, with a huge scarf around his neck charged toward the outer doors, his voice repeating loudly: “It’s not that cold, it’s not that cold, it’s not that cold.” I couldn’t help but laugh. As I saw his breath form a vapor cloud in the cold air, I knew no matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t that cold, the reality would not change. It was still -20. I hoped he didn’t have far to walk.

As I think about that young man it reminds me of the times in my life when I, and others around me, have denied reality because it did not suit our circumstances at the time. Like the day a group of us headed out on a bus to attend a conference in Calgary, even though the radio that morning had warned of white-out conditions on the road. The weather was fine when we headed out but not far down the highway, we found ourselves driving through a blizzard. We never did make it to Calgary and we were very fortunate not to have ended up in the ditch, or worse.

All of us have a tendency to deny reality now and then. Some of us deny the very existence of God, even though there is evidence all around us that our world was formed by an intelligent and incredibly imaginative creator. Like our denial of bad weather, doing so can have dire consequences. In the first book of Romans, verses 18 to 20, the apostle Paul warns:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

“Without excuse.” If that young man wearing shorts into -20 degree temperatures got frostbite it would be his own doing. If we had gone off the road in that blizzard, we would have had no one to blame but our own foolishness. If you deny the existence of God, the consequences are on you.

Look around you. The evidence is plain to see. God exists. And He wants to get to know you now.

****

“An inspired and inspirational speaker. I was riveted.”

Book Marcia for your event – contact her at marcia@marcialeelaycock.com

 

 

 

Click on cover to purchase

Christmas by Marcia Lee Laycock is a collection of short stories that will take you from the far reaches of the galaxy to the edge of the Arctic Circle and the streets of the inner city. The miracle of Christmas is transported from one unusual setting to another, and into your heart as you read.

Here’s an excerpt from Missing Christmas:

Missing Christmas

Sulking and soaking. For me, the two always go together. I know when I’m not fit to be around people, especially the people I’m mad at, so the bathtub is the best place to be. I run the water as hot as I can stand it and stay there until I feel like I can be civil again. That night, the night before Christmas, I thought I might be there till dawn.

Tim had dropped the bomb when he came home from work two days before we were to go home for the holidays. Somehow he’d managed to mess up making the flight reservations. How could he mess up something so important, so essential to my sanity? Bad enough he’d talked me into coming here, to the end of reason and any sign of civilization, just so he could have a “real northern experience.” Bad enough he didn’t once compliment me on how I’d bravely been enduring the minus fifty degree temperatures. Bad enough we still had five more months to live in this town on the edge of the universe. Now we were stuck here for Christmas. And what was his excuse? He thought he’d told the travel agent to book it, but he had only asked her to give him the details. When she didn’t hear back from him, she assumed we’d changed our minds but didn’t bother to check. There are too many people in this town who definitely aren’t the brightest bulbs on the tree.

And speaking of trees. To try and pacify me, Tim dragged a tree home the day before Christmas. I caught him going out the door, downed from neck to ankle, a touque on his head and wool scarf wrapped about six times around his face. When I asked him where on earth he was going, he said something unintelligible and walked out the door. Three hours later I heard him stomping around on the porch. I poked my head out, the cold hitting me like a slap, and all I could see were his eyes. They were laughing. He tugged the scarf down long enough to tell me to wrap up and come out for a minute. Curious, I pulled on my parka and went outside.

He stood there like a little boy who’d just bagged his first bird. Only it was a Christmas tree he held onto. Or rather, it had been a Christmas tree. My mouth fell open and I sputtered through a mouth full of scarf.

Tim pulled his away from his mouth and grinned. “Just call me Charlie Brown,” he said. The tree was almost bare. Tim described how the needles rained down with every blow of the axe. What else did he expect at fifty below?

Then we tried getting it inside. The few needles left on the branches showered the linoleum in the kitchen until it looked like a forest path. We stood it in a corner and stepped back. Tim glanced at me sideways just as I did the same and we both burst out laughing.

“I’ll go buy an artificial one,” I said. Tim didn’t argue.

I trudged off to the only store in town, but of course they were sold out of Christmas trees, artificial or otherwise. Then I went to the grocery store to buy a turkey. No turkeys left either. No cranberry sauce, no fresh vegetables. They had some Caribou steaks on special. Whoopdeedoo.

****

To purchase Christmas by Marcia Lee Laycock go to Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Or, if you live in Canada, order directly from the author by emailing marcia@marcialeelaycock.com

About Marcia

Marcia’s work has been published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies in both Canada and the U.S. and appears frequently on the world wide web. She currently writes a regular devotional column, The Spur, which appears in publications across Canada and goes out by e-mail to avid readers. Marcia’s writing has won many prizes, garnering praise from notable Christian writers like Janette Oke, Mark Buchanan, Phil Callaway and Sigmund Brouwer. She has published four devotional books, six novels and many short stories. Marcia won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short-listed for a Word award along with her fantasy novel, Journey to a Strong Tower. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. To learn more about Marcia’s writing and speaking ministry visit her online at www.marcialeelaycock.com

 

 

 

 

                                                        click on cover to purchase

Love in the Room by Marcia Lee Laycock

The symbols and images of Christmas can slip by us because they are so familiar. In Love In The Room, award winning author, Marcia Lee Laycock, brings those images into focus once again as she explores the true meaning of the season. These short devotionals will stir readers to ponder the Christ child with depth and clarity.

Here’s an excerpt from Love in the Room:

The Promise of Christmas

Chaos reigned supreme. That’s how it seemed as we rehearsed our Christmas play. The first rehearsal didn’t really happen. The second one was only a bit better, and three quarters of the cast didn’t make it to the third. Those of us who were supposedly “in control” wondered if we were going to have a play at all.

That was nothing new. Every year it seems to happen. Kids run helter-skelter, some don’t show up, some can’t find costumes or those made for them don’t fit. The choir director is tearing her hair out This year seemed a bit more chaotic than usual. But somehow it all came together in the end. The night of the performance seemed to go well. I say seemed, because I was too busy trying to keep my “cast” quiet and focused, to notice if the play was working. One of the magi discovered he could use one of the shepherd’s headbands as a slingshot to wing the beads off his crown clear across the front of the church. That delighted the kids in the front row who dashed out to pick them up. Mary couldn’t stop squirming because her costume was made of wool, and Joseph kept changing his mind about which robe fit best – right up until he walked out onto the ‘stage.’

I wasn’t sure it had really all come together until the audience stood to applaud at the end. When many congratulated us on a job well done, all I could say was, “It’s a miracle!”

And that’s the promise of Christmas – it all comes together in the end. I’m sure the followers of Jesus, watching the drama of His life and death, felt the same way we ‘directors’ did. To those who thought they were in control, it looked like chaos reigned. From the moment of His birth, He and His parents had to run from those who wanted to kill Him. As He performed miracles, religious leaders plotted against Him. Even the disciples themselves didn’t understand His message. They were disappointed that He didn’t chase the Romans out of the country; He never did set up an earthly kingdom. Then, the cross. It looked like everything they tried to accomplish was doomed to fail. But in the end …

In the end, the stone was rolled away. The baby born in a stable and crucified on a cross was raised glorified, to the glory of His Father.

And there is another promise yet to unfold. As the birth of Christ is overshadowed by the cross, which was blasted away by his resurrection, even that will be outdone by His return. One day, God has told us, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength’.” (Isaiah 45:23,24)

It will be a miracle and it really will all come together in the end.

****

To purchase Love in the Room by Marcia Lee Laycock go to Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Or, if you live in Canada, order directly from the author by emailing marcia@marcialeelaycock.com

 

About Marcia Lee Laycock

Marcia’s work has been published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies in both Canada and the U.S. and appears frequently on the world wide web. She currently writes a regular devotional column, The Spur, which appears in publications across Canada and goes out by e-mail to avid readers. Marcia’s writing has won many prizes, garnering praise from notable Christian writers like Janette Oke, Mark Buchanan, Phil Callaway and Sigmund Brouwer. She has published four devotional books, six novels and many short stories. Marcia won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short-listed for a Word award along with her fantasy novel, Journey to a Strong Tower. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. To learn more about Marcia’s writing and speaking ministry visit her online at www.marcialeelaycock.com

 

 

The symbols and images of Christmas can slip by us because they are so familiar. In Love In The Room, award winning author, Marcia Lee Laycock, brings those images into focus once again as she explores the true meaning of the season. These short devotionals will stir readers to ponder the Christ child with depth and clarity.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the devotionals in Love in the Room:

The Promise of Christmas

Chaos reigned supreme. That’s how it seemed as we rehearsed our Christmas play. The first rehearsal didn’t really happen. The second one was only a bit better, and three quarters of the cast didn’t make it to the third. Those of us who were supposedly “in control” wondered if we were going to have a play at all.

That was nothing new. Every year it seems to happen. Kids run helter-skelter, some don’t show up, some can’t find costumes or those made for them don’t fit. The choir director is tearing her hair out This year seemed a bit more chaotic than usual. But somehow it all came together in the end. The night of the performance seemed to go well. I say seemed, because I was too busy trying to keep my “cast” quiet and focused, to notice if the play was working. One of the magi discovered he could use one of the shepherd’s headbands as a slingshot to wing the beads off his crown clear across the front of the church. That delighted the kids in the front row who dashed out to pick them up. Mary couldn’t stop squirming because her costume was made of wool, and Joseph kept changing his mind about which robe fit best – right up until he walked out onto the ‘stage.’

I wasn’t sure it had really all come together until the audience stood to applaud at the end. When many congratulated us on a job well done, all I could say was, “It’s a miracle!”

And that’s the promise of Christmas – it all comes together in the end. I’m sure the followers of Jesus, watching the drama of His life and death, felt the same way we ‘directors’ did. To those who thought they were in control, it looked like chaos reigned. From the moment of His birth, He and His parents had to run from those who wanted to kill Him. As He performed miracles, religious leaders plotted against Him. Even the disciples themselves didn’t understand His message. They were disappointed that He didn’t chase the Romans out of the country; He never did set up an earthly kingdom. Then, the cross. It looked like everything they tried to accomplish was doomed to fail. But in the end …

In the end, the stone was rolled away. The baby born in a stable and crucified on a cross was raised glorified, to the glory of His Father.

And there is another promise yet to unfold. As the birth of Christ is overshadowed by the cross, which was blasted away by his resurrection, even that will be outdone by His return. One day, God has told us, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength’.” (Isaiah 45:23,24)

It will be a miracle and it really will all come together in the end.

****

About Marcia Lee Laycock

Marcia’s work has been published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies in both Canada and the U.S. and appears frequently on the world wide web. She currently writes a regular devotional column, The Spur, which appears in publications across Canada and goes out by e-mail to avid readers. Marcia’s writing has won many prizes, garnering praise from notable Christian writers like Janette Oke, Mark Buchanan, Phil Callaway and Sigmund Brouwer. She has published four devotional books, six novels and many short stories. Marcia won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short-listed for a Word award along with her fantasy novel, Journey to a Strong Tower. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. To learn more about Marcia’s writing and speaking ministry visit her online at www.marcialeelaycock.com

To purchase Love in the Room by Marcia Lee Laycock go to Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Or, if you live in Canada, order directly from the author by emailing marcia@marcialeelaycock.com

 

 

“Do we really have to do this?” My husband sounded a little annoyed.

“Well, it’s what we agreed to,” I said.

He sighed and explained that he just doesn’t like the idea of making a wish list for Christmas. “Where’s the fun in that?” he asked. “Then you know what you’re going to get.”

I admitted I could see his point, but at the same time, wish lists do make it easier for everyone to buy Christmas gifts that everyone really wants, avoiding disappointment. Or, as my dear son-in-law once put it, “No crap, please.”

And I knew what was behind my husband’s words. He couldn’t think of anything to put on his list! Gift buying and receiving does seem to be getting harder now that our kids are grown and we are in the stage of life where we’re starting to think of down-sizing. They seem to have almost everything they could ever possibly need or want and so do we. We have discussed the idea of not giving gifts at all, but that doesn’t really sit well with anyone. We all love giving and receiving.

But sometimes it can all seem like a chore.

Sometimes all those spiritual “disciplines” we are supposed to keep up with – going to church, praying, reading our Bible – can all seem like chores too, instead of things we want to do. Somehow we’ve lost the want to, lost the joy that used to be there.

So, what to do?

Maybe it’s time to put it all aside for a time, investigate the reason for it all. Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Because we love our family members and friends and want to show them how much we appreciate them. Maybe the place to start is not with a gift list of things but a list of those things we love about them.

Why do we go to church, pray and read our Bible? Because we love Jesus and want to allow His love to flow through us. Maybe the place to start isn’t with a spiritual to-do list but with a true appreciation for the Giver of all gifts.

Maybe it’s time to look behind all the tinsel and toys too, and grasp once again the astounding love of a God who would leave all His power and position behind to become a small helpless babe wrapped in swaddling cloths.

Maybe that alone would bring all the joy and ‘want-to’ back, not only to the Christmas season, but to our very lives.

 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

If you live anywhere in Alberta Canada right now you’re probably moaning. We had our first heavy snow in September. The ground is layered with the white stuff again and it’s only the first few days of October. And more is on the way. Looks like we’re in for a very long winter. Again.

It seems it’s harder to take when it’s untimely, doesn’t it? It leaves us feeling that it’s somehow  unfair. We don’t deserve this. Who’s got their hands on the controls anyway? And what does he have against us?

When life throws us the unexpected curve ball we usually look around for someone to blame. That someone is often God. After all, he could change things. He could reverse the disaster, stop the car accident, change our boss’s mind and even perform a miracle for all to see. So why doesn’t He do it?

Scripture tells us He will, doesn’t it? We’ve memorized some of the verses like Psalm 34:19 & 20 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.”  Or Psalm 91:15 – “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”

The great theologian Matthew Henry says: “No substantial injury occurs to the saints. Their real self is safe; they may have flesh wounds, but no part of the essential fabric of their being shall be broken.”

So what is our “real self?” As Matthew Henry suggests, it is not our corporeal body but our spiritual essence. That, once it is sealed in Christ at the moment of salvation, can never be broken. And that’s all that matters.

James 4:14 tells us that our life “is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” But our souls are eternal. There the true treasure lies, for there God resides. And when trouble comes, as it surely will and often in an untimely manner, being able to turn to that God, not to blame Him but to draw strength from Him, is an astounding gift. This is how people like Joni Erickson Tada can still praise God even though she was paralyzed in a tragic accident when just a teenager. It’s how Daniel Ritchie, a man born without arms can say, after reading Pslam 139, “I was no longer who people said I was. I was who God said I was,” he says. “It was at this time that something even more amazing happened.  I began to see others as wonderful, too.”

Yes, we may feel cheated and angry when life dumps the unexpected on us, but breaking through that sense of entitlement and bitterness to the realization that God has a deep and enduring plan for our life, even when it feels like it’s been torn apart, will lead us to a life truly worth living.

 

 

 

“Whew, it’s hot out there!” We’ve been hearing that phrase a lot lately as the thermometer keeps rising. Many areas have seen record breaking heat waves in the past while. It has meant that we are keeping our blinds drawn and our water bottles full.

I’ve never been a heat-loving person. I was raised in northern Ontario (no, I don’t mean one hour north of Toronto, I mean at the meeting point of two of the biggest Great Lakes, Huron and Superior). Then I moved to the Yukon, just a short distance from the Arctic Circle. When it was suggested that we pick Papua New Guinea as our destination during my husband’s sabbatical year, I wrinkled my nose. That’s tropical, isn’t it? No, no, no. I don’t like heat.

But God has a way of getting us to where He can work with us, so we began making the necessary preparations to leave for PNG. One of those items was a visit to the mission’s doctor to begin the series of inoculations we would need before leaving. He was a chatty fellow and asked how I was feeling about this idea. I admitted I was worried about the heat. “I get head aches,” I told him.

He shook his head. “You Canadians! You just don’t drink enough!”

“Excuse me?”

“Water,” he said. “Drink enough water and you won’t get headaches.”

Could it really be that easy, I wondered? It didn’t take long to discover how correct that doctor had been. As long as we drank enough water we were able to tolerate the heat reasonably well.

That memory made me think of a wonderful story in the Bible about the necessity of drinking water – the kind of water that leads to eternal life. The story is in the book of John, chapter 4. Jesus had been travelling and stopped to rest by a well. When a woman came to draw water, He asked her for a drink. The woman was startled for two reasons – she was a woman and she was a Samaritan woman. Both would ordinarily prevent a Jewish man from even acknowledging her existence, let alone speaking to her.

Then this – “Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13, 14).

Intrigued, the woman wanted to know more but Jesus had more to teach her. He revealed His true identity to her and within minutes she not only had a new purpose, but her life was changed forever as was the lives of many in her village because of her testimony.

Living water – the teachings of Jesus are indeed a “fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” And we have access to that living water any time we want it.

Yes. It really is that easy.