Open Your Eyes, Let Go and Take Responsibility

Open Your Eyes, Let Go and Take Responsibility

October 2014 

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

Copyright

We live in exciting and yet dangerous days. We live in a time that I feel is packed with potential for each of us as well as Ebloa,  airstrikes, and much more to be concerned about.  I firmly believe God is reaching out to all of us to first accept Him as Lord and Savior, see how big He is and that we are made on purpose for His purpose, and take responsibility for our personal development. All these things are necessary to step into our destiny.

The book of Esther in the Bible and her life describe how one orphan girl, a common girl  that most in society would have overlooked. She stepped into becoming queen, risk her life and saved the Jewish people. God saw her potential, prepared her and chose her for an important purpose. 

Speaking at the Wanted Campference on Esther in October

Esther knew God. Her parents died when she was a girl and she was raised by a man named Mordecai. She was Jewish and taught the ways of God and I feel it was in her dark days of loss, she learned through experience to trust God in a great way. Later in her life she demonstrates that trust. When King Xerxes announced he was looking for a wife, Esther was taken from her comfort zone into a whole new world of royalty. During that time, she had a year of preparation. It was during that time she had to see herself as God saw her, a woman made in the image of God, a woman of royalty, and called for a special purpose. She did not whine and make excuses of all that she was not, she took responsibility for her development to step into her destiny. When the king summoned her, she could take anything she wanted with her, but scripture says she took nothing. I have this picture of her taking God’s hand and walking confidently into her destiny.

God is looking today for people just like you and me to be just like Esther. A people that know God, fully trust Him, let go of what is comfortable and take responsibility for our development. He is not calling more pastors, he is calling ordinary people like you and me to go outside the walls of the church and do extraordinary things here on earth.

Isaiah 41:9 sums , “You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

God has changed my thinking over the recent years. I previously believed that whenever things went wrong, trouble knocked on the door, trials came satan and the world were against me. There is an element of truth in that statement, however, when we partner with God to discover how we can grow in any situation, we win. I have had to leave what was comfortable for the unknown,life. I have grown in the process and know God in a deeper way. I am learning to partner with God, get His perspective of myself and see the situation just as he does, and take His hand.

Recently, I found myself in a situation where things were going wrong and the odds were against me. I ask God how He saw me and the situation. I felt Him say, “I’m with you and you will do amazing things.” I then found myself in a conversation with someone many were intimidated by. When I was asked a question by this man, my first thought was, “this is my Esther moment.” I could not entertain the fear others had, I just had to walk confidently with a God who loves me. God gave me favor in the situation, the situation turned out better than I imagined and I know He used me in the situation just as He did Esther, “for such a time as this.”

Collins Maxwell and Mama Max

What about you? Do you know God as your Lord and Savior? Do you partner with God in your own personal development when things go wrong or whine? Have you ever asked God to help you see yourself as He sees you? I challenge you to to open your eyes and see with the lens God has, step out of your comfort zone and partner with God to become who He has called you to be. Discover your wonderful life.

Kathleen Maxwell is a native of the Hill Country, educator, writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping others discover the joy of walking with God and their value. You can contact her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com and on her blog www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com

Five Years Later

Maxwell Family Update Five Years Later

2009 - 20014

Last family picture

Five years ago today, a great man took his last breath on earth and his first breath in heaven. It is hard to believe that Joe Maxwell has been gone that long. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago.

Our family has changed dramatically since October 8, 2009. Yes, we lost a member of our family we all loved dearly, but we've grown in number and in who we are. 

Price graduating from UT

I am proud of my children and how they have navigated the waters of grief, change, making a new life without dad and embracing their mom remarrying. I'm proud of Price, who made a 4.0 at UT the semester his dad died, graduated in 4 years and has an amazing job as a petroleum engineer. It is not easy to watch your dad slip away as a freshman in college and die the beginning of his sophomore year.

I'm proud of Mallory for going on with her life, marrying a few months after her dad left, for God's provision in Rob, and the wonderful mom she is to Truett. I'm proud of Austin and Laura, in how they have both navigated losing both of their dads in a short time. Not many people in their late 20's and early 30's lose their dad. God will use them to help others. I'm thankful all my kids still love and serve God.

New parents and new grandbabies

Learning to be a hunter's wife

God's grace has carried us the past five years. His love has comforted us. His kindness has met us at every corner we needed to turn. His faithfulness has helped us go on. Our family has grown from 5, five years ago to 9 now! Added were Rob Williams, my son-in-law, Stephen Rambie, my new husband, and Collins Maxwell and Truett Williams, our little bundles of life and grandbabies. All have brought much joy and life into our family and made us laugh again. I am thankful.

Family vacation 2014

I'm thankful for the new life we all now lead. I'm thankful to God who continually brings new healing to our hearts. I'm thankful that He has helped us overcome a great loss and go on and enjoy life. I'm thankful for how we have all grown in adversity.

I am also thankful for all of you that stood with us, cried with us, cheered us on and prayed for us. Many blessings to you all.

Waiting On God is the Best Choice

Kathleen Mazwell-Rambie

Copyright 2014

     Where are you right now in your life? Are you in a difficult situation or a low spot? Are you trying to just keep your head above the water as the storm rages? Do you feel all alone and caught in the waves? You are not alone, trust me. I am 53 and don’t know much, but know there are seasons in all our lives that challenge us. It is just part of life here on earth.

     I recently came across a passage I memorized years ago when I was waiting for God to bring sunshine into my life again. The clouds seemed dark at the time and the storm seemed to rage for a while. Psalms 130 was chapter I hung on to  while I waited for the waves to subside. The good news is that  the sun did shine again in my life but it took a while for the clouds to break and dawn to come. In the time in between  was waiting...

     Psalms 130 begins with, “Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord; O Lord hear my voice. Let your ear be attentive to my cry for mercy.” (NIV) The Psalmist was in a dark place and I believe was verbally processing where he was, reminding God of his plight; like Almighty God didn’t know.  I am a verbal processor so I understand the conversation. He was reminding God that he was in a dark place and was waiting to see the kindness of God. I have had some of those same conversations with God myself; I just said it a little differently. My version went something like, “Seriously God, I don’t think I can make it much longer. I know you love me and are kind but I am tired.” I believe God loves it when we are honest with our feelings and tell him. He loves relationship with us just like I do with my three adult children. I love it when they share their hearts on a matter and tell me how they see things.

     Often times in adversity, people blame God or feel he is punishing them. Psalms130:3 is a reminder that God doesn’t hold our sins against us  when we confess them. I love The Message interruption of Psalms 130:3-4, “If you God kept records of wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshipped.” (The Message Bible) When I read this passage, I had to ask myself if I had a good habit of forgiving people. It was a good reminder to make it a habit, not an occasional event. Right there is the reason we all need to worship God more; simply because he does not hold our past against us. Whooo whoo! Do you daily thank God that He doesn’t hold your past against you? How do you treat those that have wronged you? Do you treat them with kindness or contempt? Do you hold the past against them?

     Psalms 130: 6 states, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”  I feel the Psalmist is preaching to himself here. I do that a lot. In the stormy times we have the word to hang on to and we need to remind ourselves of the truth.  Wait in this passage is translated “to bind, to twist, to expect, to collect.”  In the waiting time we have the opportunity to bind ourselves to God, to develop faith as we we put our expectation in Him and collect things necessary for the next part of the journey. Waiting is a gathering time.

     Then the writer of Psalms reminds us to put our hope in the Lord for with Him is unfailing love and FULL redemption. What a promise to hang on to! Redemption means recovery, saving, or honoring. Sometimes the salvation in the storm comes as God guides us through the rain. Other times He rescues us. One thing is for sure, He is always loving us and right there. 

     The longer I walk with God, the more I am aware of His presence with me. His presence has become my security blanket and gives me confidence to step out and walk on the water. An awareness of God’s presence didn’t just come from reading the scripture. I had done that for years. It didn’t come from listening to a good sermon. I knew the verses and had them memorized. An awareness of His presence came as I waited on God, looked to Him to guide me through the storms of heartache, betrayal, disappointments. It came as I faced life altering illnesses with loved ones and as I put my hope in Him. An awareness of His unfailing love came as I poured out my heart in anguish in the depths of despair and wondering if I could survive. Sermons, memorizing, reading often don’t change us. It is as we take the word and apply it and develop an experience with God that the word becomes life and truth to us. Experience makes us rich when we learn from it. Our experience is invaluable. It makes us who we are and gives us authority.

     Isaiah 30:18 sums things up and declares that we are blessed when we wait on God. It says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion, For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” ( NIV)

     Crying out to God, hanging on when we want to give up, reminding ourselves of truth , waiting on God’s redemption and putting our hope in Him is good for us. It strengthens us and enlarges us; therefore, our challenges become our opportunities to grow. The growth is often not easy but one day we will experience His full redemption of the situation. What do you need to do? Cry out, wait, make forgiveness a habit, preach to yourself or hope? Pick one and get started! Just do it... He is waiting on you. Are you just waiting or are you waiting on Him?

     

Kathleen Maxwell is a native of the Hill Country, educator, writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping others discover the joy of walking with God and their value. You can contact her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com and on her blog www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com