Christina McClure

The Best Kind of Friends

Jan 102011

By Christina McClure and Andrea Plotner

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Proverbs 27:9

I (Andrea) have the best friends in the world, each unique and radiant. Today I want to tell you about my friend Christina McClure. She is thoughtful in so many ways, but this vignette is one of my favorites. While we were stationed together at Ft. Bragg, one of my sons went weekly for occupational therapy. Christina knew the day and time of our appointment, and would often show up in the waiting room with a thermos of hot coffee and a basket of muffins, ready to spend half an hour together. Isn’t that amazing?

And now, four years later on my birthday, I received this email from Christina. If you want to bless a friend, here is the way to do it:

“Hey friend! My last email got away from me before it was finished! May today be a fabulous day for you Andrea! May God show up for you exactly in the way you need most! May your bday food be both yummy and beautifully arranged.

Psalm 65:9-10 talks about what God does for the earth. Since He does this for the earth, how much more does He long to do the same for us, the crown jewels of His creation? So my bday requests to Him for you will follow that thought pattern:

May you be visited this day by God.

May you be made to overflow by Him.

May you allow Him to provide what you need this day.

May you know in deeper ways that He has made provision and preparations for you.

May you swim in the river of God, allowing those waters to abundantly fill the ruts in your life.

May the water that flows from God settle your ridges, those places that are higher, harder and more important than they should be.

May you be softened in your hard places with showers from Him.

May you go along with Him as He grows you and, then, blesses that growth in you.

May you go with God as He desires to crown your new birth year with His bounty for His roads OVERFLOW with abundance.”

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

First Sunday of Advent: Our King is Coming!

Devotions, Seasonal teaching, Testimonies

Nov 302009

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake!…You do not know when the Master of the house is coming.’” Mark. 13:33

I had always wanted my solider husband, Don, to surprise me with a homecoming. While he was deployed to Iraq, he decided this would be the perfect opportunity to surprise me with his R&R. Now, I knew my man Don was coming home on R&R but I didn’t know when. I waited and watched for that three month deployment mark when I knew that R&Rs would begin. Each day I would awake with eager anticipation wondering if this would be the day my love came home to me.

Would this be the day I could hold him in my arms and tell him how much I loved him? Would this be the day that he would hold me in his arms and tell me everything was going to be ok? Would this be the day that those held back tears of anguish would all come flooding out now that I was secure in his arms? Would this be the day he would wipe away tears of relief and joy from my face? Would this be the day?

Those thoughts would soon be followed by thoughts of “if today is that day, will my love be honored with what he finds here in our home?” Will my husband be honored with the condition of the house? Will he be honored with the condition of my mind, my heart, and my body? Have I done the things that I know would bring him great joy and great honor? Really, I was asking myself if I was ready for today to be the day that my husband came for me.

As we go into this first week of advent, those same questions flood my heart again as I reminded to watch for Jesus, the coming King. We, promised bride of the King, should awake each day with eager anticipation wondering if this will be the day that our Savior, who loves us, will come to bring us home. Will this be the day that He holds us in His arms and wipes every tear from our eyes? Will this be the day we hear His voice with our ears as He proclaims His great love for us? Will this be the day?

Girlies, how much would if effect our thoughts, our emotions, and how we care for our bodies if throughout our days we asked ourselves, “will this be the day that I see Jesus face to face?” If this is that day, will we be ready?

Arise, oh, daughters of the King!

Arise, princesses of the Most High God!

Though we know not the day, we know that our King is coming!

The Widow, the Fatherless, the Sojourner, and the Poor

Devotions

Nov 022009

I happen to be a girl who likes lists. So when I was reading in the book of Zechariah the other morning, it came as no surprise that a little Old Testament list popped out at me like popcorn from hot oil. Let me share that little Zechariah verse with you.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, and do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor…” (Zechariah 7: 9-10)

The first thing I noticed in this little verse was the little list of people: the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, and the poor. Though tiny, this list represents a very large people group. These people represent the Forgotten, the Unloved, the Unseen, and the Strangers who walk among us.

The second list that I noticed is a list of action towards the unloved. This call-to-action list is also a little list; yet, it shows the mighty love of the LORD towards the Forgotten. This list represents an outpouring of God’s heart towards those considered less by the world. In it, God directs His people to give fair and true judgments, to show kindness and mercy, and not to oppress the Forgotten, the Unloved, the Stranger, and the Unseen.

Maybe you sometimes feel like the Forgotten. Maybe you are the one who is Unloved. Maybe you wish you were the one who was Unseen. Maybe you are the Stranger right now. Maybe you know someone who is.

Then, let the truth of these words soak into your soul like melted butter poured into hot popcorn:

To the Forgotten, God has not forgotten you.
To the Unloved, you are loved with an Everlasting Love by One who is Love.
To the Unseen one, the LORD sees you.
To the Stranger, you are well known by the One who knows your strangeness.

God Delights in YOU!

Devotions

Sep 282009

I was reminded anew of something about our God this week. Not only does our God love us. Not only did our God die to save us and give us freedom. Not only does His Holy Spirit live inside of us as believers. Not only do we have 24/7 access to the King of kings throne room. Not only are we adopted into His family and made co-heirs to God’s inheritance. Not only does He listen and act on our behalf. But, He also DELIGHTS in EVERY DETAIL of our lives. Let me say it again, God delights in EVERY DETAIL of my life and your life. Those words of Psalm 37:23 fell on me like cool rain on a hot summer day. The truth that God delights in every detail of our lives tells me a few things.

1. There are no surprises to God in our details. God KNOWS the details. All the details. Every detail. He knows them all so He isn’t surprised by the details of our lives.

2. God knows us better than we know ourselves. I forget details of my life all the time and God knows EVERY detail of everybody’s lives.

3. We are important to God. He cares about us enough to know all our stuff, all our day to day details. I know the day to day details of the people who are the most important to me. Whose details do you know?

4. God knows the details of the details. He knows the soccer and school schedules. Our God knows about all the meal plans and meetings. He knows what the traffic is like. He knows all about all our health and our household. He knows about the deployment details. He knows about the reunion details. God knows.

Psalm 37:23 takes it further though by telling us that God delights in those details. I think He delights in knowing each of us so well. I think He delights in the planning and provision of all those details for all those lives. I know that I take delight in planning things out and providing for every detail of everything from birthday parties to my husband’s homecomings. How much more than does God delight in doing the same things for us only on a much grander scale?

God delights in you. He delights in the details of your life. He delights in you or He would not be delighted in knowing your details. Let that thought saturate your soul. Our God, who knows everything, delights in you. Take this promise and run with it, girls. Your God delights in you!

Happy Birthday!

Devotions

Sep 072009

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Christina! Happy birthday to you!

The words to that oh-so-familiar song rang out across the pizzeria as I rounded the corner into my surprise party. Now, usually I don’t enjoy being the center of attention in the middle of a restaurant but I loved every minute of this every-eye-on-me moment. My friends and family were loudly rejoicing over me with singing! It was great!

My man that night gave me more than just a surprise party with fabulous friends, family, and food. He gave me a gift that will last through all eternity – a moment in which God opened the eyes of my understanding to a scripture I had forgotten. Zephaniah 3:17 says “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”

Until that surprise party, I never quite understood how God could exult or rejoice over me with loud singing. However, if my friends and family could sing that loudly and rejoice over me that much, how much more than does my God who loves me even more than they do rejoice over me with loud singing? How much more does He rejoice over all His children with loud singing?

What difference would it make in your life today if you heard God rejoicing loudly over you just like birthday song rejoicing? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Hear, my sister, the word of God today over you that the LORD your God does indeed rejoice over you with loud singing. Hear and be changed.

Working at Resting

Devotions

Aug 242009

Let me tell you about something I heard God say to me in a LOUD and CLEAR message to my heart about five years ago. “Come away all you, who are weary, and I will give you rest.” God put a specific thought in my heart about coming away with Him the entire day while my kids are at school. Not leaving my family; rather, making my mind and body rest so He can tend to my broken mind, my broken heart, my physical body that is stressed to the max. Not to fill my days with a variety of volunteering, visits, and Verizon friends and family.

Oh, I’d start off well enough but little by little, I stepped away from His invitation for this worn out girl to rest. Instead, I piled commitment upon commitment. Here a little one. There a little one. So, I have ended up in the same place of weariness year after year. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Left wondering where that abundant life is Jesus said He came to give me. In desperate need of rest.

Instead of listening to what God had actually spoken to my heart, His invitation to rest, I did what I thought He meant. Work harder. Work harder doing good things. Work harder doing what I thought was a God thing for me. Work harder in my home. Work harder mentally. Work harder on my marriage. Work harder at being a Mom. Work harder in ministry. Work harder. I mistook work for rest when what I really needed was to work at resting.

It’s not easy to rest in our world is it? We hear from everywhere work harder. Even inside church. Even inside ministries. Work harder. Work at giving our time. Work at giving our talents. Work at giving our treasures. All good things to be sure unless we have nothing left to give because it’s all used up. Instead of resting when we needed to rest, we work harder ignoring the symptoms of overload. There is no time, talent, or treasure left to give.

Jesus often went away by Himself to be with God. He left ministries. He left people. He left needs untended and works undone. He left them all behind so He could be tended to by His Father God. Then, having allowed His Father God to take His burdens and equip Him, Jesus would return to the masses. Return to the ministry. Return to His work. Then, Jesus would return again later to rest with His Heavenly Daddy. Rest. Return. Rest. Return. I see a pattern here. If Jesus, the Word became flesh, rested so He could return, how much more do we need to rest? And having given our burdens to the God and allowing God to tend to us, then, we too can return to the works the Lord has set before us.

“Come away all you, who are weary, and I will give you rest.” -Jesus

Am I Listening?

Devotions

Jul 202009

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” ~Luke 11:28

I have always found it interesting that two or more people can be involved in the exact same conversation and walk away hearing very different things. I find that kind of thing interesting, that is, until the conversation happens to involve me and one or more of my kids. In that particular people group, hearing different things becomes a frustration for me and my kids.

At this time in my Mom world, I find myself addressing once again the lesson of hearing the actual word’s being spoken not what one thinks that they heard. “I thought you meant…” and “I thought you said…” have shown up in the House of McClure many, many times in the last few weeks. My repetitious response has been something along the lines of “yes, I understand that is what you thought I said; however, my actual words were…” So, I have taken this opportunity to stress the importance of training to listen carefully so we can obey well.

One of the sure signs in the McClure house that life lessons are being understood and undertaken is when I hear my very words being spoken from one of our kids to the other. Just a few days ago, I overheard my 11 year old say to her 9 year old brother “Matt, I understand that is what you thought I said; however, what I actually said was…” I said a silent “WOOOHOOO!!” and gave God a thumbs up that once again his instruction to train my children really does work.

This recent training experience has also been used by God to remind me to listen as questions of my own listening skills have surfaced. How well am I listening to my husband and to my kids? How well am I listening to my Father in heaven? Do God and I walk away from our conversations have heard the same things? Am I obeying what He has actually said in His word or am I doing what I think He meant? Did Jesus really say what I think He said or am I listening to what someone else has told me Jesus said?

One of the things Jesus did say is that we are blessed when we hear and obey His words (Luke 11:28). How well are we hearing what He has to say?

Where do our Monday Devotions come from? Part IV

Devotions, Who are we

Jul 022009

PWOC has provided fertile ground to cultivate the gifts God has planted within me. Years ago, my first discipler, Susie, was actively engaged in Ft. Campbell’s PWOC. Susie first watered my spiritual gifts by teaching me about them. Her mentoring alone taught me much on the gifts of teaching, mercy, and faith. Years later, others within PWOC-I have further watered those seeds as they prayed for me, encouraged me, and trained me according to the gifts they saw within me. Despite my youth, PWOC has enabled me to keep those special God given gifts “dusted off and in use.” And to think, it all began with one woman loving me right through the doors into PWOC.

Christina lives near Ft. Eustis with her handyman husband, Don, and two awesome kids. They live life in vibrant color, for God’s glory.

From Anger to Ogre

Devotions

Jun 152009

“… the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:20

James 1:20 has long been a most needed memory verse for me. I even personalize it by putting my name in the place of “man”. As of late, however, perhaps writing out the verse on another sticky note stuck in my kitchen is in order. My mouth has been popping out angry words right and left. Again.

Case in point, my man calls me on the way home from work to tells me that he’s stopping by Wal-Mart. Instead of words of excitement that he’s coming home early on a Friday, out pop angry words about why he’s got to go pick up somebody else’s stuff. Icky sticky angry words snapped in an even uglier tone.

Oh, but Girlie, the story gets better. To my outburst, my husband calmly replied, “Look, Chris. I was calling you to see if you needed me to pick you up something while I’m here at Wal-Mart.” Ouch!! Not only had I exploded in anger over something very stupid but I exploded in anger while my hubby was thinking of MY needs.

Now, since God’s word is true, I knew that out of the abundance of my angry heart, my mouth had spoken angry words. “Well this is just great, God. What do I do about all this anger in my heart? I don’t even know what I’m mad about!” I utter desperately to Jesus. I asked Jesus to show me my heart. I was fully expecting Him to answer my prayer and to reveal the root of all that anger bubbling forth from my heart. Instead, God surprised me by giving me an unusual visual aid from James 1:20 to combat my angry heart.

With my sticky note of James 1:20 stuck newly in place, I knew I needed the truth of that verse stuck in my heart as well as on my kitchen cabinet. So, I dug deeper into the word with my trusty online Strong’s concordance. And there, to my surprise, was God’s surprise for me! The Hebrew word for anger in James 1:20 is spelled orge. An immediate pictured popped into my “mother-of-a-9-year-old-boy” head of our English word OGRE. Hebrew: Orge. English: Ogre. See the resemblance?

So, the word picture for what my anger looks like to people was born. I quickly realized that the angry ogre in me was devouring the poor unsuspecting people around me just as easily as the fictitious ogre tore about the people it ate.

What about you, Friend? Do you have an angry ogre hiding inside? If so, what triggers your ogre to come out and devour the people around you? Would you join me in using James 1:20 to remind us what God says is true? Perhaps writing the verse on a sticky note could help you too. My new one reads:

“The OGRE of Christina does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Used by permission.

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