Change

While finishing a prayer recently about change, underneath my closed my eyes I saw an image Christ. There He was, with children standing around him. He was waving his hands back and forth. As He did, water in the sea nearby morphed gigantic waves that reached the sky. The wind picked up and lighting lit up the sky all over. As I looked at the children, they were not scared. The hair on their heads didn’t even move in the storm. How could that be? It was so windy. In that moment, the Lord reminded me, “I am in control. I command the wind and the rain. Even in a storm, I protect my children.” With that, my body jerked and I seemed to wake up from the experience.

Am I the only one that feels the word “Change” repeatedly getting pounded into my head lately? Change. As I held a yard sale last weekend, I thought about how my life is changing. I am preparing to get married to a wonderful man, moving a long distance from where I live, and how my life is about to change in many aspects in other ways…good ways. The weather outside is getting cooler. I pulled out and put on a warm coat this week to wear out in the cold. I cranked up the space heater at work and even marveled at the sight of frost melting from my windshield on a brisk cool morning. Quite a change from the summer clothes and A/C we lived in not so long ago. Outside my window, I see leaves on the ground. In a matter of weeks, they changed colors and fell from the branches. Change, it's everywhere.

The last few weeks, I think we all feel like we have been riding on the economic roller coaster. Unfortunately, they don’t make Dramamine for is type of motion sickness. One second we are up, and then we are down. Why, we even have a presidential candidate promising and basing his entire campaign on what else?? Change.

I’ll admit, when I see change coming or hear that word, sometimes my initial reaction is anxiousness. Sometimes, it is excitement, but usually there is always a longing of wanting and feeling a need to know what is next. Those question marks about the future tend to drive me crazy. Is it because I am a planner? Because I am a control freak? Because I allow myself to forget He is in control?? I am guessing, it is all of the above!

Sometimes we get into situations of changed being forced upon us. Maybe we don’t understand why or even agree with it. Maybe we can’t see what is beyond that cloud of question marks when trying to look ahead to the future, and we feel anxious. It isn’t a comfortable feeling. Change seems to be impacting so many that I love. I think of a man that is nearing his final days on earth. I think of those who feel uncertain about the outcome of our presidential election. I thought about how I wished I could somehow fix or change certain things myself that I can see causing pain to others.

I think about the change going on in my personal life and give thanks for the peace that I feel about it. Change is an easier thing to accept when you realize it is His will. Sometimes, it takes a while to get to that point though. Recently, the Lord met me in some self-reflecting moments reminding me that although change is hard at times, if He is allowing it, there is a reason. He can see our future, and He always knows what is best.

The Spirit spoke within me about trust. I may not know why things happen the way they do, but I do trust Him. Why are people suffering? Why does it feel like the nice guys always come in last? Why can’t people do the right thing? What gives me the right to feel like I should know why about everything He allows and does? We must trust and obey.

In a world of change, our confidence comes from what He promises to us:

Malachi 3:6 I the Lord do not change.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.


In a world of change, some things do stay the same. He is the same. His plan is Sovereign, and He is in control. No matter who is elected president, no matter what the weather is, no matter what changes go on around you that you don’t understand, He remains solid. He will remain the same in His great all-knowing majesty, and no matter what…He always protects His children and is in control.

The Tree Man

I watched in what was a state of confusion between horror and fascination. I had seen the commercial on TV for this. That’s what prompted me to watch. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How could this be? The title of the show was, “Half Man Half Tree.” No! That just can’t be.

It wasn’t. No, the man above named, DeDe is not half tree. He just looks like it. He has a rare condition where his immune system cannot stop his body from producing wart like growths. The warts grow and grow. They become hard….as hard as tree branches. When cut off, they just grow back and even faster than before. They have covered his hands and forearms. They have covered his feet and part of his legs. The warts, they are all over.

This man absolutely fascinated me. My heart just broke for him. I could tell in his eyes, that this condition has robbed him of so much in life. His self esteem, his feelings of self worth, the joy of having peace in life…gone. The only job he could find in Indonesia, was to join a circus like group of others that had deformities. They travel to perform freak show type acts for crowds of laughing on-lookers. His friends seemed so sweet, but were just as shocking to look at. I wondered what all they have endured in life. I can’t imagine.

If you have an opportunity to hear his story, do so. There are a few more out there in the world with similar rare conditions. I couldn’t help but feel called to pray for him. As I went to sleep that night, I was haunted by the images I saw on the television. I had dreams in my sleep about tree branches and roots taking over my home and even popping out the windows. He doesn’t dream those types of images…he lives them.

His courage, his perseverance, his will to go on, is inspiring. The uniqueness of his condition and the images might just leave you speechless. He is absolutely fascinating. Check it out. The man in Indonesia. They call him, The Tree Man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLG85gn0bc

Wedding Update

Well, after lots of phone calls, visits, reading, discussion, comparison, and prayer…a few things have been accomplished for the wedding!

The church has been selected and reserved (my home church was too small for the crowd that we anticipate to attend the wedding).
The Reception Hall has been booked.
The wedding dress has been found and ordered along with the veil!
Photographer has been booked!

It was a productive week. Now…onto selection of wedding colors, invitations, florist, and Music. There is much more to do, but we are all thankful for a productive week.

The best part…imagining what it will all look like on that day. It’s an easy thing to do when you are looking in the mirror and wearing an all white dress and veil. All the details are small when I think about the end result though. The announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Brinkmeyer isn’t too far away!

Thoughts While Fighting a Cold

It was the night before I was to give a message at two church services, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…not even me. I was knocked out from my cold medicine. After a night of trying to convince myself that what I was going through was only allergies, I had to admit defeat in the morning. I woke up and didn’t feel nearly as well as I had hoped and prayed for. As hard as it is for someone as stubborn as myself, I admitted, I had a dreaded cold.

The first line of attack….Daytime cough, cold, and flu medicine. After downing that, I was out the door and on my way. As I drove to the church, I glanced down at the, oh so neatly folded, tissues in my purse. Would that be enough? Probably not…and of course, it wasn’t. How was I going to talk for 30 minutes, for two different services, while coughing, sneezing, and sniffling my way through? I wasn’t about to let the enemy win though. I started in with my usual, simple yet powerful, prayer before I speak, “Less of me and more of You, Lord. Less of me and more of You.”

We started with the praise songs and other Sunday morning traditions. I, sitting in the front pew, sheepishly wiped my running nose and cherished every candy coated layer of my cough drop. I shook my head as I silently thought about the odds of not disgusting the audience with my oh so unattractive and distracting flu like symptoms. Those odds, weren’t exactly looking in my favor.

Next, I was up. Amazingly enough, not one coughing episode or sneezing fit attacked while I spoke. Both services, went by without any problems. Another prayer, answered. The realist part of me says my adrenaline was pumping enough to get me through. My heart knows better to attribute this to the Lord pulling out all the stops that could have hindered His message from leaving my mouth. I’m so thankful He is my speech writer, my image consultant, and my damage control specialist.

Afterwards, I went home and crashed on the couch. I just wanted to crawl underneath a blanket and get warm. My throat hurt, my head hurt, my nose burned and caused a kinds of symptoms you can only imagine and relate to. I realized that I wouldn’t be getting anything done on my to-do list that day, and I would probably be forced to rest a bit. Oh well, there is always work I could do on the computer. There is a wedding to plan, research to do, and emails to respond to. At least I could do that from the couch.

Much to my dismay, frustration, and work to fix the issue, my internet connection wouldn’t show anything but failure. What?! No internet? No email? What would I do? I suddently realized I was forced to rest. In the midst of my pity party, I chuckled. God really does have things under control. I know He has been telling me to rest lately, but I haven’t been listening. He wins again and rest I did. He always knows best, and has a way of handling every part of our lives even when we know the odds are against us, and we are too stubborn to listen.

I Had a Dream

Last night I had dream…or maybe it was a vision…I’m not sure which. I saw a young boy in a blue and white striped baseball uniform. He was crying. Not sure exactly why he had a baseball uniform on. He was crying because he didn’t know the answers to the questions before him on his homework assignment. I briefly flashed back to similar moments in my own childhood. This boy, he walked up to his father. He looked so defeated. He looked up and said, “I don’t know how to do this. Just tell me the answers.” The father gestured to the desk and motioned for the child to sit back down. The young boy didn’t follow the suggestion. “Just tell me the answer. I can’t do this. Why can’t you just tell me how to do it or give me the answers?!” His tone this time was less than respectful and to be honest, was down right annoying. The father, once again did not verbally respond, but gently again pointed back to the desk.

At first I thought this gentle man, whom I could only see the back of his head, was guiding him back to the desk as to encourage the child to work through the problem and figure it out on his own. I was impressed by his restraint to not scold the child for his choice of such a disrespectful display of communication. I then looked over at the desk and saw there was a book just to the right of where the child was sitting. It was an answer key to the child’s homework. I wanted to jump in and tell the child to just open the book with all the answers. Why doesn’t he just look at the book? I wondered why the father didn’t just take the book and hand it to the child.

In that moment, I heard a message. “He knows the book is there, and I have told him many times that it holds the answers. He CHOOSES not to look at the book.” I suddenly realized this dream had such a profound message. With that, my dream abruptly ended. I felt myself sinking down into the mattress of the bed. This dream was not about a frustrated little league baseball playing child. It was about me.

How many times have I prayed for God to show me the answer to a problem? How many times have I pleaded with Him to give me the wisdom to equip me for a situation? Do I think He answers those requests without me doing any work to get there? Sometimes. However, I wonder if in the majority of the time, if He feels slapped in the face. He tells us that the Bible is there for us and holds so many of the answers. He has told us that it will give us the wisdom and guidance for what we face. However, we choose not to read it as much as we should. Instead, we expect Him to give the answers to us in our way. The simple way, without having to do anything to get it….you know, like pick up the Book and just read it. I wonder how many times I have asked, worried, pleaded, and have begged without going to the Book of all the answers. I wondered how many times I have prayed for an answer and just sat and waited. How many times have I asked for an answer and gotten frustrated when I didn’t see the writing on the wall or some kind of sign that He was willing to help me? It has to be so insulting that we don’t listen to Him and open that Book of answers.

After this experience, I thought about how my daily devotionals have not been a priority lately with the chaos in life. I thought about how if I was more disciplined in my readings, maybe I would spend less time in that anxious state of wondering how things will come out, or wondering what the answer is to so many things. I realized I am not so far off from that whining child at times. As you can imagine, when I abruptly woke up from that dream, I turned on the light, picked up the devotional, and read some scripture.


The Book sits next to us all, and our Father is constantly pointing us back to it…..

Sense of Humor

If you have ever wondered if God has a sense of humor, I am here to tell you that He does. Trust me in the fact that I have seen His sense of humor a work in so many ways in my life. I often find myself in situations where I can imagine Him chuckling at me. Sometimes, I find myself in situations where I hope He is chuckling because that would mean something good came out of my somewhat awkward moments in life. Here are a couple that happened on the mission field.

I was recently waiting for a flight from Ethiopia to Kenya. I was with two others and we had plenty of time before our flight was to board. We were at the gate area and we were so thirsty. I offered to get us some drinks and bring them back. When I returned with the 3 cans of Coke, I noticed the room had emptied of the Kenya bound passengers. Panic set in as an airline employee said they were about to shut the door to the shuttle leading to the plane. He told me to run. As I got to the door, I fumbled to find my passport, and I looked up. I saw a bus full of angry passengers who, by watching me run towards them, realized I was the reason they were stuck waiting. At this point, those three lovely cans of Coke broke through the bag and rolled across the airport basement in three different directions. A collective sigh came from the passengers as if to say in unison, “Oh great, now we have to wait for her to pick up those cans!” Heat grew up my face from deep within. I was laughing, nervously of course at first, but had to run across that room to pick up the dented cans. I boarded with the other passengers and clumsily juggled the dented cans, bags, boarding pass, etc. I knew God was laughing with me. No one else was.

Once while speaking at a church about missions, I stood up to the podium, and stepped on the bottom of my long skirt. Yes, my skirt fell down. Thankfully, I was close enough to the podium so I could pull it back up quickly, no one saw it but Him and I. I think He was laughing that time.

Once in Romania, I leaned over to a homeless person to say, “God Loves You.” Only after this person followed me and kept giving me looks as if to have a crush on me, I realized in my efforts to speak that phrase in Romanian, I had actually said, “I Love You.” I think He was laughing that time too.

There are many, too many actually, other instances of times He has proven He has a sense of humor. Why else would these things be allowed to happen, other than for the distinct reason to make us smile and laugh? I love how He fills our hearts with joy, even if it does make us blush at times.

The Engagement

On March 29th 2008, a man I had known for a few months, walked into the office where I was working. I had known him for about 6 months and seen him a couple of times before. However, this time seeing him seemed different for some reason. I remember it so well. He had on a brown shirt, faded jeans, and leather jacket. He was holding and drinking an Orange Julius milk shake. Little did I know that day would change my life forever. That was the day that started a 6 month relationship where I would learn what it truly meant to fall in love and want to spend the rest of your life with someone. I would learn what it meant to have a relationship that had the Lord in the middle. I would learn what it was like to receive a gift of a best friend, companion, and the love of my life.

The next 6 months of my life were filled with a joy and love I had never experienced before. Phil often asked me when it was when I knew I fell in love with him. I would always tell him it was somewhere between that Orange Julius and now. I would then tease him about how when he was in the office that day in March, I thought it was disappointing that he didn’t even offer me a drink of that Orange Julius.

October 2nd 2008. I was supposed to pick Phil up at the airport. He had called and texted me several times to inform me that his plane had been delayed from the airport in Dallas. Since I knew he was going to be a bit delayed, I went home to change and put the 2 bouquets of roses he sent me that day, in some fresh water and a pretty vase. As I was scurrying around my apartment, Phil called again. He called to say he was still in Dallas and his plane hadn’t taken off yet. He also told me that he had just received a call from a delivery man saying he had been knocking on my door but I wasn’t answering.

With confusion (I hadn’t heard any knocking) and anticipation (thinking about what else he could possibly be having delivered to me) I opened the door. There standing in the front yard, was my so very handsome and magnificent boyfriend. Phil was there standing with a single rose in one hand and an Orange Julius milkshake in the other.

I was so bewildered and confused. All I could do is laugh. I yelled, “Get Out!” (In a how could you trick me.. I can’t believe it way.) Then I told him to come in, but he wouldn’t. He just stood there smiling and said, “Beth, I love you.” I was still laughing. I couldn’t figure out how he got to my apartment when I was supposed to pick him up. He explained that he had flown in early that day to Moline and rented a car. His plane had not been delayed. At this point, I had no idea what was about to happen. I just thought this was my clever and sweet boyfriend’s way of surprising me and making me smile that day.

He came to the door and stood in the doorway. He looked at me and asked, “Beth Bateman, would you share this Orange Julius with me?” “Yes, now get in here” I replied as I motioned for him to come inside the apartment. He just looked at me, tilted his head and smiled. “Beth, would you share this Orange Julius with me for the rest of my life?” He asked. “Yes,” I replied and chuckled at such a strange request. “Okay then,” he said as he took a ring off of his pinky finger and dropped down to one knee. At the sight of this, my hands covered my mouth, my eyes welled up with tears, and my legs started shaking and gliding me backward moving me back into my apartment as I stood in disbelief. “Beth, will you marry me?” He asked.

Wow. I stood there for a brief second and then just tried to soak it in. I didn’t have to think about what my answer would be. I had dreamed of this moment for some time. I didn’t even look at the ring when he asked. I was looking in his eyes. “Yes!” I answered and wrapped my arms around him. After a few kisses and a long embrace, I looked at the ring. It was the most perfect ring he could have given me. How did he know it would look just right on my finger? Did he know the mere sight of its beauty and perfection would make me weak in the knees? The ring was so amazing, but not nearly as amazing as him.

My answer was yes. Yes, I choose him to spend the rest of my life with. Yes, I choose him to love and cherish for the rest of our lives. Who knew that on October 2nd 2008 at 3:15 PM, I would be gently lifted onto cloud nine? You know, it is pretty wonderful up there. There is one down side to that location though. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much! I think that cloud is the place that God puts us so we can realize that all the prayers we have prayed are heard and answered. He puts us there to allow us to realize how much He loves us. He put me there to realize He loves me so much, that He had this gift in planning for Phil and I from the beginning. I am so very blessed and so incredibly thankful. Thankful to Him for bringing Phil into my life and answering so many of those prayers I have prayed for many years. Thankful for the gift of fully understanding the verses in 1 Corinthians 14: 4-13. Thankful to Phil for loving me, being the amazing man that he is, and being all that I could ask for and more. Again, I am so very blessed.

Answered Prayer

I received an email a few days ago from an orphan I met nearly three years ago. I met her in a Romanian orphanage and she forever changed my life. She had lived in one of the hardest orphanages in the country. She had been through so much. 12 years, she lived there in unspeakable conditions. I remember tearfully saying goodbye to her on that fall day in Romania. The goodbye and the sadness and innocence in her eyes, left me with a heart broken in a way that I had never experienced before.

I remember while in Romania that year, we heard word that the White Sox’s 88 year wait had come to an end. They had won the world series. I didn’t care. Nothing else seemed to matter. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t care about what everyone was talking a bout at the water cooler. I didn’t care about what was on the news back home. All I could think about was that young girl’s image that disappeared in the distance and fog on the bus window. I wondered if I would ever see her again. I diligently prayed for her everyday after that meeting. I prayed she would not become a lost child statistic of Romania.

The Lord granted the two of us a friendship that would stretch not only across the miles, but over an ocean. One year after our first meeting, I saw her again. This time she was sitting on a bench next to me in a park. We were catching up and she was telling me about living in a transitional home and high school. She had finally gotten out of the hole that she lived in. That orphanage was a place of abuse, neglect, and a darkness that I cannot describe, but can only see in my mind’s eye. There was an evilness there that literally sent chills up your spine while walking through the halls of what many of those children called home. I was so thankful she was doing well. She sat next to me with an entire year’s worth of printed out emails, that I had sent her, in her backpack. She had kept each and every email.

One year after that, in 2007, I met her again while in Romania. This time she had dinner with our mission team group that was staying at a nearby hotel. I think the coolest thing about that meeting was not just seeing her look good, safe, and pursuing an education, but was that she was just like one of us. We weren’t having dinner with an “orphan” we were having dinner with a friend. She was one of us and I so enjoyed seeing her in that light and watching others treat her as such. She was going to school then during the day and working at night. She also had her very first apartment.

This is the first year I won’t see her since that meeting in 2005. It’s hard. I miss Romania and I miss her. When I opened that email from her, I not only learned that she is now a college student, I was abruptly reminded how the Lord answers our prayers. For three years, He has answered my prayers for her. That morning of the email, I was so proud of her, and so thankful that Creator of the universe takes time out each day to listen to my plea for her. God is good.

Black Birds

Matthew 6:25-
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

I have never been much of a bird fan. Some that know me well might find it ironic that I have written this blog as a tribute to them. Yes, I have been abnormally frightened of them, shooed them away, wished they would leave me alone, and have been dive bombed on my head by them too many times. What can I say? I’m just not their biggest fan.

I was leaving work the other day and looked out over the nearby corn field. The black birds were flying in what seemed like a synchronized routine. There were hundreds of them. My first thought was of that terrifying movie about the black birds attacking. About the time the hair on the back of my neck returned to a relaxed state, I was reminded of the scripture above.

The birds…they seemed so happy. How could they be happy? Don’t they know we are in the midst of war, economic fallout, increasing gas prices, increases in costs of food, and incurable diseases? How could they fly about without a care? They dipped down so low and then back up again. The patterns they made were incredible. I stopped, before turning out on the road, and just watched. Amazing.

No, the birds aren’t worried about the economy, the war, the diseases, or even how much gas is selling for at the present time. These birds were just flying and enjoying life. We have a lot to learn from those birds. I looked at them closely wondering how they manage to all stay together and create such peculiar yet magnificent formations in the sky. One bird was leading the group. The rest of the birds followed the lead with a faith that wherever that leading bird led them, it was ok.

Christ came down to our level and as one of us to do just that. He led us and continues to do so today. He came to show us how to live and offered us the most precious gift we will ever be graced with. He also left very clear instructions…do not worry. Right, so we have a lot to learn from those birds.