Author Archives

Norma L. Brumbaugh

Inspirational Writer, Author, and Speaker

PO Box 6432, Chico, CA 95927
nlbrumbaugh@gmail.com

Keep a smile in your heart.

SUN STAND STILL: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible by Steven Furtick (Multnomah Books, 2010)

To the untrained eye a pastor standing in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, and a news anchor in Charlotte, North Carolina, don’t have much in common. The challenges they face are as different as the hemispheres where they live. But I see them as twins. They share the same spiritual DNA. They’re driven by the same passion. They accomplish ridiculously amazing things for God’s glory. Their faith seems turbocharged from some source that the average Christian never taps into.

 Sun Stand Still is a read that will challenge you to think BIG and to BELIEVE GOD for MORE, even the IMPOSSIBLE! I must say, it is a little strange to read such a tall order from a young man who is the age of one’s own son! I read this book at the same time that my Book Dinner ladies read it. The further I got into it, the more I wasn’t sure if all of my ladies would like it. Did they believe in the God of the impossible? Yes, they did like it!
The point is well-taken, we are not to be defeatist Christian Believers. No. God didn’t mean for us to hang our heads and surrender without a whimper. We should expect great things of God, and pray for them. God is active. I do believe that the great things may seem like small things when we cannot see the end result, like the missionary who serves their whole life without a convert, yet, their faithfulness has been great in God’s sight. The fruit will mature in another season.       
We also get to know him through his personal stories. We see his uncertainty and we see God’s fulfillment of promises that contribute to his destiny. It is enjoyable to read a book that challenges us to greater faith, and with that faith, to greater action. It is a day to ask for miracles that change our homes, churches, cities, and countries.
Sun Stand Still is a good refresher course in taking God at His word.

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Contrasts and Complexities

My cousin and I talked about a mystery a few years ago. He said that we can’t really know a valley without there being a mountain. It is like the person living on the equator who has seen snow in pictures but it makes no sense until they experience snow.

Life is full of living contrasts. They add to the complexity of life, making it interesting, full of ideas and items to explore. Even our personalities and talents show this assortment of “versus’.” Of course they overlap and are just man-made categories and I don’t mean much by them, but we do think and itemize (compare) this way. There isn’t a right or wrong in this. Hey, right vs. wrong . . . I am going to list a few that come to mind:
We have the. . .

  • introvert vs. extrovert
  • practical vs. impulsive
  • right brain vs. left brain
  • athlete vs. nerd
  • feminine vs. tomboy
  • quiet vs. loud
  • flat affect vs. expressive
  • emotional vs. phlegmatic
  • monotone vs. melodic
  • critical vs. affirming
  • positive vs. negative
  • mean vs. kind
  • motivated vs. lazy
  • miserly vs. giving
  • humble vs. proud
  • insignificant vs. magnificent
  • other-centered vs. self-centered
  • ugly vs. beautiful,
  • spiritual vs. profane
  • sedentary vs. active

It is hard to stop adding on more of these, the list could be expanded triple-fold. The point is, there are many types of people in this world. A person could say that we are the sum of our parts: heritage + personality + abilities + experiences + education + religion = individual, but that would be incomplete. Free will and life’s experiences determine a destiny. In God, we all have a destiny. The confounding challenge is to find out what our destiny is. I once was struggling with a concept in my life. It was an area of insecurity for me. My friend said a statement that resounded loud and clear. “Norma, that is not your destiny.” And it wasn’t my destiny. I came to see it more clearly once I was separated from the situation.

This is what is true regarding a person’s destiny: You have a gift that only you can give. You have a song that only you can sing. You have a message that only you can impart.

Before we were even formed in our mother’s womb, God had a plan for each one of us. He put eternity in our hearts. God has a plan and a future for you and one for me. It is our destiny and our purpose for living.

You are a good Father God, so very good. I stand amazed in your presence. Holy is your name. Blessed is your Being.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N. L. Brumbaugh, with a monastic interlude from “The Sacred Place”
THE MEETING PLACE by N. L. BRUMBAUGH