A is for Advocate

One can hardly read a news story without seeing the word advocate. In our area the natural gas companies are pushing to drill through the copious deposits of Marcellus Shale. The process of “fracking” is thought to contaminate ground water thus threatening our environment.



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There are advocates for a myriad of causes. Nature advocates lobby for practices to protect the ecosystem. Rachel Carson of “Silent Spring” fame one of the most famous in our area.



My mother and her husband are advocates for the Monarch Butterfly.  They retreive the eggs before the Milkweed is sprayed with chemicals and hatch them and set them free.  Any given season they protect and launch between 300 and 600 Monarchs a year. 

Last month in the Emergency Room the nurses were not listening or just not hearing that my husband was losing consciousness. His warning that the room was spinning, he could no longer hear and things were getting dark were not heeded. I had to step in and in one motion elbow nurse out of way, lower the bed with my foot and catch him on the way down before he pitched headlong onto the floor. I was his patient advocate. When his pain reached critical levels I was the one that tore the nurses from their dialog to increase his meds interceding on his behalf.

Several years ago I was in a courthouse lobby with a bible praying for a mom who faced lawyers and judges as they decided the fate of her children during a brutal custody battle. I became a court appointed advocate to accompany the children on their paternal visits.

Everyone needs an advocate. The word ADVOCATE has been on my heart so I began to research it.

Initially I looked to the Bible for my definition and learned that in Greek , the word translated as 'advocate' in some versions such as KJV - parakletos - is also translated as 'comforter' in verses : John 14 : 16, John 15 : 26, and John 16 : 7.

This word advocate often refers to the Holy Spirit.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

John 14:26 (NIV)

Looking at the dictionary the definition says Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor
Equally impressive are the synonyms listed:  Synonyms: champion, proponent, backer, counselor, counsel

The purpose of all this “advocate” pondering became real this morning.

I found myself this morning with a word on my heart. “May you have peace joy and hope! God has a plan.” And while I thanked God for the peace this gave me I was still stirred in my spirit that maybe it wasn’t just for me. I shared it with some of my friends by going through my twitter follower list and when I felt the nudge, I shared the words with them. I was not prepared for the response and the opportunity it afforded me to pray or intercede for those who received the word for them.

We all need an advocate and we are often called to be one. I posted the query, "what is an advocate" and  the responses all spoke of 'standing in the gap' for someone.

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"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

– Proverbs 31:8

And sometimes that means praying for someone when they can no longer find words.

Those who know me well, know that if they ask me for prayer, that I “stop, drop and pray” Followers on twitter or Facebook see actual prayers in response to a plea for prayer, not just a “sure I’ll keep you in my prayers”. How often do we say “prayin’ for ya” but get caught up in our stuff and forget? How many of us have forwarded an email or retweeted a prayer request and that’s as close as we got to actually praying?

Taking on the role of an advocate can yield a bounty of blessings for both parties. When our Advocate calls us to be one for someone else, we need to act. If you have put it off, today is a new day.  Step into your role of Advocte, a title with responsibility - you are in good company.

Point to Ponder: Who can you be an advocate for today? How is our “Advocate” encouraging you to move?

FYI  My Blogs are being changed over next week to http://www.kissedbythecreator.com/ so you might want to update your RSS Feeds



Wind of HOPE

Recently our town was buffeted by winds of more than 40 MPH for several days. As I lay in bed waiting for the roof to be ripped off, I thought when will it tire? How much wind is there?

This wind was relentless it just kept coming as if the supply was infinite.

I looked outside and could not see the wind during the day or night.

The wind was invisible but the results the next morning were tangible. Recycling bins had toppled spewing forth plastics from blocks away. Branches and sticks laden with buds were strewn across the yards  like tombstones marking the death of the tender leaves that would never see spring.

Hope is like that. You can’t see it with your eyes or touch it with your hands. But hope or the lack of it leaves tangible evidence. It is amazing that the presence or lack of something so intangible can be so significant in our lives.

Martin Luther said, “Until a person experiences suffering, he cannot know what it means to hope.”

What does the Bible say about hope? In Hebrews 6:19 the NKJV it says:

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil…

The Bible refers to HOPE as our anchor, but what’s more, it says that HOPE allows us to enter into the presence of God. Since the Lord's presence is where all the treasure and life-giving, life-sustaining power is - that is where we need to be. We need to maintain our hope.
Herman Melville said, “Until we learn that one grief outweighs a thousand joys, we will not know what Christianity is trying to make us.”

Worse than whatever pain we are dealing with or crisis we are experiencing is that hopelessness that comes with a sense that there is no purpose or value to the pain.


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Sorrow can cause our prayers to cease. We begin to doubt and ask “How can a good God allow anything so bad?”

Sometimes in these situations, holding on to hope requires that we let go of EVERYTHING else.

The Bible records several examples of prayers that were not answered the way the petioner hoped. First, we have the family of Lazarus who prayed he would not die. He died. But Jesus eventually raised him from the dead, giving GOD bigger Glory and building the faith of many. We have Paul who prayed fervently 3x to have the “thorn in his side” removed. It never was, yet this man went on to have a successful ministry and his perseverance has given countless Christians hope. Then we have Jesus, the son of God, who prayed to have “the cup removed” from him prior to his death. It was not removed. God allowed his son to be tortured and killed which resulted in our Salvation and eternal life.

So when we are enduring, it really might not be about us. It could be about giving others HOPE to endure and believe in a God who’s strength they see lived out as we walk out our grief.

How do we hold on to our hope when the storm comes? I believe it has a lot to do with what we do when times are good. Building our relationship with Christ through daily prayer and study of His Word creates a foundation with deep roots which can anchor us when the storms come.

"In my deepest wound, I saw your glory and it dazzled me." ~ Augustine

No one could probably relate more to deep wounds than Joseph in the Old Testament. Few innocents endured more pain and suffering than Joseph. He was sold, beaten, imprisoned, falsely accused, and imprisoned again. But his twelve years of trials put him in a position where he could spare a nation from starvation AND bless his own family. There are no pity parties recorded as he faced his trials.

One of my favorite Hymns is “It is Well with My Soul” the story behind it is amazing. Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy businessman who lost his only son to illness and then much of his wealth in a fire in Chicago. He and his family scheduled a trip abroad to recover from their heartbreak. His wife and four daughters set sail before him. The ship they were sailing on was broadsided by a tanker and sunk within ten minutes. The cable he received from his wife said, “Saved Alone”. It was on his way to his wife that he passed the spot in the sea where his four daughters perished - and there above the dark waters during the darkest of his days he penned the words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Why was Horatio able to withstand such tragedy?  He was connected with the Creator. We grow relationships by interacting. The relationship with our Creator is also forged by interaction. Daily interaction in the form of prayers and study of his word, helps us form a foundation that is not easily shaken.

He becomes our anchor and what we tether ourselves to when the storm hits.

Point to Ponder: What are you tethered to? Where do you place your hope? When the storm comes, will you be ready?