Will the birds carry you away?

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, Romans 8:28, Tulsa • Leave a comment

Part of the advantage of moving to Tulsa while we raise our budget to become missionaries is the fact that we get to be here to help our kid out during his serious health issue better known as his heart attack.

One of those things we get to help with is babysitting the grands. The other day Jeff had taken J.J our 4 yr old grandson out to lunch while his mom and I did something. While at the restaurant the waitress teased J.J. about the crumbs on his shirt and how if he didnt clean them off the birds would come and eat them right off his shirt and possibly carry him away.

After the waitress walked away, with wide eyes and a curious look J.J. asked “ Poppy would the birds really carry me away? To which Jeff replied “ No, J.J. she was just teasing you” But J.J still feeling a little uncertain asked “But what if they did come and try? What would you do then Poppy?” to which Jeff responded “ I’d punch them in the face and make sure they didn’t hurt you. J.J smiled as if to say “Iam gonna be okay cause Poppy is here”

As Jeff told me this story it got me thinking… Aren’t we all a little like 4 yr old J.J? We know bad things are possible, we know there is a God who is with us but don’t we all wonder sometimes “But what if it did??” We ask God directly or indirectly “What will you do God, if it does happen?”

In the book of Isaiah chapter 41 we see the prophet tell the children of Israel how God would protect them and save them He tells them in Verse 10

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.

Just like Jeff assured J.J. that he would be there to protect him. We can rest in the fact that if we have given our life to Christ and strive to follow in His will and His ways He will also be there to protect us just like He did the children of Israel. We don’t have anything to fear.

Does it mean our life will be easy? “No!” But we know who walks with us in this life and we can rest in the fact that even when times get tough. He is working all things together for our good even when we don’t understand. (read Romans 8:28)

And just like the bible says if we will come to our Heavenly Father with the faith of a little child,(Matt 18:3 & Mark 10:14) just like J.J. put his faith in his Poppy knowing that as long as he stayed close to Poppy nothing was going to hurt him, no matter how scared he felt or what people told him.

So we have a choice today. What voices will you listen to? Who will you trust? J.J. trusts his Poppy cause he knows his Poppy. So take some time each day and get to know your Heavenly Father, because we don’t trust the people we don’t know!

Laundry Soap and the Widow at Zarepath

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Jeremiah 29:11, widow at Zarepath • Leave a comment

I’ve been a homemaker, pretty much all our married life. For over 38 yrs I have been doing our families laundry. I have seldom worked outside the home and have always been the sole person responsible for managing the household responsibilities, not that Jeff isn’t willing to give a hand when I need help I just prefer to do somethings myself.

Jeff and I both have jobs around the house early on in our marriage we divided them up between us. Jeff is in charge of making Kool Aid (because he is the only one that drinks it) He is also responsible for replacing all lightbulbs in ceiling fixtures (because he is the tallest) He is also responsible for making all Jello because, try as I might, I can never get it to set. He also is the resident handyman that fixes or builds anything I need.

But laundry, laundry is my job, because when I married Jeffrey he was doing his own laundry and I found all his underclothes were grey because Jeff thought it was okay just to wash everything together. So, that is solely my job now.

The thing is in doing laundry for the last 38 years for our family there have been times we have run low on laundry soap before payday got there. I can remember as I finished putting in a load of laundry in the washer and using what felt like was the last git of laundry soap in the bottle, then looking at the pile of clothes still on the floor. I said, “Lord, you are gonna have to stretch this laundry detergent”

I went off and waited for the washer to finish its cycle. When I returned to move the load from the washer to the dryer, I then put in another load in the washer, grabbed the empty feeling bottle, turned it over and began to pour a cap full of laundry soap. It slowly came out but filled the cap full and I continued to do laundry the rest of the day. This has happened more than once to me.

Everytime that happens I really believe God is multiplying my laundry soap and I am reminded of the story of the woman in 1 Kings 7 when Elijah asked the widow at Zarephath to bring him some bread and she tells him all I have left is a little oil and flour. My son and I are going to eat it then die.

In verse 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

That little widow was blessed by her obedience to Christ and I know Jeff and I are being blessed because we have followed what God has called us to do. No, we are perfect. But God knows it is the desire of our heart to follow Him and be in His will.

What has God called you to do today? Oh! Maybe it isn’t like us to go out and remodel and build churches for a living? Maybe it isn’t living by faith depending on God to speak to individuals hearts to partner with us so we can live? (Just like Elijah and the widow at Zarephath) Maybe it isn’t to stand behind the pulpit and share the gospel. But God has something for you to do! God has a plan and purpose for your life.

He promises us that in Jeremiah 29:11”For I know the plans I have for you declare the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”

But we have a choice. He isn’t just going to wave a magic wand and suddenly everything is okay? The widow had to trust what the prophet said and follow what she believed was God’s words through the prophet. She had to gather the wood for the fire to cook on, she had to make the bread from scratch (no bisquick was available back then) There was work to it. But there was also a reward to it as well!

That she and her son would live and be provided for during the drought in the land. I don’t know what you need today. But I know that God has provided for Jeff and I time and time again.

But we have had to be obedient to His word and our heart has had to have a desire to follow Him. The bible says He knows the desires of our heart. I don’t believe that is so He can just give us what we want, but it is so He knows where our heart is and it should be to desire to please Him first and foremost.

It has been my experience that following God usually requires some sort of step of faith from me. Something like giving up a secure income and trusting God to bring partners alongside us to commit to a monthly support so we can travel full time and build churches for Him?

Something like going 10yrs and being unable to have the additional children we desire, then just when we follow what God has called us to do, He blesses us again with exactly what we asked for.

Or the time we lost our car, but a few years later he gave us one back better and newer than what we had before or when Jeff had to pawn one of his guns because he was out of work and we had to pay our bills, a few years later He gave us one exactly like it through a random friend.

Time and time again, God has shown up, He has even used our disobedients at times to guide us back to His plan, He always rewarded us with better when we got back on track.

We serve a God who loves and cares for us. He knows our name and the very hairs on our head. So whatever God is asking you to step out in faith and do. Do it! If it is to support some missionaries, do it! If it is to start paying your tithes to your local church, Do it! If it is to take a cake to the neighbor so they know they are loved Do it! If it is to forgive that person who was unkind to you Do it!

All I can tell you is, just like the widow in the bible, it has been my experience that when I follow what God tells me to do. He always provides!

Burger King and our Thoughts

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls • Leave a comment

I am probably going to date myself by sharing this story but when Jeff and I were first married one of the things that we loved to do was eat at Burger King. It was Jeff’s favorite restaurant and being that Jeff had been overseas in the military for 18 months. We took every advantage to eat at Burger King when he returned home.

Jeff proposed to me right before he left for the Philippines for 9 months. He came home on leave for 45 days and in that time frame we were married for 3 weeks of that and then he left for the Philippines again for another 9 months. So it might not be surprising to you that we ate at Burger King for every meal on our honeymoon except one.

Yes, that is right, my romantic husband did everything he could to make our honeymoon special for me so he took me to his favorite restaurant for almost every meal. Honestly, I didn’t care back then. We were young and in love and did a lot of foolish things that young people do. We thought we were being wise after all it was a great deal. We could get 2 Whoppers, 2 Fries and 2 drinks for $4.99. Yes I said 2, I know today you can’t even get one, and that’s what’s making me sound old.

Little did we realize what that kind of eating would do to our bodies, I came home and couldn’t even fit into my wedding dress. It has really taken me over 30 yrs to get my health back. See I had to make a choice to do something about it no matter what others were doing around me.

Every one of us has a choice everyday. No matter what is going on around us we have a choice of what we will do. Whether it is how we respond to someone’s comments or how we allow ourselves to feel after watching some news report or even what others are eating.

It is about what we put in us that makes the difference. Just like what Jeff and I put in our bodies over that week long honeymoon. Fast food is okay to have now and then, but it was not made to be our soul diet. Studies have been done and a steady diet of that kind of food can be extremely detrimental to one’s health.(obviously, back then those studies had not been done and Jeff and I knew very little about nutrition then) So it is important to remember that it is not only certain foods that can be bad for our bodies but it is everything we take in. How you ever heard the phrase “Everything in moderation”

Well, I believe that goes for not only food but everything we put in our mind, from what we watch, what we read about and what we listen too. There is an old song that went something like this. “Oh be careful little eyes what you see, Oh be careful little ears what you hear, There’s a father up about looking down on you with love so be careful little eye what you see.”

The bible talks about this in Matthew

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt 6:22-23ESV

And you want to know how to tell what someone is taking into their heart and mind. It usually comes out in their mouth. David tells us in Psalms 4:23 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” In fact he also says

“19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.24Keep your mouth free of perversity;keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Proverbs 4:19-23

In this season of life where there are so many opinions and ideas, we can’t forget to be careful about what we immerse ourselves in. Their our temptations everywhere David warns us in

Psalms 101:3” I will set nothing wicked before my eyes.” We have to be careful because there may even be some sources that we thought we could once trust that just are not that trustworthy anymore.

The only real truth is the words of God in the bible. Haven’t you been around some people or even just after having a conversation with them you feel like you need a bath. Maybe it is even something you read, or watched on TV.

It’s time for our country to get back to knowing what God’s word says. We can’t just follow whatever tickles our ears and makes us feel good. But, really get in and decide to learn more of God’s word and do what it says. We have no promise that we’ll always have the freedom to read whatever we want or have access to reference God’s word when we need it.

One thing that we can’t get too much of is our relationship with Jesus Christ and once we know what He wants us to do, we need to do it, even if it is hard. Like choosing a good diet of food can be sometimes, choosing a healthy mindset and lifestyle will take time too. At first it may not even feel right because it is so different. But if we follow God’s word we can’t go wrong.

So we have a choice today, will we fill our heart and mind with positive and encouraging messages like God’s word, will we hang out with people that our uplifting and follow what God’s word says, or will we let ourselves be deceived into thinking that it doesn’t matter how much junk we are putting in our bodies/heart and mind? Because we think the temporary pleasure outweighs the long lasting ill effects it will have on us in the future.

The choice is yours, we have control over how we respond when others are unkind, when others see things differently than we do. We can still love someone we don’t agree with and maybe that is the biggest misnomer we have today.

Just don’t let it take you over thirty years to figure it out, like it did me.

I Hate to Drive!

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, I Hate to Drive • Leave a comment

I hate to drive! There I said it! I don’t like to drive. I would much rather let someone else be in the driver’s seat of the car than me. You see if I drive then I have to pay attention to the road and other drivers. I have to make sure that I am paying close attention to the road signs and obeying the highway rules.

I would much rather be in the passenger’s seat so I can look out the window at the view and gaze on the surroundings around us. Thank goodness I have a husband that likes to drive and never allows me to drive when he is in the car. Now I am not for sure if that is just because he loves to drive, or he doesn’t really trust mine. But either way I will take it!!

In fact I like looking around so much, that I have informed Jeff that should he ever die without me, he should make sure I have a chauffeur when he is gone. It is not uncommon for Jeff to hear me comment “Oh! Look there!” or Honey we need to go there, look at that! And all the while Jeff has both hands on the wheel, eyes on the road as we steadily getting us down the road safely.

Many of us want to live our lives like that. We would much rather have someone else take care of all the responsibilities of life and be able to just gaze on the things around us without worry or fear of making a mistake or messing up and getting in trouble.

But there is one thing we had better not leave up to anyone else and that is our relationship with Jesus Christ. We are the only ones who can make that happen. We are not gonna get to heaven on the relationship our grandma or parents had. We have to know the Creator of the Universe personally and we can only know that by spending time with Him.

Five minutes of chair time with Him each day is a start. Take 5 minutes and read your bible, listen to some worship music and then just stop and ask God to speak to you. Listen for that still small voice. Let Him know you are interested in hearing from Him and want to know what He has to say to you. Then compare what it says with His word the bible. You may want to talk to someone about it, that is further along in their faith.

With the recent events in our country. It is important to know what the truth really is and the truth is there is only one real truth and that is found in God’s word. We don’t need to get our eyes on all the storm that is raging around us in politics, the stock market or the coronavirus. We need to keep our hearts and eyes fixed on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The creator or the Universe who loves us with and everlasting love.

The bible tells us in 2Cor 4:4 “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

That is why Chair Time is so important. Spending time with God as our Heavenly Father to give us the peace that we are looking for. See we who follow Christ already know that His word says John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

So when this world feels like it’s falling apart and we don’t know what to do. We need to look to the Creator of the Universe. Because in life, we can’t just let someone else drive us down the road of life. We need to be in the driver’s seat so we can assure when our time on earth here ends the path we are on leads us to heaven.

To know more about how you can have a great Chair Time check out the book Chair Time by Dan Southerland wherever books are sold.

TEDDY – The Gift

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Ebay, Greatest gift, Teddy, Teddy Bear • Leave a comment

Before our first child Lee, was born, I was shopping in the baby section, at what I thought, at the time was a fancy store, where I found a soft, adorable brown teddy bear with a red bow around his neck and as a bonus when you wound it up, it played music and its head turned. Because it was on sale I was able to buy it.

See when Jeff and I were first married, we barely had 10 cents left over at the end of the month once we paid our bills and bought groceries. So any kind of purchase outside the bare necessities was an extravagant purchase.

Lee loved that bear and toted it around with him everywhere he went! He was about 4 or 5yrs old when we attended a friend’s wedding and we stayed at a hotel. As we were packing up, I told Lee to get all his stuff which included a backpack of fun goodies and things to keep him busy on the road and of course his teddy bear.

Unfortunately when we got home. Teddy was nowhere to be found and yes it was one of those times that I did not go back into the hotel after we had packed up the car and stripped the sheets off the bed, put them in a pile, looked under every bed as I if I worked for the CIA and was doing a recon sweep of every part of the room, looking for secret documents. Just to assure my family did not leave anything. Nope! I failed! Lee was devastated and I received the worst mom of the year award. We’ve all been there right?

But in that season of life. I choose to use it as a teaching lesson for Lee to be more responsible. I did call the hotel and ask if they had found it, but of course no one turned it in.

Fast forward some 20 plus years later, Lee’s wife is pregnant with our first grandson and Jeff’s name sake and I am trying to think of a really memorable gift to give to them. So I decided to go on a hunt for Teddy! I begin looking at all the stores I thought he could be at. I found the company that made him, but of course they don’t make them any longer. Then someone mentioned ebay.

So, I did a google search and you guessed it! There was a lady who had one exactly like Lee’s in perfect condition. So, I contacted her and was able to purchase it for him and let me tell you I think I paid about 10 times the amount I paid for the original one. But I didn’t care, I would have pretty much paid any amount to get it.

As you can guess, It was a pretty special moment when Lee opened up that package, but what was even more special was some 4 plus years later when Lee’s son came walking into my house carrying teddy.

Teddy is a little more tattered these days! His ribbon is wearing out . His fur is a little matted from food and who knows what else he has been through. But all those imperfections just show how well loved he is.

You know there is a parable in the bible that talks about loss. In Matthew 18 it says, “12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray and gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost? 13 And if it should be that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost. 14 Just so it is not the will of My Father Who is in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost and perish.” (Amplified version of the bible)

This parable is really saying that God will do anything to bring His children into a personal relationship with Him. He sent his son to die on a Christ, so that we might be saved! In verse 11 there of Matthew it also says “For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost” What did he come to save us from? The penalty of eternal death!

Our sin (handed down from Adam and Eve) has separated us from God and we can only bridge that separation by accepting His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

That means we give up our wants, wills and desires and surrender our life and everything in it to Him! Then the heavens rejoice everytime someone surrenders their life to Christ.

Even more so than we rejoiced when we found Teddy! Oh! It might not be the original teddy but how many of us haven’t followed God’s plan exactly? I want you to know He still rejoices everytime someone comes to Him!

There is nothing we can do that will separate us from God’s love. But if we truly love Him, Our life should reflect Him. It doesn’t matter how much we have been through, how tattered and matted our life feels. We can know that we are loved and carried in the arms of God if we have surrendered our life to Him.

Maybe you feel lost, maybe you feel like your life is in tatters, You need to know there is a God out there who loves you and cares about you more than you can know and He was and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring you back into relationship with Him.

He left his throne in heaven to come to earth as a baby so He could give His life so that we could have eternal life and live with Him forever.

Will you surrender your heart today? Will you decide that you are going to live for Christ no matter what it takes? If you are saying yes to that today. I want you to do 2 things. First, contact me through the comments on here and tell me that you decided to come to Christ and surrender your life to Him. Then, go ahead and find a bible believing church in your area or I will be happy to find you one. But you need a community to grow in whether it is online now because of Covid or in person.

But know today , the heavens are rejoicing just like we did when we found teddy (honestly even more so) Because you are loved and that is the greatest gift of all!

Pondering Lee’s Surgery and the Birth of Christ

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Alesa Miller • Posted in encouragement, Parenting, Uncategorized • Tagged 1John3, Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Jeffrey Lee Miller Jr, Lee Miller, Luke 2, Mark Lowery, Mary did you know? • Leave a comment

One of my most favorite things in the world is being a momma. It is all I ever wanted to be. I gave up several opportunities to do other things including recording Christian music and college to do so. I never wanted to be famous, or make millions of dollars. I just wanted to be a mom.

I take the job very seriously still to this day, so it shouldn’t surprise you that before my kids were born I have prayed for each of them and in that season of prayer, as I carried them in my womb, I felt that God gave me a scripture for each child. I didn’t ask for this, it just came to me. A strong impression that this is for the particular child I was carrying at the time. I knew each verse would represent my child, this little creature growing inside me. I don’t know how I knew, but I just did.

Over the 35 yrs I have been a mother. It has been amazing to watch each child grow into their own person. I’ve also seen each one begin to represent and have situations come into their life that have helped them play out the scriptures that God gave me for each one before they were even born.

You know there is a famous song written by Mark Lowery and made famous by many people called “ Mary Did You Know?” It asks the question “Mary did you know your baby boy would one day walk on water?” , Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?” Did you know your baby boy had come to save the earth. This little child your holding would soon deliver you” Mary did you know?”

You have to wonder, Did Mary know? I can only speak for myself, but I knew God has given me the scriptures for each of my children. Each one is unique and different just like each of my children. But, I have to say when God gave me the scripture for our oldest son Lee. I never dreamed it would play out like it has. HIs verse was 1 John 3 Beloved I wish above all else that you may prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers”

When I first read this verse, I focused on the prosper part, because after all, Don’t we all want our kids to prosper? I dreamed one day he would be rich and help so many people. I also think I kind of took the “and be in good health” part for granted. After all, no parent ever wants their kid to be sick. But it is something I pondered in my heart and honestly still do to this day. I wondered how the part of him being in good health even as his soul prospers would play out.

I also recall a scripture in the bible that talks about pondering It is in Luke 2. It is at the part of the story of Jesus’ birth where the angels appeared to the shepherds and they have just shown up at the manger, telling what they have heard and saw from the angels then they fall on their face and worship little baby Jesus. But the bible says “Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” Luke 2:19 NASV

Imagine how Mary felt, its estimated she was somewhere between 13-16 yrs old. She is alone except for being with her future husband, who forgot to make reservations at the local hotel, and she is giving birth to her first child all on her own. Then these strangers show up,, and not just any strangers but shepherds who were considered just above women in those days, they were some of the lowest of the low in society standards of that day and time. They were dirty and stuck, and my guess is also ill mannered since they spent most of their time around sheep.

And the bible says “She pondered these things in her heart” What does that mean? Well, the Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says:

“She could not as yet understand all that had been said and done, but she received it in faith, and waited till it should be made clear. It was enough for her to know that her Child was, in some sense, the Son of God and the hope of Israel.”

You know I kind of feel that way about the scripture that God gave me for our son Lee, if you aren’t aware he had a massive heart attack in September and is going in for heart surgery soon to try to repair some of the blockages. So the whole health part of the scripture God has given me, some 35 yrs ago, has suddenly captured my attention.

Now, I don’t believe Lee is sick because his soul hasn’t prospered, He is a follower of Christ and loves God with His whole heart and I also realize the part of that commentary talking about knowing the Child was in some sense , the Son of God and the hope of Israel. Doesn’t really pertain to Lee as well, because he is far from being Jesus Christ after all he is human.

But I do relate to the fact that I have received it in faith, and I am waiting till it becomes clear to all of us. I do, though, believe that Lee’s healing will come the closer he draws to God and that He is alive today because of the relationship he had with Christ the day his heart attack happened. God has a plan for Lee.

See, Lee wasn’t even supposed to be born. I was told when he was 3 yrs old that I should have never had him and I certainly wouldn’t have any more children. But the fact is,, I did go on to have 2 more children. Lee was born and so far has lived 35 yrs and I am confident he will go on and live many more years.

Now did having children happen exactly the way I had it planned? No! But it happened in God’s plan His timing. Did I get discouraged along the way, Yes! As I think probably about the time the shepherds showed up at the manger. My guess is Mary might have been a little exasperated. She might have been thinking “What in the world just happened?” She might have been asking “What is going on?” .” Is this even possible?” She might have been second guessing her ability to do this thing God had called her to do. But just at the right time, the shepherds showed up to remind her God was there- He was watching, He had not left her, He was still working His plan and using her in part to fulfill it. Those dirty stinky uneducated shepherds was a reminder that God was working His plan!

What do you feel lost about today? What plans do you have that you feel like are falling apart. I want to remind you. If you feel God has told you something, but nothing seems to be going right? Then just ponder that in your heart. Just at the right time, it will be revealed. Trust Him! Believe what He has told you by faith and wait for it to become clear!

Alesa Lewis Miller is the former Pastor’s wife of Lighthouse Worship Center in Greensburg KS. Now she and her husband are US Missionary Candidates with the Assemblies of God. To find out more about the Miller’s new adventure go to http://www.millers4usmissions.com or read more stories at http://www.behindtheparsonagewalls.com.

Lost Car Keys

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Christian growth • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Connecting everyday life to Christ • Leave a comment

I lost my car key the other day. Now if you really know me, you aren’t surprised. Losing my keys has been a problem I have had for most my life and it has only exaggerated this last year when we bought a car with a phob that I am not able to connect to my other keys. So now I am not just trying to keep up with one set of keys but I have to keep up with two sets, one for the car and the other set for the house and church.

The other problem with this key is we only got one when we bought the car and to replace it or get another one would be at least a hundred dollars or more and that just isn’t in the budget.

So the other day when I lost the one and only car key, I searched everywhere in the pocket I always put it in, in my purse. I retraced my steps to see if I left it around the house somewhere. I looked in the car to see if I left it there. I check my bag I take to church every week. I even asked the guys that live in my house if they had borrowed my car and kept the key in their pocket. (which they often do)

You see there is only one way I don’t lose my keys and that is I have only 2 places I put them, when I come in the house. They either go in a special pocket in my purse or I place them on the same table top in my house. That way if someone in the family needs my car they also know where the key is. So when I couldn’t find them I was so confused. Had they accidently dropped in the trash? Had they fallen behind some piece of furniture?

I was baffled as to where they could be. But I decided not to freak out about it. After extensively searching everywhere I could think of. I just decided to leave it alone. Walk away from the problem and do something else that I knew I could do. I refused to worry about it. Once I had done all I could do to find it I just decided to go about my day I figured I’d deal with it later.

I left my purse sitting on the floor by the hutch in my dining room. I went about my business and about an hour or two later I came back around by my purse from the opposite direction and happened to glance down at if rather than looking at it from the side view of it sitting on the table, as I had done, the whole time I was digging through my purse looking for the key earlier that day.

When I looked down from a higher perspective you know what I saw? You guessed it! I found what I had been looking for. I found the key. I had forgotten that I had put it in the outside pocket of my purse. The one that I never use. As soon as I saw it, I remembered when I was in a hurry the other day instead of putting it in the normal place I had put it there. As I looked down over it from the higher perspective. I saw it just barely sticking out of the side pocket.

As soon as I saw it, I immediately knew that it was like life. Often times we have a problem and try with all our might to fix it. We do everything within our powers to make things perfect,but we often only see things from one perspective.

That perspective comes from the way we have been raised or opinions we have adopted over the years and values we hold dear to us. Those come from the way others have treated us, T.V. Show and News reports. Our surroundings can often dictate our perspective on life.

That is why it is so important for us to have a higher perspective of life. We have to rise above what this world says is acceptable and look to the one who created the world, God Almighty. When we look to Him who is the beginning and the end of everything. Who with one word spoke this world into existence. How could we not have a different attitude? How could we not find things that we never expected to ?

When we change our perspective, and look at life through the vision that God has. We will begin to see the good in those around us. We will see hope where we once saw only defeat. Because contrary to popular belief. We may not be seeing things the way that God sees them.

We only have one view of things. We can only see the here and now and what has happened before. But God sees the here and now, He knows what has happened before and He also knows what is yet to come. He sees in 360 vision.

There is a lot of talk this year about 2020 vision. Which it is important to see clearly. But we also need to expand our spiritual vision to 360. We need to ask God to help us see everything He is trying to do around us and when we can’t see it clearly we need to know that we can trust this God, who is the creator of the universe and giver of life. The God of Abraham Issac and Jacob.

There is so much anxiety and fear happening in this world today. I believe in many cases it is happening because we are trying to do everything on our own instead of trusting in the one who already has the plan anyway. The one who orchestrates everything in the heavens and earth. The one who sees all sides and knows all intents of the heart. When we realize that we are love unconditionally by the Almighty God. It releases a whole new area of freedom in our lives that we don’t have to be worried or concerned that things didn’t go our way.

I heard a great saying the other day. “God will mess up your plans to get you on His purpose” So next time you become full of fear or anxiety or something doesn’t happen the way you think it should. Ask yourself “I am I seeing this through God’s perspective with 360 vision?” then Let’s ask God for a new perspective of what is really happening and be willing to put our fears aside for a moment and trust that He is working all things together for our good! (Read Romans 8) ‘

My Pet Peeve

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Alesa Miller • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Connecting everyday life to Christ • 1 Comment

I have a Pet Peeve! I know you are probably sitting there thinking, this nice lady that writes this column could never get upset with anyone. NOT! In fact if you ask my family they could probably give you a list of things that they would say I have a pet peeve about.

A Pet Peeve is defined as “something that a particular person finds especially annoying.”

Being raised in a minister’s home. My parents were far from perfect as most parents are, but one thing they taught me was to serve others. There wasn’t a home we moved into that, that in the process of discussing who would get what bedroom that my mother didn’t say “We need to plan for a guest room”

Now I wouldn’t even consider my mom a great hostess because I rarely remember her even having guests over for dinner. But my mom was always ready to host an overnight guest. So much so that we planned our whole lifestyle around it down to how we slept. Whether it was for a guest speaker coming into town that would be preaching at our church or for family that always lived far away from us, that mom prayed would come and visit but rarely did.

I remember when we didn’t have an extra bedroom my parents got a trundle bed and put it in my room so there would be room for an extra guest if we needed it. That is just what I was raised with to serve others.

So in this modern day society where communication is at our fingertips one of my biggest pet peeves is people who say their profession is to serve others but they never respond when you reach out to them. Nothing irritates me more than for me to text message or call someone and they never reply or take hours or days to do so.

Some people think God is like that. We pray or ask God for something and then it doesn’t happen they way we thought it would or we think He doesn’t respond and our feelings get hurt. We feel unloved and rejected by God. When the truth is God always answers. Sometimes His answer is Yes, sometimes His answer is no and other times His answers is wait a little while.

Often times when we don’t get a yes or no answer right away. He is telling us to wait a little while. Waiting doesn’t have to be a waste. It can actually be a projective time of prayer and growing in a deeper relationship with God. It is a perfect time for us to draw closer to Him and we do that by patiently waiting and trusting Him and He works it out.

In this modern day society where we can have information at our fingertips in seconds we often think we serve a God who should give us what we want and we want it right now. But we forget we serve a God who knows all and sees all, including what the future holds and more importantly we forget that He loves us more than we can even hope or imagine. In fact, His love is so extraordinary that honestly our minds can’t comprehend it because we have never been loved like that.

We also have to remember God isn’t a genie in a bottle that we just call on when we want our wish to come true. That would actually make us the God. Which is more often what we end up really wanting after all it is our natural tendency to want our way and it is what the whole living by faith has to do with us giving up our well to follow His because He is God.

Faith is trusting God. I think that brings me back to my pet peeve. I want my way and when I reach out to someone who says their life is serving others and I expect a timely response. Because bottom line they aren’t God and I don’t always know if I trust them, But I can trust the God they serve.

I’ve had to realize that I can’t change people, but I am responsible for my response to them and in that I have to look to God above to help me be who he wants me to be and just because I believe people who are called to serve others should be available to others in a timely manner doesn’t mean everyone is called to that and I can rest in even though things don’t happen the way I plan them, I just rest and trust in the fact that God said He is working all things together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. Romans 28

The Camper Cushions

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Alesa Miller • Posted in encouragement • Tagged Alesa Lewis Miller, behind the parsonage walls, Connecting everyday life to Christ • Leave a comment

If you have been following this column then you know there has been a lot of things happening behind these parsonage walls! You know that back in September, Jeff and I felt God confirm in our hearts that we should join the U.S Missions Department with the Assemblies of God. Where we will be over Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico Churches, Helping connect churches with needs from Construction to Clerical with other churches and individuals that can help meet those needs. Our Goal is, Strengthening Churches, Changes Lives, One Project at a Time. Because we still believe the local church is the way God plans to bring people closer to Him.

If you have followed this column you also know when we felt God calling us to this ministry we knew we were going to need a few things to make that happen, Since we will be traveling about 40 weekends out of the year, we need a newer to us vehicle that gets good gas mileage and must have good heat and air, unlike the car we have now and frankly our present car as so much other things wrong with it, it isn’t worth fixing.

Secondly, we knew we needed a place to live in Tulsa which will be more centrally located to our area as well as a camper and truck to pull it with since, we may need to stay gone for longer periods and don’t want the added expense of hotels and never not want to be able to helps someone because of their inability to house us.

So we just begin to thank God that He would provide these needs. After all, Matt 6:8 says “ He knows what we need before we even ask” so if He knows what we are going to ask, because He already knows what we need. I believe He also knows what we are going to need before He asks us to step out in faith and do something for Him.

You may already know that since we stepped out in faith and shared what we felt God calling us to do, in November, God has since given us, a home to live in for free in Oklahoma, and a camper for free as well. Now! You may be thinking that is Amazing! But, this past week before we went to pick up the camper, the owner said, “I was recovering the cushions for you and I ran out of material” She went on to say so she went into a second hand store to see if she could find something that would work with her present material, and guess what happened? She not only found the exact material! But it was cut in 2 exact pieces the exact size that she needed.

Now you can’t tell me that was an accident? I believe with everything within me that God is working all things together for our good and He has called us to this time and this place. I believe that someone somewhere was making something out of this material and had two pieces of material that God ordained just for her to use on our camper before either of us knew she was even going to give it away.

You know why I believe that? Because His word says. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

It also tells us in Luke 12:7 that He even knows how many hairs or lack thereof are on our heads! So why wouldn’t God care enough about this mission He has called Jeff and I on to supply the most minute detail that we need!

Let me tell you something! If He will do it for Jeff and I He will do it for you too! But watch what that verse says! “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

There are some requirements. First we need to love Him and I believe it’s more than an attitude of “Well I don’t hate God?” attitude but it needs to be a genuine love Him more than life itself attitude, that you’d give your life for Him mentality. That He isn’t just someone you call on when you have a problem, but He is your constant friend that you talk to everyday and He talks to you.

Secondly, It says “have been called according to HIs purpose. We all have a calling on our life, God has called us all to follow Him and what His word says, but if we truly love Him, referring back to the first point “for those that love Him” We are going to do what He says so if He says leave your church that you love and have a secure income in to step out in faith and trust Him to supply your needs through donations from your friends and others every month, then you do it!

Trusting He is calling you to do that! Or maybe it is trusting God to supply the need of a missionary like us and feeling God is asking you to help but you know you don’t have the extra finances to do it. Maybe it is just calling up a friend and checking on them, but you are shy and you don’t want to bother them. Maybe it is asking someone to come over to your house and eat, but you don’t really like to cook and you are afraid you house isn’t clean enough.

I don’t know what God is calling you to do, but whatever that strange thought you have in your head bouncing around that, seems crazy to even consider and it is greater than you could do on your own and if it helps others or shares God’s love with someone, I am betting it is God speaking to you. Especially if it seems like there is no way you can do it on your own.

So what are you going to do with that call? Let me tell you that if you will trust Him, I promise He will meet you there. Just like the cushions in the camper, God’s got a plan for whatever He is calling you to do. He already has made a way and He knows what you will need before He asks you to step out in faith and do it. He is just waiting on you to take the first step! So what are you going to do?

Behind the Parsonage Walls (Connecting Everyday Life to Christ)

By Alesa Lewis Miller