God's Handiwork

The early riser may get a glimpse of God's handiwork. The above picture was taken early this week in the early morning hours from our home in Orange.

Self

Self is such a miserable place to be
At the end of the day
That’s just what hell may be like
There will be no escaping me

In self
I’m absorbed in my own misery
Consumed with my own pain
Continually thinking it’s all about me

In self
Daily I pursue
That which brings me pleasure
Rather than disciplining myself to do the hard things

In self
I forget about others
Fail to notice their needs
Nor offer a helping hand

In self
I’m determined to accomplish my will
Never yielding or obeying God
If I could…I’d make God to be like I want Him to be

In self
While I’ll never admit it
I treat others
As if they are here to serve me

In self
There is no joy in the Lord
For my eyes fail to see Him
My focus is entirely on me

In self
I am filled with only me
There is no room for anyone else
At times it’s a pretty lonely place to be

Yet there is One who tells me
I am to die to self daily
That I must be a servant of all
That I am to love the Lord with all my heart

Only the One
Who humbled Himself
Who came to do His Father’s will
Can show me how to live for Christ and not for me


Susan Bunts Wachtel
September 4, 2009

God Stop – Defeat vs. Victory

Satan wants us to come to the come to the battlefield equipped in our own strength and armor because he knows that's how he can defeat us.

But it’s in Christ Jesus…that we have the victory.

God in the Middle

Sometimes I feel as though
I’m in the middle of crossing the Jordan

In between doubt and defeat or
Experiencing victory through believing God

Between standing on my own strength or
Walking in God’s omnipotent power

Between leaning on my own understanding or
Trusting God’s wisdom and His perfect Word

Between following God at a distance or
Walking in lock step with Him

Between seeing God’s power in the lives of others or
Knowing through experience His all sufficient power in my own life

Between captivity and victimhood or
Deliverance and victory through Christ Jesus

Between sin and death or
Walking in the newness of life

Between choosing my own will or
Obeying God

Oh God, may I remember that You have gone before me
That You are with me in the middle of the Jordan

May this be my Ebenezer Stone
A witness that Lord has brought me thus far

God You are the Covenant Maker and Keeper
You will bring me safely through

by Susan Bunts Wachtel
September 2, 2009

For the Birds

Hold On

Hold on to me ever so tight Lord
Never let me go
Always be with me

You go before me
Your Spirit is within me
You surround me God

May I cling to Your Word
Saturate my heart and mind
With truth, knowledge and wisdom

Fill me with Your peace
Give me a hope that endures
Through all circumstances, trials and tribulation

God…You are my All in all
Jesus…You are my salvation
Victory is found in Christ alone


Susan Bunts Wachtel
August 26, 2009

FVHS Superstars

Now who would have ever thought that Chris Wachtel would be putting together a slide show for Facebook? Well...it took a reunion with his friends from Fountain Valley High School's theater group to do so.

What a fun evening we had. It was great to meet the people whom Chris has spoken so fondly of.

Set Apart

As Christ So Loved the Church

Last week I listened to several programs from Focus on the Family in which Fred Stoeker talked about his struggle with pornography and how he was able to overcome the addiction by God’s grace.

Not only was he able to overcome the addiction…but God who is able to do abundantly, exceedingly, more than we ask or imagine…changed the course of his family. While Fred’s father was addicted to pornography and passed that sin along to his son…Fred was able to draw a line in the sand and say no further. His son Jason is a man who is committed to purity and stands along with his dad in living and promoting purity.

It was an amazing story. I felt many emotions while listening to the program. I felt deeply grieved and saddened. No more so than to hear about pornography’s hold on Christian males and young people (both men and women). It’s significant and the ramifications are huge for the body of Christ. It renders the men and women that God has called to serve Him ineffective because they are caught in sin.

Any of us who has been caught in sin’s web know how effectively Satan uses it to trap, condemn and bind us. When we are trapped in our own sin…we don’t want to confront people in their sin…because we know that we are hypocrites. We are unwilling to take a stand for the truth because we are deeply embedded in our own sin. We don’t want to serve because we feel unworthy. There is always the nagging doubt…what if someone finds out?

Fred then made a comment about how God instructs husbands to be the leaders of their home and to love their wife as Christ so loves the church.

That thought…of a husband loving his wife as Christ so loved the church…took hold of me. What would that look like…if a husband really loved his wife that way?

What would it look like if Christians loved people as Christ loved the church? How would it affect our actions and how we treat people? What would our words be like?

Obviously, I feel inadequate and lacking when I measure myself against that standard of love. But then I thought…would I want how I love people to be the measure by which Christ loved me?

If Jesus Christ had the measure of love that I have…would He have gone to the cross? Would He have loved me…who denied Him and sinned against Him for far too many years? Would He have forgiven me of my sin?

In my sinful imperfect self…my love is very far from loving others as Christ so loved the church. Yet…as I submit myself to Jesus Christ and the Father’s will for me…if I yield more and more, day by day to the Holy Spirit…if I seek to know God through the study of His word and through prayer…I can grow in sanctification.

As I love God and yield and submit myself…He will help me to grow and learn how to do what’s impossible to do without Him. This side of heaven…I’ll never achieve that perfect love. But that shouldn’t stop me from doing what God has commanded me to do. To have that perfect love...to love as Christ Jesus loved…requires that I deny myself daily.

But oh… to think how marvelous heaven will be…when all the saints around us are able to love with a more perfect love. Love untainted by sin and selfishness.

Backyard Treasures

Leftover Love

Theirs was a leftover kind of love
Surely it didn’t start out that way
But before they knew it
All they had left at the end of the day
Was bits and pieces
Scraps from their day

The morning comes early
Goodness knows there is never enough sleep
One rises more easily
The other has a slow wake-up call
An extra cup of coffee
Helps them to keep running on empty

Soon they are off and running
Going their separate ways
There may be a text message
To say I love you
A phone call in the middle of the day
Just to check in

Their jobs are most demanding
Of time, energy and attention
Their very best is given each day
To a company of relative strangers
Of course there is shopping and errands
Necessary to run their household so efficiently

When they arrive home
There is much work that still needs to be done
Lawns to be mowed
Bills that must be paid
Cleaning and laundry
And a meal to prepare

They sit down at the table
Hold hands and say a grace
Both are so tired from their day
Conversation may not ensue
Sometimes they wonder
What’s it all for

Activities abound
Responsibilities call
Bible study, worship and prayer
Serving the body of Christ
It’s all good and yet…
With each demand…there’s a little less to give one another

A sense of accomplishment is never felt
For there are walls left unpainted
Boxes still unpacked
A garden that needs tending
Poems left unwritten
Books yet to be read

At the end of the day
Both fall into bed
With nothing left to give
Exhaustion lures one to sleep
The other reads to quiet the mind
Until a welcome sleep finally comes

In the middle of the night
They awaken ever so briefly
Look over at the one
To whom they pledged their life and love
And wonder…how can our marriage survive
On leftover love


Susan Bunts Wachtel
August 14, 2009


While I know our situation is not unique…we are finding it a challenge with the demands and necessities of life to find the time to spend together as husband and wife.