Catherine Marshall's Heart For God, Vol. 2

Catherine Marshall Lesourd

1914 - 1983

We are studying a book entitled Catherine Marshall, A Closer Walk (1986), published three years after Catherine Marshall's death. A collaborative effort between Catherine's second husband, Len Lesourd, and her longtime friend and editor, Elizabeth Sherrill, the text includes selected entries from a 23-year span of Catherine's journal keeping. The years cover her marriage to Len in 1959 when she was 44, up until her death in 1983 when she was 68. The introduction to my Catherine Marshall series can be found here. Volume 1 can be found here. 

Catherine Marshall's Heart for God, Vol. 2

Our text for today begins:

As Len and I begin our new life together, I'm enjoying a new way to read the New Testament--undoubtedly a way known to many Christians through the centuries but new to me: during my early morning devotions I'm reading the words as if Jesus were speaking directly to me.

 At the time of my discovery, I was going through the Gospels consecutively, desiring above all else to get a vivid portrait of Jesus. And a portrait emerged all right, not so much of what He looked like, as the characteristics of His person. I discovered in Him one who is totally alive--physically stalwart, emotionally sensitive. Humor, I definitely found. And grief--not for Himself, but for others' hurts and the tragic havoc that sin brings. And love, an amazing love that pours out of Him with never any effort to hide it or dam it up. Yet it is a love with steel in it.

Over and over I have come upon this steel--a note of stringency in Jesus' conversation and His way of dealing with people that, for the most part, seems alien to the teaching in our churches today. Never have I found a trace of coddling or compromising or self-protectiveness in Him.

For example, there was the Pharisee who asked Jesus to lunch at his house. Jesus accepted. But if there was anything pleasant about the conversations about the table, we were not told so in Luke's account. Indeed, centuries later, the words all but blister the page.

 But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God......you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places......you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it. Luke 11: 42-44 RSV

Excerpt from Catherine Marshall, A Closer Walk, pages 3, 4 

What a perfect picture of Catherine's pursuit of Jesus! This sentence, especially, speaks volumes to me: 

I was going through the Gospels consecutively, desiring above all else to get a vivid portrait of Jesus. 

We see here that Catherine didn't read her Bible out of obligation. She read it out of pleasure. She wanted to know Jesus intimately...to really sit at His feet and enjoy Him and learn of Him.

There is an unexpected dividend from reading the New Testament as if Jesus were speaking to me: when I look away from the problems in my marriage to turn my full attention to Jesus, He proves Himself alive by concerning Himself with my life, family, and friends and talking to me about these matters morning after morning. (page 4)
..........The resurrected Jesus is a continual reality in my life. How can I ever find words to express the joy of His presence? (page 5)

When was the last time you sat down with your Bible out of pleasure? Even if you've been a Christian forever, the Bible still speaks to you anew. The Word of God is alive! The Holy Spirit makes it so as he journeys with us through the words. Never tire of opening your Bible. 


If you're in a slump with your reading, pray specifically that Our Father would renew your joy in His Word. Don't accept that feeling of devotional obligation. Pursue Jesus. Tell your Heavenly Father to make you a pursuer. I don't have a problem wrestling with God on some things, like Jacob did. This would be one of those things. 


Jacob, you remember, wrestled with God on the ground until God blessed Jacob. The actual person was an angel who probably was Jesus Christ, since Jesus is the only member of the Godhead seen in the flesh.  The Bible says of Jesus: "his goings forth were of old". 


His Goings Forth Were of Old
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.


John 8:57-58 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”


Jacob Wrestles With God
Genesis 32:24-29 (source here)
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

   But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

   “Jacob,” he answered.

 ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

   But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 

Let's take a lesson from Jacob here, and wrestle with God until He blesses us with a devotional time that is pleasurable and intimate. God wants to be pursued!



If you have a hit and miss record with Bible reading, remember this one tip: Open your Bible. That, my friends, is the hardest part. Once you've got it opened, you're home free. You've defeated Satan. He doesn't want you to open it, any more than he wants you to start the first line of your prayers. I can give you the same tip about prayer.......just utter the first line. 


We're going to read through the Gospels consecutively as Catherine did. Yes, that's right. We've got homework this week. Read Matthew 1 through Matthew 14 by next Wednesday, and make notes about the character of Jesus. What is He like? You can just write down adjectives that come to you, or you can actually journal your findings.


Enjoy yourself as you pursue Him! Get ready to fall in love all over again.

weekend doings

As  much as I love for my kids to explore nature and have pets, I never touch any creepy crawlies or furry things myself. And I find this photo disgusting. And cute. Hamsters can eat whole wheat pasta, so we tried this multi-grain, high-protein brand of angel hair. Little furry loved it and my kids were enthralled. They all took a turn feeding a string to Jack the Black.

This might be some type of walking stick, we think. Peter wanted for years to find one, and Friday evening this one crawled up on Daddy's pants. My son started out so excited, and then twenty minutes later, he said, "I hate to say it Mommy, but it's not as exciting as I thought it would be. I guess a praying mantis is my favorite insect."

Grasshoppers and crickets are all the rage here. August and September bring out tons of varieties and sizes. Mary loves to get involved as well, while Beth is more like me. Not afraid, but definitely not in love. "God created a wonderful creature there...it's fascinating. But it better not jump on me." That's my creepy crawly motto.

Paul is a mathematician. When a mathematician wants to make a little money, he folds towels for you......and arranges them like this. Much better than a boring stack of clean towels, don't you think?

The three older children went to Kids Bowl Free with Daddy earlier today. Paul couldn't roll the balls straight and came back a little discouraged. He's very competitive and very much a perfectionist. A few minutes rocking in the rocker with Momma cheered him up, thank goodness.

I'm so grateful no one around here is too old for Momma's rocker!

We'd also planned peach picking at the orchard, so Beth and I could get out too, but it rained and thundered something fierce today.

Here he is again, making his favorite breaded squash.  Only this time he added jalapeno peppers, also from our garden. They are so strong we were all coughing and miserable for awhile, even in the back of the house far from the kitchen.  Lethal! No thanks! (Probably not bad for allergies though. Made my nose run and loosened my post-nasal drip...and I tried my best to stay out of the kitchen while he worked with them.)

It's Sunday night and I had plans. After everyone went to bed, I was going to copy my spiral-bound prayer notes into a bound journal. Then I was going to pray and read some of the Catherine Marshall book.

But on Saturday night husband took a bad spill on a ten-speed bike, getting eight areas of road abrasion, with the worst on his face. Peter, riding in front of Daddy, made a sudden unpredictable move and caused the crash. Unfortunately, the ten-speed didn't have any brakes.

He cleaned the wounds while I put the girls to bed. Then I added antibiotic ointment and sterile gauze dressings or large bandaids to each wound. Tonight, twenty-four hours later, the wound on the chin looks like it might be getting infected. I spent two hours reading first-aid websites, trying to get a description of what a newly infected wound might look like. As always, any kind of wound care stresses me, especially when we have to decide ourselves if medical care is necessary (and a tetanus booster shot...when its been more than ten years since the last booster). After agonizing over the decision, I finally advised him to go to urgent care tomorrow, after the new job and before the other job. His work days are ten hours long and the tetanus shot needs to be administered within 48 hours, so playing it safe means he has to go during the day. Road wounds are very dirty and subject to nasty infection.

I'm thankful for the neighborhood Samaritans who helped both my husband and Peter after the accident. Peter panicked from the blood and shock of the accident, but they calmed him down quite well. He did not fall, because Daddy purposely avoided hitting him.

It could have been much worse. I'm so grateful for my husband!  Grateful he's okay. He's such a great guy, beloved by us all. The children run to the door and out to the driveway when he comes home from work at 7 pm. They're all equally excited to see him; it warms my heart every night. Thank you, Father, for a husband who is much beloved by his children! He exerts himself so much on their behalf, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Fatherhood is hard work! I'm so grateful for his commitment!

After all that web searching and agonizing, I'm emotionally exhausted. I think I'll just pray and crash.

Hope you had a nice weekend, friends!

A Continuum of Heart Change...On the Poor

My friend Katherine posted a video sermon on her blog featuring Tim Keller speaking on The Gospel and The Poor. Watching it this morning, spirited debate began in our home. Where does one draw the line on caring for the poor? How simply must we live to really be following this Biblical mandate?

I need to start by retracting something I recently wrote in part 7 of my prayer series, in which I stated that all luxury consumption is greed. Well, that's pretty stupid now that I think about it. If no one bought luxury items, what about all the jobs in this industry? They'd be lost, affecting many families. I wasn't thinking clearly and I'm sorry about that. Too much zeal. You probably had this thought while reading my piece, but you didn't want to comment and tell me so. Always tell me your contrary thoughts, please?  I need your input.

Tim briefly discusses, in response to an audience question, the 60% tax rate in some parts of Europe. Is it fair that some work very hard, but have a standard of living equal to those who don't work at all? No, says Tim. That isn't Biblical justice. But neither is a government that does nothing for the poor, well the rich keep getting richer. Coercing people to give through tax code is not as good as people doing it willingly, in response to Biblical mandate. Since too few give willingly, however, governments do well to provide some sort of safety net, at least to provide food for hungry bellies.

Tim was quick to point out that Christians should try to steer away from public policy debates, and concentrate on what the Bible says to do. I think this is good advice, since neither liberals nor conservatives get it quite right.

Tim makes it clear that if you don't have a burden for the poor, you probably don't have a saving faith (from the Book of James and other Books, which he quotes). Mind you, he doesn't preach that you must sell everything you own, but you do need to be on a continuum of heart change in regard to the poor. The Holy Spirit meets you where you're at, as always.

For example, if you've got $20,000 in living-beyond-your-means consumer debt, you're at the starting point. Change won't happen overnight, but neither will God leave you in your sin. If you're a Christian, you will respond to the Holy Spirit's nudges in regards to your finances.

Now....on to that spirited debate we had here this morning.

I have more of a "calling" to be poor than my husband does. He wrestles with God daily regarding our situation. His conversations with the Father go something like this: "Why give me four children, God, without also giving me the talents needed to support them with some modicum of security?"


My answer? His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in our weakness. This sentiment makes my dear husband feel ballistic. He wants to support his family as mandated in the Bible. That means, in his mind, we should have enough to repair cars and pay the house payment, rather than choosing one or the other.

My answer?  Well, this has been going on 2.5 years, and we are still in our house and husband has always had a working vehicle to use for work. Therefore, despite our budget deficit, God is providing. And His grace is always present.

I keep in mind that everyone is gifted in different ways. Our experiences have been very stretching for my husband, but they've been the best thing for me personally. My heart is forever changed.

While I don't have an evangelism gift, I might be developing a heart for missions. A very good friend of mine had to wait many years--into her sixties, in fact--before she could get out in the mission field. Her husband felt very differently so she couldn't pursue it until after he'd passed away. She's loving the mission field, after spending two years in China, and now, two short-term mission trips to Africa.....all as a teacher.

Every story is so unique, isn't it? The Lord can sure weave a tale!

Anyhow, my Peter was wondering, upon listening to the sermon and hearing our debate, if he could buy as many bird feeders as he wanted someday, to make his backyard a bird sanctuary. Would that be excessive, he wanted to know? And husband stated emphatically that if we ever have the money to buy a better camera, he will, without hesitation. He missed his calling, he feels, in not becoming a nature photographer.

Is a better camera needed?  Well, if you have ADHD and nature photography relaxes you, I'm guessing a better camera is fine. And the bird feeders? My answer is the same....nature watching relaxes my son and sets his gaze on the Lord.

What I really think after mulling this over all day, is that the death of Christ on the cross brought us the New Covenant in which the truth is written on the tablets of our hearts. We no longer have to follow a burdensome law in which everything is written out in maddening detail. Each person responding to the Biblical mandate to care for the poor will come up with a different answer as to how much sacrifice is needed. The Holy Spirit will take each person's heart to where God wants it to be.

Our role then, is to respond. If we have salvation, we will respond.

What are your thoughts?

The video link above is well worth your time! You can listen while you fold that mountain of laundry.....that's what I did. :)

The Prayer Warrior Life: Getting Organized

So you've started your prayer warrior life. Magnificent! Praise God for your obedience in taking the first step! 

A few weeks into it, you're suddenly coming up with so much to pray about, it's overwhelming. Well, I say hallelujah on that too!

The answer is a schedule. The Holy Spirit guides us in prayer, yes, but that doesn't mean we come to the table unprepared. To be effective, you need to get organized. But don't worry.....it's easy.

First, choose a couple recording tools. You might want a piece of paper affixed to your fridge to record new needs as they come in. Believe me, the Holy Spirit will dictate new ones throughout the week. 

You also need a tool to have with you at prayer time. I made a chart to make it easier to show you what this might look like, though I doubt you'll want something this size. 

Divide your chart into days of the week, while keeping a master list of things you'll pray about daily. Remember the lessons from the Lord's Prayer as you compile your daily list. We are a brotherhood and we must pray as one. Take your mind off your own home, for now, and think nationally, globally. My daily list includes these items:

- salvation for the lost  (family, friends, neighbors/community, nation's leaders, etc.)

- that the Lord's Kingdom will come

- that the Lord's will be done, rather than ours

- for the daily bread of the collective body......for an ending of food/shelter/clothing/clean water inequality. That people will live simply so that others may simply live (Shaun Grove's quote, BTW)

- that the nation's debt would go to zero

- that all will have healthcare without more debt (Too big for politicians, but not for God.)

- that the abortion rate will go to zero

- that the global economy will improve

- that the famine will end

- for my own correspondent child and all those from various organizations (Compassion, World Vision, etc) 

- for the spiritual walks of all Christians....that there be more of Christ, less of the individual....that we act as a brotherhood 

Next, in your daily columns list prayer needs you'll take on for that day, in addition to your everyday items.

For example, on Sunday I pray for my nuclear family using these categories: spiritual needs, health needs, provision needs, inter-personal needs, the future. I repeat this list on Wednesday....so my nuclear family is covered on Sunday and Wednesday.

On Monday I pray for my extended family, using a list of names, not categories. As I pass each name I know what to say. Prayers for my extended family are repeated on Thursdays....so they are covered on both Monday and Thursday. Any salvation needs are covered daily, however.

On Tuesday, and again on Friday, I pray for my friends, using just a list of the names. Though again, salvation needs are covered daily. As I pass the name, I know what to pray. If a particular friend has a lot of needs, I'll list them separately so I won't forget anything.

In each case, I pray for spiritual walks and for their families, and whatever other needs I know about. For example, I just read on a blog yesterday that one friend has a depressed teen. Quite worrisome. That I will remember immediately upon seeing her name, from now on.

Saturday is an open category for needs that don't fit on any other list, and for very urgent needs that need repeating from other lists, such as a recent heart attack, new diagnosis, new divorce, lost job, or relationship issues. 

If you need a tool that travels with you, how about a spiral bound notebook or bound journal with an everyday list page, and a page for each day of the week? 

The Holy Spirit will have your mind in and out of prayer during the day, too. My own mind, by the grace of God, is back to that now. The Holy Spirit will guide these spontaneous sessions entirely.

There you have it. Time to get organized! A prayer warrior comes to the table prepared. 

Please tells us about the recording system that works for you. 

about those errors

Two of my children were talking with me and I inadvertently hit "publish" before I finished editing volume 1 of the Catherine Marshall series. The feed reader didn't update to record the title, for one thing, which is Catherine Marshall's Heart for God, Vol. 1.


Sorry about the errors! I wish I could say I'll improve, but probably not any time soon, with littles around. :)