I am sitting here listening to the rain fall as I pray (knowing there is a leak in my skylight kind of takes away from the ambiance). I often pray that God takes from me all ego, pride, conceit, and arrogance so that what remains is just a humbleness to serve and love people. Did you know that love appears in the bible 634 times depending on what translation you use? I often use the NET, the CEB, or the HSCB. translation.

I think a lot of times we go through life loving people with just part of our heart because we don’t want to love with our entire heart. It takes a lot of energy to love with your complete heart not to mention the vulnerability. I don’t know about you but I want to love in a mighty way not in a weak manner. I think we tend to get anemic when it comes to loving people. We like to put stipulations on love but in reality, that is not what Jesus commanded us to do. As Christians, we like to force people into transformation thinking we have the authority and ability to transform them (we don’t); instead of just getting them to alter and letting God do the changes. We like to think we are called to do more than love when in reality we haven’t even mastered how to love one another.

As a pastor, I observe all kinds of social media people have from people in my church to people not in my church and I can tell you people love to judge, stay in negativity, and tear down instead of buildup. They love to stir controversy thinking it brings God some type of glory but it doesn’t. Loving someone means you are going to build them up regardless of the foundation. God builds on all kinds of foundations; we are called to follow His example. I think the Christian community stays in that state of disagreement because they are terrified the culture will change truth… BUT truth cannot be changed (but that is for another time and possibly a sermon on a Sunday).

One of my biggest concerns is how I love: am I loving people enough? Am I showing enough compassion? Do I have enough mercy?

I don’t want to love people with just half my heart because I have been hurt too many times, or people don’t reciprocate it, etc… Jesus says in John 13: ³⁴ “I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” That’s a wham to your gut!

Jesus love was sacrificial so that is a sacrificial love He is talking about from us. It means it will cost you something… Think about that for a minute and let that soak in… We are given love and in return expected to love in the same manner of love that was given to us… That is really ground breaking for believers and non-believers.

Whatever you are doing in life find time to experience the love of Jesus Christ (and not through religion but through a relationship with Him) AND if you have experienced that love then find the time to extend that love through all facets of your life…albeit through relationship, outreach, social media, etc…

Love well and Love often… Love in a mighty way and not in an anemic way… and don’t be selective to whom you love… Love is universal, it breaks down culture barriers, it speaks every language, it incorporates every color on the spectrum, it is diverse, and it travels around the globe to seek all people… learn to be part of it.

To my believers out there if you want people to know God 1 John 4: “⁸ The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” LOVE… and know that truth will not be changed by loving because truth can never be changed. In Isaiah 65- Isaiah refers to Yahweh as the God of truth and in John 17:17 Jesus says God’s word is truth… The Apostle Paul assures us that truth cannot be changed but he also urges us to love. Why? Because love covers a multitude of things… He also tells us to not grow weary of doing good… So LOVE often and love ALL… the good the bad the ugly ( a little Clint Eastwood humor in memory of my step-dad)

but above all learn to love outside your comfort zone!

Good Afternoon Ladies…

PS. bye bye to August and hello to September my birthday month (but who wants to remember at my age) 🙂

As I was standing in my kitchen this morning exchanging texts with my sister in law who happens to live in Texas about 30 minutes from Houston, I was just struck with overwhelming emotion for the people there. I have lived in Texas and traveled to Houston many times as a child and to see it in its present state is just bewildering.
Because it is my nature to fix things I immediately began to think “what can I do?”. My sister in law is volunteering at the shelters close to her but I live over 600 miles away. In moments like these I feel small and insignificant. In the Godfather, we hear the phrase “take it to the mattresses,” meaning war is about to ensue, I heard a voice say to me take it to prayer and don’t say “all I can do is pray.” Why? Because it reduces prayer to be inconsequential and prayer is anything but minor or frivolous.
Prayer is powerful, Prayer is war, Prayer gives strength and brings courage we see that clearly with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He prays and is empowered for the inhumane treatment He is about to endure on the cross for our behalf.

We know prayer is powerful because Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 17:21 that what they were facing and trying to overcome (helping the small boy possessed) could only be conquered through prayer accompanied by fasting. PRAYER is meant to be our POWER HOUSE MOVEMENT, not some wimpy kid on the bench, not some play that never got on the ball field to the players!

As I went into prayer this morning, tears were falling, my heart breaking for all those people and animals, I was brought to Genesis 18:14 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”

Abraham could not comprehend the totality of God’s power, the magnitude of God’s unlimited abilities to triumph over any and all situations. God asks Abraham- is anything too great for Me?! It was a rhetoric question, not to be answered because the answer was within the question itself… NO, nothing is too great for God!
Abraham could not process that his wife of around 90 years of age would actually be able to give birth. FAITH DEFIES LOGIC! Stop trying to use logic to understand the Lord’s abilities, He is not bound to our limited reasoning skills. God would defy the logic of the human body by Sarah having a baby at the end of her life instead of at the beginning of her life. Mind blowing! God can’t help but to shock our feeble minds with His love and power.

Again I was brought to Jeremiah 32 where God declares who He is and the totality of His power: 32: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.” Jeremiah at this point in his life is basically in a cistern of mud and muck (literally) because Israel is in a state of war with the Babylonians and about to be conquered. The King was not too keen on Jeremiah’s prophesy against his efforts. Faith will at times try us… calling us into situations where our faith is stretched and walking in daring faith means we may not be liked very much, remain faithful to the Lord and stand your ground through prayer and faith knowing He has your back.

Remember there is nothing too great for the Lord to overcome, subdue, or rule over… NOTHING… I don’t know what you are trying to overcome but I do know if you invite God into your situation He will recede the flood waters and you will once again see dry land. I hope you join with me as I pray for the people of Texas, that God moves in a mighty way and that they see His unconditional love and enormity of His power to use this crisis to display His goodness and glory bringing unity where there was once separation… God brings harmony to the discord of our life should we seek Him… Seek Him today and every day.

Good Morning Ladies….

PS. We tend to focus on the worst of humanity because the media likes to feed us garbage and a diet of non-stop garbage is going to lead to bad health… We may be a nation that at times is disgruntled with each other, families are like that but we also ban together and help raise each other up during a crisis. If only we could live like that every day; sadly, seldom do families live like that on a daily basis. We focus on the worst of humanity but let’s not over-look the best of humanity too. We will raise each other up out of the devastation and rebuild on new ground… better ground.

A walk down memory lane today…

For so long I identified strength as the ability to belt out profanity, to stand on my own, to be independent, and to be hard around the edges. When I got into a relationship with the Lord I learned that my concept of strength was wrong. I found the closer I got to the Lord the more I came to understand that what makes me strong is my ability to forgive, my ability to dole out mercy, and my ability to love especially the unlovable. I needed to be soft… it was a hard transition and still is.

I was raised most of my life by a single mother just trying to survive. She came from horrific abuse as child and in return was a child-bride, trying to out run past trauma, she came from such a religious background her perception of God was completely skewed. She had been hurt by the people that were supposed to protect  her the most by giving her shelter, physically, emotionally, and spiritually- that did not happen. You can’t out-run your past trauma but you can heal from it eventually.

Because of such wounds she raised me with a concept to be fiercely independent which lead to the idea that I should never need anybody. This did not serve me well as I kept most people at least two arm lengths away. In fact, there were many times during the first years of my marriage I told my husband I didn’t need him and to not let the door hit his butt on the way out. Bless him, he endured me as the Lord was reshaping me and it was hard!

The truth is we are created and designed to need people in our lives. Our strength lies in how we are able to let people in (despite the scars of past wounds) and love them. The ability to continue to love and need people is the part of us that extends and reflects the Lord’s image in our life (as we were created in the image of God).
It took me a long time to realize my strength did not come from myself but the Lord. He gives me the strength I need to be an overcomer. I can do nothing by myself but my help comes from the Lord.
In 2 Kings 11 there is a woman name Jehosheba, her part is small and there is not a lot written about her but there doesn’t need to be, what is written speaks loud enough. She comes from a family that is completely dysfunctional. We are talking about a family that was part of a religious system that believed in child sacrifice, a grandmother that killed all her grandsons except one, and the definition of horrendousness… And yet out of that chaos, out of that horrible mess rose a woman with courageous faith.
She did not let her family history deter her from God. She refused to be a victim of bitterness and she refused to stay in dysfunction or to be defined by her family. She walked in grace and mercy. Through all of that ugliness she was still receptive to the Lord. I don’t know about you but that makes my heart sing a little bit. Why? Because even in an environment that is hostile to God’s goodness, an atmosphere of murder, revenge, evil deeds, self-plotting… God can raise a conqueror!

I don’t know what your family background is and I don’t know what you consider strength to be, I can only tell you my story and how the Lord has opened my eyes. I am not perfect but God is… And no matter what you have faced or are facing right now God’s plans for you are good and His desires are to endow you with strength to rise above. When life leaves you stranded in the desert God will provide you with wings.

God never abandons us but cultivates within us the ability to fly and overcome the highest mountains… It is my hope and prayer that you receive those wings and overcome whatever you are facing.

Good Afternoon Ladies…

Psalms 121:1 I look up to the mountains—
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. (NLT)

Ya’ll, I wasn’t even on the road for 15 minutes this afternoon (picking kids up from school) and I thought nope, I am done with people today. Yesterday as we took the kids to lunch I couldn’t help but notice the lack of manners from people of all ages, children not saying thank you to the waiter, to grown women not acknowledging the kindness of someone holding the door open for them. Sigh, really?

Yes, there are days when I am done with people. Regardless if you live under the same moral compass as me teach your children to be mindful of other people and educate them in manners. I fear we have become a self-centered world not even aware of the decline and yet there is hope!
I am in the process of re-reading 1 Kings and it never ceases to amaze me the shape the leaders were in over Israel at the time. The Old Testament is an exciting but also a difficult read not for the faint of heart. There was a lot happening during that epoch of time that is hard to digest emotionally and intellectually. And still through this historical story God is trying to tell us something.

So when I read of leaders like King Solomon that purposely diverted from God’s plans for his life or worse his son Rehoboam that completely lived with no moral boundaries, I think hmm what can I learn from this story? The main thing over and over that I take away is God desires to be more than a crisis call or emergency management.

Can I tell you God desires to be more than your last ditch effort for a miracle? His desire is to live a life with you not be your last minute effort to get a prayer answered. I think we have reduced God to “last minute efforts” that is after we have exhausted all other resources we will begrudgingly out of our desperation call on the Lord (instead of making Him center of everything). Center is the focal point, the core, the root.
It’s easy to get lost in all the hustle n bustle of today’s fast pace lifestyle and forget about God. It’s easy for life to drown out God’s voice or better yet it’s easy for life to distract you from God’s voice. Sometimes (in fact most times) I need to just get still and quiet before the Lord. I have to admit with all the gadgets of today’s modern world it is not as easy as it used to be.

Learning to be still with the Lord allows us to saturate in His presence; Infusing with His will that is allowing Him to impart Himself to us. We marinade food but we don’t marinade ourselves… Marinade means several things: to soak, to immerse, to submerge, to saturate but it also means to preserve. Preserve is a verb it’s an action that means reserve. We will marinade food to preserve the flavor but we will neglect to marinade ourselves so we can absorb God’s essence. Incredible isn’t it?

When we learn to be still with the Lord we steep in His love which actually reserves us and leads us to His sanctuary. Sanctuary is a refuge of protection.
I don’t know about you but it’s tiring day after day trying to make it on my own. I need a little help. There are days I am desperate for a refuge where I can just soak under the protection of God’s mercy and I can become saturated with His love. His love is transformational even on days I don’t want to love people, on days I want to quit, on days when nobody has manners. Psalm 46:10 10 Be still, and know that I am God…

I hope this week you will marinade yourself in God’s mercy and love knowing it’s a refuge of protection specifically for you!
Good Afternoon Ladies!

I have been sick this week as I stated in my last blog I have been dealing with a late summer cold. I don’t get sick very often and when I do I really hate it. The only upswing is that it forces me to slow down and be still. This week is my son’s last week before he starts college and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect. He is always talking to me about some music group or world event and they are not limited to present, he loves history too.

We had a debate about whether or not the 80s was the best decade I am an 80s kid so for me it is. I look at his generation and see a lot of chaos in the world, truthfully it saddens my heart. Times are very different than when I grew up some for the better some for the worst. You gotta take the bad with the good so the saying goes (I think that is hogwash).

Chaos is a word I have used several times this week. I have a dear friend of mine that is traveling and she is about to enter into what I call chaos, that is a lack of order. I reminded her to represent order in her travels. We serve a God that calls forth order out of chaos, that is He stabilizes and gives peace no matter the atmosphere (should we seek His assistance). 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. I love this scripture and I remind myself of it on a regular basis because I need the reminder. Fear has a way of settling into my thoughts.

Sometimes chaos is born from fear and confusion and a gross ignorance. God did not create us to have a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control. Power to endure hard times and persevre, love to display great compassion and mercy extending it even to those that are underserving, and self-control because we are created to live with discipline, to self-restrain when needed.

There are times in life it just seems as though chaos follows us but we are not meant to be victims of chaos; we were created to be conquers through Jesus Christ. Romans 8:37 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

No matter what kind of mayhem (confusion or mess) you confront or what type of confusion that surrounds you remember, you are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, He empowers you to be so much more than a wounded person or victim but a victor in every regard to life. His love trumps all chaos that may follow us.

Good Afternoon Ladies… 😊

PS. We have to be locomotion through commotion.

Today I felt like Chicken Little running around yelling the “sky is falling.” While most people were enjoying the eclipse I was running around like a chicken with no head. Sigh, it’s been a Monday for sure. All that grace I preached about yesterday morning from the pulpit flew out my window when I couldn’t drive down the street due to people parked in a no parking zone, getting their lawn chairs out to gawk at the solar movement of the century (I’m a bit sarcastic tonight). My husband told me I was an eclipse Grinch. I told him we were done talking… lol

It’s just one of those days. I spent an hour grocery shopping (least me children starve or so they say), forty minutes getting my teeth cleaned (always a fun time), two hours at the vet with a sick cat (this doesn’t include the visit last week for my bulldog), my work computer is in the shop (my sermon notes for next week are on that computer), I am fighting a late summer cold, and I can’t seem to stay within budget to save my life! Today is not the best of days, I’ve displaced grace. I am not hording grace I just misplaced it. On days like this I just want to run away, I have had the urge to cry most of the day, and all I want to do is sleep on my heating pad. I am at the moment waiting on my soup to be done (cabbage soup, I love it).
Oh, on days like this I need God to remind me how blessed I really am despite all the small obstacles that life is throwing my way. I live in a country that affords me the freedom to live the way I deem fit, I have food in the kitchen, I have a roof over my head, clothing aglore, a steady income, medical and dental coverage, and healthy children, I really have no right to complain.

Yet, I still feel like running around as if I’m chicken little screaming the “sky is falling, the sky is falling!” Because that is what it feels like to me. Do you ever have days like that? The song Rise Up by Rita Springer keeps popping in my head some of the lyrics are: I am blessed among the people, And I am blessed among the nations, I am blessed because I am loved by You, yeah I am loved and highly favored I am loved and highly favored Saved by the grace of a Mighty Savior
I am blessed because I am loved by You…

I don’t know how your Monday went or if you got to watch the solar eclipse today but if you ever have a day where your sky is falling remember you are loved by a Mighty Savior no matter if your sky is actually falling or you’re just having a bad day…
Jeremiah 17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me… I do trust the Lord and later I will go into prayer; sitting in His soothing presence… a calm that only He can bring me… and He will renew this weary heart and restore my sky for another day.
Good Evening Ladies!