Month: October 2013

Children and dogs

Posted on by Wendy

I was watching the morning news today and it showed a short clip of a little boy with Down’s Syndrome and a yellow labrador retriever. The story was the little boy didn’t like to be touched. He wasn’t big on physical contact. The dog would touch him with his foot and the little boy would back up. The dog gently, but diligently kept at it until the boy relented and leaned into him and gave him a hug. I’m a sucker for YouTube and I couldn’t help myself; I went and got my laptop so I could see the full video. It was one of the most innocent, beautiful pictures I have ever seen of  God’s love. I have shared a link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA8VJh0UJtg

The first thing that jumped into my mind is that Jesus loves children. I have always told my own kids that children are his favorite. They are the most innocent and the most open minded. They are most likely to believe and accept faith at face value. Jesus said “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. Matthew 19:14-15 NLT Need I say more?

The second thing that sprang to my mind is that our relationship with Jesus is a lot like this lab and this little boy. He’s gentle, but relentless in his pursuit of us. He wants a lifelong relationship and he’s not willing to take no for an answer. He can’t get enough of us. He’s wants to run and play and sit and contemplate. He wants to hold our hands and lean in for a hug. He wants to stand by us in the good times and the bad. He will be our faithful friend as well as our fearless protector and we will never encounter more loyalty in any relationship. All we have to do is ask.

This short video has had 10 million hits, 10 million. Think about that number for a minute. That’s more than the entire population of the state of Georgia. What does the viral success of this video tell us? I think it says that we are longing for more beauty in our lives. We are longing for more gentleness, patience, kindness, and faithfulness . We are longing for a happy ending. What we are longing for, is more Jesus.

Guess what? I have great news. All we have to do is open our hearts and ask and we can have all of the above for eternity. Check out the clip and then say a prayer of thanks to our heavenly father for children and dogs. They really do represent some of God’s best work.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Faithful Friends

Posted on by Wendy

The text read, “Please say a prayer for me. Unspoken…I know I need a prayer warrior right now. Thank you.” That was it. I had no further details. It came from a friend of mine with a really stressful, busy job who never texts me during the day. Of course, I was in a place where I could immediately give my full attention to her request for prayer. (and no, I don’t believe for a moment that was a coincidence; I have come to believe there are no coincidences where God is involved) I found myself praying for her when I had a quiet moment all through that day. I still don’t know what her specific need was and it really doesn’t matter. She asked for prayer at that moment and I prayed for her.

That seems like an awfully simple way to help someone doesn’t it? The Bible has a fabulous story about how Jesus recognizes and rewards the faith of friends. In Mark 2:2-5, Jesus is talking to a group of people which as was most often the case when he was speaking, had turned into a huge crowd. The house was literally packed and no other people could get inside. There were four men carrying a fifth man on a mat who was paralyzed. They had brought him to see Jesus because they believed he could heal him. The room was so packed that they dug a hole in the roof and lowered him through it. These guys were determined to see Jesus that day no matter what.

Try picturing this scene, wall to wall people, the son of God is speaking. There is a whole menagerie of humanity there from everyday town folk to teachers of religious law, likely ranging from the most educated to the least. All of a sudden, a hole is cut in the roof above where Jesus is standing and man is lowered through it who can’t walk. I picture Jesus stopping and looking up and silence following as they lower this man to the floor. The text says they lowered the mat right in front of Jesus. What does Jesus say? Is he shocked? Is he outraged at being interrupted ? Nope. The scripture says, “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child your sins are forgiven.” Further down in verse 11, he says, “Stand up, pick up your mat and go home.”  The man does exactly that.

Jesus performed many miracles while he was on earth. I think he healed people because he loved people, all people. But, what makes this particular miracle unique, is he saw the faith of the man’s friends and rewarded him because of their faith. The story tells us nothing about the paralyzed man’s faith. This is really comforting when I think about the times I have asked for prayer from friends. I got another text last week from another friend who I asked to pray for me. It simply said, “I hope spirit week is going okay, prayers for my sweet CC and her momma too. Hugs.” I shared on Monday’s blog how I felt God’s hand all over me last weekend. Was it perhaps due to the prayers of a friend in addition to my own?

I will probably not get the answer to that one this side of heaven and that’s okay. But, I’m really starting to see the value of these prayer texts. Whether they are asking for prayer from me or letting me know they are praying for me, they allow me to feel closer to Jesus and we know from the friends story in the Gospel of  Mark that Jesus clearly values the faith of friends. I’m going to try to be more diligent about letting friends know I am praying for them. Text seems the perfect way to do it. Using technology for Jesus is just one more way to throw a pebble and watch the waves.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

All Things are Possible with God

Posted on by Wendy
Faith, the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.
Faith, the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

I am currently reading through Genesis with a friend of mine. We touch base every few days through e-mail and share our thoughts and questions. We both were being nudged into some kind of Bible study and had been unable to find one that worked with our schedules. We just decided to make it happen. As two busy moms, our system is working out beautifully.

I was reading through the Abraham and Sarah story when a verse jumped out at me. Abraham was visited by three strangers. There is much debate on who they actually were. Some Bible versions say at least two were angels. The NIV says one may have been the Lord. Abraham refers to one as the Lord. They have come to visit Abraham and tell him his wife who is 90 years old, will have a child. Sarah doesn’t believe it and actually laughs. Here’s the verse: “Is there anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14  Sarah does in fact, have a son. I remembered reading a very similar verse in the New Testament.

The second scripture that I was reminded of is also a birth story. A young unmarried girl named Mary, is visited by the angel Gabriel and told she will have a son. When she asks how that can be possible, the angel replies : “For nothing is impossible with God.” Matthew 19:26  Of course, this came true when Mary gave birth to Jesus just as the angel said.

Then in Matthew 19:26, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Jesus himself is telling us all things are possible with God.

Let’s think about this for a minute. We have an Old Testament verse and two Gospel verses. The words come from the Lord, an angel and Jesus. They are: nothing is impossible for God and all things are possible with God. Read that sentence again. As Christians, knowing that, we should be able to strike out into the world and do all we are called to do, no worries or anxiety whatsoever, right?

It’s not quite that simple. Our human side seems to always struggle with our spiritual side. Whether we are called to do something really big like go out in the missionary field or start a church or something smaller like attend church every Sunday, read the Bible everyday, start a Bible study or start a blog, we have a million excuses why we can’t. We don’t have enough time or enough money or enough knowledge or enough patience or enough…. (You fill in the blank here) We tell ourselves it’s just not possible right now.

But and here’s the big but, “All things are possible with God.” I think the biggest reason we don’t do what we are called to do is fear, fear that we will look silly, fear that we will fail, fear that we may have to be uncomfortable or just un-named fear. I think that’s okay. I think God totally understands our inability to grasp His complex plan for this thing we call life. I think He understands and He loves us anyway. Mary asked how Gabriel’s message could be possible. Sarah laughed when she heard she would have a baby. Did God strike them down for questioning? No, He reassured them and followed through on His promises.

What have you been called to do today or lately? Have you been feeling some kind of nudge to “do something” you don’t normally do? If so, say a prayer and go forth remembering, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂