Month: February 2016

But, Then There’s Jesus

Posted on by Wendy
Seeing the world through the window of grace changes everything.
Seeing the world through the window of grace changes everything.

Last weekend, I popped into my daughter’s room and caught her sitting on her floor and looking out her window. She commented on how beautiful the sky was. I had to agree. The sky was a stunning color of blue that day. She also commented on how much she enjoys looking out her window and how there were spiders that had made disgusting webs that were obscuring her view.

She was right. There were some yucky spiders, and eggs, and her window was dirty. I went and fetched my hubby and explained her predicament. We have double windows that are very difficult to get to and clean, but we got the vacuum cleaner and he removed the spiders and cleaned her windows.

The difference was amazing. It was like her window was 3D, all of a sudden. All we did was remove the webs and clean them. Unfortunately for my sweet hubby, that made me want to clean our bedroom windows too. They actually had mold growing on them and at two floors up, were also very difficult to clean.

But, we cleaned them too and again, I was amazed at the difference, as the light came streaming through. How had I allowed them to get so dirty to start off with?

I thought a lot about those windows over these next couple of days. I thought about how the way we see the world around us can sometimes be covered by webs and a dirty haze of our life experiences.

If we have been hurt in relationships in the past, we may be tempted to avoid relationships, whatever kind they may be, because that lasting haze has made us see them all as harmful. If we have been hurt by a church in the past, we may write off all churches as judgemental, or hurtful.

We can sometimes allow different disappointments that may have happened to us over the years, to slowly build up and negatively affect how we see community in general, or maybe even how we see the world as a whole. We may not even be aware of it.

We get used to viewing the world through that dirty haze of pain, guilt, anger, and disillusionment.

But, then there’s Jesus. Those four words have the capability to wipe everything clean and make the world sparkle. Sometimes it’s all of a sudden, like our window cleaning last weekend. We reach for Jesus and the entire world appears to be in Technicolor.

Sometimes, it takes a little more time. Sometimes we need to spend some time, leaning into Him while truly learning to embrace forgiveness, peace and joy, while He strips off the haze and tears down the webs, a little bit at the time.

Either way, when we choose to walk closely with Jesus and to look at the world through the window of grace, the beauty is breathtaking. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Called to Serve

Posted on by Wendy
Galatians 6:9
Galatians 6:9

My church is doing a Bible study on the Gospel of Luke. Last night, we covered chapter four. There’s a lot of events that occur in that chapter. The account of Jesus being tempted by Satan, as well as Jesus preaching in his hometown synagogue and being run out of town, are all big stories. Jesus casts out demons in this chapter and heals many. The last verses tell us that He went away for some quiet time.

I could write a post on every one of those worthy of our thought, topics, but last night, there were two simple verses that really caught my attention. It’s an account of an everyday woman, just like me. She was so ordinary, the writer doesn’t even bother to name her.

She is known simply as Simon’s mother-in-law. In verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, we learn that she has been in bed with a high fever and they asked Jesus to help her. We don’t know who “they” are either, but Jesus answers their request and He leans over her and rebukes the fever. “She got up at once and began to wait on them.” Luke 4:39b

It’s just a simple story, really, of a simple woman, serving Jesus. Yet, it speaks volumes.

I love all of the simple stories of unnamed people tucked throughout the scripture, who are doing God’s work.

There were people who loved her enough to ask Jesus for His help. Isn’t that what we are doing when we pray for the people that we care about? Aren’t we asking Jesus to intervene in some way, whether it’s to heal physical sickness, spiritual sickness, emotional sickness, or financial or relationship issues?

How did Jesus react to the requests of those who cared about her?

He healed her.

How does she react?

Is she thankful, while she takes a long deserved rest? Does she take a vacation? Does she feel entitled somehow because she has been through so much and overcome so much? Does she question God for letting her get sick in the first place?

Nope.

She gets up and serves them, immediately. She serves Jesus.

What do we do when our prayers for healing or deliverance are finally answered? Are we super thankful as we get right back to living our lives or are we convicted in some way to serve the God who has saved us?

It can be really difficult sometimes, to get back to serving when we feel we have been smacked down somehow, yet that’s exactly what Christians are called to do. As long as we are breathing, there is work to be done. Simon’s mother-in-law serves as a beautiful reminder for me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have a awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Green Pastures

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we need reminding that God's idea of provision and our idea of provision, may be different.
Sometimes we need reminding that God’s idea of provision and our idea of provision, may be different.

My hubby and I attend a small group with some people from our church. Over the past few months, we have been watching a video series on the Holy Land. The idea is to give modern-day Bible readers, a more accurate picture of Biblical imagery and the landscape, where many of the stories occurred.

It’s been a really interesting study and I’ve learned a lot. But, last night’s session, really hit home with me. The focus was on shepherds and sheep. Sheep are often discussed in the Bible, as are shepherds. Abraham, Isaac, and David were all shepherds. Jesus referred to himself as the, “the good shepherd.”

Last night’s video journey showed us the actual land where shepherds would have lived during Biblical times and some actually still do. It’s nothing like this Georgia girl would have ever imagined.

When I picture green pastures, like the ones referred to in the 23rd Psalm, I have always pictured knee-high alfalfa  grass. I have pictured rolling acres of lush grass, so much grass that the sheep could never eat it all.

But, this is not the reality in Israel. There is often very little water and the grass is actually watered from moist air coming off of the sea. The only way the sheep can survive, is to follow the shepherds closely, because the shepherds know where the next meal is.

So, when the Psalm says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” it doesn’t mean He gives us all that we will ever need. It means, He will give us enough, our daily bread, which Jesus speaks of in the New Testament.

The concept of enough is tricky for us these days, though, isn’t it? We like to plan and save and we often lose any meaning of today by worrying about what might or might not come tomorrow.

Yet, Jesus calls us to do just that.

“Give us this day, our daily bread,” He said when He was teaching His disciples to pray. Nowhere does Jesus ever say we should be super concerned about tomorrow. But, that’s how we build faith, right?

We take one day at a time, one step at a time and we trust that God will provide and we learn to accept that His provision of green pastures and our understanding of green pastures are often two very different scenarios. But, we trust and obey anyway.

Because we know that as long as we stay close to the Good Shepherd, we are loved, treasured, redeemed, and yes, provided for, on earth and in heaven. Maybe you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

He’s in the Rain Too

Posted on by Wendy
He walks with us in the sun and rain.
He walks with us in the sun and in the rain.

Yesterday, I was able to get outside and take a walk. It was supposed to rain, but it was fairly warm, and I decided to take a chance. I pray when I walk and I feel closest to God when I’m outside. It’s hard not to be in awe of God’s creativity when I hear birds singing and see them flying around or when I see the trees beginning to bud and bloom. The lawns in my neighborhood are turning green again and there are deer everywhere.

As is usually my custom, I pray on my way to my destination and on the way back, I remain silent. I try very hard not to ask for anything or even give thanks for anything. I try to just silently drink in Creation and wait for God to show His presence somehow. He often sends me a hawk. He sent me an owl once, in broad daylight. Sometimes, I’ll catch sight of a tiny flower in the middle of a bunch of dead leaves.

His presence is often subtle, but I usually see Him or hear Him.

Yesterday, as usual, when I began my walk back, I prayed for Him to show me His presence. I walked a little ways and I heard a hawk call in the distance. I saw some blue birds and cardinals, all evidence of His creation, but I sensed that wasn’t what He was trying to show me.

I kept walking. It began to rain. Then, I got it. I could almost hear Him whisper, “I’m in the rain too.”

I smiled.because I understood.

Now, the thing about rain is that it can be refreshing. It can be life saving when there’s been drought. It can be devastating when there’s flooding. But, God is always there, in all of it.

Yesterday, I was reminded that it’s often easy to see God in the blessings. But, it’s just as important to seek Him and see Him in the hard times too. He’s there in the losses, the sicknesses, and the tragedies. He’s right there; drawing us close, if we will just lean into Him.

I found that reminder comforting. Perhaps you will too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Divine Faith Building

Posted on by Wendy
Never underestimate the power of praying for your child.
Never underestimate the power of praying for your child.

My daughter and I have been talking a lot about her college plans. She has one more year of high school. Should she dual enroll at a local college? Should she take all rigorous classes? Should she participate in work based learning? Should she create a schedule that allows herself some breathing room, in order to actually enjoy her last year of high school?

I have made these her decisions to make, not mine, and needless to say, the entire ordeal has her incredibly stressed. As we were talking about it over the weekend, she shared that she had a gut feeling about a decision she should make. I asked her if she had prayed about it and she admitted she hadn’t.

I told her that I felt like God gives us all an inner voice that helps to lead us in the direction that He wants us to go, but that we have to spend time in quiet prayer to hear that voice. I also warned her that Christians are never called to make decisions based on fear. The Bible tells us repeatedly to fear not.

On Sunday, we had to combine my daughter’s Sunday school class with ours. She is in the older class and was not thrilled, but she reluctantly attended. The lesson was from Mark 5, where Jesus cast out many demons from a man and cast them in to 2,000 pigs.

After we went over the study questions about the Scripture, we moved on to some life application questions. One of the questions was, “We’ve seen how demons controlled the man in this story. What other things-besides demons-can take control of a person’s life?” The answer was to accept all reasonable answers and then listed drugs, alcohol, sports, relationships, fear, depression, anxiety, trying to be popular, the Internet, shopping, etc.

After they all shared, I read the answers printed. My daughter looked at me and told me she felt like I was “re-tweeting her.”

For those of you not familiar with Twitter, that’s just teen age slang for calling her out. I assured her I wasn’t making it up and even showed her the text. Her eyes got a little wide.

My hubby, sitting at the other end of the table, quietly commented, “Looks like there was a reason for you to be in here today.”

Boom! There the Holy Spirit was at work. It’s always so fabulously amazing to watch God step in when it comes to my kids’ faith. I pray and then I often worry needlessly. It’s sometimes hard to remember that He loves my children more than I do and when it comes to growing their faith, He’s always working a step ahead of me.

Last Sunday, I was reminded and I sometimes need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Danger of Venting

Posted on by Wendy
Ephesians 4:29
Ephesians 4:29

In the movie, “The War Room,” the character, Elizabeth, goes to visit Miss Clara, about learning to fight for her marriage. She begins by gushing about all of the bad things he has done to her. Miss Clara cuts her off and tells her that, that kind of talk isn’t helpful for saving her marriage, but that prayer is.

I have thought about those words for the past week. Thanks to Sigmund Freud and the idea of catharsis, we have come to believe that the best way of dealing with every little thing that irritates us in any sort of way, is to vent about it, or quite simply, complain to anyone who is willing to listen about everything from bad service at the McDonald’s drive thru, to more serious family and marital issues.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly situations where talking it out, helps. I also believe that there are wonderful therapists out there who can help us get to the core of problems we may be having.

But, as is the usual course of humanity, we have taken something that is appropriate in certain situations, and made it a daily lifestyle choice and social media has aided in our constant desire to vent about the wrongdoings that the world heaps on us.

If someone cuts us off in traffic, we tweet about it. If we are irritated by something our spouse has done, we post it on Facebook. Anything that causes the smallest annoyance, makes our social feed.

But, does sharing our problems in cyberspace, help us in any way, or is it possible that typing it out makes something small into something bigger? And what about the people reading our negative thoughts and posts? Do our words stir up more negative emotions for them?

I think venting about our spouses can be particularly destructive to our marriages. When we put them down and constantly talk negatively about them to others, we begin to regularly think more negatively about them. How can that be helpful in preserving a marriage?

And what about the people we are venting to? Does it make them look for cracks in their own marriages or family lives?

The Bible says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3

Could that also mean the things we constantly talk negatively about, like our jobs or relationships, could be damaged somehow by our words? Don’t negative words and thoughts often lead to action?

I think the key is prayer. When someone cuts us off in traffic, we can always say a prayer for our own peace and safety. When someone says something to hurt our feelings, we can pray for patience and understanding and we can also pray for that person. God can take care of it, without us venting to five friends or taking it to Twitter. And when things get tough with our marriages, prayer can give us patience and understanding and God can give us grace.

It’s not about not being able to be angry; it just turns out that God wants us to share our pain and disappointment with Him. He’s truly the only one that can give us peace.

Miss Clara reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Your Verse Here

Posted on by Wendy
If you were asked what your favorite Bible verse is, what would you say?
If you were asked what your favorite Bible verse is, what would you say?

Back in August, Donald Trump, who was defending his Christianity, stated in front of reporters, that the Bible was his favorite book. The follow-up question was, “What is your favorite Bible verse?”

Trump deflected the question and said that it was personal and he wouldn’t share that information. Of course, a firestorm was created about whether or not Trump was truly a Christian or whether he truly knew his Bible.

Politics aside, the entire fiasco really got me to thinking. If I were standing in front of a group of reporters and I were asked my favorite Bible verse, would I have an answer? Would you?

While it’s true, that God sees our heart; the world sees our actions. Like it or not, at the moment, Christians are kind of walking around with invisible targets on our heads, that the unbelievers love to take aim at. We often give them ammunition.

We know we are supposed to read the Bible. We know it’s God’s Word. Yet, we so often don’t read it or know what it says.

Trump later followed up by saying that he liked Proverbs 24. Since it’s one of the Books of Wisdom, Proverbs is always a wise choice for leaders.

Yesterday, I pondered the question, if you had to be buried in a t-shirt with a few words that summed up your life, what would they be?

One of my readers commented, that her son’s youth group leader challenged  them to pick out a verse that they would wear on a t-shirt, and then they all got shirts with the verse. I absolutely love that idea.

Knowing scripture is part of the Armor of God. We are supposed to use it to keep ourselves spiritually safe.

So, here’s my challenge for you. What’s your favorite Bible verse? If you know, I’d love for you to share it in the comments. If you don’t, I encourage you to spend some time and find one. There are so many amazing ones to choose from.

Mine is, “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

I can’t wait to hear yours.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Nation Building Musings

Posted on by Wendy
What would our world look like it we spent more time caring about the things closest to God's heart?
What would our world look like if we spent more time caring about the things closest to God’s heart?

I live one town over from Athens, Georgia, home of the Georgia Bulldogs and the University of Georgia. Like most SEC schools, football is king here. We also have a new coach, so that’s a regular topic of conversation too. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Bulldogs as much as any other alum, but college football for some folks is almost a religion.

I recently read a very interesting interview with Peyton Manning. He openly talks about his Christian faith, when asked, but he says he prefers to share his faith in the way that he lives. He also says that he doesn’t pray about winning football games. He says he prays that there are no injuries, but that he doesn’t think God cares either way who wins the game.

Gasp! Could it be true? God doesn’t have a favorite college football team? Does He even love the Florida Gators?

We all seem to be born with the desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. I understand that. I’m all for cheering on my college team. I’m all for the shirts, car tags and bumper stickers. But, at what point does all of it define us?

If you were to die today and be buried in a t-shirt with words that defined your life, what would they say? Would they be your favorite sports team, or perhaps that you were a good spouse, or a good mom or dad, or maybe a good friend, or maybe that you made a lot of money?

Would they say that you followed Jesus with all of your heart? Would there be a cross somewhere on it?

If God doesn’t care about sports, what does He care about? Oh, yeah He cares about the broken and the lost, the sick and the poor, and the friendless. How much time do we spend caring about these people? Do we spend enough of our time and energy on the things that are close to God’s heart, for it to help shape and define us?

What if Christians spent more time on becoming a unified Jesus Nation? What if we put the things that are closest to God’s heart, first? What would our churches look like? What would our towns look like? What would our country look like?

I’ll bet it would be amazing. It might even be worth a try. What do you think?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

How Hot is Your Prayer Life?

Posted on by Wendy
The power of praying Christians is unstoppable.
The power of praying Christians is unstoppable.

The ladies of my church watched the movie, “The War Room,” last night. It was one of those movies that truly is life changing because you can take the specific situation represented and transfer it to all areas of Christian life. The focus of the movie was prayer. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

The questions that it asks all Christians to ponder is, not only, “Do you believe in prayer,”but “How hot is your prayer life?”

When the elderly, Ms. Clara asked her new young real estate agent, Elizabeth, that question, she answered that she was busy with work and family and that her prayer life wasn’t cold or hot, but somewhere in the middle. That seems like a viable answer. The middle is usually good. Right? Middle class, moderation and warm, are things that many of us aspire to.

But, Ms. Clara then handed her a lukewarm cup of coffee that almost made Elizabeth gag. Point taken. There’s nothing good about lukewarm coffee or for that matter, lukewarm faith.

Jesus even talks about a lukewarm church in Revelation. He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16

In the spiritual realm, where we really grow and use our faith, lukewarm is useless. Jesus says as much.

Reading the Bible and prayer is how we grow our faith. It’s how we get strong. It’s how we become the warriors that we are called to be.

In the movie, Elizabeth, learns to pray effectively, give her heart fully to God, and with His intervention, saves her faltering marriage.

Christians hold an enormous power through prayer, that we so often, barely tap. We wait until life gets scary and then we pray, not realizing, if our prayer life was hot, like it should be, life would never get scary. The things of the world would be unable to scare us, if we were intently focused on trusting and obeying God.

We have an election coming up. The mudslinging has already become fierce. There may even be a Supreme Court seat in the balance. What can we do?

All Christians can get off of the bench and get into the game. We can pray, pray without ceasing, for God’s guidance in choosing our next president and for His intervention in our country’s politics. We can pray that He will raise up Godly men and women to lead our country.

We have to do something, because doing nothing, is simply being lukewarm. We are called to do more. We are called to pray, listen and act.

“If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Those are powerful words. The next move is ours.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Nudged to Love Others

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes reaching out can be as simple as a song.
Sometimes reaching out can be as simple as a song.

I often give my neighbor a ride home from church. She always worries that she is a burden somehow. I just smile as I explain that I was raised in a tiny Baptist church, yet the church owned a school bus. Picking people up, especially for Vacation Bible School, was what we did. Lack of transportation was never a viable excuse for not attending our little church.

When my sister and I were growing up, my cousin and her hubby would come pick us up for Sunday school, and my mom would join us for church service. I truly believe they were happy to help.

When my daughter was younger, there was a little girl in our neighborhood, who we would swing by and take to church with us. On Wednesday nights, I would run to the neighborhood across the street, to pick up a couple of kids who wanted to come to our program.

I suppose it’s true that you learn what you live. I can’t imagine not being willing to give someone a ride. For years, I drove a minivan, that was full more often than not, of kids who needed transportation. My mama did the same.

I guess I consider transportation to be a gift. Not all people have it. If God were to ask me if I am using His gift to further His kingdom, what would my answer be?

A couple of weeks ago, as I was driving my sweet neighbor home, we were talking about her son, who passed away. She was really missing him. I can’t imagine the pain of burying a child. I’m sure it’s not anything you ever get over.

These conversations tend to make us squirm, don’t they? We never know what to say and we don’t like that. There is no magical Christian answer to heal a grieving heart. We can’t fix it and that makes us feel helpless, so we often just avoid the conversations or even the people who need us to be there and listen.

Giving someone a ride is easy. It requires no emotional or spiritual presence on our part. But, what if all of those years of giving rides to kids, was God’s way of preparing me for something deeper?

I listened to her and my heart went out to her. I promised to pray for her peace as she got out of my car. As I drove down the road, thinking about her pain, a song came on the radio, that seemed to have been written for her.

I thought of her and that song all day and wondered if it would speak to her as it spoke to me. Would she get it? Would it be helpful or hurtful? After wrestling all day, I sent her an e-mail and attached it. I prayed that it was the right gesture.

She sent me the sweetest reply and told me that was exactly what she needed to hear.

Looking back, of course it was. There I sat not knowing what to say, and praying for her peace, and God sent me the answer in a song. Why did I doubt?

There are times when we desperately want to help, but just don’t know how. These are never the times to do nothing. These are the times to go to God in prayer and ask for guidance. We are trying to do His work of loving others. We don’t have to know the right answers, but He does. He will send them.

We just have to have our eyes wide open, or in this case our ears, and not be afraid to act when nudged. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Here’s the song; if you would like to hear it.