Month: September 2016

The Call to Confess

Posted on by Wendy
In order to be forgiven, we have to admit we were wrong.
In order to be forgiven, we have to admit we are wrong.

I hear all kinds of things working in an elementary school office. One of the things I hear a lot of is excuses. Earlier this week I heard a little boy tell our principal that his cousin accidentally put a stuffed animal in his backpack. How exactly did that happen?

A couple of days ago, a child came into the clinic who had accidentally stuck a pencil in his nose. Again, how did that happen?

All of the daily excuses I hear, got me to thinking about human need to never be wrong.

We seem wired to deny fault.

The very first human beings, masterpieces, created by God and given all they needed not only to survive here on planet earth, but to thrive, put in paradise, not only disobeyed God, but they tried to hide their sin.

They denied it.

We live in a culture, thanks to our lawyer friends, that has taught us to never admit fault, no matter what, and in many ways it has permeated every part of our lives.

Yet as Christians, we are called to be in this world, but not of it. We are called to live differently.

We know that we are sinners, but we also know that we are forgiven. But, there is a catch and the catch is called confession.

Confession has become kind of an ugly word these days, because it is admitting we are wrong. It’s admitting we did something that we shouldn’t have and asking for forgiveness for the act.

But, it’s a step we really can’t skip.

How can we be granted forgiveness if we aren’t willing to admit we have done anything wrong in the first place? It’s an uncomfortable conversation because we don’t like to be wrong.

I love to read about King David, in the Bible. He was a passionate man, who loved God. He would even dance for God to show his adoration. The Bible says David was “a man after God’s own heart.” But, he also made huge mistakes that cost lives.

What I love about David, is that he admitted it. He asked God for forgiveness and he repented.

God forgave him. God will forgive us too, but we have to ask. Refusing to admit we are wrong does nothing, but drive a wedge between our hearts and much needed grace and redemption. He already knows the things we have said and done, just like my principal knew that no one accidentally put a stuffed animal in a backpack.

My principal told the little guy who fessed up to having the stuffed animal, that his cousin wouldn’t be in trouble as long as he left it in the backpack.  I’m sure that took a load off of his mind.

Our confession of our sins frees us too. It allows us to be forgiven. It allows us to bask in grace. It draws us closer to God and it makes us free from carrying that heavy weight around our hearts.

While we may be physically wired to deny, we have to remember that we are spiritual creatures too, created for bigger and better things than the mere physical.

A stuffed animal in a backpack reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Courage to Grow

Posted on by Wendy
God can do amazing things with people who are broken.
God can do amazing things with people who are broken.

Last summer, I decided it was time to re-pot my aloe plant. It’s not a very pretty plant, but it’s special to me for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s a natural healer. I break off a piece and use it’s juices to heal burns and scrapes.

It reminds me that our power and our gifts come from the inside not the outside. It also reminds me that there are some things that are much more powerful when they are broken than when they are perfectly put together.

Secondly, that plant belonged to my mother-in-law who passed away ten years ago. When I found it in her laundry room window, it was yellow. It hadn’t been watered in a very long time and I wasn’t sure if I could nurse it back to health.

But, that washed out yellow, plant called to me. I often feel led to nurture all types of living things that have been injured or neglected, and I felt the need to take the plant. I also felt that in a way, it kind of helped her live on here, although she had gone home to be with Jesus.

It took some time, some new fertile soil, some water, and some attention, but that plant turned green again and thrived. As is often the case with living things that grow, it needed more space, and the time had come to re-pot it again.

I got a pot and some new soil and when I went to re-pot it, a good sized piece broke off and fell to the ground. I could have thrown it away, but I just couldn’t. It was healthy and green. I felt that I needed to give it a chance.

I didn’t have another pot, so I gently planted it in the ground of an already established bed. I had no idea whether or not it would grow. I’ve never planted an aloe plant in the ground, but I reasoned that it was in the cactus family and Georgia is very desert-like in the summer.

I am happy to report that the little sprout is thriving in its new spot. It has taken root. It’s green and standing up straight.

As I was watering it the other day, I was reminded that just like that broken piece of aloe, we sometimes find ourselves broken. We sometimes wonder if we will survive the break.

But, if we reach out for Jesus, God will take us and re-plant us in His fertile soil. It may look different from the place we came from. It may even be scary. Growth is often scary. It’s usually much more comfortable to stay in the crowded pot.

But, we are called for much more than status quo. Faith teaches us to trust even when we can’t possibly know the outcome and when we do, beautiful, surprising things can happen.

An aloe plant reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Power of Tears

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes a quick shower is exactly what we need to clear the air and refresh us.
Sometimes a quick shower is exactly what we need to clear the air and refresh us.

The air outside was heavy when I arrived home from work yesterday. It was cloudy, but the forecast was not calling. for rain. I let my dogs out and went to pick a couple of tomatoes and some okra, when I felt the first drops. I hurried back inside as those drops quickly became a steady pour.

We have been in drought here in Georgia, and we desperately needed the rain. I stood and watched it from the porch for a few minutes, totally appreciating how cleansing a good rain could be.

I was reminded of a recent visit with a friend of mine who has been having a really rough time lately. Life has been throwing her one hard ball after another.  Now this lady is tough as nails, but she finally broke down the other day and cried.

Then she apologized for being a “cry baby,” which I assured her was ridiculous. It’s really unfortunate that society has taught us that crying is for the weak.

I read an article in Psychology Today, that reported that emotional tears actually contain stress hormones that are excreted out of our bodies when we cry. It also stated that studies suggest that crying actually stimulates endorphines, our body’s feel good hormones. Furthermore, human beings are the only creatures known to shed emotional tears.

Isn’t that interesting?

Children have no trouble shedding tears when they are hurt or sad. It’s only as adults that we consider shedding them some kind of character flaw.

The science suggests that we were biologically set up to feel better after we cry. Why would we consider crying to be a weakness?

We know in the Bible that Jesus cried. When His friend Lazarus died and everyone was crying and mourning, the text says simply, “Jesus wept.” John 11:35

His heart was moved. His heart was troubled, and the Son of God wept.

I can’t imagine anyone thinking Jesus was weak or a cry baby. Quite the contrary, as Christ followers, we are supposed to seek to understand and follow all that He did.

Jesus loved deeply. He cared deeply for His friends and ultimately for all of us. We are called to do the same and when we love others deeply and care deeply about the situations around us, we are sometimes moved to tears.

In the end, when we allow them to flow, we are simply acknowledging our humanity. If the Son of God wasn’t ashamed to shed tears over what moved Him, should we try to be any different?

After the rain at my house yesterday, the sun came out and the air felt much lighter. After Jesus wept in the Gospel of John, He raised Lazarus from the dead.

Tears have a definite cleansing power and perhaps a healing power too. They are an essential part of our existence on this side of heaven. One day, “there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:4b

But, while we are traveling here, maybe we should embrace them instead of denying them.

A rain shower reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Treasure in the Lost and Found

Posted on by Wendy
With Jesus, we are never abandoned in the lost and found.
With Jesus, we are never abandoned in the lost and found.

At the elementary school where I work, we have a Lost and Found. Amazingly, after being in school for only six weeks, it’s full already. There are some perfectly good jackets and sweaters and a table full of water bottles that have been lost so far. We even have the lense of someone’s glasses. How could that not be missed?

Every now and then, a child will come up to the office to ask if something has been turned in, but for the most part, the items remain unclaimed.

I am told, that the year will end and the lost and found will be full even though, several letters will have gone home reminding parents to come and check.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. My pastor reminded us in last week’s sermon, that we live in a throw away society.

If something breaks, we don’t try to fix it. We throw it away. If we lose something, we buy a new one. That’s a byproduct of living in abundance.

My pastor also reminded us that God’s Kingdom doesn’t work that way and that Jesus isn’t running a throw away society. In Luke 15:8, there’s a parable of a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she simply let it go? She has nine others. Nope, she searches high and low until she finds it and then she contacts all of her friends to let them know.

Jesus tried to explain the Kingdom of God to people in ways they could relate to. The people in Jesus’ time understood the message. The people in our country during the Great Depression, understood the message. Maybe living in our abundance has caused us to lose something in the translation.

As the pastor shared the parable of the coins, I thought about that lost and found at our school. I thought about how precious those jackets and sweaters would be to a child who didn’t have one. I thought about how precious a water bottle would be to a child in Africa, who has no vessel to transport water on a several mile walk from a well to his village.

The Bible tells us that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25

There have been countless words and essays written on that statement by people far smarter and more educated than I am. But, perhaps it simply means, when you have to rely on God for daily provision of your physical needs, your faith tends to be strong.  You get to see God in action everyday.

The “rich man,” and let’s face it, that would include most Americans, have plenty of food to eat on a daily basis. So, in a sense, we are robbed of seeing His daily work.

But, Jesus provides us with an answer. When the disciples ask who can be saved. Jesus replies, “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

Each and every one of us matter to God. We are never left abandoned in the lost and found. Jesus will come and claim us if we only ask. We are each a treasure to Him with far more worth than we may believe. We may have been abandoned by humanity, but we will never be abandoned by God.

A sermon and a lost and found rack reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Not A Fight Against Flesh and Blood

Posted on by Wendy
Never stop praying.
Never stop praying.

Last Friday, I shared a little bit of my friend Ivy’s story which included her ALS diagnosis. I shared that she is a woman of faith. I shared that she is a prayer partner of mine. I asked for prayers for her healing.

I felt led to share how the Holy Spirit showed up.

I normally average anywhere from 100 to 150 views each day on gracefulgaines. My top number last month was 332. I always pray that Jesus will meet me at my keyboard to try to share His grace and His presence in some tangible way which may encourage others to do the same.

After spending time in prayer with Ivy, who is loved by the many people who have known her over the years, last week, I felt a clear calling to ask for prayer for her healing here in this space.

As usual, when we earnestly seek God, we find Him.

As of this writing, and it changes every time I check, 2,087 people have read the post, “Fighting for Ivy.” That’s over two thousand prayer warriors lining up to do battle for her, to intervene for her, to ask for Divine intervention for her healing.

Not only that, there are people in nine other countries besides the United States who have seen the post too. It seems we have begun a worldwide prayer chain here.

Joyce Meyer once said, “If you do what you can do, God will do what you cannot.”

We forget that sometimes. Don’t we? It’s our human tendency to figure it out ourselves or to fix it ourselves. We often go to prayer as a last resort. We forget the power that Christians wield in prayer.

We also have a tendency to forget that we fight a spiritual war on a daily basis.

Paul tells all believers in Ephesians 6:10-18: …”For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” He then tells us to put on the full armor of God; one of the parts is the “shield of faith.”

Doesn’t our faith teach us the importance of prayer?

Paul ends in verse eighteen by writing, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Paul reminds us to be persistent in prayer. Ivy’s situation is a reminder not only of the power of prayer, but also our call to use it, not only when tragedy strikes, but persistently.

We have a lot of evil going on in our world right now. Are Christians praying like we should? Are we doing all that we can, spiritually?

Perhaps this is an Esther moment for all Christians. Perhaps now, on this day, at this time, we are called to pray and to pray persistently, for repentance for our country and for a return to God. He is still in control.

A prayer request for Ivy reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Keep praying for her and for each other.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Fighting for Ivy

Posted on by Wendy
"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37
“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

When I accepted a job offer at a local elementary school, a couple of months ago, I knew that God had placed me there for a reason. I didn’t know what it was, but there were way too many tiny pieces that fell into place one after another, for it to be a coincidence. My faith walk has taught me that there are no coincidences.

I have been blessed to be welcomed by a wonderful community of teachers, administrators, kids and their parents at my new school. But, perhaps the person who has welcomed me the most has been our nurse, Ivy.

She’s a quiet soul with one of the kindest hearts I have ever seen and a true healer. She loves every child who crosses the threshold of the clinic. She made it her business to tell me almost everyday how glad she was that I was there and I would tell her how glad I was to be there and I meant it.

The two of us would start the day in the office, at 7:00. The lights were still off and it was quiet, the way it rarely is in an elementary school. We would each talk about what was going on with our families in those few minutes of quiet and then we would pray together.

Afterwards, we would turn on the lights and begin the day.

Ivy, is a woman of great faith and an inspiration to me. She has recently received a diagnosis of ALS. You may remember all of the, “ice bucket challenges,” that covered social media last year. That’s ALS. The prognosis is not good. But, Ivy is a woman of faith and faith changes everything.

She confided in me that she had prayed about it and she believes she will be healed. So do I.

The odds are not in her favor. Fortunately, our God doesn’t play by the odds. We worship the God who created the earth, the God who created the human body, the God who parted the Red Sea, the God who sent us Jesus, who raised the dead and healed the sick. Do I believe He is capable of healing Ivy?

I do.

Everyone at school is asking how they can help her. Meals have been lined up and money is being raised and I know my sweet friend is grateful beyond words. She has told me so.

But, I also remember about this time last year, asking for prayers, here in this space, for a friend of mine’s sister-in-law who was going to Africa to help fight the Ebola virus, even though it would be dangerous for her. She too, was a woman of faith. God protected her and I believe we all had a part.

When we pray, we are standing in the gaps. When we pray as a group, the miraculous can happen. It has been said that while miracles do not produce faith, faith does produce miracles.

I am asking all of my readers to become prayer warriors with me for Ivy. I am asking that we remember who the God we serve is and what He can do, and the things that are possible with prayer.

One of the last scriptures that Ivy and I prayed together before she was put on medical leave was from Mark 5:34. Jesus was speaking to a woman who had been suffering for twelve years. No doctor could help her. The woman simply touched Jesus’ cloak. Jesus turned to her and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Let’s pray that prayer for Ivy and wait expectantly for big things.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Cradled in Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
A Sunday morning trip to the emergency room was an opportunity to Jesus at every turn.
A Sunday morning trip to the emergency room, was an opportunity to see Jesus at every turn.

On Sunday morning, my seventeen year old daughter, came downstairs saying she wasn’t feeling well. She said her stomach had been hurting all night. Her face was covered in sweat and then she dropped to her knees at the trash can.

My hubby immediately suspected appendicitis and said we needed to go to the emergency room. I wasn’t convinced. She was obviously sick, but there are a lot of stomach bugs going around. She said she was feeling much better, but he was insistent and having had a ruptured appendix many years before, I trusted his judgement.

We brushed our teeth and put on some clothes and headed to the emergency room. There are two hospitals in our area and both are good, but one is Catholic and very open about Jesus, so that was our choice. There’s something about a hospital that has a cross hanging in every room, that I find comforting. As my daughter would later say, “Jesus was in every room I went into.”

Indeed He was.

We were treated with great kindness from everyone who crossed our paths, from the registrar, to nurses, to our doctor, to our radiologist, to the nice lady who took out the trash, and every single kindness extended to us, went noticed by this mama.

When we got the appendicitis diagnosis and were told she would need surgery, I posted a picture on Facebook and asked for prayers. We had the first prayers sent up on our behalf within minutes. Within the hour, my phone had buzzed 25 times with people offering up prayers for my daughter and each one made me a little stronger.

Our pastor arrived and he talked with her and prayed over her and the minute he finished, the surgeon walked in.

In a day that could have been filled with fear and anxiety, I literally felt like we were being cradled in prayer. All day long, into the evening the prayer notifications continued. I heard from childhood friends, high school friends, family, my daughter’s former teachers, coworkers, my church family, our Salkehatchie family and other members of my faith family.

Each time, the message was something short and simple like, “prayers for her,” or “prayers going up.”

That’s all it took to bring peace to my soul.

For all of its negativity and for all of the political rants and ugliness that can plague it, Facebook became a holy place for me last weekend, a place where the light of Christ shone like a beacon. On reflection, I realize it can always be that way, if we choose to make it so.

The surgery went perfectly. Her appendix had not ruptured. The surgeon told us it took him like twenty minutes. We went home that night.

It’s been a few days and my daughter is on the mend. In the end, I had 90 comments and probably 85 specifically said they were praying for her.

I sincerely cannot remember a time when I have felt so blessed. When bad things happen, it’s so easy to ask where God is. I have often written that He’s always here, always with us, if we take the time to seek Him with open hearts.

Last Sunday, He was everywhere, in every face of our health care workers, on every crucifix, with every buzz of my phone. I have difficulty finding the words to express my gratitude to all of those prayer warriors who intervened for us. All I can say is my cup runneth over.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Labor Day Break

Posted on by Wendy

Due to my daughter’s weekend appendicitis, I don’t have a post for today. Her surgery went well and she is on the mend, but my entire family is exhausted. I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day and I will have a new post in the next couple of days. God had His hands all over the entire ordeal and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Giving Thanks for the Shade and the Breezes

Posted on by Wendy
Even during the hottest times, we can find shade and breezes.
Even during the hottest times, we can find shade and breezes.

My daughter and I have begun exercising together. We walk with a little running, several times a week. For years, I’ve tried to get her to exercise, just because it’s a great stress reliever, but she was never very interested. For whatever reason, this year, her senior year, she has decided to listen to her mama.

Maybe she’s getting wiser? (LOL)

We always begin our walks with a lot of talk, but as we work harder and breathe harder, we talk less. Yet, even though we don’t talk as much, we really enjoy walking together. It doesn’t take spoken words for each of us to know that we support each other.

A few days ago, we were walking and there was a nice breeze when we started. A little while into our walk, the breeze died and my daughter commented on how the heat was like walking into a wall, but as we walked a little further down the road, we hit some shade and when we hit the shade, we could run.

We never ran when the sun was beating down us. We walked during those segments.

Then there were the breezes that would encourage us to keep going. We reminded each other of the breezes we encountered on our mission trip last summer that allowed us to keep working in the all consuming heat.

I thought about that walk and our talk in the days that followed.

I thought about how those who we hold most dear don’t even have to share words with us to make us feel loved and encouraged. Just being near them is often enough.

I thought about life’s journey and how there are shady times when we can run and run, and we don’t even feel tired. But, there are also times when we can barely put one foot in front of the other, and we feel the sun ruthlessly beating down on us. If it weren’t for the breezes, we couldn’t keep going at all.

But, God is so faithful in sending those breezes in so many different forms. They can be a call from a friend, running into someone who can offer us guidance, prayers sent up on our behalf, being at the right place at the right time, discovering a brand new passion for something we enjoy, or reviving an old one, our church community, or a new job.

The breezes are anything and everything that God sends our way to lighten our load a little and give us hope. If we are vigilant, we can always find them and feel them, even when we feel we are in a desert kind of heat.

We need to remember that there are times on our journey to walk, and there are times to run. There are even times to rest, but most importantly, as children of God, we never walk alone.

A walk with my daughter reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Hope in Every Season

Posted on by Wendy
If we look carefully, we can find some light in every season we are in.
If we look carefully, we can find some light in every season we are in.

As I sit and write this post, I can hardly believe that it’s September already. The summer seemed to fly by at a faster than normal pace this year. I suppose the older I get, the faster it goes.

Those of us who live in the Deep South, know that summer and its heat are not nearly done with us yet. We will have many more hot days here before summer begrudgingly yields to fall.

Yet, all seasons, whether we love them or hate them do eventually end. Even though it’s still really hot during the day time here, this evening, I am able to sit on my porch with my laptop and actually enjoy God’s creation, without sweat running down my back.

When did that happen? The slight cooling of the evening air, seemed to happen overnight, even though I had desperately been hoping for it for weeks.

But, seasons are like that, aren’t they? Some seem to drag on forever and we wonder if they will ever end. We sometimes find ourselves praying through our own sweat and tears during hard seasons, wondering if the heat will ever break and then suddenly, we can feel some coolness, some refreshment, some hope.

Other seasons, like spring and fall, seem to speed by at some kind of turbo pace and we would give anything to slow the season down just a little, just so we would have more time to bask in the beauty and soak it all in.

The truth is, our lives are marked by all kinds of seasons, short and long, ugly and beautiful, chaotic and peaceful. The Bible tells us there is in fact, “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

That same chapter also reminds us that, God has made everything beautiful its time.

Whatever season we find ourselves in, we never walk alone. Jesus holds our hands when we weep and He rejoices with us when we celebrate. He helps us up when we fall and always welcomes us back to the fold when we stray.

And even in the darkest, or rainiest, or hottest of seasons, there is always some beauty, some light, some hope because we have Jesus.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:5

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Whether we are in a season of beauty or a season of downright ugly, we are loved and treasured. We are His and that never changes, no matter the season.

A little breeze reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂