Author: Wendy

The Spirituality of Birthdays

Posted on by Wendy
Everyone needs a little cake on their birthday.
Everyone needs a little cake on their birthday.

Today is my mama’s birthday, so I’m going to start this post by saying, “Happy Birthday Mama!” She always made such a big deal over birthdays when I was growing up. Even when I was in college, she and Daddy would trek up to Athens with my little brother in tow, and bring cake, ice cream and presents. They would take me and my sister out to dinner at the restaurant of my choice. Then, we would return to my apartment and sing “Happy Birthday”, blow out candles and open presents.

My roommates were always kind of stunned at the big birthday celebrations. But, I think Mama got it right. The day you were born, is the day that God officially placed you on this earth to play a part in His big plan. It’s not some chance day. He doesn’t do anything haphazardly. The Bible tells us that you were, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Since you are a masterpiece of God’s making, wouldn’t it stand to reason that He celebrates your birth and your birthday?

This is also one of those examples where children and seniors get it right. Children love to celebrate birthdays. Sometimes they get to wear a crown all day at school. They bring treats to share with friends and they have parties. Folks in their 80’s seem very happy with birthdays. They have come to realize that each day is a gift.

Those of us in the middle, between like 30 and 80, we are the ones who get it wrong. We lament about wrinkles, gray hair and extra pounds. We get depressed because we are a year older and haven’t done the things we thought we would by now. We often long for our youth and get stuck either reliving the past or beating ourselves up over decisions made that can’t be changed. I shouldn’t have to tell you who wins, when we do that.

We forget about the vast amount of wisdom we have been allowed to accumulate on our trips around the sun. We judge ourselves by human standards and not by God’s standards. We forget to acknowledge this beautiful gift of life we have been given. If we are still breathing, God’s plan is still in play through us and each day is a new beginning.

Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” God is not done, so we are not done.

So, Happy Birthday to mom and to everyone reading this. If today’s not your birthday, save this post in a folder and read it on your birthday to remind yourself that today is your special day. God loves you and is working through you and you are still impacting His kingdom. Today’s a day to celebrate. Celebrate His unique creation that is you. I have no doubt that He is celebrating too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Be Brave Enough to Hope

Posted on by Wendy

 

Hope is a gift from God.
Hope is a gift from God.

I recently saw the movie, “Hope Floats.” I’ve always loved that movie, because I’m a sucker for a story where someone gets knocked down through no fault of their own and not only picks themselves back up, but discovers or rediscovers who they were truly meant to be.

Hasn’t that happened to all of us? At one time or another, we get knocked flat. It can be anything from a sudden job loss to the loss of a spouse through death or divorce, to an unexpected health diagnosis. Where do we go from there? Do we stay on the ground or do we get up and stand?

At the end of the movie, Sandra Bullock has an awesome line. “Mama always said, beginnings are scary; endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up and it will too…”

It’s not surprising that these wise words would come from a mama. Mama’s are notoriously wise. What is hope exactly? I’m not talking about a wish type of hope. We can say things like “I hope I win the lottery.” That’s really just a shallow wish. True hope, Biblical hope, God-given hope, runs much deeper.

Hope in the Bible is an indication of certainty. Having hope means you have a strong and confident expectation. A Google search shows that the word hope appears in the NIV version of the Bible 174 times. That tells me that hope is an important concept to God. Therefore, it should be an important concept to us.

Maybe it’s so important because it’s tied so closely to faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” and Corinthians 13:13 tells us, “Three things will last forever-faith, hope and love-and the greatest of these is love.”

Hope is one of those things that’s never-ending, so we should never give up hope. It’s tied in with faith and it’s tied in with God’s love for us through Jesus.

So, why do I love a movie about hope? It’s because it’s my story. It’s your story. Hope is a precious commodity given freely to us from God. We must cherish it and bask in it. And from time-to-time when we lose it, we should seek reminders from Him and from the Bible. We can also seek it from other believers. He will renew our hope if we ask.

We should also try to remember to share it with others who seem to be running short. That’s the love part of it. It all ties in.

If you are running low on hope today, reach out for it. Seek it. If you have plenty, be sure to share, remembering that we all are a piece in God’s huge puzzle and every part counts. What are your thoughts on hope? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

What Would You Change?

Posted on by Wendy
Everyday is a new chance to make a difference.
Everyday is a new chance to make a difference.

I was telling my hubby last night about an e-mail I received from the high school about after-prom. After-prom is the after dance party that the two local high schools put on together. They lock the kids in all night with movies, snacks, games, bounce houses and lots of supervision. Well apparently,this year, after eleven successful years, there are so few volunteers, they may have to cancel the event.

They are really trying to get freshmen and sophomore parents to “step up” and help out. Keep in mind, our children are not even allowed to attend until they are juniors. To be honest, I was quite annoyed with the entire suggestion. Where are the junior and senior parents in two whole high schools? Is it really up to the parents of the underclassmen to keep this program in existence?

My husband simply replied, “So, it’s like that everywhere. It’s not just church.”

I was silent for a moment. He was absolutely right. We are very involved with our church. If our children are involved in it, we feel like it’s our responsibility to be involved as well. We have had conversation after conversation about figuring out how to stop the “drop off” mentality.

We wonder why it is that parents will help kids with school homework or sports practice, but what is it about our children’s Christian education that people just let go? They just drop them off and assume someone else will teach them or feed them or chaperone their events.

But, my hubby opened my eyes a little. As human beings, we always assume someone else will do it. Unfortunately, we are wrong.

Mahatma Gandhi one said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” That has become my new mantra. If you don’t like how a program at church is being run, don’t complain; volunteer, roll up you sleeves and change it. If you do like how a program is being run, be sure to ask if they need help maintaining it. Very few wonderful programs from children’s church, to after-prom activities, run themselves.

In other words, don’t say, do. I started with my fourteen-year-old daughter who has been complaining about eating the same dinners week after week. (Even though she and her brother are the pickiest eaters on the planet.) I told her we would be happy to serve something else, but I needed suggestions. She e-mailed some to my husband. (Yes, she was sitting in the next room, gotta love Smart Phones!) “Not so fast!” we said. We wanted recipes too. She complied. Now, we are going to make her make a grocery list and go and buy the ingredients with us.

It’s a start. Would Jesus have changed the world if He never left the temple? Would the disciples have changed the world if they never left the room they were in at Pentecost? Would Paul have changed the world if he never left the house after he regained his sight?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, “No.” They all got out there and got dirty. Here’s my challenge, let’s look  around. What’s not working? Let’s roll up our sleeves and try to help fix it. Let’s be the change we seek. Who’s with me? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Three Simple Rules

Posted on by Wendy
The butterfly is one of so many examples of God's artistic side.
The butterfly is one of so many examples of God’s artistic side.

John Wesley was the co-founder of the Methodist Church. He was an active participant in the Church of England in the 1700’s. He became disenchanted with the “religiousness” of church. He felt like there was more focus on how worship took place over who was being worshiped. He felt like Christians should be reaching outside the walls of their churches and ministering to prisoners and the poor and others who weren’t welcome in the church of the day.

He was active in the idea of “tent revival” and his ideas spread like wildfire. Many of the people who heard him speak were new to Christianity. Once they became Christians, they were eager to know how to live a Christ-like life. Keep in mind, that there wasn’t a Barnes and Noble on the corner where someone could purchase a Bible. There were no Kindles or iPhones to look up scripture. For that matter, most people couldn’t read.

So, how could he explain in simple terms how to live like Jesus? He came up with three simple rules. We tried these in an  adult Sunday School class one time. The simplicity can be deceptive!

The first rule is: Do no harm. Seems easy enough, right? Just don’t hurt anyone in any way. That doesn’t just mean, don’t go and punch them. That means, don’t gossip about the mom you think is drinking too much or about the neighbor who you think is getting a divorce or your child’s classmate who is making bad choices. What about our environment? Weren’t we supposed to be stewards of our environment? What kind of harm are we doing there?  It’s kind of like the doctor’s oath, but trickier.

The second rule is : Do good. Does this one seem easier? As we go about our day, how much good are we doing? Sure, we may not be doing harm per se, but are we doing good? Are we truly helping others? Are we striving to make a difference? Are we using the talents that we have been gifted with to further God’s plan or are we using them for our own needs and desires?

The third rule is: Stay in love with God. Oh, thank goodness, the last one is a piece of cake. Not so fast! We can all say we love God; that’s easy enough. But, when you tell your spouse or your family members that you love them, but do absolutely nothing to show it. How do they know? I can tell God all day that I love Him. Do I read His word? Do I share His word? Do I pray like I should? Do I worship like I should? Do I do His will or focus on mine?

The church in Wesley’s time was in decline and he helped to start a revival that eventually spread across continents. I think Wesley was brilliant. Try out the rules and see how you do. They are harder than they appear, but definitely worth trying. The beautiful thing about grace is there’s plenty of room for failure. We get an unlimited number of do overs. Thank the Good Lord! Right?

Let me know how you do. I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Spiritual Light Pollution

Posted on by Wendy
When there's very little light around, even the tiniest amount can light our way.
When there’s very little light around, even the tiniest amount can light our way.

When I was growing up, we visited the beach every summer. We loved to walk on the beach at night. All of the condominiums had bright lights that shined onto the beach. It was almost as well-lit at night as it was during the daytime.

Times have changed and scientists have found that the lights confuse baby sea turtles and have them swimming into shore instead of out to sea. So, when I take my children to the beach, there are no bright lights from the land to light the shore.

Amazingly, though, the moon seems much brighter than when I was a kid and so do the stars. We still take our kids to walk on the beach at night and the moon is enough.

How often in our lives to we seek the light of praise and acceptance from others? It starts when we are kids, but it never really ends. Most of us are constantly aware of what others think of us. For some, acceptance becomes a type of idol. We develop a need to be praised and emulated by friends and co-workers.

God knew this was a problem for His people. He told them early on when He led them out of Egypt that they were not to intermarry or make treatise with the people who were in Canaan. Was He trying to keep them from expanding their horizons and making new friends?

Nope. He was trying to keep them safe. He knew their nature. He knew their tendencies. Their tendencies were to turn away from Him and towards what wasn’t good for them. Don’t we have the same tendencies?

Is it easy for us to worship God and nothing else? Is it easy for us not to care about money, new clothes or new cars? Is it easy for us to offer hospitality to someone who really needs it and not care what our house looks like? Is it easy for us to go to church and seek to serve instead of seeking to be served?

Ouch. How many times have we made the statement, “I just don’t get anything out of the worship service.”? But, isn’t worship service about worshiping God and not about us. Are we there for what we can get?

I think if we begin to focus on the one true light we need in our lives, a lot of this other spiritual light pollution will start to fall away. I mean things like caring what others think and say. I mean things like focusing on material things. I mean things like feeling like our church isn’t serving us or perhaps God isn’t serving us.

I think we need to think of Jesus like the old Uncle Sam poster, that stated “I want you.” He was pointing and had a very stern look. I picture Jesus with His arms outstretched calling to us in a gentler way, but the message is the same. He wants us and when we focus on that light, the only one that matters, it becomes more than enough.

What do you think about spiritual light pollution? Feel free to comment.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Delicious and Beautiful

Posted on by Wendy
The hibiscus is an awesome example of God's creativity.
The hibiscus is an awesome example of God’s creativity.

We are using a new curriculum in our middle school Sunday school class that uses video and drawing and skits and covers the entire Bible in 32 weeks. While I like the fast paced, keep the kids interested approach, it obviously leaves a lot of gaps. The videos are only like three minutes or so.

My hubby and I decided we would show the video and do the accompanying activities one week and fill in some of the blanks the next, so there wouldn’t be as many gaps. I mean, the first one covered from Creation to the Flood. That’s a lot of ground to cover in forty-five minutes.

As I read through the first couple of chapters of Genesis again, Genesis 2:9, really grabbed me. I just love the fact that the Bible is a living, breathing work of art. Something different speaks to me every time I read it, depending on the season of my life or what I’m searching for.

Genesis 2:9, says, “The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground-trees that were beautiful and produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” NLT

What kind of trees did God make? Beautiful ones. Why? Because, God is clearly a creative God who loves beauty and wants to share it with his creation, us. The text doesn’t say, He created plain boring trees. It says they were beautiful. God created beauty for our enjoyment as well as His own.

Secondly, what kind of fruit did He create? Was it sour or bland? Nope. God created delicious fruit. The scripture doesn’t say He simply created food for our nourishment. It says He created delicious fruit.

What does this say about the nature of God? He cares about beauty and creativity in our lives. He cares about our enjoyment. It doesn’t say He created a certain amount of grams of this or that. It says He created something delicious for our enjoyment.

Verse 15 tells us that there was only one tree in the entire garden they weren’t supposed to eat from, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Chapter three tells us about the nature of human beings. We tend to want the few things or in this case, the one thing that is forbidden to us. There was plenty of delicious fruit to eat, but they chose the forbidden and that is a pretty true picture of our nature.

But, this is why the Bible is so important. It’s story after story of our nature clashing with God’s and of Him always loving us and forgiving us for following our own ways and instead of His. Eventually, He sent His son to redeem us for good.

But, today, let’s start focusing on the beautiful and the delicious that we can have. There’s so much that God has given us to freely enjoy with His blessing. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can truly learn that walking within boundaries can be an incredibly freeing experience.

What do you think. Feel free to comment.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Sometimes a Mess is for the Best.

Posted on by Wendy
This was what the coffee table looked like Saturday morning.
This was what the coffee table looked like Saturday morning.

I woke up Saturday morning with one of those killer sinus headaches that makes you want to cry. My head was pounding as I took a couple of ibuprofen, a couple of Sudafed and sipped a cup of coffee. I didn’t even feel like sitting at the table, so I slowly trudged to my couch. As I sat down, the clutter above greeted me.

I asked my darling son the evening before, to please put away all of the art supplies he was dragging out when he was done.  He obviously didn’t. To be honest, I was only mildly annoyed because my head hurt so badly.

My hubby had just been diagnosed with a case of Shingles, so he was already up. It’s kind of uncomfortable to lie flat when you have Shingles. When I asked how he was feeling, he told me it wasn’t that bad as long as he didn’t think about it. I was thinking that a day sitting in the recliner watching television was not likely to keep his mind very occupied. Then, my son came downstairs with a book.

This represents a day of keeping my hubby's mind occupied.
This represents a day of keeping my hubby’s mind occupied.

It wasn’t just any book. It was a book of my brother’s from 1989. My son just loves to “borrow” things when we visit my parents and this was one of those things. It doesn’t look like much, does it?

My hubby and my son spent the entire day Saturday, building airplanes. I think they tried every design in the book. They would make them and then test them. They used different weights of paper from construction to card stock and everything in between. Sometimes they would add a paperclip for weight or they would put tape on them.

Then of course, my son, ever the artist, had some dynamite designs for them. There were aliens on some. They had call signs. There were evil ones and good ones and neutral ones.

He needed all of the art supplies that he had left out in order to work on the father and son masterpieces. Did it really matter that they had stayed out overnight?

These were some of the best ones that flew well and got designs.
These were some of the best ones that flew well and got designs.

As I buzzed around on Saturday, doing laundry and washing dogs, I found myself thanking God for the little workshop in my den. Shingles can be horribly painful. Kids can be loud and uncooperative, but this day, the harmony between father and son was such a blessing. The day passed by and my hubby had little discomfort. My son had a ball and ended up with a small squadron of paper airplanes.

As I watch for God in the world around me, I’ve no doubt that His hand was on my family on Saturday. I’ve no doubt that His hand was on my twelve-year-old who left his supplies out and I’ve no doubt that His hand was on a mommy who figured out that sometimes a mess is for the best.

Life is so short and precious, I’m trying to appreciate every last drop. Care to join me? I’d love to hear what you think.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Faith and Religion

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The water in this little creek will eventually end up in the ocean.
The water in this little creek will eventually end up in the ocean.

A friend of mine and I were recently talking about the new church home her family has found. They feel very comfortable there and inspired and are excited about getting up to go to church on Sundays. The only drawback, is they can’t yet join as a family because her two teens were baptized as babies and not completely immersed.

We had a short discussion about one versus the other and it really struck me how sad it is when Christians get hung up on certain religious practices. I’m talking about things like whether you use grape juice or wine for communion and whether you have communion every Sunday or once a month or once a quarter. I’m thinking about things like whether you kneel at your pew or whether you do responsive readings. The kind of music that gets sung is another big bone of contention for many people.

When we get angry at fellow Christians about these kinds of things, I think the devil is delighted. If he can get Christians mad at each other, then there’s not room to do the work of the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly enough, even the earliest churches like the one in Corinth, that Paul helped to start, had new believers squabbling with one another. The Jewish converts fought with the Gentile converts on how much law the Gentiles should have to follow and about circumcision and about and about; the list is long. This is one more good reason why reading the Bible can be enlightening for us.

Arguments among Christians are nothing new and Paul found himself wearing a referee hat for a good amount of time. Jesus makes us passionate and that’s a good thing. The Book of Revelation even warns us about having “lukewarm” faith, but I think we should be careful about judging others in how they carry out their faith walk.

If we love God with all of our hearts and we read the Bible and follow its teachings, if we believe Jesus is our one and only savior and we pray and listen, I believe in my deepest soul, that we will be lead to where we need to worship. We will be planted in a community that is perfectly suited to our calling and for His purpose for us. When we get there, it’s up to us to grow and thrive and become part of the fabric that makes that particular community.

However, we should keep in mind that our next-door-neighbor may be lead to an entirely different place. And you know what? That’s okay. On that fabulous day when we are called home to live with Jesus forever, I can’t imagine there being a gatekeeper inquiring whether we were Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, etc….

No, if you are a believer and a follower, He’s going to say, “Welcome home faithful servant; we’re glad you are here.”

Isn’t that all that really matters? I’d love to know what you think. Feel free to comment.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Back Story

Posted on by Wendy
You wouldn't know, just by looking at the picture how deep this spring is.
You wouldn’t know, just by looking at the picture how deep this spring is.

A friend recently introduced me to a daily Bible reading blog called, www.#shereadstruth.com If you are looking for a way to read the Bible daily and have a meaningful message to accompany it, I highly recommend it. Right now, they are doing a series on fresh starts and they have found passages throughout the Bible to show God giving His people a fresh start.

Today, their passage was Acts 9:1-19 and their discussion was on the conversion of Saul to Paul. This is a fabulous example of a fresh start. I mean, this guy went from hunting and killing Christians to preaching about Christ and writing the majority of the New Testament.

But, there’s an unsung hero in this story. His name is Ananias. The scripture says he was a disciple living in Damascus. I picture this guy, minding his own business and kind of lying low. He’s a believer, but it’s dangerous to be a believer and then he has a vision.

Jesus calls his name. Ananias answers him. Jesus then instructs him to go to the house where Saul of Tarsus is and heal him by restoring his sight.  Ananias says, (and I paraphrase),”Umm, Lord are you sure about this? This guy has been killing and arresting your people left and right.” And I’ll bet he was thinking, “Take that, Saul! You reap what you sow. Bullies everywhere, take note!”

But, Jesus says, “Go!” He has chosen Saul to be the person who will carry his message to the Gentiles and their kings and to the Jews.

Did Ananias argue? Did he try to reason? Did he ignore this calling and lean on his own understanding? Nope. Verse seventeen tells us he went and found Saul. And if that wasn’t enough; here’s the coolest part; He puts his hands on him and says: “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 9:17

It wasn’t a grudgingly delivered message, like we find with Jonah. Ananias wasn’t angry that Jesus decided to use Saul. Jesus called. Ananias answered and not only did he heal Saul, he called him brother and baptized him.

Saul goes on to be Paul and we know his story, but Paul would have remained blind and huddling in a corner if Ananias hadn’t answered his call. Ananias was faithful, obedient and brave. He trusted Jesus and that trust and obedience enabled  Paul to complete his all-important journey.

There are no unimportant or non-essential pieces in God’s plan. Every single person has a part to play. Every part matters. Just because you probably didn’t know Ananias before you read this, makes him no less important in the big story. There’s always a back story. No one ever gets where they are without help from someone else.

If you ever wonder if what you are doing matters, rest assured; if you are answering Jesus’ call, it matters. You matter. So, keep on going my friend. Keep doing what you do. You’re making Jesus proud. What do you think about Ananias? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Symbolism of the Shell

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I picked up this shell at church on Sunday.
I picked up this shell at church on Sunday.

Last Sunday at church, we renewed our vows of baptism. The pastor told us that the seashell is the Christian symbol for baptism and at the end of the service, invited us all up to get a shell and dip our fingers in the baptismal font and pray at the altar.

It really was a beautiful service and I loved the symbolism, but I had never heard about the shell being a Christian symbol before even though I’ve been a lifelong  church goer. Being a curious sort, I had to investigate.

Since I just love to watch for God in the everyday, I was delighted at what I found. Turns out, that the shell was used in the very first centuries of the Christian church to assist in the sacrament of baptism. We know this because there are paintings of baptism depicted on the walls of catacombs where early Christians worshiped.

No one knows exactly why shells were used, but the thought is probably for practical reasons. In many places, there wasn’t enough water to completely submerge the candidate; so they would wade out and have water poured over their heads. They would want to use as much water as possible. (It wasn’t like they could pick up a bucket at the local Target). A shell could hold more water than a hand.

The shell comes from the ocean. Jesus’ first disciples were called by the seashore. When we are baptized, we are supposed to be disciples for Christ, spreading the word and the love. The shell can remind us of the first disciples as well as our own calling to discipleship.

There are shells depicted in art in many churches all over the world, from embroidery to stained glass. They are sometimes shown with three drops of water, symbolizing the trinity.

So, the next time you have the pleasure of walking on the beach, be sure to pick up a shell and be reminded not only of the beauty and wonder of nature, but also of the infinite grace of God. Be reminded of the privilege of baptism and the love of Christ. Be at peace and know God loves you and of course, pass it on!

Have an awesome day! 🙂

Wendy