Author: Wendy

Super Bowl Revelations

Posted on by Wendy
Prayer can unite.

Last Sunday night, the world was treated to Super Bowl 51. The entire state of Georgia was atwitter with the possibility of the Falcons winning a Super Bowl. Schools all over the state had Falcons Day. Offices across the state encouraged their employees to dress in Falcons garb. There were even churches who got in on Falcons fever.

The first half was fantastic as the Falcons looked unstoppable. But, alas, the Patriots made the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history and walked away victorious.

I always enjoy the pomp and circumstance of a game that is so uniquely American. Ever since my Daddy and I watched the Chicago Bears do the Super Bowl Shuffle in 1985, I have been hooked. I rarely care about which team wins. It’s just usually fun to watch. Even the commercials are entertaining.

This year was a little different for me. I really wanted Georgia’s home team to win and they didn’t. I was also disappointed by, for the most part, with the less than entertaining commercials. But, there were other events last Sunday, that I will always remember.

When former President Bush and his wife Barbara, came onto the field in a wheelchair and a golf cart and the crowd went wild, I was proud to be an American. When President Bush tossed the coin and the crowd went wild, I fought back tears and when members of both teams shook the former president’s hand, I could feel unity, even though the teams were opponents.

I saw every member of each team stand for the National Anthem and I could feel unity.

At half-time, when Lady Gaga took the stage, I held my breath. Honestly, I have never been a very big fan of hers and lately, members of Hollywood have made it their business to preach their views rather than to entertain. Gaga had a choice to make and she could have gone either way. Would she use the biggest moment of her life to unite or divide?

She began with classic patriotic songs, “Good Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land,” and then actually recited part of the Pledge of Allegiance including the lately controversial part, one nation under God, and then she entertained. She did a few things that showed her idea of the importance of inclusion, but she made a choice to unite and not divide.

I could feel unity.

As divided as we have been, there have been many prayer warriors, praying for peace and unity. I feel that I was blessed to get a glimpse of the fruition of some of those prayers on Super Bowl Sunday. Although the game did not turn out as I had hoped, there are aspects of that game that will stay as close to my heart and as alive in my memory as the Super Bowl Shuffle has for all of those years.

May we all remember that we are one nation under God and may we all strive to stay that way. The Super Bowl reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy

He’s in the In-Between Too

Posted on by Wendy
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I have always found February to be a particularly tiring month. Christmas has come and gone. The idea of a brand new year has worn off. It’s cold outside. I struggle with an exercise routine. There’s nothing new on the horizon at the moment. Spring is a couple of months away and I’m tired.

My daughter and I have been discussing graduation and college orientation dates, but she’s still stuck in the doldrums of her high school schedule and all of the stress that it entails. She’s tired.

This time of year is one of those in-between times. The trees are bare and the earth is asleep. Intellectually, we know spring is coming, but it seems far away.

Life can get like that too. Sometimes we find ourselves trudging through day after day, with no excitement and no big plans. We feel like tomorrow will be just another repeat of today. There’s nothing tragic going on, but nothing exciting either.

We may yearn for change. We may pray for change and yet, we find ourselves wandering from day-to-day. We wonder if God hears us or if He can even use us anymore. Is He done with us?

The Bible is full of people in similar predicaments. Joseph was stuck in Egypt as a slave or a prisoner for thirteen years before God delivered him. Moses was a simple shepherd for around forty years before the burning bush incident when God called him to lead the Israelites out of captivity. After David was anointed by Samuel to become the king of Israel, it would be around twenty years before he actually became the king.

One of the most amazing things about the Bible, is that it is filled with imperfect people who can give us hope. When we read the stories of the people in it, we find flawed humans like ourselves, who often spend a lot of time in-between. Some of them were promised big things and had to wait. Some of them never even dreamed of being used by God in big ways. Some of them simply lived simple lives that were disrupted by something huge.

Whatever the individual case is, we can always see God at work in their stories. We can see Him arranging things in ways that would be impossible for them to have ever imagined, much less created on their own. All He required is faithfulness and obedience, a willingness to be used.

And so it is with us today. No matter where we are in our journey, whether we are at the top of our game, or in a pit, or just stuck in the in-between, if we woke up today, God is not done with us. He has a plan. He is at work.

If we need a reminder, we can crack open a Bible. It’s full of them. A cold and dreary February day reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Conversational Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
Returning to God in prayer is always a good choice.

There’s a mama with children at our school who speaks almost no English. She doesn’t come into the office very often, but when she does, I try desperately to communicate with her. I took five Spanish courses in college, and at one point, I was fairly conversational, but that was when I was speaking it often.

It’s been well over twenty years since college and I have rarely spoken Spanish. To say my skills are rusty, is a major understatement and it frustrates me when I need them. The mama that comes into our office, always smiles patiently as I search for the right words to communicate with her and thanks to Google, we usually get it figured out.

After she came in a couple of days ago, I thought about how very important communication is across all of our relationships. Strong communication can save partnerships, friendships and marriages. Poor communication can break them.

Our communication with God, is equally important on our faith journey. If we never talk to God and never pause to listen, how can we possibly learn what His plan is for us?

If we never pray, how can we expect our prayers to be answered?

I think that prayer can become particularly tricky, when we have allowed ourselves to stray away from talking with God for long stretches of time, whatever the reason may be. Just like my rusty Spanish skills, we find ourselves feeling awkward as we try to communicate.

Thankfully, God doesn’t need Google Translate to understand our needs or are hearts. The Bible tells us that He knows our needs before we even ask. Just like that sweet mama, in my office, He patiently waits as we struggle for the words. He doesn’t get frustrated when we try.

The beautiful truth is that the more we try to talk to God, the better we get at it and with every effort, He draws us in a little closer to Him, which is where He has wanted us to be all along. Unlike my Spanish skills, we can get comfortable with prayer quickly.

The more we pray, the more peace we feel. There’s never a situation that can’t be helped with prayer. It’s never too late to pray. Our prayer skills are never too rusty for God to understand and we are never too far gone to reach out for Him.

A clumsy attempt at speaking Spanish reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Choosing Peace

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Living in peace is a choice.

Lately our world has been very chaotic. It’s as if somehow the spirit of division and unrest has picked up a megaphone and refused to be silenced. Peace seems like a far away dream at the moment and it is, if we focus on the earthly battles raging 24/7 on our televisions.

But, what if our focus was elsewhere? What if we weren’t focused on electronic media? What if we weren’t focused on the here and now? What if we chose to believe that all of the chaos is a smoke screen delivered by an enemy who wants us to have anything but peace?

Jesus told His disciples that, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

What if we are allowing Satan to steal our peace?

If our peace comes from knowing Jesus, then earthly chaos can’t take it from us. If we become sick, we stay at peace, because we know God has a plan and that we are travelers here. In the end, when our bodies eventually die, our souls go home to glory.

If we see storms blowing all around us, we stay at peace because we know that God loves us and will use us in any situation to draw us closer to Him and bring Him glory. Isn’t that what we are called to do as Christians? Isn’t that what Jesus taught during His entire ministry?

“Not my will, but yours;” could possibly be the toughest phrase for any human being ever to utter. It goes against every bit of our nature, but yet, it led Jonah to help save the people of Nineveh. It led Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity. It led Christ to the cross that would save us all.

Jesus told His disciples that He offered a different kind of peace, a peace that they could always hold on to and trust.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we truly believe His words were true. Do we believe that Jesus calls us to live in peace and without fear? This may take a little soul searching because if the answer is yes, then buying into any kind of panic and chaos is contrary to our faith.

So maybe we should ask ourselves what is it we believe, and then make a choice.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Birthday Reflections

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we get to look back and see how God was at work.

Last weekend, we celebrated my mama’s 70th birthday. It was a weekend of surprises, laughter and fellowship. My sister flew in as a surprise. Mama had no idea she was coming. We all went in together on a gift. It was a pendant to replace one that she had loved, but lost a few years back.

We sat around the table on Saturday for hours, talking and laughing. We retold stories and shared new ones with each other.

I couldn’t help but remember that twelve years earlier, we had a very different scenario. She had received a breast cancer diagnosis at Thanksgiving and after two unsuccessful lumpectomies, she had a mastectomy right before Christmas.

It was a dark time that I don’t think about very much. I remember pleading with God to save her life. Cancer was such a scary diagnosis and I didn’t understand why it was happening to our family. I wanted desperately for my children to know their grandmother. I wanted to keep my mama.

My prayers were answered and her surgery was successful. But, the diagnosis changed her. She drew much closer to God during that time and remained there. She became much less of a worrier. She chose to let peace rule her heart and encouraged me to do the same whenever I was spending a lot of time worrying about something, especially something out of my control.

My babies were tiny at the time and I couldn’t be there to help like I wanted to. But, my sister took a month off from her job to come and help her as she healed. They also healed their relationship which at times had been rocky.

Since that time, my brother and sister have married wonderful people and my sister has added three more grandbabies to the fold. Mama was there for the birth of each one. My daddy retired and mama encouraged him to join her in attending church. He did and not long after, he found Jesus and was baptized shortly after. Now, they are very active in their church together.

On Saturday night, as we all sat together for dinner at a local restaurant and they were bringing our salads, Daddy had us all take each other’s hands and asked my daughter to say the blessing. I don’t know when I have ever felt so blessed.

Sometimes, when times are very dark, and we can see no light at the end of the tunnel, we wonder if we will even survive. We wonder why we are suffering. We wonder if God even hears us. Unfortunately, there are times when we don’t get those answers on this side of Heaven, but sometimes we do.

Sometimes, way down the road on the other side of the darkness, we are able to look back and see God at work in our pain and heartache. Sometimes we can see those dots get connected in the most miraculous ways that only He could achieve.

Those are the times that I have to stop and take a breath in awe of His plan and to say thanks with a stronger faith, remembering that He always has one, even when all seems lost.

A birthday celebration reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Gideon Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
The light still defeats the darkness.

Last Sunday, my pastor told Gideon’s story. It’s found in Judges 6-8. It picks up where once again, Israel had turned their backs on God, and once again, tragedy had befallen them. The Midianites were stealing their crops every year and killing their cattle, leaving them to starve.

Once again, when things got bad enough, Israel realized they had been wrong and Israel turned back to God. He heard them and decided to save them.

Does this pattern sound familiar?

He decided to use a man named Gideon. It’s a fascinating story, but Gideon basically did not feel that he was in any way capable of defeating his enemy. God assured him he was because God was with him. Gideon asked for some signs and God gave him every one he asked for.

Finally, Gideon decided that he would comply with God’s plan and he gathered his clan. He began with 32,000 men. God said that was too many and 10,000 were sent home. Then God did another sifting that eventually left Gideon with 300 men.

In the beginning, Gideon was too afraid to even agree. I can’t imagine what he must have thought when 32,000 men dwindled down to 300, but God knew and He wanted to be sure Israel knew that they would not win this battle on their own.

When the time came, the Bible says that the enemy was thick as locusts and the camels could no more be counted than sand on the seashore.

To make the battle even more amazing, God didn’t even send them with swords. He sent them with trumpets and jars with torches in them. When Gideon gave the command, they blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. The light and the power of God, sent the enemy running.

That’s all it took.

God has never required the assistance of mankind to achieve the miraculous.  When He does choose to use humanity, it’s rarely thousands of the strongest. No, it’s more often the weakest and most humble and always the obedient, who are willing to trust and step out in faith.

Gideon was afraid, but he trusted God and he was rewarded in a huge way.

We still have the ability to defeat all kinds of evil and darkness with the light of Christ. When we think about all of the things and situations that we fear, and what God may be calling us to do, perhaps we should ask ourselves if it’s a more dire situation than Gideon’s, or David’s, or Elijah’s?

Roman’s 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

We don’t worship a God. We worship The God. The Holy Spirit isn’t a spirit, He’s The Spirit. Because of Jesus, we can call God, Abba, which translates to something like “Daddy.” That makes Him intimate and close to us, with us, not distant and far away.

What more reassurance can we possibly need? Gideon’s story reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Who Do We Believe In?

Posted on by Wendy
Who do we believe in?

A few weeks ago, our pastor preached a sermon on believing in God from a distance. I took lots of notes and have reflected on it for the past few weeks.

When most Americans are asked if they believe in God, they will say yes. What would you say if I asked you that question? My pastor’s next question to us was: “What are you going to do about it?”

If we call ourselves believers, how do we reflect that belief back into our world?

My pastor went on to ask questions like, “Do we treat God as just another voice as we live our lives?” “Do we consult Him along with a dozen other advisers?” “Do we seek Him first?” “Do we choose to believe from a distance?”

Although the name Emmanuel means, “God with us,” Jesus has never been one who will claim us against our will. On the contrary, if we refuse to worship God first, He will withdraw from us. The consequences become our own.

Like the people of the Bible, before us, we have a tendency to wander and we have a tendency to turn to idols. It seems to me that our latest American election has become an idol for many of us.

Whether it’s the people marching in the streets in protest, or the people gloating on social media every five seconds that Trump won, when something takes our focus off of God and becomes an obsession, it becomes an idol.

We have an American election every four years. We have for hundreds of years. God was in control when Washington was the first president and God was in control when Trump was inaugurated last Friday.

As Christ followers, we should know that. Have we somehow forgotten? Why are we still talking about an election? It has never been nor never will be a man or woman, who can turn our country around.

Our founding fathers were men of faith. As a nation, we have historically been a people of faith. At one point it permeated everything we did, from the presidency, to the Congress, to the Supreme Court, to the military. We used to pray at school. We used to pray at meals.

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

Perhaps it’s time to close the book on the last election. If it is constantly in our thoughts, perhaps it’s time to re-focus. If it is constantly on our social media, perhaps it’s time to put that down too. The answer to our questions today is the same as it always has been.

The answer is Jesus. If we are walking closely with Him, there’s no room in our hearts for all of the hate and chaos going on, but then again, we know where that comes from.

A sermon and an election reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Watching for His Suprises

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Our faith walk is often full of surprises.

Last week, we were blessed with some delightfully warm weather for the end of January. I took full advantage of the mild weather and got outside as much as possible.

My favorite prayer time is when I am out in nature, surrounded by Creation. I also find that when I’m moving my body while I pray, I often become more alert. I can hear and see God more clearly. So, I went for a walk, hoping for some guidance, some answers, and a glimpse of His hand.

I was not disappointed. The weather alone, brought the first thanks to my lips. Then, there were birds singing and squirrels scampering. I even heard two hawks calling to each other. They often appear when I’m deep in prayer about something.

The stream that runs through my neighborhood has finally gotten full again and it made a loud rushing sound as I crossed over it.

I gave thanks for the ability to walk. I gave thanks for my sight and my hearing.

When I turned back on my street, I chuckled at some crows calling to each other and I wondered what mischief they were getting into. I waved at a neighbor and gave thanks for good neighbors.

These are all everyday blessings, the ones that we so often take for granted. They are also the ones we would dearly miss if they were taken away.

When I had almost reached my house, I thanked God for the everyday things and I thanked Him for giving me eyes to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

And then, a large rooster crossed the road right in front of me. He was beautiful and incredibly out of place. I broke out in a huge grin. I had definitely not expected to see a rooster. He was not ordinary. I stopped and watched him cross. When he was safely on the other side of the road, he let out a very loud cock-a-doodle-doo!

At that point, I chuckled out loud and I looked heavenward and gave thanks for the surprise.

It’s sometimes easy to become very comfortable in our faith walk. We know that God provides for us in dozens of ways all throughout our day, but we forget that He’s full of surprises too.

That rooster was a surprise. As I was giving thanks for all of my daily blessings, God surprised me with something different.

As I thought about it later, I wondered if that’s perhaps the key to opening new doors. Maybe, we need to be thankful for all that we already have before we ask for or expect something different. Maybe, it’s when we give heartfelt thanks for the ordinary, that we are able to see the extraordinary.

One thing is certain; God is full of surprises and when we walk closely with Him and keep our eyes and ears open, there’s no telling what we might see or hear.

A rooster reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Comfort Zone Rut

Posted on by Wendy
When we say yes to Jesus, all kinds of beautiful things can occur.

As we plow into January, many of us are taking time to do a little self-reflection and try to address any ruts we may find ourselves. I’m a gal who loves a routine. I love my comfort zones. I mean, the name alone, has the word comfort in it. But, sometimes our comfort zone can become a rut.

A rut is something we may find ourselves in because we have done it for so long, we don’t necessarily know how to get out. Sometimes we don’t even want to get out.

There are times when we do things like eat the same exact meals week after week, that we don’t even realize that we have lost our passion for cooking or for tasting some of the really great foods God has blessed us with.

There are times when we have become comfortable sitting in front of the television night after night, kind of checking out, when we could be reading a good book, or meeting friends for dinner, or actually having a conversation with our families. We could even do something crazy like play a card game or a board game.

My mama actually inspired me right before Christmas. She took a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Now keep in mind, that this woman has always loathed the cold. When we had the rare snow day when I was growing up, she watched from a window inside the house. She’s always been more of a beach gal.

But, a friend of hers convinced her to go. She bought all of the necessary gear and she second-guessed herself all of the way. The trip was too close to Christmas and she had so much to do. What was she thinking?

But, ultimately, she went and she had a blast. She told me without a doubt, it was the prettiest place she had ever been in her entire life. Sure, it was cold, but it was well worth it. She was so thankful that she said yes, to a new adventure.

There are all types of comfort zones, ruts and adventures. Some adventure may take us some place far away and exotic and some may keep us closer to home. There are also spiritual adventures.

Spiritual adventures occur when we decide to open our hearts up to God’s calling for us. Is He calling you to read the Bible more regularly? Is He calling you to get involved in Christian community? Is He calling you to reach out to others in some way? Is He calling you to pick something up? Is He calling you to lay something down? He could be calling you to heal.

All of those spiritual endeavors can be a little scary. It would certainly be easier to stay right where we are. But, following Jesus was never meant to be the easy route. However, following Jesus was never meant to be boring either.

My mama’s trip reminded me that it’s good to take stock from time-to-time on where we are and where we would like to be. It reminded me to search for the beautiful at every opportunity and to not be afraid of adventure. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Basking in the Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Being thankful is sometimes a challenge, but always a choice.

We recently had some very cold days here in Georgia. Some of our state even got blessed with copious amounts of snow. Unfortunately, in my little town, we just got a light dusting and some bitter cold, which I openly grumbled about.

This southern girl, is not a cold weather person and I found myself really longing for warmer days and an early spring. Yes, I am aware that it’s January and that winter is supposed to be cold, and that spring is a ways away, but still.

Then, out of the blue, the following week got a little warmer everyday. By the weekend, we were in the 70’s and on Saturday, I was outside all day, loving every minute of it.

It occurred to me, that a 70 degree day in January is a blessing and that I should not only give thanks for it, but take the time to enjoy it.

It also occurred to me that being thankful is really not in our nature and something we have to work at.

How often do we pray really hard for something? It could be for a job, or a promotion, or a relationship, or financial issues, or our health. How often do we get those prayers answered, but don’t live in a way that is thankful?

Yes, we may initially thank God, but do we live thankfully? We may have thanked God for that job, but do we jump out of bed every morning happy to go to work? We may have given thanks for the healing, but are we seizing every moment to live healthier and make the most of a second chance? We may have been given the ideal mate, but are we willing to pray for him/her daily? Are we loving that person in a manner that is pleasing to God?

We tend to ask for a lot. We also tend to focus on what we don’t have. But, how much have we been given? How many daily blessings are we taking for granted? There are blessings like plenty of food to eat and clean water. There are blessings like healthy children. There are blessings like a home to live in. There are just so many blessings.

For many of us, these daily comforts have become so common that we forget how blessed we are.

Before Jesus performed His miracle of feeding the 5,000, He gave thanks. He gave thanks before God provided. Perhaps we should take note.

Giving thanks is a conscious choice. Living thankfully is a conscious choice. While it can sometimes be a challenge when all seems to be going wrong, it’s a choice with beautiful consequence.

A 70 degree day in January reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂