Author: Wendy

Confessions of a Reformed Pleaser

Posted on by Wendy
If we want to know what God is calling us to do. we have to spend quiet time in prayer.
If we want to know what God is calling us to do, we have to spend quiet time in prayer.

I have been a life long people pleaser. I have always strived to make the people around me happy, whether they were parents, teachers or friends.

I attended a military high school where I flourished. There were very specific rules, spelled out boundaries in black and white. I knew what they were and I obeyed them. My parents were happy. My teachers were happy.

My parents expected good grades; so I worked hard at getting them. My parents were happy. My teachers were happy.

But, one of the biggest downfalls of wanting to make everyone around you happy, is that the older you get, the longer the list gets. In addition to your parents and closest friends, there’s a spouse, your own children, bosses, co-workers, your kids’ teachers, your church family. This list can seem close to infinite.

At one point, I read a book called, “You Are Already Amazing,” by Holley Gerth. She pointed out repeatedly, that we are called to love others, but not to please them. That made a lot of sense and as I let go of a lot of the need to please people, I focused on pleasing God.

I feel that all Christians should try to please God, but if you are anything like me, you have to be careful. We can get in our heads all of the right actions we think will please God. We have to be good mothers doting on our kids every moment; we need to keep a clean house, pray before every meal, honor and adore our spouses, never miss a Sunday at church, volunteer at every church opportunity presented to us, from teaching a class, to leading a Bible study, to singing in the choir, to cooking meals, or being thankful with a smile at all times even when we feel like sobbing.

Most of the things on that list are good things, but we can easily turn trying to please God into believing that we can do something to earn His love. The simple truth is: We can’t earn God’s love or our salvation. It has been freely given to us. The price has already been paid.

We in turn, show our love for God by walking with Jesus. That can sometimes be frustrating for a rule following, pleaser like me. There is no long black and white list of how to do that and everyone’s journey is different.

All we need to know and do, is to spend quiet time in prayer in God’s presence everyday and read His word. When we do that, we become familiar with His voice. We can hear when He calls us to do something. It may be to sing in the choir or to lead a Bible study, or not. It won’t be a huge laundry list. We are not called to do everything, just our part.

We are all called to do different jobs to make a kingdom impact and what we are called to do today, may be different in a couple of years. That’s why we have to spend daily time with God, listening.

Because in the end, pleasing God is something we get to do, not have to do. It’s something each one of us is uniquely qualified to do. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

What Defines You?

Posted on by Wendy
What are you focused on?
What are you focused on?

My hubby shared a video with me last weekend of a sermon in Alabama. It was from one of those megachurches. The pastor’s sermon was centered around the idea that whatever you spend most of your time focused on, eventually shapes who you are.

He used the example of football. If you spend every Friday night watching high school football and then all day every Saturday watching college football, and all day Sunday watching pro football, and then you watch Monday night football, your focus in life becomes football. It’s what you talk about. It’s what you think about. It defines you.

This idea intrigued me because this tendency to hyper-focus on one thing is so prevalent in our society. There are some people who are completely focused on their jobs. They go to work early and they stay late and when they are at home, they are connected with work via their smart phone. Work is what they talk about. It’s what they think about. What happens or doesn’t happen at work begins to define them.

There are people who are focused on their emotional pain. Maybe there was a divorce, or a betrayal, or a death. There’s certainly a time to grieve, but sometimes we can allow pain or anger to consume us. It’s what we talk about. It’s what we think about. We allow it to change who we are and redefine us.

There are even positive things like exercising that can become a problem. It’s good to keep our bodies strong and in good shape. How can we make a kingdom impact if we can’t gt off of the couch? Yet, if we begin each day thinking about our morning workout or spend our day planning an evening workout, or spend every weekend traveling out of town to some type of race, then our activity, whatever it is, has gone from a hobby to a definition of who we are. It’s all we talk about it’s all we think about.

I suspect that just about every human on the planet struggles with balance at one time or the other. But, we also have to remember that God made us for worship. We are made to worship Him and if we don’t put Him first, we will worship something else.

Maybe we should do a self-check over the next week or so and prayerfully ask God to show us what our focus is on and what it should be on. Perhaps we should monitor ourselves and our conversations. What are we talking about? What are we thinking about? Do we need to make some changes?

The fabulous thing about following Jesus is that He is always ready and willing to help us re-define ourselves. We only have to ask.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

When the Plan is Out of Focus

Posted on by Wendy
We shouldn't necessarily hit delete because our plans are out of focus.
We shouldn’t necessarily hit delete because our plans are out of focus.

My family and I visited Callaway Gardens for New Year’s Eve. It’s a resort at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains covered with walking and biking trails. It also has a butterfly house that’s a huge solarium with all types of flowers, trees and waterfalls and they incubate all types of brilliantly colored butterflies.

It was almost otherworldly. It was cold and gray outside and we stepped into an oasis with greenery everywhere and something like 85 degree temps, and there were gorgeous, butterflies flying around all over the place.

Of course, my main aim was to capture one with my camera. I snapped dozens of pictures. I just knew God would lead me to share one of those gorgeous creatures here in this space. I mean, God and butterflies seemed like a no brainer to me. They weren’t very cooperative and wouldn’t stay in one place over a second or two, but I felt confident I got at least one good shot.

Upon returning home and browsing through all of my pictures, I learned that I didn’t get any good shots, not even one. I was really disappointed, but after hitting delete many times, I came across this one. It too, was out of focus, but as I went to delete it, I felt a nudge not to. I’ve learned to pay attention to those nudges. I suspected that God had something to teach me through that photo later, although I couldn’t imagine what it could possibly be.

Yesterday, as I was going about my business, thinking and praying about the new year, and some of the things I hope to accomplish, that out of focus butterfly came to mind along with some new thoughts.

First of all, just because the photo was out of focus, doesn’t mean the butterfly wasn’t beautiful. We often experience moments in our lives that take our breath away, but our society has led us to believe that if we don’t plaster them on social media, they weren’t special or meaningful. That’s simply not true.

Just because I am unable to prove to you with a perfect photograph that the butterfly was stunning, doesn’t make it any less stunning. Perhaps we could all learn from that blurry photo that the most important, memory making moments in our lives are often the private ones.

As I continued to think about the photo, I was also reminded that our plans are often not clear. When God plants a seed in us to do something, He often lights the path just one step at the time. More often than not, we have no idea what the end of our journey will look like. The not knowing can frustrate and frighten us, but as Christians, we are called to obey.

We are sometimes called to take Jesus’ hand and step out into the unknown, knowing that although the details may be unclear, like the butterfly in the photo, in the end, the destination will be spectacular.

Turns out, God did have something to teach me from that blurry photo. Perhaps you learned something too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Wind is Blowing

Posted on by Wendy
The wind is blowing.
The wind is blowing.

I have been reading along with an online Bible study called #shereadstruth. We are currently journeying through Genesis, which never ceases to cast forth something new and different for me to ponder, every time I read it. This time I was reading the account of Noah, when something new presented itself for me to think about.

Noah and his family and all of those animals were on the ark for around 370 days, give or take. Now I’m sure in the beginning, as the rain came pelting down and the ark began to float, they probably felt thankful and blessed.

But, the human heart is often fickle. God never told them how long they would be on the ark. He just told them to get on it. We have had a lot of rain here in Georgia over the past few months. There have been days that we wondered if it would ever stop. It rained on Noah for forty days and nights, non-stop.

I wonder how thankful they felt after 40 days. Then the rain finally stopped. Perhaps they wondered if at last they could breathe fresh air again and walk on dry land or run and jump. The rain may have stopped, but they had a long wait ahead. For over three hundred more days, they floated for a period that I suspect seemed aimless and endless.

Have you ever felt like you were drifting endlessly? Have you ever wondered if you would ever feel like your feet were on solid ground? Have you ever wondered if you would feel the warmth of the sun or the freedom to run freely again?

Well, take heart. I’m sure Noah and his family must have felt downright hopeless and forgotten at times, too. But, this story is about a man who loved and obeyed God, and God provided, as He always provides for His children.

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him on the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” Genesis 8:1

Keep in mind, that while that wind was blowing and the waters were receding that Noah and his family were still locked away in the ark. God was at work, but they couldn’t see it. I am reminded that He is at work in our lives too, in the darkness, in the hopelessness, even when we can’t see it.

Lastly, the first thing Noah did was to offer a burnt sacrifice to God. In our world of instant gratification, it’s a stunning picture of Noah’s love for God that after 370 days sealed aboard an ark with all of those animals, the first thing he did was to give thanks for their deliverance. Noah remembered to be thankful.

Noah’s story reminds me to always remember that God is always at work even if it’s like the wind and we can’t see it. His story also reminds me to give thanks for the many blessings that we have been given, even if they were what we believe to be a long time coming. God’s timing is always perfect.

Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Switching from Self-Help to Asking for God Help

Posted on by Wendy
What would our 2016 look like if we lived by those words?
What would our 2016 look like if we lived by those words?

I read a blog post last week that pointed out that we go from celebrating the miracle birth of Jesus and all of the hope and joy that He represents for mankind, to the celebration of a new year, where many of us proceed to make a list things we will do in the coming year, to better our lives.

I have thought about that concept for days. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with New Year’s resolutions or the desire to better ourselves, but have you ever noticed that most of our lofty ideas fall flat by February? Have you ever wondered why?

Sure, it could just be that people aren’t very good at making changes or that chocolate and french fries taste so much better than kale, that make us break our resolutions to eat better. It could be that we really are too busy to squeeze in thirty minutes of exercise required to lose weight. Maybe that television show was truly much more important than the Bible reading time we promised ourselves.

But, maybe our problem with keeping resolutions lies with the fact that we are likely to fail at any self-help venture.

The week before New Year’s Eve, on Christmas Eve, most Christians will eagerly admit that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

But, a week later, we make long lists of things we are going to do to change ourselves and our lives for the better. How many of us include prayer when we make those lists? How many of us seek the will of God as we make them? How many of us seek His guidance and blessings on our self-help plans for the upcoming year?

As I write this, we are not quite an entire week into the new year. Maybe it’s a good time to make a new list. I’m asking myself what would I like for my life to look like in 2016. But, before I put pen to paper, I’m going to start with a prayer.

I’m going to put at the top of the page: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3  Then I’m going to write a simple list of things I would like to do this year to change me and my world for the better. I’m going to end it with Philippians 4:13 and I’ll keep it close by where I can see it a remember it and pray about it.

I think I may be onto something, beginning and ending the list with some powerful Bible verses. Maybe you would like to give it a try too. I can’t wait to hear how you do.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Call to Love the Lost

Posted on by Wendy
The church is called to fearlessly reach out to the lost, remembering that Christ is with us.
The church is called to fearlessly reach out to the lost, remembering that Christ is with us.

I just read a fascinating story that had tears streaming down my face and I just had to share it. On New Year’s Eve, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a small congregation was having a church service at 11:30. There were around sixty people in attendance. The sermon was about the recent gun violence in America.

A young man in his twenties, walked through the door of the church carrying a semi-automatic rifle in one hand and ammunition in the other and headed up the aisle. Predictably, panic ensued. Some parishioners headed for the door and some hit the floor. The pastor, Larry Wright, an army veteran, with almost thirty years of experience in the pulpit, said that he could feel the fear in the air.

I can’t imagine what must have been going through those Christians’ minds. I ask myself how I would have reacted. How would you have reacted?

Wright did what I think all Christians are called to do. He left the pulpit and approached the man. Wright is 6 feet two inches and weighs 230 pounds. He was prepared to tackle him if he needed to defend his congregation, but instead he reached out to him. He simply asked, “Can I help you?”

It often takes some serious courage to leave the safety of our church to reach out to the hurting and to those who might wish us harm. But, to walk towards instead of away from an armed man, takes some serious faith.

The man told the pastor that, “He came to do some bad things.” Apparently, he was a military veteran, had just been released from prison, and had been hurt by the church before. He talked with the pastor a few minutes and gave him his gun as well as the ammo, and allowed him to pat him down. I think it’s important to note that Wright didn’t just take for granted that the man wouldn’t harm the congregation. He verified it. God did in fact, give us working brains that I believe He expects us to use.

At this point, Wright could have called the police and have him arrested. They had been called, but he asked them to remain outside. He announced to the church that the man wanted prayer and asked some deacons to come forward and embrace him. They did. Then Wright began to pray for the man and he said, “The power of God hit and the man hit the floor on his knees and began to cry and weep, face down on the ground.”

He was then invited to stay for the sermon and sat on the front pew. At the altar call, he gave his life to Christ. He then asked to speak to the congregation and he apologized. He told them that he had come to do something bad, but God had spoken to him.

The police waiting outside, took the man to a hospital where he voluntarily checked in for some mental help. There have been no charges filed. The congregation has said if he returns, they hope to baptize him.

I think this is one of the most perfect stories I have ever read about how “the church,” is supposed to act and react to those who are lost. I imagine the Apostle Paul, up in Heaven doing a happy dance. I imagine Jesus smiling as He claims one more soul for eternity.

I am reminded that we are called to be fearless in our faith and to remember that Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

May the actions of Pastor Wright and his congregation remind us all.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Never Grow Weary of Doing Good

Posted on by Wendy
The record setting rain had pushed the pond waters way outside of its banks.
The record setting rain had pushed the pond waters way outside of its banks.

The great state of Georgia, got some serious rain over the Christmas holiday. There were records broken. It was warm and very soggy. Miraculously, the skies cleared on Christmas Day and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for a couple of days.

Kids and adults alike, were all a little stir crazy and we just had to get outdoors for some sun and fresh air. My parents have a pond on their property and we went to see how far it had spilled outside of its banks. I don’t ever remember seeing it so high. On our walk back to the house, I came across this patch of baby bass who had been caught up in a current that took them outside of the safety of the banks of the pond.

Never grow weary of doing good.
At first glance, all seemed lost.

When the rain stopped, and it always does, the water receded and left them stranded. It saddened me to see these tiny fish, dead in the mud. I called my hubby and daughter over to show them. As my daughter examined them more closely, she realized that a few of them were still alive and she rescued them by putting them back safely into the pond.

She lost more than she saved, yet she was able to save some. Maybe those few would grow to adults and parent many more.

I shared our story with our other family members, so later, when my brother-in-law took my three-year-old niece on a walk, they were on the look out for more displaced fish. Apparently, little Lois had no trouble spotting some and went about returning them to the pond as quickly as possible. She got so excited in her quest that she ran and ended up tripping and falling in the mud.

Do you think she cried and gave up? Nope, she got up and apologized to the tiny misguided fish and carried it to safety.

I thought about those fish for days after I returned home. I thought about how easy it is for us to get lost when the floods of life come. We can sometimes find ourselves outside of the safety of God’s will.

I also thought about how easy it is for Christians to get discouraged when there are so many people who need help. We can began to feel that if we can’t help save everyone then it’s not worth the effort. We can get weary and overwhelmed. But, every single person matters to God.

Loving others and sharing our faith is not a numbers game. All we are called to do is the best we can with what we have. God will do the rest.

The Bible tells us: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

A three-year-old reminded me of that verse. In her quest to help, she fell, but she got up and kept helping. As a new year begins, it’s a good verse to remember and carry close. Maybe you needed a reminder too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

A Christmas Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
Let's remember why we celebrate.
Let’s remember why we celebrate.

My children are out of school for the Christmas holiday, so I’m going to take a couple of weeks off to spend as much time as possible with them and the rest of our extended family.

I pray that anyone who reads this will have a peaceful and meaningful Christmas. I pray that if you are not in a good place this year that you will remember that the truth and beauty of Christmas is not anything that we do here on earth, to celebrate, but about our God who loved us so very much that He willingly sent His son to become one of us. I pray that you will let that sink in. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, God sees you and loves you. Hold onto that life changing truth.

I pray for all of our soldiers overseas who can’t be home this year because they are fighting to keep us safe. I pray that you will say a prayer for them too.

I pray that our fellow countrymen will remember the true meaning of Christmas and return to God.

I pray for fellow Christians around the world who are suffering persecution simply because they believe in the truth of Christ.

I pray that you have a very Merry Christmas and I thank you for reading.

Have an awesome day!

I’ll be back in 2016.

Wendy 🙂

Lessons from Mary and Joseph

Posted on by Wendy
What lessons can we learn from Jesus' earthly parents?
What lessons can we learn from Jesus’ earthly parents?

In an attempt to keep fresh in my mind what Christmas is truly about, I recently read through the Christmas story in Luke and Matthew. I really gave some thought to who Joseph and Mary were and what qualities they had as human beings that would allow God to choose them to raise His son.

God could have chosen any set of parents at any point in history. What did He see in them?

Mary, was a young girl who was engaged to be married. So, she had the same plans of other girls her age. She had remained pure. She was a virgin. She didn’t appear to be some highly gifted spiritual thinker. She was courageous. The scripture says she was troubled, not terrified at the news of her pregnancy and she asked the angel how it could be possible. But, after Gabriel explained it, she was obedient.

I can’t imagine what the conversation must have been like between Mary and her parents or between Mary and Joseph. “Umm, you’re not going to believe this, but and angel told me that I’m pregnant with God’s son.”

We don’t know if her parents believed her. We do know Joseph didn’t.

But, still, Joseph appeared to be a man of character and mercy. He could have had Mary stoned in the public square. He believed she had been with another man. If he were a prideful man or a vengeful man, he would have immediately had his justice. The law was on his side. But, I suspect he was a humble man and he was willing to extend mercy to Mary. While he wasn’t interested in raising another man’s child and he didn’t believe her story, he was going to divorce her quietly.

But, his plans changed when he too, was visited by an angel in a dream that confirmed Mary’s story. When he awoke, he did just as he was commanded and married her. Joseph, too, was obedient to God’s plan.

When I think about these two people who raised God’s son, I see some similar traits in both. They were both people of faith who believed in God and His plan. They were both willing to be obedient to His plan, even though I’m sure the neighbors were talking. After all, they went from planning a wedding shower to a baby shower in no time flat and the baby wasn’t even Joseph’s. Yet, Joseph and Mary were obedient, no matter the cost.

Joseph’s strong character, humility and his ability to show mercy were also strong traits in Jesus. I doubt that is simply coincidence.

As I think about God’s choice of earthly parents for Jesus, I wonder if we shouldn’t all try to follow their example. They were people of strong faith who were willing to believe what was humanly impossible was possible with God. They believed in God’s plan and were obedient to His calling, no matter the cost to them personally. That took courage. They were humble people who didn’t run around telling people they were raising the son of God. After all, they spent the early years of Jesus’ life hiding out in Egypt.

As we come towards the Advent, surely there’s a lesson for us from Mary and Joseph. After all, they were average people just like us, who were chosen to do something world-changing by God.

Perhaps it’s a good time for us to take a leap of faith of some kind and to remember the importance of humility, mercy and obedience. I’ve no doubt that God would like to use each one of us too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Holiday Christianity

Posted on by Wendy
Perhaps we need to find away to share 365 days a year and not just at Christmas.
Perhaps we need to find a way to share 365 days a year, and not just at Christmas.

My hubby and I did a little Christmas shopping yesterday. As we approached the entrance to one of the stores we visited, there was a bell ringer from the Salvation Army. My hubby asked me if I had a dollar. I quickly scrounged for one. I rarely carry cash these days. My teens make sure of it, but I found a dollar and happily gave it to the man who wished me a Merry Christmas and thanked me for my blessing.

His words took hold in my heart and I thought about what he said for the remainder of the afternoon. It was just a dollar, but it was a blessing to someone who was in need. I could have given more. I probably should have given more, but it was what I had at the moment and for that gentleman ringing the bell, it was enough.

My pastor pointed out in a sermon a few weeks back, that people tend to be more generous during the holidays. He preached from Mark, Chapter 10, about the blind beggar who yelled for Jesus because he heard he was nearby. The Jews were getting ready to celebrate Passover and apparently they were more generous to those who were less fortunate when they neared Passover.

The beggar, Bartimaeus, got way more than extra coins that day. Although the crowds tried to shush him, he continued to call out and Jesus healed him. Jesus said, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Mark 10:52a The rest of the verse says that he could instantly see and he followed Jesus down the road.

What is it that makes us more generous and charitable during Christmas? Is it because deep in our hearts we want to share some of the many gifts that God has given us? Perhaps there’s something deeper. Perhaps it has to do with the baby who was a gift for all of mankind. Perhaps deep in our DNA, we recognize that gift and feel a deeper need to share it during the Christmas season.

But, maybe we should ask ourselves if we need to do a better job at reaching out to help others, the other eleven months of the year. The gift of Christ isn’t meant to be seasonal. It’s meant to be everyday. People who don’t have food to eat or clothes to wear are just as needy in February as they were in December. Right?

How can Christians be a blessing to others year round? How can we make a daily difference? Perhaps these are the questions we should ponder during Advent as we ready our hearts to celebrate the greatest gift ever given. How can we share that gift with others?

Because sharing our faith with those who are blind is the gift that never ends. Keep in mind, when Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus down the road.

Isn’t that what all Christians are striving to do? How can we be 365 days a year Christians, instead of holiday Christians? I’m going to spend some time praying about that. Maybe you would like to join me.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂