Author: Wendy

A Heart Reboot

Posted on by Wendy
We can spiritually reboot our hearts and get back into perfect rhythm with God's plan.
We can spiritually reboot our hearts and get back into perfect rhythm with God’s plan.

My dad had to go to the hospital this week to have his heart stopped and restarted. Sounds pretty scary, right? Who on earth would agree to have their heart stopped on purpose? But, Daddy has a pacemaker that is supposed to keep his heart in rhythm and his heart was out of rhythm. That lack of perfect rhythm was making him tired all of the time with no energy.

The entire process took all of fifteen minutes, (although he did spend the night.) The surgeon basically rebooted his heart. It’s in perfect rhythm now and he is supposed to feel a hundred times better.

The entire process got me to thinking about how cool it would be if we could all get a heart reboot, when we get out of rhythm. Of course, I don’t mean physically, but spiritually.

There are times on our faith walk when we are just no longer motivated or so tired that we don’t want to continue anymore. We may get discouraged for a number of reasons from prayers that we feel are unanswered, to bad things that happen, to simply spreading ourselves too thinly and doing too much. Some of us are guilty of saying yes, too often.

Whatever the reason that we find ourselves out of rhythm, maybe we can reboot our hearts spiritually. If we aren’t spending any time with God in prayer, that’s a good start. But, possibly the best way to reboot, is to spend some time in His Word.

I often hear people complaining about not hearing from God or feeling His presence, but when asked if they spend anytime reading the Bible, the answer is usually, no. I bet if we would commit to just fifteen minutes a day to Bible reading, we may get fabulous results.

Prayers seem to get an electric charge when we are regularly reading the Bible. We learn to pray differently. The Holy Spirit gets really busy when we read the Bible. If the Spirit is the pacemaker; the Bible is His battery. We are granted wisdom and discernment. We feel a new peace. Our spiritual lives can reboot and we can take on a new rhythm.

There’s no magic number of minutes to spend reading the Bible or in prayer, but if we are out of rhythm, fifteen minutes a day may be a perfect place to start. Why not give it a try?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Been There Moments

Posted on by Wendy
Our been there moments have the potential to comfort others.
Our been there moments have the potential to comfort others.

When I got called in yesterday to sub, I had no idea why. It turned out that it was for a teacher who had to have her dog put to sleep that morning. As I shared in a post last week, I recently went through that myself. When she arrived at noon, we talked about it a few minutes and shared stories. I hugged her and offered her some comfort that could really only come from someone who had “been there.”

Later, in the car rider line, I was talking to a friend of mine who had a serious struggle last year resulting from the betrayal of a really good friend of hers. That same friend had brought her into the Christian faith, so the betrayal hurt her very deeply. She and I have discussed many times why God didn’t work it out differently. I always assured her that He does have a plan and His own timing even when we can’t understand.

Well, it turns out that she had coffee with another friend of hers a couple of days ago who shared some things that were going on in her own life and in one of her relationships and my friend got it. She said it was like a light bulb moment, when she realized that the only way that she was able to  help this friend was because she had “been there,” herself.

The bad stuff from her past, all of the pain, suddenly made sense. She said she felt an amazing sense of peace and relief.

When we surrender our stuff to God, He can do amazing things with it. When I say stuff, I mean pain, betrayals, disappointments, failures and heartache. He can use those things and create something beautiful to help others along in their journey. It doesn’t matter whether or not we can see it; He can.

But, we shouldn’t limit ourselves or Him to the negative stuff either. He can also use our successes, strong healthy relationships, and joy too. His power is limitless. He wants everything in our hearts, good and bad and all He wants from us is to give it to Him and to trust.

Wherever we are right now, whatever we are going through, we never walk alone. He can redeem any situation and He always wants to hold our hand on the journey. The question is, are we willing to reach for His?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Dandelion Faith

Posted on by Wendy
What do you see when you look at a dandelion?
What do you see when you look at a dandelion?

When children see a dandelion, they often see a wish for the making. They will blow on all of those little white seeds and make a wish. When adults see a dandelion, they often see a weed that must be killed at all costs. Beauty, I suppose, is in the eye of the beholder. The truth is, though, that we would usually all be better off if we looked at life through a child’s eyes.

Dandelions were actually prized until the 1800’s. People would pull grass out of their yards to make space for useful weeds. They are useful. All parts of them are edible except for the white seeds. They have vitamin A, C, K, potassium and calcium in them. They can also be dried and made into a tea. They can be used to make dyes and some cultures use them for medicinal purposes. Bees love them and use them to make honey.

Interestingly, when perfectly manicured lawns became the rage, dandelions became a pest to homeowners. People spend millions of dollars each year on herbicides to try to eradicate them. But, the dandelion is a formidable foe.

I think we might have some things to learn from this little weed. First of all, its roots can grow up to fifteen feet deep. Think about that for a moment. No wonder you can’t dig them up very easily. Most of them have about eighteen inch roots, but that’s still pretty deep. The other cool thing about their tap-root is that it’s very brittle and twisted, if you leave any of it at all behind, while digging it up, it will regenerate.

Then there’s the little white seeds. They can travel up to five miles away on the wind and create more dandelions. That’s a lot of dandelions from one original plant.

I have to wonder what our faith would look like if we took a lesson from the dandelion. What if we established deep roots through prayer, Bible reading and faith community? If our roots went deep enough, no adversity could snuff us out. If we came under attack, we would regenerate. The right root system would allow us to do that.

After establishing roots, we could feed many off of our bright yellow flowers. All kinds of people are attracted to bright and cheerful, just like the bees are attracted to dandelions. Just think of the sweet honey-like things that could come from our cheerful invitation to follow.

Then, of course, there are the white seed pods that spread everywhere with a little help from the wind or a whimsical child. There’s a lot of new life that can come from spreading our faith like that.

I think we can learn a lot from the dandelion. I don’t think I’ll look at them quite the same way anymore. Maybe you won’t either.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Obedience and Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Obedience leads to beautiful blessings.
Obedience leads to beautiful blessings.

Last night our church improv group did a Sunday Night Live show. It was a variety show with short comedy skits and some music played in between. My family participated in one at Christmas time and we enjoyed it, but this one was an entire different story.

My hubby and kids worked together and wrote several of the skits for this one. We had a group of nine teenagers as well as adults. We had very few practices and many last-minute script changes. It was incredibly stressful. I found myself praying last week that God would calm my nerves and help me to see His plan through all of the chaos.

I had worked with young children and plays many times, but teens are an independent sort. Would they learn their lines? Would they even show up? Comedy is also a different animal than other plays. Would the show be funny?

Sunday morning came and one of our adult cast members had a fever. Would she be able to make the show?

Sunday afternoon everyone showed up on time. The rehearsal was horrible. We didn’t know our lines. We didn’t have the right props. We had technical difficulties. We all hoped to run through our show twice, but only had enough time to do it once.

Now I knew from every single play that I have ever worked with that a horrible rehearsal often leads to a beautiful performance. The other thing that we had going for us was that we had spent the past five months or so, learning to improvise, so when we flubbed our lines, we could often just work with each other. That’s what improv is.

But, probably the most awesome thing that God let me witness through the entire experience was a few minutes before the show started. The pastor wanted to round up the cast for a prayer, but when we went to find the kids, they were already joining hands for a group prayer of their own.

I was moved to tears. A group of teens pulling together on their own, to pray for a common goal is an awesome thing to witness. The adults joined the kids and one of the girls lead the prayer.

Of course, the show went beautifully. The audience laughed loudly at our shenanigans. The music was beautiful and the kids worked together like well oiled machinery.

God was there, just as I knew He would be. He was at work. He was at work as people laughed who desperately needed to laugh. He was at work as we all worked together. He was at work within the hearts of the teenagers who knew the importance of prayer. I’ve no doubt He was at work in countless other ways too.

As is usually the case, when I watch for God and I am obedient, even when it’s hard, He always shows Himself in unmistakable ways and I always end up feeling incredibly blessed. I’ll try to remember that the next time obedience seems hard.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Healing Power of Kindness

Posted on by Wendy
Kindness can help heal.
Kindness can help heal.

We had to have our dog, Sadie, put to sleep on Good Friday. It’s taken me until now to be able to write about it. It wasn’t completely unexpected. She was a hundred fifteen pound dog and she was fourteen years old. She had long outlived her life expectancy. Still, she was healthy and although she could no longer hear or see very well, she seemed to be chugging along just fine, until she wasn’t.

She had some sort of stroke. We called our vet and he was set to be out of town for the week, but would be in for a couple of hours that morning. He had always been Sadie’s vet, so we really wanted it to be him. We beat him there and had to wait for a while, but they got us in a room and checked on us repeatedly, offering us tissues and drinks. Their gentleness and kindness was unbelievably touching.

When the vet arrived, he actually sat on the floor with us as she drifted off for the last time and they made a little plaster footprint for us to keep. While the entire process was pretty gut wrenching, I was so incredibly moved by their kindness.

When we attended a Good Friday prayer service that night, we told our pastor about our dog. He was very sympathetic and was concerned about our kids. On Easter Sunday, I had several church members express their condolences too. I don’t know why I was so surprised. It’s a very small, close-knit community. If you have ever had a dog, you know they become part of the family.

The vet clinic is in a very rural county and they are always busy. They really didn’t have to go out of their way to be so incredibly kind to us, but they did. A couple of days ago, we got a sympathy card in the mail from them and everyone in the clinic signed it. Attached to the card, was an envelope of wild flower seeds. We can plant them in a patch and be reminded of Sadie every spring.

What a beautiful gesture, that again, was certainly not required or even expected from them.

Kindness is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, one that seems in short supply these days if you watch much of the news. It often takes so little from us to extend kindness to others, but that effort can mean the whole world to someone who is hurting.

I feel so blessed by the kindness extended to our family over the loss of our dog and I am reminded to be ever vigilant to extend it to those around me who may be hurting. It really does help.

When my kids ask me if dogs go to heaven, I have to say that I can’t imagine creatures that bring so much love to humanity not being close to the heart of God. So, yes I suspect heaven is full of dogs.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

And a Child Shall Lead Them

Posted on by Wendy
There may be no more fertile ground on earth for the love of Jesus than the heart of a child.
There may be no more fertile ground on earth for the love of Jesus than the heart of a child.  Photo Credit: Bishop M. Cromartie

Facebook has been all abuzz with news of the rioting in Baltimore, Maryland. A suspect died in police custody and the streets filled up with angry protestors bent on revenge and violence. Houses and businesses were destroyed. Buildings were burned. Rocks and bricks were thrown at the police who were trying to keep order.

Monday night was a scene of complete chaos. All of the citizens of Baltimore were completely out of control. The city was being run by evil forces bent on destruction. But, then the sun rose as it always does and light broke through the darkness.

It’s amazing how the tiniest bit of light can shatter complete and utter darkness. It’s true; there are dark forces that are thriving in Baltimore at the moment, but there’s plenty of good as well.

The little boy in the picture above was at the local CVS that was burned. His parents and other volunteers, yes volunteers, were trying to assist in the clean up. The little boy completely unprompted, went to officer after officer and offered them water. This child was clearly not filled with hate or anger, not for police officers or white people, or any people. His heart was filled with love and kindness.

There are countless other photos out there of citizens getting between the police officers and protesters. There are stories of other citizens offering the police water as well as pizza. There are dozens of pictures of everyday citizens assisting in the cleanup, the cleanup of a mess they didn’t create. There is good going on in Baltimore. God is present. He is at work. There are pastors out there who have asked that we share photos and news of the community that is pulling together. I say that we oblige them.

I think we need to remember that chaos and hate do not come from God. They come straight from Satan. Righteous anger is one thing. There’s nothing wrong with being angry at injustice, but hate is something completely different altogether. When we take to social media and spread chaotic and hateful messages, whose side are we on?

There was a mama who was standing on the side with the police on Tuesday, when she realized that one of the hoodie-clad rioters was her very own teenage son. She stunned the world when she went stomping over into the group of rioters who were carrying bricks and rocks and she let him have it. She went off on him on national television and drug him away. Who knows what kind of evil her intervention stopped?

What would our world look like if all of the mamas and daddies out there weren’t afraid to call their kids out when they catch them doing wrong? Isn’t that our job as parents?

Please join me in praying for the citizens of Baltimore. Pray that peace will be restored there. Pray that evil will be crushed and let’s give a special thanks for the little boy who followed his heart and the mama who had the courage to do what was right on national television. May God fill our country with more people like them.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

 

 

A Technology Black Out

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes life without technology looks pretty good.
Sometimes life without technology looks pretty good.

Last night while we were watching television, our cable froze. It was a riveting show too, a Simpson’s rerun. I went ahead and did all of the troubleshooting tasks, unplugged the box, etc… and still nothing happened. I went upstairs and asked my daughter if her cable was working. It wasn’t. I was going to have to call Charter.

When I picked up the phone, it was dead too and we had no Internet either. Gotta love the bundle. After getting a nice lady named Wanda, on the phone, I learned that we had an outage in the area and they were working on it. Quite frankly, I was kind of happy about it. I find troubleshooting cable and wi-fi to be a huge pain. I have to find where things are plugged in which often requires moving furniture. At least I knew it was on their end not mine.

When I thanked her for letting me know. She paused a minute and told me I had been her nicest customer all night. Really? What would have been the point of yelling at Wanda? She was sitting at a desk somewhere far away. What exactly could anyone expect her to do about an outage? It wasn’t like she could climb a pole and fix it. I answered the annoying survey that followed and gave her all A’s.

Then I hung up my cell phone and something fabulous happened. My son put down his iphone. My daughter came downstairs and plopped down in a chair and we talked.

For whatever reason, my teenagers began reminding each other of learning games they played on the computer as little kids. They remembered little pieces of songs and would sing them. Then they began telling different stories from their kindergarten days. They talked and laughed with each other. We all asked each other questions and we would laugh some more.

This went on for a little over an hour and then the cable came back on. My daughter was done with her trip down memory lane and headed up stairs to watch “Fresh Prince.” My son became engrossed in his laptop while watching yet another “Simpsons,” episode. That show is always on.

I picked my Kindle back up, but I was incredibly thankful for the technology black out. Wanda told me that I could call Charter and get credit for the time with no cable, but I really wanted to call them and thank them for the time. Their failure turned out to be a beautiful little gift for me.

I’m trying to do better at recognizing little blessings along the way and to give thanks for them. I’m trying to do better at treasuring the precious resource of time.

Life these days is loud and busy, so when we are forced to have some black out time, maybe we should seize the moment. It’s fairly rare and usually needed and quite possibly a gift. Maybe we should just say thanks.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Shepherds and Cowboys

Posted on by Wendy
Leading can be much more effective than pushing.
Leading can be much more effective than pushing.

My pastor was discussing shepherds on Sunday and how there were many shepherds out there, but only one Good Shepherd. Then he said that sheep don’t like to be pushed. Sheep like to follow. He said if we were cows and Jesus was a cowboy, he could just herd us wherever he wanted to. He could lasso us and bring us down and make us join his herd.

I found that analogy fascinating. Humans are referred to as sheep all through the New Testament. I don’t recall the Bible saying anything about cows. I’m sure sheep can be herded, but I can’t remember hearing about any big sheep drives from one place to another. I have been to a rodeo and they didn’t lasso any sheep or ride a bucking sheep.

Cowboys get their work done by physical grit and force. They push the cattle where they want them to go. A shepherd wants the sheep to follow him.

Isn’t that a huge part of what sets Christianity apart from other religions? It’s not about fear or force. Jesus invites us to follow him, not out of fear or obligation, but because of love and trust. We have promises like green pastures,  restored souls and light yokes. So, why don’t more people get on board?

I certainly don’t have an answer to that question. I find that a lot o the people who I talk to about church carry around negative childhood memories of hell, fire and brimstone preachers, banging on a pulpit. Those guys tried to act like cowboys instead of shepherds. They tried to push and not lead. Sheep don’t like to be pushed.

As Christians, we are all sheep who are called to be shepherds in our own way. If you talk to any single person about God, even if it’s a family member, you are a shepherd of some sort.

Yet, many of us are uncomfortable with the shepherd role. We are terrified of coming across as pushy, but what we are really concerned about is being cowboys, not shepherds. We can lead without pushing and we can do it in dozens of ways.

We can invite others to worship or to a program at church, not hound people, just invite. We can volunteer our time, so that others can benefit and see us doing the work of Christ. They may feel called to do the same. We can extend kindness to a stranger or take a meal to a neighbor or send a get well card to someone who isn’t doing well.

We don’t serve because people are watching. We serve because the Good Shepherd serves, but when we do serve, others may feel lead to follow and when they do… what do you know? We are shepherds after all.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Gift of Age

Posted on by Wendy
Growing older means growing wiser. Wisdom is a gift that the world needs.
Growing older means growing wiser. Wisdom is a gift that the world needs.

Yesterday at church, we gained a new member. Her name is Debbie. She is just about to finish her seminary training and has served as a pastor for four years. That information on its own doesn’t sound particularly interesting does it? But, then she took the microphone and shared a little of her story.

She said she got called into the ministry late in life. She has been a nurse for forty-two years, a profession that already willingly serves others. She has grown children who are married and six grandchildren. She glowed with peace and joy when she shared the next part of her story.

She said when she got called to serve in the ministry that she asked God if He knew how old she was. She said as she laughed, that He wasn’t the least bit concerned.

I thought about her all day. She really was an inspiration. Of course, she’s the exception of how we like to plan out our lives. We work for a certain amount of years, raise our children, and build up a 401K and retire as soon as possible and live the easy life. We may plan on traveling or just relaxing in our twilight years. Not many of us plan on serving and certainly not beginning an entire new career where we are called to serve.

Does getting older mean we get take it easy and slow down? Maybe others should serve us for a change. Maybe it’s a matter of our attitude. But, more likely, it’s a matter of the heart and who our heart belongs to.

The Bible has many examples of God using ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things and age never seems to matter. Sarah was way past childbearing years when she bore Isaac and the nation of Israel began. Elizabeth was way too old to have children when God blessed her with John the Baptist. Moses was eighty when God sent him to talk to Pharaoh.

Mother Teresa served all of her eighty-seven years here on planet earth, even after a heart attack and a pacemaker and later heart issues. She never stopped serving.

Now I’m not saying that we are all called to foreign countries to be missionaries or to be nuns. Most of us aren’t called to go into professional ministry either, but age is simply not a factor when we are following Jesus. If God calls us, then He equips us. He made each and every one of us. He’s well aware of our strengths and weaknesses. He’s certainly aware of our age. He clearly doesn’t care.

Instead of looking at getting older as the end of the road or a time to wind down, perhaps we should think of it as a life with less responsibility that allows us to serve more freely. It could be if we open our hearts to the possibility of a new journey with God, but with all of the wonderful wisdom we have gained along the way, we may find that we are in for the time of our lives.

It might be something to consider.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

Simply Saying Thanks

Posted on by Wendy
Taking time each day to look for all of the small gifts we have been given can lead to a thankful heart.
Taking time each day to look for all of the small gifts we have been given can lead to a thankful heart.

Have you ever had one of those days that was pretty close to perfect, where everything seemed to go right, every light in your path was green? I had a day like that yesterday. I was reminded of the television commercial that was out several years ago where it was a character named Bob’s day. He had a parking spot saved for him everywhere he went and their were literally signs on the road that said, “Yield to Bob.”

I have had a lot going on lately and have prayed a lot for answers and direction. It’s nothing super serious, but I have had some heavy conversations with God and I have patiently (most of the time), waited.

Yesterday was a really easy and laid back day with no chaos. It was beautiful outside and I was loving it. I went into CVS to pick up a few toiletry items for my family along with a prescription, and my bill was $52.00. I presented a few coupons and one was a 25% off card. The saleslady scanned them and was confused with what the cash register was reporting that I owed, so she called her manager who walked her through it. She told the cashier to hit the override button and my bill was .06. The stunned cashier smiled and asked if I would please pay in cash.

I obliged her and thanked her profusely. As I left the store, shaking my head, I climbed into my car and I thought about all of my prayers lately and at that moment, wasn’t really sure what to say. I had been given a great little surprise gift.

And then I knew what to say. I said a prayer of thanks.

I think that when I spend a lot of time praying about specific issues that I need to work out in one way or the other, I sometimes miss the little gifts that God sends me. That morning as I began my day with a walk, I prayed that God would show Himself to me. He did.

I’m glad I had the sense not only to recognize it, but to say thanks. I wonder how often I miss those everyday gifts because I’m so focused on something specific. Maybe you struggle with that too? God is ever-present in the lives of His children whether we recognize it or not.

We have an enemy who would love for us to believe that our prayers don’t matter and that we are alone. Those are lies.

Sometimes God’s presence is super subtle and sometimes it’s like a billboard, like yesterday was for me. Either way, He’s here and it brings great nourishment to our souls not only to remember that, but to acknowledge it and simply say thanks.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂