Author: Wendy

My family just purchased a new car. Well, it’s used, but it’s new to us. Our 2001 minivan just died, so it doesn’t take much for us to be oooohing and ahhhing over “new” technology. It’s nothing fancy, but we all love it. It’s been less than a week and my fifteen-year-old has began requesting to drive it.

Now, we got her, her own little, easy to control, easy to stop car, last summer and she’s coming along well with it. By, her birthday, I’m sure she will be ready to take the keys and go. But, right now, I’m not so sure I want to hand her the key to our newest vehicle. I wonder why she never asked to drive the minivan.

She is not alone in her quest for more and better. It seems we would all like a little bit more, a little bit newer, a little bit shinier, than what we have. I have definitely at times found myself praying for more, when I wasn’t necessarily making the best use of what I had.

I am reminded of the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew, Chapter 26. A wealthy man who was going on a journey, gave three of his servants different amounts of money to keep for him. Two of them used what they had to make more money for their master. One just buried what he had been given. When the master returned, he was pleased with the first two. He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Matthew 24:21

The third guy didn’t do so well. The master was very angry with him and threw him out into the darkness.

I’ve heard this parable explained in many different ways and as most of Jesus’ parables, I think it likely has several layers and meanings. One of them may be that we shouldn’t ask for more, if we don’t look after and do our best with what we have.

Would you buy your kid a new bike if he always left his old one in the rain? If he didn’t take care of what you had given him, why would you spend money on more? If you were late to work every day or spent most of your day at work, playing on the internet, would you expect a promotion? If you were the boss, would you give yourself a promotion?

Perhaps if we want more of anything, we need to take care of what we already have. Are we faithful stewards of what we have been given? Are we thankful for what we have been given? More of anything could include material things; but it could also be our gifts and talents.

Maybe if we find ourselves desperately wanting more, we should take stock of what we already have and truthfully ask ourselves how we are doing with that. What do you think?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The world is far from peaceful at the moment. I don’t really even watch the news much anymore, but social media and my internet homepage is more than adequate to keep me up to date on the gory details of daily events. It’s sometimes difficult to remember that chaos is not God’s will for us.

In John and Luke’s Gospels, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, his closest companions, the first thing he said was, “Peace be with you.” In fact, in John, he said it twice. I find that particularly relevant considering the horrific, violent death he endured. There was nothing peaceful about the cross.

And his closest followers deserted him. Did they deserve peace? John’s Gospel says they were hiding behind locked doors after the crucifixion, hiding from Jewish authorities. They were terrified of worldly retribution. Would they be next in line for execution?

But, then Jesus showed up out of nowhere and tells them to be at peace. Not only was he letting them off the hook for not doing anything to stop his death; he was giving them the responsibility of spreading the Good News. The men in that room went from feeling like terrified losers to the specially and carefully chosen ones to share the unique story of grace.

Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit; and after he appeared, those disciples were truly fearless. They had a unique peace that came from knowing that Jesus spoke truth when he said: “I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

Peace seems to be far from us in the world we live in. Our desire to have more material things keeps us in constant turmoil. Buying all of those things keeps us working long hours and very often in deep debt. We worry about finances. We worry about our jobs. We worry about the economy. We worry about our health and the health of our families. We have so many worries and concerns that keep us from being at peace and those are just local examples.

Globally, the chaos is much worse. Last week, twelve Christians seeking an escape from war-torn Libya and work in Italy, were tossed overboard and left to drown by Muslim aggressors. The reason was simply that they professed their Christian faith.

That kind of hate seems almost unfathomable to Westerners. However, last week, many parts of the world commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s only been seventy years since the end of World War II. Hate was alive and well then.

But, hate was alive and well when Jesus was nailed to a cross too and yet, his message to his disciples and to us is to be at peace. God does have a plan.

Does that mean we should stand idly by and watch evil spread? No, I don’t think so. I think first and foremost, we are to pray for peace and protection of all Christians and Jews worldwide. I think as a nation, we should intervene where we can, to protect the innocent.

Perhaps as we begin a new election cycle, we should pray for discernment on who God would like to lead our country. Make no mistake, there will be plenty of hate to go around there as well.

But, in the end, after we have done what we can spiritually and physically, we need to lean into Jesus and seek and experience his peace. Fear and worry don’t come from him, so how can surrendering to it be his plan?

Seeking peace is active not passive. I realize that this is much easier said than done, but the outcome will be well worth it. Peace be with you.

Have an awesome day.

Wendy 🙂

Last night my small community group had a pot luck meal together. Up until then, we watched a video and discussed ideas and personal triumphs and struggles. Last night was simply about breaking bread together. It was a wonderful evening with different stories being shared. We are all different ages with very different backgrounds, but our love for Jesus and a desire for strong community has brought us together.

After we all said goodnight, I found myself pondering the bonds that get stronger by simply sitting with people and sharing a meal. I don’t know what it is about eating together that brings people together, but it’s a timeless ritual that almost always produces results.

Jesus often ate with friends. The Last Supper was shared with his closest friends, the disciples. Even after the resurrection he shared a meal with his disciples. The breaking bread together seemed to be a part of the deep relationship they shared.

There’s a story in the Gospel of Luke, where two of his followers were walking along the road to a place called Emmaus. They were sadly discussing all that had happened with the crucifixion and the women reporting that Jesus had risen. As they were talking, Jesus came up and walked and talked with them. The two men didn’t know it was him.

Even as he explained all that had happened was foretold in the scriptures and how it all came together, they still didn’t know it was Jesus. When the men stopped for the evening and Jesus attempted to keep walking, they “urged him strongly,” to stay with them. He agreed.

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” Luke 24:30-31

Who knows how long they walked together, most of the day, maybe? What was it about sitting together, giving thanks to God and eating together, that opened their eyes?

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we all have to eat. Our bodies need food to survive. When we eat together; maybe we are acknowledging a need together. When we bow our heads and give thanks together, we are acknowledging that God meets our needs.

Maybe when we take time to sit together and eat together, we share thoughts and feelings. We share our stories and therefore, some of ourselves. Maybe in the sharing, others are able to have their eyes opened and see Jesus in us and we can see Jesus in others.

I don’t have the answers. But, even researchers agree that families who eat meals together are stronger. The kids are less likely to get into trouble and do better in school. What if the answer is actually spiritual? What if the reason that family meals are so important, is that breaking bread together and giving thanks, goes beyond the physical realm and touches the spiritual?

Whatever the reason, maybe we should all make a point to sit with others when we eat and give thanks, instead of eating drive through food in our cars or mindlessly eating in front of the television. We might find that we are pleasantly surprised with the results.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

I’m still basking in the glory of the Easter story. I spent the forty days of Lent attempting to draw closer to Christ and to remove things that hinder my faith walk. That is after all, the purpose of Lent. But, I also feel like Easter should be celebrated and reflected upon for more than just one day.

It’s only been a week since Easter and the The Easter baskets have all been plundered and the candy has long been eaten at this point. But, the miracle of the empty tomb, well it’s still glorious. I find myself once again, drawn to those three women who visited the tomb that first Easter. This time, the Gospel of Luke has grabbed my attention.

Luke’s version tells us that after that the women arrived at the tomb and found it empty, that two angels told them that Jesus had risen just as he had said. The women went at once and reported what they had seen to the apostles.

“But they did not believe the women because the words seemed to them like nonsense.” Luke 24:11

The entire idea of Jesus rising from the dead seemed like nonsense to the ones who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. They had seen him heal countless people and cast out demons, but the testimony of three women who they knew well, seemed like nonsense.

But, isn’t that always the case with a miracle? Miracles themselves stand on the edge of impossible. More often than not, they defy explanation. Very often, modern humanity refuses to believe, just like those apostles did.

Even so, miracles happen everyday. People survive car crashes that are deemed unsurvivable. Sometimes a medical diagnosis leaves a family little hope, yet the patient is cured. No one knows why these things occur; although many desperately need to explain them.

Back in March in Spanish Fork, Utah, four police officers were attempting to rescue the passengers in a car that was upside down in a river. The rescuers all heard a woman’s voice calling “Help!” She called out more than once and one of the rescuers even yelled into the car that they were trying the best they could to get in there.

When the flipped the car over, the mother, who was driving, was dead, and had been for hours. Her 18-month-old child, Lily was alive, but unconscious. She survived, although they don’t know how. She was upside down, strapped in her seat for nearly fourteen hours, while the temperatures dipped well below freezing.

Did all four of those police officers make the story up? No doubt, some will say they did. They believe they heard the voice of an angel. I agree with them.

Perhaps, when we experience the miraculous, we should take a cue from those women on that first Easter. Even though they were scared and shaken, they unashamedly told others what they saw. Those police officers did the same.

We don’t have to have all of the answers and we don’t have to figure it all out. Faith isn’t about understanding all of the tiny details. Faith is about believing that a God who is so much bigger than we could ever imagine, is in control and nothing is too big for Him. Miracles still happen. Just ask the family of little Lily.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Last week was spring break for my kids. I decided to take a break myself. When the kids are super stressed, mama is too and school always makes my kids stressed. This year, spring break was kicked off by Easter. We attended a church service and heard the familiar Easter story.

But, this year something different stayed with me, and that was the faith journey of three women. In the Gospel of Mark, on that first Easter Sunday, three women rose just after sunrise to visit Jesus’ tomb and anoint his body with oils and spices. These were three women on a mission. They had stayed and watched the crucifixion and now they sought the body of their beloved Jesus.

Mark’s Gospel is famously short on the details that I crave, but it does say that the women asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mark 16:3

Three women, walking alone, were planning on honoring Jesus by preparing his body. They felt called to serve him. They knew what they wanted to do, but they didn’t have a plan to make it happen. There was a huge stone covering the entrance to the tomb. Who would move it?

Were they planning on sweet talking the Roman soldiers who were guarding it? Did they hope that there would be some strong men hanging out in the area of the tomb who would lend them a little muscle?

The text doesn’t say, but perhaps that’s the point. They were following God’s will for their lives. They were answering the call to serve Jesus. The details didn’t matter. They believed that God would provide and He did. All four Gospels have the stone rolled away. But, the three women couldn’t have known that.

Yet, they went anyway.

My take away from this story is that if we want to serve Jesus with our lives, we have to have faith that God will make things happen. There will be stones in our path. Sometimes the stones are closer to the size of boulders. When we know that we are approaching one of those seemingly insurmountable boulders, we have two choices.

We can give up and turn around or we can stay on the path and have faith that God will roll it out of our way. We have the privilege of worshiping the same God who moved that stone.

If the three women would have stayed home that morning because they believed that logistically it was impossible to fulfill their mission, just think what they would have missed out on. They got to play a part in the greatest miracle known to mankind.

Maybe we should ask ourselves what we may lose if we pay too much attention to the logistics and not enough attention to the voice of God.

Even when passage on the road seems impossible, perhaps we should go anyway. Who knows what God may have in store for us or what part we may have to play in the continuing story of Jesus? Let’s not miss it.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂