Category: Building Christian Character

As Christians, people should be able to look at us and see Christ. People should be able to see who we serve in the way we act.

Focusing on Jesus

Posted on by Wendy
When we stay focused on the cross, we can always be at peace.
When we stay focused on the cross, we can always be at peace.

I enjoy doing yoga. I am by no means an expert. Most of the poses that I know, I learned from the Wii Fit. My favorite poses are ones that force me to work on balance. It occurred to me the other day, that whenever I begin to work on a pose that requires one leg, I automatically locate a spot on the wall to focus on.

My focus on that spot, will keep me steady and from falling over. It’s a trick I learned as a child, when I was participating in gymnastics. Now, it’s simply a habit. If I take my focus away from my spot, I will get wobbly.

But, when I thought about that spot focusing habit the other day, I remembered that ballerinas will do the same, when they are spinning around repeatedly in one place. Their focus keeps them from getting dizzy and falling.

I also recall reading that in natural childbirth classes, women are instructed to focus intently on a single spot and breathe to make contractions more bearable.

So, in three different and seemingly unnatural or chaotic scenarios, maintaining balance on one leg, maintaining balance while spinning, and in getting through severe pain, simply remaining focused on one spot, can keep you going.

This seek is Holy Week for Christians. It began on Sunday with Palm Sunday. Many of us will participate in a communion service on Thursday, called Maundy Thursday, where we remember the Last Supper. Friday is Good Friday where we remember the crucifixion and Sunday is Easter, resurrection day. It’s our highest holiday and most important celebration.

Our focus always, but especially this week, our spot, should be Jesus. Our focus should be that He willingly died for our redemption, our salvation.

Because when we become intentional about keeping our eyes focused on the cross and what it means for all of us sinners, we come to realize that no matter how unbalanced our lives become, or how fast our world may be spinning or even how much pain we may be in at the moment, we are loved beyond our comprehension. We are treasured. We are saved. We are more than our current circumstances.

As we walk through Holy Week, let’s intentionally make Jesus and His sacrifice, our focus spot and let’s remember that whatever we are going through on this side of eternity, that He’s ready and willing to hold our hands and help us through it.

In the end, if we accept and embrace that humbling and beautiful truth, we can have peace and joy that is beyond all understanding, no matter our mess.

A yoga pose reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Jesus Loves the Little Chidren

Posted on by Wendy
We prayed for sunshine and God sent it.
We prayed for sunshine and God sent it.

Last weekend, our church hosted an Easter egg hunt at our new church location. The church itself is fourteen years old, but has moved around from place to place until landing at our new permanent address. We moved less than ten miles from where we were, but we crossed a county line.

We went from our not very diverse, conservative community to an incredibly diverse college town. The entire congregation voted on it and it became very obvious through prayer, that God wanted us in our new place. So, we went, not knowing what to expect, but open to God’s call.

Several months ago, I pitched the idea of an Easter egg hunt and everyone was on board. We decided months ahead that we would do it the Saturday before Palm Sunday instead of the Saturday before Easter.

A couple of weeks before, my pastor’s wife, who is one of my favorite people on the planet, asked me at choir practice, what my backup rain plans were. I informed her that it would not rain and I asked her to pray for sunny weather. She said she would.

It was amazing to see my little church come together on the preparations. Somebody ordered the eggs. Somebody different ordered the candy and toys to go in the eggs. The ladies group stuffed the eggs. A different person bought cookies and prizes. Another lady made lemonade. A different crew hid the eggs.

All week long, the weather forecast looked terrible. At first it was going to be cold and rainy. Then it was going to be warm with thunderstorms. When I last looked, the storms were going to roll in at hunting time.

Anytime I was asked what needed to be done for the hunt, I replied prayers for nice weather. Saturday began cool and cloudy, but I wasn’t concerned.

I have learned through years of planning children’s ministry events, that when we are doing God’s work for kids, He intervenes. I reasoned that if the Maker of heaven and earth wanted to use our little outreach to plant some seeds, the weather would not be a problem.

Not surprisingly, the afternoon turned out to be truly stunning. There was a light breeze and the sun was out. Two hours before we started, a family pulled through the lot to ask us about the hunt. We told them and welcomed them to come back.

At start time, we had five families of multiple nationalities who we had never met before, along with a few others, as well as church members. There are few things more precious than laughing, excited children, hunting Easter eggs and I was reminded of the song from my childhood, “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” though politically incorrect now, I’m sure, the meaning behind it still rings true.

Jesus loves children of all colors and nationalities and when we make an effort to reach out to them and plant seeds, well, it’s always wise to expect Divine intervention. We invited them to church and to our summer Vacation Bible School.

I can’t wait to see what God will do with that ministry. One thing is for sure, as long as we continue to pray about it, we can expect to see big things.

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

 

Giving Thanks Always

Posted on by Wendy
Keeping an attitude of thanks and praise keeps our eyes focused on God and not ourselves.
Keeping an attitude of thanks and praise keeps our eyes focused on God and not ourselves.

A couple of days ago, a little orange light with a wrench on it, popped up on my dashboard. I panicked of course. What did it mean? Was it bad? As soon as I could park, I flipped through my owner’s manual until I found it. It simply meant that I needed to get my car serviced. What a relief.

The next morning, I took it to my mechanic around 9:00. They are always super backed up. There were like six people in the waiting area. I told them I was leaving it, but coming back in about an hour. I did come back and the car wasn’t ready. I had to wait and I waited until a short time after noon. I was very annoyed.

I was fuming on my drive home. I told them I wasn’t leaving it all day. Why did I actually have to be sitting there for the car to go to the front of the line? I had so much I needed to get done that wouldn’t.

Then I heard a little voice in my head that seemed to whisper, “These are first world problems.”

I was reminded of a report that I had heard on the radio the day before about children in Haiti literally eating sand so their stomachs wouldn’t hurt from hunger pains. I had been so moved that I unsuccessfully fought back tears. Life is so unfair sometimes.

Was I really going to be angry about having to wait on my car?

I asked God to forgive my selfishness and then I began to give thanks. I gave thanks that I had a car to begin with; many people don’t have one. I gave thanks that I had the money to get it serviced; many people don’t. I gave thanks for an honest mechanic. Many of them aren’t. I gave thanks that it wasn’t a huge repair needed.

It’s difficult to remain angry when I am thanking God for His many blessings in my life.

I also had to remind myself that my to-do list really wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s not like I was going to be late for performing a heart transplant. But, sometimes it’s easy for me to get totally self-focused on what I want and then to get frustrated or angry when my plans get knocked off course. Maybe that’s the case for you too?

The Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Sometimes that’s really easy and sometimes it seems nearly impossible, yet it’s what we are called to do. I’ve really been working on having a thankful heart. I’ve really been working on prayers of praise, instead of always praying with my hand out.

Prayers of praise and thankfulness take the focus off of me and put it on God, where it is supposed to be. When I get it right, which is certainly not always, my entire attitude changes and I find there is little room for anger and frustration.

A little orange wrench reminded me of that. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Honey vs. Vinegar

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes a gentle approach is much more effective in sharing our faith.
Sometimes a gentle approach can be much more effective when sharing our faith.

A few weeks ago, my hubby and I were shopping at Sam’s Club. I love that store. There are always so many cool things to look at when I’m there.

This particular time, there was a salesperson trying to sell a satellite service. This woman was like a bulldog. The first thing she asked was who our cable television was with. She then proceeded to tell us how much we paid and how her service was so much better. She was in our faces and in our personal space. We couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

As we browsed our way through the store, we wound up in the deli section. There was a Sam’s employee there, rearranging some of the bread. There was a flat bread that my hubby and I were discussing trying. The woman looked over and told us how good it was. She said that when they were doing a demonstration on it, that the employees kept sneaking over to get more, even thought they weren’t supposed to. She told us how she had seen it prepared and that it was delicious. Then she went on about her business.

We bought some of that flat bread and let me tell you, it’s become a delicacy in our house. My entire family loves it and can’t get enough of it. We’ve even made a special trip out to Sam’s to purchase more.

I have been  thinking about the two approaches of those women as well as my reaction to them. That first woman could have been handing out pure gold and I would have missed it because I was so turned off my her approach.

The second woman could have been peddling garbage, but she was so humble and soft-spoken about it, I probably would have given it a try.

Those two women reminded me of how we choose to share Jesus with others. Knowing Him is exciting. Knowing we get to spend eternity with Him in heaven is exciting. Knowing that death isn’t the end for us is exciting. It’s good to be excited about Jesus, but sometimes in our excitement, we can get aggressive like the first salesperson.

In our excitement to share and bring others to Christ, we can invade personal space and even get loud and pushy. Unfortunately, we can push people away from Jesus instead of guiding and pulling them towards Him, even though that wasn’t the intention.

Sometimes the best course is to act like the second salesperson. Share our personal experience. Invite others to try it and then back away.

Because the thing is, the bread we are trying to share, never runs out and I think it’s certainly worth taking a more careful approach when we talk with people about something as important as eternity.

My mama always said you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Perhaps that applies with faith sharing too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Spreading the Light

Posted on by Wendy
In the end, the light wins.
In the end, the light wins.

Our sermon last Sunday touched on the story of Lazarus and his miraculous resurrection from the dead. The focus was on the days afterward and his sister Mary specifically, but he was part of the message.

Yesterday, the online Bible study that I’m following was about Lazarus. The reading was from John 11:1-44, if you want to check it out.

Since I don’t believe in coincidences where God is concerned, I began to wonder and then pray about what God was trying to show me in the Lazarus story at this moment.

There are so many beautiful illustrations of Jesus’ love for humanity in the story. What did God want me to see? What relevance in particular, did it have right now?

As I read it again, I remembered that the sermon last week pointed out that the moment Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead became the moment the Jewish officials elected to mark him for death. The text says, “They plotted to take his life.”

It’s almost too evil to fathom. Just moments before, raising Lazarus, Jesus wept with his sisters Martha and Mary, demonstrating that He knew what it meant to be fully human and how death devastates us and separates us from our loved ones.

Then He did the unthinkable, the amazing, the miracle that only God can do. He raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb. He restored Lazarus’ life and the relationship between him and his sisters.

This was a moment of pure joy and celebration. There was no downside here. God was here on earth, walking with humanity and restoring life. How could anyone in their right mind want to stop that kind of goodness, power and grace?

But, the Jewish officials at the top didn’t see it that way. Jealousy, greed and fear are powerful fuel. Darkness hates the light.

As I pondered the reaction of the people in charge, asking myself how anyone with any good at them at all, could possibly be against Jesus, I was reminded of some of the events going on right now.

Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East, simply for being Christians. There is a large underground Christian movement in Iran of all places. Christianity has exploded there. There were an estimated 500 Christians there in 1979 and now 370,000 is the generally accepted estimate, even though they could be imprisoned, tortured or killed for following Jesus. Why does the Iranian government care if its citizens worship Jesus?

Why are Christians around the world persecuted and killed for following Jesus? What is so threatening about His message and His life?

Could it be because that even after 2,000 plus years since His death and resurrection, He still offers new life? Could it be because He still offers redemption and restoration? Could it be because He is still the light of the world?

Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil, hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:19-20

There will always be persecution of Jesus and His believers until He returns a second time. Darkness hates the light and always will. But, for those of us who are Christians, we have to remember that we are the light that represents Him and we are called to spread it far and wide, keeping in mind that in the end, now just as it was over 2,000 years ago, Jesus wins.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Divine Gardener

Posted on by Wendy
These azaleas definitely need pruning, but timing is everything.
These azaleas definitely need pruning, but timing is everything.

My hubby and I were doing some much needed yard work last weekend and we pruned some holly bushes way back. We had allowed them to begin taking over our driveway. What once were nice little evergreen bushes, had gotten completely out of hand. They are seriously ugly now, but they will come back with a little time.

After we were done with the holly bushes, I saw my hubby eyeing the azaleas in front of our house. They too, are seriously out of control, but there is a right time to prune azaleas and that isn’t now. Azaleas can only be trimmed right after they bloom. If you trim them any other time, then you have to go a year without the flowers.

Since Easter is only a couple of weeks away, no way was I willing to sacrifice all of those gorgeous pink blooms. The problem is that we always miss the ideal window to prune them and so they are way too big. He grumbled, but agreed to wait.

If we prune at the wrong time, we miss the blooms.
If we prune at the wrong time, we miss the blooms.

I thought about how important pruning is to keep plants healthy. I thought how important it is to prune the bushes in the front of our house to keep them inviting and beautiful and not scraggly. Not to mention that not pruning them creates a good place for unwanted critters to hide. I want the bushes out in front of my house to welcome people inside, not scare them away.

Jesus talked to His disciples about God’s pruning. He told them, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2

What does that mean?

Maybe it means  that when we submit our lives to God, He gets rid of all the unfruitful stuff, that we don’t need or that separates us from Him. Everybody’s unfruitful branches look different, but I suspect things like gossip, jealousy, unforgiveness and anger might make the cut. He doesn’t want to leave any places for unwanted critters to hide. But, God doesn’t stop there.

The parts of us that do bear fruit, He prunes, so that those parts will be even more fruitful. I think it’s important to remember that when we are trying our best to serve Him and things just don’t seem to be working out. Sometimes He is training us for something better. Perhaps we are being pruned.

This is where trust and obedience come to play. When we are praying and walking close to Him, but we still feel like we are being pruned, that’s when we have to lean in closer, because His timing is always perfect and if He’s pruning us, then He knows that the blooms to come will be spectacular.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Divine Writer

Posted on by Wendy
The Creator of heaven and earth can certainly write a new ending to your story.
The Creator of heaven and earth can certainly write a new ending to your story.

My hubby and I really enjoy the television show, Grimm. It comes on Friday nights and we look forward to it all week. It’s a show about good versus evil with the supernatural thrown in and is based loosely on Grimm’s Fairytales.

The writers of that show truly amaze me. There is one character named Adalind, who was an evil hexenbiest. She destroyed everything she came into contact with and was truly pure evil. But, then she got pregnant and her life and the life of her child was in danger, so she willingly gave up her powers.

She became a mother and the life of her child became her focus. She turned her back on evil and made friends with people who had been her enemies. The transformation has been truly amazing. She has friends and has embraced the good in life. I am in awe at the writers who made it happen.

My daughter refuses to watch the show with us anymore because she had come to dislike the Adalind character so much that she is angry that they didn’t kill her off the show.

I was thinking about, Grimm, the other day and Adalind’s transformation and how people really can change. She is a fictional character. Her change is due to excellent writing and good acting, but we have something even better through Jesus.

When we embrace grace, and surrender all of our own bad thoughts and deeds, and ask for forgiveness, God can completely rewrite our story. He can take our ashes and create true beauty. He can take our messes and make masterpieces. He can do what is seemingly impossible because for Him, nothing is impossible.

There will always be naysayers, like my daughter with Adalind, who refuse to believe, but that doesn’t make the possibilities or the transformation with God, any less true or real.

Our Divine Writer is always waiting to write for us a new story, a better story; one that has Jesus at the center, one that embraces truth and light, one that produces peace, patience, love and joy.

We simply have to remember that we are the characters in our story and allow Him to be the writer. Once we embrace that truth, we truly have the ability to change the world.

Sometimes I really want to write my own story and do it my way instead of His. It often doesn’t turn out very well. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Dealing with Nuisance Birds

Posted on by Wendy
Focusing on what frustrates us, makes us miss out on a lot of beauty.
Focusing on what frustrates us, makes us miss out on a lot of beauty.

Yesterday, some movement in my garage, caught my eye. She was back. I guess it was a she. Every year around this time, I have an ongoing battle with a bird who insists on trying to build a nest in my garage. Surely after all of this time, it isn’t the same bird, but it’s the same struggle.

I will shoo her out and she comes back. She will get a pile of leaves and sticks going and I remove them. It’s not like my yard isn’t covered with trees where she could easily build a nest. Every year, I feel like she targets me, which of course, isn’t the case.

Well, yesterday as soon as I saw what she was up to, I closed the garage. My kitchen got awfully dark all of a sudden because it was a beautiful day and I had blocked the sunlight from coming in, but I was willing to make the sacrifice.

Some time went by and I decided to sweep out my garage. When I clicked to open the garage door, I was stunned by both the brilliant light that came pouring in and the symphony of birdsong. I mean, it was like a concert out there. I smiled at their songs as well at how beautiful and warm the light was.

The garage had been dark and chilly with the door closed. Sure, there was no nuisance bird, but I was missing out on a lot of the beauty that I so enjoy this time of year.

I thought about that light and music for the rest of the day. I thought about how we can allow anything that is a nuisance to us, deprive us of something special.

I thought about how especially true that is with churches. Anyone who has spent a lot of time in a church will tell you that churches are far from perfect. They are made up of people and people are broken. There will be conflict from time to time.

Christians have a common enemy who thrives on conflict.

And quite often, there will be that one person, who drives us insane, so much so, that we allow ourselves to become focused on the negatives of that person. We can allow that person to become our nuisance bird, so to speak, and avoid all situations where he or she is involved. We become willing to shut out any contact with that person.

In so doing, we miss out on so much of the community that is the heart of the church. We miss the aggravation, but we sacrifice the light and the music.

My little nuisance bird reminded me that I should spend some time in prayer about those who frustrate me and then give it to God. In the end, keeping the door closed, makes me give up too much and in a world that is often dark, I don’t want to miss a minute of the light or the music.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Working At It

Posted on by Wendy
Spiritual strength, like physical strength, requires work.
Spiritual strength, like physical strength, requires work.

Spring is here, or really close, and shorts weather will soon follow. I love doing yoga and Pilates, but I don’t like doing cardio and I really loathe working on my arms. But, as a gal in her mid-forties, if I don’t want those famed choir lady arms, or as my mama calls them, angel wings, I have to put in some time with weights. Sigh.

At this point in my life, if I want to be happy with how I look, I have to put in some time and effort. Oh, I wish it wasn’t so, and that I could still eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, and only sweat occasionally, but those days are gone.

As I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I have learned that most all of the things that matter to me in my life require my time and attention. My marriage requires my time and attention if I want it to remain strong and fulfilling. My relationship with my children requires my time and attention and sometimes loads of patience, if I have any hope of them becoming productive adults with strong character, who make me and their Daddy proud. Relationships require my time and effort.

What about my relationship with God? As a teen, I would have said that I believed Jesus was my savior and I prayed. I believed that was enough. I also believed that eating chocolate cookies for breakfast wouldn’t make me fat.

But, times and circumstances change. I have come to understand that if I want a true, close relationship with God, it requires effort on my part. I have to attend regular worship services because God requires true worship of Him and Him alone. I can’t really do that sitting at home on the couch or at the lake.

I have to spend daily quiet time in prayer. I can’t hear Him if I’m not quiet and still. When I hear people say that God doesn’t ever speak to them, I often wonder if they are ever quiet when they pray. When we don’t quiet our minds, we can’t hear. Self-talk is not the same as prayer.

Finally, I have to spend some daily time reading the Bible. It doesn’t require a lot of time. It can be a daily devotion or a follow along Bible study, but to be truly close with God and to be able to discern His will for my life and His voice over the voices of others, I have to know His story and His character. I can only truly find that in the Bible.

There are times when my day has been over scheduled and I’m almost too exhausted to breathe, that I wonder if I really have the time. Can’t I just skip a day? I can, but, like those choir lady arms that I don’t want, if I want to be as spiritually strong as possible, I just have to commit the time.

And you know what? The results, like peace, patience and joy, are always worth it.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Savoring the Moment

Posted on by Wendy
Don't forget to savor the ordinary. One day we will look back and find that it was extraordinary.
Don’t forget to savor the ordinary. One day we will look back and find that it was extraordinary.

When the weather gets warmer like it has over the past few days, I feel an incredibly strong pull to get outdoors. My family and I took a walk on Sunday. I had so many things to do at my house, but I’ve become wise enough to know that when my two teens are willing to take a hike with their parents, it truly is a gift from God, and not to be taken for granted.

I have horrible allergies this time of year and have to take an antihistamine and a decongestant, but I can’t seem to stop myself from spending as much time outside as possible. The headache is worth it. Spring is so fleeting that I always try to grab hold of it with both hands. It will be ninety degrees here in the Peach State in the blink of an eye. Spring is precious.

Yesterday, when my daughter got home from school, I was sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and she and I talked about her day. I had some laundry to attend to, but she wanted to talk, so I was happy to listen. My son came in with my hubby, a little while later and my son spent some time talking about his day.

It was getting later. I needed to start dinner, but there we sat, talking and listening to each other and soaking up every drop we could of the glorious day we had been given.

Dinner ended up being a little late. No one seemed to care. I had to take some ibuprofen after clearing the dishes because my head was aching some. I was late writing my post because I spent the extra time outdoors with my family and the towels are still in the dryer.

But, as I sit here typing, I couldn’t be more thankful. I truly believe when I get to the end of my life, that I will look back on time spent on the porch with my kids as precious and as fleeting as spring.

It’s the ordinary gifts like a spring day or the time spent with our family that we so often take for granted, but in the end, we usually find that the ordinary is actually the extraordinary. And if we are truly wise, we grab hold with both hands and savor every moment, thanking God for the everyday.

Because, time is the one thing that we can never get enough of and the laundry can always wait.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂