9/22/2023
Sorrow And JoyA bit of sadness awaits me, just around the corner. It’s hovering there in the autumn winds, like a storm rolling in. I don’t think about it, I just feel it in my bones.
Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. As a child, the fall months seemed to make me thrive. They brought me joy. There was such a freedom, running around in the crisp air as vibrant leaves showered the earth with color. I absolutely loved everything about fall. I still do, but 50+ years later, heartache upon heartache has changed the way fall feels for me. I can’t escape it. I can’t pretend it didn’t happen. I don’t even think about it, I just feel it. On two separate occasions, it was during the autumn months that heartbreaking betrayal left me in darkness. Darkness that lasted a long time. It was also a crisp November morning, one week before my birthday, that my mom passed away suddenly. It was in early October, just three years ago, that my dear friend went home to heaven. The very day after his funeral, my precious dad passed away unexpectedly as well. And this year, my sweet friend found out she doesn’t have long to live. As the cozy fall vibes splash across social media and I’m reaching for my blanket on chilly nights, all of these moments whisper on the winds. My mind goes there without me even thinking about it. I miss my loved ones. I miss the years that were taken as I tried to dig myself out of a dark pit. I miss a future with my friend. A few months after my dad passed away, I remember laughing for the first time. Truly laughing. And immediately after the laughter, sadness engulfed me. Because I remembered. I ask myself, can I have joy and sadness at the same time? Will I ever be free in the fall months to thrive like I did when I was a child? Will this heaviness that the sadness brings ever feel lighter? I am absolutely sure of one thing, the answer is yes. God wants me to have joy. Satan wants to rob me of that joy. I long to be oblivious like the rest of the social media world seems to be. I want to turn on football games, get out those cute fall boots and put on a cozy sweater. I want to drink pumpkin spice “everything”, and smile as I gaze upon the beautiful colors of God’s masterpiece falling from limbs in the sky. Like nothing bad ever happened. With God’s help, I still can. You can too ladies. When heartache grips us, often our humanity does too. We remember. We want things to be like they were when our hearts were free, before the sadness came. We want to hold on to the comfort that once was. Because of this, we are incapable of moving on past the heartache without the help of the Holy Spirit. But when we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and to empower us, we can readily apply God’s word to our broken hearts. His words that tell us to forget those things which are behind. That the devil comes to steal and destroy, but that the joy of the Lord is our strength. To lay aside every weight that we carry on our shoulders and look ahead at Jesus. And that is exactly what I am doing. I know God understands our humanity. Paul reminded us with the words~”as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”. Jesus Himself wept, even though He knew the joy that was coming. There will always be sorrow on this earth, because sin brings sorrow. We are born into that darkness, but God is our light. I know that He knows when our hearts are hurting and I believe that yes, we can have joy and sorrow at the same time. We can because as a believer, our sorrow isn’t without hope. We can because our joy isn’t found in the temporary, it’s found in the eternal and even though our weeping may last for a moment, our eternal joy will last a lifetime. Just like the wind takes hold of all the beautiful leaves and showers the earth with color, the wind seems to have taken the beauty of my “befores” that I once held so close. But my God walks on the wings of the wind!! And I know that if He had never taken some of that beauty from my life, He couldn’t use me to shower the earth with its vibrant colors. Colors of encouragement for others. Colors that hold Hope. I’m not going to lie and say I have been miraculously changed, and the sadness is gone. My humanity wants my life to stay beautiful. Not to change. Not to lose its vibrant colors and the comfort of my “befores”. I read a great quote this week that said~”Looking back doesn't enable us to go back, and more times than not, it just makes us stuck”*. It’s a daily (sometimes hourly) battle to hand that heaviness over to Jesus. But when I truly do this, when I pray and ask Him to take it~because I can’t seem to let it go, I find freedom. And in that freedom, I find joy. So today, join me as the tears fall, but our hearts smile. Take my hand~ Let’s walk with our great God on the wings of the wind. Scripture Reading: “Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:” Psalm 104:3 Psalm 30:5 John 14:27 John 15:9, 11 John 16:22, 24 1 John 1:4-5 Psalm 19:8 Psalm 94:17, 19 2 Corinthians 6:10 Romans 14:17 Philippians 3:13-14 John 10:10 Hebrews 12:1-2 Hebrews 4:15-16 Psalm 144:15 Psalm 16:11 1 Peter 1:8 Jude 1:24 Romans 15:13, 32 Ephesians 3:16-21 *Christine Caine
6/30/2023
When Life Isn’t A Joy RideI honestly don’t know how long I had been driving before I noticed the red and blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror. We live in a rural area. Long stretches of road with nothing but fields and beautiful views for miles. It’s wonderful, and doesn’t give much occasion to glance back at any oncoming traffic. Traffic is pretty nonexistent. I was singing along to some worship music with several kids in tow. Probably why I didn’t hear the siren. My children and their cousins were the reason I finally noticed. Fighting had ensued, followed by yelling (from me) “to knock it off or I’ll pull over!” It wasn’t until that moment that I finally looked in my mirror to see if they were obeying. Instead, I spotted flashing lights beckoning me to stop. So I pulled over. It wasn’t pretty. Apparently I had been speeding. 🤷🏼♀️ I was flustered, and when prompted to surrender proof of insurance, said proof could not be found. The officer returned to his vehicle, and of course that’s when I found it. When he came back I smiled cheerfully and said “I found it!” to which he replied. “Too late. I’m writing you a ticket.” My cheerfulness went right out the window. I’m sure the kids heard about it the rest of the way home. Isn’t that how life can be at times? We think we’re doing all the right things. We go to church and Bible studies. We read devotionals and blogs. We listen to podcasts and sing along to worship music. We coast through life enjoying the view, and then suddenly we are hit with an inconvenient attack from the devil. And we lose it. What we don’t realize is that~ all along Satan has been right on our tail but we were being too “spiritual” to notice. Too often all the good things take the place of the best things and when that inconvenience strikes, we can’t fight it. Suddenly we’re searching for truth, but we’re already in trouble. The Christian life isn’t just a joy ride. It’s a battle. We live in a day where knowledge and opinions are at our fingertips. So many people are telling us how we should live, that we don’t even search for that truth ourselves. We let others do that work, and in the process we miss out on all the wonders God has specifically for us. Wonders that only come from time spent with Him. Reading His words. Asking the Holy Spirit to show us what we need. Listening to the voice of God speak to our hearts. We want easy. We want quick. We want to glide through life and not have to dig for the answers. For the proof. Eventually Satan catches up to us. God’s word tells us that he goes about seeking who he can devour. How can we be prepared? By keeping God’s armor on at all times. The armor of God is so much more than a great Sunday School lesson or Vacation Bible School theme. It’s something you can study and glean countless knowledge from. I’m going to share a quick overview, but I HIGHLY recommend you get into God’s word yourself and look up scripture references that correlate with every piece of God’s armor. Armor God has specifically made for you! 1. The Belt of Truth- you cannot know what is truth if you aren’t in God’s word. Don’t let someone else tell you what is truth, read it for yourself. Jesus tells us HE is the way and the truth. God tells us to think on whatsoever things are true. Our hearts can so easily be deceived (even by ourselves) when we don’t know God’s truth. 2. The Breastplate of Righteousness- Righteousness only comes from Jesus. All our righteousness is like filthy rags. Nothing else can take the place of Jesus and the protection that He gives your heart and soul. 3. Shoes Fit for the Gospel of Peace- There is so much to learn from God’s word on the gospel of peace. God’s peace passes ALL understanding. When we are attacked, is this the reaction the world sees from us? 4. The Shield of Faith- Our faith will always be tested (proved) and it will not remain strong if we are continually relying on others for knowledge from God’s word. Faith strengthens when time is spent with the God of all strength. 5. The Helmet of Salvation- This is of utmost importance. Without the gift of salvation received by faith, the battle cannot be won. God’s gift of His Son’s death on the cross rescues us from eternal damnation. It renews and transforms our minds against anything the devil tries to deceive us with. Once received, salvation can never be taken away. It is our protection for eternity. 6. The Sword of the Spirit-God’s word is so powerful. It’s inspired. It speaks to our soul and spirit. It shows us doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction. I didn’t think it was fair when I received a ticket for not providing proof of insurance “fast enough”, because I still provided the proof. I’m not trying to compare that police officer to Satan but… 😂 Here’s the thing~Satan doesn’t play fair. Don’t coast through life on a joy ride with Satan on your tail, because he will catch up. Have your proof always ready and when he does show up, just speaking the name of Jesus will be your truth, because you know you’re ready for that battle. You’re strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might. His armor is all you need. Praise God for the gift He gives us in others, in the beautiful feet of those who share the gospel of peace. We all need specific men and women that God places in our lives, but their words should never take the place of HIS WORDS. Instead of allowing someone else (this blog included) to tell you how God is speaking to you, spend time in the presence of God Himself. That is a sweet, precious intimacy between you and your Savior. Nothing else can take its place. SCRIPTURE READING: John 8:32, 10:28-30, 14:16&27, 16:13&33, 17:17 Philippians 4:6-8 Isaiah 64:6 Romans 3:22&23, 10:15&17, 12:2&3, 15:13 Titus 3:5-7 James 3:17&18 Ephesians 2:8&9, 3:16&17, 4:3, 6:10-18 Psalm 119:165 Proverbs 3:5&6 Mark 9:23 I Peter 1:8&9, 5:8-10 2 Peter 1:19-21 I John 5:4 I Corinthians 16:13 Hebrews 4:12, 12:2 I Timothy 6:12 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16&17 Isaiah 52:7, 54:17 Hebrews 2:1-3
12/2/2022
A Bit Of JollyHave you ever prayed for your children, but deep down felt like it would take a literal miracle for it to be answered?
Sadly, I have… I had a dear friend who used to remind me continually of who Jesus is. Not who Jesus was, but who He is~ the same yesterday, today and forever. The same Jesus who worked wondrous miracles throughout the Bible is the same Jesus working miracles in my life today. My friend went home to heaven one week before my dad. He was such an encourager. From the day we met him until the day he went home to be with Jesus, he continually lifted my heart when it was down. His words were like presents and hugs wrapped into one. He was always jolly, and I think of him so often. Today I recall such a day of encouragement. You see, a mother’s prayer has been answered and my friend encouraged me through the waiting. If you have or had teenage children (or children in general), you will understand. Although it may seem trivial compared to the heartache some are facing today, it can still break a mama’s heart when her daughter’s fight continually and you don’t see any hope at the end of the tunnel. You have visions of them hating each other the rest of their lives. Every holiday get together from now until infinity will be riddled with strife or empty seats because they refuse to celebrate together. Yes, it was that bad. For a few years, I think I cried over my bible and coffee every morning after they left for school. And then one day a miracle slipped in. It was so subtle and although they are completely different personalities, my girls became best friends. And I am in awe. I had almost given up on that prayer. A prayer I prayed for almost 20 years. And when I stood back and watched it unfold, I thought about the words of my friend as he told me stories of his own two girls. How he encouraged me continually, and how his smile lit up his face as he spoke of his daughter’s sweet friendship now. Today, I am on a Christmas shopping trip with my own daughters. Not just the two I spoke of, but my youngest and my daughter in law as well. It has become a Christmas tradition. Our “girls” trip. We get a hotel. We shop, we eat, we drink lots of coffee, we shop some more, we laugh and maybe cry, we pray, we blast Christmas music… and this mama rejoices. My God is so good. Today I want to encourage you to not give up on the heart of your mama prayers. Today I want to encourage you to be an encourager. Everyone needs a bit of jolly in their lives. You can give them that gift. I’m so thankful for my friend and I’ll never forget his words to me. Today as I sit and listen to my girls laughter in the other room, I smile through the tears and I know my friend is smiling in heaven right along with me. With a twinkle in his eye I can hear him say~ I told you Charisse. God can do anything. Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:8 Hebrews 10:24-25 Romans 1:11-12, 8:26, 15:2, 5 I Thessalonians 5:11, 17 2 Corinthians 1:5 Galatians 6:2 Philippians 4:6 Luke 11:9 John 15:7 Mark 11:24 Jeremiah 33:3 Psalm 27:13-14, 28:7, 34:17
10/21/2022
What If Snowflakes Were Chocolate Chips?What if snowflakes were chocolate chips?
It was probably a day much like today. The fall of 1976. My husband was in the 9th grade when he sprained his neck during a gym class game of tackle football. And so, he was home from school~ alone, bored and unhappy. He knew where his mom hid the chocolate chips, so he made his way into the kitchen to sneak some before she got home. Wearing a neck brace made things a little tricky but he was sure he could pull it off. Due to his injury, the pain was too intense to turn his head or even bend over. With outstretched arms and bag in hand, he slowly poured some out only to have them spill all over the kitchen floor. A floor with black and white tiles. He found himself in a predicament. He could not look down. The best thing to do would be to back up, look at where the chocolate chips had fallen and then try to go to that spot to retrieve them. Each time he backed up and looked he was able to gather more, until he could no longer see any chocolate chips. Feeling quite proud of himself, he had no worries when his mom got home. Until she walked into the kitchen. “I see you got into the chocolate chips Michael”… He didn’t take into account that from far away, the black tiles made the chocolate disappear. This morning while I was reading God’s word, I couldn’t help but think of that story. One verse in particular stood out to me~ “He casteth forth His ice like MORSELS: Who can stand before His cold?” Psalm 147: 17. I don’t know why, but immediately my mind went to Nestle Toll House Morsels. Bear with me, I’m not trying to rewrite God’s word, it just really got me thinking about how we view our lives and what the lesson was in such a crazy concept~ What if snowflakes were chocolate chips? We don’t see the big picture the way God does, we only have a partial view. We pray and want answers immediately. We complain about our circumstances. We look for joy in things, instead of Jesus. We think that if our circumstances were different or if we could have that ONE thing, life would be better and we would find that happiness that’s missing. And when we fall prey to that line of thinking, we neglect to remember EVERYTHING God has already blessed us with. We dismiss His tremendous love, understanding and care for us. Psalm 147 brings out some amazing truths that we need to be reminded of. The entire chapter speaks of God’s glory and power. ~v.3 He heals the broken hearted (crushed or hurt feelings). ~v.5 His understanding is beyond measure. ~v.6 He lifts (encompasses and restores) up the meek (depressed in mind or circumstances). ~v. 11 He takes pleasure in those who hope (patiently wait and trust) in His mercy (kindness). And this is just a tiny handful of the abundant sweetness God blesses us with. Blessings that we often forget. Back to my snowflake analogy. Think about all the petty things we complain about. Winter is right around the corner, and I’ve already heard several disdainful comments about the impending snow. We complain so often about the things we don’t like, myself included. Here is something I would like us to ask ourselves: Do we honestly think God is just sitting up in heaven laughing and saying “I know how to make them miserable, I’ll give them a snow storm!”? It sounds ridiculous to say that out loud, but when we complain about the things in our lives we aren’t happy about, we’re pretty much placing God on a human level and blaming Him for it. We don’t see the big picture because we aren’t God. God has a reason for the snow just as much as He does for the wind and for the rain, for the sunshine and for the clouds. (Psalm 147) What if we looked at life differently, knowing that God put’s everything in our lives for a reason and trusting Him with that reason? What if we viewed snow with the same pleasure we view chocolate chips? When my husband spilled all those chocolate chips many years ago, he was trying to make a bad situation better by doing something that he shouldn’t have been doing. When he backed up, he didn’t see the goodness that was hiding in the dark areas, he only viewed the light. His brace was hindering him. Maybe if he had taken more time and looked more closely he could have seen the big picture the way his mom did, and things would have turned out differently (He probably would have enjoyed a lot more chocolate chips). What is hindering our view today? Sometimes we’re put into circumstances that make it hard to see or trust in God’s plan. We feel so far from God and like those black tiles, dark circumstances can make our previous blessings disappear. On the other hand, maybe some of us have simply become a complaining, petty people. Complaining won’t make a bad situation better, it will only make it worse. Whatever the case, perhaps it’s time we decide to step back and try to see the big picture by reminding ourselves of all the amazing ways God blessed us with goodness, even in the moments that seemed so dark. To back up and see where all the chocolate chips in our life have fallen. To go back to that time and retrieve the thankfulness that’s missing. We don’t see things the way God does, but if we patiently wait and trust in His kindness and steadfast love, the more we back up and look, the more we will see. All the times He has healed our brokenness. All the times He understood our pain. All the times He held us close during the most painful circumstances. And not just a tiny handful of love, but ALL the love He has poured into us~ Every single moment of every single day. The more we see, the more joy we have and the more grateful we become. Our view has to change. How different our lives will be when all our snowflakes become sweet chocolate chips.
9/16/2022
A Fall Bucket ListOur first day of Fall arrives this week.
For many, Fall is a welcome guest. Bring on the football games and sweater weather, hot cocoa and cider, changing leaves and cozy feels~ all wrapped up in blankets and pumpkin spice. For others, Fall brings with it loneliness, darkness, isolation and depression. It is an unwanted guest. Until recently, I never realized how many view the arrival of Fall like a dark storm cloud moving in, covering up all the beautiful sun of lazy summer days and long summer evenings. And it’s hard. Our mind is a powerful tool. It can make us believe things can’t or won’t get better. As the days become shorter and shorter it can convince you that you will never climb out of the darkness that lies ahead. You know what’s more powerful than our mind? The mind of Christ.(Philippians 2:5-11) The Holy Spirit within us. (John 14:26) The power of God. (Ephesians 6:10-11) Satan knows that we are supposed to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of our world, so he convinces us that there is no light to shine. That life will not and cannot get better. Don’t give up! Don’t give in to those thoughts! This is not truth! God’s words are truth! (Hebrews 4:12) And so~ with God’s help, I want to help each of us to renew our minds this Fall. Fall Bucket Lists seem to be all the rage. Just type those words into Google or the Pinterest search bar and you will find a myriad of ideas. For some the lists are full of fun, Fall activities. For others they are only a reminder of their loneliness. You are never alone because God is in you and for you. (Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8, Romans 8:38-39, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 23:4, 46:1, 1 Peter 5:7) With that in mind, I have come up with a Fall Bucket List to help each of us to renew our minds in Christ. (Romans 12:2) To change our perspective. To grab a hold of that power and to learn to enjoy Fall in all its glory. And for those of us who love Fall, maybe this list will be a good reminder that the changing seasons aren’t all about us and how many fun activities we can pack in. A gentle reminder that everything we do~whether we eat or drink or watch football games under cozy blankets~ everything is for God’s glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Perhaps God wants us to notice a little more, notice the ones who aren’t smiling. Notice the lonely. Notice the sad and broken and help make their lives a little brighter. (Galatians 5:13-14) As the days get shorter and shorter, don’t allow all your fun activities to overshadow and don’t allow the darkness to overcome. Be the light. You might truly believe you can’t, and that’s ok because you don’t have to. Christ’s power within you will overcome that darkness. (Philippians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, Luke 1:37) And with the changing seasons, He can change your heart. With the dark, early evenings~ He can and will be your light~ so that you can be His light. (Psalm 27:1, 2 Corinthians 10:5) Turn up the lamp of God’s glory. Be the light~ His glorious light! Bible apps to listen to: https://dwellapp.io/+99H0 https://www.bible.com/app
8/26/2022
All That StuffI have a hard time getting rid of things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hoarder.
I have a very easy time throwing things away, a little too easy… 😂😂 Organizing and purging is a great past time of mine, but I’m also very sentimental. Today, one of my baskets caught my eye. There’s really nothing special about it, in fact it doesn’t even go with my decor anymore. But when I looked at that basket, a memory rushed through me. A memory of antique shopping with my mom and dad. My dad bought me that basket and in that split second I was transported to that time, as if I was watching a scene from a film of my life. I was able to relive that moment with my dad and it made me smile. I probably wouldn’t have thought about that specific moment in time if I didn’t have that basket. Things of no significance to others can spark magic in our hearts by striking the memory of a beautiful moment. There are times that I will be antiquing with my daughter and she will find something that brings her right back to her childhood and moments she shared with my mom. And her heart longs to own that piece that struck that memory. Quite often we are admonished as Christian’s to not care so much about stuff. About things. Because they’re only things. We can’t take them with us when we die. But I see so much more when I look at things. I can’t take them with me, but I can create happiness all around them that I will leave for my children and grandchildren. Happy moments they will remember and talk about. Memories that will make them smile. Just by looking at one thing. I don’t think God ever intended our lives to be stark and void of beauty. He intended our souls to be flooded with joy and happiness because that joy and happiness glorifies Him. All you have to do is look around you to realize this. There is so much beauty God has given us that we take for granted. He didn’t have to create such beauty in a sunset or a field of flowers. Such awe in a starlit sky or the sand upon the seashore, the green pastures and the still waters, the lilies and the sparrows, the secret place of thunder and the little hills that rejoice on every side. (Psalm 23, Luke 12:27, Matthew 10:29-31, Psalm 81:7, Psalm 65:12) When we recall these things in our mind’s eye, why do we smile? What purpose is in their beauty? Because God delights in joy. God delights in us and through that joy, He is glorified. (Proverbs 8:30-31, 11:20b, Psalm 18:19) His beautiful creation screams His majesty to the entire world and we are in awe. (Psalm 19:1, 104) Just as I am in awe of the simple basket at my feet. A basket that holds a precious memory beautifully wrapped inside. A gift from God that belongs exclusively to me. What a wonder to think upon. They may be wood hay and stubble but don’t feel shame for the joy these sentiments bring. Instead recognize that these tiny treasures of joy are gifts from God. We aren’t meant to worship the gift, but the Giver. I still have my mom’s old roaster, her big old frying pan, her Christmas dishes and candy jars. I have my dad’s glasses, the ones I helped him pick out just before he passed away. It makes me smile to think of how “spiffy” he felt in them. I cherish each one of these things, and so many more because when I look at them I am flooded with a thankful heart for the memories of happiness they evoke. They aren’t just stuff. They are beauty to me. They are gifts from God. They are treasures from heaven. Just as His creation, I will always find myself praising Him when I think on them. Find yourself praising God on a daily basis. Find your own basket and fill it with joy until it is overflowing. The more we recognize God’s amazing gifts all around us, the more we glorify Him and lay up treasures in heaven. Those things and those memories? When I think on them, I weep with the knowledge of how much God loves me. Moth and rust can never take that knowledge or those memories away. They are beautiful gifts from God that exemplify the meaning of glorifying through gratefulness. Gifts that we can leave for generations to come. I was upstairs brushing my teeth when I heard it. My husband was still downstairs, and as he left the den he said~ ”Alexa, turn off the lights please.” “PLEASE!?” He said “please” to Alexa. 😂 In case you aren’t aware, (according to Google) Alexa is a ‘virtual assistant technology smart speaker.’ My rough and tough husband said please to a little, non human speaker. (I love him so much 🥰) I started laughing so hard that I had to sit down. I wasn’t sure he even realized he said it, so I didn’t bring it up. The next night as we were both heading upstairs, he again asked Alexa to turn off the lights. I stopped and looked at him~ and I knew he knew. He was trying to hide the smirk on his face. He innocently asked “what??” Trying not to laugh I responded “you forgot to say please.” And we both burst out laughing. The whole Alexa incident got me thinking about our lives and all the technology and answers that are right at our fingertips. You can Google anything nowadays and get an answer in minutes. As long as it is plugged in, I can ask Alexa a question and get an immediate response. Somehow this need for immediate results has crept over into our spiritual lives. We want answers from God right NOW. Technology has wonderful benefits, but when it comes to the way we think and perceive life, it can have its downfalls. The news is constantly bombarding us with the horror this world throws at us~ all within minutes of when it happened. We fear. We self diagnose. We binge watch. We covet. We buy more. We fear more. We get depressed. We worry. Mental health has spiraled downward. And then we end up questioning God’s love for us. My daughter and I were having this conversation a few weeks back. She made the comment that she didn’t think God ever intended for us to have this much information at our fingertips 24/7. I remember responding that ‘back in the day, all a woman had to think about was taking care of her family and Jesus. Eyes and heart always on the Lord, because nothing else was around to take His place’. It’s time for us to get back to loving God. A tender, fervent, personal love. Get back to digging deep into His word. Get back to seeking Him with our whole heart. Get back to giving our families to Jesus and raising them to love Him with their everything. Get back to talking to Him continually. Asking Him for the answers. Trusting Him for the outcomes. Being still in His presence and having faith in His unbelievable love for us. A love that is ALWAYS for us and NEVER against us. A love that can’t be measured or bought. A love freely given because of His Son. (John 15:10, Romans 8:31-39, Ephesians 2:8-9, 3:18) We are too wrapped up in today. (Revelation 2:4) ‘Loving God with our everything’ has become a passing Christian phrase with no real meaning. And because our love has waned, our laughter has been lost. We often treat God like He’s Alexa, and quite often we don’t even say please. We have forgotten that the joy of the Lord is our strength and in His presence is fullness of joy. (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 16:11) Today I want to encourage you to take a sabbatical from technology. From our phones and laptops and kindles. From the 24 hour news. From binge watching. From Amazon and Google. From Alexa. This summer focus on being still in His presence and growing in our love for our Savior. When we are plugged into His power, He will give us all the answers we need. We will find rest in His presence, comfort and peace. And our laughter will return. When I think about that night my husband spoke to Alexa, I smile when I recall his words but I laugh when I remember the laughter we shared together. When I look back on my life I don’t want to remember all the bad. I want to remember my soul being filled with laughter. My greatest happiness being loved by my Savior. A life completely filled up with the joy of the Lord. (1 Peter 1:8) Long summer days await us my friend. Feed your soul. Fill those days with the love of God and with laughter. (Psalm 16:8-9, 11, 89:15-17, 94:19, 126:2-3, Romans 5:5, 8:38-39, Ephesians 3:16-19, Philippians 4:4, )
5/20/2022
Live, Love, Laugh, Leave Me AloneHave you ever had one of those weeks or months or maybe even years? Whether it’s small stuff that continually goes wrong in a 24 hour time frame, or horrific stuff that leaves a cloud of despair hanging heavily over your head~the circumstances suck all the joy and laughter from your life. It’s times like this that you begin to feel utterly alone, and sometimes even a little afraid that you won’t ever laugh again.
My daughter in law sent me a snap chat the other week with the title of this post. We laughed, but there was a certain heaviness to it. And that’s what prompted my topic for my ladies banquet, as well as this post~ Live, Love, Laugh, Leave Me Alone. Learning To Surrender Control to God and Truly Enjoy Life. After much prayer, I decided to share it with you all. My heart is burdened to help you laugh again. My heart is burdened for you to know the lasting happiness that produces that laughter, genuine laughter~ you know…the kind that makes you cry or pee your pants a little. 😉 Good old fashioned joy. I’m going to break this series down into five topics: Live For today Let Things Go Learn to Trust in God’s Power Love God and Allow Him to Love You Laugh This week we will focus on LIVE (For Today) and in the weeks to come I hope to share 4 more areas that will help you to laugh again. LIVE FOR TODAY This isn’t something we usually hear. Normally we are told to live with eternity in mind, and we definitely should, but God also tells us to find joy in the day to day and not to fret about, or fear our future. Quite often, we have no control over our futures. We might think we do, but every moment of every day is an uncertainty. There are no guarantees. Every thought we have, every action or reaction we choose, every breath we breathe, every moment spent with God and with loved ones could be our last. We could have the perfect plan for our lives, but when we try to control every aspect of that plan and cling to it tightly in our fists, any time something goes wrong~ our joy and laughter will slowly be sucked from our souls. But, when we surrender each day to God and give Him control of our days, we know that whatever happens tomorrow or the next day or even the next year, is for our good~no matter how hard the circumstances might be. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34 “Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.” Psalm 96:2 It really seems too simple, especially if life kicks you when you’re down. The little things that get to us in a 24 hour time frame can easily be given over to the Lord, and we can lay in bed at night with the full assurance that tomorrow is another day. The times it is most difficult is when the hard hits. The diagnosis, the failed marriage, the job loss, the wayward child, the death. Those are the times we want to scream at the world~ “LEAVE ME ALONE!”Those are the times that joy and laughter seem impossible. My sweet friend, with Jesus, nothing is impossible. “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27 “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37 (It’s pretty clear God wanted us to get this point) When you have fallen to the ground with no fight left in you, He is laying right there on the ground next to you, holding your hand. He is whispering to your soul that He will pick you up when you are ready. He doesn’t rush you. He simply wraps you in His comfort. Joy will come again in the morning, even if He has to lay with you there all night long. He will never leave you. The joy of the Lord is your strength. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5 “For the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee….He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee…” Deuteronomy 31:6,8 “The Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.: Isaiah 41:13 “…Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 Rejoice means to feel joy or great delight. It also means to give joy to. Here are some ways to feel joy and delight in today: Find something to be thankful for~ every single day. Give God glory and praise~ every single day. Uplift someone else~ every single day. Don’t just seek joy for yourself, look for ways to give joy to others~ every single day. Look for joy in the little things. Laugh with God. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with loved ones. View every day as if it could be your last. Focus on Jesus. When you feel your heart drifting search for Him. Pursue God. He is there next to you in every beautiful thought and happy feeling you have ever had. Think on things that bring you laughter, and then laugh again. Remember that your joy gives your great God the greatest glory. Find joy in today with eternity in mind. Every day is a gift, a new opportunity to find happiness and laughter. Fully surrender your days to God and ask Him to help you to focus on today, leaving your tomorrows with Him. No matter what those tomorrows hold, this life is not the end. Jesus is waiting for us with open arms. He gave His life to give us new life. A life filled with joy because of Him. The true joy that brings genuine laughter~ You know… the kind that makes you cry or pee your pants a little. 😉 Good old fashioned joy.
4/2/2022
Thank You JesusI realized some things about myself this week.
I go through seasons where I tend to be too self centered. I tend to feel sorry for myself. I tend to make excuses. I have a worship/me complex that I call being a “people pleaser”. The reality is that I just want everyone to like me. I over analyze and under appreciate. And I take an awful lot for granted. Too often in these seasons I wallow in “me”. When I take my eyes off of Jesus, even for a split second, Satan creeps into this overactive mind of mine and convinces me of a thousand and one things I should be bitter, or angry, or sad about. This week, despite Satan’s efforts to thwart my joy, God’s faithfulness and love outshined any attempt Satan could have at disarming me. God continually showed me how much He loves me and how much I have to be thankful for. Over, and over, and over. I got to spend the week with my family. My husband, children, their spouses and my grandchildren. All in the same house. We got to come to our favorite little island in the Carolinas. The same place we’ve been coming for 37 years. It never gets old and we cherish every single memory it holds. The time spent with extended family is icing on the cake. I got to sit with my husband and children our last evening together and talk about our Savior’s goodness. I got to pray with them all, as we shared our hearts together. And I felt His presence. We cried and we laughed and all I could think was “Thank you Jesus”. God showed me that He doesn’t bless me because I do good things. This week was evidence of that. I was momentarily wallowing in self pity before we ever left for vacation. He doesn’t bless me because I check off all the “good Christian” boxes, ie church attendance, bible reading and prayer. He does it out of sheer love and that in itself brings me to my knees, because I know I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve any of it. This week He gifted me with beautiful, selfless friends. He gifted me with inconsequential items I’ve been wishing for for my home. He gave me happy days playing on the beach with those I love most. He gave me precious uninterrupted time with my family. He gave me multiple hugs and kisses from grandchildren. He gave me a fresh perspective and memories I will cherish forever. So today, my only desire is to glorify Him and say thank you. A thousand times thank you. If you find yourself in a place you don’t long to be, if your heart is sad and you can’t seem to get past Satan’s attempts to thwart you, fix your eyes on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus~ and say thank you. Thank you Jesus. Psalm 25:15 Hebrews 12:2
11/26/2021
Christmas CrazyI could hear their little feet tiptoeing down the stairs. They were trying to be quiet, but the old stairs could not lie. Each step made their presence known. I looked over at the clock in the darkness~4:30am. Hadn’t I just gone to sleep a few hours before?
(New rule this year, they will not be allowed out of bed until at least 6am.) I rolled over and nudged my husband. “The kids are awake”. He let out a quiet groan, but didn’t move. I slipped out of bed and went to the stairway door. It was still shut, at least that rule stayed in tact. I opened it slightly and saw 4 little faces. Excitement was written all over them. “It’s 4:30 in the morning!” I whispered. They giggled and squealed~ ”But mom! It’s Christmas!!!” That’s all it took. Yes, I gave in. That old saying~”I’m only a morning person on Christmas” is 100% me, and their excitement was contagious. Nothing compares to Christmas morning. When you are a child, it’s the most wonderful day of the year. For a whole month life becomes magical. Christmas countdown calendars are made. Letters are written, cards are signed, cookies are baked, presents are wrapped, music is blaring, lights are twinkling, snow is wished for and excitement abounds. Smiles and dreams lay on pillows at night, and every new day is more exciting than the last. Oh to be a child again at Christmas. Oh to be a child again for the entire month of December. We forget. We grow up. We have responsibilities, and the list of things that brought so much magic and joy to December when we were younger are now on a long checklist of things to do that cause us stress. We have shut the door on December excitement and groaned in the darkness of “to-do’s”. Yes, we have forgotten that we are still children. There is so much hope in the wonder of a child. No matter your age, there is still wonder to behold and there is still magic and joy in that beholding. Because we are GOD’S CHILD. That in itself should be so exciting to us. This is the month we celebrate the birth of our Savior. This is the month we celebrate the gift God has given us of eternal life in Heaven one day with Him, all because of His gift. The gift of His Son who would take on every sin~ past, present and future~ and die on the cross to take that sin away. If we have received that gift with humble penitence, our lives should be different. Excitement and joy should permeate every day and December should be the most wonderful time of the year. Don’t lose that excitement as you head into December. Determine in your heart to find the joy of a child in the “to-do’s” and the wonder in each thing December brings. Instead of dreading the calendar and how quickly each day passes, ask God for the childlike wonder and thankfulness for the gift of salvation that became yours. Experience the happiness in baking and wrapping and Christmas music and yes, even snow. Each thing that makes December so special to a child can be a reminder of all God has done for us~ Blessing us with the delicious ingredients that go into those Christmas cookies, reminding us of the gift of His Son as we wrap each gift we will give this year, gazing at the soft, twinkling lights and remembering the star that shone over a manger so long ago, looking out over a winter wonderland and thanking God that He has washed our sinful hearts and proclaimed them white as snow. Go to sleep each night with smiles and dreams upon your pillow. Dreams of a different December because of a different heart attitude. The heart of a child. God’s child. Be a little Christmas crazy. Be contagious in your excitement over the most wonderful time of the year, and when others look at you like you are a Christmas lunatic, smile and respond~ ”It’s Christmas!!” Because that truly says it all.
8/21/2021
That Woman Isn’t MeThrough the years I have heard many sermons on *John 16:21 and I have to be honest, each time I’ve heard one I felt a little shame. Am I the only mom who remembers?
I get the joy part, no problem~ but forgetting the pain in childbirth?? I don’t know what mother that is, but it’s definitely not me. That woman must be a superhero. I can remember every detail. When both of my daughters went into labor, I may or may not have experienced sympathy pains! (I’m joking 🤔Haha) I can remember when we arrived at the hospital, ready for our first born to be delivered. Mike and I could hear a woman screaming in the room next to us. It literally sounded like she was being murdered, I kid you not. I’m sure my eyes looked like saucers when I glanced over at my husband. 😳 No one warned me about pain that horrifying. I don’t think that woman ever forgot HER pain, I don’t care HOW cute her child was. The more I contemplated that age old saying, the more I realized the truth of it. I might remember my labor pain like it was yesterday, but today~that pain doesn’t define me and I am not stuck there. Sure it hurt like nobody’s business (especially having my first two with no medication at all), but it wasn’t horrifying, murderous pain. It lasted for a moment in time and today I see all the beautiful joy wrapped around it, just like Jesus talks about. And that’s the key. It’s the key to so many situations in our life. We just have to put that key into the lock and turn it, opening the door to God’s unlimited, joy filled promises and inviting them into our hearts, souls and minds. The key is joy. Retraining our brains to find the joy in every situation. If we could do that, I think our lives would be drastically different. Instead we have turned ourselves into a bunch of Negative Nancy’s, victims and martyrs in our own minds. Sadly, the next generation isn’t going to be any better. Every bad scenario is the end of the world, and we make sure everyone knows about it. Too often we turn petty little complaints into prayer requests, seeking the pity of others instead of looking to Jesus for everything and finding His joy through everything. This is not the life God intended us to live. God intended us to live a life of joy, shining so that others could see His glory. Shining so that others want that joy that lives inside of us. Again, that woman wasn’t me. When I was younger and the “hard” hit, I was always the victim. Poor Charisse. Look how busy she is, look how hard her life is, look at all she’s going through. From years of fighting a disease I didn’t know I had, having Epstein Barr and mono 5 times, dealing with allergy ridden babies, sleepless nights, many moves, heartbreaking deaths, sick children, hospital stays and cancer scares. I have always made myself the victim. I still get drawn into that mentality and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I truly looked for joy in my “bad” situations. If I had, it would’ve changed my life. My husband would have had a different wife and my children could’ve seen a different mama. They would have had a completely different perspective on life. Yet, God is faithful. He is merciful. Every day is a new start. He doesn’t hold my old victim mentality against me and despite me, His glory has shown through my children a thousand times over. Today, I want to encourage you to find the joy. Look for joy in every single thing. If you truly look, with your heart open to all of God’s promises, promises that will never fail, you will find it. I’m not trying to say that life isn’t hard. The death of a loved one is excruciating. Cancer scares are hard, continual sickness is overwhelming. Pain and sorrow can truly break us. Sometimes they are harder than we ever imagined. Days where we don’t think we can make it through. When you don’t have the answers, when your heart begs to know why, these are the days you beg God for a glimpse of that joy. These are the days you beg God for His peace and comfort. These are the days you hold onto that truth that Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith, you are not. These are the days you look ahead and in His strength know that you will conquer. You will overcome because~ HE WILL NOT FAIL. Maybe today life for you is good. You’re smiling and things couldn’t be better. I encourage you to start small~ If you stub your toe (ie-if I hadn’t stubbed my toe, I would’ve tripped on that rug and broken my ankle 🤷🏼♀️)~look for the joy. If you’re stuck in traffic (ie- this is the alone time I was begging God for, after complaining about not having enough time with Him)~look for the joy. Look and you will find it. If you retrain your brain to look for the joy in the little things, soon you will see that even on your worst day~you will find it. Because Jesus is that joy and when you’re holding on to Him, His joy floods your heart and soul with comfort and peace. Finding joy in the bad does not come easy for me. Sometimes I want to park there and just feel sorry for myself, but all the times I thought it was the end of the world proved otherwise. None of them were as bad as I had allowed my mind to think in the moment. The older I get, the more I realize this and the more I want to encourage others in this area, especially young women and moms just starting out. That phrase- “this too shall pass” can certainly be irritating when you’re in the thick of it, but it really is truth. Horrifying labor pains and all. Sorrow might be there for a while, but joy always comes, it’s just waiting for you to invite it in. * “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” John 16:21
4/9/2021
Laughter And Abundant LifeI blame my children.
I don’t ever recall having bladder issues pre-kids. It all went downhill after my first child was born. My bladder seemed to have shrunk to the size of a pea. During my third and fourth pregnancies, my husband happened to be working as the Assistant Pastor to a very close friend. His wife and I became great buddies. Laughter continually permeated that friendship and ironically, we always seemed to be pregnant together. We knew where every public restroom was within a 100 mile radius. On one particular instance, we were on our way home from a fun shopping excursion and both of us had to use the bathroom. At the time I did not know I was pregnant, but she knew that she was. We were only a few miles from home so we decided to wait. Why did we wait????? Seconds later we were in a minor car accident. She ended up on a stretcher with a neck brace, all because she told the police officer she was pregnant. The EMT’s were called and she was strapped down. I got to ride along in the ambulance. Even though she told them how desperately she needed to go to the bathroom, they would not let her get up. The minute she was on a bed in the emergency room, I told her how much I loved her and with a smirk abandoned her and ran down the hall to find the nearest restroom. I could hear her calling after me~ “this IS NOT fair!!!”... I almost peed my pants laughing. Now we can both laugh at that story, even more so knowing that I found out a few days later I was also pregnant. I should’ve been on a stretcher next to her. So, what is my application in all of this? When I first started typing these words, I honestly did not know. Here are some things I do know~ Every single second of our life has God’s hand all over it. He knows exactly what’s going to happen as you take your next breath. He knows what’s going to happen tonight, tomorrow, next month and next year. He even knows what’s going to happen 28 years from now (the age of my fourth child who had a part in all of this) He has a reason for everything. He even has a reason for you reading this right now. It seems like this past year the entire world has become so serious and focused on all the bad, that I’m afraid we’ve carried that over into our personal lives as well. We get so busy with our schedules and agendas and life in general that when interruptions come that we aren’t expecting, we get irritated and even angry. Smiles and laughter have become the exception instead of the rule. This is what a pandemic and politics have done to us. A dark cloud looms over us continually. That’s not what God ever intended our lives to look like. He intended our lives to be filled with joy and laughter and abundant life. So, why am I telling you my story? It was a huge inconvenience for both of us pregnant women. We did not want to be stuck in a hospital all afternoon. We did not want to be in literal pain because we had to go to the bathroom SO BAD. But, I can look back at that moment in time and smile. I can even laugh. And 28 years later I can listen to my daughter’s complain about the over abundance of my use of public restrooms, (when the reality of the situation is that it’s their fault to begin with) and inwardly chuckle. Their day is coming. I am not trying to downplay the circumstances of this last year, but circumstances should not control us. God should. His joy should. His peace should. His sovereignty should. Satan comes to steal and destroy. God came to give us abundant life. So, maybe I do know the lesson in this story. The lesson is, there is no lesson. It’s a small, insignificant story in my life that makes me smile. A story that I wanted to share so that you could smile along with me, and maybe even laugh. If you find yourself getting angry or sad over the suffocating circumstances of this present world, all you need do is look back and remember all the good. All the laughter. All the joy. Remember all the funny stories God has blessed your life with. We don’t need to know why everything happens. Perhaps certain things happen solely for God’s pleasure. Maybe God knew that as I prayed this morning I needed a smile, so He brought that random memory to my mind and I laughed out loud. That laughter in the remembering. And maybe the only reason He made sure we didn’t use the bathroom before getting into that vehicle 28 years ago was to make YOU smile TODAY, to bring laughter into YOUR life. Because that’s what kind of God He is. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” Ephesians 1:3, 5 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” Isaiah 46:9-10 “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 “Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.” Job 8:19, 21
3/13/2021
Spring AheadI could hear them talking about their babies.
“I can’t wait until this child can feed herself. Sometimes it seems like my entire day consists of holding her and feeding her!”... “I can’t wait until this one is potty trained. Two kids in diapers is too much. It feels like it’s never ending.”... I can’t wait until mine can crawl, or better yet walk! I wish she was more self sufficient so I could actually get some things done.”... I looked over at my own children, now adults and remembered days like this. Days I wished I could spring ahead. But I also remembered~ I can’t wait until this child can feed herself... I wish she would let me cuddle with her like she did when she was a baby. I can’t wait until he’s potty trained... Look at him in the bathroom now, getting ready for his date. How can this be possible? I can’t wait for her to crawl and walk and be more self sufficient... Mom, I’m going out with my friends. I’m leaving for college. I’m moving out. I’m getting married... It isn’t never ending. There comes a day when it all ends. A day when you wish you could go back and hold them again. A day when you have all the time in the world to get things done. Suddenly their childhood is over as quickly as it arrived. Everything is new and different. Empty arms. Empty bathrooms. Empty homes. Sometimes lonely~like a long, cold winter. But then everything changes. Winter turns into Spring. Old thoughts become transformed. They turn into~ I can’t wait until this child can feed herself... Mom I made you and dad dinner. I’ll bring some over. I can’t wait until he’s potty trained... Son, can you train me to use all this technology and help me create a blog? I can’t wait for her to crawl and walk and become more self sufficient... She’s such an amazing mother. And she’s such an amazing daughter. She tells me how much she loves me and how thankful she is for the way we raised her. And she tells me that she now realizes all the sacrifices and all the love that went into everything her dad and I did for her growing up. Her sufficiency turns into gratitude. Winter has turned into Spring again. And just like leaves fall away from their home in the cold months of winter, each of my children left the home my husband and I built for them. But then there is a rebirth of all the beauty your heart and home once held, and what I once thought would be sadness has blossomed into joy again. I once read this quote~ ‘The earth laughs in flowers.’ That made me smile, despite looking outside at the dark and muddy barrenness winter holds over her. Because I know what’s coming. Don’t hold onto the long, dark winter months. Look for the incredible new blooms. Look for the rebirth of every single thing you sacrificed, everything you taught them and all the love and prayers you poured into them. Look for Spring, it is only just ahead and it’s incredibly beautiful. When was the last time you laughed?
I mean really, truly laughed, holding nothing back. Laughed until you cried and your sides hurt and you couldn’t breathe? Do you remember the freedom in that? Feeling like just for a moment all the cares of the world were pushed aside and you were free to let go and experience unfiltered joy? (Luke 6:21, Psalm 126:2) If you cannot recall a time like this, perhaps you are living inside circumstances of sorrow, whatever that sorrow might be. Maybe you didn’t even realize you were residing there, until you thought about how long it had been since you laughed in such a way. Maybe you’re sitting in circumstances of your own choosing or maybe you have no control over the sorrow that has enveloped your life. Whatever the case, I don’t want you to be stuck there and more importantly, God doesn’t want you stuck there. A life of being stuck in sorrow is not His plan for you. I’ve looked back at articles I’ve written and realized that I can be a bit emotional at times. When God moves my heart so tremendously, it stirs a deep passion within me to want to share that with others. Phrases I often use are: God loves you so much. God is always with you. God will help you through anything. Allow Him to hold you. Cry out to Him. All of these things are true, but might leave the reader feeling lost and questioning~ but how? And so today, we’re going to start with the first 3 points on our journey through circumstances to joy. I’m going to show you some things that God has used in my own life to pull me out of my sorrow and help me see hope in the joy before me. 1. If you read my Ebook you know that my first point is always the same. The difference in how this point is applied often depends on the circumstances we are in. Whatever the circumstances are, this will always be the most important thing you can do. Ask God for help. (Matthew 11:28-30, Galatians 5:22a) I will never stop asking, even when I know deep in my heart that there are things I need to change. When I know that I should be implementing the steps in this article on a daily basis, but I don’t. When I am too emotionally and physically exhausted to push through and do those things, I continually just talk to God all day long. Even on those days that I fool myself into thinking joy will never come again, so “what’s the point?”~there is one thing I know to be true no matter what~ He will never leave me. He won’t abandon me. He will pull me through this. The Holy Spirit will minister to my heart and comfort me, even when life feels hopeless and joy feels far. God is always trying to help us but too often our circumstances tune Him out. Never stop asking God to help you, even if you feel like He is silent. He is helping you without you even realizing it. (John 14:16,18, Zephaniah 3:17, Isaiah 26:3&4 2. Realize that when you ask for help, the circumstances that follow are God’s way of helping you~you just need to open your eyes to see it. You know what usually makes me happy? Predictable, mundane, day in, day out schedules. Being in control. Knowing that each day holds its tasks and at the end of that day Mike and I will relax on the couch. Maybe we will talk or watch a few of our favorite shows. We will laugh, we’ll go to bed, I will feel fulfilled with what I accomplished that day. I’m that kind of person. I’m a schedule and list maker. I thrive on routine. I’m a control freak. If my house isn’t cleaned up and straightened at night with everything in its place, I can’t relax. I feel uneasy and unhappy. This need to be in control is just as bad as looking at material things for happiness. I’m looking at “the control I think I have over situations” to make me happy and last March when life went out of control and spiraled downwards month after month into continual heartbreak, I lost all control and my happiness along with it. I yearn for predictable and mundane. It’s how I’m wired. The past 3 weeks have been anything but. My dad passed away unexpectedly in October. Working on packing up his things has only been part of the “crazy busy” my life has been. Long days have gone into long evenings right into early mornings and the crazy busy beginning all over again. I found myself thinking I just want a normal day at home. I want to do some laundry, bake some cookies, clean my house, sit in front of my cozy fire drinking coffee or just watch TV! But as I complained about that busyness and thought about my prayer for help, the Holy Spirit showed me that because I have been so busy I haven’t had time to just sit and think. Usually “the sitting and thinking” leads to “the missing and crying”. As my head hit the pillow each night I realized I was so exhausted that I fell asleep quickly, as opposed to laying in the dark crying. And I knew it was God. God was helping me. It might not have been a way I would’ve chosen, it certainly wasn’t an easy way, but it was God’s way and it worked. He knows my crazy, emotional, over thinker brain far better than I do. (Psalm 139:2) Jesus is continually going to God on our behalf and I now wonder how many times through the years I missed the answers to the prayers I had prayed, just because they weren’t the solution I was looking for. (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25) 3. Stop listening to yourself (John 15:11) If God in all His wisdom did not intervene and answer my cries for help, I would be overthinking everything. My emotions are continually telling my brain that things will never change. Because I’m such an emotional person, I too often let my emotions dictate my life. I think all women~ whether they want to admit it or not~ are emotional. Our lovely hormones play a big part in that. When my emotions begin to dictate what my life story is, I start to believe it. I don’t like to admit this, but quite often since my dad died I have been scared. Not scared as in fearful, but scared as in “this unshakeable heaviness and lonely feeling.” Scared as in “this dark cloud of sadness will never go away. I will never see joy again.” The beginning of each day seems to be promising as I open God’s words to me and pray, but as the day slowly creeps by and thoughts bombard my mind, as my emotions kick me over and over again~ I feel as if God is very far away. That scares me. These are the times that we must realize our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9, Psalms 94:19), Even if we are struggling to believe it, we must go back to point number 1 and talk it out with God. Stop listening to ourselves and listen to what God is speaking over us. (Philippians 3:3) His words are truth, our emotions are not. He isn’t far away. He isn’t there only in the times we set aside to kneel and pray. He is our constant companion. A friend that sticks closer than a brother. A comforter and peace maker. He is the ONLY One who understands with 100% clarity and compassion what our heart is going through. (Psalms 139:1-18, Philippians 2:5, 4:6-7, 2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 16:3, Luke 2:10, John 15:11) You can’t simply “choose joy” without God. You can’t wake up and just decide “Starting today, I’m going to be happy” without God. Our strength is not enough. It will never be enough. It doesn’t matter what kind of a personality you have, Satan knows your weakness and he will find a way to steal that joy. Only Jesus is the strength of our joy. Pray about these first few points this week. Ask God to open your heart and your eyes and show you what you’ve been missing. (Nehemiah 8:10) I am so confident in the strength and power of God’s truths and the joy they speak over our circumstances, that I am adding a second post today. Scripture that you can print out and continually read throughout your day to comfort and encourage your heart. You can have freedom from sorrow. You can laugh again~deep, heartfelt, freeing laughter from the depths of your soul. Laughter that comes from unfiltered joy. Laughter that only comes from God and the joy that only Jesus gives. Make that your goal this week. JOY. How can I get my joy back?
If I was asked this question a year ago, I would have been very confident in how I responded. Today I don’t know. I guess that isn’t 100% true, sometimes I just “feel” like I don’t know. My emotions feel like a jumble of “I don’t knows”. Even though there are a lot of good answers on how to find joy, I can tell you this, not all circumstances merit that cliche answer many people like to throw out there. ie~ “choose joy”. It isn’t always that simple. The “fake it till you make it” mentality doesn’t work when it comes to joy. Sure we can change our attitudes and mindset to reflect happiness, but in some circumstances the darkness is still buried deep inside, no matter our good intentions . The good news is, there is Someone Who will always be our answer. THE answer to every heartbreaking circumstance this world throws at you. Jesus~ first and foremost. Actually, only Jesus. The end. He’s the answer. Joy=Jesus. God obviously knew that our human hearts would still struggle. He knows our frame. (Psalms 103:13-14) He is our strength through every circumstance. We’re the ones who forget. So he gave us His word. The Bible. And in it we find a wealth of wisdom on how to find joy. The hard part is applying that wisdom to our everyday lives. How do you find joy when you’ve lost more loved ones in the last year than ever before? How do you find joy after coming home from a heart wrenching funeral of the dearest friend, only to find your precious daddy gone without warning the very next day? How do you smile when your heart hurts terribly for friends and loved ones going through their own heart wrenching moments? Sickness, job loss, accidents, affairs, abusive relationships, death. When sleep won’t come because you can’t stop hurting for them? Or for yourself? When you feel like joy and Jesus are very far away? And in the unexpected moments when you do catch yourself smiling and feel a little spark of that joy, you immediately feel guilt along with it. Our little church has been bombarded with heartache lately. Truly tough stuff. It’s knocked the air out of our lungs as my husband and I try to minister. Last week I woke up feeling like this heavy cloud was hanging over my life. Our lives. I just wanted everything to stop. I wanted to sit in front of my cozy fire, oblivious to my circumstances and forget everything. I wanted to smile again. I wanted to go back to when things were predictable and happy. When I woke up feeling that way, I could almost picture that black cloud hovering above me and all I could utter was~ “God please help me.” And He did. God immediately reminded me of the story in the Old Testament about the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. (You can read about it here~Exodus 13:21-22, 40:34-38, Numbers 9:15-23, Psalms78:14) If you’re not familiar, God led them with a cloud by day. The moment God brought that picture into my head felt like freedom. God was in that cloud. It was His reminder to me that He is always with me, even in the dark clouds hanging over my life. He is in control and despite feeling hopeless, He is in that cloud protecting and guiding me. Not only did God lead and protect them with a cloud by day, He also gave them a pillar of fire by night. Just as I longed for my predictable life and the comfort of sitting next to my cozy fire, I saw that pillar of fire that God provided as comfort too. (John 14:8) If you continue digging deeper into God’s words you will find that the pillar of cloud and fire were continually leading and when they stopped, the people were to stop and set up God’s tabernacle. That tabernacle was God’s gracious presence. A place to reside for a time. A home. A dwelling place. God showed me that He is always leading. Sometimes my moments might feel cozy, warm and comfortable and other times I might feel like a dark cloud is parked over every facet of my existence. That’s when God wants me to stop. Stop wandering on my own and just be home with Him in His beautiful presence, beside the still waters (Psalms 23) and among the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) . He tells me I can stay as long as I need because He will never leave. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5) He is my dwelling place no matter what circumstances look like all around me. (Psalms 46:1-2, 91:1-9) Despite that phenomenal story of God’s leading in the Old Testament, His children still complained. They were still afraid. They wanted to go back to their predictable lives back in Egypt, even though they were slaves in that predictable existence. They missed all the beauty that was ahead for them. All that God had prepared for them. I don’t want to miss the beauty God has ahead for me. I don’t want to just exist and be a slave to my circumstances. I don’t want you to miss God’s beauty either. That dark cloud that you might feel is constantly looming overhead, that cloud is guiding you. Whatever your cloud might be, God is in it. In the next few weeks I would like to take you on a journey with me. The journey to find joy again. I want to help you to see that God is in that cloud. I want to show you specific ways God has shown me how to find joy again, despite the deeply sorrowful circumstances we might be in. I want to share with you my Savior’s solutions. He is there. Don’t let go of that hope. Joy will come again. My heart is glad. My whole being rejoices. My flesh rests in hope. (Psalm 16:7-11, 30:5, 34:17-19, Isaiah 41:10)
1/16/2021
Run and PlayIn that moment, I saw God.
Not an angry God. Not a disappointed God. A forgiving God. A loving God. A God full of joy. Let me take you there... My grandson’s big blue eyes held a lot of fear for such a little guy. He was confessing to his parents. He was asking for forgiveness. You see, moments before in Sunday school I had taught a lesson on that very subject. Forgiveness. His little 5 year old mind couldn’t seem to grasp the concept, so I made up a story to illustrate. A fictional story about him, a little boy who broke something of his moms without her knowing. The little boy hid what he broke, but later that night as he lay in bed his heart seemed to hurt. He knew he had to tell her what he had done. He needed to confess. So he went to her bedroom and explained everything. With tears he told her he was sorry and asked her to please not be mad for what he had done. He asked for forgiveness. As I told that fictional story his eyes seemed to increase in size with every detail, and then I found out why. He told me his own story. We both decided it was something he needed to confess to his parents. So here we were, in the front pew after church. With his sweet little lisp he spoke- “Last summer, I climbed up on top of the shelves in the garage and reached for some of your pottery and one piece fell and broke... so I buried it in the dirt behind the garage. I’m sorry”. There was no hesitation in his parent’s reaction. They could see his repentance. He was their child. They smiled (and almost laughed) they pulled him close and hugged him and told him he was forgiven. And with childlike faith, it was over. He smiled and ran to play. In that moment I saw forgiveness. I saw freedom and release. I saw unconditional love. Little Gabe did not carry that weight with him. He let it go and with unabashed joy he laughed and played as if it never happened, and in amazement I watched it all unfold. This 55 year old grandma was reminded again of the love my Father has for me. This was God. Our Father. How often do we feel the weight of guilt for the things we have done? How often do we worry that God is angry with us? We might try to hide our sin, or we might recognize it, repent and ask for forgiveness, but deep down we struggle with believing that our past truly can be forgiven. We might view God as an angry God who expects perfection and if we don’t measure up, punishment will ensue. But this is not God at all. Our God is the God of that little child. You are that child. He is our God full of mercy, grace and love. Our “It is finished” Father. Our God who wants us to have faith as a little child. To leave it all with Him and to experience the freedom, joy and peace of repentance and forgiveness. At times I think we make it too hard. We’re human and we tend to look at God as if He were human too. He holds no grudges as we do. Whether it’s broken pottery or a broken past, with absolutely no hesitation He pulls us close and hugs us. He tells us~ “It is finished my child~ All has already been forgiven”. With the beauty this knowledge holds, how can we not be filled with unadulterated, pure joy in that freedom? Our Father is smiling down at us~ let us run and play again. No thought of the past. No fear of the future. As little children. Children full of faith in the love and forgiveness of our heavenly Father. Psalm 103:12 Romans 5:20b Hebrews 7:25 I John 1:7, 9 II Corinthians 5:21
12/24/2020
Find JesusI stumbled downstairs last Sunday and with sleepy eyes poured myself a cup of coffee. At the moment, I definitely did not feel excitement. I was tired and wouldn’t have minded crawling right back into bed. And then it hit me. Today was my anniversary, and immediately I thought about Charisse 35 years ago on this day. The barely 20 year old who couldn’t sleep. The young girl who couldn’t wait for this day and the beginning of a life full of beautiful. The thankfulness her heart felt toward God for blessing her with everything this day held. Yet here I was, 35 years later muttering about how tired I was. Wishing for bed instead of worship. Many things went wrong on the day of our wedding. A huge snow storm hit that day. The limo my parents ordered to drive us to the wedding never showed up. My father in law’s cummerbund got misplaced, so at the last minute my fiancé drove in the storm to the tuxedo shop to get another. He then got hit by a car due to slippery roads. My grandparents were late due to the storm and almost didn’t make it. The snow worsened by the minute and we weren’t sure anyone would show up. None of this swayed my joy. None of this made me want to go back to bed so I didn’t have to think about all the “bad”. All I could focus on was him, Because I loved him. As I remembered that day, it gripped my heart. It’s the season of Christmas and yet, so many of us are focusing on the bad. The countless number of times I have heard or read that “2020 is the worst year in history” has been staggering. I can’t help but think about God and the murmuring He hears coming from those of us who are supposedly His children. Praise has not been on our lips, including my own. Thankfulness has not filled our hearts, but instead continual complaining about all we are subject to. There is no joy. There will always be something to complain about. We live in a sin cursed world where the wrong seems to outweigh the right. We can complain about our government or injustice or this pandemic and the rules we are asked to abide by. We can complain about not seeing family members or the fear of catching this sickness. But I would like to remind you that the good can outweigh the bad, we just haven’t been looking for it. We have been focusing on the bad so much that we have lost sight of all the incredibly good things God has blessed us with. Lives filled with beautiful. I would like to challenge you today to focus on Him. I have found in my own life that when I take my focus off of Him and place it on myself, I find all kinds of things to complain about. But, when I shift my focus to Him I find countless reasons to be thankful. That’s when joy floods my heart and soul. Think back to a special day in your own life. A day that you remember that feeling of pure joy and the reasons you felt that joy. That’s a beginning. That’s the first step in telling God thank you. If we could just decide in our hearts that we are going to choose thankfulness and praise over complaining, our lives will be transformed. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the bad. I’m sick of social media and the news and the constant “bad” that is bombarding us. I want to focus on the good. All that is good in our life is only because of God. I want to focus on Him. I know there are hard days. I’m not always the picture of happiness and joy. Sweet friends have gone home to heaven this year. My precious dad went home to heaven. Covid has hit our little town. Family won’t be with us to celebrate this year. Our children’s Christmas program has been canceled. Just yesterday I broke down while shopping. The memory of Christmas shopping with my dad just last year hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to hide out in the underwear section until the tears subsided. We all have bad days, but later my husband reminded me of what a precious memory that was to have. Christmas shopping with dad. Our wedding day ended up being my fairy tale. All my dreams came true. Over 500 people came out in that storm to celebrate our union. Happiness and joy filled the church that day. A day I will never forget. Don’t ever forget when Christ filled your heart. A heart that once was dark, now filled with His light and love, joy and happiness. What if we all chose to celebrate Christ’s birth differently than the rest of the world, despite the storms we have all been facing? Find the good. Find the thankful. Find the gladness and joy. Find the beautiful. It’s right there where you are, you’ve just been missing it. This Christmas, focus on Him. Find Jesus. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:” Psalms 105:1-5, 43 KJV Psalms 78:22, 32, 37-39, 42, 53 KJV
12/17/2020
35 Years And I Still Adore HimThe other day my husband handed me a piece of mail that contained coupons.
Apparently he had not looked at them. The computers now keep track of previous sales and give you coupons for the specific things you have purchased in the past. I think this is great. I’ve been very careful to keep us on a healthy diet, so coupons are always good. I opened them up and funny thing~ there were coupons for organic orange juice, fresh fruits and vegetables, grass fed beef.... I looked up at him with a smirk. “I don’t remember buying Pringle’s or peanut M&M’s” I said. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face but we both burst out laughing. No way out of this one. He thought he hid the evidence but he’d been caught. Tomorrow we will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. That’s pretty baffling to me when I think about it. When I was little, I vividly remember my mom complaining about turning 35 because she thought it was so old. I don’t know why that stuck with me, but here I am. Married that long. To the same man. Haha The man that can literally drive me insane. He can make me cry and scream and mutter things a pastor’s wife shouldn’t say under her breath. But I adore him. He’s my rock. He loves me no matter what. He makes me laugh when my heart slides down into dark places. He pulls me back out and shows me how to smile again. I love him with my everything and I’d do anything for that man, despite the Pringles and peanut M&M’s. 😉 Mike and I do not have a perfect marriage. We argue and fight and say things we shouldn’t say. Anger, bitterness and grudges have visited us. We’ve gone through some hard things. We definitely aren’t the epitome of the perfect couple, but in my eyes, everything about our marriage is beautiful. When I think about how much I love him, I don’t think it could be possible for my heart to be any more full. .....I know I’ve said this before, but it’s just so phenomenal to me~ When I think about that kind of love, I can’t help but think of the overwhelming love God has for me, despite me. There’s no hiding the evidence of my sins from God. He knows my every thought and deed. Can you grasp that? Our perfect, sinless God knows our EVERY thought and deed. Every single one. And yet, He loves us. He doesn’t hold it against us. He forgives us and has mercy and grace. Just like Mike and I are celebrating our love on our anniversary tomorrow, in a few weeks we will be celebrating that amazing love God has for us. Christmas. The day He sent His Son to a little town called Bethlehem to be born for the sins of the whole world. The sins He took upon himself when He died on the cross. Marriage isn’t always easy. There have been times I have not wanted to forgive. Times I was hurt and felt justified in holding onto the anger my heart felt. I’m sure Mike has felt the same way about me at times too. But when you love someone more than you love yourself, when you offer mercy and grace and put their needs above your own, it’s a beautiful thing. Thank God He always forgives. Thank God that because of the blood His Son shed on the cross and the gift of salvation He offers, we are justified in His sight. Just as if we never sinned. In God’s eyes everything about us is perfect. And that’s a beautiful thing. His love is the love that will make you laugh. That will pull you out of the dark places. That will give you joy. His love is the love that will never be angry or hold a grudge. His love is the love that knows about the Pringles and M&M’s of our lives, the things no one else knows, and yet loves us still. His love is perfect and beautiful and I adore Him. As I celebrate with the love of my life tomorrow, that’s the beautiful I want our story to portray. That’s the beautiful I want you to behold and celebrate this Christmas. God’s perfect, beautiful love. A love that causes me to adore Him, but even more unfathomable is the knowledge that God adores me. He adores me!! He adores me with His everything, And that’s such a beautiful, beautiful thing.
11/20/2020
Heaven On EarthI made my daughter a pot of chili the other day. It’s one of her favorites. She sent me a text later that read~” this chili tastes like heaven in my mouth”. 😂😂
I needed that laugh. It got me thinking~ What does heaven on earth mean to you? To some it might mean the comfort of a hot bowl of soup or a slice of deliciousness drenched in chocolate. To some it might mean cuddling with your spouse on date night. To some it might mean having your entire family home for the holidays. And to some it might mean freedom from crippling depression or anxiety, no more worry over pandemics or politics. Just peace. But what does heaven on earth look like to Jesus? It doesn’t look like my yesterday’s have looked this month. Grief has left an emptiness but it has also left empathy. Thousands of women are wishing and praying for a glimpse of heaven on earth as the holidays approach. This week as I read the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:9-10 “thy will be done~ on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN” they had a different meaning to me. Heaven seems so much closer to me as every year passes, but Jesus doesn’t want heaven to only be something that we look forward to ‘someday’. He wants us to live and experience heaven on earth today. So I asked Him how. Through the darkness of grief, how do I live heaven on earth? He opened my heart to hundreds of possibilities and this post was the very first way. Sharing the immense beauty of heaven with others who are going through depression and sadness or stress and anxiety. I needed to get myself up, dust myself off and realize that my grief is not unique. I needed to focus on others. I needed to focus on Jesus. Simple acts of serving and loving are a huge way of living heaven on earth. Two words that perfectly describe Jesus. He was constantly serving during His ministry here on earth and then with a sinless, pure, unconditional love~ He died in the cross for all humanity and it’s only because of Him that heaven is possible. Philippians 2 In order to experience heaven on earth we must realize our great need for God’s presence, provision, love, redemption, grace, peace and mercy. Heaven is Jesus. Plain and simple. Every one of us needs Him. When I fixed my thoughts on all these things, the beautiful light of heaven and God’s glory broke through my dark and empty heart and through the praise and thankfulness of worship I truly felt heaven on earth. And that made me want to share that joy and happiness with all of you. Everywhere we go we have the opportunity to share a piece of ourselves. We can choose to share sadness or grumpiness and allow it to rub off on everyone we come in contact with or we can choose to switch our focus to Jesus and share the crazy joy and happiness that He gives. Do we even realize the power our attitudes hold? Can you imagine if we all chose to share the good? To share the light of Jesus and His joy as the holidays approach? That’s heaven on earth guys. Love, joy, serving, sharing. Jesus. We are His body. Let’s make sure heaven is shining from the inside out bringing glorious light to all the darkness so many are going through today. If you are feeling the weight of that darkness, let me introduce you to Jesus. Let me help you experience heaven on earth. Reach out to me today and allow me to share from God’s word what that means. And if you already know Jesus, worship Him right now in this moment. Thank and praise Him. Share His beauty and joy. Feel heaven wash over you today. Let’s carry it with us wherever we go and through everything we do because joy is the serious business of heaven, the joy that only Jesus can bring. Colossians 3:1-4 Romans 14:17 Psalm 34:8 Psalm 16:11 Revelation 22:5 Revelation 21 “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”CS Lewis. Last week I shared with you something that really, truly changed my life. Reading through the Bible in 60 days. Yep. The WHOLE bible in only 60 days. Click here to read that post~ And here is the link to the plan I followed~ I'm reading the @YouVersion plan 'Power Read The Bible In 60 Days With Jeff Anderson'. Check it out here: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/12221  I highly recommend it for everyone! One thing that stood out to me was how often I read the words~ glorify, praise and thanksgiving. This was something I knew I had read before, but after reading large amounts of scripture every day~ it really stuck with me. It was a continual theme. I was reading it over and over and over. And my heart was convicted. This was something I wasn’t doing enough of. I did plenty of asking but I wasn’t glorifying, praising and thanking God enough. I had made the majority of my prayer life all about petitions instead of taking the time to fall on my knees in thankfulness. So today I want to share something else that truly changed my life. Instead of petitioning God, I simply sat and thanked Him. I was amazed at the many things that came to mind. I probably could’ve sat all day praising and thanking Him~ and it changed me. After thanking Him over and over for the countless blessings He has bestowed upon me, my heart knew without a shadow of a doubt that He would take care of my usual requests and burdens. My heart was joyful. It was light. It was free from stress and anxiety. It was free from burdens. I knew He was in complete control and I could let go. I could simply say thank you with a peace that passed all understanding. And so, I want to give you some tips that helped me on my new journey of thankfulness and release. ⁃ Find a quiet place that is free from distractions. A place for just you and Jesus. (For me this is my bedroom) ⁃ The first thing I always do is ask the Holy Spirit for help. I ask the Holy Spirit to speak deeply to my soul. To clear my heart and mind of distractions and help me to focus only on Jesus. ⁃ Next, I talk to Jesus as if He is sitting right next to me, because He is! The Bible tells me He will never leave me and I truly believe He is with me every moment of every day. ⁃ I then start thanking God. At first it was hard because I immediately wanted to petition Him on behalf of loved ones, friends and circumstances. So, I continued to ask the Holy Spirit to guide me. Even if you find yourself distracted or disconnected, don’t stop. Keep thanking Him. ⁃ I started with things that were right in the room with me, things that we so easily take for granted. My bed, clothing, a closet for those clothes, a warm comforter etc. then my home and all that He provides for me inside that home. By focusing on what’s right in front of you, God will open your eyes to a world of thankfulness. ⁃ I then moved my focus beyond that as I looked outside. The sunshine, the blue skies and cotton candy clouds. The birds singing. The rooftop of our precious church. ⁃ I then moved my focus beyond that to my wonderful hometown. My neighbors, our farms and beaches, rivers and lake. ⁃ I then thanked God for my sweet family. My husband, children and grandchildren. My dad and brothers. My in-laws and cousins. My aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. ⁃ Make this a habit you practice at least once a week. ⁃ ⁃ The more I thanked God, the deeper my soul felt that thankfulness. I found myself weeping as I thanked Him for each thing, but especially for His Son dying for me on the cross. For giving me the gift of eternal life at such a cost. For loving me despite myself. ⁃ Some of you might not know where to start when it comes to prayer and others might feel like this is too simple. These are just a few of the tips that helped me. I hope you get the idea. Something completely different might work better for you. You might be reading this and thinking that it’s easy for me to be thankful because of how many blessings I have, but you find yourself in a dark, lonely place filled with heartache. Can I tell you my friend that even there you can find the light. You can find your way out of the dark if you give Jesus your hand. Take it one step at a time. Thank Him for being there with you. In your quiet place. Just you and Jesus. You are not alone. Thank Him for dying for you. Thank Him that no matter how dark things seem right now, His gift of salvation has given you light and peace for all eternity. If His redeeming love and forgiveness is something you have never experienced, I urge you to reach out to me. I would love to share the gospel with you. I would love for you to know my Jesus and the thankfulness my heart feels. There is no doubt that as you go about your day, loved ones and friends, burdens or circumstances will come to the forefront of your heart. Choose to remain thankful each time. Thank God for the burdens He places upon your heart, for the circumstances He placed you in, for that person He gave you to love. Thank Him all day long as you go about each task. The more you say thank you, the more thankful you become. Guys, I promise it will change your life!
4/8/2020
Everything Will ChangeEVERYTHING WILL CHANGE
2 minute read When my husband’s sister passed away in 2003, all our lives were torn apart. Everything changed. She left behind 6 children. Her youngest only 6 days old. I saw how it affected my husband and my children. I saw how it affected her husband, her children, her parents and siblings, her church family. I saw how it affected me. I decided my life would be different. I would give of myself more. I would invest in other’s lives. I would spend more quality time with my children instead of stressing over a clean house, schedules and “to do’s”. I would love on my husband more fiercely, forgive more readily. I wouldn’t get irritated and argue with him over stupid things. I would be selfless and put his needs before my own. Because I did not know how much time I had left with the ones I loved, and I wanted it to be precious. Yes everything changed.... for a while. Slowly, as the years went by and life became more normal again~ I forgot those decisions. And every once in a while my heart would be pricked, because I wasn’t following through. I always blew it off. Surely God understood how busy I was~ I had schedules to keep. I had a house to keep clean. I had too much on my plate to help that person. I had every right to get irritated with my husband. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true. We make the time for the ones we love. We forgive, we give of ourselves, we love selflessly. Deep down, I knew~ I just loved myself more. As we sit in our houses and reflect on this time~As we think about our lives and what will change~As we pray desperately for the safety of our loved ones~As we give God our moments~As we search His promises for peace~As we watch the news and cry and pray~As we realize how very precious our families truly are~As our eyes are opened to what is most important in our lives. Let’s not ever forget. One year from now. Two years from now. If and when our lives become our normal again. We cannot ever forget. We will make new choices. We will determine to put God first. To spend time with Him. To make the time for our children despite our list of “to-do’s” and love on our spouses more fiercely. We will determine to forgive more readily. We will not allow busyness to take over our family time. We will give of ourselves to others. Until we don’t. Until the years go by and we slowly forget this horrible, terrible, life changing virus that has encapsulated our entire world. Because our lives will be our normal again. But for some, their lives will forever be changed because this virus took someone that was precious to them. Mark this day and the next and the next. Write notes in your bible to remember. Take pictures. Cut out newspaper articles. Create memories. Remember. Please remember. And pray for the future God has for us. Pray that we don’t ever forget. And one day, let us look back on our memories and notes and pictures. Let us relive it and be reminded how good God is to us. How much He has blessed us with. Then hug on your babies a little tighter. Kiss on your spouse a little longer. Give of yourself to your neighbors a little more and give God every part of every day. Because we don’t know how much time we have left. Maybe this virus has made us all more aware and because of that, we can be thankful, because of that~ Everything will change.
1/1/2020
Step Through That DoorSTEP THROUGH THAT DOOR
2019~ I want to linger here a little longer. Perhaps it’s because I realize each year seems to pass more quickly than the last. Time is fleeting. I want to linger in the Christmas magic. I don’t want it to be over already. I want to linger in the childlike wonder of my grandchildren. I want to linger in the sounds of their tiny little voices as they tell me all about their moments and their days. I want to linger as they hand me Christmas pictures they drew. I want to linger in their snuggles, before they are too old to want to snuggle anymore. Just like I wanted to linger when my own children were that age. Yes, I want to linger, but I know I can’t. Where did the year go? No, I don’t want 2019 to end. But I hold out my hand, I ask God to take it and I step through the door of 2020. This is Gods plan. Not to look back. Not to hold on to the past, but to look forward to the future. Philippians 3:13 As hard as it was at times to watch my children grow up and out of the childlike wonder Christmas held for them, I look at them now, and the glow of Christmas still lights up their eyes. The smile on their faces on Christmas morning still takes me back and the pride I have for the adults they’ve become still brings tears. And I can see it. I can see all of the same things in my grand babies eyes~ and it’s magical. I can see a future wrapped up in Jesus. And that brings tears. They were being naughty the other day. I was trying to get them to calm down and behave, so I turned on a Christmas movie. It didn’t have the desired effect I was hoping for. Naughtiness still ensued. Jumping on the couch. Doing somersaults on the floor. Asking a thousand times how many more days until they could open their presents. So I asked the one who was misbehaving most~“Clara, are you paying attention to the movie?” She looked at me and nodded, so I asked~“Then what’s the best way to spread Christmas cheer?” (If you’ve seen the movie you know the answer- ‘singing loud for all to hear’.) Suddenly the room got very quiet. The other grandchildren were sure she would get it wrong. In the softest, sweetest voice she answered~ “Jesus” And she meant it. No questions. No hesitating. It’s a future of moments like this that I can’t wait to unwrap. It’s hard to let go of the past. It’s hard to see our babies become adults. But the sweetness the years bring when those years are wrapped up in Jesus is a future that’s filled with hope and love. Joy and excitement. Peace. Philippians 4:7 Yes I will step through the door of 2020 and spread that Christmas cheer. I may want to linger still, but I will look ahead to a future wrapped up in the excitement and joy that only Jesus can bring. Clara got it so right. The door of new beginnings. The door of possibilities. The door of joy and peace. The door that only Jesus can open. Jesus. Look ahead. Take His hand and step through that door with me. 2020 Happy New Year dear friends!
12/11/2019
Presents, Plans, Parties & PeacePRESENTS, PLANS, PARTIES & SWEET PEACE
We live for tomorrow’s while missing today’s, especially at Christmas. Without realizing it, our lives are consumed with tomorrow’s~ What’s next on our Christmas calendars and to do lists. And all the while we are missing the moments and minutes of right now. Soaking up Gods presence right this second. Glorifying Him in the now. Loving the Christmas chaos of flour and sugar and chocolate chips all over the kitchen, wrapping paper and boxes all over our living rooms, cards that still need to be addressed all over our tables, party invitations and orders that need to be finalized on our computers and shopping lists. And we miss Jesus. Instead of living as if today were our last, we live for tomorrow and we stress and we worry and we fret and we lose all the joy of what this crazy season truly means. I recently reposted an article I wrote last year about living today as if it were our last, and my own words convicted me once again. I don’t do this. I’m constantly thinking ahead of what I need to get done and instead of enjoying it, I stress over it and the joy is completely drained out of moments that should be magical. I rush around trying to accomplish so much and in the process~I miss so much. I miss my grandchildren playing Elf on the Shelf with each other, I miss snuggles with them as they watch Christmas movies. I miss messes made with them baking cookies because I’m in too big a hurry and just want to do it myself. I miss the awe and wonder of their precious faces as they look at my Christmas tree and manger. I miss moments right in front of me because I’m continually looking at tomorrow. But what if I don’t have a tomorrow? What did I do today that my precious grandchildren will remember? Will they remember grandma was stressed and in a hurry and overwhelmed and impatient? Will they remember how beautifully I celebrated Christ’s birth with them every day in December or only a December that made grandma frazzled? We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, tonight could be your last night here on earth. What will your own children, your grandchildren, your spouses and coworkers remember about you on this day? Don’t miss the magical moments that are wrapped up in Jesus. Maybe we all need to refocus and truly treat each other, each day and each moment as if it were our last. I think if we did, we would find that sweet peace and joy that only Jesus brings. The true joy of Christmas.
11/13/2019
A Hug And A Bowl Of Chicken SoupA HUG AND A BOWL OF CHICKEN SOUP
3 minute read I was watching The Brady Bunch. Not the new HGTV series, but the 1969 originals on Hulu. I was sick and in bed and I was binge watching The Brady Bunch. It felt good. One week turned into three. This never ending cough threw me for a loop and in an odd way, I found comfort in that old show. I watched it when I was little. It was the only time my parents allowed us to stay up past our bedtime. It reminded me of home and of mom and of being taken care of. I think I was yearning for that comfort because mom is no longer with me. And because I was feeling sorry for myself. Slowly I found myself allowing little things to bother me. Things people said, even my own family members, left me feeling hurt or angry. Little pieces of bitterness, sadness and jealousy crept in. I started having self doubts about my role as a pastor’s wife and mother~ and even this blog. So I began to turn to something seemingly innocent for comfort. The Brady Bunch. I know it’s ridiculous, (you guys probably think I’m nuts haha) but I reasoned that God understood how sick I was and He was ok with me not picking up my bible or talking to Him. But that’s where I was wrong. God wasn’t waiting to punish me for not talking to Him, watching too much TV or not reading His words. I was punishing myself. I was missing out on the incredible comfort, joy and peace that only He can give. I miss my mom so much, sometimes even more when I’m sick~ and while I was feeling sorry for myself, I failed to realize He is the God of ALL comfort. II Corinthians 1:3,4 If I had just talked to Him, He would have whispered to my heart that everything was going to be ok. That He would take care of me. I Peter 5:7 My heart attitude would have been different toward words that were spoken because His words would have been hidden in my heart. Psalm 119:11 Compared to today’s television The Brady Bunch had some great traditional/family oriented episodes ( I still love it 🤦🏼♀️) but~ anything we go to for comfort besides our heavenly Daddy will always come up short. The more we reach for it, the deeper our hearts and minds will stray from the truth of God’s words and it won’t take long for our thoughts to be messed up big time. Satan knows how to dig in and completely change your thoughts, patterns, activities and mindset. He knows how to use seemingly innocent activities to make us stray. One day turns into two then three and soon a month has passed. And all the while we fail to realize we are listening to him and allowing him to drown out every good and perfect word our Savior longs for us to hear. James 1:17 We are punishing ourselves, all the while being deceived into thinking this is what will make us happy and bring us peace and comfort. What are you turning to for comfort today? When you are down and just want someone to hold you and make you feel better? When you want a hug and a bowl of chicken soup? When you want someone to tell you it’s going to be okay? We go to so many things for comfort~ social media, TV, food, relationships~ But somehow, nothing changes. That “complete” comfort is missing. When I finally heard God whisper to my heart, when I finally turned off the TV and I opened His words, when I finally broke down and told Him all the ways I was hurting~ it was like getting a hug. Everything changed. Everything. Don’t miss out on the very best by settling for good. Good will always come up short because~ “good” is not God. ALL GONE, JUST LIKE THE TURKEY ON A CHRISTMAS STORY.
Christmas came and went. So much happy preparation for one day, and just like that~ It’s over. Maybe for you it was the best Christmas ever, or maybe it wasn’t everything you had hoped for, and sadness lingers. Can I ask you to search your heart? What gift did you give? Not to those who sat around your tree, but to the One whose birthday we celebrate? I will never forget the Christmas all my children woke up with the flu. For months I had been preparing for this day. My whole family would be visiting. My mom always hosted, but this year it would be my first time having everyone on Christmas Day~ and it would be the best Christmas ever. After being up till 2am (like every other parent on Christmas Eve), I fell into bed ~while visions of sugarplums danced in my head~ I was SO excited for the kids to wake up on Christmas morning and open their gifts. Instead, a few short hours later we woke up to crying and fevers and throwing up. One after another. All four kids. Over and over and over. And I cried. This was my day. THE day I looked forward to all year. Why would God do this? He knew how much I loved Christmas. All the cooking and baking, decorating and shopping, wrapping and work, all the sleep deprivation and expectations of joy. All gone. Just like the turkey on “A Christmas Story”. What about me? I was like a child in that moment. Illusions that it was my birthday and not the Savior of all mankind’s. Pouting over the gifts of expectations I would not receive. Complaining that it wasn’t fair. But what did I give Jesus that day? I asked for a lot. Maybe not audibly, but inwardly. A lot. But I gave Him very little. There have been many Christmases since that time where similar situations have happened. I wish I could have a do over. Not to prevent the awful circumstances of the day, but instead to change the way I viewed those circumstances. To give of myself to my Savior whose birthday I was supposedly celebrating. I read a quote today that said~ “The celebrations were never meant to satisfy. The Savior does.” I made it all about me when the day should have been all about Him, despite the circumstances. Despite the circumstances, He came from immaculate glory to a sin cursed world. The Savior, whose hands formed the universe, were now tiny hands, tightly formed around his mother’s finger. Tiny glory, lying in a manger of hay. Born into the worst circumstances you could imagine. For you. Christmas is over. Another year is gone. But today is a new day. We owe everything to Him, yet we ask everything of Him. A new year beckons us. A whole year before next year’s birthday celebration. A whole year to give every single day. Our life is a start. The best start. Our love. Our praise. Our thankfulness. Our everything. Belated birthday wishes are always a blessing. It’s never too late. Sing Happy Birthday in your heart today. The heart that Jesus gave everything for. ❤️ |
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