Tag Archives: Jesus

Re-run

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I posted this on my old xanga blog once and post it now for a good friend who could use a little carrying right now.

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Sometime “Mutts” just makes me grin, sometimes is makes me laugh out loud.  This one tugged at my heart as I imagined myself as the puppy and the man as Jesus.

Let Him carry you.  Don’t struggle and don’t leap out of his arms onto the hot sand.  We may feel that in our struggles God is far away.  I think in those times He’s actually closer – we just get caught up in our pain, distress, or anxiety and become less aware of Him.  Think about it.  When a little child is hurt badly they are so absorbed in the hurt and the fear that it takes some time to console them.  “I’m here” we tell them over and over.  “It’s okay.”  Sometimes we even have to take their little tear-stained face in our hands and physically turn their eyes to see us.

Jesus said He will never leave me or forsake me.  I believe Him.

You are my strong shield, and I trust you completely.

You have helped me, and I will celebrate and thank you in song.

You give strength to your people, LORD,

You save and protect your chosen ones.

Come save us and bless us.

Be our shepherd and always carry us in your arms.    Psalm 28:7-9  CEV

Step Back

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Some thoughts from the last few days:

What if every morning I just prayed and said to God, “I’m stepping back, God.  You’re in charge of my schedule, my encounters with other people, my words, my behavior, my safety or lack thereof, my thoughts, everything.”  What amazing things would I experience?  What freedom!  I know I still have plans and schedules, but to release it all to God first thing and remember that His plans are best.  Those are the ones I want.

My sis and I were “talking” through email about this and she had these wise words for me, “Jesus just moved through his day and touched and taught as he went along.  …He was on his way to heal a man’s sick (actually dead) daughter and the sick woman touched his robe.  He stopped briefly and she was healed (ok, her life was changed and it took him like 2 seconds) and then he went on where he was going!  He just allowed life to happen and he worked in the situations that presented themselves.  For whatever reason, ok the Holy Spirit, it was suddenly so clear to me that with Jesus as our example, that is what God wants us to do, too.”

to doSo true!  We tend to be goal-oriented, task-driven people focused on the end of the race as our goal when our goal should really be all the stuff in between, the day to day running, the pressing on, the scenery along that day’s path, the little moments when we see our big God at work in and through us.

I’m going to pray as I walk/jog in the mornings that God will let me relax back into all that He is and just be carried along through the day by Him.  Total trust.  Total surrender.  Total peace, too.  I’m going to just step back.

We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.   Proverbs 16:9

This is your chance

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We watched the movie “Walk the Line” today, about Johnny Cash’s life.  It was tragic to almost the very end.  Life on the road took its toll on his marriage.  He turned to alcohol and drugs to keep going.  Broken relationships, fits of rage, highs then lows, then deep regret.  This seemed to be the cycle for him.  Along the way he met June Carter, whom he fell in love with (even while still married).  She kept her distance – for the most part – and he sunk further down into despair and addiction.  When he had just about reached the lowest of his lows, June and her parents decided to help.  They threw out his drugs and stayed with him at his house while he went through terrible withdrawals.  They even scared off the visiting drug dealer with a shotgun.  When Johnny finally came through and was in his right mind, he sat weakly in the bed on the verge of tears and told June,

Johnny:  You’re an angel.
June: No, I’m not.
Johnny: You’ve been there with me.
June: I had a friend who needed help. You’re my friend.
Johnny: But I’ve done so many bad things.
June: You’ve done a few, that’s true.
Johnny: My Daddy’s right. It should have been me on that saw. Jack (his brother) was so good. He would have done so many good things. What have I done? Just hurt everybody I know. I know I’ve hurt you. I’m nothin’.
June: You’re not nothin’. You are not nothin’. You’re a good man, and God has given you a second chance to make things right, John. This is your chance, honey.

“This is your chance.”  What a sweet moment in the story – I was so moved.  How true that is for all of us and how true for so many who haven’t even heard it yet!  How many people are out there feeling like they’ve messed up so much they’re nothing…worth nothing.   Continue reading →

Just Do It

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nike-just-do-it

The famous Nike slogan “Just Do It”, coined by Dan Wieden, co-founder of the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, was considered one of the top ad slogans of the 20th century.  I’m adopting it as my personal slogan.  The tricky thing is that I have a lifetime membership in “Procrastinators Anonymous” (I think we’re having a meeting tomorrow, maybe).  For some reason I avoid tasks that seem unpleasant or difficult in the attempt to have peace, comfort, or time to partake in some other more enjoyable activity, only to find that I feel more stressed and restless.

Have you ever stood in a kitchen with dirty dishes stacked precariously high, piles of laundry looming, kids messing around when they’re supposed to be doing homework, stacks of clean clothes yet to be put away, bills to pay, a closet to organize, dinner to fix…?  You get the picture.  It seems much easier in those times for me to just to try and forget all I have to do as I get a diet coke and go sit down.  However, it’s all still there when my moment of intentional oblivion is over.  My mom used to tell me, just start on ONE thing.  Just do it.  Continue reading →

Don’t look at the headlights

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I walked out into the warm, humid, early morning air to take my jog for today and headed up the road.  I could tell it was overcast.  Even though it was dark as night, the cloud cover seemed thick and low.  There are two paths I can take in the morning, one heads north toward two nearby neighborhoods, the other east toward a big neighborhood.  Either way, I have to do my warm-up walk by dark woods before I get to sidewalks and houses.  I don’t relish that as the dark woods kind of give me the creeps!   On a clear morning the dawn begins lightening the sky by the time I head back toward home…but I knew it wouldn’t be that way today.

As I walked, the path was barely visible but I know the route well.  I was determined to warm-up at a fast pace and get to the street-light lined street quickly.  Whenever a car appeared, heading my way, the headlights were blinding.  I made the mistake of looking toward them the first time and the path disappeared – the lights being so bright everything else became completely black.  The next time a car drove by I kept my eyes on the path and even though it was barely visible ’til the car passed by, I could still see where I was going.  It made me think of a great devotional I read a few days ago by John Piper about the verses in Matthew 6:22, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.”   I’ve read that verse many times but often thought Jesus had it backwards.  The eye as a lamp?  It gave me a mental image of someone with eyes shining like flashlights on everything around them.  Now that would come in handy on these dark early morning jaunts!   Continue reading →

Miscellany

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This morning I forced myself out of bed when the alarm clock sounded.   I planned to get up and jog to start the day but felt like doing anything but jogging.  As I groggily walked to the dresser to get my stuff I argued with myself, telling myself I would feel great when I was done and just to keep moving.    I walked out into a cool, still-dark morning and when I rounded the two-story townhouse building where we live I looked up and saw a deep blue sky not yet faded by dawn, a bright white sliver of a crescent moon with a few twinkling, very bright stars nearby.  How beautiful!  I started off walking, turned on the iPod, started to jog and before you know it I realized I was right:  I felt great!

My middle daughter has been working hard this summer at a nearby grocery and saving just about every dollar toward a used car.  She should get her license this Friday, if she passes the driving test of course.  She has had her heart set on a Geo Tracker as her vehicle of choice and has been looking them up on the Internet, seeing them around town, etc.   When Kaitlin sets her sights or heart on something she has laser focus.  (If only I could get her to set her heart on a 4.0 GPA).  We told her to keep an open mind because it may not be a Tracker that God sends her way but an equally good, reliable other used car.  Well this weekend a church friend called to say one of his relatives is selling a 1997 Geo Tracker wit a soft top (convertible!) – only 70,000 miles, one owner and it’s going for $1200.  Kaitlin just has $1200 in her savings!  Continue reading →

Unplugged

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Did you hear it?  The wails of three teenagers echoing across the entire state of Indiana when we told them we were having an “unplugged” no cell phone, no facebook trip to see their grandparents in NY this weekend?

John and I decided we’re going to leave cell phones at home (except for his in case of emergency) and not allow anyone on facebook either.  It’s only for five days but you would have thought we asked each of the girls to personally cut off their own arms and forever live in caves as hermits.

We live in a deluge of input, information, communication, entertainment, and technology and it seems to have caused American Christians to become spiritually malnourished, weak, subtly distracted and preoccupied.   I have to admit I have allowed it to make me that way.   When was the last time I sat down just to be quiet?  How about an evening without turning on the TV or sitting down in front of the Internet?  How about going for a walk outside and not taking the iPod?  Continue reading →

The culprit

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Walking and talking – one of my favorite things to do with a friend.  We covered 3-4 miles on a sunny, cool morning and many topics ranging from parenting teenagers, memories, misc. stuff, our parents, church, and faith.   My friend shared something with me that I want to share with you.  She had looked up “discouragement” in a commentary.  The author offered four reasons why we get discouraged as believers: the hardness of the way, the difficulty of the task, the affluence of the wicked, and desires that remain unfulfilled.  These all totally make sense to me and I could easily relate to each one.  The fact that life is often not as we expected it to be, especially when following Jesus, can be discouraging.   To see others who aren’t living for Christ and seem to have so much, or have it easy is discouraging if we let it be.  Going through tragedy, sickness, unemployment, persecution, or any other “trial” can definitely wear on us and discourage us.  For each of these discouragement “triggers” my friend said a Bible verse was listed to show the remedy for each one according to God.  Oddly enough, each verse contained the words, “fear not.” Fear is the culprit!   If you think about a tough circumstance or trial you’ve been through, fear is bound to be involved somehow:  fear of the unknown, fear of things turning out different than we hope, fear that we won’t make it through, fear that we’re inadequate for the task, fear of others’ opinions, fear of not having what we need or want, fear of failing…

1732461-9-just-for-today-i-will-not-be-afraidWhen I don’t fully trust God it shows fear, and that leads to discouragement.  Conversely, when I decide to lean out over the edge of the unknown and fully trust in God, even though I can’t see what’s coming, I have such peace and freedom.

Our enemy, satan, loves to use fear.   Continue reading →

mishmash

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This morning I have so many thoughts, lessons, convictions swirling around in my mind I felt a little overwhelmed as I drove into work.  I talked with God about it but thought it would also help me to put some of them in writing.

I laid out a beautiful sermonette to John last night about how we need to trust the girls and God during these teen years when we can’t really control what happens and we oftentimes have to just sit, watch and pray.  Then today I woke feeling anxious.  God rewound the tape from my “message” last night and played it back right in front of me – the nerve!  Living by my own words is tough today.

If I really trusted Him completely I wouldn’t worry.  So, I’m practicing faith and trust, leaning on Him even though I still feel uncertain.  Sometimes letting go hasn’t been that hard but there are days…

What if my daughters choose ways and lifestyles other than what I hope for them?  Continue reading →

Not all it’s cracked up to be

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shia“Sometimes I feel I’m living a meaningless life, and I get frightened. … I don’t handle fame well. Most actors on most days don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my way. … Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions. … The good actors are all screwed up. They’re all in pain. It’s a profession of bottom-feeders and heartbroken people.” —23-year-old Shia LaBeouf

When I read this I was so sad. It’s another reminder that outward appearances are so deceiving, and that everyone needs real love. Sometimes we make negative judgments about people that seem from their appearance to be down and out, or dirty, “naughty”, not so smart, irresponsible, etc. I guess we need to be careful not to judge the other way either and assume that someone who looks amazing, handsome, well dressed, is famous, or gets raving reviews is happy and has a good, fulfilling life.

This quote from Shia sounds like a cry for help, a correction to people’s assumptions that actors/actresses, those being stalked by paparazzi, those who are applauded for their talents and looks by the masses, are just as empty inside without God as anyone else. I hate it that he says “If I knew, I’d fill it”. Someone who loves Jesus needs to share God’s love with Shia LeBeouf! Famous people seem far off and unapproachable when it comes to one of us ordinary believers sharing about Jesus…as if their fame and status makes them less likely to listen or want to hear something good and hopeful.

Everyone needs God’s love, no matter how many people have a poster of them in their room, no matter how many movie tickets they sold, no matter how many cities they’re touring, no matter how high up we exalt them. Their heart is the same as mine and yours. Their soul is hungry like mine was before I knew God through Jesus. They feel loneliness that they can’t really explain or escape without the life-giving relationship with their Creator and heavenly Father. I hope God will reach out to Shia today through someone who is a Christ-follower.

I hope God will give the believers in Shia’s life compassion and a wake-up call to share hope and good news. I hope this happens for all the celebrities that are shining stars on the outside and hurting, broken souls on the inside.