Bible, Prayer, Uncategorized, wisdom

Life Lessons from the Book of Esther

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A while back I posted a blog about what I was learning from studying the book of Esther. Now I am on the last week of studying Esther with a group of amazing women from my church. And while I have learned a lot, the 3 big take-aways are: 1. God uses those in the shadows to affect the outcome of the start (see blog post We all have a part to play). 2. How we approach God in prayer when we are feeling attacked. And 3. the impact of seeing God’s hand in every situation we face.

Since I already explained what I mean by the first take away I will jump straight to the second and third. How we approach God in prayer matters. We can learn a lot on how Esther approached the king with the news that she and her people were set to be destroyed. She asked the king if she had favor in his eyes. We don’t have to do this. We already know we have God’s favor (see Psalm 84:11 or Psalm 5:12 for a couple of examples.) Esther wanted the king to see that he did indeed care for her, that he felt favorable towards her. Once that was established, she used that favor to her advantage. She exposed what the enemy had planned for her. Esther 7:5-6 says “King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?'” Esther said the adversary and the enemy is this vile Haman.” We have a King who favors us, but do we point out to Him in prayer who our enemy is? Do we expose the plans of the enemy to our King? Esther didn’t ask the King, “Please, if it’s in your will can you stop this attack of the enemy?” All she had to do was point it out and then let the King respond. When I am feeling attacked, I ask God to help stop the attack of the enemy. I don’t think that is wrong, but I think there is more power in exposing what the enemy is doing to me and then let the righteous anger of my King respond. The Bible says over and over He hears our cry; He rescues us. (See Psalm 34:17). So why not pray something like this? “God, do you see what the enemy is trying to do to me? The one you favor! Your beloved! How are you going to deal with our enemy?” God is our shield, our protector. We don’t have to ask Him to act on our behalf. We know He will. We just need to let Him know it’s more than we can handle, and we need Him to intervene on our behalf.

The 3rd lesson was pointed out to me in the Beth Moore study on the book Esther. She used original language to point out that the words “portion”, “favor” and “lot” in Esther are all connected in the original Hebrew. In Psalm 16:5, the Bible says, “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup. You have made my lot secure.” In other words you have given me all things. You keep me secure in the midst of all things. Beth Moore’s words sum it up best – “No matter what life – or Satan himself – hands us, the favor God has on His children causes that “lot” to tumble out on the table in such a way that instead of destruction, the child will discover that her portion turned into destiny one trusting step at a time. When all is said and done, she will see that the portion God assigned her was good. Right. Rich. Full of purpose.” (It’s tough being a woman Bible study page 208)

So when life throws you a curve ball you weren’t expecting, remember God is working all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28

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Bible, family activities, Parenting, Raising Teens, Uncategorized, wisdom

The impact of a child

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This goes out to all the moms I know.

I recently had the privilege to lead a missions to trip to a Native American Reservation. It was an amazing trip! But the biggest take away I had came from a six year old little boy.

I don’t know much about his story other than that currently he is being raised by his grandma. She is a Godly woman, and from what I can tell has tried her best to show her grandson how to live for Christ. And she has done a great job at it.

This little guy prayed for us one night, and his prayers were powerful and strong. He prayed with authority and no fear. He declared God’s truth and bound the devil like it was second nature for him to do so. And it got me thinking. When my kids were little I fear I prayed little kids prayers with them. You know keeping things on their level of understanding, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, sometimes exposing them to things they can’t fully grasp has its place, too.

God uses children and kids all throughout the Bible. In 2 Kings 12:1-2 we see a boy at age 7 become king of Judah. He reigned as king for 40 years. The text mentions his mother’s name Zibiah of Beersheba. It says he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord because the Priest instructed him. I think we can infer from the passage that his mom was important. In a world where women had little value, and lineage is passed through the father’s family, why mention a mom? Unless that mom had great impact for the country. I believe that Jehoash’s mom influenced him. She taught him to listen to authority and quite possibly about the Lord, as well. However and whatever she did as a mom, it must have been good parenting because in a time when kingdom turn-over was high, he reigned for 40 years. Something about that boy gained both the favor the Lord and his fellow countrymen in order for his reign to last that long.

In 1 Samuel chapter 1 we learn that it was Samuel’s mom Hannah who took Samuel to the temple and left him there to live and learn and be raised in the ways of God (1 Samuel 1:23-28). Some commentaries believe that Samuel was 3 years old when he first stood in front of Eli the priest. God called to a child who then changed a nation.

King David was most likely a young teenager when Samuel anointed him as king. We know that he was thirty when he finally did become king after years of fleeing and fighting Saul.

Then there is the verse in Matthew 19:14 that says, “Let the little children come to me.” I know there are others who were quite young when they encountered God. But my point in this blog isn’t just that God can use little kids. I think every mom who lives for Jesus knows and believes that. My point is this – are we putting into practice what we believe? Are we giving little ones the opportunity to practice their faith? I will admit I wasn’t the best at this.

After seeing this young boy who had a genuine love and faith in God, who knew that God heard his prayers and believed that God would respond, I felt compelled to share with all the moms I know to teach your child to love Jesus first and foremost. Then from there give them opportunities to practice their faith. When you are praying with someone ask them to pray with you for that person.

Encourage them to practice hearing from God on their own. Have them share with you what God has whispered in their little ears. Play worship music while they color and ask them to draw what God is saying to them. Teach them to live for God. Teach them that praying powerful prayers is normal. Show them, guide them, and lead them into a life where prayer comes naturally. Teach them not to fear evil but to take authority over it from the time they can speak. Because God can and will use them now and in the future.

What would the world look like in 20 years if those little ones in nurseries all across the country in all sorts of different God-fearing, Jesus-loving churches grew up with the mindset that healing is what Jesus wants and that sharing your faith isn’t scary or something only to be done on the mission field? That praying with anyone in need is always the right thing to do, even if it is just in your head. What if they grew up knowing who they have always been in Christ from the time they are born? What if they are taught to believe – really believe – that victory is theirs in Jesus’s name?

Moms, don’t you want that? To have 6 year olds praying over adults as if it were a normal part of their life with God? So let’s encourage each other and band together to teach and lead our kids into living fearlessly for God no matter how old they are. Who’s with me?

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Bible, community, Friendship, Uncategorized, wisdom

We all have a part to play

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I am getting ready to lead a study on the book of Esther this fall. So I have started studying and reading this book. I have come to a conclusion that Esther isn’t the only hero in the story. As I was reading I came across an interesting verse. One you probably have heard a million times. But read it one more time, slowly, focusing on the first part of the verse rather than the last. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14. Did you notice anything new as you read this?

Here is what I noticed – Mordecai’s faith in a God who will always fulfill His covenant promise to His people. Mordecai knew this is what God wanted Esther to do; but even if she didn’t, he knew that God would not allow the Jewish population to be annihilated. Mordecai also knew this was bigger than him. He knew his life was at risk as well as Esthers. I think it was his faith in God and in Esther that gave her the courage to go before the king.

There are times when we are asked not to play the lead in the play but to be the supporting character. But oh how important that role can be. Maybe you are the one called to stand in faith while encouraging your child to go for what the Lord has called them to do. Maybe there is a friend who needs someone strong in their faith to remind them of what God can do in a situation.

Hebrews 10:24 says let us consider how we might spur one another on toward good deeds. And what greater good deed is there than obedience to God lived out in faith? The word spur there means to literally jab someone to the point they must respond. Isn’t that what Mordecai did? He reminds Esther that both his life and hers is at stake, but that God is bigger than this situation. Mordecai pulls on her heart strings by saying, “… you and your father’s house.” Mordecai had raised Esther. He was her father’s brother, her uncle. He pushes Esther so that she must respond. And he encourages her with his faith in a loving caring God.

If you are like me you want to be in the starring role – to be the hero who saves the day; but heroes need someone behind them, encouraging them, cheering them on to fulfill their purpose. There is nothing wrong with not being center stage. God often uses people who never get applauded for their actions. But that does not diminish their part in the story of God.

Who can you spur on toward good deeds? Whose faith can use a boost from yours? Is there someone who needs your faith and support today? Is there someone God has in your life for you to spur them on? Go find them and play your part with great gusto.

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Bible, community, Uncategorized

Bearing each other’s burdens to build better lives.

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I have been doing a Bible study on the book of Nehemiah. It’s a great study by Kelly Minter called Nehemiah – A Heart that can Break. It truly is a good one. We are up to Nehemiah, chapter 4, in the study. Nehemiah has come to Jerusalem, assessed the walls that lie in ruins, and has now rallied the people to start rebuilding. Things are going great. The people are working until their enemy finds out what is happening and tries to stop them from building the wall. Nehemiah 4:10-11 reads, “In Judah it was said ‘The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

What a bad place to be in. The people are overwhelmed with all the “rubble” and their enemy wants to kill them. If you stop and think about it, that is where many of us find ourselves living. We are living in the midst of our rubble, our sin, our pride, our junk, and we have an enemy who wants to kill or at the very least stop us from getting rid of our rubble so we can become who God has called us to be to begin with. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with life, with my issues, my struggles and I feel like it is pointless. There simply is too much work to get rid of the rubble and I find my strength failing. Haven’t we all found ourselves at that point in our lives. Maybe it isn’t even sin related. Maybe it is circumstantial. Mabey you are overwhelmed with life with toddlers, or being a full time mom and working full time. Or the constant medical issues that leave you feeling hopeless. Not to mention the bills that never stop coming. Many of us are feeling like our strength is failing in life for many different reason.

Then you factor in the enemy. The bible says the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy in John 10:10. If you are feeling hopeless, hang with me because something amazing happens in Nehemiah chapter 4 that we can apply to our lives, too. Nehemiah 4:13 says “So in the lowest parts of the space behind the walls in open places I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.” And Nehemiah 4:16 says “From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows and coats of mail.”

You may still be thinking what does this have to do with me? You are either the one who’s building and your strength is failing you, or you are one who is ready to fight. And at different points in life we are both. Let me explain. When life is hard and you are struggling and someone offers help, they are offering to be your fighter to support you so you can keep building. For example if you are a young mom, and an older woman in your church offers to watch your kids for you so you can have a break. You are the weary builder and that older woman is the fighter.

I see this happen all the time at church. We even have ministries designed to help the weary, tired and beat up by life people. It’s what we should be doing. It is how God wants us to function. Galatians 6:2 says “Bear one another’s burdens, and in doing so fulfill the law of Christ.”

So if this is how it is supposed to be and this what the local church tries to do, then why are so many people still feeling like their strength is failing them and there is no one there to help? I believe there are a couple reasons for this, but they come from the same place. We have isolated ourselves from real relationships with people, and we are simply too prideful. Notice I said we because I include myself in this.

People can’t help you if they don’t know what you need help with. I once went to a marriage conference and the only thing I remember is this quote. “Healthy people ask for what they need.” If you are overwhelmed but don’t tell anyone, how will they know? If you feel like your life is a bunch of rubble but you smile and say everything is great, how can anyone help?

And what about those times when people offer to help and we politely thank them but tell them we can handle it? If someone offers, then assume they are willing to help and they want to help. Why won’t we let them?

So I challenge you to be like the people of Nehemiah’s day. Help your fellow brother or sister in Christ when and where you can. And in turn when you need help, ask for it. Tell people what you need.

Nehemiah 6: 15-16 says, “So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month Elul, in 52 days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of the Lord.”

When the people shared their struggles, and then worked together, some building and some fighting, they were able to build the wall all the way around the city of Jerusalem in just 52 days. In just a few weeks the weary worn out discouraged builders regained their strength to finish the task they were given. When we let people help us, we can accomplish much more than we try on our own, and it opens a door for the Lord to do great works in us so that others can’t help but notice what God has done. Our lives become a testimony to the greatness of our Lord.

So I ask you, do you want God to do great things in and with your life? Do you want others to see the activity of the Lord in you? Then ask for help when it is needed, accept it when it is offered, and once you are strengthened and the rubble is removed, go help someone else with theirs.

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Bible, Easter, Uncategorized

A True Easter Celebration

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I normally try to post holiday ideas and celebration tips early so people have a chance to plan and tweak things for themselves. This, however, isn’t going to happen this year. I have heard it said that time moves fast as you get older; and while I know that isn’t possible I am feeling like sometimes it might just be.

I have struggled with Christmas and Easter for as long as I can remember. It seemed like no matter what I did, something was amiss in my celebrations. I have tried dozens of ways to make Easter feel weighty as in my mind it should. Yet, it always seemed like I missed the mark. As Easter pasts have come and gone, I would find myself thinking this holiday is the crux of my faith. Christianity would be nothing without the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, but my attempts to honor and celebrate this felt flat and lacked the sense of Holy wonder I was wanting – until now.

My family and I traveled to Israel this past fall, and the one thing I wanted to buy myself was a Seder Dinner set. My church had done a teaching on the Seder dinner years back and it had stuck with me. God’s timing is amazing. The women’s ministry in our church decided once again to do a teaching on Seder this spring. So with my new Seder plates and the teaching fresh in my mind, my family did our first Seder Dinner together.

Our families first Seder together!

It wasn’t perfect, but it was blessed. As we sat at the table with my husband leading and me and the kids repeating, the Holiness of the Easter season hit me. Out of nowhere I was moved to emotions. With tears in my eyes I sat at the table silently thanking God for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. My heart was overwhelmed at the goodness of God. How He knew our family needed this moment in the fall when I purchased the Seder set, and how we needed instruction on how to do the actual Seder, and most of all how we needed time in the busy Easter weekend to connect as a family and with God.

For those of you who don’t know what a Seder is I will offer a quick, brief explanation. It is the Jewish passover celebration. It is the dinner Jesus had with His disciples in Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-39 and John 13:1-20. It is a recounting of the story of Moses and the Israelites being freed from slavery (Ex. chapters 6-13).

For me it is reminding myself while I have never been an actual slave, sin in my life has held me captive in many ways. I am reminded of the power of the cross over sin and darkness. “There is a path to freedom” still echos in my mind as I type this.

Easter is forever changed with a truth I have always known and believed for years but is now etched on my heart in a new, powerful, love-filled-way.

Jesus is our Savior. He is our redeemer. In Him we are free. He alone can touch your heart to know truth at a deeper level. However you celebrate Easter, may this be the year that your celebration turns from tradition to heart felt knowledge. And a truth that will truly set you free!

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Bible, Prayer, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized

Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions, Thanksgivings Oh my!

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I have a confession. I struggle with prayer. I mean I do pray, and on occasion I have prayed with great focus, but on a normal day-to-day basis prayer is hard for me. My mind seems to wander which leads to my hands wandering and before I know it I am no longer praying. I am cleaning, or working, or doing whatever other task was on my to-do list for the day. Or I will pray and then sit waiting to hear from God only to find myself waking up from a nice cat nap. I know I can’t be alone in this struggle, but as a Christian and a Pastor it isn’t something you openly admit or broadcast to people. Until now. I guess this post is a broadcast of my struggle. But it would be a sad post if it was only my struggle. Enter 1 Timothy 2:1

“First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people.” I count 4 different types of prayer in that one verse. 4 DIFFERENT TYPES! What? I thought prayer was prayer and intersession was when you prayed for others, and supplication was just another word for prayer, and thanksgiving – well that’s the part of the prayer where you tell God how thankful you are for ______________(fill in the blank).

I am a Pinterest junkie, and I have seen all kinds of methods for prayer on that sight, but I don’t know that I have ever understood there are different types of prayer. I mean I know that there are different emotions that surface when you pray, but these are 4 different words that don’t just all mean prayer. They are all for sure connected, but each have their own meaning, depth, and purpose in our pursuit of communion with the Lord.

I began to look into what each one of these words means. I really was hoping that they all would just mean pray, and make it simple, easy, and neat. But when has God ever been simple or allowed His people to take the easy road? Oh foolish me.

What I found was amazing. Explanations of or examples of ways to come before the throne of God with confidence and humility. It was beautiful and new to me. First, supplication is the Hebrew word Deesis (forgive the Hebrish I don’t have a keyboard to type Hebrew letters). It is a heart felt petition arising out of a personal need that is urgent. It is the “Lord Help me!” desperate cry that comes from a place of fear or lack. A place that says, “God if you don’t show up and do something here, I am toast.” This is a common prayer I am familiar with. For me it is what I call the last hope prayer. Which I fully understand prayer should never be our last hope, but let’s be honest. Sometimes we try everything we can think of on our own and then pray. Am I right? But even if it is a last hope prayer, it still pleases God. Verse 3 of this chapter says “This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.” Which (side note) did you catch the word sight? God hears and SEES our prayers. I think that is super cool. Ok, back on topic.

Next is prayers. The Hebrew word for prayers is proseuche (imagine a little hash mark over the last e). Exchange of wishes or an oratory. I will confess I had to look up oratory. It is used mostly in reference to Catholicism. It is a place or building that is used just for priests to pray. In the Jewish culture, it is a place set aside for prayer when there is no temple near by. I remember being taught once that everyone should have their place of prayer, an area you can go that won’t be distracting, that has the supplies you need to get into the presence of God. Stuff like a bible, worships music, a journal, maybe a good smelling candle. It makes me think of the temple with all the utensils used by the priest to offer prayers and sacrifice to God. Maybe if I had a place in my house I wouldn’t get so distracted and if it was a place with no chair I wouldn’t fall asleep.

Then there is intercessions. This was the word that I fell in love with. It is enteuxis. It means intervention, the literal translation is “hits the mark”. It is an intervention led by God marking the intersection between heaven and earth as it reflects the Lord’s specific will for that situation. That is a very cool thought. I envision God in the room with me and the person I am praying for, and God looking at that person with such love and so much concern over the issue, and explaining to us both the best way to move forward from where we are. Him giving us His plan on how to fix the situation and avoid this dilemma in the future. It’s like the best 12 step program that brings total freedom at the end of the meetings. For the one interceding it is the idea of waiting and not doing or even speaking until you feel the Lord tell you what to do or say. He is the one leading the intervention after all.

And lastly thanksgiving, which is the word eucharisto. It means gratitude. It is an action word meaning actively giving God grateful language as an act of worship. It is so much more than telling God I am so thankful for……..

I am going to start approaching my prayer life with this new insight. I am going to make myself a place free of distractions and loaded with all things that make me feel calm and that are inviting to the Holy Spirit. I am going to approach prayer with heart felt cries for God to arise and fill in where I am lacking and for Him to mark the place where heaven invades earth and His will is made clear for all to see. Will you join me? What could our homes, neighborhoods, schools and churches look like if we all approach prayer with a new and greater understanding of what God desires to do in our prayer lives?

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Bible, Friendship, Uncategorized

Real Friends – Real Community

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Do you know how many followers you have on whatever your favorite social media sight is? If you don’t, good for you. Do you know how many real friends you have? If you don’t, my heart hurts for you; but I don’t think you are alone. With the craze of social media, I believe we have lost real community and real friendship along the way. I am not meaning to bash you for posting but maybe give a loving word of caution. We all should care more about the real people around us that we interact with on a daily bases than the ones on screens.

I was sitting at my desk working on my Bible study and I read these verses. “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” -Hebrews 10:24-25

I read it, paused and re-read it and then began wondering what some of the words mean in the original language of the Bible. So I did what I always do, logged onto biblehub.com and began searching for deeper meaning.

The word concerned is really made up of two words in the original language: kata and noioe. Kata means “exactly according to” and noioe means “to think properly from up to down, expressing real comprehending, thinking decisively to a definite understanding”.

According to this we are to be so concerned with people that we know what is really going on in their lives. We are to know exactly according to them what they are dealing with and think through that situation with up down thinking. Now this is just my thoughts on that up down thinking. To me it is heaven minded thinking. It’s heaven on earth mentality. I love that. I love the idea of thinking and interacting with people with a God’s way first thought process.

But according to this verse we are not just to be concerned about each other for the sake of being concerned. We are to be involved and concerned with people so we can promote love and good works. The word promote here means “a provocation” which literally means to jab someone so that they must respond. We are told in the Bible to be involved with others so that we have concern for them; we know what is really truly going on and then push them towards love and good works. The word love in the verse is agape love or God centered love. And good works means “beautiful attractively good, good that inspires or motivates others to embrace what is lovely, or praiseworthy”.

I bet you don’t have those kinds of interactions with people on social media. Connections where you have knowledge and true facts, and relationships where you can speak to them and help move them towards love and good things, so that others will be attracted to good that is happening in their lives.

This, people, is why we need church. Because I need someone involved in my life who knows what is going on, and can help me think correctly about myself and my situation so I can express God’s love and goodness to a world full of everything but love and goodness. And others need me involved in their lives at that same level so I can do the same for them.

This is the kind of life we are called to live. Real honest friends don’t come easy. There is risk involved for sure, but most rewards don’t come without risk.

So I want to encourage you. Are you involved in a church? I don’t just mean do you go to church? Lots of people go to church. But are you involved there? Do people know you? Does the leadership of the church know you? If not, God wants that for you. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of great churches. Find one. Get involved. Take the risk, and watch heaven invade earth.

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Bible, Steadfast love, Uncategorized

Hesed – Steadfast Love

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At the beginning of this year, God gave me the word steadfast love. It was a word that I felt would shape my year. It would be a defining word, one I would study throughout the year in the Bible on my own and write posts with monthly memory verses about steadfast love. While I studied the meaning of Hesed, the Hebrew version of steadfast love, I learned a lot of the character and nature of God wrapped up in this word. But it wasn’t until this morning that I had true understanding of the word.

What started out as a year I thought would be bathed in steadfast love, it quickly turned to heartache and struggle. Early in 2019 I lost a dear friend to a 3 year plus battle with cancer. I had prayed for her and with her, sent her texts often full of words of love and encouragement, only to find myself a few weeks into the year sitting at her funeral. It was rough. I wanted God to heal her, I didn’t want to see her husband and kids go through heartache – all of whom are friends of mine, too. I didn’t want to lose a mentor or a friend. After all this was the year of steadfast love. However, as the year progressed, I was beginning to see less and less love and more confusion, pain, and loss.

The year continued, and it continued to spiral downward. Friends moved away, re-arranging on the staff I work on, more sickness, a dear friend’s mom was diagnosed with cancer of the brain, divorce and addiction also made appearances this year. Not only was there confusion and hurt, but stress and business were added. With the new workings inside our church I had taken on new roles. I found myself at points working 40 hours a week. Something most people do all the time, but for me I hadn’t done that in 19 years. While I was trying to find balance in my life, I was hit with the hardest part of this year. My dad, who has horrible health, fell and broke his hip leading to another surgery. I think this surgery was his 24th or something like that. The surgery itself wasn’t new territory for me, but the outcome was. Three weeks after that surgery my dad passed away. While this was something, given his health, I had been preparing for since I was 8, it hit me a little harder than I thought it would. This year which in January was marked with the steadfast love of God felt like a nightmare that wouldn’t end.

I have so many books I have to read. Some for work, some for study, some personally. I am trying to read a chapter a day to keep up. I sat down this morning with my coffee and opened my book to a chapter I was excited to read. “The power of Hesed.” The book is called the Gospel of Ruth, by Carolyn Custis James. It’s a great book. In fact, it is going to be one of our Bible studies offered this spring. It was in this chapter that God opened my eyes to a part of steadfast love I had failed to see the whole year.

I am not naive. I understand fully that life can be hard for many reasons – sin, a fallen world, the enemy, other people’s sin spilling over on to us, the list goes on. I haven’t ever believed that the hard parts of life are God’s fault, though I do question why He allows things, but I have never blamed Him. I have wondered why steadfast love was the word He gave me to define this year, one that in the physical was marked by loss, pain, hurt, stress, and frustrations.

As I read this chapter I begin to see and understand what God had meant when He told me this year would be marked with steadfast love. The author, Carolyn Custis James explains that Hesed is a word that doesn’t fully translate to english. The best words we have would be steadfast love, loyal love, mercy, kindness, deeds of devotion. She says it is like trying to explain to someone who has seen a llama but never seen a lamb, that they are similar animals. The two have some similarities for sure – the wool-ish fur, both animals graze on grass and live in pastures, but llama’s can tend to be mean, they spit and bite, but a lamb is passive and shows no aggression. Lamb’s don’t fight, they are really helpless animals who depend almost completely on the shepherd. So while in some areas they are the same, their nature isn’t. And while Hesed and steadfast love have some similarities they are not the same. “Hesed is driven, not by duty or legal obligations, but by a bone-deep commitment — a loyal, selfless love that motivates a person to do voluntarily what no one has the right to expect or ask of them. They have the freedom to act or to walk away without the slightest injury to their reputation. Yet they willingly pour themselves out for the good of someone else. It’s actually the kind of the love we find most fully expressed in Jesus. In a nutshell, hesed is the gospel lived out.” (The Gospel of Ruth; page 115)

This year was a year marked by loss and pain for sure, but as I looked back, this year was marked by hesed in action. It has been expressed in praying with my brokenhearted friend, in saying goodbye to a mentor, and in telling my dad it was all going to be ok and he could rest and stop fighting. It was in friends texting me, sharing bible verses, telling me they were praying for me. But most of all it was marked by a trip to Israel. The Bible says in Isaiah 55 8-9 that “His ways are Higher than ours.” And that is so true. In December of 2017 my husband and I were presented with the opportunity to buy a condo to flip and sell for a profit. We took the chance and closed on the condo on January 12th, 2018. We worked on weekends and our days off, and we did indeed sell that condo for a profit. It paid for my family of 5 to travel to Israel with our church. It incidentally also covered an unexpected sewer pipe at our home that needed to be replaced sooner than later. It was just enough for both. While the pipe was annoying, because of the condo sell we avoided having to take on the near $9,000 dollars of debt. And in a year that was the weirdest one I have had, one of the hardest, and most saddening, Israel was a flowing of the Hesed love of God. It was enough love needed to cover over the first half of the year, and though I didn’t know it at the time is was more than enough love to propel me through the 2nd half which was harder than the first. Israel gave me a tangible memory of God’s Hesed for mankind – you and me. While in Israel we visited the garden where Jesus prayed hours before his trial, judgment, and crucifixion. In that same garden where the decisions to love those who will never deserve it were made, I was given the privilege to pray over my three children with my husband.

As I sat in my chair reading this chapter this morning, God whispered, “Your year was book ended with Hesed. It was full of it all the way through.” And it was expressed in a way that I can’t explain in a garden half way around the world.

Though this year was hard, I will choose to remember it as the year that God poured out his steadfast (hesed) love over and over. While it was sad, I was sustained by the love of God.



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Bible, Christmas, family activities, family fun, Holiday, Uncategorized

Advent-Make room for Jesus

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A week ago I taught at our church’s Women’s Event on Advent.  I shared where and how Advent originated and how it changed over the years.  I am not sure what the word Advent means to you.  But to me it means making room for Jesus.  We have been doing Advent “calendars” in my home for years.  Well actually we have never done a traditional Advent calendar. I’ve always made my own.  I guess it is more appropriate to say we have done Advent Christmas readings for years.

I have done them with my kids at Christmas for at least 8 years but I think probably longer.  We started with the general Advent reading from the Book of Luke in the Bible and a few verses from Matthew.  As my children grew we adapted our Advent readings to include the names of Jesus, the wonder of Jesus, and this year we will look into the gifts God gives us. I have included the scriptures we used in our boxes at the bottom of this post.

I figure since we give gifts to one another we should be familiar with the gifts that God gives us.  So I began to compile a list of the gifts from God mentioned in the scriptures.  And keeping with the gift theme I found little boxes on Amazon

 

 

and then embellished them with ribbons so we can hang one each night on our Advent Tree.

Our Advent Tree is just a little 3 foot tall tree I keep near our kitchen table where we usually do our Advent readings.

You could use any Advent calendar that you add your own verse to like the ones we made at our church this year!

Or you can do ornaments or whatever you like.

My kids have grown quite a bit over the years, but I still try to slow life down, sit together as a family at some point in the day, and reflect on the goodness of God.  I cherish taking a small breather in a day that is filled with so much busyness; to reflect that God is the best gift giver and that God cherishes these moments of reflection and togetherness more than I do.

I want with all my heart for my kids to have a thriving, vibrant relationship with Jesus.  And I want to honor Jesus in Christmas above all else.  It’s funny how the time of year that is supposed to be about the birth of our Savior gets swallowed up in gifts, parties, trees, lights, cookies, and all the other Christmas festivities.  But as I read in the Bible it wasn’t all that different when Jesus was born.  I mean they weren’t decorating trees, and making cookies to share with the neighbors, but it was a busy time.  The entire world at that time was being registered for the census ordered by Case Augustus.  In those days when a Census was ordered you had to travel back to the town you were born in to be counted.

We read in Luke 2:4-6 the story of Joseph and his betrothed wife Mary traveling from Galilee to the town of Bethlehem. They traveled somewhere between 80-90 miles.  For most of us traveling that far is nothing.  It’s less then 2 hours in a car, no big deal.  But to travel in those days was a challenge.  You were on a donkey or maybe a camel or even a horse.  You didn’t have room to take much with you.  The road wasn’t a paved highway, but rather a dirt path to follow.  After traveling for somewhere between 4-7 days, Mary goes into labor.  The King Jesus is about to be born.  But the world around them was buzzing with the people going to be counted.  The world around Mary and Joseph hardly took notice that a king was coming to this world to redeem His people.  Luke 2:7 says “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in the swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”  Because there was no place for them……

I wonder how many times Jesus is pushed to the side in our lives because there was no place for Him.

While we certainly should have daily time with Jesus, Christmas seems to be the time that is hardest to accomplish.  There is so much to do. And Advent has become my way of daily making space for Jesus in my life and the lives of my family.  My Advent tree is a visual, daily reminder to make room for the King.  It reminds me that all of the fun and festivities are second to Jesus.

God wants us to have fun, celebrate ones we love, enjoy life, but never at the expense of time with Him.  I encourage you to find a way that works for you; but make space, make room in your life for Him this Christmas.  Take time and experience God’s greatest gift to us – the gift of knowing and having a relationship with Jesus!

Gifts of God

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Bible, family activities, Holiday, Memorizing scripture, Uncategorized

A moment to reflect and pause

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I am not Jewish, but I do believe that the Jewish festivals and activities can teach us a lot about our own relationship with God. Now that that is out of the way, I want to share with you a Jewish celebration or maybe tradition that I started doing this year.  It is called Tashlikh.  Tashlikh means to cast away.  The celebration of Tashlikh is done during the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  Which I realize as you read this is already past; however, I am wanting to get at the heart of this celebration not focus on its actual time frame

Since I am not Jewish I am not going to attempt to tell you how they celebrated this, but I will share how I choose to celebrate Tashlikh.  I asked the ladies from my Bible study to meet me at a pond near our church.  A few weeks before we met at the pond, my co-leader and I gathered some rocks for this day.  We left some blank and painted on a few of them.  We painted words like “faith”, “worthy”, and “loved”.

The day we met at the park I explained to them that Tashlikh is a time when we reflect on what sin or habit or item in our lives the Lord would have us give up or, to use the Tashlikh wording, cast away.  I read to the ladies Micah 7:19 which says “You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depth of the sea.” I told the ladies to grab a blank rock and a marker, go find a place near the pond and ask God what they needed to cast off in their lives.  After they were done discussing that with the Lord, I instructed them to write it on the rock and then throw the rock into the pond.  So we all took our rocks, found our place to be quiet and pray, and then write on and release our rocks.

While I was sitting talking to God about the word on my rock, He said once we release the rock into the pond we can’t get it back.  It would be next to impossible to find it in the pond.  And even if we could find it by the time we did the words would be faded if not completely wiped away by the water and other items in the pond like sand and dirt and other rocks.  Then God said, “This is how I forgive. I get rid of it – never to be able to get it back or find it again. So why can’t you let things go?” I sat there thinking about that.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  Why do we hold onto things we should just let go of?  And once they are gone, why do we live as though we are still holding on to them?

One of the points of Tashlikh is using your body to represent what is happening in the spiritual realm.  On my rock, I wrote self-doubt and pride.  I struggle with believing I am good enough – that I have something valuable to give to those around me.  Or I think I am so great everyone should align their thinking with mine all the time.  I never seem to find that balance of humility and obedience.  I have spent hours in prayer on this.  And then it became clear.  It isn’t pride to share what God tells me, and it isn’t up to me to make people accept it. That part is on God.  I am called to love others and point them to Jesus with my life.  The end result is up to God.  Whether I am accepted or not is not the issue. It becomes an issue of obedience to Christ and trusting Him with the outcome.  When we write our issue or sin or word on the rock, we are acknowledging our wrong thinking or wrong actions. When we release them, we are giving them to God and asking him to wash over them.   We are living out Micah 7:19 and Psalm 103:12.  God really does remove our sins, and He says He will remember them no more according to Isaiah 43:25.  It’s amazing how a physical action can help us understand something we know to be true but had a hard time fully understanding.

When the ladies were done with their rocks and had thrown them into the pond we all came back together. There is a second part to Tashlikh that is just as important as the first.  Once we gave God our struggle we turn and look for the positive.  I told the ladies to think of something God has done for them this year.  Or think of something God has helped you to overcome.  Basically, now that we got rid of one word, let’s focus on a new word.  For me it was “worthy”.  I have worth and value because God created me and gave His son to take my place so I can have a thriving eternal relationship with Him.  That screams of value and worth.  I also have worth because God has created me with a purpose according to Jeremiah 29:11.

Our words were not all the same and they were not supposed to be.  We are all vastly different with different struggles and different strengths. We got rid of something that was bad, but we are to keep doing something that was good.  We are not supposed to live focused on our sin, but rather live giving glory to God for the good.

So I challenge you to think of something you have been holding onto or a sin you have struggled with for too long. Write it on a rock then throw it into water (somewhere) and let it go. Give to God 100%.  Then think of something good you are doing or an area of weakness you are overcoming – something amazing God has done in you or through you.  Write that on a rock and put it somewhere you will see it often. Remind yourself, God is faithful. He will forgive our mistakes, and He is using us to make a difference for His glory. Go and celebrate Tashlikh.

Click Here for October’s memory verse

 

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