And We Draw to Others With Jesus

God created us for fellowship, first with Him and then with others. His desire and intention have never been that we do this life alone.

There have certainly been times I have felt alone. Seasons I have walked through that were more lonely than others. Times I was required to pull away from distractions and even relationships to get alone with Him. This, too, was for my good.

But other times I need people, lots of people. WE need people. We need an encouraging word from a friend. A prayer from a leader. A cheer and a "you can do it!" from a mentor. Advice or correction from an accountability partner. A phone call from a sister. A hug. A lunch date. An unexpected gift. A letter in the mail. All these can come at just the right time to lift our spirits and encourage our hearts.

But just as we need others, they need us, too.

In times of brokenness, we can offer our Savior and remind someone that Jesus comforts those who mourn and He heals the brokenhearted (Matt. 5:4, Ps. 147:3). In one of my favorite books, "Strong Women, Soft Hearts" by Paula Rinehart, Paula says, "We don't mend each other's brokenness, we admit our needs and let that draw us to each other and to God."

We draw others to Jesus, and we draw to others with Jesus.

We need God.

We need people.

And people need us.

Sometimes we just need to listen.

Sometimes we just need to say, "I'm so sorry you're hurting."

Sometimes a hug can be the medicine God uses to ease the pain.

Yes, you and I…we are healing agents on earth...sent by the Great Physician to offer Jesus to the world. We can look toward heaven and extend our hands and our hearts to those around us.

We must not and we cannot do this life alone. 

We need God.

We need people.

And people need us.

In times of trouble and uncertainty our humanity leaks weakness. What strength we have often fails in the face of adversity and crumbles at the sting of heartbreak. But when we find it hard to stand, Jesus holds. He holds and he uses the arms of people - my arms and your arms - to love and embrace and support. He uses our words and our smiles and our time.

We draw others to Jesus, and we draw to others with Jesus.

Encourage someone today. Be a friend. Give yourself. Share Jesus. Listen. Offer hope. Love big.

You never know what the person next to you is going through or what they have to go home to or what their lives may hold for them tomorrow.

Go. And take Jesus to the world.

And He Saved Them

My heart is heavy for so many families tonight. All week tragedy has filled my news feed and blasted from my television. I lay down in surrender, trusting that whatever happens around me, Jesus remains the same. In tragedy and loss, in heartache and sadness, in brokenness and grief, He offers comfort and peace the world cannot give.

When circumstances threaten to squeeze and strangle and take the very breath that fills our lungs, Jesus breathes life and gifts grace to trust Him even still.

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble (anxiety, bad news, danger, difficulty, concern, dilemma, grief, heartache, pain, sorrow, stress), and he saved (defended, freed, guarded, healed, protected, released, rescued, safeguarded) them from their distress (ache, affliction, anguish, anxiety, concern, disappointment, sadness, sorrow, suffering, worry)." Psalm 107:19

Though our hearts ache, the peace He promises is real. It doesn't make sense and I can't touch it with my fingers but my faith confirms its existence. As uncertainty abounds in this unstable, ever-changing world we live in we must remind ourselves our hope is not found here. Eternity rests in the very depths of our souls and we know this world is not our final destination.

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

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Joining with Melissa Taylor and a community of women as we seek God and His word in our current Online Bible Study: Stressed - Less Living by Tracie Miles.

Scriptures - Peace

Some scriptures from our current Online Bible Study.

There is No One

(Flickr Creative Commons - epSos.de)

There is no one who loves me the way He loves me.

Even when I am unlovable. Even when I think I can make it without Him. Even when I am absent and far from Him. Even when I am rude and selfish and ugly and full of  pride. He loves me.

There is no one who knows me the way He knows me.

When I am lonely, He knows. When my heart is broken but my face still smiles, He knows. When I am overwhelmed or lost or afraid or discouraged. He knows every single thing about me, even when I don't say it out loud. He knows me better than I know myself.

There is no one who completes me the way He completes me.

No matter how hard I search, nothing I find will fulfill the place that was meant for Him. There is a place inside me created for His presence, His spirit. It is molded and shaped for His character and His love. Nothing else fits there the way He does. Completely. Wholly. Perfectly. When I am undone, He is my missing piece.

(Flickr Creative Commons - Nattu)

There is no one who will ever love you the way He loves you.

Jesus loves us so much that He died for us. He gave His life for us. Even in our sin, He loves and offers forgiveness. His love for us is unconditional. It is difficult to understand how someone could love us this much and never change. But He does. Even now, where you are at this very moment, near Him or far from Him...He. Loves. You.

"But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us." Romans 5:8

There is no one who will ever know you the way He knows you.

He knows every detail about your life. He knows your thoughts, your dreams, your hopes, your fears, your sins, your sadness, your loneliness. He. Knows. You. There is nothing that can be hidden from Him.

"O LORD, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
²You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off.
³You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
⁵You have beset me and shut me in--behind and before, and You have laid Your hand upon me.
⁶Your [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot reach it.
⁷Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence?
⁸If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be [the only] light about me,
¹²Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.
¹³For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:1-13

There is no one or nothing who will ever fulfill you the way He fulfills you.

He is your missing piece. He is what you've been searching for all this time. It's not your spouse, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your children, your job, more finances, a better car, a newer house, another drink, another party, more friends, your local church. It. Is. Him. If you are incomplete and unfulfilled, if there is an emptiness you can't seem to fill, He is what you've been looking for.

"Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." Ephesians 1:7-12 (The Message)

Happy Easter!

Below are links to three Easter posts I wrote last year:

Day One: Crucify Him!

Day Two: Is Jesus Really Gone?

Day Three: Jesus Has Risen!

Happy Easter, friends!

Crucify Him!

I close my eyes and I can see the trail left in the dirt.

I can hear the shuffling of His feet.

The sun beating down, the crowd unrelenting.

"Crucify Him!"....(click here to read the rest of this post)

And the Stockings Were Hung

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care  on the iron thingee I bought from Kirkland's because I don't have a chimney...

Sometimes our lives are not storybook or fairytale material. They may start out that way, but usually change somewhere in the middle of the first sentence.

Over the years, I have learned that we each have our own story. Different characters, different setting, different plot. But it's our story. And it's the one God wrote for us.

December is a great time to refocus and get back to the basics. Spend quality time with your family. Cherish them. Love them.

Let them know how special they are and what they mean to you. Don't just buy gifts, give yourself.

One of the ways I like to give to my children is to fill their stockings with personalized, fun, and sweet surprises. I think it takes really knowing someone and what they like to make it special. If you're not careful this can get expensive, but it doesn't have to. The dollar stores have something for everyone!

Examples are:

• fuzzy socks in favorite colors or designs
• favorite candy, gum or mints
• hand-written coupons to be redeemed for their favorite things (favorite dinner or dessert, chocolate chip pancakes, movie night, game time, get-out-of-a-chore...although I wouldn't do too many of these lol, 2 hours in their favorite bookstore, a foot or scalp massage (my kids love these, too), popcorn on the stove instead of microwave, a ringtone for their phone or single song download from itunes, etc)
• puzzle books or magazines
• movies (I got some on black Friday for $1.96!)
• cards or other small games
• lipstick or nail polish
• homemade cookies
• items from the travel size bins (toothpaste, hairspray, body wash, body spray, hand sanitizer in favorite scents, etc)
• a new toothbrush and flavored floss
• favorite character bandaids
• a new ornament for next year
• ear buds
• craft supplies (beads or string for making bracelets, scrapbooking items, paints, glitter, etc)
• key chain or mini-flashlight
• inexpensive bracelet or necklace
• car scents
• mini-devotional
• $5.00 gift cards from Sonic, McDonalds, Starbucks or Blockbuster
• and I could go on and on and on...the possibilities really are endless. Use your imagination and get creative. :)

This year, in addition to the material gifts, I am going to add a hand-written letter to my spouse's and each of my children's stockings. I want to encourage them, build them up and let them know how much I love them and believe in them. I am going to remind them of promises from God's Word that apply to where each of them are at this point in their lives. Will you try it, too?

And just as we love to give gifts to our children, even more so does our Father love to give gifts to us (Matthew 7:11). All those years ago, He gave a gift that is unending...His Son and the reason we celebrate.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

What are some special things you do for Christmas or plan to do this year?

how can we reach them unless we see

(today i am linking my words with others and emily for imperfect prose.  i have only found her this week and feel like i have uncovered treasure. she is an amazing writer and artist.  you will be blessed to visit her blog. also be sure to check the listed links for some encouraging words from other writers as well)

walking through fields of corn too tall

standing on tip toes to get a peek

what is it thats out there

there beyond the place my eyes can see?

i imagine people

souls lost and hearts aching

undone and unraveled

searching for home

a place to lay their heads

ears to listen

hearts that hold complete.

beyond our now is a world of hurting people

in front of us lies wounded the rejected and forgotten.

how will we reach them unless we see?

open our eyes lord

let us see clearly those to whom you have called us.

stretch our hands made for healing

move our feet fashioned for the journey

give us courage to see and grace to love.

sharing the one who alone brings peace, hope, forgiveness and salvation.

Jesus.

Connecting the Rabbit Trails

Sitting, waiting in the drive-thru line at Sonic, my eyes begin to explore and my mind wanders, provoking random thoughts building upon one another, leading into the next until finally....a bridge, connecting the rabbit trails. 

And this is why I keep pen and paper in my car  (And in the absence of paper, sometimes McDonald's napkins become my journal pages....).

In front of me is a beautiful, shiny new car with a sunroof, perfect for welcoming the sun on days like today.  My SUV is not so shiny...ten years old but faithful, red snow cone stains on the carpet and dings and scratches on the doors from years of carelessness by strangers parked next to me at the grocery store.  The car in front of me will soon, too, lose its shine and new car smell.  The newness lost in tomorrow... things get old and wear out, their value often determined by flash and physical perfection.

I pay for my drink and turn onto the highway.  A police officer interrupts traffic to allow mourners the opportunity to pass by....united in their grief they pay their last respects to a life that once was, but has now ended.

Across the street a building loses its presence in our city one scoop at a time, the big mechanical arm reaching, grabbing, destroying.  This building that once broadcast from inside its walls to cities miles away....this building where my dad and my boys each received their first haircuts so many years apart...this building whose walls echoed the secrets of men no longer here....its existence soon to be found only in memories and photographs.

As these scattered thoughts collide, a theme emerges and my ears begin to listen. I consider the shiny new car, my old SUV and the tired building now resting in a pile of debris.  These things exist and then cease to exist....get old and then replaced.  Each created for a purpose and at the end of its usefulness, tossed aside or destroyed, no longer of value.  Temporal in its being, each thing has no meaning beyond its death.

The body carried in the hearse has a similar ending.  It, too, will return to dust.  But the living, eternal soul that once dwelled inside of this temporal shell of a body does not cease to exist.  All is not gone.  The soul now abides in a place unseen by human eyes. 

Then shall the dust [out of which God made man's body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it ~ Ecclesiastes 12:7

Each of us, created for a purpose, given and appointed a number of days by our creator to live in this body on this earth....will one day meet our maker.  How will we spend eternity when this body has expired but our soul is just beginning forever? 

And how will we live our right now?  Do we seek after those things that are temporal and will one day pass away, or do we seek after those things of eternal value? 

Do we find ourselves grasping at things destined to return to dust?  Working toward goals whose ends will be found only in memories and photographs? 

The world places value on the external, physical appearance and material wealth but God looks at the condition of our heart and our soul. 

Unlike the temporary material possessions and things of this world, our journey does not end here.  One chapter is closed but our story continues.  And we, like an author with pen to paper, develop our unending plot by not what we choose or even what we do, but by Who we choose.

In light of Easter, I am consciously aware of the sacrifice Jesus made at the cross and the value of the gift of salvation He has given us. 

His love is immeasurable and He desires that when we breathe our last breath on this earth that we spend eternity with Him.  

And....He has provided a way.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
 Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
 John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus Has Risen!!

(Part 3 of 3 - Click to read Part 1 - Crucify Him and Part 2 - Is Jesus Really Gone?)

With not much sleep the night before, one by one they awaken and remember. 

They remember that Jesus has died... and the memories of the harshness of His death come flooding back. 


Deep breath.


It's difficult to wake up and grasp what has happened.  Two days ago proved to be the most tragic and hardest day ever imagined.


Yesterday offered no relief.


But somehow this morning is different.  It feels different.


It's the third day.


Suddenly the ground begins to shake!  Another earthquake?!


Quick....get everyone together!  Where are Mary and Mary Magdalene?


A peek inside the scriptures shows us an accurate account of the rest of the story as found in Matthew 28....


1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.


2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.


5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”


8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”


The Guards’ Report


11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.


The Great Commission


16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(from biblegateway)

Jesus has risen! 

He is alive and our sins have been forgiven!

And this is why we celebrate.

Not the Easter bunny.....but the Resurrected Christ!

Happy Easter, my friends!

Is Jesus Really Gone?

(part 2 of 3......find part 1 here)

I can imagine the morning after Jesus was crucified.

His mother, eyes and face swollen from tears emptied from the depths of her heart...her body void of strength...

His family, His friends....His disciples...

All who followed and believed...

The air is heavy and it's hard to breathe.  Even the birds find it difficult to sing.

Is Jesus really gone?

The image of His agony, His bloody body, the things He endured....How...did...this...happen...

The nightmare is real and there is no escaping the grim reality of His cruel death and all that was witnessed just yesterday.

As Jesus' family, friends, disciples, followers, and even those who crucified Him existed in this day - this day after He died and this day before the third day that He spoke of - aside from the gut-wrenching grief I can imagine another war was raging. 

To believe or not believe?

It seemed so impossible.  But again, it was Jesus!  The Son of God!  ....Or....was He?...

As I try to step inside the minds of those who loved Him most, on this day when all seemed lost, my own thoughts and doubts intersect and look strangely similar.

On my darkest day when I feel separated from my Savior, when my own choices and selfishness have removed me from His presence...doubt skillfully weaves its way into my weakest moment, questioning and confusing...opening a door I was not meant to walk through.

Is it real?  Is HE real?  Can He...Will He?

What would tomorrow hold?  Difficult to comprehend and mind-boggling to think about.  But something happened!!  Those hours of darkness over the land and the earthquake and the veil!!  The earth quaked!! The veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom!  Something happened yesterday.....and still something was happening....you could feel it...uneasiness and anticipation swept over the city and throughout the countryside.

Even the Pharisees remembered that Jesus had said after three days He would rise.  So they sealed the stone to the entrance where Jesus had been taken....to make sure the disciples could not steal the body and then claim that He had risen from the dead.

What would tomorrow bring?

How could anyone sleep tonight?

The third day was soon approaching....

(To be continued....Click here for Part 3 - Jesus Has Risen!)

Crucify Him!

I close my eyes and I can see the trail left in the dirt.

I can hear the shuffling of His feet.

The sun beating down, the crowd unrelenting.

"Crucify Him!"

Shouts of hatred fill the streets.

"Crucify Him!"

Moments before, it was clear that Jesus was innocent.

"Why?  What crime has this man committed? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty...." (Luke 23:22).

Crucify Him!

...with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand.  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will."  (Luke 23:23).

Falsely accused.

Despised and rejected.

Willingly led to die.

Hung on a cross.

Mocked, Ridiculed, Abused, Broken, Wounded, Pierced...

Crucified.

And

Yet

He

Loved.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.  When He had said this, He breathed His last."  (Luke 23:44-46).

To be continued....(the story doesn't end here....read part 2....)

Happy Easter!

"And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door..........He is not here; for He is risen, as He said......" Matthew 28:2,6

JESUS LIVES!! He is the reason we celebrate!

HAPPY EASTER!!

FAITH - Part 1

It has been a while since I last posted! I have started back to school this semester, so not a lot of time to blog!

I have recently started going through a bible study course on Faith by Kenneth Hagin so I thought I would post a few scriptures and paragraphs from my first lesson.


But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6

Notice particularly the first part of Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him..." If God demands that I have faith when it is impossible for me to have faith, then I have a right to challenge His justice. But if He places within my hands the means whereby faith can be produced, then the responsibility rests with me whether or not I have faith.

God has told us that without faith it is impossible to please Him, but He has also told us how to get faith. If we don't have faith, God is not to blame. To blame God for our lack of faith is nothing but ignorance. If we lack faith, we are to blame.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. ~ Romans 10:17


In every gospel of Jesus Christ, there is provision for every need - salvation, deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Whatever need you have, the faith to receive your answer comes from hearing the Word of God. As you determine to feed upon the Word continually, you will see your faith grow to be able to receive the wonderful promises God has provided for His children.

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