Lynn Marie Cherry

The Thought Counts - But the Gifts Matter

2011-12-20T11:46:00.003-06:00

In our Journey for Two article in December's Austin Faith & Family magazine we share a few of our successes and failures when it comes to exchanging gifts. Some years we do better than others. If you are wondering what to give your spouse this year, click on the link and turn to Page 6.

So sorry, Blogger is behaving badly today - You'll have to copy this link into your browser:
http://issuu.com/leeeddins/docs/aff_dec11_web

Need a Jump-start?

2011-12-12T16:52:00.005-06:00

We had to jump start my van three times in one week. Grrr. After the third time I knew we had to get it looked at.

So, I was on my way to Autozone and honestly I was thinking, this errand fits under the “things your husband should do” column. I was on the verge of getting grumpy. Thankfully reality kicked in, because - hello - it’s not like I’m the only one cooking and cleaning and doing laundry at our house. I started thinking about all the things my husband does to help run our household and by the time I got to Autozone I was truly grateful.

Come to find out, my battery was still under warranty so they replaced it for free. It was awesome. They took out the old battery and put the new one in while I waited -such great customer service. I always appreciate that.

Thankfulness kept on rolling in my heart and I thought isn’t it great that whoever designed cars did it in a way that allows for a jump start? Seriously, isn’t that a wonderful feature?

How many tow trucks have you avoided because all you needed was a jump start and you had a friend or even a kind stranger who showed up to help?

I think faith can be that way. We get discouraged. We ask questions. We wonder, where is God in this? Then along comes a friend with a just the boost we need.

Fourteen years ago I was in labor with our first son. We were up all night and this baby was stuck. He wasn’t coming out. (There is a reason why they call it LABOR!) After hours of pushing, my doctor decided that he was going to have to be delivered by cesarean. The hospital staff sent my husband downstairs to the OR to get suited up and they were prepping me for the procedure when we lost the baby’s heartbeat. I was exhausted. I’m not even sure I fully realized what was happening but thankfully my friend Christy was with me. She grabbed my hand and began to pray. Christy was full of the Word of God. She said "Thank you Father that this baby will live and declare the works of the Lord, You will satisfy him with LONG life and show him Your salvation, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead will quicken his little body."

A few minutes later our baby boy was born - all 9 lbs of him!

Is there anyone else who knows what I’m talking about? You were feeling tired or worn out and a friend came along with a scripture or a story or song that lifted you & provided a jump start for your faith? Or maybe you are reading this today and your battery is drained. You feel stuck on the side of the road of life and you don’t know how you are going to keep going.

I got my jumper cables right here!

I want you to know God is faithful. He promised to never leave you. He is right in the middle of whatever is draining you. He is strong and He is loving. He is FULL of compassion. He is a Healer, Redeemer, Savior. He is God With Us. You are never alone!

Praying a little boost of His power will jumpstart your faith right now!

I Deserve to Suffer

2011-12-07T06:00:00.001-06:00

I have no self control when it comes to potato chips. I crave them. Ruffles. Lays. Target brand Archer Farms Maui Onion Kettle Chips...oh my! That being said, I did it....AGAIN. I ate too many chips and now my tummy hurts. Ugh. I knew when I was eating them that I should stop, but I didn't. I just kept munching on those deliciously salty and perfectly crunchy chips.

I DESERVE TO SUFFER!

I deserve to lay here awake all night while my stomach gurgles and cramps in complaint of my weak character.

That's what we tell ourselves, isn't it? We made another mistake and we are just getting what we deserve. We have to face the consequences. Sometimes, there is no way around it. We do suffer for our poor decisions.

Wondrously, our salvation/our redemption stands in stark contrast to the "way things go." Through Christ we don't get what we know we deserve. We get MERCY. But it doesn't stop there, because we also get what we could never deserve. We get GRACE, unmerited favor and blessing.

We deserve to suffer. But today is a new day! We have fresh, new merciful love, and all-sufficient grace that is more than we could ever need.

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:8-12

Do Not Fret

2011-11-28T17:00:00.000-06:00

Do not fret—it only causes harm. Ps 37:8 NKJV

I was convicted by this verse today. Do you fret? Do you ever feel or express worry, annoyance or discontent? I do. It's interesting that this word is also used to describe corrosion. I've experienced the harm caused by my fretting. It has a corrosive effect on my insides and causes me to make frequent trips to the....well, you know.

The NIV puts it even stronger "do not fret—it leads only to evil." Whoa. Fretting leads to evil? Who knew?

When we fret we take the remote control in our minds and press play/rewind.....play/rewind.....play/rewind. We relive the scenario through the lens of "what if". Then we fast forward all that fear into the future. The worry snowballs. It DOES cause harm. Insomnia. Stomach cramps. A frantic desire to be in control. It's time to push the stop button!

How do we do that? Back up just a few verses and give this a try: Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:3-6

|| PAUSE, and let that soak in for a while.

Is there an event in your life that frequently replays in your mind?

How would trusting in the Lord help you push the stop button?

Sincere and Humble Thanks

2011-11-23T21:35:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving can get lost between Halloween and Christmas. I wonder what will become of it when the Lone Star Showdown is no more. What other football game will rise to that sacred place?

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 set aside this day "to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks".

It's a day to reflect on the goodness of God.

Take some time today to reflect on God's goodness in your life.

Every Thanksgiving I pass around a small piece of paper and ask each person to write down what they are thankful for. I keep them all in a special scrapbook. Each year I look for something new to express gratitude for. I would hate to be redundant.

In 2008, while busy crafting my "exquisite" thanks; I noticed my son's paper. He had drawn simple pictures of food, water, a house and a bed. It was beautiful – sincere thanks for humble things. I don't think he realized before that year, that those were things to be grateful for.

Traditionally our boys would say they were thankful for toys, friends and family but something shifted when we began serving at our Shoreline East outreach campus. Our perspective changed.

Our lives are filled with so much. It's easy to take it all for granted. We realize the abundance in our home when we come face to face with those who have no home. Serving has cultivated a culture of thanksgiving. I think that's exactly what George Washington was hoping for.

We serve at Shoreline East the third Saturday of every month. We'll be there next on December 17th - come join us!

Re-published from the November 2011 Shoreline eNewsletter

Competent Communication Counts

2011-11-18T09:45:00.012-06:00

I had the privilege of visiting TMHP Toastmasters club this morning, and hearing guest speaker Michael Notaro, President of Toastmasters International.

He spoke on Three Ways Toastmasters Can Help. Here are my notes:

1. Toastmasters can help you find your authentic/resonant voice

We each have a unique voice - a way to connect with others that is personally and powerfully our own. Often we don't discover that voice without practice. Toastmasters communication manuals provide the tools we need to discover the gift that already resides inside. Your "voice" as President Notaro put it, is the confluence of your head, heart and spirit. How would your influence grow if you could communicate out of that place?

2. Toastmasters will help you focus your message

There are a lot of speeches nobody cares about, answering questions no one is asking. In Toastmasters we learn to speak to an audience, not at them. What have you learned in your life experience? How can you share what you've learned in a way that brings life and hope to others? Learn to be strategic in your focus and refine your message through peer lead practice and evaluation.

3. Toastmasters can help fulfill your destiny

Partner effective communication with leadership training and you are well positioned for promotion. The tools available to you through Toastmasters will bring your innate talents and abilities to the surface. You may not realize what potential lies dormant inside of you if you don't grant yourself the opportunity of expression.

I want to invite you to visit Shoreline Toastmasters the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. Clear the clutter out of your communication. Picture yourself behind the podium.

Confident Contentment

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

Is anybody else's grocery budget eating them alive? Or is it just because I have two growing boys at my house? I rarely leave the grocery store without dropping a hundred dollars. My trips are more frequent and I leave with less food.

Now, don't worry about us. No one around here is going hungry but we certainly are crunching numbers and wrestling with this thing called contentment. That is not a happy, rally the troops, let's all shout kind of word. Would you buy a book on contentment? Not sure I would. We like books about more, not books about less. Why does contentment sound like less? Listen to what Paul had to say:

....I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13

Contentment has little to do with the balance of our checkbook. It's a struggle for everyone whether living in plenty or living in want. Sometimes I think its even harder for those of us who live in plenty. Our "plenty" works to stir up that desire for more. Still, Paul says he learned the secret. Ah...a secret!

What's the secret? Well, I think its in that word "through." I find this place of contentment through my relationship with Jesus. I live in peace through the strength that he freely gives. I can face the future with confidence knowing He is with me through it all. That's what I call confident contentment.

What's in your hands?

2011-11-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

God did not send a laser from the heavens to carve his words on our planet. He could have. Instead, he revealed his word to man and used the hearts, minds and hands of humanity to communicate his message. I don't often reflect on that when I'm reading the Bible, do you?

Last weekend, as I read Ephesians 3 in the Message Bible I felt a new connection with the author. Not THE Author, but the man who held the reed pen in his hands.

^7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

I felt a camaraderie with Paul as a writer. Could this be part of MY life work? I share his desire to spread the Message, and I am challenged to trust God to equip me. I also identify with his feelings of inadequacy. I really love the part about God handling all the details!

When I was a child, a travelling minister visited our church. After the service, he prayed for me and said something about God using my hands. My mom often reminds me of his words. Would God use my hands as a pianist? Would it be as a biomedical research assistant? Or could it be in the words I type as my hands cradle a keyboard?

What's in your hands? What is your reed pen?

How do you see God handling the details?

Called to Hope

2011-10-30T10:20:00.006-05:00

"God, where are You? I need to see you in this situation!"

I found myself in a bit of a funk. Wrestling with God over the struggles of a dear friend. I wanted to pray but felt like I didn't know what to say or even how to say it. The long term nature of the struggle and the dark reality of what was happening had popped the cork of my faith and drained me of hope.

As I searched for words, I remembered Paul's prayers for the Ephesians and I was grateful to have a template to follow. I echoed his prayer over my friend's life and inserted their name in the text:

Father, I pray that the eyes of _______'s heart may be enlightened in order that ________ may know the hope to which you have called them... (Ephesians 1:18) Lord, Let them know there IS hope...you've called them to HOPE!

Called to hope? I believe this passage indicates that God has a hopeful future for each one of us. I got that part. But when I landed on those words I felt God calling me to BE hopeful! Calling me to hope, not only in wishing for a distant future place but as an action for the moment.

Maybe hope is not something we hold, something we keep bottled up inside. Maybe it's meant to be poured out over the circumstances of our lives and the lives of those we love.

How do you hear the call to hope?

If you ever find yourself not knowing how to pray, try using Paul's words:

Ephesians 1 , Ephesians 3

HELP

2011-09-15T14:35:00.004-05:00

Way back when God created the world, He called it good. The stars were good. The flowers were good. The animals were good. But then He said something a little different. He said "It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper suitable for him." So God made woman. Girls, we are the answer to the first problem on the planet! I enjoy that role. I am my husband's helper. He needs me!

I’m also a mom. Like my mother before me I am now The-Finder-of-Lost-Things in our home. The boys will come to me and ask, "Mom, have you seen my ipod?" I follow that up with questions of my own. "Have you looked in the van? Did you check by the computer?" And this classic Mom question, "When was the last time you had it?" I don't know why I bother to ask, because most of the time all I have to do is get up and look and I find whatever was lost! I enjoy helping my boys, and I must say I am pretty good at 5^th grade homework!

But there are a few things I know about me…

-I am not all-knowing or all-powerful.

-As much as I have my families best interest at heart, I fall short every day.

-My mercies? They are not new every morning.

-I can’t be the only source of help for my family.

Lately I've been thinking about this passage from Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our help comes from the Lord who created each one of us, who created this world we live in. That Creator-God is our Helper! I need a little help in my life right now….I need to hear this! I have family members who are hurting. There are health needs, financial concerns and strained relationships.

So I tell myself Lift up your eyes Lynn! Stop looking to your job, your family, the doctors or yourself to be the source of life and joy and peace.

Lift up your eyes and remember that your help comes from the Lord.

He is a very present help in time of need!

Mysterious Math

2011-09-08T20:23:00.002-05:00

One day when Jesus was walking the Earth, some religious people came with a question about divorce designed to trip him up. (They did things like this.) Jesus answered by quoting our Creator. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh… So they are no longer two, but one...” (Matthew 19)

Two become one? Any first grader will tell you something is wrong with that arithmetic. But God’s math can be a bit mysterious. He is, after all, three in one. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One God. 1+1+1=1. Try to define that algorithm. It’s a mystery!

0.5 + 0.5 = 1

We might try an equation like this: 0.5 + 0.5 =1. It seems more logical. Two halves come together to form one whole. Hollywood appears to lean toward this solution. In the famous words of Jerry Maquire, “You complete me”. It sounds romantic, but think about it. Do you really want to be the partial person endlessly searching for your missing half? Or would you prefer the responsibility of being another person’s “completer?” Couples who adhere to this equation are looking to their spouse to fulfill them. They are looking for a savior. Take it from someone who has tried that approach - humans make terrible saviors! They fail us. They disappoint us. They do not make our broken parts whole like we wish they could.

1 + 1 = 2

Here is some good sound math. 1+1=2. I think people settle on this equation in an effort to hold on to their individuality. They don’t want to lose their identity in any relationship. These couples light the unity candle at their wedding but don’t blow out their own candles. In some areas of our marriage, we feel like this equation is an accurate summation. We are two very distinct individuals. Sometimes I ask myself, what was God thinking when he put us together? Our twoness frequently overshadows areas of unity. We see our combined humanity in this equation: two selfish people, two prideful people, and two separate people. Although the product of this equation looks larger, the end result is emptier. It can feel more like 1+1=0.

1 + 1 = 1

So, how can 1 + 1 equal 1? It doesn’t compute. This is not your average equation. Something supernatural is happening here! With God’s math we are all we were meant to be. We don’t bring less than our full self in order to somehow balance the equation, and we are not two people living separate lives. When we reflect on God’s mysterious math, we are thankful that somehow in his kingdom two whole people join together to become one whole unit. This does not happen over night, not even on a wedding night. We believe marriage is a pursuit of this oneness.

Oneness

We like formulas: add this, subtract that and voila! If only it were that simple. When we look at our journey, we see how our strongest areas of union have come through our most difficult trials. Is that encouraging? Maybe not on the surface, but if you look a little deeper we trust you’ll find hope. Doing the hard work, crunching the budget numbers, calling a marriage counselor – each time we choose to face a tough situation together and each time we choose to talk things out instead of pretending, we take another step toward oneness.

Maybe James was talking to couples when he said: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Persevere in your marriage. Know that in every conflict there is potential for growth. As we come together through our challenges we mature. We become complete, not lacking, whole. Mysteriously, two become one.

Try This

Is there a trial you faced together that brought maturity to your marriage? Take time to celebrate!

How do your numbers add up? Check out daveramsey.com/fpu for a Financial Peace University class near you. It is worth the investment in your finances and your marriage.

Plan a quiet evening to have an honest conversation about one area in which you feel more like two and less like one.

(Our September article for Austin Faith & Family received some deep cuts for space...so I've included the entire draft here)

The Family Universe

2011-08-22T22:23:00.004-05:00

Our article for the August Edition of Austin Faith and Family magazine also appeared in Bell County Family! We are excited to share our hearts with a new community.

This month is all about The Family Universe. How are things in your home? Does it feel like life revolves around the children? Or is your marriage at the center? Check out this online issue of Bell County Family. We are on page 11.

Grace to Your Mountain!

2011-05-02T19:10:00.006-05:00

Years go my husband and I were facing a mountain of debt. Now some people find themselves in that kind of situation when there has been a job loss, sickness or hospital bills...that was not the case with us. We made this mess ourselves with our own poor management. It was embarrassing and intimidating. Things were dark in the shadow of that mountain.

But we swallowed our pride and signed up for Financial Peace class. We started to chip away at that mountain. Honestly it feels like you’ve got a toothpick. For several years we were chipping at this giant mountain with our little tiny toothpicks wondering will it ever go away??

But one day…we got a check in the mail…a big one.

That check swept away what remained of our debt mountain like it was just a little pile of dirt.

It was amazing!

We did nothing to deserve that money…we didn’t earn that money…it was a gift.
It was God’s grace to our mountain!

Zechariah 4:7 says ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the finishing stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"

Zerubbabel was facing a mountain, he was trying to build a temple for the Lord and there were lots of obstacles, there was a lot of opposition…but Zechariah prophesied that mountain would be leveled…the temple would be completed and the people would shout GRACE!

What a great word to shout!

I know that many of us are facing challenges today, and maybe it’s even a mess you that made. You might be saying " I don't deserve help with this." That is what God's scandalous grace is all about.

Today I want to shout:

GRACE to your mountain of shame.
GRACE to your mountain of debt.
GRACE to your mountain of pain.

Grace to the obstacles and opposition you experience in pursing God’s plan.

You can finish…there is victory…there is freedom and hope!

We are saved and our lives are truly changed by God’s great grace!

By His Stripes

2011-04-22T07:40:00.005-05:00

He was wounded for our transgressions;

he was bruised for our iniquities (our guilt and sin)

The punishment that brought us peace was upon him;

and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Two weeks ago in our Easter production, The Thorn, there was a scene where Jesus was being beaten. At one point he fell from the whipping post and the devil was taunting him…"haven’t you taken enough?.....just walk away." But Jesus got back up to take the full punishment, all 39 stripes. It brought tears to my eyes. I remembered this verse, by his stripes we are healed.

I was in Jr high when this verse first came alive to me. I was outside and I can’t remember exactly how it happened but I sprained my ankle. I went hopping on one foot to find my Mom, thinkin' we are going to have to go to the doctor, I won't be able to stand for our choir concert, this is awful! Now our family was new to this whole idea that the Bible is for today, and something came over my Mom! She grabbed my arm and said Lynn, we are going to pray, we are going to believe what God’s word says and you are going to be healed.

So right there in the driveway she started praying.

I’m in some serious pain. I’m crying…thinking my mom has lost it! But she prayed this verse, "Jesus you were wounded for us, you were bruised for us…you carried our diseases, you bore our pain….and by your stripes Lynn is healed today." There we were…praying and crying and limping around…in the front yard…I’m thinking My Mom is crazy….we should at least be in the back yard!

But it was amazing…the pain left…my ankle was never swollen and we couldn’t wait till my Dad came home from work so we could tell him what happened.

Jesus is our Healer! If you need physical healing… by His stripes you are healed. Maybe you need healing in your mind, or in your relationships…by His stripes you are healed!

Our God is a healer. He is faithful. He is still active on the earth …healing people Body, Mind and Soul. Today on Good Friday, we remember he was beaten for US and by His stripes our wounds are made whole.

Resurrection Life

2011-04-06T14:48:00.007-05:00

We are in the middle of rehearsals for The Thorn and honestly, my family is exhausted. Our boys are acting in the production, my husband is assisting with technical needs and I’m the taxi driver, which as any mom knows can be quite taxing!

What an amazing retelling of the timeless story of our redemption. As I watched the practice, tears welled in my eyes and gratefulness flooded my heart. I remembered this truth:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

"Death and Resurrection" is no longer a theological concept that I simply choose to believe. It is very real to me. I lived in a tomb of my own making for several years. The pain of betrayal and the loneliness of the secret I kept shrouded my life in darkness. If you would have seen me then, you may have never known I was walking around mostly dead - going through the motions of life but feeling very little emotion. God met me in that place with the warmth of His love. He softened my cold heart and planted a seed of faith.

When I see Jesus emerging from the tomb, I see me. I’m alive, because God breathed His life into me. I’m still standing because He strengthened me. I see those grave clothes falling from His arms and I know I am no longer bound. I’ve been set free! I’m moving forward with hope for the future.

Sometimes I just have to stop and take a Long, Slow, Deep Breath. And then another. And then another. It feels so good to be ALIVE!

How has God breathed His resurrection life into your life?

The Space Between Us

2011-03-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

Conflict visits every relationship like a salesperson at dinner time. Who wants that?

We share what we've learned about conflict in the March issue of Austin Faith & Family and talk about the SPACE between us.

Click here for the March Issue of Austin Faith & Family

Look for our Journey for Two article "The Space Between Us" on page 15

Super Moon Tonight

2011-03-19T10:53:00.006-05:00

March 19th, 2011 - TONIGHT - our moon will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than it has in 18 years. So get outside and look up.
Click to read more about this Perigee moon.

LOOK UP!

I was thinking last night, as I was enjoying the stars out on my patio, what would it feel like if the sky were empty. No moon, no stars....no clouds...just vast, dark emptiness.

How would that feel? (Lonely)

It made me wonder, perhaps, if those things are not painted across the sky simply to remind us that we are NOT alone.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Is 40:26

There is something, Someone above us. Earth is wrapped in the beautiful, breath-taking blanket of the universe. And even though we have mapped out the stars, and charted the phases of the moon, this blanket is ever-changing. Our skies are predictable but never the same. Somethings are constant - Orion in Winter. and the Bear in Spring. Yet, no sunrise, no evening sky is ever the same. There is always new beauty to behold. Factor in the Hubble Space Telescope and there is seemingly no end the the glory ABOVE us.

I see a portrait of God when I look up. Constant and steady.....yet surprisingly NEW every morning. I think He painted the sky scape to help us wrap our minds around this improbable dichotomy. Don't miss it tonight!

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:3-4

Thank you Adrian Gutierrez for your gorgeous moon photo!

Baseball, America and You

2011-03-05T12:30:00.007-06:00

I needed an escape the other night so I grabbed one of my boy's book and filled up the tub. The great thing about junior fiction is that it only takes a hour or so to finish a book and they are usually quite refreshing! In The Year Of The Boar And Jackie Robinson, by Bettte Bao Lord is the story of a young Chinese girl, who immigrated to the U.S. and found a sense of belonging through baseball. Her teacher Mrs Rappaport had this to say about the sport and her new home:

"In our national pastime, each player is a member of a team, but when he comes to bat, he stands alone. One man. Many opportunities. For no matter how far behind, how late in the game, he, by himself, can make a difference. He can change what has been. He can make it a new ball game.

"In the life of our nation, each man is a citizen of the United States, but he has the right to pursue his own happiness. For no matter what his race, religion or creed, be he pauper or president, he has the right to speak his mind, to live as he wishes within the law, to elect our officials and stand for office, to excel. To make a difference. To change what has been. To make a better America."

The main character, Shirley was so inspired by her teacher's speech. The author goes on to say "Shirley felt as if the walls of the classroom had vanished. In their stead was a frontier of doors to which she held the keys."

Each one of us holds a set of keys and there are doors that need unlocking. There in the tub with my pruney toes, I wondered if I am making the most of my turn at bat. I've always found comfort in the whole, in being part of the team. Standing out there all alone at the plate looks so scary. Mrs Rappaport inspired ME to see the opportunity and not the pressure. I'm on deck. Practicing my swing.

What will you do when it is your turn at bat? Do you believe that one individual can indeed make a difference?

What CAN You Expect?

2011-02-10T20:25:00.003-06:00

Our February article for Austin Faith and Family Magazine is available online - just in time for Valentines day! We talk about diamonds & expectations. Our expectations are often unrealistic. They can be misplaced. But they can also be very healthy! So, what CAN you expect?

Click on the link and look for the Journey for Two column on page 16!

http://issuu.com/austinfaithandfamily/docs/www.austinfaithandfamily.com

In His Pasture - Finding Rest In Worship

2011-02-01T21:13:00.009-06:00

So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God, who made us! Oh yes, he's our God, and we're the people he pastures, the flock he feeds. Psalm 95:6-7 MSG

Everyday, I drive by a small pasture filled with cattle. Everyday it's the same. The cows just walk and eat. Eat and walk. They seem pretty oblivious to all the humans rushing past on our way to somewhere. Everything they could think of needing is right there in the pasture.

I wonder what it looks like to be the "the people God pastures"? I bet we would move slower.

The Psalmist continues: Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks: "Don't turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising, As on the day of the Wilderness Test, when your ancestors turned and put me to the test. For forty years they watched me at work among them, as over and over they tried my patience. And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked! 'Can't they keep their minds on God for five minutes? Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?' Exasperated, I exploded, 'They'll never get where they're headed, never be able to sit down and rest.'" Psalm 95:7-11

I think of those Hebrew children, fresh out of Egypt and how their hearts had a longing to worship. So much so, that they fashioned a golden cow. We ARE worshippers. But we are worshippers with a choice. Are we going to bow before our Maker? Or chose to worship some shinier version of ourselves - the cow that finally made it with wealth, position and power?

There is no end to that worship. There are always greener pastures, right? Another cow across the fence who appears to be feasting on sweeter grass.

But....if we drop everything, drop everything and listen, come and bow before the Lord our Maker in worship...that is where we find blessed REST.

Come join us for worship, communion and REST....This Wednesday February 2nd at Shoreline Church in Austin, TX. You can also watch online at www.shoreline.net/live 7pm cst.

Under the Shadow - But Out of the Nest

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

Psalm 57:1

I've always pictured a mother hen with her little chicks tucked safely in the nest and under her wings when I read this passage. I know there is a hiding place we find in God. A refuge from the storms of life. That sounds like a stationary place, a singlular location. And frankly, I like the nest. It's warm and cozy. "Safe" is such a good feeling!

But as I was driving through the neighborhood this week, I noticed two large birds soaring over the pastureland and something shifted for me. With their great wings outstretched they cast quite a shadow on the grass below, and that shadow moved. It was not stationary at all, it was in constant motion.

Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it. Isaiah 31:5

I see God hovering over me, shielding me....AS I MOVE. It's a little scary, but maybe it's time to leave the warmth of the nest. It's time to venture out into the world, trusting that we are still under His shadow.

Remember Genesis? "the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters..." It was with His Spirit in that hovering position that God began the process of creation. The nest is a place of recovery, but the hovering shadow is a place of creation. What is He creating in me?

And God said "Let there be....and it was so."

Where do you see yourself? Safely tucked in the nest? Or out under the hovering shadow?

(A special thank you to Wild Leek Photography for use of your picture "Mother's Wing".)

Snow Steps

2011-01-18T16:06:00.007-06:00

It's 2 below today is Bismarck, ND; with a 60 percent chance of snow. Brrrr.

I grew up in those Dakota winters. Got up each morning (with the help of my father's voice booming down to my basement bedroom) to deliver the local newspaper door to door. I can picture myself trudging through the snow in my moon boots with The Bismarck Tribune on my back. It was manageable, aside from the Sunday edition which could get pretty hefty. This is probably the root cause of each of my spinal subluxations.

There is something so beautiful about freshly fallen snow, tiny crystals piled up like a sparkling white blanket to cover the dead frozen ground. It's breath-taking. When the temperatures really dip that happens - it will take your breath away! We were always careful to bundle up and breathe through a scarf. I miss the snow, but I sure don't miss the cold.

I remember a game we used to play in our backyard. My daddy would shuttle-step through the snow to create a giant wheel. Then he would add spokes to the wheel and in the center was the home-base hub. The game was called Fox and Goose and the "fox" would chase all the "geese" around the circle. Inside the hub was safety. The critical part was to stay in the snow path that Dad had created with his foot steps. Any steps outside the spokes were easy to spot and you were "caught".

It's much less work, especially when the snow is deep, to walk inside the snow steps that someone else has created. My parents did that for us. They plowed the way through the snow in the backyard and they plowed the way in knowing Christ, in trusting God, in living a life of faith.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.

Psalm 27:23

Check out the pronouns in that second phrase "He" delights. That is a capital "H". God delights in our steps. The steps that He has ordered for our lives. Lovely, isn't it? God delights in laying out a path before us. He delights when we say "show me the way wherein I should walk". He delights when we create a path that others could follow in and find safety.

Commitment to Change..Together

2011-01-04T20:31:00.005-06:00

Our second article for Austin Faith and Family magazine is now available!

Click on the January magazine cover to open the online version.

Our Journey For Two column is on page 18 - Commitment to Change...Together

Got the Holiday Blues?

2010-12-20T08:37:00.006-06:00

It happens to the best of us this time of year. Yesterday, Pastor Rob shared a beautiful message on letting go of our expectations of perfection and approaching this Christmas season with a sense of expectancy. What is God up to? What is He doing?

I was reminded of one of my favorite passages: I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 NASB

The psalmist says "I would have despaired". I think this is humanity's default setting, with high expectations and past disappointments swinging the scales of our mind. Down and Up. Up and Down. Despair.

Thank God for that 6 letter word "unless". This is the kind of word that turns things around : However, But, Nevertheless. "Unless I had believed." Faith tips the scale.

The psalmist continues "....that I would see the goodness of the LORD" What would it look like for the goodness of the LORD to invade your world this December? I think, just like that first Christmas, it could be rather unexpected. Who thought the Messiah, the new King, would be born in a sheep shed? Who thought that angels would announce his arrival to the marginalized, blue-collar shepherd-type? My Christmas prayer is that we have eyes to see the unexpected arrival of his goodness in our lives this holiday season.

The older I get the more I cling to the hope of heaven, that someday of reunion, joy and resolution. But the psalmist does not cast all of his hope on heaven. He believes to see - TODAY- "in the land of the living."

So when you feel despair dragging your Christmas down, no condemnation! It's just time to reset that default. Pour a little faith onto the scale. Remember the good news of great joy was for ALL people, which includes YOU! I believe you will see his goodness TODAY!

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. Psalm 62:5 NLT

Two Are Better Than One

2010-12-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiasties 4:9-10

Verse 9 is such a great word about companionship. Two are better than one when there is work to be done. Take - for example - dish duty. For one person, it's a tedious task. But for two (or more), it gets done so fast. The kitchen is clean in no time! I hate dishes left in the sink, but I so do not want to do them alone! I will walk right by and wait for an opportunity to recruit a "dryer" to go with my "washer" or an "unloader" to go with my "loader". I think this is because I grew up washing dishes after every meal. My mom didn't have one of those fancy dishwashing machines...she had three able-bodied children for that job! We rotated positions: washer, rinser, dryer and had lots of fun making beards out of AJAX bubbles. Three were certainly better than one.

Verse 10 takes companionship to a whole 'nother level! If one falls down, his friend can help him up. Things get messy when we fall. People get banged up, bruised and scraped. Wounds need careful washing and tender attention. That takes time. So, are you a friend I can count on when I fall? Will you look at me in my mess and judge me? Will you let me lay there all pitiful lookin' with no one to help me up? Or.....are you a friend who sticks closer than a brother? Will you take the time to cry with me for a while? Then help me up, brush off the dirt, get out the anti-biotic cream and tell me it's gonna be OK?

You find out who your friends are when you fall.

Treasure in a Pot - Shoreline Women's Blog

2010-11-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Paul wrote in Corinthians "We have this treasure in jars of clay..."

People in the early church would have understood that metaphor in a way we don't. So, I came up with a new metaphor for 2010. We have a beautiful treasure, good news of great joy - God's glory on display in our common everyday lives.... Click here to read more at the Shoreline Women's Blog.

Orion The Hunter

2010-11-19T14:00:00.002-06:00

Guess who I saw in the sky tonight? My hero, Orion, the Hunter! I love this time of year because Orion's belt is straight ahead as I drive down the road into our neighborhood in the evening. I don't know much about astronomy but I'm pretty sure if you live anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere you will find Orion in your eastern/southeastern winter sky.

Three stars in a neat little row form Orion's belt, one of the most recognizable asterisms in the winter sky. If you can find them, it is easy to imagine the hunter's shoulders and knees extending outward from the belt. To see how the hunter takes shape, click here.

I call Orion my hero because frankly, he is one of the only constellations that I can find, and it just makes me feel smart to be able to name him. I also love the familiar feeling of the season. I know that winter is coming when "the hunter" greets me on my way home from church on a Wednesday night. Stars and seasons, a fascinating thing God set in motion in the beginning. "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." Gen 1:14-15

Did you know that my friend, the hunter, is even mentioned by name in the Bible? "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens?" Job 38:31-32 That was the voice of God questioning Job.

We don't look to the sky anymore to judge the seasons, we just flip our calendars. Sometimes we don't even notice those lights up there. Go outside tonight and just look up. People have been looking at those same stars and calling them by name for thousands of years. That makes me feel so small, but I don't mind because it also reminds me that my God is very, very BIG.

Does Your Christmas Fit?

2010-11-15T19:08:00.002-06:00

I recently wrote an article for our Shoreline Enewsletter called Does Your Christmas Fit?

Have you ever received a gift that didn't fit? Maybe a sweater that was too small. You could get it on, but you couldn't breath. Maybe a jacket that was too big and it swallowed you whole, like Jonah in the whale. I realized a couple years ago that Christmas as usual didn't fit. It was uncomfortable and something needed to change........ Click here and scroll down to read the whole article.

A wrote a similar piece for the November issue of Austin Faith and Family, a local community magazine. You can pick one up at the Shoreline Coffee Shop, Randalls, HEB and other locations around town. Click here to read the online version. There are three dots under the magazine, click the middle dot and look for pages 32-33. The article is titled Presents with a Purpose, it is a black page with white text. You can click on the page to zoom in, and it is easier to read.

If you have time to read both...please vote in the comments which piece you prefer. I'm curious!

Clean

2010-11-09T06:00:00.001-06:00

I love a squeaky clean little boy fresh out of the tub! It's been a while since my boys took baths...OK, it's been a while since they were little. Even still...they smell so good when they get out of the shower. I just have to hug 'em and I remember.

I remember washing them off with a hose in the backyard after they played in the mud and telling them that not all mommies would let their boys play in the mud! I hope they remember that I let them get dirty. I remember all the nights I sat by the tub while they played in the water. I remember when bubble bath was a regular item on the grocery list. Now the only bubble bath in the house is mine.

Sometimes selfishness and pride stick to me like mud. I grasp impatiently at the things I want for myself and junk gets under my nails. I need a good long soak to loose up all that crud. I think about Jesus washing dirty, smelly disciple feet and I know that our crud is not too much for him. Listen to this exchange between Jesus and Peter: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet? ......No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean....." John 13:6-10

And we are clean. Washed in the cleansing blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow, that makes us white as snow! At dinner Jesus washed the disciples feet, that night he washed us all....completely.....CLEAN.

Receive his forgiveness! Soak in his grace ...you are clean!

A Life Changing Conference - Shine

2010-11-01T16:50:00.007-05:00

Shine 2010 is just around the corner! I am expecting great things! Shine conference is always a significant moment in my year. I can't help but wonder what God is going speak into my life and in the lives of his girls this coming weekend.

I will never forget Shine 2004, because I so did not want to go! There was a princess theme, and I felt nothing like a princess. My happily ever after seemed so far out of reach and I didn't feel the least bit shine-y! God reached down and called me to the conference with this verse: Psalm 18:28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. (AMP) I knew I didn't have to make myself shine...God would shine His light in my darkness. I went to the conference and it was life-changing.

Each session featured an amazing drama sketch with our Little Princess, her princess entourage, and the man in the mirror. In nearly every sketch the princesses faced some sort of challenge, and dear Sleeping Beauty would just keel over. She laid there motionless for the rest of the scene. We all laughed. The skits were hysterical, with cleverly written dialogue. Something happened over the course of the weekend as I saw Sleeping Beauty faint over and over and over again. I saw myself. Circumstances in my life got to be too much for me and I wilted. I fainted. I chose to respond by NOT responding. I watched Sleeping Beauty lay there and I knew it was time for me to wake up. It was time to Rise Up. Courage was planted in my heart that weekend to face the giants in my life. It was a turning point on my journey.

Maybe, I am the only girl who noticed Sleeping Beauty and heard that wake up call. Isn't that one of the most amazing things about the Holy Spirit? He can take one message, one song, one skit and speak a thousand different things to each set of ears. God give me THOSE ears to hear what you want to say to me in 2010.

I believe God has a message for his daughters! Join us at Shine Nov 4-6 and keep your eyes and ears open!

For However You Are

2010-10-26T14:00:00.002-05:00

For however you are....whether life is quiet or fast pace...God has a word for you:

Being Still - Be still, and know that I am God.... Psalm 46

Sitting - Martha had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.... Luke 10

Standing - Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.... Ephesians 6

Walking - Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.... Matthew 11
.

Running - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us....Hebrews 12

Soaring - But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.... Isaiah 40

Is God challenging you to sit and listen? Is He giving you the strength to stand? Or has He invited you to soar? Where do you see yourself in this season of your life?

Not Your Ordinary Newlywed Advice

2010-10-22T08:15:00.003-05:00

Wanted to share my latest guest contribution at Created Woman:

Maybe I was naïve, or maybe I was just incredibly idealistic but the hardest lesson to learn as a young bride was that life is not like the movies. I’m stepping out on a limb here but I don’t think I am the only girl who cried in her pillow at night when the honeymoon was over. Looking back after almost 20 years of marriage, I’ve learned a lot – a lot that you might not normally read in one of those 2 pound bridal magazines. So here are my top three tips for new brides....click here to read more at createdwoman.net

Hungry for Righteousness

2010-10-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

Something happens to me when I get an opportunity to speak or share or after I post a new blog...I get really hungry! No, it's not the munchies, I wish. The truth is, I click back and refresh and check my email and wait like a dog with my tongue hanging out for comments and feedback. I hunger for it.

I've been asking God to curb this appetite for words of affirmation from others, to stop this hunger in my soul - and this verse came to my heart:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

I think Jesus said this because he knows we get hungry. He doesn't blast the hunger, he directs it. We take our hunger to those around us. We hunger and thirst for approval, to be right with men. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be right with ME. My appetite for the approval of others will never be satisfied. What happens if I say something stupid that nobody likes? Jesus is the only one who can satisfy my hunger. He said those of you who hunger and thirst to be right with me - will be filled. That's the contentment I'm longing for.

Disclaimer: It wasn't easy to post this blog. Part of me wondered if my readers would ever leave comments again or if they would opt to join God in my character development. Well, you are excused from commenting on this post! God is working in my heart. But your feedback is also helping me grow so don't hold back forever! :)

Guest Contributor @ Created Woman

2010-10-12T16:41:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to be a guest contributor at createdwoman.net

Ladies - check out the post Fitness On Demand for my top ten reasons to work out at home with free fitness on demand videos. We watch movies on demand....why not work out on demand? While you are there check out all the amazing features and stories helping you become the woman you were created to be!

Loving Dust

2010-10-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14

I've always loved this verse. It feels like acceptance. God knows how we are formed. He knows our frame. He remembers the dust because his hands have held it. His grace is sufficient for our fragile humanity.

Sometimes I'm really dusty. Sometimes I leave a residue that needs to be Swiffered! Most often that residue can be found on those people I come in closest contact with, and sometimes they leave their dirty, dusty prints on me.

I'll never forget one Sunday morning I was out front on the worship team and after Pastor Laura shared, she turned around to hug me. She whispered in my ear, "There's something on your skirt." Sure enough, I had been slimed that morning a sweet little toddler and his yogurt moustache. Embarrassing! We rub off on people and they rub off on us.

Dust is messy and irritating, but it doesn't keep God from getting close to me. He has compassion for my dusty self. Will I extend that same love and acceptance to the dusty folks around me? Will I love his dusty children? Will you?

Momma Bear @ The Shoreline Women's Blog

2010-10-02T18:14:00.004-05:00

My son was sobbing when he climbed into the van. The hair on my neck stood up. Someone threatened to send their big sister after him, and he was completely distraught. “This is ridiculous” I growled “If she had any idea the fear her pinches instilled in my son surely she would back off. If I could just talk to her….” I put the van in park. A little voice inside said “This is a bad idea.” But by then the transformation was complete, I was no longer the perfectly sensible woman I normally am. I was….Momma Bear. Read more at the Shoreline Women's Blog

Lovely Feet

2010-09-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

I was getting ready to speak at a women's retreat and feeling a little bit of anxiety. Then some melody, some chord progression, something during the morning worship reminded me of the old chorus: "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them who bring good news...Our God Reigns." And it settled my heart. I knew in that moment, God was saying that my size 9 1/2 self-pedicured feet were lovely. That the message I had to share that afternoon was Good News! I was announcing peace and proclaiming news of happiness. I was shouting from the mountains that Our God Reigns. That no matter what happens in life - He is able to redeem and restore. There is nothing He cannot heal, no brokenness He cannot restore!

I can spend a lot of time trying on the shoes in my closet, looking for the best match for some new outfit I've put together. I can also spend a lot of time standing in front of the mirror knowing that the options from my closet are not quite right. That really what I need is something I don't have, like a pair of strappy two-tone platform sandals, or camel boots with a rounded toe. I have to remember when I have shoe envy that I may not have the loveliest shoes but I do have lovely feet. I can cover them with socks and tennis shoes and feel pretty good about that!

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)

Feeling Afraid? Try Making A Sandwich

2010-09-21T14:00:00.001-05:00

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. Psalm 56:3-4

These verses caught me the other day. I thought how funny that David says in verse 3 "When I am afraid" then just a sentence later he says "I will not be afraid." That is a pretty big shift in my mind and it happens in only 15 words. So what takes place between the fear and no fear? I don't know about you but I see a sandwich. Two slices of trust toast and some praise pastrami stacked up in the center. Let's break it down:

1. When I am afraid - Inevitable, right? Fear seems to be a part of life on the planet. David wrote often of his fear. Case in point Psalm 55

2. I will trust in you - This sounds like a conscious decision to me. Like David is saying when fear comes, I have a choice and I choose to trust.

3. In God, whose word I praise - God's word is just the place to take our fear. And in his word we find hope, freedom, peace, and joy. We read that God is faithful. He is strong. He is loving. He never changes. We find all kinds of reasons to praise him and when we praise him, we take our eyes off of our circumstances and look up. Our perspective changes. Light shines in darkness. He is the glory and the lifter of our heads!

4. In God I trust - The decision to trust happens before the praise. After the praise, David affirms in whom his trust lies...in THE GOD of the word. THE GOD he just praised. THE GOD who delivers and heals and restores! Our God is trust-worthy!

5. I will not be afraid - We chose to trust, we go to the word, we lift our praise, we affirm the God who is worthy and that is when things change. The fear doesn't change, we change. We are not swept away or captured or paralyzed any longer.

We don't have to give in to fear. We can make a sandwich! Whip up a little Praise on Trust!

Fisherman or Poet?

2010-09-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

When I was 13 yrs old, I made a personal decision to follow Jesus at a Dale Evans-Rogers concert in the Bismarck, North Dakota Civic Center. I'm not sure who sponsored the concert but they had quite a follow-up in place for 1981! My parents drove me across town for a weekly Bible study on the book of John. I can still remember sitting around the art deco, Formica top table in this couple's kitchen where I fell in love with John's writing. His epistles are full of highlighting in my childhood Bible.

I've decided that John must have been thrilled to get out of the family fishing business when Jesus called him that day on the beach. He was not a fisherman. He was a poet! I wonder if John always knew he was made for more than fishing? Was he out there casting nets on the Sea of Galilee half-heartedly waiting for his "real" purpose? Or was it something that slowly came to light as his life intertwined with the life of Christ?

John wrote these words about his own writings: And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 Jn 1:4) I identify with that. I share and write with the hope of bringing joy to those who read what I have to say. But, some translations of the Bible read this way: We write this to make our joy complete. Actually, that word in the Greek is ego - usually translated I, me, or my. And I see that too. It brings me great personal joy to write! When I read comments of how my words have made some sort of impact it brings me even greater joy!

It is interesting to read this verse and wonder why there are different words in different manuscripts. Perhaps some in the early church had a problem thinking that John would write for the selfish reason of his own joy, and decided that surely there was a more noble cause - for the joy of others. Which little word was there first? I'll have to hunt down John the Poet some day in heaven and ask him.

What do you think? If I write out of a noble desire to bring joy to your life do you feel more valued or are you inspired to read more? Would that change knowing I write just because it makes me, myself and I happy? Or think about this, if we serve Jesus because we want to bring joy to others is that preferable to serving Jesus just because it thrills us to serve him? Is personal joy a noble motivation? With that question floating out there, remember - Joy was a motivator for our Savior:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

My Backyard Birds

2010-09-12T14:00:00.002-05:00

I was in my God-spot the other morning, out on the back patio, and a falling feather caught my eye. It flitted down to earth and came to rest on the grass. I looked up and noticed a Grackle sitting on the fence. He was shaking his tail feathers and since I speak bird, I told him "Turn your little tail around and poop on the other side please!" As I watched, I decided he was not pooping at all, he was primping & preening. I wondered if he had any idea what an ugly bird he is. Grackles are everywhere. They are common birds with common feathers. Boring. Well, that's my opinion

I couldn't help but wonder if this silly Grackle has ever caught a glimpse of the gorgeous Great Egrets who like to hang around our neighborhood lake. They are tall, brilliantly white birds. They seem a little skittish, yet so elegant in flight. They are the symbol of the National Audubon Society.

Or perhaps he has noticed the Scissor-tail Flycatchers. It is easy to spot these fabulous creatures as we drive through the area. They are hard to miss with their fantastic tail feather action. They have the distinction of being the state bird of Oklahoma. No one picked the Grackle for their state bird, I checked.

I try to get back to the Bible on my lap, but I can't stop thinking about this bird. I've made my judgement clear. I can be so good at that:

Interesting - Boring

Fantastic - Common

Beautiful - Ugly

Thankfully, the humble Grackle hasn't read my mind. I'm pretty sure he isn't comparing himself to any other birds in the neighborhood. I wonder why, of all God's creatures, we get tripped up on the comparison stone. This Grackle is simply soaking up the morning sun at the top of my privacy fence. It's a peculiar thing, but I just noticed how shinny his feathers are. I don't think I'd seen that before. Maybe I need to do a little more soaking myself.

I recently shared more thoughts on our tendency to compare at the Shoreline Women's Blog. Click here to check it out.

Special thanks to Birds of Oklahoma's Bill Horn for use of his breath-taking picture of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. What an amazing shot! Thank you Bill!

Filled with Joy!

2010-09-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

I can be so damn serious. Pardon the word choice, but it's true. Try as I may, I can't seem to find a more delicate way to put it. Maybe it's birth order. I am the oldest child, and spent a lot of time bossing my siblings around. Maybe it's just my personality. I actually like to read and study. Perhaps this is an aftershock of pain in my life. I wonder if I've always been this way. I can't put my finger on why, but lately I seem even more intense. I am challenged by this verse:

Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

I wonder, does my life look like that? Filled with joy? With eternal pleasures? Or is it more often categorized by stuffy, stoic tendencies?

Those two Hebrew words for joy & pleasures mean: gladness, mirth, gaiety, pleasant, delightful, sweet, lovely, agreeable, beautiful, singing, sweet sounding, musical, joyful sounds. Doesn't that sound fun? Honestly, I feel that way when I am worshipping. I remember all that God has done for me and I want to jump for joy! And I do!

But....I leak.
I'm not sure how far I carry that joy with me when I leave those times with the Lord.

In his little 91 page book, The Dangerous Duty of Delight, John Piper is daring me to pursue joy. To begin by confessing the sin of joylessness. Whoa! Secondly, to pray that God would restore the joy of doing His will. Thirdly to go ahead and do the outward dimension of this duty, in hope that in the doing I will find delight. (p 31)

So, what would it look like to be filled with joy in the pick up line at school? Jesus help me! What would it feel like to find pleasure in helping kids with homework? I'm so low on patience these days. What can I do in my everyday life to stop being so serious and loosen up a bit? Maybe I'll try Zumba. Is it possible to stop the leak or just vital to keep filling up? What do you think?

Give Them Up

2010-08-31T16:01:00.005-05:00

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth
Isaiah 43:6 (NIV)

I have not been to the ends of the earth, but I know what it feels like to be at the end of myself. I know what it feels like to be held back.

Hear God saying this to that thing that is holding you:

Give them up and do not hold them back!

Give them up, rejection
Do not hold them back, pain
Give them up, sickness
Do not hold them back, insecurity
Give them up, sleeplessness
Do not hold them back, depression
Give them up, anxiety
Do not hold them back, fear!

Chains, Be Broken!

Release My Sons and Daughters!

Wish Upon A Star

2010-08-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Do you make a wish when you see a shooting star? We were sitting out on the patio last week, and I saw three meteors blaze across the sky. The second was glorious. I was at just the right angle and I couldn’t contain myself! I clapped and cheered so loudly that I got shushed. It WAS almost midnight; but seriously, our neighbors are not that close. I can’t imagine I disturbed anyone! It took me a minute to get over my shushing.

Then I realized as amazing and brilliant as that star was, the whole thing was over in the blink of an eye. As hard as it is to grasp at times - that is how my life is in the scope of eternity. The Bible calls it a vapor. I want to shine brightly in this one opportunity I get to live.

I saw three falling stars so that gives me three wishes, right? I’d like to bargain for a few more…..

These are my wishes for any star-gazer who might happen to see my life:

-I hope that they know there is something beyond their day to day existence, there is a great big world, and a great big Creator of it all.
-I hope that they see some of His beauty in me.
-I hope my life points people to God, that He is glorified.
-I hope people can learn from my lessons learned.
-I hope I share the journey well.
-I hope they make their own wishes.
-I hope to inspire ideas, creativity and dreams.
-I hope they don’t compare their own brief moment with any other.
-I hope they know, in the infinite expanse of space and time there is plenty of room for us all to shine.
-I hope that as my light shines, there is less darkness in their world.
-I hope that my life would bring a smile to someone’s face and a little joy to their heart.
-And I hope that if they cheer, no one shushes them!

Special thanks to thesilentroom.com for use of your spectacular photograph!

Bruised

2010-08-17T22:00:00.004-05:00

"DON'T TOUCH MY HURT TOE!" I yelled to my husband while we were tubing on the Comal River last week. We were trying to keep our little party together, grabbing fingers, toes and whatever we could find to form a tubing train. I was a little jumpy about my dear toe.

I had tripped on a light saber the week before. I twisted an ankle, banged up my forearm and most likely broke my number two toe thanks to a fearless but rather careless Jedi. Doesn't he know better than to leave his weapons in the middle of the kitchen floor? Our boys had a friend over so they unpacked their arsenal of air soft rifles, swords, Nerf guns and light sabers. My toe is just another casualty of being a mother of sons. Small price to pay for getting to live with all this action!

When my husband came home, I showed him my toe. It was all black and blue and broken-looking. He was sweet and sympathetic, and I was thankful to be bruised. My toe hurt like hell. I was glad it looked just as bad. When you are hurting like that, it's nice to have something to show for it. Proof.

Back on the Comal, David gently held my foot well below that troubled toe and my thoughts floated back to the early years of our marriage. How nice it would have been to be able to show him the bruises on my soul. To be able to point and say, "I'm hurt right here, so please just stay away from this spot." It would have explained every time I jumped when he got too close.

I'm reminded by my husband's tenderness that our Savior is tender toward the broken. He sees all our bruises, even those buried deep inside. Like Isaiah prophesied "A bruised reed he will not break." I am grateful for His compassion and for the gentle way He cares for my soul.

Shoreline Women's Blog

2010-08-11T12:08:00.004-05:00

I'm excited to share the launch of a Shoreline Women's Blog located at the Shoreline Church website under Women's Ministry. A group of us girls from the church will be contributing and it is sure to encourage and inspire!

You can read the very first post, a re-worked entry I wrote a while back about personal devotions. And you can even subscribe to an RSS feed already!

I'm not sure I'll ever get this spiritual discipline "right". I feel like really good Christians must wake up with the sun to pray and study their Bibles every day. If that is the definition of a really good Christian, then I am not one.

I love my quiet times with the Lord but they seem to happen more randomly: late at night, in the afternoon, in the minivan and yes, even in the morning.

It is good to remember that God does not operate only in the central standard time zone. And that He never sleeps! He is always speaking, and I AM getting better at tuning in throughout my day.

On the Heavens AND Underneath

2010-07-30T10:27:00.005-05:00

Deuteronomy 33: 26-27 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms...."

There is no one like our God. Riding on the heavens...and on the clouds. I love those high times, those mountain top experiences. Watching the light dance on blue sapphire waters. Knowing that God is at the center of all the beauty in our world. That he created so much for us to enjoy. He must delight in watching our jaws drop in awe at his design.

But....aren't you grateful for that word "underneath"?

This summer as we sailed across the Gulf of Mexico we watched the cruise channel that reported the winds, our speed and the depth of the water. At one point it read over 12,000 feet deep. 12,000...that's not a typo! And God is there in the depths underneath the surface of the water, underneath the surface of our lives. Down low...at the end of our rope...when life bottoms out....when things get dark....underneath are the everlasting arms. I need those strong arms upholding me today. I am resting in everlasting arms.

A Good Heritage

2010-07-15T09:29:00.007-05:00

My beautiful grandmother passed away early this morning, just 6 days shy of her 90th birthday. She was ready to go be with Jesus, but still, it's hard to say good bye. This morning I was thinking about her 9 children - my Daddy, my aunts and uncles. I remember how, as a new mom feeling overwhelmed with my colicky son, the thought of my grandmother raising those 9 babies on the farm empowered me. If she could do that, I certainly had what it takes to do this. It is my heritage. I also remembered this morning that she had lost a child at birth and back in those days they didn't allow moms to hold or even see those babies. So, I imagine my Grandma today in heaven, wrapping her arms around the daughter that she never held on earth. Precious.

My most treasured memories are the summer days we spent on the farm - sleeping on my favorite feather pillow, waking up to the smell of sausage, helping Grandma milk the cows, gather eggs and slop the pigs. I remember making lunch for the "men" in the fields, which oddly included my little brother, and playing in the barn, with the wild barn cats hissing and attacking our feet. Grandpa and Grandma always had a terrifying dog named Jack, all of whom undoubtedly suffered from chained-aggression. The dogs came and went but somehow the name stuck. I remember climbing up hay bales with my cousins and begging my aunt to saddle a horse for me to ride. The farm was kid-heaven and Grandma was the center of it all.

I will remember Grandma whenever I smell sausage frying in the morning and in my endless search for an apricot kolache that tastes half as good as hers.

I few months ago I dusted of my scrapbooking skills to share a few thoughts with her:

David and I were reflecting recently on the many blessings of our lives. We have so much to be grateful for, and we know that much of it is good beyond our doing. We know that we have a heritage passed down to us by our parents and our grandparents and we just wanted to take the time to express our grateful hearts to you.

Thank you for honoring the covenant of marriage, for making a pledge that lasts a life time. We know that every marriage has its difficult seasons. For better AND for worse. Thank you for remembering the better, and moving forward through the worse. Your example inspires us in our challenges. Thank you for a legacy of Commitment.

We treasure the times we’ve been able to spend with you and the pictures we have of you holding our sons, pictures of four generations overlapping. We wonder if we will live to see our children’s children’s children as you have. We hope so and we know we are fortunate to have a legacy of Longevity.

Some of my most cherished gifts are the ones made by hand. Our wedding afghan still keeps us warm when we sit on the sofa! I’ve learned the value of creating gifts that speak of relationship, gifts that will be passed down for generations. Thank you for a legacy of Giving.

We will never forget our last visit to Great-grandma and how the boys went on and on about your yummy ham, as if my parents had not fed them the previous week. There was always food to share at your table. I remember sausage for breakfast, your delicious duck and always your trademark kolaches. We enjoy the times we spend around a table with our family and friends. Thank you for a legacy of Shared Meals.

I can remember visiting you on the farm and even though there was always so much to do, we never missed church on Sunday. There was always a prayer of blessing over our meals. These are things that have stayed with us, that we hope to instill in our children. The faith of a farmer who knows when you plant a seed rain will fall, something will grow, and God will provide. Thank you for a legacy of Faith.

Psalm 16:6
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
yes, I have a good heritage.

The Voice of Truth

2010-07-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

In those moments when panic overtakes you and your world seems scattered what voice do you hear?

An interesting thing happened last Spring at Inks Lake. We were enjoying a canoe ride, peacefully gliding across the clear, cool water. Our calm was interrupted when we heard some kids around the bend. We had seen them earlier that day with their bathtub shaped paddle boats. Now, both were overturned. There were shoes and bags scattered all over the surface. The four kids were panicked, shivering in the water and calling out for help. We rowed our canoe over, rescued a floating bag, asked the kids if they were OK and were trying to decide how to best help them when a voice thundered from the shore.

It was somebody's mom.

We came with compassion and concern but this mom, well, she knew her kid and there was very little compassion in her tone. She yelled "What are you doing? Get your butt over here! Swim for goodness sake!" It was quite comical. Exasperated she shouted "You're on the swim team for crying out loud!" I'll never forget the look on one boy's face when she said that, it was like truth broke through the panic and he turned and began to swim for the shore.

I honestly believe that he had forgotten about his skills as a swimmer, all he could see was the mess, the overturned boat and the floating debris. He was overwelmed - until he heard the voice of truth. So just in case you are bobbing up and down in the sea of life, bewildered and confused hear these truths today:

You are loved by God and His compassions never fail.

He is FOR you and promised to always be WITH you!

You are never alone.

God is faithful and forgiving.

He is slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He is the Good Shepherd who cares about each individual lamb, which means YOU.

You are never an interruption to Him.

No mess is too much for God.

He is Healer, Restorer, Savior and Redeemer.

His peace will calm your anxious heart and mind

There is always HOPE in Jesus Christ!

What truths have broken through in your times of crisis? I'd love to hear them!

Eyes of the Lord

2010-06-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

In 2 Chronicles 16:9, Hanani the seer delivered a message to King Asa. He said "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him"......sweet message right? I love the word picture. How big is our God that he can look over not a city, not a country but our entire planet in a glance! The prophet went on to say "You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." This message came after over 30 years of peace. So what happened? I'm not sure about you - but I need to know. What foolish thing brought war, struggle, pain after years of rest?

King Asa started strong. He was fully committed in his early years. In cht 14:11, when faced with battle and the odds stacked against him, he prayed "Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God for we rely on you , and in your name...." In cht 15 we read that with King Asa's leadership all Judah wholeheartedly swore an oath to God. "They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side." King Asa even ousted his own grandmother because of her idol worship. So long Granny!

Then, after a long season of peace and rest, the threat of war came up again and for some reason Asa forgot his prayer from years past. He forgot the covenant he had made. He sent a gift to another king to buy an ally for himself. Why? There is no indication in the story of a turn in Asa's heart. Of how he could stand there and say "I got this, God. I'm good, I can handle things this time around. "

I wonder if the shift didn't come out of complacency growing underground during all those years of comfort. Perhaps this foolish thing was nothing more than contentment and ease.

I enjoy comfort, but I find that nothing throws me into prayers of dependency like challenge. When life is steady, I too can pick up an "I Got This" attitude.

So how do we maintain a posture of dependence? Tough question. Most of the time, like King Asa, I feel fairly competent. But the creative artistic side of me has been given an odd gift called insecurity. As much as I get annoyed by my self-doubt and the fear that tags along....honestly....it keeps me running to the strong arms of my Savior! And that is a good thing. To say...I don't "got this" I am helpless, powerless, lost without you Lord! Help me! I think this is one reason why Paul said "I will glory in my weakness".

I want to have a heart that the eyes of the Lord is searching for. Fully Committed. Dependant. Needy.

Searching, searching....looking....

"Ah-ha" the Father says to the Son. "That's it! I found it! Right there! Let's strengthen her"

Questions By The Decade

2010-06-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

If I was a guy, and I had not already been brain-washed by Dave Ramsey, I'm pretty sure I would be out shopping for some ridiculously pimped-out classic hot rod. I'm 41 years, 5 months and 24 days old today and I think I'm having a mid-life crisis or perhaps some milder form of freak-out. Lately, I've been asking myself questions that I've never asked before. Things like:

This is good but is this all there is for my life?
How will my children turn out?
Will I ever do something great?

This reminded me of a message I heard a from Gordon MacDonald, editor at large of LeadershipJournal.net (click on link for an article based on his message). He was speaking to worship leaders and encouraging us to be mindful of the questions people bring with them to church. New questions seem to enter in at each decade of life. If you have a multi-generational congregation...that's a lot of questions.

Questions people are asking by the decade:

20's Who am I? How am I different from my family? What will I do? Am I capable of love? Is there anyone who would love me?

30's How do I cope with the demands of life and all these people who want a piece of me? What can't I follow through? How come I feel like I can never please anyone? What happened to my friends?

40's What happened to me as a child? Why are others doing better than me? Why am I so disappointed in myself? Isn't it supposed to be better than this dull-drum life? Why these uncertainties?

50's Why is time moving so fast? Why is my body unreliable? How do I deal with failures/successes? Why is my marriage not great? Are the best years of my life over?

60's When do I stop doing the things that define me? Am I ready for old age? Why do I feel separated from the world? Do I have a spiritual legacy?

70's Does anyone know who I once was? How much of life do I still control? Why this irritability? How long will people miss me?

I think of this message every time I prepare to lead worship at Shoreline East. I wonder what questions our guests are asking. Perhaps.... Where do I belong? Does anyone care about me? Is there still hope for me? I try to choose songs that would answer those questions: You are loved by God. You belong to His family. And Yes, there is HOPE for you in Christ! I pray that God's presence would lift them above those questions, that his peace would still their souls.....and mine!

We will be at Shoreline East this Saturday, come join us!

Do you see yourself asking questions as Gordon MacDonald presented them?
Or are there other questions you are asking in your current decade?

Shaken

2010-06-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm singing along to a new song called Shaken by Paul Baloche, and it is just so singable! Then, I listen to the lyrics and I think "who writes songs like this?" This is a dangerous song, I'm not sure I really want to sing it, but I can't get it out of my head!

"Those You love, You will chasten. Everything that can be will be shaken... and only You remain." I wonder, is this an invitation to shaking? It seems risky doesn't it? Like sending an evite to Challenge or Testing. But storms don't seem to need an invitation, do they? They just pop up on our lives like a summer thunderstorm that even the best meteorologist didn't see coming. I've never noticed a bright red ticker at the bottom of my mind's eye warning me that dark days are headed my way. Storms just come. It rains on all of us.

This song is straight out of Hebrews 12...these are verses that we read...but who would have ever thought we should sing them? Well, I guess Paul's wife Rita did....

"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."
The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—
that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

For whom the LORD loves He chastens

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Since I tuned into the lyrics, I'll be honest....I sing cautiously. I look at my life and I wonder what could be shaken and what would remain? And I think perhaps a little shaking might loosen some of things that I carry that I don't need to be carrying. Like a ship in a storm, I wonder what would I throw overboard? What would you throw overboard?

I do feel shaken by this life at times. But then I remember that David said in the Psalms "because the Lord is at my right hand I will not BE shaken." I sing along because I know that:

Strength is birthed in the struggle
Pruning is necessary for fruitfulness.
God is my ROCK.
The storms of life will come.
A house built on that Rock stands.
God's love will never be shaken!

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Happy Birthday Blog

2010-06-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

My very first entry posted on June 5th, 2008 so my Blog is 2 yrs old this month!

Happy Birthday Blog!

What I have learned in my first two years:

I enjoy writing.
I enjoy reading what I've written.
I appreciate my dorky attempts at humor.
I am most likely only person who has read ALL of my posts.
I seem to write FOR readers, which is an act of faith.
My husband is my biggest fan and most consistent comment leaver-thank you for that Babe!
Facebook shares are warm fuzzies.
Comments make me smile.
Bloggers shall not live by comments alone.
Subscribers make me happy....and by the way it's free.
I refuse to let numbers mean that much to me, but I find myself caring more about traffic.
I was right, things I have written do stay with me longer than thoughts that don't get posted.
Blogging is a great creative outlet.
I am actively learning and growing.
I like to share what I've learned.
I don't have to have all the answers.
There is lots to learn.
There is a crazy amount of learning to be done!
The more I learn the more I realize......I don't know much.
I will keep writing.

Maybe I'll get one of those nifty books made of my first two years - that sounds like a great Christmas present for my parents. Dad and Mom...pretend you didn't read this one OK?

Locked Up In Fear

2010-05-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

I am pretty good at worrying. I've decided it stems in part from my North Dakota heritage. The climate is so ridiculously harsh up there, and I can just imagine my great-great-grandma out on the farmstead wondering...When will it rain? or Will this gully-washer ever stop? or How much hail damage did our crops endure? or Do I have enough food preserved for winter? or Will the cattle survive this blizzard? Questions like that tend to spiral don't they?

I had questions of my own this week. Like...When will they stop this oil spill? How extensive is the environmental damage? I wonder if this will affect our family vacation? What will gas prices be in July? Should we even take a vacation this year? I wonder if my children be able to enjoy vacations with their families? Will there be jobs for them when they graduate?...ENOUGH ALREADY!

All those questions are like quicksand to my soul. I find myself stuck in the muck and mire of fear. And it's suffocating me.

But in the middle of my worrisome wonderings, I read this verse in John 20:19... On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews...They had just endured the crucifixion of their Rabbi and now they were hiding behind locked doors in fear. I imagine they had their own spiraling questions. Like...Who are the Jews going to kill next? How will we die? Will we be kicked out of the synagogue? What if we are ostracized from the community? I love what happens next, it says...Jesus came and stood among them. Don't you love that locked doors and fearful questions are not a barrier to God's presence? Jesus found them in their hiding place and he said these three words: PEACE TO YOU!

And he said it to me: Peace to you, Lynn. Peace to your questions. Peace to your heart. Peace to your mind.

Are questions, fear-filled wonderings, and "what ifs" keeping you locked up?

I pray that Jesus shows up for you like he did for his followers, like he did for me; finds you in your hiding place and says PEACE to you. Then watch what happens....

And when the disciples saw the Lord,

they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture) John 20:20 AMP

God Breezes

2010-05-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

I stepped out the back door, sat down on a patio chair and immediately felt a soft cool breeze on my face. I closed my eyes and soaked it in - God reminding me that just like the wind, He is all around me. All I could think is I have got to get outside more often! How many days do I spend moving from my house to my car, from my car to the office and back again.... completely missing the wind on my face.

In John 20, after his death and resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples and said:

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

I wonder what that felt like; Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit on you. Hmmmm....I imagine it felt a little like my lovely cool evening breezes. Refreshing and invigorating. Full of life. Or maybe it was more forceful like the Pentecost wind from Acts 2!

It was easy to see the wind, to hear it rustling the leaves of the massive Cottonwood tree in our old backyard. Here in this former farmland, nearly void of trees. it is so much easier to FEEL.

Get outside and feel the wind on your face this week (quick before it gets too hot!).... then tell me does it feel like God to you too?

Psalm 104:2-3 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;

he stretches out the heavens like a tent

and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.

I'm A Soldier Of Love

2010-05-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Love is a battlefield, isn't that right Ms Benatar? War is not a new metaphor for love, but it is a fitting one. My husband and I are reading John & Stasi Eldredge's new book for couples Love & War and as in most of their offerings, you hear there is indeed a battle to fight. At the same time we just purchased the latest project from the beautiful and brilliant Sade entitled Soldier of Love. The title track with it's military vibe is a story of pain, loss, survival and the hope that love will come. I've got war coming at me from all sides! And whether I like it or not I am a soldier in this love-war. So, I've made up my mind, I am taking a stand and drawing a line in the sand. Will you join the ranks?

I know that my spouse, my children, my family, my friends are not the enemy in this war. But we do have a very real adversary who is bent on the destruction of all life-giving relationships. I need vision to see through the conflict at hand to the enemy underground.

I will let my heart take courage and rise to the risk involved in this war. Relational disappointment can be so disheartening. Giving up seems like a great alternative to doing battle. Great relationships do not come out of resignation.

Isolation is not an option. I need a band of brothers...or in my case a squadron of sisters! We are not meant to live life alone, I need people in my life who will encourage me to persevere through the challenges.

Survival does not equal victory. I can live as a causality of war. I can live as a survivor or I can press on to find freedom. Relational freedom means I don't have to control others in order to feel safe. God is in control!

I will not hope in my ability to get things right, but I will hope! Knowing that nothing is impossible with God. He is the author of relationship. My hope is built on nothing less - not on my goodness, not on my husband's perseverance, not even on our family's legacy of longevity.

As crazy at it sounds in this context, I know that surrender is my ONLY option. I raise my white flag to Jesus! And I know that the more I die to self the more victorious I am as a soldier of His Unfailing Love!

Do you hear the battle cry for relationship? Have you gone AWOL? How can you re-engage as a Soldier of Love?

Better Than a Hallelujah

2010-05-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

I find myself praying more these days. I'm not exactly sure why. It could be because I have a soon-to-be teenager and sometimes...the look in his eyes....it's either slap him or pray! Maybe its the struggle we see in lives of those we love. Maybe its the natural disasters that seem to be plaguing our dear planet. Today it occurred to me that I could be having a mid-life crisis. Hey, at least it's boosting my prayer life!

Prayer matters. It lifts me and reminds me that I'm never alone in facing whatever lies ahead. Moses encouraged the children of Israel with these words from Deut 4:7

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them
the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"

Our God responds to prayer. He hears our cry and He is NEAR!

When I first heard a clip of Amy Grant's new release Better Than a Hallelujah. I thought, hmmm what is she trying to say? What could be better than this ancient, treasured word? Yet, I am swept away by the sweet melody and raw honesty of this song: "We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody. Beautiful the mess we are. The honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a Hallelujah." I think its true that God delights to hear the cry of our hearts, whatever misery or concern we might find there. And perhaps its even true that he would rather hear our messy heart than an habitual hallelujah.

What do you think of Amy’s new song?

When do you feel God's nearness?

Seeking Happiness

2010-04-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love my last name. When David and I married on a glorious North Dakota summer day in July of 1991, I embraced it!

I've owned cherry t-shirts, cherry socks, cherry purses and cherry pajamas. Sometimes I wonder if God gave us two boys because he didn't want to subject a sweet little girl to all the cherry outfits we would have made her wear.

We have a colorful collection of cherry tea pots, cookie jars and plates decorating our kitchen. And when I saw this artwork at Garden Ridge, I had to have it! David hung it up that night in our half bath right off the kitchen. (What a great man!) The two giant cherries make me smile. It also has a little saying on it that has been fun to ponder. And what more perfect place for a little ponderin?

We Tend To Seek Happiness

When Happiness is Actually A Choice

I'll be honest, when I first sat and pondered, I interpreted it to say that we pursue happiness in an environment that is life-giving and hopeful, when we perceive happiness as an option for us. While I think that is most likely true, I decided yesterday that it is saying something entirely different. How could I have missed it? Most of you are probably saying...duh girlfriend! What it is saying to me now is, I'm sure, what the artist meant for it to say: that we spend time, we spend money, we spend energy reaching for an elusive place called "Happy" when all along the only thing we need to spend is our will. Happiness is a choice!

Ha! That reminds me of a little song I learned in college...."Happy, Happy, Happiness is a choice and I chose to be Happy, Happy as I can be. I chose to Happy. I'm Happy. I'm free. I chose to be Happy so I can be me." Whoa that is a flash from the past! Thank you Cheryl Prewitt Salem for that lovely little tune.

So what do you think? Is happiness a choice of our will?

A Lump in my Throat

2010-04-25T16:54:00.000-05:00

My feelings were floating treacherously near the surface. And I was afraid to open my mouth lest they come spilling out in front of these people I hadn't even met yet. Awkward! I was attended a writing workshop with my dear friend and writing buddy Lexie. The speaker was Janice Hanna Thompson. She was wonderful, like the teacher you always wished you had. We got to the workshop just in time for a creative writing exercise which was torture for me! I wrote 2 paragraphs without really saying anything and then listened raptly as a few of the other attendees shared their exercise which in 5 minutes already contained characters with names, setting and plot. One, I'm sure, will go on to be the prologue of a future best seller! It was amazing.

But, why all this emotion? I grabbed a piece of scrap paper to help me sort it out:

Fear - Isn't there always at least a little bit of fear as we stand at the edge of something new? Sometimes there's a lot!
Rejection - Every time we put ourselves "out-there" we risk rejection. For writers it is part of the process. We joke that rejection letters will be progress because at least we can say we submitted something!
Work - Am I willing to do the work ahead? When will I find the time? Who will feed the hungry children?
Doubt - Is this direction I'm heading really the right one for me? Do I have what it takes?
Patience - How long will I wait? Can I wait gracefully?

With the idea of waiting comes anticipation and I know that too is contributing to the lump in my throat. It's a hopeful lump. As I sit in the class, I'm just so grateful to have Christ at the center of my life. All of those questions can be reigned in by TRUST. Trusting God's plan for my future, not mine. Trusting that I am completely accepted by Him, even though rejection will surely come. Knowing that the Holy Spirit empowers me. He is for me and He is so very patient!

Are you standing at the edge of a dream? I'd love to hear about the lump in your throat!

The Princess and Her Pillows

2010-04-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

So, I’m from North Dakota and pride myself in not being a foo foo kind of girl. The only jewelry I need is my wedding ring. Jeans and tennis shoes are my favorite outfit. I relish my no-make-up days. The princess in me comes out AT NIGHT.

Somehow over the course of my life I’ve become sleep-dependant on a pile of pillows. Every night I put my pillows in position, and the truth is I really can’t fall asleep without them.

The Basic Pillow – This one really shouldn’t even count. Everyone sleeps with a pillow under their head. Although not the fluffy feathered version we are accustom to, pillows have a long history and have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Who knew?

The Pregnancy Pillow – Regardless of the fact that I haven’t been pregnant since July of 2000 I can’t seem to break this habit. Picked it up in 1997 when I was expecting our first born. The idea is that a pillow between your knees helps keep your hips and spine aligned and any woman who has carried a child inside her body knows we need all the help we can get!

The Posture Pillow – Shout out to my dear Chiropractor, Dr Logan for introducing me to my third pillow, a satin covered cervical cylinder. My neck thanks you. My spine thanks you. My son thanks you because he now sleeps with a neck roll too. I am not content to keep my habit to myself. I’m a pillow pusher.

The Eye Pillow – This smallest of the pillow pile is the epitome of princessdom. My husband’s sister introduced me to my first eye pillow. It came in a boxed set with a coordinating candle and was filled with lavender scented flax seeds. I used it until it wore thin and the seeds started leaking out. The first time I saw one on the bed I screamed and thought it was a bug! I had to retire that pillow recently. (Rest in peace my friend.) My dear husband bought a replacement in spearmint eucalyptus, although he most likely regrets it. It seems like every night at bed time I am searching through the covers, the nightstand, and the floor for that dad-gum pillow! Now I’m resigned to just turn on the light to locate it, because I know sleep will come sooner with every pillow in its place.

It looks like I’ve pick up a pillow for each decade of my life.
What’s next?
What’s in your PILLOW PILE?

A New Earth...that's the plan!

2010-04-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I was going through my son's homework folder and came across a pretty bad grade. Ugh! There were not many questions on the page and he got 3 wrong which averaged out in the "re-do" category. Teachers allow him to correct and resubmit work for additional credit (don't you love grace?). As we were looking over it, I beamed at one of his wrong answers. Odd, right?

The question was "How would your life change if people used up fossil fuels, such as coal, gasoline, natural gas and heating oil?"

My son's answer: "Not any bad changes because God has a plan for me."

SMILE! It was so great to see his faith on paper! As much as I tried to persuade him that life without these fuels would be miserable, he stuck to it!

I asked, "What if we didn't have gas for our van and we had to walk or ride our bikes everywhere?"'

He answered "We'd all be healthier."

You gotta love his positive persistence!

The reality is that our Earth has limited resources, and our dear planet seems stuck in a process of slow deterioration. Actually, it's the Second Law of Thermodynamics in action, which can be generally summed up that things tend to move from a state of order to disorder, randomness, or chaos.

As a science major, I just love it when God's wisdom pre-dates our discoveries! Romans 8 says For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

I think of this verse whenever I hear about earthquakes and hurricanes and tsunamis. The Earth IS groaning. Things are not right. But I am encouraged by the faith of my child. I agree. Our God is a planner!

Easter changes everything for us. We have new life. We have new hope. Forgiveness and Freedom. Fellowship with the Father. But we still have a decaying planet and pervasive brokenness. Easter is the climax of His-Story but the final resolution is yet to come. Observing Lent this year seemed to stir up the longing for that resolution.

Listen to Peter's message from Acts 3 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

There is a time coming for God to restore everything! The groaning will cease. The Earth will be free from its bondage to decay. Imagine the new heaven and new earth prophesied in Isaiah 65. I'm so glad God has a plan and proud that my son is not afraid to say it even when the answer gets marked wrong.

Why I Sing - Toastmasters Project #2

2010-04-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

6 am Sunday morning just a few months ago and the alarm clock is screaming…get up!

Maybe I was just having a grumpy day or maybe it was the Sunday morning chaos:
finding something to wear that doesn't need to be ironed, searching for the boy’s tennis shoes, only to discover them soaking wet on the back porch...yelling at the kids “get in the van, we gotta go, I'll buy you donuts from the cafe, again...”

I'm not sure what was going on with me that day but somewhere in the middle of my vocal warm up about the time I hit the 45 toll plaza I asked myself this question: why do I do this? Why do I get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning so I can get to church an hour before everyone else? Why do I get home from work on Tuesdays, scramble to get homework done, find something decent to feed my hungry children and drive back into the city for rehearsal? Why?

Well, that’s a good question
I decided probably, as a member of the Shoreline Worship Team, I should have a good answer….so opened up a memo in my phone and started making a list of Why I Sing. I’m going to share a few reasons with you today.

At my very core, I just love music. It is hard for me to listen to the radio and not sing along. I've been singing all my life. My mom read those lovely sing-songy nursery rhymes to me and my daddy sang with me. We have ancient cassette tape recordings to prove it. My parents planted a song in my heart and then they bought me a record player when I was about 4 years old. I wore that thing out singing along with vinyl. I treasured my children's records. My parents had a few LPs I used to play too like Freddy Fender – I don’t know how his music made it all the way to ND?? and Lynn Anderson - I loved her because we had the same name …I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.... It was awesome when I graduated from my record player to a cassette player and cool new technology called song search where I could listen to my favorites over and over

Music became a big part of my life. My parents paid for years of piano lessons and voice lessons.... They were very generous and so encouraging along the way. All through Jr high and high school I sang with a small ensemble that traveled around the city sharing the vision of the fledgling Christian School I attended. Looking back, I was so confident then, it feels like there is so much more at stake at 41 then there was at 14. Honestly, I am thrilled that I’m still singing. I feel so privileged to be a part of the music team here, even on my grumpy days…

I love music and I love that it is a universal language. It transcends cultural, generational and language barriers. There are hundreds of people on our planet who can sing and I mean SANG! Just think about the recording artists in all the different genres out there right now, then think about all the people who've been making a living at this in years gone by. Add to that the thousands of people with beautiful voices who fill our choirs and stir our hearts. For those of you who only sing in the shower, you know you sound good in there!
Throw in all the brilliant musicians and it is easy to see that God very generously covered every corner of the earth with musical talent, and placed inside each individual an innate appreciation for that talent. Being the genius God He is you know there has to be divine purpose to it all. I believe there is a sacred connection between God's out-pouring of unique and varied musical gifts and our bent toward worship. Because that is universal as well, isn’t it?

We are all searching for something to worship, something that captivates our attention. We honor, adore, glorify, and idolize many things. Our souls were created to worship and music is the language of the soul.

Music is universal and it is so powerful! Isn’t it great how a song can take you back in an instant to another place and time? Or touch you deep inside, inspire and lift you up. Music stirs our emotions, but it is also very scientific. There is a great body of research on how music affects the brain. One of the most fascinating things I’ve heard involves an area of grey matter called Broca’s Region. Touch your left ear, move above and to the front…right about there is Broca’s Region. This part of our brain functions like a gatekeeper. It decides if any input that comes across our path is actually worth thinking about. One source I found called it the blah blah blah filter. It is easily bored with the predictable…Surprise is a great tactic for getting past Broca. Great story-tellers know this. Music has an amazing affect on Broca…That whole area of our brain lights up when listening to music. It has a measurable affect on learning. I see the combination of words and melody like a power punch. We might think it is a little odd to say… God, the creator of the universe, ya, he’s my friend. But we’ll sing I am a friend of God…and the more we sing it the more we believe it. After a while a thought that seemed implausible becomes a part of who we are. Music is a powerful tool to help us embrace truth.

So I keep getting up on Sunday morning, I memorize new lyrics, I practice and expend a lot of time and energy. Why do I do this? I love music. I love being a part of something universal and I believe in the power of music. I believe in what we do as a worship department at Shoreline and I know without a doubt that people’s lives are being changed as we sing.

A Tree of Life

2010-04-03T11:58:00.000-05:00

We have a decorative cross collection in our master bedroom. I purchased a few of the crosses but most have been gifts from different people in our lives. We recently hung them up in the new house. I think it looks pretty good!

I was looking up at them this morning. Thinking about the cross, while songs from the Easter drama ran through my head. One in particular written by Shoreline's own Skip Downey...Oh how beautiful the cross. Beautiful. It is simply beautiful, isn't it? It has so much meaning to us. Loaded with love and hope and redemption.

The cross is a symbol of our redemption. And even as a symbol it has been redeemed. To be hung on a tree was to be cursed. I doubt there were any cross collections decorating homes in Jesus' day. It symbolized death, oppression and the shame and guilt of capital offense (see Deut 21).

One of the repeated phrases in our lenten readings is "You made the cross of tree of life" God redeeming, transforming this symbol just as He redeems and transforms our lives!

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.

1 Peter 2:21 This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

Heb 12: 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

And today, I say with Paul:

Galatians 6:14 For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!

Carry the Cross

2010-03-31T14:48:00.000-05:00

Who was Simon the Cyrene? We read about him in 3 of the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion. We know he was a dad. We even know the names of his two sons: Alexander and Rufus. We know that he didn't volunteer to help Jesus...he was seized, forced to carry the cross. I wonder if his boys were with him. How old were they? What did they do when the soldiers grabbed their Daddy?

Simon was just "passing by". We read that he was on his way "in from the country." Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I looked it up on a map. Cyrene is in Lybia, Africa. Simon was actually a long way from home and I'm sure he had other plans for that day in Jerusalem. But here he is, yanked into the suffering journey of a Man like no other. Don't you wonder how he felt? Was he fearful? Begrudging? Did he keep his distance or did he take a moment to look into Jesus' sinless eyes?

The Bible is full of interesting details like this. Proper names that lend great historical value. Paul mentions a "Rufus" in Romans 16. What if it that was Simon's Rufus? I can only imagine that the journey to Golgotha would have been life-altering for all three of them.

It is interesting too, that in these same three gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus is recorded saying "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Simon had no choice but to submit to Rome and carry the cross of Christ. I, on the other hand, must choose. I'm not very good at denying myself. My Self is loud and demanding and works really hard to make sure it gets its way.

And what is "my" cross anyway? We've come a long way from the Roman Empire. It is not the cruel cross of ancient days. And mine is not a brutal submission. I know this because Jesus also said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Could this yoke be my cross? I'm not sure...maybe...

Look at the contrast:

Most likely Simon was exhausted at the end of that climb to Golgotha, weary and burdened after carrying the cross. It is those who are already weary and burdened that Jesus gives his invitation to come. Jesus is gentle and humble, a far cry from the Roman Soldiers who coerced Simon. The cross that Simon carried was heavy. The yoke that I am to carry is light. I have no doubt that there was great unrest for Simon and his boys that day and in the nights that followed when sleep was hard to come by. Jesus said if I carry his yoke I find rest. This burden is not the end of me. It involves learning, the promise of a future changed by growth.

Jesus is asking me to carry my cross. He is asking me to be yoked with him. This is a tender call to companionship. I will not walk alone. I love that Jesus did not walk alone. I'm glad Simon was there.

Stations of the Cross

2010-03-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

I am digging in my heels this week and refusing to be swept away. Refusing to surrender to the chaos of all that needs to be done in preparation for Easter and choosing to surrender to the heart of the story.

I thought about all-out fasting this week but I just can't do it. I don't care if I ever see another bean in my life. Last night was our last beans and rice meal and we are all rejoicing! With the physical demands of our rehearsal schedule and late nights this week, wisdom is telling me that my body will need good healthy fuel. I feel like Jesus is suggesting.... instead of taking more away this week how about adding something?

OK, I can do that.

One thing that I know will help is our plan to attend the Stations of the Cross as a family this Friday, April 2nd. (You can join us from 5-9pm in the Shoreline Special Event Center, which is the first building on your left as you enter our campus from Burnet Rd.) We went two years ago and it was an amazing worship experience. I have a great anticipation about attending this year. I went through an online version of the Stations today and was so touched by how personal each reading was.

This story of Jesus' Passion is not just church history, something that happened hundreds of years ago. It was and is and will always be a NOW story. Paul emphasizes this is 2 Corinthians 6

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

Now is the day. Now is the time. Its amazing how this story changed history, forever altered the future yet is meant to be experienced TODAY. How can I remember the cross today?

I can sing redemption songs. I love Paul Baloche's new project Glorious I think I'll keep it in my van this week.

I can read my Bible, there's a thought! Walking with Jesus in Matthew 26, or Mark 14 or Luke 22 or John 16.

I can remember all that the cross has done for me. My sin, my shame, my guilt, my pain, all nailed to the cross (see Colossians 2)

I can pray

Beautiful Savior. Dear Lamb of God. Help me to remember you this week. To know the love that held you to that cross. To glory in your surrender to the will of the Father. To rest in the finished work of grace. Hosanna! Save NOW!

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Transforming Tragedy

2010-03-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

"God transformed that tragedy,

(the death of Jesus on a cross),

by letting his death pay the price for all our sins."

I'm quoting from our lenten reading for Tuesday this week. Isn't it beautiful? Somehow our amazing God was able to transform the brutal death of his only Son into our salvation, our freedom. It was his plan all along. Jesus mentioned his impending death on several occasions to his followers. How many of them at the foot of that gruesome cross could have seen anything beyond the tragic loss of their Rabbi?

It really is AMAZING GRACE!

What amazes me still is that God continues to actively transforming tragedy. He does this.

I stand aghast like those earlier followers at the small scale tragedies in my life. Redemption? Transformation? That hope trickles into the tragic scenes of my life one small drop at a time. Sudden change, unexpected loss, disappointed dreams these are everyday tragedies. Catching us of guard. Throwing us for a loop. I've been thrown a time or two.

It's interesting the longer I live, the less space there seems to be between the shock and the hope. More recently, I hear myself saying things like "God can use this" and "I see God working in this". Strange.

I remember this passage from Luke 4, Jesus reading from Isaiah:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

I've always loved that moment where Jesus closes the book and says "this is happening right now before your very eyes". My paraphrase.

And it IS happening. It is happening all around us. It is happening in my life. I am poor and weak, but the Good News is that Jesus came for folks like me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I've experienced rich mercy, rich grace. I am rich in so many ways. I have been a prisoner of denial, of pain, of fear, of shame, but I find myself daring to dream again. Free like I have never been. Chains are broken. Chains are breaking. I know what it is like to walk in darkness. Existing. Surviving. Not seeing any hope for me. I was blind but I am recovering my sight. Jesus released me. He walked me through! He surrounds me with his favor like a shield.

God, transforming tragedies both large and small.

Such a Glorious Redemption!

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Hand-me-downs

2010-03-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

I just got a great big bag of lovely hand-me-downs from a very fashionable friend. It feels like Christmas! I love hand-me-downs! Truth is, I've been wearing then most of my life. Thanks to Jennifer across the street in my growing-up years. She was the only girl in her family and had great clothes. I always loved when Jennifer hit a growth spurt. :) I remember one outfit that I adored. Red pants with a matching snap up vest layered over a red turtle neck and a plaid shirt. The more layers the better, right? I even wore it for school pictures! You know you got some great hand-me-downs when you wear them for pictures! There was also a dreamy Hang-Ten green and white stripe key-hole-tie tank top. I had arrived with my little white embroidered Hang-ten toes.

I am fickle when it comes to fashion. Occasionally, I surf the web looking for trends. Sometimes I balk at the trends and make self-righteous vows not to get sucked in. Most of the time I just want to find a really good deal that fits well. I think that is why the hand-me-downs are such a gift. I mean there is no better deal than free! I keep the things that fit and pass on the things that don't with great freedom. There is no searching racks for a different size. How great is that? Isn't it annoying when you find something cute at the store but just need a different size and they don't have it so you call the other stores in town and search all over for this elusive item knowing deep inside that it would have been fabulous on you, only to come up empty. Bummer.

Hand-me-downs also fit well with my recent education in Fair Trade. I struggle at the mall with consumer guilt especially when I find a super great deal. It is creating such conflict! I know that a fun hand-knit sweater cape should cost more than 3 bucks. There is no way the person who made it is earning a living wage from my purchase. How responsible am I for people (often children) in other countries who sew this stuff? It's messing with me. Not enough though, because I just bought a sassy blue dress on clearance at Macy's for $12.83 with tax! I was thrilled with my find, but still wanting at some level to become a globally minded consumer. That didn't happen this week.

My fashion mindedness seems to ebb and flow with the seasons. A few years ago I was suffering closet-angst and so I printed a little reminder and taped it up right there inside the closet. It read "I have everything I need" And that could not be more true. I don't NEED a single thing in there. I have enough stuff to clothe more than one me. Still I do long for NEW. I think most of us do. There is something hidden in that longing. A new outfit feels like a new me. I want to be made new. I think at its depths that desire is a God-seed. I sell myself short when I allow new stuff to quench that desire. Something to think about when I get that fashion itch. At least for me"new" doesn't have to mean hanging on the store hanger with tags attached. I'm grateful for hand-me-downs. So is my checkbook. And so is my heart.

Sea Lion Momma...Parenting Tips from Animal Planet?

2010-03-12T16:51:00.000-06:00

History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet…these are the TV channels we watch when the boys control the remote. Last week my oldest son, and Killer Whale aficionado, recorded a show called Orca School. We watched it together until I couldn't take anymore.

In one part of the story, the savvy Orcas are hunting new born sea lion pups by charging up watery channels and practically beaching themselves to nab the defenseless pups. It was heart wrenching and quite disturbing because my son was giggling. He is awestruck, gleefully admiring the power of the ocean's top predator. They are fabulous creatures. The show chronicled how more experienced Orcas train younger whales to use this beaching technique that goes against every instinct. They are masterful hunters and excellent teachers.

Sea lion pups are fortunate to have a mother's care in their early days. One scene pictured a stubborn little pup trying desperately to get in the water. He was fought off by his devoted momma who pushed him plop for plop away from the water's edge. She could see the dark black dorsal fin of an Orca off shore and she knew what that meant. He barked at her and bit her neck and she barked back and pushed him away to safety. What a good momma! Then the camera shot widened to show another pup bounding alone for the beckoning waves. This momma turned over her shoulder and barked at the motherless pup but kept a strong stance in holding back her own baby.

Sure enough the Orca charges and the hapless unwatched pup is no more. More giggling, sheesh! I guess the reality is the Orca matriarch is not killing for the sake of killing. The pod needs food. Her baby weighs in at 400 lbs. The beach is her grocery store and she makes as many trips as it takes to feed the family. Mothering is a big job. You learn to pick up parenting strategies every where you can!

Life Lessons from a Sea Lion Momma:

Children do not always see what their parents see. We are larger and can see farther.
Children do not always know what their parents know. Life experience has taught us to avoid certain situations.
Sometimes "no" means I love you, I care for you, and I'm doing my best to protect you.
When you see other kids doing what you want to do, be grateful that you are not left alone to fend for yourself.
If you bark at me, I just might bark back...ha...I like that one.
You will probably bite me some day, but even when you hurt me I will not abandon you.
For as long as I am stronger than you, I will use that strength for your good and stand in between you and the danger ahead.
You won't understand every decision I make but I hope you can trust that I am FOR YOU!

Have you picked up any parenting tips from Animal Planet?
How do you manage your protective instincts?

Photo courtesy of www.naturetrek.co.uk

Beans...again

2010-03-09T14:56:00.000-06:00

We are about half way through our Lent experience.

We ate our 3rd beans-and-rice meal last night and....I still don't like beans. Yesterday morning I was tossing the pintos in the crock pot and honestly I almost cried thinking about having to eat them for dinner. "Why are we doing this? Someone remind me!" Did I just say that out loud?

Yep.

Wouldn't you know, my dear boy had an answer "So we can focus more on God instead of earthly things." Gulp....long pause....say that again honey.....

"So we can focus more on God instead of earthly things, like our stuff, you know..."

Thank you son for reminding your mother of why she thought this would be a good idea. How sobering that my 9 year old remembered what my taste buds forgot. I can't decide if I should feel like a crummy parent or a good one.

I would like to take credit...but I know...he is a gift.

The Trinity

2010-03-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

So I was making one of these new bean recipes and the instructions read "saute the trinity" meaning the onions, celery and green bell pepper. I've heard Rachel Ray use this word as a cooking term as well. This is the problem....no one in my family likes bell pepper so I always leave it out...and I was wondering which member of the trinity is represented by the bell pepper....I wouldn't want to leave any ONE out of my life's recipe!

I'm being silly. Seriously now, how often do you think about this Three in One aspect of our God? Our Opening Prayer each day ends with this sentence: Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. God the Father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit = The One True God.

The Shack is a wonderful fiction book that helped me experience the mystery of the Trinity in a new way. In each of our earthly relationships there is usually a dominant personality, isn't there? In The Shack, William Paul Young presents this picture of equality within our triune God that was so intriguing. Quoting Sarayu who represents the Holy Spirit: "We are in a circle of relationship. not a chain of command...What you're seeing here is relationship without any overlay of power. We don't need power over the other because we are always looking out for the best. Hierarchy would make no sense among us." The character representing Jesus goes on to say of humans: "You rarely see or experience relationships apart from power. Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intended for you"

I'm challenged today to think about The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit in perfect union and how that might be reflected in my relationships.

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

The Daily Lent Prayer

2010-02-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

It is very interesting, each day at the top of our Praying Lent readings there is a Daily Lent Prayer and would you believe it is the same prayer for each day? I know because, well, I noticed the pattern this week and then I looked ahead and there it is every week for each new day:

It is right out of Psalm 51:15: Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Honestly, I'm not sure I get what is so "lenty" about this passage. It doesn't seem to be about fasting or the cross. I've had a few days to ponder the connection, and maybe in week 5 it will mean even more...that is just the kind of thing this Living Book will do. But here are my thoughts today: So the first word is "Lord" and I thought of how many times I open my mouth unaware of his nearness or not mindful in that moment of what he would want my lips to say. Sheesh, just yesterday I said some unkind things to a loved one that I had to apologize for. What a prayer not only for each day but all day...Lord, you reign over my words.

The next phrase "open my lips" frankly flips things the other way for me, and I think of how many times I remain silent because I'm afraid of rocking the boat. Or because it's just easier to cope and deny than confront an issue. Lord, open my lips when it is time to speak. Help me not to bury and stuff and avoid. Give me the courage to speak the truth in love.

Moving on..."MY mouth will declare YOUR praise". OK, so sometimes my mouth declares my praise. Sometimes my mouth declares the praises of men. God wants to use my mouth to declare HIS praise. To draw attention to him. To lift him up so he can draw all men unto himself.

What a great daily prayer .....still not sure about the lenten connection :)

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Written Prayers

2010-02-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

We left the Catholic church when I was in 5th grade and it was a difficult transition. Catholicism was all we had known on both my mom's side and my dad's side for generations. I had two great-aunts still living at that time who were nuns. My mom's oldest sister is a also a Benedictine nun. She was so kind to me through this change. It would have been so much harder without her steady love. My brother was sad because we would often have donuts in the fellowship hall after Mass and our new church didn't serve donuts. Even as an 11 year old I knew that this felt like the right thing for our family.

In pulling away we let go of most of the church traditions I had grown up with, Ash Wednesday, Advent Wreaths, and praying to Mary, Jesus' mother. Maybe we thought that is the way it has to be when you leave something that is so entrenched in your family's culture. Make a clean break.

We were also a lot less likely to read a prayer that someone else wrote As if somehow a prayer that is spontaneous and unrehearsed is more heartfelt or more effective. As I was thinking about this shift, I thought of songs. How we sing songs all the time that other people wrote and they stir our hearts and we think things like: "That is exactly how I feel but I've never been able to express it." If songs can work that way I think prayers can too. I've certainly heard some off the cuff prayers that were dearly lacking. I have to say I've been enjoying reading the prayers from the Praying Lent website.

Things like:
Let us pray in quite remembrance of our need for redemption

Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.

Let me be aware of the many ways You reach out to help me today and let me stand in awe of the power that You use in such loving ways.

Maybe in my mind I might not have put the words together that way but my heart is connecting and it is so sweet.

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Beans!

2010-02-22T16:13:00.000-06:00

Growing up in North Dakota there were three kind of beans. Green beans, the only edible kind as far as I was concerned. Pork 'n' beans which made a seasonal appearance at family picnics complete with thin slices of hot dog. And the dreaded kidney beans in my mom's chili, they were the worst! That hard red shell and pasty white center...gag!

It wasn't until I moved to the southern regions of our fair country that I discovered there are more beans than I could have imagined. Red beans, Ranch Style Beans, Black Beans, Pinto beans, and Black eyes peas which are just like beans if you ask me! As it is with most things in life, foods that we are not exposed to as children can take a while longer to embrace. That's how it is with me and beans. I just don't like 'em.

Never the less, here I am searching cooks.com for recipes. If you have any please send them my way! We decided to eat beans and rice for dinner as a family every Monday during Lent. First as a way to fast or abstain from our normal diet remembering all that Jesus surrendered for us. Second as a way to express solidarity with the poor. Knowing that half of the world's population lives on less than 2 dollars a day and rice and beans would be a decent meal for many.

It is too easy, especially as Americans, to see what we don't have. It comes at us from every angle. But on Mondays we hope to spend a little less time thinking about what we don't have and a little more time gratefully celebrating what we do have. All over a pot of beans.

I was serious about the recipes.

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Isaiah 58

2010-02-19T17:37:00.000-06:00

This passage in Isaiah 58 just won't go away! Ah. I read it and I think: I'm a nice person, naturally kind and caring. My husband and I have been consistent tithers for a while now. Our family serves once a month at Shoreline East feeding the homeless. We give financially to support several ministries. We volunteer hours each week serving our church family. Believe me, I'm not listing all that stuff to impress anyone. I'm thinking of all the things that we do and I wonder if it really qualifies as loosing the chains of injustice(v.6)? Usually, it just feels so ordinary.

I can get overwhelmed at times with the darkness in this world. People who think violence is the way to get their point across. Child abuse. Corrupt governments. Human trafficking. I wonder am I truly spending myself on behalf of others (v10)? Should I feel spent all the time?

In retrospect, when we first started serving at Shoreline East, it did NOT feel normal. It was challenging for my suburban self. Sometimes we feel like we don't have any money to spare but we give anyway and God honors our trust in him. We've learned to pray, work hard, and forgive. All that tells me we've grown and I can't help but wonder what's around this corner? What new adventure awaits? The discontent I feel when I read this chapter in Isaiah seems to indicate to me that there must be more. I have a few ideas of what that might be next and honestly, I know it will not be easy. I'm not all that fond of change or the pain that so often accompanies growth.

I think the most important thing Jesus is asking is that we so keep growing, keep giving...keep moving forward. Small things, incremental changes really do add up and make a difference in our world. It's funny how the things that originally challenge us can eventually become such a regular part of who we are. We do have an amazing capacity for growth! And I'm committed to it! I want to live in verse 11 - The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Fasting

2010-02-18T14:01:00.000-06:00

Traditionally, Friday would be a fasting day during Lent. Growing up our family did not eat meat on Fridays but we would eat fish...hmmmm....isn't fish meat? I remember reading some story of how that whole "no meat thing" came out of a church partnership with the fishing industry. Who knows? When I hear stuff like that I'm tempted to throw out the whole idea. But we are going to press through. We decided that we would give up meat at our Monday dinners because our family is typically together on that day. My husband works almost every Friday between now and Easter and we wanted to have a shared experience with our children.

I've also made a personal decision to give up two favorites, my friends Sweet and Salty. So no candy, chocolate or chips for me, and let's face it a latte is like candy for grown ups! I haven't done a lot of fasting in my life but have found it very useful. I see it as a way to cut through the static of life and really tune in to God. I love this passage from Job 23:12 in the Amplified Bible I have not gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed and treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. So when I feel hungry I need to say "Lord you are Living Water you are the Bread of Life, let me hunger and thirst for you! When am craving a marble mocha macchiato I will remember Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Then, I have to take the time to stop and listen to the words He will speak.

There is great precedence for fasting in the Bible. The Hebrew children had regular days of fasting, the New Testament believers fasted, Jesus fasted. I don't see it as penance or punishment. It has to be about more than just giving things up, it has to be about the heart! Here are some deeper insights from the Bible:

Joel 2: 12 -13"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Isaiah 58:6-7 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

There is a much bigger picture than just going without, I look forward to seeing how it will unfold for our family

By Your Spirit

2010-02-17T15:51:00.000-06:00

Today we pray that everything we do begin with God's inspiration, continue with his help and come to completion with his guidance. Such a great prayer as we consider how we will observe lent with our family.

I know it's not an accident that I read Glenn's blog on Tuesday and that I found the Praying Lent website, I feel like it is God breathed. But honestly I can slip so easily into gut this out and make it happen, today's prayer reminded me of God's message in Zech 4: 6 and I paraphrase: 'Not by Lynn's might nor by Lynn's power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. I'm trusting the Holy Spirit to lead each step and praying that I'll really slow down and listen and soak in what he will say to us in this season. It is easier for me to "do" than to fully experience for myself.

We have some ideas and plans to do things we've never done before as a family and I know we will need God's help on the journey to see those things actually take place. That brings to mind Phil 4:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. If I can believe that God began this then I can trust that he will see it through. I know that if I trust him and lay down my agenda, otherwise known as surrender, there will be beauty and not striving.

It's funny how I can move so quickly from "I really want to soak in and draw near" to "I should blog everyday and share and...and...get far to busy to sit and soak". Oh me! Pull back the reins on Lynn's work, relax and let God work!

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Ash Wednesday

2010-02-16T21:32:00.000-06:00

I went to James Avery in December and bought my husband a beautiful (but manly) cross necklace for Christmas. Not because he wanted a piece of jewelry, not because he liked the idea of people seeing him wear a cross, but because he wanted something tangible that he could put on each morning and remember. Remember that Jesus' brutal suffering and death on a cursed cross was for HIM. It was for all of us. He had never sinned, but became sin so that WE could become righteous. It's the great exchange.

All around the world today, Christians will attend church services and leave with an ashen cross on their forehead. I can remember doing it as a child. I won't have ashes on my forehead today. But I am wearing the cross necklace my brother and sister-in-law gave me for my birthday. Not because it matches my outfit, but so I can remember too.

This Lent, I want to enter the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus more fully. To remember how much my life needed redeeming and how completely lost I am without a Saviour!

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain-- for He says, AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year visit this website of daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Fat Tuesday

2010-02-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

Today is Fat Tuesday, a fact that would have totally swept by me if it wasn't for Glenn Packiam and the blog post Why I'm Observing Lent This Year that was waiting in my inbox this morning.

Thank you Glenn! Quoting here on the purpose of Lent:

"It is a way to "know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings"(Phil. 3:10-11), to share in it with Him, so that we might experience the life, the resurrection, of Easter in a fresh way. It is a way of preparing us to live in perpetual Easter-- the life of Christ springing up anew in us as we lay down and let go of control and selfishness. "

So, today we feast! Grateful for every blessing of abundance God has so generously poured out.

Then for the next 40 days leading up to Easter (excluding Sundays) we fast, abstain, pray and remember the amazing sacrifice our Beautiful Saviour made, the great price he paid, the blood that was shed for you and me.

If you are interested in learning more and actively participating in Lent this year I found a website with daily Lenten Prayers and Scripture Readings

Immeasurable God

2010-02-14T20:49:00.000-06:00

"The Bible's foundational idea is that an immeasurable God created humanity and everything else that can be measured. How can the finite begin to fully comprehend the infinite? Truth comes as God reveals it to His creation, man." David Joel Hamilton

Our God is immeasurable. It's funny when you think of all the terms of measurement we use to quantify our world. Centimeters. Grams. Miles. Tons. Lightyears. Humans revolve around this quest to conquer and measure. To explore and map out new realms. I love how God so gently and eloquently lets us know that He defies quantification.

For beginners there is Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways". That ought to clue us in.

Then there are the awesome conversations in Job including these questions in Job 11:7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? Can you hear the "I dare you to try tone" in that passage?

These are some of my favorites because I just love the paradoxical language:

Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable. We say He is great. That much we know, and yet simultaneously this greatness is too immense for us.

Isaiah 40:28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. Have you never understood the depths of his understanding? Well, no. Is that something I should I be able to do?

It is almost like God is saying, hit me with your best shot. Bring your rulers, your scales, your scientific calculators and just try to measure me. Given all the exceptions to almost every rule, who would want a God that fits into a formula? Who needs peace that makes sense? (Phil 4:7)

One last passage to ponder from Ephesians 3: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

To KNOW this love that surpasses KNOWLEDGE. Paul was a poet. How can we do that? I'm not sure but Paul prayed that we would. He prayed that we would have power...strength to grasp...spiritual muscles to reach out and hold on to the truth of this amazing love in all it's dimensions. Recently Patsy Cameneti drew my attention to this passage and to the word "together" suggesting that there are some aspects of this amazing love we only understand in the context of community.

Here we are like curious children, seeking to know him. It is an endless quest to exhaust the infinite. God delights in revealing himself to us, but there is always more, isn't there? The amazing part is that even in our falling short we still come out enriched and enlightened and even inspired to continue to search out the unsearchable depths of our Great God. Ah. I love that!

Three Awkward Gifts

2010-02-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

There was a painful betrayal in my life. It took years to come to terms with this truth. I was effectively coping with denial, until every small sadness and every minor disappointment started coming out sideways. How could love rejoice in this truth? Slap…sting. That verse aggravated me. It didn’t take much to make me mad in those days. Somehow I was OK with shame and loneliness, but the anger scared me and woke me up from my apathy nap. Anger was the first gift to my soul.

During the season of counseling that followed, Tuesdays became my Sabbath. I would send my children off to school, fry an egg and pour myself a cup of coffee. Then I would sit with paper and pencil in hand, watching as God began to breathe life into death. Steadily the warmth of His love poured out, thawing each fear-frozen layer. Tuesdays were a weekly gift.

The God I knew in my pretending was nice and safe, and didn’t require much of me. In the brokenness, my perception shifted. I recognized that like Lewis’ Aslan “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion”. I questioned His willingness to work all things together for my good. Why not just stop those “things” all together? My safe God was small. In the risk it required to trust again, He grew and I was overwhelmed by His redeeming power. I see now that the struggle was a gift. Unwrapping and owning the truth brought freedom. Truth brings freedom and THAT is why love rejoices.

(See 1 Corinthians 13:6 and Romans 8:28)

Open Wide

2010-02-04T14:53:00.000-06:00

Last month my husband and I did a cleanse. It was the first time we had done something like this together. We've been at Shoreline for 10 years now and slowly but surely Pastor Laura and Fit For The King is infiltrating our world.

It was an eye-opening experience at so many levels. I learned a lot about myself and my habits. For example, when my body tells me "I'm hungry" I typically reach for things like popcorn, or chips or a toffee nut latte. And well, that's "food" right? The hunger is quelled and I go on with my day. But the truth is, I really haven't given my body anything it needs to function well, no real nutrients, nothing substantial.

I see a similar pattern in my hunger for connection, for relationship. That is a God-hunger placed inside each one of us but often when I feel it stirring....I pick up my cell phone or I check my email or log onto facebook and I connect, right? I'm blessed with some great friendships and those connections are so very important but I feel like in this season Jesus is saying...nothing else will satisfy you....nothing else will fill you...nothing else will feed your soul like I can. Bring that hunger for connection to Me. I am living water. I am the bread of life. My words are milk and meat and sweet honey.

Psalm 81: 10 says I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. Open wide your mouth in praise. Open wide your mouth in prayer. Open wide your mouth with thanksgiving. Open wide your mouth with singing. Open wide your mouth in worship. And the Lord YOUR God says......I will fill it. Verse 16 continues....you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Bring your hunger to the Lord, open wide your mouth and allow Him to satisfy.

He is the only one who can.

Windy Day

2010-01-22T17:08:00.001-06:00

It is a blustery day in Texas. My goodness, driving home I had to strengthen my grip on the steering wheel. It felt like the wind would blow us clear off the road! This Texas turbulence has been so noticeable at our new home, perhaps due to the great lack of trees. There is nothing to cut the wind out here in this former farmland.

Inside our home, we are sheltered from the blowing, but constantly reminded by the flapping of air vents. Agh, so annoying, especially at night! I'm sure in pioneer days this was prime dust bowl territory. Boy am I glad I didn't live here back then.

There is a small lake, hmmm, scratch that. There is a large pond as you come into the neighborhood that is rocked by this wind. Often we see white caps rolling in the water and a white foamy froth along the shore. David got a remote control boat for Christmas. He was the only adult that received toys along with the kiddos this year. I love that! They took the boat out for its maiden voyage and decided to try again on a calmer day. It must have been a SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY day. :)

Last week I was driving home right at dusk and it was unusually calm, peaceful, tranquil. The little lake was like glass and reflected a gorgeous Texas sunset. I had to stop. It was breathtaking. The sunset AND it's mirror image in the stillness. In that moment I was reminded of my theme for 2010 - Sit and Listen. And I thought, maybe one reason God is asking me to be still is that He is more clearly reflected in my life, when I am less frenzied...when I am at rest.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face.

And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah,

our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful

as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Who Am I? My first speech for Toastmasters

2010-01-12T16:08:00.000-06:00

Being the good student that I am, I looked up the instructions for the Toastmasters Ice breaker speech and came up with this question…who am I?

Then I thought - You all know me,
You know I’m David’s wife
I’m my kids’ mom
I work part time here at Shoreline

But maybe you didn’t know that I am also
Miss TEEN North Dakota 1987, yes…and I DO have a tiara!

My pageant experience came back to haunt me last year when David put together a video for my 40th birthday. My mom saves everything, so she supplied David with lots of great material for this video including VHS pageant footage.

My birthday video was precious and many of you were a part of that, thank you!

But in the week following my birthday, David was up late one night and I heard this sneaky laughter coming from our home office. He had been scheming to get this footage on Facebook and was finally successful. I had to get up out of bed to see what he had done to me!

Sure enough, there I was, my sweet idealist 16 yr old self singing Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match and of course, crying when they put that crown on my head.

I had already been defending myself at home. Our boys asked, Mom, why did you have an afro? Well, actually that’s not an afro, it’s a perm and everyone had big hair in the 80’s!

Now it was out there for all our Facebook friends to view. And they did.
I felt a little exposed.

I watched as the comments popped up…all 28 of them…I defended my hair, I defended my expressions, and finally I defended my tears and I quote myself:

“spend a weekend in rehearsals and interviews...getting just a few hours of sleep....put yourself out there to be judged...excited, exhausted...then someone puts a crown on your head...YOU"D CRY TOO!”

I’m not sure what motivated me to put myself out there to be judged but I had been doing this since 1st grade. Piano recitals, vocal competitions, talent contests. Why would anyone submit themselves to this?

and yet here I am today in this very moment being evaluated….AGAIN

I think all humans are prone to this. We are constantly evaluating each other. We watch American Idol and we wait to hear what the judges have to say about each contestant.

We critique. We judge. We evaluate. We compare.

One of my favorite children’s books speaks to this tendency. Max Lucado’s You are Special. I remember the first time I read this book to my boys. My throat got tight and my eyes were welling up with tears and I was trying desperately to make it to THE END without completely falling apart.

It is a beautiful story about embracing what God says about us.

In the book there are little wooden people called Wemicks, all created by the same woodcarver, named Eli. Each Wemick has a box of gold stars and a box of gray dots and they spend their days giving each other these stickers. But there is one little Wemick who is the exception to this rule. The stickers don’t stick on her. What’s her secret? Each day she climbs up the hill to visit Eli. Everyday she is reminded of what HE says about her.

This is the truth - I know people are watching me. I know they’re listening to me and that is one reasons why I’m here today. But I also know that I’ve spent way too much time hungry for gold stars and way too much time lamenting each grey dot. Allowing other Wemicks to tell me who I am.

So, who am I?

There is no panel of judges who can answer that question

The only TRUE answer is found at the feet of Eli.

Sit and Listen

2010-01-07T08:16:00.001-06:00

My parents are great gift givers. My Mom gave me a beautiful necklace this year that says "mother...daughter...friend" It is a treasure and will remind me of her love and our friendship for years to come. My Daddy bought each family a devotional book that has been ministering life and peace to him over the past year. Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I love relational gifts like that!

This week in the devotional I was reminded of the story of two sisters, Martha and Mary. I was challenged by Jesus to do the "one thing" that is needed. Ha! One Thing? I don't know about you but in the beginning of this new year, this new decade, my mind is full of things I need to do. Things I desire to do. Things that should have already been done. How do I settle into this ONE needed thing? I'm not sure, but I think I will make it my theme for 2010.

Read it for yourself in Luke 10:38-42

Poor Sister Martha gets a bad rap, but I think she was really a lovely girl. It was Martha that opened her home to Jesus. It was Martha who made the preparations that HAD to be made. Martha was a get-it-done kind of girl! To be truthful, I wouldn't say that I'm a get-it-done kind of girl. My mom - yes. My sister-in-law - yes. Me - sadly, no. Hence my list of things to finally get to this year! Still, I don't think it was the task at hand that was Martha's downfall. The passage says she was distracted by these preparations. Jesus said to her "you are worried and upset about many things." It was Martha's posture not her position that got her in trouble.

I think our natural tendency is to become more and more like Martha. My heart longs to her Jesus say "Lynn has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." How sweet would that be? So what is this better thing that Mary chose? Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. Sit and Listen. It sounds so simple, like it is not a hard thing Jesus is asking just, sit and listen. But in the swirling to-do lists of my mind it feels as hard as granite.

Practically, what do I need to accomplish this one thing? Well, how about a chair? A nice comfy chair. A little quiet, maybe? That would be nice. And my eyes and ears tuned in to the Words of Jesus. Jesus promised to be with me, and he is IN me. The only barrier to his presence, to the place at his feet, is in my mind. The veil was torn! His words are Living Words waiting to be heard fresh and new with each turn of a page.

Of all the things before you this year, all of the good things, needful things, things that have to be done...don't loose sight of this one BETTER thing.

Sit and Listen.

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

2009-11-23T09:25:00.000-06:00

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3rd day of October, A.D. 1789.

G. Washington

Our [AC] Story

2009-11-18T09:07:00.000-06:00

Just before we left for summer vacation I got a call from Jeanne McKinley asking if I would write up our family's Advent Conspiracy story for a book they were putting together. I recently got a copy of the book and found an except of our story...how exciting is that?

It was January of 2007, and we were driving home from Oklahoma in a flurry of wrapping paper. We celebrated a late Christmas with my brother and his family in Tulsa and the van was loaded down with loot. I remember feeling so frustrated that I had to remind my children to say thank you after tearing open their gifts. Something didn’t feel right. Looking back, I think it was all a crazy God-Set-Up!

Usually my husband, does all the driving but on this occasion he jumped in the back with the boys to watch Facing the Giants…a present from Grandpa and Grandma. David set up his ipod for me and said “You gotta listen to these podcasts”. So, I drove along listening to a collection of speakers from the Imago Dei Advent Conspiracy series. There was a woman with a swanky accent talking about drums….then I felt like I was just having a conversation with Pastor Rick as he talked about the empire of the day. But the thing that really got me was Chris Seay's story about a dad and his kids. I thought about my own children, two great boys. One wants to play football in the NFL…so my mind just ran with that. What if he makes it really big…hmmm…maybe I’ll get a new house for Mother’s Day! But what if my younger son struggles…living on the streets…eating out of trash cans….cupping his hands in the duck pond for a drink of water. Wouldn’t I want his big brother to get out of his Hummer and do something! I was wrecked. I was balling in the driver seat and David was in the back wiping away tears from the movie…we were a mess!

The truth is, that I have brothers and sisters in the family of humanity all over this globe who would be shocked at all the stuff I’ve accumulated in my cushy suburban life. I realized that our Christmas budget is actually enough money to really make a difference on the earth. I spend it and it’s gone…with not much to show for it…not even an unforced “Thank You”. How had I moved so far away from the humble story of the season? That day, I vowed that Christmas for the Cherry family would never be the same. When I got back to work…I sent out the link to the podcasts to all my co-workers planting a seed for Christmas 2008. You see, we are actually professional Christians, both my husband and I are employed by our church here in Austin.

Later on that summer…I was set-up again. My oldest son had a touch of something. A little flu bug, upset tummy. No big deal, right? I actually said to him "I'm sorry you don't feel well this morning, but you have a strong healthy body and you'll feel better this afternoon." And he did.While he was at home recovering, I went to the YMCA to work out with my favorite work out partner…my ipod. I listened to another story about global water needs. Something like 80% of the diseases facing people in undeveloped countries are related to water. Mothers in these countries are not so cavalier about things like vomiting and diarrhea. These are life and death issues for them.Anyway, I couldn’t stop thinking about the statistics I heard, that one in six people on our planet do not have clean water to drink. That children are dying each day due to water related diseases. I knew we had to do something; we wanted to bring the message Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All to our local church family.

David and I brainstormed on our Monday off. We pulled together some information and made a presentation to one of our executive pastors. He loved it and felt like out senior pastor would love it too! It sounded like everyone was on board but then things just went silent. It was challenging in that quiet season to wonder what was going on. Would Christmas for our church be any different than years past? We had to trust God that he was working out his plan for our body of believers!

During that season, I met with a creative genius in our Children’s department and pitched the idea of a relational gift fair. We decided to go ahead and set a date to provide whoever would come with options for relational giving. The gift fair was a blast. We demonstrated 5 hand-made gift ideas and then had 8 tables filled with a wide variety of items that we felt expressed relationship. We gave away worksheets to help them really clue-in to the people on their Christmas list. We put together pages and pages of ideas organized by roll….spouse, child, and friend …to inspire them in their giving. Our goal was to empower them to resist the spending frenzy and give the gift of themselves. To challenge them that if they were feeling stressed out and frustrated with Christmas that perhaps they’d bought into the wrong story. Our hearts know that there is a deeper truth than shop till you drop.

It is easy as church staff to get caught up in the season, there is so much to do. There are special services and rehearsals for special services and meetings about those rehearsals! My husband and I made an appointment to meet and plan what Christmas would look like in our home. We decided to cut our spending in half. We also gave bottles of water from Charity:Water to our friends and family with a note that one $20 bottle of water would provide clean drinking water for one person for 20 years. We bought 12 sleeping bags for the homeless in our community and the whole family delivered them to our East Austin outreach pastor. We were amazed by the response of the people who saw those sleeping bags. I know my children were deeply touched, I could see it in their eyes. But I have to admit that it was really hard to not slip back into our spending habits when it came to the boys. There was a lot less wrapping paper this year, and as typical American parents that was not easy. I remember sitting in our home office with David late one night wrapping gifts. We looked at the packages and thought, this is it? Everything is wrapped? We wondered how the boys would respond. We bought Legos this year because we all enjoy them. Mom and Dad usually get to help build that very first creation and then the boys rebuild and create all year long! We got an Uno Flash game that has provided some wild family game nights! David also made a year full of fun coupons for each boy. They LOVE those and eagerly await the first of the month when they get to cash in a new coupon. These are gifts that last. When we first talked with the boys about changing our Christmas budget I think they were a little disappointed. But looking back now, I don’t remember seeing any of that on Christmas day. In fact, it was at Thanksgiving that I started to see evidence of change. We each wrote down what we were thankful for and I noticed the boy’s thoughts were so simple, so basic. “I’m thankful for food, for my bed and a warm home.” I'm not sure they had every realized before that these were things to be grateful for. It was a shift in the right direction.

As the holiday season drew nearer, I got an email from our senior pastor requesting resources from Advent Conspiracy. So I did what any part-time administrative assistant would do. I printed out EVERYTHING from the website…even Rick’s thesis! I made copy for our family too and devoured every page. Pastor Rob shared beautiful messages and it was incredibly humbling to sit in the congregation, hear these truths and feel like we had a part in it all. Then just days before Christmas we got word that we would be receiving an offering at our Christmas Eve service for clean drinking water. We were overwhelmed. Our beautiful church family redistributed about $44,000 of their Christmas budgets to make a difference in Sudan. It was the chocolate icing on an already sweet, moist, gooey, made from scratch cake!

David and I are so grateful for Advent Conspiracy. We knew things didn’t feel right, that there was something askew with our Christmases….but we couldn’t pin point exactly what was wrong. I remember thinking something must be missing…maybe there was something more….now I know that More for us actually means a whole lot Less.

I Am An Arrow

2009-10-19T16:09:00.001-05:00

Shine conference 2009 was wonderful. Podcasts are available to download at shoreline.net or just click here. On Thursday night Pastor Laura shared a wonderful message on one part of the conference theme: Hear the Cry. One verse she shared really stood out to me:

Isaiah 49:1-3 from The Message:

Listen, far-flung islands, pay attention, faraway people: God put me to work from the day I was born. The moment I entered the world he named me. He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate. He kept his hand on me to protect me. He made me his straight arrow and hid me in his quiver. He said to me, "You're my dear servant, Israel, through whom I'll shine."

One of the things we believe is that what God said in the Bible about one of his servants can apply to his servants today. He shows no favorites, he never changes, so we grab hold of things he said thousands of years ago as if he is saying them to us today. We say with Isaiah "God made ME his straight arrow" .

During her message, Pastor Laura invited a 14 yr old girl who is part of an archery club to come and shoot an arrow across our stage. It was captivating! I watched her carefully as she prepared to shoot her arrow. I noticed that from the moment she stepped on the stage her eyes were on the target. Her focus was clearly intent on that bulls eye stage left. The few times that she had to look away for a moment in her preparation were followed by intense focus back on the target.

It's funny, how consumed we become with our little arrows. I think sometimes we assume that God is consumed with our arrows too. As I watched this young archer it occurred to me me that God's heart is focused on the target! In other translations of this verse I found a few different adjectives to describe the arrow. A "straight" arrow. A "polished" arrow. A "sharpened" arrow. Clearly, the state of the arrow IS important. God is depending on us to be sharp and to fly straight. Yet, all the while we obsess about our own small stories God is looking at the big picture. Focusing on His Story. He is looking toward the goal and counting on us to reach the target.

Our beautiful archer was intentional, deliberate and painfully slow in her preparation. There were several pieces of equipment that she had to put on and the quiet was awkward. I found myself thinking we should have some background music or something. Come on sound man! It was uncomfortable as we all watched her slow, steady progress. Then I remembered this little thought that times of preparation are never wasted. It was obvious that our young archer would not be rushed. The quiet, the silence didn't seem to bother her. She was thinking about the target, remember. Everything that needed to be done in order to assure reaching that target was going to be done systematically and accurately.

Doesn't God's timing feel excruciatingly slow? We may feel like we are ready to fly! Launch me to my purpose Lord! We question why other arrows seem to fly before our own. We feel stuck in that awkward place called preparation. It's dark inside a quiver. Our vision is limited and we don't see all that God is accomplishing in those quiet times. I'm confident that God is at work. Completing what he started. Bringing to pass his purpose (See Ps 57:2, Phil 1:6, I Pet 5:10)

Everyone in the room cheered as the arrow was finally flung and as it struck dead center of the target. There was never any doubt in my mind that she would reach the target. Her eyes had penetrated that same spot before the arrow was ever set in the bow. That canvas target was changed. It had been pierced, infiltrated. I remember years ago when I was not an arrow in God's quiver. I was the target. God sent another one of his servants flying to me. His love pierced my heart and I was forever changed. I'm so thankful for that arrow that flew into my life!

Now, as the arrow, and I wonder what target does God have for me to fly to? Where can I bring his love? Where can I bring hope and change? I'm not sure I know the exact spot right now and maybe the truth is that there is more than one bullseye for each of us. I do know that I have to stay continually surrendered to this awkward process of growth and confidently trust His timing in my life.

Shinewomen.com

2009-10-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Way back in the beginning when God was creating the world, He paused at the end of the day and saw that it was good. He approved completely of the work he had done on the earth. Then we see something curious in Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone….. Something was ‘Not Good” and God set about immediately to fix it. He created woman. Eve was the solution for mankind’s first problem. And I believe with all my heart that God’s design for woman hasn’t ever changed. We are carriers of life, we are nurturers, and we are keepers of relationship. We are created to bring the answer. Unfortunately, I’ve learned from my own experience that we can’t very well reach out to offer a solution when our hands are bound. We desperately need to be free. For me, that is what the Shine conference is all about: God bringing freedom to His girls!

A few years ago our Shine conference was the catalyst for change in me. I was bound in shame, fear and pain. I had been hurting for so long and had learned quite well how to stuff those feelings inside. Denial was a lovely salve, until I began to reach capacity and all the junk I’d kept inside started coming out sideways. I was angry for all the ‘whys” of my life. I was lonely and sad and the last thing on earth I felt was shine-y. I did not want to go to the conference that year; in fact I was working on the excuses I might use with my friends…. “I don’t have anything to wear, and I’m so busy at work….” But in the midst of planning my avoidance I found this scripture, Psalm 18:28 reads You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With that, God melted my jaded heart. Yes, my light had been doused by the pain of my past but it wasn’t up to ME to make it shine again. God said HE would do it! I went to the conference with a heart to receive all God had for me. I really had no idea what that would mean, but looking back it has been one of the landmarks of my journey. I came away with two vital things: Courage to face the truth about my life and Hope to believe that I could be free!

When I compare who I am today with the woman I was several years ago, I see more wrinkles, more mid-life breakouts and a lot more gray hair. But on occasion, it seems like God changes my perspective and what I see amazes me; because I see beauty for all my mess, I see joy for what I felt was lost and I see a gorgeous garment of praise for the heaviness of heart that weighed me down (Isaiah 61:3). And I’m so thankful for the difference Jesus has made! It thrills me to tell you that I am more alive than ever and this is the reason: I know that if God did this for me - He will do it for you!

God wants you free. Galatians 5:1 says It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. God wants his girls to be free so we can reach out to a younger generation, so we can extend a helping hand to hurting humanity and so we can be the solution He created us to be. But I think God really just wants us to be free….so that… we are free!

Free to Hear the cry, See the need, Feel the pain and RESPOND with love!

Treasure in a Pot

2009-09-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Remember 2 Corinthians 4 and this idea of carrying around treasure in a jar of clay? I've written about it before

Why is it that I keep trying to make life all about the jar? I get so frustrated with myself! Now I don't think I'm the kind of person that you would suspect is stuck on herself. Prideful , puffed up or boasting. No, my vanity issues are cleverly disguised as insecurity and self-doubt. I lose sight of the unsurpassed value of the treasure when I take a magnifying glass to my jar. Pouring over each scratch and chip and mourning every flaw.

I was thinking about this metaphor and the fact that we don't have houses full of clay pots like they would have thousands of years ago. So, I thought, maybe it's like.....carrying around your diamond necklace in a plastic grocery sack. How strange would that be? How silly!

I was grinning and thinking to myself, that's kinda funny. I like being funny. But my new metaphor doesn't hold water, and I mean that literally....ha!

The absurdity of tossing your fine jewelry in a Walmart bag may give us clue into how wonderful, how great, how glorious the treasure of the good news of Jesus Christ and how ordinary we are as carriers of this treasure. But it really doesn't work for one reason:

Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O Lord, You are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter,

we are all the work of your hand.

Each earthen vessel was cupped in the hands of the Father. He sees the potential in a lump of clay, and with his own hands he forms us. Every grove, every line a reflection of his fingerprints.

The beauty of this metaphor is not only that the fragile nature of the jar only serves to make the treasure more glorious but that we are each uniquely created to carry and spill out this light, this truth, this life in a way that no other vessel can. We are all the work of his hand.

I am in awe and overwhelmed that I've been trusted to carry this treasure.

Lord, let each imperfection only serve to draw me deeper into dependence and help me to value the unique expression of your glory that flows through me!

Take Courage

2009-09-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

I just love this little phrase "Take Courage". It's active and brave and it comes to me whenever I am shrinking back. Take courage, rise up, reach out, grab it! Two of my favorite Bible verses (Psalm 27:14 and Psalm 31:24) carry this thought and I was on biblegateway looking them up the other day, when I found my call to action in a few more places. How exciting!

Jesus actually spoke these words to his disciples and the story is recorded in 3 of the 4 gospels so you know it must be important! Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000 and then he tells the disciples to get in a boat and go ahead of him to the other side. He climbs the mountain to spend some time alone with the Father and then in the middle of the night he comes walking across the lake...walking on the water...Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water with Jesus, AMAZING....

As I was reading over it I noticed a few things.

It WAS Jesus that instructed the disciples to get in the boat and go across that night. Don't you think they remembered that when they were out there and the waves were kicking them around? What was Jesus thinking, surely he knew that there would be a wind advisory tonight and he sent us out here anyway! Hmph! In Mark's account it says that Jesus went out to them walking on the water and was about to pass them by! Can you imagine? They were straining at the oars, tossed around by the wind for hours and Jesus would have passed them by. What was he thinking? Didn't he see the waves? Didn't he feel the wind? I'm sure he did. But remember, Jesus had just come away from time with the Father. I think he was full, so at rest, trusting the Father completely and none of that phased him. He knew his life on earth, and his 12 followers were safe in the hands of the Father and the wind couldn't change that.

The disciples think he is a ghost and they are scared out of their minds. The Bible says that immediately he spoke to them....I love that little adverb Immediately, that is my kind of response time! It is precious to me that Jesus was quick to respond to their fear. He says to them "Take courage, it is I. Don't be afraid" There is great comfort in knowing that Jesus shows up right there in the middle of the wind and waves. We are never alone and he is mighty to save!

I read in Matthew Henry's Commentary that "it is I" could also be read "I AM he" Henry saw this as a reference to the name that God gave himself when he was speaking to Moses. Standing there on the lake, Jesus says to his exhausted, distressed disciples "I AM". The God who delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt is here to deliver you! I can hear Jesus speaking this to us in whatever we are facing. Wind and waves, storms come at us but just as we are straining, struggling with our circumstances Jesus reminds us "I AM". The God who strengthened and healed his children in the desert is here to strengthen and heal you. The God who brought them out with joy and singing is here to bring you joy. The God who led them with fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day can lead you too! When we're wondering "How are we going to make it to the other side?" Jesus says I AM, the God who provided food from heaven, water from a rock and clothing and shoes that didn't wear out in forty years is here to provide for you. Mighty to deliver, mighty to heal, mighty to save!

An interesting thing happens when Jesus climbs into the boat, the wind dies down. I don't know what wind is blowing in your life or what waves are rocking your world. I know that just this week I told my husband "It felt like waves were crashing over me." Sometimes life just comes at us like that. When I feel that way I have to remind myself to Take Courage! I AM is with me, standing right beside me and he is not shaken by this storm!

Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man

2009-09-15T13:24:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had the privilege of hosting Ricardo Sanchez as our guest worship leader at Shoreline. It was such an honor for me to be a part of that service! At our rehearsal the day before Ricardo shared some great thoughts with our team. One story has stayed with me all week. He talked about Zacchaeus and how he ran ahead and climbed a tree so he could see Jesus. Ricardo said: leaders go first, they don't look for a way out they look for a way through. They move up higher and gain a different perspective.

Those thoughts really resonated with my heart. And I've actually never considered Zacchaeus a lesson on leadership, so I've stayed here in this story for several days. Reading and re-reading and each day I see something new...it's fascinating actually...

Here is the passage from The Message Luke 19:1-10

The first thing I notice is that he "wanted desperately to see Jesus". Zacchaeus had a desire, a dream. But there was some opposition to this desire. There was a crowd in his way...an obstacle to him seeing what he wanted to see. There is always opposition. Notice that he doesn't pout about it. Waaaa, there is a crowd in my way, I'll never see my desire because of this darn crowd. God, can't you do something about this crowd?

But not only does Zacchaeus have this obstacle in his way, he also has his own limitations. Poor fellow, he's short or as the Sunday School song says, he was a "wee little man". Bummer. If I were Zacchaeus...you might have heard me whine just a bit. I'm so short, I'll always be short, nothing I could do will ever make me taller. God, why did you make me this way? Why couldn't I be tall like Ricardo? :) The truth is we all have limitations that would try to keep us from our desire.

Instead of staying stuck in the muck with his obstacles and resigning himself to his limitations, Zacchaeus does two things. The passage says "he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus." He ran and he climbed. He did what he could do to see what, or in his case who, he wanted to see. He put forth some effort to gain his desire.

The amazing part is that he got so much more than he had bargained for. God is a so much more God! Not only did he get to SEE Jesus, Jesus invited himself over for dinner. Jesus said...Zacchaeus, I want to spend some time with you, let's get to know each other. You matter, You are valued. You were "out" but now you are "in". The meal they shared was so much more than food!

A funny thing happens at this point of the story and it just donned on me today. This place where Zacchaeus' running and climbing intersects with seeing Jesus is a powerful place. The Message says he just stood there, stunned and stammering. Hello! I can identify with this spot. That feeling of whoa, what is going on here? This is way more than I had hoped for and suddenly I feel really, really uncomfortable! I think this is the place where we start to get a glimpse of who Jesus says we are, who he thinks we can be even when we are are so stinkin' short! Jesus didn't dismiss the crowd or miraculously change his stature. Those things don't stand in Jesus' way.

Zacchaeus responds to the love and acceptance of Jesus by making things right with those around him. Taking care of the poor, and making restitution to those he had wronged. Jesus said "Today is salvation day in this home!". Everything changes when Jesus comes on the scene!

My favorite part of the story is summed up in Jesus' last statement. He says "for the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost". We might make the mistake of thinking that Jesus responded to Zacchaeus' efforts. Way to go Zacc, run ahead, climb the tree! You go boy! I'll be waiting for you down the road after you get your act together. Nope, thank goodness. All the while Zacchaeus is seeking to see Jesus...Jesus is seeking him. Seeking, finding and restoring the lost. Beautiful isn't it? Jesus restoring lost sons and lost daughters. Jesus restoring lost or broken desires and dreams. That's what he came to do!

Stressed-Out but Stressed-Toward

2009-09-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was struggling with a challenge. Wanting to learn and grow but feeling very tempted just to chuck it all and quit! As the day of the challenge arrived I grew more frustrated with my insecurities and more anxious about having to press through them. I went up to my room for a good cry! Thankfully, I've learned over the years where to direct those cries! I picked up my read-it-in-a year-Bible and turned to the passage for the day. Seriously, just flipped it open, hoping to take my mind off all my mess!

This is what I read:

2 Corinthians 7:8-9 I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don't feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I'm glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him.

Paul was following up with the Corinthians after his first letter had been received. He had written to bring correction, to encourage them in truth, to challenge them in their faith, and it caused them stress, just like my challenge. I felt so validated that I too allow my stress to bring me toward God. I felt like God was speaking right to me. Baby, I know this is hard. I see you are upset. But we are going to turn this around for good, you and me. So that's when the tears really started to fall.

Then I read the very next phrase: The result was all gain, no loss.

All gain and no loss. This momentary stress, this little bit of pain, brings with it gain, growth, progress. That's a good thing. Paul was saying in his letter, that good thing was worth every bit of discomfort.

Paul goes on: 10Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.
11-13And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter.

No one says in the middle of their stress...Isn't it wonderful? Well, I guess Paul does. I would much prefer "Isn't it wonderful to live stress-free with complete confidence in the face of any new situation." That is so much nicer. I prefer things to be nice. But nice isn't the same as wonderful, is it? Who doesn't want to be more alive and more passionate? That IS wonderful.

I was so touched by the way this passage was speaking directly into my life in that moment. It was overwhelming. All I could think is...this book really IS alive and powerful! So I cried some more. :)

My dear son walked in and of course was curious about all the commotion. He asked why I was crying and I explained to him that I was challenged to sing during our worship team leadership class and I was feeling so nervous about it. He replied with the honest truth "Mom, you sing all the time"

"Thanks, I know, this is different and it feels harder and I'm not sure I can do it, but when I picked up my Bible it was like God was speaking right to me, encouraging me."

Pause....little boy thinking.....

"Maybe God told you that because He thinks you can do it"

Out of the mouths of babes.....

I Believe in The Church

2009-08-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Despite it's tendency to condone co-dependent relationships and the pretending that has been prevalent, I believe in the Church. I do. In the past few years, I've read a couple of books that highlighted some of the failures of this thing we've called the church, and they were good books. I was challenged. I understood better, some of the hiccups in my life. I'm glad I read them. But recently I subscribed to author, Glenn Packiam's blog and I've been completely refreshed by his passion for large gatherings of believers, otherwise known as "church".

In a recent post, Glenn related from the book of Deuteronomy God's instructions to the children of Israel on the WAY they were to worship. One of those thoughts involved the place of worship. Place matters. Glenn says"Their worship was to be in the context of their tribe-- or in our language, community." Having a community of believers to worship together with is God's idea.

No other day was the importance of community illustrated to me than today at Shoreline Christian Center. Our beautiful Pastors are working through what I think is one of the deepest pains, the loss of a child. Their precious 17 yr old son, Caleb died in a car accident on July 14th. Today, just weeks later they shared some of their pain with us. We sang together. We laughed together. We cried together.This morning I looked out at a building full of people. More people than ever warm these seats on a regular Sunday, and I thought there is no place I'd rather be than here in this building, with these people, experiencing this together. Something happens in these gatherings that doesn't happen alone. Maybe it's the sharing, the joining. the 2 or 3 gathering. It's special. It's significant! And I believe

Ephesians 1:20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. (The Message)

Unlearning

2009-08-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s that time of year and we are gearing up for school again. As I prepare my children to get ready for learning I realized that there have been seasons of my life when I have had to unlearn some things I believed for a long time. Whether I was actually taught these things or whether I simply chose to believe I’m not sure, but to be perfectly honest I believed that if I was just a good Christian girl that life would be a breeze for me. And that if there was hardship in my life, I must be doing something wrong, not believing right, not praying right...it was a self-focused faith.

There are three scriptures in particular that I’m re-learning:
John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Jesus did not say: I have come to arrest the thief, STOP him in his tracks, and put him away so that you will never be bothered again! I wish that is what He said. What He is saying is that there is an enemy of our soul who will come with great focus. We may feel like we’ve lost everything. We may feel like we are dying. We may feel like life is lying in shambles around us but if we look to Him– we will find our life – real, full, rich life.

Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “

God did not say you won’t have to pass through the waters – I’ll build a bridge for you. When you come to a river – no worries, I’ll just stop the current. On top of that, I’ll extinguish all the fires in your life. That sounds so nice, doesn’t it? What this passage does say is “When”. We know that tough situations will come, but it also says “you pass through” we are going to make it! We may feel like we are drowning but God is with us holding our head up above the water. We may feel like we are being swept away – but we will not be swept under. We may feel like all we know is being consumed in the fire – but WE will not be consumed. Maybe what we knew needed to be consumed and what we will know on the other side of the fire is that God bigger than we ever imagined before. When tough things happen – God’s promise is to be with us through it all

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Jesus does not always appear on the scene in my life with a super hero theme song: Da da da Daaa…saying ”I will stop the trouble!” Bummer! What he is saying to me is: this life on earth is not all there is –in fact it is very small compared to what I have prepared for you. His plan is not to stop all the trouble in my life. As crazy as is may seem in the height of our struggles, He is able to use our temporary trouble to work His desired outcome in our lives. (See Romans 8:28 and James 1:2-4) We need to find that “in Him” place! Trusting in him, we can have peace in the middle of whatever life throws at us, Now that’s a miracle!

God and Sin

2009-08-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people.

Hebrews 10:11 The Message

I know that I need perfecting, so I love this verse, this whole chapter actually. The knowledge that in the one time sacrifice of Jesus, the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, God did everything that needed to be done to bring us into right relationship with him, and to keep us there!

Somehow it is easy for me to believe that my past is forgiven. That my sins were washed away. But, my imperfectness makes me prone to present-tense problems. And unfortunately, I am well aware that there are failures lurking in my future. The past? The past is under the blood. I know that. Embracing God's grace for today and tomorrow proves a bit more challenging.

I'm not the only one in the house wrestling with this. My dear 9 yr old asked me last week if he needed to invite Jesus back into his heart after he sinned. Quite a topic for tucking-in! He's just sure that Jesus must leave when he sins because God can't be around sin, right? My heart was broken for my boy and in my efforts to reassure him that God never leaves, I realized I needed reassurance myself.

I think this stems from a well-taught Sunday school lesson of some of Jesus' last words on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I remember all too well, being taught that Jesus cried out in anguish about God's absence, because in taking on all our sin, the presence of a Holy God had to flee. Back it up with Old Testament stories of the Holy of Holies and it is just so logical. When the high priest failed to follow all the purification procedures, he passed out...slain by the presence of a Holy God. When unauthorized folks touched the Ark of the Covenant, even when they were trying to be helpful, their life on earth ended. It's troubling, even for a King.

But do I really believe that God's presence and sin cannot exist in the same space?

No, honestly, I can't believe that at all. If God is indeed, by his nature, omni-present, then his presence is everywhere sin-free or sin-full. In Hebrews we read that as we are participating in the perfecting process, we enter God's presence boldly "we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into the Holy Place." This in our imperfect state, but only by the broken body of the only Perfect One. Jesus made a way for us. A way that becomes a well worn path called Repentance. This same chapter reminds us that the veil separating God's presence from the rest of our sin-stained world was torn as Jesus' body was broken on the cross. That barrier is no more.

Looking back to Jesus on the cross, I understand that Jesus may have felt forsaken. Haven't we all felt forsaken? Remember Heb 4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." He sympathizes because He knows! Jesus' words echoed David's prophecy in Psalm 22 and most of those at the foot of the cross would have known the entire Psalm...they would have heard verse 1 and remembered verse 24 "For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help." God made a promise to his children: I will never leave you nor forsake you. Surely, that promise applied to his Son, Jesus. I think that in that moment, Jesus felt for the first time what we all feel when our relationship with the Father is strained by sin.

I can't believe that God abandoned Jesus on the cross. That the Father would disappear as the son became obedient to death. I believe what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself IN CHRIST. The Father and the Son are ONE! Jesus prayed in John 17:21 "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." God was right there on the cross IN CHRIST. The cross was actually a bit crowded: A Holy God, a Sinless Saviour, and every sin past present and future of every person who has or ever will draw breath.

Reading over this, I sound so confident, but I'm still wrestling. Learning is hard work, unlearning is even harder. I need to dig a little deeper. I know I don't have it all figured out and I'm well aware that my degree is in Biology...not Theology! This is simply my interpretation as I see and understand today. I AM however, confident of this:

No baby, you don't have to ask Jesus to come back into your heart. Your sin didn't scare him away, He never left you.

He will never leave you!

Nice Boys

2009-08-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

I joined a Toastmasters group and today was the very first meeting. It was terrifying. I got called out to speak on a Table Topic, completely off the cuff with no preparation. I was walking up to the podium, tempted to make a mad dash to the bathroom instead and seriously feeling like I was going to cry. Actually, it's been a few minutes and I'm still shaking. I realized I'd much rather write than speak but I guess that's why I signed up in the first place. I enjoy having time for my thoughts and ideas to float around and marinate for a while! This was torture for me.

Anyway the topic was Pink and Blue - the greatest difference between the genders. And with just seconds to think about it...here is what came out...along with all the stuff I thought about immediately after sitting down :) and knowing that things have been marinating just a bit and that I will edit this at least twice, or three times before publishing! In addition to that, I've already forgotten what I actually said in the meeting because of the trauma it caused me. Ha!

Violence, what is with the violence? My husband took our two sons to see G.I. Joe this week. I had thought I'd try to get a movie in with the boys before school started but when I checked this one out and saw the PG-13 rating for violence and general mayhem, I opted out! After the movie, I asked the boys what their favorite part was. My youngest proceeded to describe a scene when one guy thrusts information downloading spears into another guys head. Lovely. I'm so glad I missed this one!

Spears? Battle? Braveheart? I don't get it. Yet here I am, surrounded by Blue....the only Pink in our house is in my closet! One thing that helped me get a grip on this gender difference was Wild At Heart by John Eldridge. My dear friend Katerina recommended this book to me as the mother to two little boys and I devoured it. I think it is a must-read for any woman who has a man in her life! For me, it was a window into the Blue world.

Before this book I was not buying toy weapons for my children, now we have an arsenal of Nerf guns, SuperSoakers and Lightsabers! Before this book, I wasn't big on dress up costumes either. Thank God, this book rescued me! There is nothing quite like taking Spiderman in cowboy boots with you to the Walmart!

Sadly, there is one thing that hasn't changed. As much as I'd like to think differently, I am still trying to make my sons into "nice boys". When they get all crazy and competitive, I encourage them to play on the same team and not against each other. We had a bunch of boys over recently and I called my son, and asked him "Why don't you encourage your friend instead of trying to cream him?" My husband just rolled his eyes and answered..because they're boys Lynn....they're boys! UGH!

I know that I really don't want to end up years from now with two nice boys. The world needs strong men who know how to stand up to adversity. Men who will jump in front of the dragon to rescue the fair maiden. I want to raise men who know how to offer their strength to the world. But this stands in the face of my heart to keep these boys safe. I'll probably never understand the violent, battle, thing. Or why anyone would want to watch the History Channel. But when my son says he wants to join the military some day so he can give his life for his country, I can't freak out and talk him into a safer occupation. I value safety. But I want my boys to be free to take risks. So, my battle is with SAFE. The only way I know how to fight this battle is to regularly square up with my own fear and refuse let it bubble over and cripple the warrior within these two young men.

When my niece Kaitlyn was born, the one pink presence among the grandkids, I was holding her and watching her sweet expressions. She smiled a sleepy smile and I asked "What are you thinking about little girl?" My son answered "Unicorns and ponies". We all laughed. Just as quickly as that smile appeared, Kaitlyn whimpered and her lip puffed out. I asked my son "What is she thinking about now?" "A Dragon is eating the ponies and unicorns!"

Will you slay the dragon, my son? I won't be the one standing in your way.

You

2009-08-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

You is just a simple three letter word we use everyday, all the time. A pronoun that typically takes the place of a proper name. We often use this word to address groups of folks. "How are you doing tonight?" "It's good to see you." You may mean a bunch of friends or even a church full of people.

I guess that's how I've read it in different passages of the Bible, but for some reason this week, it sounded different...it became even more the personal pronoun it truly is.

In Luke 2, introducing Jesus to the earth, the angel told a group of shepherds "I have good news! A savior has been born to you" I think the angel was saying... a savior has been born to all you guys up here tending your sheep. But I also think the angel was saying...a savior has been born to you Jeremiah, a savior has been born to you Nathan, there is hope for you Benjamin. And this week my Holy Spirit highlighter said to me...a savior has been born to you Lynn Cherry. You are a mess, you need rescuing. A savior has been provided for YOU!

Twenty chapters later, Jesus used this little word just before his death. In Luke 22, he says "This is my body given for you" and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." I wonder if the disciples gathered with him at that last supper heard that word in a group sense, like...this is my body given for the twelve of you. Or did they hear...this is my body broken for you Peter, this is my blood shed for you Matthew. That is what I heard this week.

Lynn, my body was given for you. As the veil was torn, my body was broken for Lynn Cherry. (Heb 10) There was no other way for you to fully know the love of the Father, so I died for you Lynn. Yes I died for the whole world, for the you that encompasses all, but inside that word is each precious soul, each dear individual, each Sarah, each Chloe, each Jim and each Sam. Lynn, my blood was spilled for you. For each time you've lied, for each time you've cheated, for every time you fail. My blood washes away all your sin.

Jesus tells us to remember his broken body, his blood poured out. We do this as a church family on the first Wednesday of every month at Shoreline. We remember. I love the way the Message Bible puts it "What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master." (I Cor 11) I hold in my hands a piece of bread and the little cup of juice. But I remember his body was broken for me....his blood was shed for Lynn. I hold his death in my hands. A death that should have mine to endure, the weight of that is too much for me.

Sometimes it is easier to read these passages with a whole earth perspective. Its like a soft-focus lens on the cost paid for me, one, Lynn. When I read you in a private, personal sense...I'm shocked and overwhelmed that I am worth all that, but Jesus is saying I am.

Fear Not

2009-06-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

In the past week I've heard three messages from three different people all touching on fear.

Sunday, June 14th - Wm Paul Young

Tuesday, June 16th - Josh Lopez

Wednesday, June 17th - Pastor Earl McClellan

Gee, maybe I should pay attention!

The truth is that I have some fears I have been battling lately so these messages are very timely for me. I typed up my notes and decided to carry them around for a while. Thought maybe I'd share some thoughts.

Fear is a powerful emotion, I remember as a young girl dealing with various fears. I heard this verse from Job 3:25: What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. It was presented in a way that made me feel like if I was afraid of something I would make it happen to me! Holy Cow! Now, I'm not just afraid of stuff, I'm afraid of being afraid! How many of us have been slapped around with this scripture? Last night when I was mulling it over, I wondered is fear really THAT powerful? Was Job's fear the catalyst for his calamity? I'm just not sure. Perhaps if the story was about Job's fear, the introduction in chapter one would read more like this: Job was a scardey cat, anxious and nervous about loss, because of that, all this terrible trouble came upon him. In actuality God's introduction of Job reads like this: "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." God drew attention to Job's reverential fear of the Lord, not his worries.

There are hundreds of references to fear in the Bible. Why do you suppose? I think its because fear is a natural human response to life on the planet. God knows are frame, remember? He sees our propensity for fear. His response to us is beautifully reassuring:

Be strong, do not fear; your God will come Is 35:4

So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,' declares the LORD. 'I will surely save you Jer 30:10

When I think back to the message I heard years ago about that verse in Job, it sounded like God would be more apt to say something like this..."Stop being scared you silly little girl! Just quit it! You're ridiculous!" But He doesn't, he says: Do not fear..... for I AM with you! (Jer 46:28) It is the presence of a powerful loving God in our lives that disarms our fear. If God is for us, who can be against us?

To fear is human...to Fear Not requires the Divine!

The Bottom Line About Our Father

2009-06-21T03:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago my husband and I took the Financial Peace University class at Shoreline. We recently shared our experience with our church family on this video. We learned so much. It really changed the way we live and now I have a new friend…my spreadsheet. I just love it! Truthfully, I probably spend a little too much time with it but it is so great to have our money working for us instead of us working for our money. Anyway, it just thrills me when I look down there at that bottom line and see every column in perfect balance. It’s a great feeling!

So a while I go I read this scripture in Psalms and thought really, this is the most beautiful bottom line:

Psalm 62:11-12a
One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord are loving

That’s it – that’s the bottom line. Our God is strong –mountains melt like wax in His presence. He spoke and the stars were flung in the sky. His strong arms are there to lift us up and carry us through whatever life brings our way. His very breath is life. He is all-powerful. Strong. Mighty. Awesome. God. Yet all that intense, wild power is guided by one thing – His love. Yes, He holds the universe in the palm of His hand but did you know that Isaiah 49:16 (AMP) says He tattooed a picture of you on the palm of those hands? Our God is strong AND He is loving. That is a crucial conjunction! Sometimes those two characteristics are difficult for us to combine as humans. We don’t often see strong men as tender but that is the picture here of our God. We desperately need His strength – we need his power to move in our lives but where would we be without His love? Think about a father who is strong but not loving – that would leave a huge gap – a need for acceptance, care and intimacy. What about a dad who is loving but not strong, wouldn’t that leave us craving a hero, protection and someone willing to fight for us? God is all of the above and so much more. He is the perfect combination of love and strength.

God thank you that you fought for me – you sent your son to lay down His life for me. That is the ultimate strength. Jesus, you endured the cross for me. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you Lord that you never leave me helpless or hopeless. My great big God moves on my behalf. Thank you God for your love – you love me just the way I am. You delight in me, rejoice over me – you like me! You made me to abide in you and to fill a part in this world that no one else can fill. That amazes me. Thank you for your love that not only comes to me but can also flow through me. Thank you God for the two things I know – that you are strong and that you are loving. I can take a deep breath and find real peace and true rest right here.

Special thanks goes out today to two wonderful Fathers:
My Daddy, Bernie Steffan and my boys' Daddy, David Cherry.
Thank you for lending us your strength. Thank you for the many times you've laid down your lives for your children. Thank you for the love you give that says we are accepted...we are enough...we are special in your eyes. We've learned beautiful truths about Our Father God through you and we are grateful. Happy Father's Day!

Who do you say?

2009-06-17T08:33:00.001-05:00

In Matthew Chapter 16, Jesus has an interesting conversation with his disciples. He asks them a couple of questions, the first question is sort of an introduction to the topic...but it is the second question that really matters.

I have conversations like this with my kids. "How was school today?" That question usually invites a wide range of responses....."Cody got a red light today. Sarah was sent to the Principal's office. Trevor brought cupcakes for his birthday." All interesting details of the day. But I typically follow that with....So what did YOU learn today? or What color light is in YOUR folder. I don't mind hearing about the other kiddos in the class...but what I really care about is the life and times of the two boys buckled safely in my minivan!

It's the second question that really matters! Jesus asks "Who do YOU say that I am? Maybe Jesus was interested in public opinion...but what he really cared about is that his closest friends knew the answer to that question. Funny, really, that Jesus asked questions like this to begin with. As God he already knows all...the question and the answering is not for Jesus' ears.

I think Jesus is still asking this questions of his followers today....Lynn, who do YOU say that I am? What do you KNOW about me? What do I mean to YOU? I need to know the answer! And my ears need to hear it!

Based on Jesus' response to Peter, who spoke out on the coast line that day...his was a great answer. Not eloquent or deep just the simple truth of the Savior.

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"

Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one. Our Deliverer, Redeemer, Restorer! Isaiah 61 in the flesh! Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man...he chooses to humble himself and identify with our flesh and we embrace his humanness. But it is important that we recognize him as the Son of God. The lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The Son of the LIVING God. Not some dead idol that has eyes but cannot see, or ears that cannot hear. Our God is the God who sees! He hears. His arms are not short...they are STRONG! Able to lift us up out of the pits of life and set our feet upon a rock! A Living God who breathes life into the dead places in our soul. The Light of the world who shines in our darkness. The Almighty, Faithful God who says, I will never....NEVER....leave you, abandon you or forsake you in your weakness...I WILL BE WITH YOU!

Who do you say that I am?

One Thing

2009-06-08T09:57:00.000-05:00

Ps 27: 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD

and to seek him in his temple.

I've been thinking about this verse lately, and wondering, Is this really one thing? or is it three things? ....because it kinda sounds like three things, right?

Dwell in the house of the LORD
Gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
Seek him in his temple
Three things, not One.....maybe the Psalmist wasn't big on math :)

I am really challenged by the last thought...To seek him in his temple....the Psalmist expresses his desire for seeking...I confess, I am not particularly fond of seeking....I much prefer finding! As a mom, I am always seeking for things....a lost shoe, a favorite shirt, or the can't-sleep-without-it stuffed animal. Since our move, I do even more seeking than usual. Not fun. But in this verse the Psalmist is saying I ask, I seek: to seek. I have to stop and think about that. Selah.

I've bestowed upon myself a mom-title that I delight in "Finder-of-all-lost-things" . Somehow in my seeking, I typically do end up finding and it is the finding that makes me happy. I feel the same way about God's presence. I delight in those moments of nearness. Of finding. Of feeling: I'm not alone. God is here with me. Exhale. I've been convicted by this passage that often I am seeking an experience, I am seeking a feeling, hoping for God-goose-bumps. I do desire God's presence, his beauty expressed...but do I desire just the seeking? If I judge finding by feeling...by my goose-bump-gauge....then I'm not sure I always feel like a Finder.

As much as I love feelings, thank God for feelings, there has to be more. I think that is where faith comes in. We all know from reading the Psalms that there were times the author came up feeling empty...God where are you? I'm all alone here.....maybe that is why he seeks the seeking and not only the finding. (See Psalm 22, 42, 102) Faith says...never the less, and I will yet praise him! Faith looks to the future, faith keeps believing, keeps seeking.

So I keep seeking. But how beautiful to be able to say with the Psalmist: my heart seeks to seek!

I am comforted in believing that we are not doomed to a fatalistic open-ended search. Seeking that says "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." God made this beautiful promise to us, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (See Deut 4 and Jer 29) What a great truth to hold on to...you will seek me and find me...I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU! God is not giggling in some cosmic hiding spot we could never discover. He promises to be FOUND! I love that. We can know his presence, see his beauty!

Gee...that brings me full circle to David's one thing in Ps 27, probably as a poet, math wasn't his strong suit, but maybe it really is just ONE THING after all!