Shinewomen.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!