Need a Jump-start?

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

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. (Click to Tweet)

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

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

Thanksgiving can get lost between Halloween and Christmas. I wonder what will become of it now that 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.

Join us Saturday November 16th, 2013  for the Shoreline East Thanksgiving Feast

Re-published from the November 2011 Shoreline eNewsletter

Competent Communication Counts

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

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?

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?