Encouragement

Only one thing gonna set you free…

I feel like God has really been trying to convince me how important images-6 His love is. I know that seems really silly, of course His love is important. I mean really, He so loved the world. This is Jesus 101. Where the problem lies is not if I “get it” or not, but if I really choose to accept it and just do it.

Now I was really encouraged by a song I heard on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I looked a little more into it. The song? Well it is not your typical “christian” song. It is “Let My Love Open the Door” by Pete Townshend. What I find so interesting in this song, is that he writes it from God’s viewpoint. Continue reading “Only one thing gonna set you free…” →

May 18, 2017 0

A good look in the mirror…

Dear Church (not the building, but those who make up the body),

Is it ok to laugh? No, not the joyful kind of laughter, but that nervous giggle that has to do with truth. You know. You are sitting in service and the pastor says something that images-4 holds up a mirror. And instead of taking a breath and looking full into that mirror, you glance over thinking you know what it shows and just give a nervous giggle. I don’t know when I stopped giggling and started being sad, but it happened at some point.

In the church we talk about sin quite a bit. Sometimes it seems that we tend to talk about other people’s sin more than our own, and we have chosen some particular ones as our favorites. I think the biggest problem though is when we do bring up sin that is present in the church, we seem to be met with a more relaxed attitude toward it. Something like, no one is perfect, but that is why we have Jesus to “wash them all away”. What I guess I am trying to say is, while God forgives, shouldn’t we be more brokenhearted by our own wrongdoings? Continue reading “A good look in the mirror…” →

April 27, 2017 0

Actions v. Words – Mixed messages?

images-1 So I was trolling FaceBook the other day and saw a post that was shared by one of my friends. An author, Lysa TerKeurst, had come across a quote that she said had challenged her. The quote, “who you are speaks so loudly, I can barely hear what you’re saying”, had her thinking about how our actions speak louder than words.

I totally agree, but….. That does not let us off the hook for what we say. There has to be a balance between the two. I wrote the other day about how my Great-Grandmother taught me to love. The way I learned from her, was by how she treated all of us. I am still learning from her. I look back at her life and I see that her actions spoke so much louder than words. Wait though, what I think is so amazing is that her words never contradicted her actions. Continue reading “Actions v. Words – Mixed messages?” →

March 31, 2017 1

Confession time…

I chose to do a little confessing today, so I wrote a post for the church blog. I figured if I was going to come clean, then I might as well do it in front of everyone. Enjoy!

So it started off on really good footing. I like the days that I go to church and the pastor is speaking to someone else. You know, you do not have that feeling that he is talking directly to you. Well I thought that this was my Sunday. He was speaking to “other” people today, not really to me. He was addressing some very relevant issues that were pointed straight at the church. The very issue of the “Do’s and Don’ts of Christianity. The rules that we get hung up on that keep us from really being able to do the “love one another” thing that we are supposed to be known for.
Continue reading “Confession time…” →

March 25, 2017 0

Doing what I gotta do…..

So today I worked on finding an illustrator. It may not sound hard, but it was. Unfortunately, I probably am to blame for that. I tend to overthink things, and try to figure out the odds before I even make the attempt to do something. It is a self-defeating cycle that I tend to go through with many things, but I always do it when I am scared.

I should be really happy. I am done with my picture book, frankly I have been done for a while, and I am just trying to find an illustrator. So what is so hard about that? Well, it seems that I am just a big chicken. Fear eats at my soul, it runs that deep. And it sucks! I am tired of the fear, but it just continues to rear its ugly head continually. I am beginning to feel like this post is a therapy session, I guess I should be laying down for this. Continue reading “Doing what I gotta do…..” →

March 24, 2017 2

Steps to follow…

For a long time, I regretted that I did not talk to my great grandmother about her life. She was 99 years old when she passed away, and while alzheimers ate away at the last few years of her life, I still had plenty of opportunity to talk to her. The thought that this sweet lady would have firsthand accounts of history never even occurred to me.

Unknown I have thought about this regret at various times in my life, and it typically makes me pretty sad. Her birthday is St Patricks day, so thoughts of her came to mind again. This year though, I found that my perspective had changed. You see, what I finally realized was what she did teach me was worth much more than what she didn’t. It was pretty funny, because I have always known what an example of love she was to all who knew her. This year though, I realized why everyone loved her so much. Well, it was because she loved us! Warts and all! She loved us all so much, that we couldn’t help but love her back! Continue reading “Steps to follow…” →

March 21, 2017 2

I saw a tweet the other day by Christine Caine; “Don’t get stuck somewhere you should only be passing through.”

It immediately struck a chord with me, because that is a fear of mine. Here I am trying to become a serious, or at least a somewhat serious writer, but will that truly ever happen for me? Will I ever be able to write something that makes people think, or something that speaks truth into their lives? That encourages them or even makes them laugh? I have no idea, but the path I am on means that I am at least going to try. There is a fear though, that I will get discouraged and stop putting myself out there. Why? Well, because I have done that before. I might get sidetracked, and yes I have been there too. It reminded me of a favorite bible character that I have.

You see, he took his family out of the place that they had been living. That place was Ur. The story says that they were traveling to Canaan but they stopped at Haran and settled there. No friends, this is not about Abraham, but of his father Terah.

Why did the tweet lead me to this man? Well I will tell you. I know I am taking a little license, but it seems to make sense to me. I imagine that God may have told Terah to go to Canaan. Maybe this whole story of God calling out a people was going to start, not with Abraham, but with his father? Maybe, for whatever reason, he stopped in Haran and never got to the place where God had called him.

Are my assumptions true? I have no idea, but I still look to Terah as an example of what I do not want to be. He was on his way to a destination, and got sidetracked. The why’s and how’s are unknown, but what we do know is that he never got there. That is not how I want to be, but I fear that is how I will be. I see the path, but I don’t really know where I will end up. It scares me, because it means trying to be successful at something that is very subjective. Truthfully, you all may find out how really very stupid I am. Or at least, that is the fear.

Well since I am not supposed to be “fearing” anything, per my pastor last week, I guess I will stick to the path. Truthfully, I really don’t want to miss out on what may be at the end of the journey. I really don’t want to be Terah. I want to make it to the place where God calls me. Like the quote that started all of this, I don’t want to get stuck somewhere I should only be passing through.

The good, the bad and the idol…..

deut5-8 So I have a question this morning. Do you have idols? It was something that I was
pondering with my hubby last night. Why? Well it had something to do with the city of New Orleans removing some statues and the discord that it is causing. There are people that think it is about time to get rid of them, and some who are obviously distressed with them being torn down.

And while I could care less to some degree, it just made me think. Is this a reason why God said do not make any idols? Continue reading “The good, the bad and the idol…..” →

March 10, 2017 0

A little indignity.

Not a very auspicious start when you miss writing on the first day of Lent. Not being Catholic, I do not have the traditional teachings of Lent to fall back on, so I have just try to listen and see how God moves my heart. So this year I heard someone say that the forty days is in commemoration of Jesus time in the desert. I don’t remember hearing that before, or if I did it did not hit me like it did this year. Why? Well it had to do with a conversation I was having with God earlier today.

unknown-2 I was praying, because I knew I would need help writing for a couple of hours today. I totally have ADHD and while writing is the way that I believe I am supposed to communicate, it is still really hard for me to do it. I get distracted so quickly and easily. Anyway, back to my conversation coming home. I had gone for a walk to the bank, and knew I wanted to write when I got home, but I wasn’t sure what I would write about. Then my mind started to wander back to my lovely surroundings, and the quick trip I took to the mountains with my hubby. Continue reading “A little indignity.” →

March 3, 2017 0

Cheryl Mendoza

How He speaks to me…..Or… can't He just call my cell when He wants to talk?

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