What do you do when you are feeling low? Well since I am not really the drinking kind of girl (except for that one trip to the coast) I went back to find encouragement in some of the things that God has already talked to me about. Today…. I was encouraged to finally post a “speech” (for lack of a better word) that I gave at a women’s breakfast last year.
Good morning. My name is Cheryl Mendoza. I am usually with the preK (Sunday school) department on Sunday mornings, but they let me out to speak to you today. If things don’t seem to be going well, I may fall back on a trusty puppet to liven things up a bit.
I was graciously invited here this morning by Mona, to come and speak with you. Well, she really only invited me to the breakfast…..then I kind of invited myself to speak and I have to tell you that she immediately and enthusiastically said YES. No questions as to why, what was I thinking? So to Mona I say thank you. Not only for bringing us all together, but trusting me with some of the precious time we have here this morning. Then of course she asked if I could help MC the event…I thought…no problem. They have to be easier than preschoolers….right?
So after I had invited myself to be a part of this event. I continued to chat with Mona about what was on her heart and the motivation behind getting all of us together. She mentioned this study “Uninvited” by Lysa Terkeuest. What moved her heart was community….each one of us having a place. When I heard the heart reasons behind the event, I was hooked. But the more we chatted, the more I knew that God had a plan. You see, a couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about circles. That’s right….I am a blogger. So here is my shameless plug…..Cherylmendoza.com. So I wrote about circles. And it was really because of something that happened to me in the preK class.
I was filling in for one of the ladies, and it was during 2nd service, so there was a LOT of 
kids. As we brought them in and worked to get them into their circle, we were running out of room. So without thinking, I said, “let’s make our circle bigger so we can let more friends in.” I heard myself saying it….and knew then that it was important. In the blog I wrote of the little slice of heaven that seemed to be pictured that day. We have a diverse group of kids… and to see them move back to let more in was amazing. It was also a little heartbreaking.
I get it…. Sometimes it is hard to keep that open spot for someone new. That open spot leaves a big question mark. Will a new person change the dynamic? Will they bring in baggage? Can I trust them? Do they have a good pot luck recipe? There are all sorts of questions, but more than likely, the answers are not deal breakers.
A couple of days after that happened, Marcus had posted on FB about his small group. Now I have seen the pics of his group. They seem to really enjoy each other, learn from each other and boy do they eat some good food!! This post though was announcing the split of this group. It was not due to a problem, but to fulfill its purpose. They had grown so large, that they split into two, so that each group would then have room for new people. They made their circle smaller, so that they had room to grow bigger and make room for new friends. Room for more people, room to give somebody a place.
Acts 6:7 – God’s message was preached in ever-widening circles, and the number of disciples increased vastly in Jerusalem; and many of the Jewish priests were converted too.
Ladies, we have two groups in this room. Those who are in a circle and those who are not. For those of you who are, I would encourage you to be intentional in keeping those circles open. Continue to make sure you are not accidently closing the loop without even knowing it. You have a place for someone who needs it. Remember when you did not have a place? Do all you can to make it easy for those on the outside.
And I want to encourage you who are trying to find your place. It is not easy! I have
been in the preK dept so long, and now that I am out, I am just trying to find my new place. It is somewhat uncomfortable at times, but I know the harder it is, the better the payoff will be. The ladies in my new group are getting to know me, and I am privleged in starting to know them. Keep at it! Don’t let being uncomfortable keep you away from what God wants for all of us. Community. Influence. Support. And where ever widening circles of the good news spread as far as God will take it!
So when I received, Shine; STEPPING INTO THE ROLE YOU WERE MADE FOR, I immediately wondered what I had gotten myself into. I really felt like I had just stepped into an Andy Hardy movie and was being told that we were going to “put on a show”. As I read further, I understood why. Allison Allen is an actress who has been on Broadway, and even a featured performer on the Women of Faith tours. Now if you’ve never been in drama or wanted to be an actor, don’t worry, the analogies that she uses are so clearly presented that you don’t have to have a theater degree to understand.
My name is Zulema. I was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and I am 20 years old. I was brought to the U.S shortly after my fifth birthday along with my brother and sister, who were also very young. My dad had already been to the U.S. a couple of times in an effort to support our family and give us things he never had as a child. While we stayed behind with our mother, she did everything she could to make sure we were okay. With our dad being thousands of miles away from it wasn’t easy for her, and we knew it. 
So this morning when I woke up, there were clouds in the sky and some relief from the oppressive heat. While it will still reach 100 degrees today, compared to yesterday, it is a much needed breath of fresh air. (OK it’s the valley…the air is never really “fresh”) According to the weather reports, we have at least nine more days of triple digits, which makes today’s cool breeze only a brief respite. So where am I now? I am sitting outside while I can! There is a slight breeze and the clouds are doing a good job of keeping those scorching rays at bay. As I sit here enjoying the little bit of heaven, it reminded me of a prayer that I had yesterday.
and praying for her, I just asked God to give her some normalcy. Just a little something that day to remind her of what life would be like after her treatments were done. Just a little relief from the pain and stress she is going through. It was exciting for me to hear her post later that morning, that she had taken a small but encouraging step. It was not the “end of the tunnel” for her, but just a bit of light to keep on going.
So if you’re walking that tough road, whatever it may be, look for those moments of relief. Don’t miss them. They are hope given to you today, that gives strength for the steps you will take tomorrow.
Some years ago I was at a conference listening to a Priscilla Shirer, who writes bible studies, books and speaks to encourage women. I totally enjoyed her talk, but there was one point she made that became something that I try to live by. She told the group of women, “don’t be spoon fed the gospel.”
What happens when you focus so much on yourself and your own problems that you can’t see anything else? I have gone through so many different emotions today. I woke up and was feeling pretty down. I am feeling some stress from the decisions I have made, and so I was trying to work out some of my feelings. (wow….used the word feelings a lot) Maybe that was my problem this morning? So many feelings, but so little perspective.
Well I was spending some time with someone recently that I wasn’t particularly excited about. You know…. It is one of those situations where you are going to have to hear their story again, and it is kind of heavy. He had fallen on hard times, and had started questioning God. 
Cheryl Mendoza 