So another day…..another post. It’s funny, because when I start these writing binges, I typically have a day or two of posts in my mind. Day 3 though is always where there is surprise. I typically have no idea where I am going, and it makes me nervous. What is going to happen? Will I be able to write anything? The funny thing is, something typically catches my attention.
So I have been reading through the Bible this year. I’m not following a reading plan or anything, just reading along until I’m too tired, or I find something that I want to ponder for a while. Just going at my own pace. Well as I started to read today, I wondered if I should go to the Nativity story since it’s that time of year? That would make sense….right?
But…..I really wanted to keep reading where I was. So back to the beginning of the gospel of John and what he wrote about John the Baptist. Ah…another outsider. I’m intrigued by the path of the cousin of Jesus. His mom getting pregnant way past her prime, his father doubting and struck speechless, the Angel and the news that this young man would be the forerunner. The one who would come before the Messiah. Pretty cool…. You’d think he would be an important part of the temple and everything that surrounded it, but he wasn’t. I’ve always wondered about that. Why not? It is part of his family heritage, it would make sense….right? The ultimate insider!
I ‘ve tried to get on the inside, but it’s never really worked. Isn’t the church where you 
use the gifts you have? I’ve taught Sunday School and was pretty good at storytelling, but any role outside of that has never happened. There have been times over the years where I’ve thought, I could be used for that! Or I’ve being willing to say, use me! For some reason though, I was never picked. Or there wasn’t a place for me to use my gifts. It used to bug me, and I wondered what’s wrong with them?
It was hard at times, but trust is a great thing. And I had to work at trusting God. I had to realize that it was not them, but really me. If God didn’t open that door, there was a reason. God used those times to help build trust in Him. Not people, not pastors and not in church, but Him only.
I wonder if it was like that for John? He knew that God was going to use him and even what his role was. The real question was how was that going to look? I can’t imagine his parents thinking it would be the way it played out. Your son, the one who is supposed to come before the Messiah, out in the wilderness, eating bugs and telling people to repent. Where is his place in the temple? Wouldn’t’ that be where the forerunner spoke from?
John though was an outsider, and I like him because of it. Maybe because he was an outsider, he was able to be who God really needed him to be? I like to think so. It helps me to think that any time we may spend on the outside is just a proving ground. A place where God can weed, water and grow us to who He really wants us to be.
So I was thinking, December 1st I would be on it! But…. I missed the date. Ugh! Needless to say, it is all good, since today is officially the start of Advent. Who knew? Well obviously not me.
“I gotta live how I say I believe.” It doesn’t roll off the tongue very easily, but it’s something I’ve been saying a lot lately. It’s mainly due to my children and their struggles, or the downright danger they put themselves into. Honestly? Some of it just has to do with me and my response to the world around me.
So what’s the difference between using men or friend? Well, it seems that it’s all about perspective. If I see these men bringing in their friend, that makes sense. They love their friend, and are willing to go out on a limb for him. Or when it comes to me, I can give my friend a picture of who Jesus is, by how I live. Maybe they even think like “cool….tell me more”. But I checked out 5 or 6 different translations and they all just said MEN and it changed my perspective.
It seems to me this is kind of how life works. We’re all in need of healing and could use a little Jesus to do that. Along the way people can come beside us and take a corner to help us get to where we need to be. If we see this story only through the lens of helping a “friend,” then we might miss out on all of the other opportunities God brings our way. Those chances to help people we don’t know, see Jesus.
That’s the plan, and it is way harder to do than it sounds. But you know… ya gotta live how you say you believe!
So we have been doing some sprucing up of our home, and with each new task completed, we are more and more comfortable. (Really…we have only been here 13 years!) Our latest venture was bringing some interest to a kitchen wall, over the counter where we keep the coffee pot. (Or our coffee shrine as I call it)
When I started “A Study in Pink” I guess I thought I would be sharing the stories of women, highlighting different occupations, and maybe even inspiring someone out there to reach for a dream. I didn’t think it would challenge me so much, and maybe even change my own thinking about what I do. The more I talk to women though, the more I feel like that is exactly what’s been happening. Maybe even more so when I met the latest entrant in this series, Patricia Diaz of P.A.T.Y’Studio.
So when your husband leaves a home store and says, “that place is really cute,” then you gotta know it’s something special! That was my husband’s response when we went into Studio 12 Homes in downtown Lemoore. It was time to get back in the “pink” and see what the professional women of Kings County have going on.
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.
And I want to encourage you who are trying to find your place. It is not easy! I have
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. 
Cheryl Mendoza 