Cheryl Mendoza

Takin it to the streets! And when I say “IT” I mean LOVE!

I feel like this is a movie and I am starting with a flashback. So back in December 2024….

So to tell you the truth, this morning I started off looking at the news online. Ugh! Such a wrong move! Now there’s a guarantee that my blood pressure will go up. So as I read about the threat of ANOTHER government shut down, because if you’re not paying attention all sides allow it to happen every year, there was a new twist to this years storyline and that is a man named Musk. As I read of his objections to the spending bill and his opinion of what should happen to those who vote for it, I was so irritated. Now are some of the things he says correct? Of course! Who wouldn’t want a balanced budget and the money spent to run the government be done in a fiscally responsible way? What bothers me about him, is the fact that he can use his money to shape things, events and people. I know that kind of power can be used for good or bad, but his boldness in assuming some kind of perceived authority because of the size of his bank account, is off putting to me. I was angered by this power play, until a song popped into my head. I’ve loved the song since 1981 and my MTV video zombie days, but I’ve always had a hard time understanding it.

“History never repeats, I tell myself before I go to sleep,” the song starts.

It’s a catchy song, but I couldn’t understand how he could be so sure that history will never repeat? It seemed to me that history is set to continual repeat! The other day though, I heard the song differently. Maybe he was trying to convince himself that history doesn’t repeat? Towards the end of the song he says,

“And there’s a light shining in the dark, leading me on towards a change of heart.”

Maybe by the end of the song he realizes that he was wrong, and that history does repeat? I don’t know what the songwriter was trying to convey, but at that moment, I was reminded of the repetition of history.

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiates 1:9

And in the repetition of history, I found peace. Why? Well, it comes down to remembering that while I haven’t been through this before, God has. That means everything! Through the years our country and world have had leaders in business, government, religion, medicine, science and humanities. Some were good and others bad, but most were a combination of those elements to some degree or another. No one is all good or all bad and most of the time we wind up being a bit of both. The good news though is that we have made it through, and we will continue to not only survive, but thrive. How do I know this? I see it in God’s word, and I see it reflected in the history of our world. While that may give me peace, in the greatest commandment, I have hope!

And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37

So fast forward to today….MLK Jr and Inauguration Day 2025.

How many problems could be solved with those simple directives…..

I had pretty much started writing this in December, and since I have a day off, today I knew I needed to finish. While seeing the continual repetition of history brings me some peace, I do admit that while I think we will survive, people can still be hurt.

Even when God is in control, it doesn’t mean challenges won’t arise, or that those in leadership won’t stink! And if there are challenges, or those who govern decide to do what is not good for everyone, I believe that Jesus Himself has given us the key to be ready for whatever happens. He gave us instructions that will cover those we do life with, if good happens and even if the not so good happens. And it is through the actions of His people!

“Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love God. Let the love of God fill you, so that you can bring that love to a messed up world! His love is transformative! That’s what gives us the ability to love our neighbor, like we love ourselves. So if there is injustice or hate that is directed toward others, stand up and stand with those who are targeted. Where there is a need, be an advocate and an avenue of assistance. Bring the joy of your salvation to a world that needs some joy! Be the conduit of God’s love that I believe the Bible tells us we are! When we all stand together and surround ourselves and our community with the love of God, He is more than able to cover each and every one of us in the strength of His hand.

January 20, 2025 0

2025…Bring it!

2025 – What kind of year will you be to us? We’ve already seen the worst in both New Orleans and Las Vegas. So how can we make sure the rest of this year doesn’t continue on that dark road? Well…. I think the Wise Men were on to something.

On this Dia de Los Reyes Magos (3 Kings Day or Epiphany depending on your tradition) I think of those Wise Men and the gifts they brought. Gifts to a king that as circumstances played out, would really need those gifts.

So what are your gifts? You know…. Those things God has given to each of us to be shared with others. Or maybe it’s better to say meant to be shared with others. It could be money, possessions or time. Maybe it’s something in your personality, your willingness to help, or to just share your life. I was reminded of some of mine just recently, and this year it’s my desire to use them.

It seems there’s no difference between the gifts God has given us, and those that the Wise Men brought so long ago. Their gifts may have been of more financial value, but when we share the simple gifts God has given each of us, I believe they are just as valuable. Even more important, I believe God sees it that way.

And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded. Matthew 10:42

So what’s your gift? If you’re not sure, here’s my challenge to you to find the answer. Ask your Heavenly Father, maybe your family and friends. When you find out, it’s simple. Use it! We need it! We don’t know what’s going to happen this year but God does, and He’s already put the people in place to combat this world’s worst. Like the Wise Men, we just have to be ready and willing to bring those gifts to the world!

January 7, 2025 0

Ready, Set, Pray!

While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside praying. Luke 1:10.

So the scene is set. Zechariah is in the sanctuary burning incense and there are people outside praying together. At this point I can imagine God breathing in the smell of incense, and hearing the prayers of His people. Did they all start praying together….Maybe not the same prayer, but with the same spirit?

Not with homogeny, but humility

Prayers that don’t necessarily agree with each other, but do agree with God. I wonder if that’s what prayer is really for? It’s the opportunity not to get our requests granted, but for God to teach us to align our prayers with His will. And when we bring another person, or people into that dynamic, we give God the opportunity to align an entire community to His will. I am sure there were prayers going on at the temple most days, but I always pay attention when details are in a story. Details are important or they would be left out. So what does this detail tell me?

Prayer is important…. Essential even for the work of God to flourish. There is a humility in prayer, when we “make our requests known to God.” We ask for what we may need or desire, and then we are told to let go and let God handle it. Not an easy thing to do, especially when we are told to have joy when we do it!

I like to think of that day and the prayers that were being said. Not perfect prayers, but the humble requests of every day people. People just like you and me. And I pray the hope that is revealed in the angels words to Zechariah, “God has heard your prayer,” would give us the encouragement needed to keep praying and let God do his miraculous work!

December 16, 2024 0

Are You Ready for Christmas?

I am ready for Christmas! The tree is up, decorations fill the house and jazz Christmas music is playing on my Spotify. All the elements are in place for a blissful holiday season. Or are they? While the house is ready on the inside, I am not so sure about the outside. The weather outside may not be frightful yet, but it is certainly cold. 26 degrees that feels like 11 is not my typical cup of tea, so I am really trying to figure out this whole “dressing warmly” thing.

While it’s pretty cold, it’s not really the weather that has me wondering if I am ready for the season, it’s my own head and heart that are my concern.

Am I truly ready for Christmas?

What does that look like and what does that mean for me?

For some reason those are the questions I am asking myself this morning, because I do want to be ready for Christmas! So here we go!

The story of Jesus birth is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The two authors split up the narrative, so you end up putting it together like puzzle pieces. I was reading in Luke, and struck by the priest Zechariah. We know a good amount about him, priestly lineage, married, old, obedient and not only he, but his wife was righteous in God’s eyes. We also know that they had no children. So while there was much good in both of their lives, there was also pain and disappointment. In this part of the story, I also found a clue to being ready for Christmas.

Here was this man who was a priest, taught about God from his youth, so he would be ready for the job he would one day fulfill. He is serving God in the temple, and then is chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord. There he burned incense with just a curtain separating him from the dwelling place of God on earth. It was then that all heaven breaks loose! (Well I couldn’t say it the other way!). He is met by an angel, but it’s not just any angel, but Gabriel himself. After Gabriel relays the news of the impending pregnancy of his wife and the role that child would play, Zechariah questions, “How can I be sure this will happen? I am an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” This is when I imagine that Gabriel stands to his full height and in his indignation states, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God.” Luke 1:19. Like dude, who do you think I am? While I may leave you awestruck, I am just a messenger for the God of the universe. You are in the place where God dwells with man and you are questioning if what I say is true? What kind of falsehood could even be spoken in this most holy place? I imagine that thoughts like those may have rushed through Gabriels mind before he spoke.

It seems to me that Zecharaiah was positioned to hear from God. He was spiritually right and even physically in the Lord’s house. The man was chosen by lot, or God Himself, to enter the dwelling place of God on earth. There is no better position to be in than close to the Lord, set up to hear the whisper of His voice. So…. How do I position myself to hear from God?

Seeking to be righteous. This is nothing holier than thou…..none of us are perfect and never will be. Being righteous is about being right with God. That is the work that Jesus did on the cross giving us that pathway to righteousness. I seek to be righteous by reflection, confession and repentance.

To not fear. Did you know there are 366 verses in the Bible where people are told not to fear? As I read through the story of Jesus birth, this story is filled with the reminder “do not fear.” I was watching Grantchester last night, and one of the characters said, “Fear makes you feel that there is no way out.” That trapped feeling can disrupt how I respond to God and others. Fear brings distortion, but clarity comes with the absence of fear.

To be humble. The humility of those who trusted God to work out their lives abounds in this story. For me this year, most noticeably is Elizabeth. She is in the lineage of Aaron, the priestly line of Israel, married to Zechariah who is also a descendant of Aaron. Here is a woman who should be looked up to and admired, but there is a problem. We read by her own words, that she is disgraced. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children” Luke 1:25b. Yet, she was “Righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.” Luke 1:6. That takes humility! Up to this time in her life she has lived with a cloud over her head. You know how people talk, and I can just imagine what was said behind her back. And I am sure she would’ve imagined too. Yet she did as she was called to do, live blamelessly before her God.

I will admit, it’s been a couple of days writing down my thoughts, and I’ve already had a run in with one of my points. And I lost. That was one day though, and I thank God for new mornings that come with the opportunity to start all over again. To position myself in a way so that I will be ready for Christmas!

December 6, 2024 0

Just do it….

I noticed her again at church. Sitting alone and with a blank expression. It could have meant anything, but I guess from her body language, I assumed she was alone. There was no one sitting with her, and expression seemed sad. I missed her one Sunday, as I wanted to shake her hand after service, but she was gone before I could speak with her. This Sunday was different. It was time to greet people, and I had again forgotten about that haunted look. Greeting time was almost over when I remembered, or was reminded as I like to think. I moved from my spot and walked over and shook her hand and introduced myself. Her face lit up and I was gifted by a very lovely smile. It was just a moment and then it was gone. I saw her later and she was speaking with a gentleman after the service. Maybe she wasn’t as alone as I thought?

It was then I wondered if the moment wasn’t really for her at all, maybe it had been just for me? An exercise in wholeness, where a still small voice prompted me from hearing to doing.

November 25, 2024 1

Happy (?) Moveaversary!

So I am a little late with this post, but I guess I really wasn’t feeling it till now. So October 15th was our sixth month “moveaversary”. Sixth months of new weather, people, church, town and really just about everything. It is a blessing though that our jobs are the same, and those connections have done a lot to keep me sane.

Why did I wait so long to make this post? Well, to be honest, I was having a hard time dealing with it. We are physically settled, but we are still working on developing our life here. And in many ways that sucks! Not the being here, but that unbalanced feeling of still working out what life is going to look like.

I remember going into Starbucks before we left home, and being greeted by the son of one of my friends. The easy familiarity of his greeting made me both happy and sad. Happy in that way you feel when you are known, but sad because I knew it would be a long time before someone would greet me like that again. When I went over to our new Starbucks for my free birthday drink, there was no loud greeting or wave. There was just a very nice woman doing her job, but none of the special joy of seeing someone with whom you have a shared history.

Well, as with most funk’s, I am happy to say that I’ve passed through it, or at least most of it for now. It always helps to have some perspective, and it only took a walk and some geese to help me gain it.

You see, I was taking my normal walk down a trail that runs through the neighborhood. There is a museum, some old buildings, a wooded area and a small windmill along my route. Our weather was going to turn a bit rough in the afternoon, so while I was out for my walk I kept my eye out for opportunities to take some pictures. I loved the clouds that were filling the sky, but as I walked, I was really thinking about how I would love to get some geese in a picture. A few days before, some had flown by where I was walking and it was just lovely. I purposely didn’t take a picture and just enjoyed their flight across the sky. Today though, I was on a mission to snap a picture if the opportunity presented itself. I will admit, I shot up a quick prayer asking for the geese. God in His wisdom gave me something I wanted, but for His own good purposes. When I got to the windmill, I lined up my shot and took the picture. It was exactly what I wanted, but then I heard the geese. As I went back to line up for the same shot, I couldn’t see the geese on my screen. I started moving the phone, trying to find the geese in the sky, and I took a number of pictures trying to get both the geese and the windmill all in one. The problem was when I finally looked at the pictures, I had a couple with the geese flying though the clouds, and the one shot that was perfectly set up with the windmill. None of the pictures had it all.

When I thought about it later, I realized that when I heard the geese I took my eyes off the big picture. That was the composition of the windmill that I liked so much. Instead of keeping steady and my focus on what I already had, I started searching for what I didn’t. Instead of waiting patiently for the geese to come into my shot, I tried to make it happen on my own. And when I did that, it didn’t work out so well.

It reminded me of life right now. I took my eyes off the big picture of my life, and focused on a detail. And that detail took on a greater importance than it should have. I took my eyes from the blessings God has given me and how He has brought me this far. My focus zeroed in on my desire to have my life all settled in my new surroundings, instead of on the One who will guide me there. That loss of focus brought me sadness and stress, but I am grateful to have some of that focus back.

So when I forget again, because we all do, I will have two pictures to remind me where my focus belongs. And I will dream of the day when memories and shared experiences are as much a part of my life with my new community as it was with my old.

November 2, 2024 2

So what are you trying to say?

I heard something the other day and I thought, “so what are you trying to say?”

It’s happened a couple of times during a preach, just a quick comment about a character or story in the bible. It may go something like, “you’ve probably never heard of this,” and they name an obscure character or bible story. When I hear a comment like that, it just strikes me funny, and not in the “ha ha” way. Maybe they say it that way because what they really want to say, “you would know it if you read your bible,” might not be received so well.

Now don’t get me wrong, because for longer than I care to admit, I would probably be like, “yep never heard of that guy.” That definitely changed when I picked up my bible and just started reading through it. I wasn’t doing anything special like following a study, reading the bible in a year, or doing it with a group of people. I was just reading and underlining things that jumped out at me. In turn, I found that I liked it! Reading the bible is like having a conversation with God. It’s a long, and slightly confusing conversation at times, but a conversation where I slowly know Him better. Most of the time, it’s also helped me know me better too.

After pondering it, I wondered if the answer to my question really mattered? Why? Well, whatever the reason the comment was made, it seemed like a missed opportunity. A teachable moment if you will. I know, those are what we think belong to children, but we adults have them too.

So I wondered, what if instead of tossing off a comment that may or may not be useful, why not see this as a teachable moment? Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to encourage your listeners to read for themselves what God has placed in His book? Instead of just assuming they’ve never heard of the character or story, ask IF it’s new to them? If it is, that is the perfect time to invite them to go home and read through the passage themselves. To take some time and ponder what the words say and the context of when they were written. To make space for the Holy Spirit to take the words on the page, and the message from the pulpit to speak into our every day lives.

So if you hear a comment like that in a preach, sermon, teaching (whatever you happen to call it) just remember the opportunity you have before you. If the story or character IS new to you, check it out more! Read the passage in different translations, check out a commentary and talk about it with a friend. The stories are old, but we are told that “there is nothing new under the sun.” So in these stories and the people who lived them out, we have the opportunity to see a reflection of our own lives.

October 5, 2024 0

Faith: Strap in!

The last time I visited Disneyland, I had a moment of panic on the Tower of Terror ride. I had the seatbelt on, and had pulled the yellow rope, but I still didn’t feel secure. Unlike other rides, I had nothing to brace myself against if the seatbelt failed. So before we started, I lifted my whole body, putting as much of my full weight as I could against the belt to confirm it would hold. Which is pretty silly since the force I could exert just sitting there was only a fraction of what would happen when the ride was actually operating! It did help me feel a bit better, but not much. It wasn’t until that first drop, when the belt was tested to it’s max and held, did I finally relax and enjoy the ride.

Today, when I was reading about faith, that’s what God brought to mind. You can trust in God, but until it’s tested, you can’t call it faith. I pray that God would remind you of the journey you have already walked with Him, and that remembrance would strengthen your own faith as you continue on that journey.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

September 6, 2024 0

Gettin’ back to workin’ it out!

I am feeling a sense of renewal today. I feel like I’ve just finished a good rest. Maybe I needed time to rest, be quiet and listen? Time to hear that still small voice and work to align my heart with what I’ve heard.

Or maybe I was sleep walking? Going through the motions, getting things done, and wrestling with God. Trying to shut out that still small voice, and trying to get Him to align with my plan.

….“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14

I love this verse because it always reminds me of the movie “Shawn of the Dead.” I know, not high art, but It was through this movie that God gave me a perspective of a life I could easily fall into.

We humans are all at risk of sleep walking. It’s hard to sleep though a whole life, but maybe there are periods of time that just seem to slip through our fingers. Periods of time we waste just going through the motions. I believe my time has been a bit of both. Time to seek and see what is next on the horizon, while wrestling against what I already know. Time to get back to the writing that helps me “work out” my salvation, and hopefully encourages others along the way.

August 4, 2024 1