faith

A hand along the way…..

I saw a Facebook post tonight and it reminded me of something I’d been pondering lately. The post spoke about this series, “The Chosen,” and how they portrayed the Bible story of the woman who’d been bleeding for 12 years. Not only has she been physically ill, but because of the bleeding, she would have been considered unclean under the law. Since she was unclean, that would’ve put actual physical barriers between her and other people. No one could touch her or anything she had touched because that would make them unclean too. Over the years she had gone to many doctors and none had made her any better, only worse. By the time her path crosses Jesus’, she’s been sick for years, she’s broke and desperate. She’s at the end of her rope and thinks, believes, knows that Jesus is her only answer for healing. She goes to touch the hem of his robe and miraculously is healed! This is one of my favorite stories as the details paint a beautiful picture of how Jesus relates to the woman.

It was a tweet though that gave me a different perspective. Someone had wondered about this woman and who would have been the first people after Jesus to speak to her? Could it be the women who followed along with Jesus? We have details of multiple women traveling with Him and the disciples during this time. How would these women have responded to a woman, who because of her sickness, was considered unclean? I imagined they watched with the rest of the crowd, transfixed as Jesus asked “who touched me?” They saw as a woman came before Jesus, seeing fear in her face as she told her story. They then saw Him gently call her daughter, and proclaim her whole!

As sisters in Christ, we should be walking with each other, ready to come along side and hold out a hand to lift up and encourage. As daughters, we should be ready to do that with anyone that God brings our way. In this story it was a woman who was unclean, for us it may be a woman who’s just made the wrong choices for too long a season. The mercy shown in an outstretched hand may just be what she needs to finally leave that season, and seek something good. I watched “The Chosen” and could barely wait for the story line to reach this scene. I quietly sobbed as I watched the show portray the story. While I might have tweaked it a bit, I was so touched by how it was portrayed. It confirmed something to me that I had been feeling since the tweet I’d read weeks earlier. That’s the kind of woman I want to be! Ready and willing to listen, love and be of service to the women God brings along my path!

As women, they probably heard and sympathized as they knew what their own monthly bleeding meant and how it affected their lives. I wonder though, did they pause before approaching her as she was technically unclean? Was there a barrier in their minds, knowing what the law stated? They may have paused in their actions, but I like to think that the care Jesus showed this woman, gave them the freedom to know what to do next! That in the next moment when Jesus was called off to heal a young girl, they stepped forward and kneeled down next to this new sister in faith. I can imagine they would have been making plans to get her fresh clothes, asking who her family was, and talking excitedly about her restoration to the community and home. I was struck by the scene as I imagined it, and knew this is how it should be!

March 20, 2023 1

Lent: Recipe to remember….

So yesterday I joined my small group for a Fat Tuesday menu of gumbo, rice and king cake. It was delicious, and since my friend Paige cooked, it was quite authentic. I love traditions! And since Fat Tuesday is over, that means it’s Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I love this season and try to use it as a time of focus. Each year it’s had a little different look, but this year I’m really trying to get back in that writing habit. I’ve had a hard time writing in the past few years for many reasons, but to tell you the truth, the biggest problem has been me! So I am going back to the beginning, and that strange recipe that God has given me to make communication easier. Strangely enough, it just comes down to three little words, wrestling, writing and encourage!

The WWE acronym had me cracking up this morning since wrestling is the first step in the process. Typically it’s something that comes to my attention, and I then wrestle with God to process, learn and maybe find some wisdom for my life. I then write about the process in the hopes it would encourage someone else like it’s encouraged me. I am not a bible scholar, and I am not here to tell you how to live. I just hope what I say might make you think and start your own wrestling with God.

So today, I felt like I had a directional adjustment! Priorities were put back in place and how to use the time of Lent became a little clearer. I was reminded of who I am and Whose I am in this world. And while I was thankful for the clarity, I was even more thankful for the extremely funny way it was communicated!

February 23, 2023 0

What will you see?

They just won’t see. It kept rolling around in my head as I drove. It was pretty mellow as Christmas vacations had started and there were less cars out on the road. Up ahead though, I could see the flashing lights of the highway patrol, so I slowed down and stayed in the fast lane as the police were off on the right hand side. As I got closer, I realized there was also a car parked next to the center median. There had been an accident, and while it wasn’t serious, there were multiple cars and a semi stopped on both sides of the highway. It was then I looked behind me. Cars were starting to catch up, and I figured that they just hadn’t seen the wreck yet. They didn’t know why we were slowing down and taking our time. As soon as I passed the stopped cars, I got over to the right lane and watched as the cars behind me went past. Some were like me taking it easy as they passed the wreck, while others were not being so careful. They were driving as if the road was clear and they were not navigating an accident scene. It was then that I thought, even with it right in their face, they just won’t see. It’s not that they can’t see, since by this time they were right in the middle of all the cars involved, but they won’t see. It broke my heart, as I was immediately thought about God and how He shows Himself to each of us. We see the miracle of this life, but do not see who created the miracle. It’s not that we can’t see, we just won’t see!

I thought about it again when I started listening to a book at lunch. The first story in the book had me hooked immediately, since it’s a favorite historical moment of mine. The quick version? Well it’s 1914 and it’s Christmas Eve. You know that war that was supposed to be over by Christmas? Well, it wasn’t. The men on the front lines are missing home, family and their own Christmas traditions. During this evening and through Christmas Day, the men reach out to each other to “celebrate” Christmas. It starts slowly, but soon they are exchanging food, cigarettes, playing football (the English kind) and sharing photos of their loved ones back home. That night, the men were given a reprieve from this new kind of nightmare. The mechanized muddy stalemate of men and modern warfare. For that short time, fear, hate, and the horrors of war were defeated by something greater. The birth of a Savior! When the powers that be on all sides found out about what occurred in the trenches, they vow that this will not happen again. And it never did. That moment on the battlefield where mercy and grace won out over hate was not allowed to be repeated. Those in charge were much like the drivers on the road, they just won’t see. Instead of seeing the miracle of the day, and acknowledging the power of the birth narrative, they doubled down on death.

I love the truth in the story, because it shows the heavenly in sharp contrast to our humanity. The human part of the story is full of war, death and brutality. The heavenly part was what brought them together, the birth of Christ! When I hear the story of that Christmas in 1914, I always think of the shepherds in the birth narrative. Did the angels come to see them on purpose? Or was the jubilation in heaven so boisterous that it spilled out into the night sky! Even the heavens couldn’t contain the excitement over the fulfillment of this very special prophecy! Someone left the back door of heaven open, and there were the shepherds watching in amazement! Maybe that’s what happened to the soldiers on that cold December night? The back door of heaven opened, and mercy flowed from a gracious Heavenly Father. The men didn’t see angels, but the Spirit was there. Like the wind, it wasn’t visible, but history shows us the effect of the Spirit’s presence. On that Christmas Eve, the same celebration that happened so many years ago was again awakened to overcome fear and death. For those brief hours kindness, grace and mercy flowed straight from the throne of God.

Lord I know we all have eyes that can see, but I ask you to give us eyes that WILL see!

February 10, 2023 0

Respond in Love….2020

“…..in their own self interests” That was the part of the sentence that caught my eye. As I make decisions regarding the pandemic and how it will shape how I act in the coming days, shouldn’t I take into account more than my own self interests?

The book of Judges is one of my favorites in the Bible. If you haven’t read it, I would encourage you to crack it open but don’t expect the warm fuzzies. Why I like it so much is because it’s opened my eyes to how humanity acts, and why we so needed saving. At the end of the book there is a tale of people who do “whatever seemed right in their own eyes” with horrific results. Is that who we are?

So as we go through this crazy time, (I wanted to use unprecedented but didn’t since it’s so overused now) I would ask that instead of looking out for just yourself, you would also look to your community. These are your neighbors. The real people you know, laugh with, care for, put up with and love. Let’s stop seeing this through the lens of the media, twitter, FB and our political filter.

All those things add distortion to what you are seeing, and clarity is what we all need right now. If you really want to know what’s going on, concentrate on those directly around you. That is your truth! Let’s work to keep each other safe, lend a helping hand and encourage one another!

Above all else, respond in LOVE. When we choose love, we’re giving back control to the One who is truly in control anyway. And in His hands we can find truth, peace and the oh so needed love to share in a hurting world.

November 18, 2020 0

A prayer for a lifetime

_DSC2940 Lord this world needs you. I need you. Help me not to react, but to find the path that leads to shalom in my life and in the lives of all. Today as we think of that day so long ago when You gave us the power to make “Your kingdom come,” help us to not be distracted. Give us the strength to be a conduit of the Holy Spirit that gives us the power that can change the world.

The angels sang on the day You were born and told the outsider, “Don’t be afraid!” They made it clear that the redemption you were offering was “GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY, FOR ALL PEOPLE.” Forgive us who call you LORD, but do not proclaim YOUR good news. Forgive us for muddying the waters. Let this Pentecost be different. Help us to lay down our lives (our opinions/rights/our idols) for our brothers and sisters. What is done in humble love, though imperfect it may be, will be honored by You….and in that there is HOPE.

Turned away from it all like a blind man

Sat on a fence but it don’t work

Keep coming up with love but it’s so slashed and torn

Why, why, why?

Love, love, love, love, love

Insanity laughs under pressure we’re breaking

Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?

Why can’t we give love that one more chance?

Why can’t we give love, give love, give love, give love

Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?

‘Cause love’s such an old fashioned word

And love dares you to care for

The people on the edge of the night

And love dares you to change our way of

Caring about ourselves

This is our last dance

This is ourselves under pressure

Under pressure

Pressure

Under Pressure….. Queen

May 31, 2020 0

Easter: Coffee, jammies and HOPE!

So here we are …. Stuck in the middle again. I felt like this last year, when Mike was recovering from brain surgery. Now? Well there’s nothing like a global pandemic to put life on hold. But is life really on hold, or has the focus just shifted? Maybe here in the middle is where we regain perspective?

They were in the middle too that Saturday, but they didn’t know it yet. They thought it was over, the wise teaching, the healing and the restoration of a nation. Everything they had been living for was changed in one day. Continue reading “Easter: Coffee, jammies and HOPE!” →

April 11, 2020 0

Hosanna?

So Palm Sunday is typically my favorite Sunday of the whole year. I think back to spending it with preschoolers and how we would tell them about that special day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. Making leaves, doing a parade and shouting Hosanna! For preschoolers, it’s the perfect lesson! There is a lot of energy, color and activity in the re-telling of the event. Today though I sit alone in my backyard, missing the energy of the typical Palm Sunday celebrations in church.

I am beginning to think though, that maybe this is how it’s supposed to be? Instead of songs and shouts of Hosanna, I have wind and rain shouting a chorus. And while there are no palm fronds, there are the trees in my backyard violently waving their praise!

While this might not be the Palm Sunday you were imagining, maybe it’s just what you need? This week as we all move toward a very different Easter, may it be a time of reflection and focus. A time to look at life and our priorities. To decide if what we think is important, really IS that important!

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James 3:17

April 5, 2020 0

Ready to soar in 2020

I was able to talk to my oldest son for a while last night. We stood outside beneath the stars, wondering at the beauty of the night sky. We talked of the new year and the feeling that something was coming. It was a bit foreboding, but we both agreed that no matter if it’s good or bad in store, God would have our backs.

Those were the words I wrote on December 31, 2018, and how prophetic they would turn out to be. So in the few weeks following, my hubby endured more pain, doctor visits and the diagnosis that would change everything. Brain tumor. Even now when we hear the words we shake our heads in disbelief and laugh.

images Now that it’s (mostly) behind us, we are looking forward to the new year more than we typically do. Mike is looking forward to regaining strength and feeling more like his normal self. I am looking forward to …. well I am not sure what? Don’t get me wrong… for Mike I am praying for excellent recovery, and for the boys that they would continue to make strides forward in their lives. Above all that they…….that we all would be able to know God’s presence. But while I felt foreboding last year, I am not sure what I feel this December 31st? It’s definitely not the same heaviness as last year, but it’s also not the normal New Years day feeling. Continue reading “Ready to soar in 2020” →

January 1, 2020 3

Advent: Rejoice!

So it’s Christmas Eve and I am fighting my feelings. I’m sitting here with my hubby on a quiet evening. No family…. Not that normal excitement that usually comes with the season. In some ways it seems kind of sad, but it’s just because things have changed. Most of the boys are now with significant others and living out of town. So we spent our “Christmas” together on Saturday, so that they would be with their ladies families on Christmas day. It was wonderful to be together, but the new normal is taking some getting used to. It was kind of getting me down having such a quiet Christmas Eve and anticipating the same on Christmas Day. It didn’t help that I was going to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well. Really? Is this how the holiday is supposed to be? Continue reading “Advent: Rejoice!” →

December 25, 2019 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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