You know the funniest thing about God? He wants to talk to us! I don’t get it…. Why? If I am who I am and He is who He is…. Why is He so big on trying to communicate with me?
He will speak to me anywhere. I have a tendency to pop the TV on during my quiet time on a Friday. Funny thing is, whatever I watch, I tend to get something more than I bargained FOR. Kinda like God won’t let Himself be silenced, even if I am slacking.
This morning I caught a few minutes of “Eat, Pray, Love.” Now I’ve never seen this whole movie, but I was drawn to the setting and the food they were eating. As I watched, I got caught up in the conversations of the characters. The lead character is eating her way through Italy (dream!) and she says, “I am through with the guilt.”
I loved it! We women get so many mixed messages, it’s hard to keep our heads on straight. Here was a woman who was trying to really live. Her motivation was not going to be out of a sense of guilt, but out of love. Well for her, the love was for pizza. For me, it is the love of God. Or better put, the way that God loves me.
If I look to see how I am loved, it is totally, fully and in the complete knowledge of who I am. There are no secrets between Him and I, He knows it all. The good, bad and ugly to borrow a phrase. Even that full knowledge doesn’t dissuade Him from loving me. That is the kind of love that gives a person freedom.
I struggle with this a lot. While I believe I am so loved, I have a hard time trusting in it. While His love is perfect, our worldly version is not. And that my friends has left a mark. I still chase after it though. I want that kind of freedom! To trust so much in that love, gives me the confidence to become the person He made me to be. The one that’s inside of me. The one that I find it hard to let out. The one who laughs too loud, eats too much, cry’s too easily and doesn’t want to wear a mask. She is kind and just wants to encourage you, whether she knows you or not. She loves Jesus, but she drinks a little. She is scared to be vulnerable with you, because she cares what you think. Her feelings get hurt easily and she lets them hurt. That’s because it’s either hurt or anger, and she never wants the anger to have life. I know I am not the only one who wants this freedom. I see it in myself, and I see it in other women. I see it in the bible.
I was reading about the woman Jesus met by a well. I see it in her. When she is face to face with that kind of love, she can’t help but let everyone know. It doesn’t matter that Jesus knew all about her life, her husbands and the man she was living with. That love gave her a different perspective. That Love gave her freedom!!
So here is to perfect LOVE that gives freedom and the amazing life that comes from it!
You know, sometimes this writing part of my life is not easy! I try to come up with something interesting, or thought provoking, not preachy and above all not too opinionated. I try to frame what I write as my experience, and hope it either encourages or at least gives someone a different perspective.
phone call I got last night. I am typically the one who is messaging or talking to someone to encourage them, but last night the call was for me. Someone wanted to ask how I was, and check up on me and the family. I appreciated it so much! And at the end she prayed for me, and it was cool because it showed growth in her faith.
Why these two topics together? Well, I guess it’s because I hear much more ”opinion” than encouragement. And since I am like most people, I tend to think we are all looking for more encouragement, love, kindness and lack of judgment than we are looking for another opinion. So today be mindful of the words you say. Be a shoulder to lean on, cry on or just be a good listener. Leave your opinions behind, and see how you can be an encouragement to someone today.
rite about, but it never really takes shape till my fingers start typing on the keys.
wanted to ask the question! God knows us, and so does His Son. Jesus knew Nicodemus deepest, darkest, subconscious thoughts, dreams, stress and heart’s desire. He knows mine too.
What’s going on in your life today? Do you really need an answer to that question, situation or stress? Look back! Remember, reboot and refocus. You might be surprised at what answers you may find!
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?
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.
them. What I do like about puzzles is the what they show……A complete picture. You have all these pieces that go together but they are in such weird shapes, it is not easy to see how everything fits. But they do.
Life is like a puzzle. All the days and everything that happens to you become pieces that are fitted together to create you. How you think, how you feel and how you live.
“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.
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.
Cheryl Mendoza 