Recently I injured my left foot and had to walk around in a big cumbersome brace. I needed to give my foot time to heal so that one day I could take off the brace and walk on it again. As I was going through this I began to think about life.
In life sometimes we get hurt. Injuries occur and we need to take time to heal. Sometimes the pain goes so deep we are of no use to others, until we have taken time for healing . It’s not being selfish. It’s reality. My foot couldn’t support the weight of my body for a time. Forcing it to do so would have only resulted in further injury.
I believe this can happen in our walk with Christ, too. When we work side by side with other people, we can expect to get hurt sometimes. Sometimes, we can brush it off and keep going, other times it might hurt too much. It will take time to heal. And that is okay. You can’t minister to others when your heart is in pieces.
You need to take some time. In His word, Jesus says to the people, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) We need to listen to His wise words and allow him to be our place of refuge. Let Him be our strength when we have none. He can be the brace that keeps us on our feet. Rest in Him, and then get back up.
When you are ready, you can return to ministry. You can help others once you receive the help you need. But let me caution you never to get to the place where you think you don’t need to rely on Jesus for His strength anymore. Unlike the foot brace that can come off and be put away in storage, you always need your Savior by your side. Keep Him there in the good times, too and maybe the next time a storm comes along the blow won’t be so hard. Your fall may not be as hard and the injury will not take as long to heal.
Be encouraged. Just like my foot healed and I was able to walk again, your heart will heal and you will be able to help again.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Faith in the Dark
Do you know how it is when you go from a well lit room to a dark one? For a moment while your eyes adjust you have your hands stretched out in front of you trying to feel your way around so you don’t bump into anything. I experience this every night before bed when I leave our bright bathroom and enter our unlit bedroom.I kind of know where things are, so I try and stay on the same path, but little surprises can always pop-up.
This is how I believe we can sometimes describe faith. There are some dark times in our lives when we can’t feel our way around. We search for the right path and hope not to bump into something that will hurt. But it happens sometimes. For me, I came to Christ at the young age of 6 but I have gotten lost in the dark several times since then. As a teen, I gave up on God because it wasn’t cool to be a Christian. I stopped praying and attending church. I had some rough times then. After an unplanned pregnancy, I began to search for God again, and the light came back on. I cried out to Him for help and He was there.
As an adult, when hard times came, I began to doubt a loving God existed. I questioned why I was having so many hard times. I tried to hide in the dark, but I discovered even if you are surrounded by friends and family, it gets lonely in the dark. I was missing something. Slowly, as I began searching again for what was missing, I realized it was God. Faith gets me through all the tough times. Knowing I have a God I can count on helps me. When no one else listens, He does. When no one else sees my tears, He does. When I can’t get out of the bed in the morning, He gives me a push. He wants the best for me. As I realize all this, the darkness starts to get lighter. I can see what I am suppose to be doing. I can see where to go, who to help, and why I am here.
Faith is not about a well-lit path with everything easily laid out for you. You are not always sure of the way to go, and sometimes there are bumps that hurt. Some bumps are big while others are small. No matter the size or pain of the bump, you keep going. If I let each bump on my path stop me, I would not be where I am today. I have had well-meaning people hurt me. I have probably hurt others. We are all human and it is bound to happen. Tragic things happen in life. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen. Young children get killed, babies die, loved ones leave us too soon. The list goes on and on. In one year, I faced so many different disappointments that it started to suffocate me. The light started getting darker as I focused on the bad. We have to search for the good. It’s there if only we will look. Miracles may not happen in front of our eyes every day. But there are so many small ones we miss when we don’t look. Trees growing in the desert, getting a job in a tough job market, and having a family to enjoy the good times with. These are only a few of the small miracles that take place everyday.
Faith is more like a dark room at first. You have to enter it, hands surrendered. You have to walk into it not knowing exactly where you are going, but trusting that you will begin to see more as you continue on the path. You keep moving no matter what gets in the way and keep searching for the light. It will get brighter. It begins with asking God to reveal to you who He is—a simple step that takes faith. You can’t see God’s holy face, but He will show you who He is in everything around you.
Just as your eyes get adjusted to the dark and you begin to see what’s around you, faith happens in the same way. You first have to take that leap and walk into the dark room. Once you do, things will start to brighten. The more you focus and the more time you spend examining, the more you will see. It takes time, just like anything else in life. The reward is more than anything you will ever receive here on earth. You will spend eternity living in a perfect world, with no disappointments, no tears, and no death. You will never be in the darkness again.
So, the next time you go from a dark room to a well-lit one, take a moment and pause. Decide if you want to take that leap of faith or stay stuck in the dark.
This is how I believe we can sometimes describe faith. There are some dark times in our lives when we can’t feel our way around. We search for the right path and hope not to bump into something that will hurt. But it happens sometimes. For me, I came to Christ at the young age of 6 but I have gotten lost in the dark several times since then. As a teen, I gave up on God because it wasn’t cool to be a Christian. I stopped praying and attending church. I had some rough times then. After an unplanned pregnancy, I began to search for God again, and the light came back on. I cried out to Him for help and He was there.
As an adult, when hard times came, I began to doubt a loving God existed. I questioned why I was having so many hard times. I tried to hide in the dark, but I discovered even if you are surrounded by friends and family, it gets lonely in the dark. I was missing something. Slowly, as I began searching again for what was missing, I realized it was God. Faith gets me through all the tough times. Knowing I have a God I can count on helps me. When no one else listens, He does. When no one else sees my tears, He does. When I can’t get out of the bed in the morning, He gives me a push. He wants the best for me. As I realize all this, the darkness starts to get lighter. I can see what I am suppose to be doing. I can see where to go, who to help, and why I am here.
Faith is not about a well-lit path with everything easily laid out for you. You are not always sure of the way to go, and sometimes there are bumps that hurt. Some bumps are big while others are small. No matter the size or pain of the bump, you keep going. If I let each bump on my path stop me, I would not be where I am today. I have had well-meaning people hurt me. I have probably hurt others. We are all human and it is bound to happen. Tragic things happen in life. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen. Young children get killed, babies die, loved ones leave us too soon. The list goes on and on. In one year, I faced so many different disappointments that it started to suffocate me. The light started getting darker as I focused on the bad. We have to search for the good. It’s there if only we will look. Miracles may not happen in front of our eyes every day. But there are so many small ones we miss when we don’t look. Trees growing in the desert, getting a job in a tough job market, and having a family to enjoy the good times with. These are only a few of the small miracles that take place everyday.
Faith is more like a dark room at first. You have to enter it, hands surrendered. You have to walk into it not knowing exactly where you are going, but trusting that you will begin to see more as you continue on the path. You keep moving no matter what gets in the way and keep searching for the light. It will get brighter. It begins with asking God to reveal to you who He is—a simple step that takes faith. You can’t see God’s holy face, but He will show you who He is in everything around you.
Just as your eyes get adjusted to the dark and you begin to see what’s around you, faith happens in the same way. You first have to take that leap and walk into the dark room. Once you do, things will start to brighten. The more you focus and the more time you spend examining, the more you will see. It takes time, just like anything else in life. The reward is more than anything you will ever receive here on earth. You will spend eternity living in a perfect world, with no disappointments, no tears, and no death. You will never be in the darkness again.
So, the next time you go from a dark room to a well-lit one, take a moment and pause. Decide if you want to take that leap of faith or stay stuck in the dark.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Choices
Every day we face many choices. For me, most days start with, “Do I feel like getting out of bed?” I begin to ponder how many choices we all have to make. As I listen to a song by Francesca Batestelli, I learn even more about choices.
Do you realize that every choice you make says something about who you are? From the little choices like which shoes to wear all the way up to the big ones like; “ Is this the right guy for me?” Every decision you make has part of you in it.
I then started to think more deeply on this and on the choices I make. What do they say about me? What can others learn about me from the choices I make? I never realized just how important each decision in my life can be.
The lyrics of the song really spoke to my heart. Do the choices I make show that my heart is for Jesus, or do they show I am all about me? Do others see me as giving of myself unselfishly, or do they see me as doing things to get the glory?
As a believer, I know how important it is to show the world how the love of Christ makes me a better person. We are judged harshly by everyone. The people out there claiming to be Christians by spreading hate messages or predicting the end of the world cast a bad light on the true believers. I want my life to show the true Jesus. I want the world to see in me, a love that is for everyone. I want others to see my desire is to help every person I can because that’s what Jesus did.
Jesus chose to come down to earth in the form of man, to show the world He is the living Savior, and then to sacrifice His own life on the cross for me. All those choices are beyond my human comprehension. Giving up one’s life for undeserving, selfish people, who may not even chose to acknowledge Him for who He is. Now, that says a lot. Why would someone do that?
I believe it can be answered by one word—Love. So each day, I am deciding to make all my choices based on love. In doing that, I will follow Jesus and my heart will always be in the right place. Others will see my life as a person who loves them. That’s the choice I make.
Do you realize that every choice you make says something about who you are? From the little choices like which shoes to wear all the way up to the big ones like; “ Is this the right guy for me?” Every decision you make has part of you in it.
I then started to think more deeply on this and on the choices I make. What do they say about me? What can others learn about me from the choices I make? I never realized just how important each decision in my life can be.
The lyrics of the song really spoke to my heart. Do the choices I make show that my heart is for Jesus, or do they show I am all about me? Do others see me as giving of myself unselfishly, or do they see me as doing things to get the glory?
As a believer, I know how important it is to show the world how the love of Christ makes me a better person. We are judged harshly by everyone. The people out there claiming to be Christians by spreading hate messages or predicting the end of the world cast a bad light on the true believers. I want my life to show the true Jesus. I want the world to see in me, a love that is for everyone. I want others to see my desire is to help every person I can because that’s what Jesus did.
Jesus chose to come down to earth in the form of man, to show the world He is the living Savior, and then to sacrifice His own life on the cross for me. All those choices are beyond my human comprehension. Giving up one’s life for undeserving, selfish people, who may not even chose to acknowledge Him for who He is. Now, that says a lot. Why would someone do that?
I believe it can be answered by one word—Love. So each day, I am deciding to make all my choices based on love. In doing that, I will follow Jesus and my heart will always be in the right place. Others will see my life as a person who loves them. That’s the choice I make.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Reflect and Commit.
This is the time of the year that causes all of us to reflect on the past year and make promises for the next one. How many of us though break the promises before the second week of January is done? Why is it that January 1 seems like the magical time to commit to something and January 14 the day to give it all up?
I think the answer is simple. Instead of learning from our past mistakes we focus on the promise of a new start. As we are looking back on the past year we should study our mistakes. We should take a close look at what went wrong. If we learn from them, we might just have a higher success rate in this next year.
This all reminds me of the Old Testament. We are all so quick to judge the Israelites for falling away from God and giving up hope time and again. And then each time God would show He was faithful and they would return to Him. We make jokes about how many times it takes for them to get it. Well, shouldn’t we be doing that about ourselves? Doesn’t it take several times of falling and crying out to God, before we learn to pray first, before action? Don’t we all think we are just fine without God, and then find ourselves crying out to Him when it gets to tough? We are so much like the Israelites. I think we may even be worse. I am not sure if we would make it to the Promised Land in 40 years. I believe it would take much longer. We are all stubborn and believe our way is right.
This year I am praying that I truly reflect on the past year. There are some painful moments, but those are the most important. By reflecting on those, hopefully I can see mistakes I made and not make them again. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wandering in the desert. I want to make it to the Promised Land. I want to see what a year totally committed to God looks and feels like. Will there be bumps along the way? Guaranteed. But, how I handle them should be a lot different
I think the answer is simple. Instead of learning from our past mistakes we focus on the promise of a new start. As we are looking back on the past year we should study our mistakes. We should take a close look at what went wrong. If we learn from them, we might just have a higher success rate in this next year.
This all reminds me of the Old Testament. We are all so quick to judge the Israelites for falling away from God and giving up hope time and again. And then each time God would show He was faithful and they would return to Him. We make jokes about how many times it takes for them to get it. Well, shouldn’t we be doing that about ourselves? Doesn’t it take several times of falling and crying out to God, before we learn to pray first, before action? Don’t we all think we are just fine without God, and then find ourselves crying out to Him when it gets to tough? We are so much like the Israelites. I think we may even be worse. I am not sure if we would make it to the Promised Land in 40 years. I believe it would take much longer. We are all stubborn and believe our way is right.
This year I am praying that I truly reflect on the past year. There are some painful moments, but those are the most important. By reflecting on those, hopefully I can see mistakes I made and not make them again. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wandering in the desert. I want to make it to the Promised Land. I want to see what a year totally committed to God looks and feels like. Will there be bumps along the way? Guaranteed. But, how I handle them should be a lot different
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas lives on!
Christmas is my absolute favorite season of the year. It always has been and always will be. I love putting up the tree and decorating it with the unmatching ornaments. The ones made by my kids, the ones I just thought were to cute to pass up, and of course it would not be complete without my Precious Moments ornaments.
But now, that Christmas day has come and the evening settles in, I get a little melancholy. Christmas always comes and goes so fast. This year as it comes to an end, however, I am filled with new thoughts. As a believer does Christmas really ever end? Doesn't the meaning live on in my heart? Shouldn't the joy I feel the urge to spread at Christmas continue on? It really should. The message of my Savior should not stop with the end of Christmas. His story goes on. It doesn't end at His birth. If it did, it wouldn't be so amazing.
What really makes Christmas amazing is the whole story. How my God came down one day and became a baby. He crawled, cried, and felt the touch of a mother's hand. He was rocked to sleep at night, and saw the same stars that I do now. He felt the warmth of the sun upon His skin and walked miles on hard dirt. Then He taught of His Father's love, and how to live life. He showed the way to everlasting life. He went through hard times, and had to say goodbye to loved ones. He saw the pain that this world brings. Then He paid the ultimate price and gave up His life for me. He willingly died so that I don't have, too. He paid the price for all my sins and set me free.
His life should be celebrated everyday. Songs should fill the air of His love all the time. Joy should ring out from sea to sea all year long. Christmas is just the beginning of the story, and it is not the end. So this Christmas even as I take down the decorations and pack them to be put away, Christmas will stay in my heart the whole year through. Joy will come each day, with each new dawn. I will celebrate my Savior's life each and every day. Won't you join with me and let Christmas live on. Have a blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
But now, that Christmas day has come and the evening settles in, I get a little melancholy. Christmas always comes and goes so fast. This year as it comes to an end, however, I am filled with new thoughts. As a believer does Christmas really ever end? Doesn't the meaning live on in my heart? Shouldn't the joy I feel the urge to spread at Christmas continue on? It really should. The message of my Savior should not stop with the end of Christmas. His story goes on. It doesn't end at His birth. If it did, it wouldn't be so amazing.
What really makes Christmas amazing is the whole story. How my God came down one day and became a baby. He crawled, cried, and felt the touch of a mother's hand. He was rocked to sleep at night, and saw the same stars that I do now. He felt the warmth of the sun upon His skin and walked miles on hard dirt. Then He taught of His Father's love, and how to live life. He showed the way to everlasting life. He went through hard times, and had to say goodbye to loved ones. He saw the pain that this world brings. Then He paid the ultimate price and gave up His life for me. He willingly died so that I don't have, too. He paid the price for all my sins and set me free.
His life should be celebrated everyday. Songs should fill the air of His love all the time. Joy should ring out from sea to sea all year long. Christmas is just the beginning of the story, and it is not the end. So this Christmas even as I take down the decorations and pack them to be put away, Christmas will stay in my heart the whole year through. Joy will come each day, with each new dawn. I will celebrate my Savior's life each and every day. Won't you join with me and let Christmas live on. Have a blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Give Thanks
It's that time of year again. Today people everywhere are getting up early to get the turkey in the oven. The houses have delicious aromas for hours. The Christmas music starts to get played on the radio. The cool weather is a welcome relief, here in Arizona, at least. I love this time of year.
Families will gather around the table today and share what they are thankful for. Time to put aside petty squabbles and enjoy all the blessings we have. I wonder how many of us though, will thank our Lord? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to be thankful family, pets, and loved ones. I myself am thankful for my wonderful family. But we would have none of this if it wasn't for our Lord. He created this entire world. He gave us our families. He willingly went to the cross and died to pay for all our sins. I don't know anyone else who showed that much love and continues to do so. Do you? So, let's give thanks this year to Him, also.
And there are other important people who don't get enough recognition. Our service men and women. Some of them are even fighting for us today. They don't get to sit around a table with their families and enjoy a grand feast. They are out there with fellow soldiers fighting for our freedom. Some will even give their lives today. Give thanks to all those men and women who have so willingly put others first.
May you all be blessed this Thanksgiving day, and enjoy your families. If your family is far away, give them a call and keep them close in your heart. Be thankful you have the opportunity to say I love you and don't let the day end without doing so.
Families will gather around the table today and share what they are thankful for. Time to put aside petty squabbles and enjoy all the blessings we have. I wonder how many of us though, will thank our Lord? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to be thankful family, pets, and loved ones. I myself am thankful for my wonderful family. But we would have none of this if it wasn't for our Lord. He created this entire world. He gave us our families. He willingly went to the cross and died to pay for all our sins. I don't know anyone else who showed that much love and continues to do so. Do you? So, let's give thanks this year to Him, also.
And there are other important people who don't get enough recognition. Our service men and women. Some of them are even fighting for us today. They don't get to sit around a table with their families and enjoy a grand feast. They are out there with fellow soldiers fighting for our freedom. Some will even give their lives today. Give thanks to all those men and women who have so willingly put others first.
May you all be blessed this Thanksgiving day, and enjoy your families. If your family is far away, give them a call and keep them close in your heart. Be thankful you have the opportunity to say I love you and don't let the day end without doing so.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Amazing
I want to share with you an experience I had on Friday, October 15th that was amazing. I was called by God to go and talk before 800 people at a local event about child sex slavery. It was a five minute talk with slides, and it had to follow the format that was set up. There were other presenters that evening, too. I was in the second half of the evening, so I watched the others go before me. They were all fantastic. I grew a little more nervous as my time approached. I drank two bottles of water backstage before my talk trying to keep from getting a dry mouth out on stage. My time came. I walked out on stage and started out a little nervous. During my first slide I froze after I got out my first two sentences. Finally, the words came back into my mind. I began speaking and I felt my mouth getting drier and drier. I wished I had brought another bottle of water out with me. I felt my tongue get bigger and I felt I could barely talk. I got through all my slides and left the stage feeling I had let God down.
Then the most amazing thing happened. I had people coming up to me, telling me how great my talk was. They told me they could feel my passion for these teens. I had a couple of ladies tell me that they cried. Another woman approached me and invited me to be on her local talk show. I had a college professor of journalism approach me, and wanted to talk more about the subject. She is looking for something for her students to do an in depth story on. I don't tell you this to brag about myself. Quite the opposite. I want you to know that this was not me. It was a miracle. That is the only way I can describe that these people were touched. Out of obedience I did as God asked of me, and opened my mouth. He did the rest. He poured out the words. He made the words passionate and understandable. I still am so amazed as I think on that night. I did nothing at all except walk out on the stage a willing vessel to be used. I want to encourage you, if God is calling you to something big, don't be afraid to take that step. He will do what needs to be done. If He needs to be your voice, He will. As long as you surrender to Him, He will do something amazing with you. It will be something you will not forget.
I am so glad that I experienced this, because I know God is not done with me yet. I know that He is calling me to do more to help end child sex slavery. I know that some of it will be scarier than speaking in front of all those people. But, now I also know that I have nothing to fear, because my Almighty, Amazing Father will be there with me. He will protect me, show me the way, and be right at my side. I learned that as long I step out in obedience, He will take care of the rest. That is an awesome feeling to have. I pray that all of you will have something like this happen in your life so you can experience it first hand.
Then the most amazing thing happened. I had people coming up to me, telling me how great my talk was. They told me they could feel my passion for these teens. I had a couple of ladies tell me that they cried. Another woman approached me and invited me to be on her local talk show. I had a college professor of journalism approach me, and wanted to talk more about the subject. She is looking for something for her students to do an in depth story on. I don't tell you this to brag about myself. Quite the opposite. I want you to know that this was not me. It was a miracle. That is the only way I can describe that these people were touched. Out of obedience I did as God asked of me, and opened my mouth. He did the rest. He poured out the words. He made the words passionate and understandable. I still am so amazed as I think on that night. I did nothing at all except walk out on the stage a willing vessel to be used. I want to encourage you, if God is calling you to something big, don't be afraid to take that step. He will do what needs to be done. If He needs to be your voice, He will. As long as you surrender to Him, He will do something amazing with you. It will be something you will not forget.
I am so glad that I experienced this, because I know God is not done with me yet. I know that He is calling me to do more to help end child sex slavery. I know that some of it will be scarier than speaking in front of all those people. But, now I also know that I have nothing to fear, because my Almighty, Amazing Father will be there with me. He will protect me, show me the way, and be right at my side. I learned that as long I step out in obedience, He will take care of the rest. That is an awesome feeling to have. I pray that all of you will have something like this happen in your life so you can experience it first hand.
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