His biggest fan.

17 Friday May 2013

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Who is your husband’s biggest fan? If you’re married, is it you?

When boys are growing up and playing sports, music, or chess..(whatever boys like to do) they look into the crowd and listen for the voice of the lady in their life. At that time, it’s their Mama. She smiles, takes pictures and tells them how amazing they are. She speaks words to him that breathe life into his soul. She tells him that she loves him to the moon and back. And he grows up believing her.

Then he gets married to a lovely woman.

While they were dating, she told him how great he was, how cute he was and how much she loved his smell. She couldn’t get enough of him and he loved every minute of it.

As his well-meaning wife, she probably continued doing some of those very same things. At an event she waves, smiles and takes a few pictures for their photo album. She asks him about his goals and dreams. She takes an interest in the things he likes and she’ll even ask about them from time to time.

Years pass.

He ages. He works a lot. He doesn’t smell quite the same. They have kids.

She gets annoyed of the things she used to laugh at and just wishes he would do more around the house to help.

She’s traded her admiration for disapproval. Rather than encouraging him to soar, she nags at him for being gone too much and not doing enough. He hears her loud and clear.

Remember that little boy who needed encouragement? He believed he could do anything because of the woman in his life? As his wife, you are that woman now. No, you’re not his mother, but you are the woman who can speak life-giving words that build him up or with another set of words, can tear him down.

I’ve never met a perfect husband, but I’ve also never met a perfect wife. In my home, my husband knows my deepest flaws and my deepest sins and he chooses to love me anyways. I also know his and I choose to love him. That’s part of what makes it so rich! We are fully known and fully loved. I want my voice to be the loudest one he hears-cheering him on, telling him he can still climb mountains and even that I love him to the moon and back.

I bet if we focused less on what our husbands could do for us and more on just loving and encouraging him, we’d actually see some of those issues go away. Or better yet, we could talk through issues in our marriage before they blow up and incinerate and we can’t stand being around each other.

In church ministry, we get the privilege of walking through lots of life with people. Sometimes, we don’t get invited in until decisions have been made and there’s “no turning back”. I often think if a couple had invited a counselor or someone to speak into their lives years ago when they were first having problems, how many marriages would be spared years of frustration, heartache and break-up. Everyone needs help from time to time. Some more than others, but every couple needs wisdom spoken into their marriage.

If your marriage feels healthy to you, you might read this and take the reminder to cheer your husband on and love him well. But if it’s not and you’ve been making a list in your head about all the issues you have with him while reading this blog, then may I encourage you to seek some help for your marriage?

While it might be easy to come up with a list of complaints about your husband, I want to remind you of one important thing: He is yours; list and all. You married him. You chose him and you committed to love him. And while the years have changed both of you, he is still yours. Yours to pray for, yours to communicate with and yours to love.  And while you’re praying for him, you might also ask the Lord to reveal areas in your own life that need to be surrendered. Remember that verse about the plank in our own eye?

Everyone wants a cheerleader. Let your husband hear you loud and clear about your home life, the way he does his job and even his interests. Encourage him to grow, be a friend, and try new things. Don’t underestimate what your husband can do with you standing firmly and enthusiastically by his side. The “sky’s the limit” when he knows that whether he succeeds or fails, you’ll still be there with your pom-poms.

T.K.O.

16 Thursday May 2013

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As a child, did you ever hear the words “You can achieve any goal if you set your mind to it”? 

I did. I had really great parents who have been my cheerleaders my entire life. Children who hear these types of things often grow up believing that anything really is possible and when they work hard and set high goals, they will achieve them.

But then they become adults.

What happens between being a child with lofty goals and being an adult who doesn’t expect much of yourself? Where along the line did defeat and self-doubt creep in?

I ask, because I feel like I hear these themes often from what I read and even from friends. It seems that many of us see what someone else is doing and start to feel bad about ourselves. Instead of cheering on others, we find ourselves doubting our own “goodness” and worth and we begin to question why we aren’t doing all “those” things. This oddly leads to judging anyone else who is.  It’s a weird spiral. I’ve been in it before, so I feel like I can say that. I read someone recently who was kindly trying to encourage woman by saying that we’re all in different places in life and you weren’t necessarily called to solve world hunger, adopt, start churches, become a missionary, or home school your kids. And that’s true. She was right.

But what if you were? What if God asked you to do something that is “hard”?

I think somewhere along the line between wanting to be the president (at age 8) and getting married and having children, many of us stop dreaming. We stop believing that life is anything more than sweatpants, spilled juice and barely making it through the day.  Instead of taking on the day like a boxer who just entered the ring jumping up and down and who swings their fists to warm up for a TKO, we act like the guy he’ll defeat in less than 3 seconds. We didn’t even see it coming!

So what’s the answer? Is it even possible to be in a busy stage of life with small children or a busy schedule and really flourish?

I think it’s possible, but it will require a little change of thinking.

I fear we think too small and allow other people to determine our worth too much.

I believe the reason some people really do flourish in this season of life is not because they believe “they can do it” or because they just “try harder” than others. I don’t believe it’s because they have more help, more resources or a different personality than yours-although those can be helpful. I believe it’s because they recognize who they really are: weak and unable. And because of that truth, they choose to cling to the source of all strength and power: their heavenly Father and Him alone.

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ummm…yes. Amen!

They find rest, rejuvenation and loads of strength in God’s words of truth. They choose to let his words sink into the deep and very private crevices of their lives and change them from within. Sometimes it’s painful, but they will tell you it’s worth it! 

I think they’ve also decided not to settle for the status quo. They chose to be stretched by all that God has for them, instead of doing only what others expect of them, which is often very little. One thing I have certainly experienced is that people will often give you an “out”.

“Oh, that would be so hard! I can’t imagine having so many kids.” (Mind you, I only have 4 and yet I hear this most of the time when we go out in public. We had a ridiculous situation on Mother’s Day while we were out for dinner and I honestly just felt for the guy saying it. He has kids; he’s just choosing to miss out on enjoying them.)

“I could never ________.”  

“I don’t know how you ________”

So, if we all listen to this type of advice we’ll just continue living our safe and controlled lives. We won’t stretch or ache for others. We won’t give until it hurts. We certainly will not share Jesus, because that would just be so uncomfortable. We won’t willingly choose to disciple our children. We won’t serve any of the many needs of our churches or lift a hand to help someone in need. We won’t encourage those who have given their lives to spread the gospel. We’ll never support or even consider fostering or adoption and we’ll shy away from those that do. We won’t care that there are more slaves in the world today than there EVER have been and we won’t ask God what He wants for our lives, because if He answers, it might actually cost us something.

I’m sick of the status quo.

I believe Christ called us to more. Don’t hear “work harder! Do more!” That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying to look at the power that is within you. If you are a follower of Jesus who claims that the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, then you have all the power you need to be a part of life-changing work for the Lord. Have you asked him to use you?

If you want to argue that sometimes He has us in a waiting period, I wouldn’t argue. I completely agree. But if you’ve been sitting in the crowd for years, it’s time to step into the ring. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

So will you step into the ring? I hear there’s a set of gloves that’s just your size.

Lessons from a deck of cards

09 Thursday May 2013

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I love to travel! Or should I say that I have loved to travel. We have four kiddos now and “traveling” looks like a trip to the beach wearing lots of sunscreen and building sand castles with them. It’s glorious of course, but it’s different than the landmarks we used to travel to where we’d take picture after picture of stunning detail.

Because of my love for travel and desire to instill the big wide-world into my children, it’s a real privilege that I get to home-school them. The other day we were looking at famous landmarks on a deck of educational cards. I asked my two oldest girls to look through their deck and pick two places that they’d like to learn about today. Amidst the cards was the Golden Gate bridge, which I’d love to get to and the leaning tower of Pisa, which I have been to and have the leaning picture to prove it.

As we flipped, we found the White House, the Hoover Dam, Stonehenge and the Kuwait City Towers. One of my daughters has been fascinated with Egypt’s pyramids at Giza since the beginning of our school year when our Classical Conversations group studied them, so we stopped on this one for a bit. She’s planning a trip for some years from now and honestly, I hope we really get to see them.

One card held my attention as we flipped through the deck. It was Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square. What beautiful colors! What interesting architecture! My girls were not nearly as fascinated as me until I began to tell them a story about this place.

Me: “You know, our friend Titus is from Russia.”

Girls: “Oh yea!! He is!”

Me: “Did you know that this beautiful place is part of his story of getting to the United States to live?”

Girls: “Yes.”

Me: “Isn’t it neat to think that he came all that way from Russia to live here in the States with the Toveys?”

They both agreed it was neat and then my oldest daughter began to tell us about how wonderful it was that he was adopted by Christians.  Then in all kinds of excitement: “Because they will tell him about Jesus and maybe he’ll become a Christian some day!”

And that, my friends is a beautiful picture of something more stunning than any landmark and more fascinating than the details of when any monument was built. It’s the gospel and even my little seven and five-year old “get it”.

Bringing Titus into an already full and bustling home gives this little man the chance to hear about the Jesus who loved him and knew him before he was even formed in his birth mother’s womb. Graciously, through medical needs that our friends, the Tovey family felt compelled to meet, God saw fit to connect them and make Titus part of their forever family. How awesome! The part I am still stunned by is that the hearing loss that he had and is what matched them together in the first place is literally GONE now that he is here. That’s how they were able to get him home so quickly and it’s G-O-N-E. How’s that for POWER??!!

It’s obvious to me that the Enemy hates adoption. He fights it, closes doors and discourages many.  But, even in those sad discouraging ones, God is working all the while-even when we can’t see it and don’t understand. God, on the other hand, loves adoption, which is why the scriptures are full of references to orphans and why even our salvation is referred to as “adoption” by our Heavenly Father.

Sometimes my heart just gets really full from the little lessons in life.

*Photo from Wikepedia: Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Remember when…

06 Monday May 2013

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“It is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in this tent of a body.”

Peter’s words grabbed me. I love to reminisce. Some of my favorite moments are sitting with my husband reminiscing over our memories together: like when we fell in love, took trips together, or began having our children. I love to talk about what those little pink girls looked like and felt like the first time I held them in my arms. Refreshing your memory is good for the soul.

But in this passage, Peter is refreshing the memories of believers (who were scattered around Asia Minor) about something else; something more significant than even our fondest memories of love and children. He’s recalling when they first came to know the Lord. While those early days were good and you can read about them in Acts, the years had changed their acceptance. These believers in Jesus had been persecuted and many had moved from their original homes to flee a fatal death. And yet even with this knowledge and his own experiences of beatings and persecution, Peter reminds them of the truth:

..God’s power has given us everything we need to live a godly life..

..He has given us his great and precious promises…

…Add to your faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love…

…and when you possess all these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Christ…

…if you don’t possess these things, you’ll become nearsighted and forget what you’ve been cleansed from…

Peter knows, because he’s been forgiven much. (To whom much is given, much is required) Remember his story of grace?

One of the roles of a pastor is to teach the truth of God to believers and that’s exactly what we find Peter doing. And just as a side note, when you are going through a crisis, do your friends point you to the truth of God’s word or to their own rationalized thinking? I’m very careful whom I take advice from. If someone is not willing to point me to the truth of God, then their advice doesn’t carry much weight. There are a lot of lies out there and many of them have been twisted with just a little truth, so be careful and seek godly counsel.

Peter goes on to say, “It is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in this tent of a body.”  He is aware that he won’t be alive forever, but that the truth will be carried on by these believers. In fact, thanks to him we’re reminded of these truths today!

So, may I refresh your mind?

When did you come to know the Lord? Were you a child or an adult?

Was it a struggle to give up control? Maybe it still is?

Do you know him as the Savior that he really is-holy, all-knowing, just, sinless, loving?

Can you see the change that has occurred in your life because of God’s transforming work?

I’d love to hear from you today. If you know the Lord and have called on him for salvation, would you leave a sentence or two about when or how? Encourage me and other believers by sharing your good news!!

I’ll go first: I was a little girl, but I can still clearly recall the night that God called me to himself. I couldn’t go to sleep! That night, my faithful Mom led me to Jesus. Every night, as my sisters and I would go to bed, she would pray with us and read Bible stories and we’d talk. That night, I waited anxiously in my bed for her to come in. I’ve grown a lot since then, but that was the night my new life in Christ began.

Will you remember with me today?

He prayed for us!

29 Monday Apr 2013

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While reading the gospels, I find myself continually struck by Jesus. His tender compassion and piercing truth fill its pages and keep me coming back for more.

In this passage of John 17, Jesus recognizes that his time has come to be taken by the Roman officials for his crucifixion. We get one last intimate glance at his relationship with his Father in this lengthy prayer.

He first lays out that the only way to the Father is through “eternal life”, which he says is “to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” He recalls that his time on earth was to bring God glory and longs to be back with him in heaven sharing in “the glory we shared before the world began.” I love the longing that seems to be in his voice. I would imagine being in God’s presence provides a peace that we can never experience on this earth and a desire for him that nothing else can satisfy. Jesus had this longing because he had spent time with God. He had been in his presence and knew his power. And because Jesus had truly experienced God, he wasn’t satisfied without him. When I read this, I have to ask: When we don’t long for God’s glory, is it because we haven’t spent time with him, to even understand our need? Or do we not long for him, because we don’t really even know him?

Jesus goes on to petition on behalf of the disciples that he would soon be leaving. He prays for those “you have given to me”.  “Holy Father, keep them and care for them.” He had real love for these people. And then, he goes on to pray for you and I and this is where my heart begins to melt. All these years later, here I am-little old me and there was a prayer by Christ himself on my behalf and yours.

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony.” (that’s us!!) “My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father- that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.”

His prayer is for our unity and our example to others. So that by the very way we live our lives and how we talk and care for one another, the world would believe in Jesus! That’s a lofty goal, friends. There is much division these days. We are divided in politics and social issues and very obviously in church issues. His prayer was that we would be unified by them.

I’ve been a part of a number of different kinds of churches in my life and something that saddens me is when I see a lack of grace given for anyone that isn’t in the same place in their spiritual journey. But as we see even in scripture, that’s just how it happens. Our job as a more mature believer is to lovingly bring someone along and speak the truth in love (see Matthew 18 for Biblical correction). I have been guilty of not giving grace and God is continually peeling away my own pride issues as he shows me that unity is his heart’s desire for the church.

God is also showing me that I can trust him to do the work in someone else’s life, because I am not responsible for the outcome. If you are a parent, this should take about 50 pounds off your back! As our children make their faith their own, they will make some bad choices along the way. Cry out to the Lord on their behalf, like Jesus has done for us and then trust the Holy Spirit to do the life-changing work in their lives.

Thank you Lord for giving us each a story and that our very existence today shows that you aren’t done with us. May we be as gracious with one another!

I think the only obvious question now is, what will you do with Christ’s heart for you?

 

Pretty straight forward…

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

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The other day as I was talking over an issue in my home, I found myself saying this verse: “live at peace with everyone”. I had just said it to one of my children, but trust me, I needed to hear it just as much as she did!

After chewing on the verse for a while and reading those that surrounded it, I wrote down an abbreviated version of the chapter. I hope it will be an encouragement to your heart today as we all need these reminders of how to really live out Christ-likeness.  I hope some of them will cause you to stop and hang on their truth. I’d love to have these posted somewhere in my home for a quick reminder. They really are “words to live by”.

Romans 12:9-21 (abbreviated)

Truly love.

Hate evil and hold to the good.

Be devoted to one another.

Honor others above yourself.

Serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Joyfully hope.

Endure patiently.

Pray faithfully.

Share with others.

Be hospitable.

Bless even those who are unkind to you.

Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Mourn with those who mourn.

Live in harmony with one another.

Don’t be proud or conceited.

Don’t repay evil for evil.

Do right.

Live at peace with everyone.

Overcome evil with good.

Lord, help those of us who call ourselves “followers of Jesus” to really live like this! May we literally change the world through your kind of love.

Click here to read the full version of Romans 12.

Not to be Pitied

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Yesterday’s tragedy in Boston is yet another reminder of the crazy and out of control world that we live in. There is sadness and fear all around us.

I wanted to share this verse with you, my friends. I hope it will encourage your heart today.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

1 Corinthians 15:19

If you are a follower of Jesus, you recognize that this life is only a pit stop in your eternal destiny. But that’s easy to lose sight of, when for now, it seems all we’ve got.

I am praying today, for the city of Boston and for all those families and friends affected by this tragedy. But also today, I pray for many others whose daily hurts seem too much to bear and for marriages, children and jobs that are a constant reminder of our absolute need to keep our eyes on Jesus, who is our only hope!

The Savior of the world!

15 Monday Apr 2013

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I love hearing stories of how people come to Jesus. At our church, we celebrate this often and one of my favorite ways is through a video testimony that allows a person to share in their own words how God grabbed their heart. It’s one of the parts of ministry that I had no idea would bless me as much as it does.

One time, we saw a whole family come to Jesus as they heard “for the first time” about God’s grace in sending Jesus as the answer to their need. But, I’m curious.  Have you ever seen the majority of a village come to Jesus? What about a whole “hated” group? Would you celebrate their salvation? Really? I hope so, because Christ is in the business of going outside of our boxes and I just really love that about him.

I was reading in John 4 about the Samaritan woman, whose story is like so many. It has gotten a lot of attention in our churches over the past few years, so I’m not going to retell her story today. There seems to be an increasing recognition that Jesus did not come for the “healthy”, but rather for the “sick”, of which you and I all are.  You might be thinking, “um, Shanna, this is in the Bible and is not new,” and I would have to agree with you, but the awareness seems different these days. Maybe it’s that the “religious” are finally fessing up to their sickness instead of pretending that they are the picture of health. It’s refreshing to hear pastors talk about real sins that they struggle with and leaders who have stopped being afraid of what “you” might think of them, so that they can lay their lives on the altar of real freedom.

You have to understand sickness in your own life in order to find true freedom.

To clarify, when I say “sick”, I mean that we ALL have something very wrong with us, which is that our sin separates us from a holy God. Thankfully, for those who call on the name of Jesus, our sins are forgiven!

Recognizing the sin in our life should remind us of our dependence on God and our distinction from Him.

After a fairly strange encounter with Jesus (found in John 4) the Samaritan woman goes back to her village…the village that most Jews go out of their way to avoid…the village where hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans dates back to the Joseph days. He goes there. The text says “He had to go to Samaria on the way”. He had to. He was on mission. There wasn’t a part of town that Jesus felt he should just avoid. He had come for the sick.

What I found so interesting about this story comes at the tail-end of this passage. In verses 39-42, we see that many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because of the woman’s own testimony: “He told me everything I ever did!” That was enough for them. This was convincing enough for these villagers to believe that this was indeed the Messiah. But for others, it was going to take more.

They would watch him. They would consider if it was truth being spoken by this man. The text says that Jesus stayed in Samaria for two days, which was long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe.

I found this interesting simply from a sociological perspective. Some people will believe in Jesus by convincing testimony and others still need to see for themselves. The same is true today, is it not?

After two days with Jesus, here is how many of the Samaritans responded to the woman from the well:

“Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.”

I can’t help but be touched by these words. To see someone come to the realization (for themselves) that Jesus is who he claims to be, is breathtaking to say the least! It’s miraculous that someone destined for an eternity separated from God can instantly be set on a new path, which allows them to walk in freedom and purpose.  What grace!

I’ve gotten to walk along side some friends as they’ve come to know Jesus. There’s nothing like it in this life. It’s like saying, “Friend, meet my Friend who is going to rock your world, save your very soul and teach you things that are going to change your heart forever!” I’d love to say, “who wouldn’t want to meet him?” But, I understand that the cost for some, feels too great on this side of eternity. God wants our lives-our hearts-our dreams-our goals-our family-our money-our time-He wants it all-laid at His feet in surrender.

I’ve often wondered why many who seemed to know the Lord have walked so far away. I have to believe that they never really “knew” Jesus more than a simple meet and greet. He came to give us life! In other words, you don’t really have LIFE without him. I tell you this out of my own testimony, just like the woman at the well who realized Jesus knew everything she had ever done. I’ve experienced his grace and love and power, so I share it! If you haven’t already, I pray you will find life in Jesus Christ, because He is indeed the Savior of the world!!

Have a question or comment? I love to hear from you!

The girl in the green shorts

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

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A few years ago, I found myself at the starting line of a road race. It wasn’t going to be a terribly long race, but after having several children in a short amount of time, I was tired and less than in shape. With that in the back of my mind, I was ready to jump back in and “get to it”.

The gun went off and we were all on our way, weaving through the crowds of people. Some quickly headed to the front of the pack and others fell behind. It was obvious that everyone came with the same goal in mind that day: to finish the race.

I wasn’t at the front of the pack, but gave myself a goal (more than finishing) and quickly settled into a pace that had me huffing and puffing just a bit. I was quickly reminded of my age and stage in life, but pressed on anyways. I found a girl who was ahead of me, running a pace that would feel challenging and I followed her. There she was in bright green shorts with me trailing behind. It wasn’t like I was going to lose her in the crowd; the green shorts were much too bright for that!

As I ran, I kept her in my sight. There were a few times that she seemed to be digging in even harder and while I wanted to just fall over onto the grass, I knew I had come to finish. Keeping my eyes locked onto her kept me going that day. She quickly grabbed a drink at the refreshment table and about 20 seconds later, so did I. She ran hard up a hill and so I determined that I would as well. She pushed me that day and I don’t even have a name for her, other than “the girl in the green shorts”.

It’s funny how many times I’ve thought of her while out on a run. I guess it’s because I “met” her at a pivotal time in my life. I had a decision to make about my physical health and even my emotional health at that time and pushing through to finish the race that day made me realize that both would come at a cost. I had to be disciplined and work hard. I had to say no to some things and say yes to others. She helped me with my goal that day and keeping my eyes on her helped it to become attainable. Jesus has done that and much more as I’ve run my life’s race.

In the first few verses of Hebrews 12, the author, who may have been Paul, wrote: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

So, who is the cloud of witnesses that we are surrounded by? Since context is everything, we have to look back into Hebrews and we find that in chapter 11 our author is talking about men and women who stepped out in faith and because of it, their lives were marked by faith. They are “the cloud of witnesses”-Moses, Joseph, Abraham, Sarah, Noah…and the list goes on. These people were witnesses to God’s faithfulness. They were obedient to what God told them to do and for each of them, it was deeply personal. Following God cost all of them something.

He then encourages us to lay aside every “weight”, which are those heavy things that hinder us from running full-speed for Jesus in the race (life) he’s set out for us. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m weighed down by my sins of judgementalism, pride, selfishness, anger, and jealousy. With all of that in tow, my load is much too heavy for a full-on sprint! I’m huffing and puffing and carrying “extra weight” that Christ never intended for me to carry.

When I put those things off and all the other sins that I’ve often clung so closely to, my load becomes lighter and more joy-filled. There is peace that pervades my “race” and suddenly, Jesus comes back into focus. He’s been there all the time; I just had too much junk in the way to even be able to see him.

Once my focus is on him, I’m reminded through God’s word of who he is and what he’s done that changed my life. When my focus is on him, my vapor of a life is lived with urgency and my “pace” picks up, because I know that I’m not guaranteed tomorrow. It’s then, that my prayers change from being self-focused to being others-focused and I ask God for “crazy” things like, “give me eyes to see people like you do!”

When my focus is on Jesus, he allows me to see others as desperately in need of him. Instead of the “turtle-slow cashier” or that “obnoxious political agenda,” I see real people in need of a Savior and a little kindness!  Somehow, the weight of judgment that I’ve been carrying becomes lighter as I choose to give it over to my Savior, who desires for me to obediently trust him.

I’m thankful for the girl in the green shorts. While she’ll never know it, she gave me a visual for this passage of scripture and certainly helped me finish the race that day. May we each be reminded to fix our eyes on Jesus, whose example of love and grace is the greatest encouragement to our life’s race.

It’s still true!

01 Monday Apr 2013

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Yesterday, we celebrated a very significant holiday in our Christian faith. Because Christ died, but didn’t stay dead, we can live confidently and victoriously in him everyday. 500 individuals witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. For any court, this would be an open and shut case. Five hundred people saw him afterwards and this is significant. No need for arguments on whether Jesus is whom he said he is. I don’t know of anyone else who could proclaim his death and resurrection and actually do it!

So, we celebrate Easter bigger than the Superbowl, because, well, it is! And while the celebrations were big yesterday, we can live in that same light every day. And while we shouted all over Facebook and Twitter that our “King is alive!” yesterday, the same holds true today. This changes the way I live and the confidence with which I live it.

His promises are still true and they apply to you today!

He will never leave you.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

When we come to him, he provides rest.

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

He leaves us his peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

If you confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

And there are many more!

You may have awoken this morning tired, restless or dissatisfied. You may have awoken in fear, anxiety or with questions. The good news is, (if you’ve called on the name of the Lord): your King is alive and interceding on your behalf. You aren’t alone in this life and you haven’t been asked to carry any burden on your own. Cling to the truth today and let it change the way you live. Soon, you may find that no matter what the circumstance, you awaken ready to defeat the day, because the same power that conquered death is alive and at work within YOU. Now, that’s power I can cling to!

 

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