Let's Be A Little Childish, Shall We?

Le'ts be a little childish, shall we? Today's post is inspired by something I read recently about being like a child. A little girl at church named Emma had only been in Bible class for about 45 minutes when she saw her daddy waiting for church to begin. She ran through the foyer, wrapped her arms around his legs and squealed, "Daddy, I've missed you so much!" It wasn't like he'd been gone on a long trip...they had only been seperated for a short time, but she couldn't wait to see her daddy's face! I love that picture. I love hearing how with such excitement, she announced her love to all. He didn't try to quiet her...he just reveled in this display of love being shown by his tiny daughter.

I guess looking back a bit, as my children are now teens, I can see that many times I pushed my children into this little mold that like many who had gone before me had lovingly advised would be a perfect fit. However, some of the best advise I ever got was from this amazing mentor of mine who seems to live her life with that same sort of child-like qualities. She scolded me for always being more concerned with what people thought about me than what my Father in Heaven was thinking. I have always lived my life with this sort of concern, "What Will they say if I....." etc. Since meeting this amazing woman who sees the world through the eyes of a child, I can honestly say that I want to run to my Father with my arms open wide, squealing with joy and, I want to raise my children to do the same. I can remember back to when my son was little and suddenly he had these opinions that differed from mine. I know... Horrors! I tried and tried to squeeze him back into this nice little package that I wanted to present to the world. Why...because of what people would think about me. I have learned more from watching this baggy pants boy about God than I have learned from most people the church places high on a pedastal. You see, this boy that I tried to mold into something I thought was so godly showed me Jesus in the flesh time and time again.

Ever since reading this post, I have been a child-watcher. As a teacher, I am continually amazed by the things I learn from children, but suddenly, this served as a reminder to me that I am to live my life like a child. So, what does that mean? Well, tonight, as I stood in this incredibly long line at Wal-Mart with my kids after church, I noticed these two little girls playing in line. Now you have to know that I hate shopping AND I especially detest Wal-Mart because of this very thing...long lines...but tonight, I was reminded of my need to be more like a child. There was this little girl standing with her mother in line. She had this sort of sparkling personality that seemed to light up the entire line. As I stood there, I saw this little four year old girl with the pig tails skip back in the line where another girl about her age stood with her mother. "Hello" the little girl said to her, "do you want to be my friend?" She nodded in approval, looked at her mother and suddenly, they were fast friends. The other little girl was Hispanic and spoke very little English, but this didn't seem to hinder their conversation at all. They held hands, skipped all through the line, and played a game of chase after knowing each other for only five minutes. "You speak Spanish?" the first girl says..."that's ok if we don't talk the same, we can be friends anyway." Amazing! Although I hate Wal-Mart...I loved seeing God sharing with me just one more way I can grow closer to Him. I was reminded that I am never quite so comfortable as this little girl when I first meet someone. So...for me...I'd like to be more childish in the way that I live my life. I'd like to walk up to somone, introduce myself and then skip off with them as my new best friend. I will work this week on learning what it means to be child-like, what about you?

Are You Sure It's Free?

I recently read a post called, "Believing or false belief?" In it the writer talks about the magnitude of this idea that for no other reason than because of love, Jesus died for us. Wow! I am certain that this writer addressed something that for many Christians, we continually grasp to understand fully this idea of grace. I grew up with this same sort of thought about my salvation...scratching my head and asking, "Are you sure it's free?" Crazy! Today, as much as I'd like to believe I have grown leaps and bounds in my spiritual walk...occasionally, I look back on the pathway that I have traveled and I look for some sort of toll road that I must pay to continue. When I got baptized, I remember thinking, "This is it?" "Isn't there something else I need to do?" Of course, you and I both know that there was much more that God was requiring of me. The water...while not magical by any means...made a statement to the world that I, like Jesus, knew I needed a Father. While Jesus did this to "fulfill righteousness" I believe with my heart that He just wanted to be the example for us. After surrendering my life to Christ...taking it back more times than I can count...and finally coming to the end of myself...I realized this simple fact: I was lost...really lost and then...suddenly for no other reason than because of love, my Savior reached through hell to rescue me. I don't understand it...I guess I never will and I can't begin to tell you how many times I attempted to return this free gift to Him. Looking back on this journey...I realize that for some time, grace eluded me. Yes, I knew I was a Christian...yes, I knew that I wanted to live with reckless abandon for Jesus...but something was holding me back. As I sat in a counselor's office trying to sort out the twists and turns that had gotten me so off course....I finally heard a message that only years later finally, finally sunk in. You see, ironically enough, my counselor's name was "Grace." Funny, right...because the whole time I went to Grace...I never really WENT TO GRACE. Now years later, I find myself sharing the time of my life where I realized how lost I really was and the minute I began telling about Grace...the irony of it all finally sunk in. You see, I'm a little slow sometimes and obviously need some processing time to make sense of it all. Now...I find myself using my gifts from God, not because they are a payment of some kind for that toll...but because of love. His love and now...mine. I do work at church...I am a minister (oh...not a paid one...but a minister none the less) and find that while I didn't understand this free gift years ago and still have trouble explaining it to myself some days...I will live this life of mine recognizing daily this sacrifice for me.

I've heard it said, "If there were no one else in the world...Christ would have still died...just for you." So...what about you? Go on...take this free gift...embrace it and look grace straight in the face and see that One who gave it to all of us...unconditional.

May God bless you on the road to living in grace. May He wrap you up and seal it tightly around you to wear with pride. When others see you...they won't understand it...but...they will see a peace in you that says it all....grace!

Jesus on the Streets

Fear...

Have you ever been afraid...I mean really, really afraid? As I began preparing for my upcoming mission trip to Honduras...I experienced this fear that gripped me beyond belief and began consuming my every thought. I couldn't actually explain why I was afraid...I just was. Satan? Perhaps the evil one whispered fear in my ears so that I would be too afraid to obey the words that Jesus spoke when He told the disciples to "go." Whatever the reason....I was truly, truly afraid.

I realized from the very moment that I arrived in Honduras that God was going to be asking me to step way, way out of my personal comfort zone. As nightfall began covering all of Honduras during our first full day there...I found myself standing in the middle of downtown surrounded by street children who seemed to crawl right out of the ground. As I looked around at this hopelessness and despair...there high above us, up on the hill, stood this imposing figure. He was lit up for all to see...it was Jesus. At first, as I looked at Him...looking down on us...I thought how proud He must be of us for coming so far to do His will. (Isn't that just like us to always try to pat ourselves on the back...as if without us, God couldn't perform such amazing feats, right?) But...the more I looked at Him sitting so far away up on that hill...I realized that Jesus...the real Jesus was right there in the streets with the unlovely. He was right there giving a sweet smile and a loving touch. He shared a tortilla sandwhich and a cold drink straight from a baggie with His children. He shared His love in us and through us. As I stood there watching the hopeless....I realized that for that moment...we gave them hope. For that moment...because of a group of adults and teens all the way from Alabama...for just that moment, Jesus made a personal appearance. Was I still afraid? Yes...but the more I trusted my Savior, whose call I answered....the more I realized that I was safe in His arms the entire time. As I stood there that night, I sang the song in my head, "Thou oh Lord, are a shield about me"....and He was!

May God show you that you are safely tucked away in the Shadow of the Almighty and that He hasn't let you out of His sight...not for one moment. So...go on...be the hands and feet of Jesus. Be the Jesus on the streets...and not up on a hill.

Metamorphosis

I confess that change is difficult for me. I am a creature of habit. I seem to go to the same restaurants, order the same food, and watch the same sappy movies....because those are all things I can count on. We seem to all find ourselves at times in our lives kicked out of our comfort zone...and forced to change. I struggle with that! Looking back, I can see the lessons that God was teaching me all along, but while I am in the midst of the scene change, I struggle to see the trees because of the change that clouds my view. God is showing me more and more that He is about change. I think I am coming to realize that for each of us change means we are growing.

Recently, I had an amazing week with my youth group at Impact. There I saw myself in the faces of those teens who just a short time ago said good-bye to someone they loved and hello to change. I started looking back at this amazing journey that God placed us on when we answered His call years ago. God has placed me time and time again in a sort of cocoon that in His time, when He was ready for me to break free, He has slowly and ever so gently nudged me to escape what binds me. Just like the butterfly must break free, I am seeing how our Father requires change...metamorphosis. I am becoming a new creature in the hands of God. I used to dig my heels into the box around my comfort zone...but now, I see how truly beautiful change can be and am learning to embrace it.

Without change, you and I would never grow. Without change, we would have missed all the new pathways along the way that God longed to show us on this journey. I think back to all the amazing people that God put in my life through these changes. I know without a doubt that when I trust my Father completely with my life....even when it requires me to change directions....that God will bless me more than I could hope or imagine.

I pray that God shows you a beautiful pathway today. I pray that you open your eyes along the way to truly see the beauty along the journey as you grow into what God planned for you to be all along.

In His Grip! Wendi

Wendi's Words

God has really been laying a ministry on my heart. I am so passionate about girl’s and women’s ministry because of the precious heart that we can have for God. When God grabs hold of the heart of a woman, and I mean grabs hold with reckless abandon, the world around her will never be the same. She will impact her family, her church, her friends, and the world around her.

My message comes from being a woman, just like you, who through my trials and obstacles have seen God use some amazing women to carry me when I didn’t have the strength to carry myself. Through my Christian walk, I have really needed these women for guidance and I think I’ve learned what Paul meant when he said, in Titus 2, “let the older women teach the young.” I just didn’t realize I’d be over 40 and now considered one of those older women. I kind of liked it better when some of you were the older women, you know? But the truth is, I believe that God placed a calling on my life a long time ago….long before I even knew that I ‘d be married to a minister…long before I found the courage to speak in front of people. I believe that within each of us, God has placed the same calling. My prayer is that each of us will answer the call of Titus 2.

I believe this journey as a woman longing to understand my purpose began sometime ago. In 1996, a book entitled, “Becoming a Vessel God Can Use” was written by a Christian author named Donna Partow placed me on a road to discovery about my purpose. I am still continuing on this journey still today. This book took me to a level in my walk with God during my personal bible study like none other. It challenged me to look deep within myself and ask some of the difficult questions. I am only going to ask you the difficult questions I had to ask myself. So get ready.

In it, she asks the question, what kind of vessel are you? What kind of vessel are you?

I’m not sure I had ever really thought about the kind of vessel I was. When you think of what kind of vessel you are, what kind words come to mind? Maybe words like “chipped”, “cracked” or “broken” come to mind come to mind. Maybe you feel like an old earthen ware pitcher I have that sits on my counter top. It’s had a rough life…and you can see it’s wear and tear. If you could have chosen to be any other vessel, you would have…but you couldn’t. When I asked you what vessel you were did you see yourself as a crystal pitcher? See, I’m flashy…so I’d pick something with a little flair to represent me. After all, you look good on the outside…I mean really good…at a distance and people really admire how you sparkle in the light…but you never want them to get too close or they’ll see those cracks that you’ve wanted to keep hidden.

I don’t know how you see yourself. I don’t know what kind of background you came from…but ladies…I’ll tell you something, the image that we keep in our heads of the vessel that we think we are…often hinders us from seeing ourselves the way God does. Let me say that again, “The image that we keep in our heads of the vessel we think we are…often hinders us from seeing ourselves the way God does.”

So, my question for you is: What kind of vessel are you?