Say What, Jesus?

I love this from writer John Shore, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Simple, simple, so profoundly challenging about none of us do it.. If you have the nerve to call yourself a follower of Christ, then have the moxie to obey what Jesus unequivocally proclaimed the most important commandment of all. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And then go, Christian, go." 

Seriously can be one of the hardest things to do. Oh sure. It's easy to love the people that are nice to us. The ones that show up on time, the ones that give us compliments, that buy our lunch. 

But what about the folks that ignore us? That betray us? That belittle us? Are we supposed to love them too?

Uh, yes.

But how? I mean, how can God expect us to love--to extend grace to--someone who is irritating or mean? Or just plain undeserving (in our limited estimation)? 

That's where our need for Him and a huge helping of grace comes in.

I don't know about you, but I tend to take things personally. 

I know, it's not about me. Right, I get that. 

But I make it about me and then I miss the point. 

I miss the miracle.

I miss the fact that there is an opportunity to demonstrate LOVE and see the Almighty Love Machine in action. 

So what if someone is rude? It's probably because they're tired, lonely, worn out or on a mental vacation. Maybe they just got terminated, or they're terrified or just got turned down. 

Maybe, just maybe, they don't believe that God exists and it frustrates them that you call yourself a Jesus follower. 

Maybe they're waiting for you to show them otherwise.

Dare to show LOVE to at least one "undeserving" person today. Pray first and be prepared to be blown away. 

Based on Mark 12:30-31, say out loud:

God, help me to love You with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength. Help me, God, to love my neighbor as myself. I know, Lord, that there is no commandment greater than these.

Treasure Hunt

What if your life were a map and all that you could see was your current location? What if there were amazing treasures just around the bend and you had no idea about them?

Seriously. Picture a treasure map, filled with adventure, secret treasure and the occasional hardship. Imagine a sandy beach on one side and some rocky mountains on the other. You've been given all the tools you need to navigate through the terrain--a pick ax, a shovel, plenty of water and a compass, but because you can't see five feet in front of you, you decide to throw down your tools and give up.

Isn't that what so many of us do in real life? We get scared and give up, often just a few feet away from a box full of treasure.

As a young person, I was terribly short-sighted. I couldn't see what lie ahead, so I settled for what I saw in front of me. Poor relationship choices (dating a guy whose response to "what are your interests" said one word, "Sting"..), ridiculous "career moves" (slinging reheated scrambled eggs for the breakfast crowd at Hotel Circle in San Diego), and walking away from an opportunity to go to an amazing school (Go Cal Bears!!)...all because the idea of waiting for something better, choosing wisely and going for excellence were too scary for me.

What about you? Do you have any idea about what's in front of you? Can you predict the future? Maybe what you're going through right now is temporary. Maybe there's something amazing just around the bend.

Don't miss it.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

Don't ask God to "swiffer" your life, cause He will!!

I had just asked God to root out and remove anyone that He didn't want in my life. And guess what? They stopped calling. They stopped showing up. And the loneliness was deafening. The well of pain was so deep it hurt to breathe. Literally.

It was just a few days, but those days were dark--dark like I'd imagine when the disciples thought that Jesus was gone forever. It was like climbing uphill without any energy or motivation.

Meanwhile, a dear friend called. Out of the blue. (So, God's blue?) My friend had lost both of her parents in the span of less than a year (as well as her grandmother). If that weren't enough, she had faced losing her ability to sing and minister musically as her vocal chords were cut for back surgery. She had gone through such devastating loss.

Although it had been a few years since we had seen each other, God seemed to keep the chords strong between us. The day seemed perfect to finally get together.

My friend is extraordinary. A diamond--beautiful, compassionate, exceptionally talented...with a serious love for Jesus. She, like me, has a young child (and two older kids) as well as a husband that she loves dearly. As we planned a visit, my thoughts were along the line of "God, give me words to say. Inspire me Lord. I don't know how to be there for her."

I felt God saying, "Don't treat her like a Christian music star, but like a sister in Christ." I get that. A star can do no wrong. A star is untouchable and unapproachable. A sister is reachable, touchable, relatable. Hugs and tears and laughter happen between sisters.

What a gift that day turned out to be. I didn't minister to her. I didn't encourage her. SHE MINISTERED TO ME!! She reached in and touched my soul. She grabbed my wounded heart and with God's help, gave it life. Praise God!

We are both treasures out of darkness. We are both examples of God giving beauty for ashes. We are both talented, amazing, light-filled, broken, redeemed, women of God.

God used my friend to give me something that I didn't even know that I'd lost. Hope.

We've always said that we didn't know why God put us together or what He had in store for us, but it's becoming clearer and clearer now. I'm pretty sure that He wants us to remember where we come from so that we can help other women dig out from the wreckage and rubble that comes from living outside of God's will. I also know that He wants us to mention His name at every opportunity.

And why not?

He deserves all of the credit.