Created to create
Living to love
Wanting to write
Created to create
Hoping to help
Practicing prayer
Created To Create
My Man, Moses
When I was growing up in a small town, we didn’t have many television channels. Cable came later. Renting movies wouldn’t happen for a while.
So, around Easter, it was our tradition to watch a movie called “The Ten Commandments” on TV. It’s an Old Testament story about Moses.
Moses may be my favorite Old Testament man.
He fought for what was right and tried to help those in need.
He parted the seas.
He made mistakes.
In my own life, I can honestly say, every single day I make a mistake. (Or multiple ones.) On that note, I can relate to Moses.
I can’t say that I’ve ever parted any seas. I can say I watched the musical Moses when it was in Branson, Missouri and saw their depiction of the seas parting. (It was impressive; can you even imagine what the Israelites were thinking when they saw that happen in real life?)
As I was volunteering at a Food Pantry today, (see the food we took there in the photo above)I hoped and prayed that I was helping others that might be in trouble. While I was there, I watched a longtime volunteer named Bill. And he reminds me of Moses.
He’s tall, and in my mind, I see Moses as tall.
He’s got a cane, and Moses had a staff.
Bill also has a way of making every single person that walks into the food pantry feel special and loved. Every interaction he has is helping someone in need, and he has a knack for making them feel special.
As I am thinking about Jesus…I want to be more like Bill and Moses and work to make others feel special and loved, just like Jesus did for me on that cross.
The Sign from the Womb
Our youngest son was sick today and stayed home. I hope (and pray) that it is nothing serious and he seems to be fine now, thank goodness.
Nearly twelve years ago, probably around this time, I found out I was expecting him, and it was a miracle. Truly.
I know every child is a miracle, but in this case I didn’t even realize I was expecting until I was around thirteen weeks pregnant.
I was worried. I hadn’t taken prenatal vitamins. I had had a couple of glasses of wine. I hadn’t eaten enough fruits or vegetables!
In The Bible in Philippians 4: 6-7 it says to not worry:
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Because I was in a “high risk” category, I had to go to get a Level II sonogram.
I can remember lying there trying to figure out which body part was which on the black and white sonogram pictures. It all looked alien to me.
Then, the sonogram technician said, “Hmmm…. I’ve never seen that before”.
Those words cause you to fret AND worry!
And, then she showed me the most miraculous picture… our baby was giving me the peace sign.
Yes, FROM THE WOMB.
My God wanted me to have a visual reminder that I really shouldn’t fret or worry.
Things We Take for Granted
Things we take for granted
Everyone has a bias and preconceived notions. I have been blessed to be around refugees from all over the world because of the work I do and it has been a great experience. Every one of them that I met is so grateful to be in the wonderful country that we call home: America.
As I was sitting in a meeting today, I was thinking about things we take for granted:
1. When I call a doctor’s office, I’ll be able to understand all the options on the phone tree. When you’re a refugee and you speak another language you don’t know what button to push to get an appointment.
2. When I go on vacation, I’ll know the weather and be prepared. Refugees may not know where they are going to be resettled and we see many here in Kansas City wearing flip flops in the dead of winter.
3. When I go to get a prescription filled at a pharmacy, if I have a question, I can ask the pharmacist what to do because he/she speaks English. For a refugee, there may be no one that speaks their language there. How will they understand to completely take all the medication…even when they start to feel better?
4. Google translate is a pretty amazing tool to converse in another language.
5. Jesus was a refugee. He and his family were fleeing persecution, right?
6. Under 50,000 refugees will come into the USA this year, it is estimated. There are over 65 Million refugees worldwide.
What’s something simple that you take for granted? Thank God for it now!
Friends, meet Martha…
I bought a homeless woman a pastry this morning. Her name is Martha. Please don’t give me accolades, just do something like this today for someone that needs some extra love.
We struck up a conversation because she didn’t know which shoulder to throw salt over because it’s going to be a full moon, she informed me.
“It’s cold out there, “I said. She said, “But I’ve seen daffodils!”
Daffodils? I hadn’t even been looking for them yet.
Sometimes we need to take our phones and other electronics away for a while. I did and engaged in a conversation. If you do that, you might actually see “the man in the mirror” or “the woman in the back of the coffee shop”.
Connect
Start a conversation.
Could it make your pocketbook $3.50 poorer? Yup Could it enrich your life? Well, mine was today.
But more important than your pocketbook is your heart. After bringing her to the counter and letting her pick a pastry, my heart felt good. And who knows…. Maybe Jesus is also enjoying that frangipane tart. He did say, “When you’ve done this unto the least of these, you’ve done it unto me” right?
As I left the store, I asked Martha if I could take her picture with me, and that’s who you see pictured here. Martha told me she didn’t have one of those “fancy phones”. And I told her that I normally couldn’t work it without one of my boys helping me. But today, we made it work.
Friends, meet Martha….
Holy Week Thanks
Pictured here is my first Holy Week thank you. My friend from college allowed me to partake in her cookie decorating “eggstravaganza”. I have no idea how many hours she spent baking these cookies but I felt very blessed.
My second thank you was to the guy who held the door for me at the Chick-Fil-A and gave me the “peace” sign. Then I told him about my post on the sonogram peace sign and he asked me where I blogged! I felt honored!
My third thank you is to the many volunteers at the St. Paul’s food pantry. I truly see Jesus in their eyes and their actions. Volunteering keeps me grounded, and am grateful that Bethany Lutheran takes kids there to volunteer.
My fourth thank you goes out to a woman in the HACWN. While I was making cookies, she was writing a synopsis of the book we are working on to submit to a writing contest. And if you think of it, say a prayer for the progress of our book.
My fifth thank you goes out to the Wordsower’s Writing Conference who invited me to speak at their conference in April. I hope to help others learn more about email marketing. Join me!
And finally, Jesus thank you for dying on the cross for me. I know I forget to thank you as often as I should but truly what would I do without you? You’ve blessed me beyond measure. Beyond what I deserve and thank you for loving me.
Talkin’ to Jesus weather
It’s a rainy, overcast kind of a day here in the Midwest. I’ve been in my car for a long stretch today and I have determined that today is “talkin’ to Jesus Weather”.
When you’re in your car, and it hasn’t rained for a while, you pay attention to the road. Maybe you asked Jesus to send his protective angels to come along by your car (especially after seeing a semi-trailer truck turned over on its side).
Or is it really the weather at all?
Maybe it’s also the destination. In my case, I was going to the funeral of a cousin. These events, I think, make us question many things that we don’t take the time to think about very often.
Could be because it’s a Monday and I need to turn my Sunday behavior into Monday (and beyond) behavior.
Truthfully, we should be talking to Jesus in any kind of weather. The perfect weather of our lives and when we’re facing the tornadoes that we see in the spring and summer here in the Midwest.
We should always be talking to Jesus wherever our destination. He may in fact have a completely new path for us to take and we need to be open and listening to him as he “direct our path”.
And, yes, any day of the week is a perfect day to talk to him. Any day ending in “day” can be used to talk to him.
In sunglasses or in a raincoat, it’s always the perfect attire with the perfect one who made you and me.
The Lord Be With You
In a book in the Bible called Ruth there is a good guy named Boaz. He greeted his workers in his field (I think he was pretty wealthy) with “The Lord be with you.” And they all answer him “The Lord bless you.” (Ruth 2)
I wonder what would happen if we greeted people today with “The Lord be with you”.
They might say, “And also with you”. (Which you might hear in church)
They might give you a puzzled look.
They might say “thanks”.
Who knows? Should we be bold this week and try it?
Maybe we should do it at our work, since Boaz was greeting people that worked for him. Remember, Boaz modeled this behavior for us and he was successful in business.
Right now there are so many people silently hurting all over. In your church. At your place of employment. Living on the street. And who knows, maybe these five little words could change a person’s day.
Consider three things:
1. If you don’t believe that saying these words or another similar greeting might be a difference maker, don’t do it.
2. If you are fearful of doing it, remember what angels told Mary in the Bible, “Fear not”. Or what Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
3. Going outside your comfort zone is okay.
I heard a great quote last night that I’m paraphrasing: We need to turn our Sunday behavior into Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…..
Little by little, let’s live it!