Believe

My favorite word - Believe.  Believe: accept as true; think that something exists; trust. msnencarta

I believe:  In God; In Jesus Christ as the Son of God; In the Holy Spirit; In the Word of God as truth; In miracles; In family; In the Mission; In love; In passion; In following your dreams.

I believe our dreams are God's directions for our life, as long as we are seeking His path.

I believe in children.

I believe in the mission of Sanctuary Kids to share the truth of Jesus Christ in a loving, engaging and relevant environment.

I believe God has called us here for this very moment.

I believe in making a difference. What do you believe?

Days Off

I took a few days off during Josh's fall break to spend time focusing on him (as much as he would let me).  In one day, I drove over 100 miles shuffling him and his friends to various skate parks and other entertainment venues.  Today - picked him up from camping, cooked him breakfast and had some great face time talking about hunting.  Now, he's off to hang with his friends and attend a 16th birthday party.

He's growing up and needing less time with his dear old mom.  I've sewn the seeds of responsibility, knowing right from wrong, and sticking up for what's right even under peer pressure.  I'm praying fervently that those seeds have taken root...and I see some evidence of a sprout under that tough 15-1/2 yr old derma.

Example of a discussion today:

Josh:  Okay if we go to a birthday party tonight? Cody is driving.

Me:  What time will you be home?

Josh:  IDK (which means I don't know, if you don't have teenagers of your own...duh!)

Me:  Okay, curfew is midnight.  You know I trust you to make the right decisions.  Up to this point you I've been able to trust you and your friends.  But the minute one of you makes the wrong choice, it will ruin it for everyone.

Josh:  I know - it will really suck if someone messes it up for all of us.  Love you!

I hope all of his friend's parents are having the same discussion.  I know one of them will mess it up at some point...and Josh is right, it will suck!  I pray it won't put anyone in danger...and I pray it's not Josh!  Lord, cover Josh and be his shield.  Command your angels to guard him when he is on the field.  Rescue him and protect him, and answer him when he calls on you.

Yes - he really did say Love You!  And then picked me 3 feet up off of the floor in a huge bear hug.  Life is good!

Tenacity

Tenacity is the act of being tenacious:  1(a) not easily pulled apart; 2(a) persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.  

I am sometimes referred to as being "high maintenance" or "persnickety."  As I reflected on this (trying to decide if I should be offended or these are qualities I need to change), I decided that a kinder, gentler way to "labeling" these traits (and thereby not requiring me to change - maybe) is that I sometimes exhibit "tenacity."  

Recently in a message, the speaker referred to Jacob as being tenacious.  Jacob was blessed and eventually God called him Israel and his sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.  But without Jacob's tenacity, this would never have occurred.

In Genesis 29, we learn that Jacob, son of Isaac, is sent to his uncle.  There, he falls in love with his cousin Rachel (yeah, OOOOh, but I guess it wasn't so bad back then).  Jacob asks his uncle what it would take to make Rachel his wife and they agree that Jacob should work for 7 years as wages.  "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her." Gen 29:20.  Aww - isn't that sweet and...tenacious.

But it didn't end there - as you read through the story, you find that Rachel's womb was barren, it seemed she wouldn't be able to give Jacob any children.  This was bad news because her sister, Leah (whom Jacob was tricked into sleeping with - it's twisted - and a good read so check it out) gave Jacob a number of boys.  Long story short, Rachel eventually bore him a son, along with Leah and their maidservants, and the 12 tribes of Israel were created.  All the while, Rachel's father continually changed the "wages" that Jacob paid to make his family his own, and Jacob continued to pay.

There is much more to this story showing Jacob's tenacity and his obedience to God, but you will have to read for yourself.  Can you imagine working and waiting 7 years for the love of your life?  That alone shows an incredible commitment and sacrifice!  Are we that committed to anything in the 21st century that we are willing to pay such a price - do we have this kind of tenacity?

While I "stick to my guns" on some issues and exhibit tenacity (whether right or wrong), I am challenged to weigh those issues against God's desire for me in His service.  Sometimes being "persnickety" (i.e. tenacious) is necessary so that the ministry at Sanctuary honors Him and serves His people.  Sometimes it is appropriate in raising my son and in developing strong personal relationships.  Sometimes, I am just being high maintenance.  What about you - are you tenacious for the right reasons?

Lose Your Christianity?

Do you ever have one of those days when you wonder if you are going to lose your Christianity? Two recent examples  - one I handled well, the other...not so well.  Let's go with the pitiful version first:

Experienced a wonderful afternoon at the fair with the team from Sanctuary.  I had the brilliant idea of leaving 35 minutes before rush hour so that I could get home with as little traffic headache as possible.  Well...what should have taken about 20 minutes took 1 hour and 20 minutes!  First, the entrance ramp to the highway was closed (even though the warning sign said it was closed only on "evenings and weekends" and this was clearly late afternoon...not evening).  So, a detour was necessary...on a street that was also under construction and down to one lane.  Well, short story long-it took me close to 45 minutes to go 1 mile.  What did I do?  I'd love to say that I cranked up the radio and sang worship songs to my Creator, but reality is I got angrier and angrier with each passing minute as I watched my gas gauge plummet.   I pulled out the Crackberry and called everyone I could reach and complained...loudly and with much ugliness.  I eventually made it home but I was useless to anyone because the anger and frustration pulsed through my veins all night long!

Second example:  Wally World by my house tends to only round up carts when all 1,000 of them are in the parking lot.  I waltzed out with my wallet lighter and my arms loaded down with bags only to find a line of about 75 carts blocking my car into its happy parking spot.  I looked around, saw 3 cart "corral boys" standing next to another line of carts talking, laughing and having a grand time and making no effort to open the doors to the prison cell my car was held in.  As I unloaded my groceries into the trunk, another shopper came by and asked if I could use some help moving the carts out of the way.  What an example of Christ himself!  Praise God and Hallelujuah!  Together, we manhandled the carts as the "corral boys" looked on and I was able to escape while still "singing a joyous song in my heart."  (Yeah - I know...hilariously mushy.)  Seriously though - a situation like this could easily have put me over the edge into a state of frustration, agitation, and anger...but, I looked at the carts, the "corral boys" and my Good Samaritan and kept the calm and peace that can only be described as divine - consciously and subconsciously reflecting Him and how He would act in the same circumstance.

"Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others.  God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship-a different kind of "sacrifice"-that takes place in the kitchen and workplace and on the streets."  Hebrews 13:16 The Msg

I am reminded that I must "share what I have with others" and what I have is the Love of Christ.  The kitchen, workplace and the streets can be the modern day Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and ends of the earth.  Share what you have...and if you don't have it, let me know - I'd love to share!

Hope

Ever feel like you have no hope?  It seems like everything you have looked forward to has been ripped away - not fast like a band-aid to ease the sting, but slowly, painfully, and it just keeps ripping. 

Thankfully, I'm not personally in this season right now, but I know it all too well.  We have all experienced this loss of hope at one time or another.  How do we get out, when nothing seems fair and all seems lost?  Scripture tells us:  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11.  The Lord spoke these words through the prophet Jeremiah to His people who were in exile.  These people had been forced out of their homes into an unfamiliar territory.  They had seemingly lost everything.  Their lives were turned upside down and I'm sure they were asking themselves what else could go wrong.

These people had a choice...just like we have a choice.  We can allow the enemy to "steal, kill and destroy" our lives by telling us that we have no hope.  Or, we can fight back and not allow the trials of life to destroy us.  When it seems that all hope is lost, we have to remember that hope can be found, maybe in something as simple as looking forward to lunch with a friend, planning a short hike or a movie night or even picking up a hobby that you haven't done for awhile.  Take each day one at a time.  Soon enough something bigger than tomorrow will come again and hope will be restored.  

Stay steady...persevere...fight back...trust in God...and you will receive victory.

Beauty

Today is a day filled with beauty.  Beauty in the weather that He has prepared for this day; that I have the day off of work; that I get to spend the day with an amazing friend; that life is sweeter today than yesterday!  

There are seasons of question and seasons of recognition.  Today marks a season of recognition.  God's love is beautiful, I recognize it and I am thankful!

Something On My Mind

Ever have something on your mind that you just can't put into words/print?  There are several things rolling around in this brain of mine...posts that I have started but just can't seem to finish.  Ideas that keep bouncing around and don't seem to come out in an organized fashion - they make sense in my noggin, but are totally out of control when I try to write.

So what's up with that?  Am I not focused enough?  Am I giving in to too much distraction?  Have I lost the ability to write anything meaningful?  (don't answer that one) Or are the ideas just not seasoned enough to roll out onto my fingertips?  Hmmm....I'm going with the last one.

So here are 2 of the topics:  Evangelism as Multi-Level Marketing; and Jesus Eliminates the Middle Man.  Maybe you can see why they're taking some time to germinate and blossom.

So I think I'll just keep sitting on them until "the right time."  Meantime, here you are...a blog that has nothing meaningful to say. Hope you don't totally regret the 2 minutes of your life that you lost by reading.  :-)  If you feel like chiming in on the topics, feel free to comment!