The Beauty of Surrender

Being sick in bed today, although disappointing, has its perks. It has allowed me to watch a lot of daytime tv, which helps me alleviate the stress of working with small children. I turned on the tv to see the Anderson Cooper show, a program I didn't even know existed until this morning. Anderson had on a behavioral therapist to help him deal with his greatest fears: heights and bugs. The therapist tired an exposure therapy approach to his fears, asking him to conquer his fear by facing it head on. His advice to his audience was to " surrender" to the fear like Kevin Costner in the movie Dancing with Wolves. He also said that as a society, we are more fearful than ever, given the abundance of fear based information available at our fingertips.
I had to wonder, however, how can we really conquer any fear without Christ?
Philippians 4:6-7 addresses this very thing: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
God teaches us that the essence to peace is really in our surrender to the Holy Spirit. I know I have wrestled with anxiety and depression for years, but when I have surrendered my control to God and trust that He knows what is best, I have achieved the peace God wants for me. To truly know God means to know him not only in my mind, but in my heart. Knowledge without action does nothing to achieve transformation but only gives me more information. The key to transformation is in my willingness to surrender.

sneakers to the service

Awoken by a sharp shooting pain in my right foot early Sunday morning, I debated whether or not to attend Sunday morning service. I peered through my closet for shoes to wear: shoe after shoe that looked great on the outside, but only maximized my pain on the inside. I glanced at the floor to find one alternative: my one pair of sneakers.
I knew all of my friends would stare at me if I wore ugly looking sneakers into the sanctuary, but I could not fathom shoving my foot into a cute but useless heel. I put on my sneakers, once pearly white and now stained with the day to day wear of everyday life, hopped in my car and prepared for embarrassment.
When I entered the cream colored sanctuary, I saw every other woman dressed to the nines in their neatly pressed dresses, while I dove into the nearest inconspicuous chair and sat down. I leaned forward to get a look at the line of shoes in my row: pristinely polished shoe after shoe lined the floor. And then there was me, wearing those once bone white street shoes, now sprinkled a light chocolate brown. Wringing my hands and wiping my sweaty palm on the chair next to me, I opened them up in worship to my Savior.
Instead of trying to fit into uncomfortable shoes and making a favorable impression, I chose not to pretend to be anything more than what I was: hurting and in pain. I may have not been the most popular woman at my church that day, but I didn’t care. I merely came to a savior who knew my pain and loved me anyway.


Matthew 11: 28-29 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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.” I needed to come to Jesus just as I was, and pretend to be nothing less. He could handle my stained sneakers. Jesus only asks me to come to Him, and He lovingly gives me His yoke, one of comfort, peace and contentment. All I had to do was ask.


Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand gifts says “That which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To him. To the God whom we endlessly crave.”


God delights when you come to him as you are. Are you willing to come to Him?

Reflective Glory

I have been taking a class in personnel management and as we have explored the topic of “human talent’ and that all people have worth and can contribute to the organization in some shape or form. He spoke about a concept called “reflective glory” or the idea that as a leader of an organization takes a ‘we” approach rather than an ‘I’ approach it reflects better on them. If they are being a good leader, the people who rise to the top are those that indicate the success of the leadership. Not only does this apply to the business world, but also us as a church community. If a church is doing an adequate job making disciples, it should reflect positively on the leaders who have taught them how to do that.
So, think for a moment about your own church body. Although we are supposed to give all “reflective glory" to the Lord, what we do in this life does matter and we area commanded in Acts to “go and make disciples.”
Do you have people who are “rising to the top” due to your discipleship? Are you receiving “reflective glory” for what you do to bring glory to God in your day to day lives?

If you want to run the marathon, you have to run one lap first

I embarked on my first run outside in what has been quite a long time. I strapped on my i -pod, tightened my sneakers, and was off like a shot. I made it all the way to an impressive half way around one lap and stopped, incredibly winded and even more discouraged. "I'll never make it" I said to myself. I almost gave up. But, then I said " I'm not going to let this get me down." I willed myself around the rest of the way and made it around one lap. It might not be a big accomplishment to you, but to me, it was more than just a simple jog, but it was a symbol of something greater. It was a release of my fear and doubt that I could endure to the end. I would love someday to run a half marathon. Maybe i'll get there. maybe I won't. But, one thing is for sure, if I want to run the marathon, I have to start with running one lap.
That goes for the Christian life, too. At times it is so engrossing and life gets so difficult, and it leaves me winded and discouraged, unsure I can even take one more step. But, my willingness to shake off the fear and endure to the end makes running the race all the sweeter. Going through each day doing what is right may not seem like much, but I have to start somewhere. If I want to reach the finish line and into my savior's arms, I have to start by running one lap.
Are you ready to run your one lap today?

What's the Favor of God?

I was stuck in bed yesterday worth what felt like a potential sinus infection. When I'm sick, I tend to do things I wouldn't normally do. For example, I watched hours and hours of mind numbing television and took two naps within an hour and a half. In between these two napes, I flipped back and forth between the "Christian" programs and "secular" programs. I don't normally watch the "Christian" station, but since it was during the church hour, I decided to give it a whirl in the hopes of hearing an inspired word from God that would change me a little more into my Savior. As message after message droned on, I came to a realization. I really didn't see much difference between the christian and the non-christian. The sermons on the Christian station talked about the same things non-christians are talking about: the bad economy, fear, doubt, comfort, hope. The only difference was on the christian station, the people wore nicer suits and clapped accordingly at the pastor's shouting proclamations. Granted, the Bishop or pastor peppered their words with Scripture (some of which were taken out of context) and belief in Jesus and ended each message with the same invitation to invite the audience to accept Jesus into their life. One Bishop even proclaimed that if i sent in a seed of $130 God would unleash unusual favor on me for the next 130 days meaning wealth and prosperity). It made me wonder: if this is all that Christians have to say on these matters, what does the non-christian really have to hope for? Furthermore, if all God is interested in is giving me his favor, what about all the favor reserved for his 12 followers? Where did all of that go? Lastly, if favor is only material wealth, what about the poor around the world who have more faith in God that I have ever dreamt of having in Him?
That Gospel doesn't seem to be worth dying for, does it?

Emerging from my blog writing hiatus (for now..)

Some of you might be wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth. The answer to that is no. I am still writing, and am very encouraged in my endeavors thus far, I just haven't shared any of that on here. I have been feeling a bit pulled in different directions and am feeling a bit overwhelmed in the process. I may wax and wane on my blog writing for now, but i am still writing nonetheless. I am working on the designing, editing and revising process of the first book Finding your Place in the Story of God while beginning the writing phase of my current project Don't forget the Parchments, which is allowing people to learn from the histories of their ancestors in order to mentor the future generations. It is daunting to say the least. In addition, I am taking classes to eventually become a day care director.
(Phew, I am tired just writing all that...)
But, God is good as always. whether in the overwhelmed times or the bored out of my mind times, He is still speaking, and it is for those moments that I am most grateful. I hope you, dear reader, who took a moment to stumble upon this blog post, well.
On a side note, the publishers are asking me for a subtitle to the Finding your place in the Story of God. I am thinking I should change the title before making a subtitle. Any suggestions?

Be a Defender

Lately I have been dealing with a situation in my professional life where someone was using an inappropriate tone with someone else. The situation became one in which (since I witnessed it) I had to intervene. This situation was not new to me, but was becoming an abusive one, and I needed to act quickly to protect all involved. As I watched the situation unfold, I heard God say " Be a defender." Deuteronomy 10:18 says "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you..."
This seems like an odd request, given I am not a father, or a widow. It also is in sharp contrast to verses like Matthew 5:38-42 that says " “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
Most Christians believe we should always "turn the other cheek". But, what if the situation is becoming abusive? Does Jesus advocate for victims to swallow their pride and security in order to be in compliance with this biblical principle? While I do think we should hold loosely to our possessions, our pride and our self-image, I think there is a line between abuse and grace. Although grace should abound, abuse should not. Sometimes the best thing that I can do as a Christian is to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Which leads me to think " which do I defend more often: my rights or the rights of others?"