by Sharon O | Sep 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
Our Pastor asked us the other day,
“If Jesus looked at the church today what would he see?
People broken and fractured weighted down with heavy hearts and wounded souls.”
He said,”Do you realize Jesus death was birthed out of a concern for humanity?”
Broken people are fragmented and they are disjointed. They are not peaceful. They are not calm.
They are broken.
God sent his son so we ‘the broken’ can become whole.
We teach our little ones to sing, “Jesus Loves the little children all the children of the world.”
But do we bring it down to us… Jesus loved us.
Us means you and me. You and I.
Or do you remember the song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Do we believe it really?
It would break his heart to see a broken lifeless church after all he died for us.
He died a terrible death so we.. so we… you and I can become whole and healed and full of life.
He died so we could have hope.
He died so we could have a chance to be saved and believe in him.
Jesus knew the cost. He knew the routine he had seen other ‘Crucifixions’ but it would be HIS that would save the world.
Remember.
In the garden he had asked a chosen few to watch with him and wait.
What did they do… they fell asleep.
When he found them he said, “could you not watch with me a little while and pray?”
He knew the heaviness of his own heart.
I am often reminded of the tomb and remember so well the scene where Mary is crying and weeping. Her Lord is gone. The tomb was empty. She was empty. She was broken.
She was full of sorrow deep agonizing sorrow.
Remember what happened?
He said “Mary”~
Mary… the one whom he loved and who loved Him.
Mary… He knew her name. He was personal. He was powerful.
He was relational.
She knew his voice she knew it was him saying… Mary.
Something to ask yourself.
If Jesus were to say your name would you know without a doubt it was him?
Only when we are in tune to his voice and his love will we know it is him.
I pray we will be like Mary…
and know his voice so well we will hear him in the midst of our tears and cling to him and not want to let go when he says our name.
by Sharon O | Sep 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
What is the difference between believing the Lord and following the Lord?
It is a real question.
Many people who saw Jesus believed Him~
not that many actually followed.
They saw and experienced his miracles and they saw and experienced his power.
They could remind themselves every time they saw him how he turned the water into wine or how he fed the many with little or how he healed the dead and helped the cripple to walk. The blind could see and the closed hearts could hear.
The teachings he taught and the people he met all had a visible reminder of ‘Jesus’ and who he was.
Even after all that not everyone who saw him believed and not every one who believed in him followed.
So why do you think the ones who heard Jesus say “Come follow me” left everything to follow him?
It is a question for us all to think about.
They did not hesitate. They dropped everything they knew and left it all for a man who was walking by from a shore line saying to them…”come follow me.” Did they even know who he was or did it not matter? Was it just because he ‘believed’ in them and they really wanted that for their heart?
Today if Jesus said to you…
“Drop every plan and every agenda of your own and follow me. Leave your life behind and come… walk with me and you will find peace.”
Do you think it is believable?
The rough and tough fishermen were called out of the water because Jesus believed in the potential they had within them. Our Pastor said, “When we follow Jesus we can’t be like him on our own it is from HIS potential for us that creates our likeness of him.” Jesus taught the fishermen and followers so he could transfer himself to them. So they could do what he did.
Did they dare? Did they believe they could? He told them they could.
Are we teachable and open to follow after when the Lord says to us ‘come I want you to walk with me today.’
We can’t just believe we need to put our belief into action.
The question our pastor asked, “Are you willing to risk all that you have in order to be all that God wants you to be?”
It is a very real question.
Do we want to be all that he wants us to be?
by Sharon O | Sep 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
There are two questions to ask ourselves…
(as we continue the nurturing a tranquil soul topic)
Where are we now on our spiritual journey?
Where would we like to be on our spiritual journey in six months to a year?
Journey:
dictionary.com says it is a passage or progress from one stage to another.
So the questions are asking: where do we hope to be as we move forward
spiritually from the stage we are in today to a new stage tomorrow.
Hope is a huge word. We hope for many things. What do you hope for?
The last ten pounds off~ the last chapter written so you can send in your writing~ finishing the race you have trained for and not yet accomplished~ getting the job you know you are qualified for?
It takes action to move forward.
It is stepping out as we take baby steps towards our goal.
If someone is an athlete it means they have to exercise even when one doesn’t want to.
If one is a writer it is a forcing of oneself to find quiet reflective time even when it feels like there is no time left in the day.
It is pressing oneself harder and challenging oneself deeper to reach the goal that we have set before us.
Spiritual journeys are not any different.
It is forcing ourselves to read and study and meditate even when we don’t feel like it or we don’t understand or we are just too tired.
Are we blocked by our lack of bible knowledge or our lack of discipline or our own anxieties?
What will it take to get us back on the journey?
Spiritual growth is crucial to our development as Christians.
If we don’t grow we become stagnant and that produces other issues that are not healthy for us.
Are there barriers keeping us walled and closed off?
Are there forgiveness issues that needs to be addressed?
Do we have relationship issues that are broken and leaving us ‘open and empty?’
Taking action to move forward towards spiritual growth is the first thing we can do to become strong and firm in our faith. Each step we take is a step closer to our goal.
It is as essential as breathing or eating.
Are you further this year than you were last year or are you feeling stagnant?
Lots of questions to think about.
I pray that as we begin to nurture a tranquil soul we will find a sense of peace and order as we move into a new direction of deeper spiritual growth.
Let us journey together in encouragement and affirmations for each other.
We can do a good job no matter what small steps we take towards our goal.
For any movement is better than none especially if we don’t have to do it alone.
by Sharon O | Sep 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
A grandparent’s heart grows wider and deeper~
with every grandchild born.
It is an honor and a special privilege to be grandparents.
It is love at a different level.
Our son now has three son’s.
Samuel is six… Josiah is two and a half and Seth is one day old.
A baby was born.
To parents who love and nurture and care for each other so they can care for their children.
Changes will come to this house… making room for one more is a bit of a re-adjustment.
Rooms reorganized and closets de-cluttered. Change… is good.
Each child is different and needing different things.
When we were young parents we brought our children up with the prayers that they will be good citizens some day. That they would be responsible and true to themselves.
That they would love their Lord and serve in some way.
That they would make us proud.
Our daughter has three daughters and now our son has three sons.
We are very proud and pleased and so very blessed.
A baby to love is a beginning for us all.
His life is fresh and new and tender and sweet.
Lord God bless our little ones and protect them always.
Surround them with angels and form a hedge of protection around their every move.
Thank you God for entrusting these children to their parents who love them and to the grandparents who would do anything to make their lives safe and comfortable.
We are thankful to have Faith, Hannah, Alexis, Samuel, Josiah and now Seth join our hearts circle of love.
Lord God we give you thanks~ we are SO blessed.
What blesses you today?
by Sharon O | Sep 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
I thought of something the other day or maybe I heard it somewhere.
“Nurturing a tranquil soul.”
What a concept~ What an idea.
For the last year I have been off work and really have enjoyed being home.
The goal has been to slow down and enjoy the day~ slow down and enjoy the moments.
When I read ‘nurturing the tranquil soul’ it resonated with me so intensely.
We all should strive for a peaceful soul. Or a place of quiet inside.
It is hard work to slow down the pace of our fast moving world.
It is hard work to be still and be quiet.
Dictionary.com says:
Nurture: To support and encourage; to bring up; to promote development.
Tranquil: Free from commotion or tumult; free from or unaffected by disturbing emotions; serene: calm peaceful and quiet.
Does it feel like something you want?
Nurturing a tranquil soul.
That is not meaning you have to sit around in a yoga position humming.
It is nurturing a peace that passes all understanding deep inside inside your heart.
So that when something bad happens you grieve but you are not broken into pieces.
When something unexpected happens you are shocked but not knocked down.
John Eldredge says it is a sense of belonging… to oneself.
Just as we want to belong to a family we also want to belong to ourselves.
Have you ever met someone who is nice to get to know but as you get to know them it feels like they do not know themselves very well? It’s like they are not connected… not having an idea of what they are showing to others. They are sort of clueless.
I think nurture is a wonderful concept.
It is our ‘purpose’ to encourage others~ to promote others to do well and to be peaceful.
Be calm and quiet. The word tells us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. We find strength when we are quiet.
Helping others to nurture themselves helps them to move deeper into a sense of self and helping ourselves to do the same.
I ask you… how well do you nurture your heart or soul?
Is your hearts desire always way back there somewhere while you attend to other more important issues?
I ask you…
do you nurture yourself in the way you would nurture another?
If the answer is NO ask yourself why.
ARE you not as important as another? repeat the question:
are you not as important as another?
Remember to be tranquil is to be free… free from noise, commotion or disturbing emotions.
Are you free today? I pray that you can come to a place where nurturing a tranquil soul is normal for you.
by Sharon O | Sep 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
The Compassion team just returned from Guatemala and each person wrote blogs about their experience.
Today instead of me writing I am going to let them write.
Starting with /Ann Voscamp@AHolyExperience.com/
Be sure to have your sound on. Her site is beautiful and she is a powerfully gifted writer.
You might even need Kleenex nearby as you read the heart wrenching stories.
Then you can move on to Lisa-Jo (The Gypsy Mama) www.Thegypsymamma.com/
Next you can read:
http://amandajones.com/ Jones (Baby Bangs)Living Proof Ministries
After that you can read:
http://www.lindseynobles.com/
There are a few other bloggers who went with the team you can log into their sites I believe from the other sites.
Reading their last weeks accounts of everyday life in Guatemala will help you understand poverty and its face and put a name on your heart I hope to sponsor a child.
Sponsoring a child only costs $38.00 a month.
We pay more for coffee or frivolous lunches out or that fancy pair of must have shoes.
I encourage us all to think about missions. Not necessarily go to far away places. But if one cannot go then one can certainly sponsor a child who lives there. Finish your reading with the leader of the Guatemala group:
/www.ShaunGroves.com/
I encourage you to take the time to read these posts maybe even subscribe to them. Personally I subscribe to about 35 blogs. They encourage me to press forward and also it is like a devotional time on line along with my bible studies.
I would LOVE feeback if these links work and what you thought of them. I tried to click onto a few of them from my blog here and couldn’t get them to work please let me know if I did anything wrong with the addresses.
Today it was important to take a bit of a break and encourage us all to think beyond ourselves and to realize the world is not often the way we see it in our cozy neighborhoods and warm homes.
I pray that we can look beyond our own lives and SEE the lives of others.
