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A Savior is here for us

by | Apr 25, 2011 | Uncategorized

The stone was rolled away
The Lord
is risen
He is risen indeed.
HALLELUJAH
Morning begins a new day
full of hope and healing and life.
He is here for us.

Do you know him?

by | Apr 25, 2011 | Uncategorized

There is so much I have thought about.
From Thursday to Sunday.
What would have been like for Jesus to have dinner with his ‘best friends’ knowing one of them would betray him and in a few days he would be put on trial and led away to die.
I wonder what Judas felt like? 
The word says he went out and hung himself after he gave Jesus to the people.
That meant his shame was so intense in his spirit he could no longer exist.
No longer live with himself.
Then there is Peter, who denied Jesus when given the opportunity to acknowledge his friendship. 
He did not say, “I know him he is a good friend of mine.”
He said, “I have no idea who he is.” 
Not once did he say that but he said it three times.
Only to realize after the questioning he failed his Lord miserably.
I wonder if that is in the word for a reminder for us all to know
in the heart of our hearts and in the best of our intentions.
We could do the same.
Then Friday was a good day?
The day of a trial that was unfair and then a horrible beating
then a walk down a rocky road
 that was so horrible while carrying a very heavy cross.  
He fell
He couldn’t do it.
They had to have someone from the crowd him carry it.
Can you imagine that man and his emotional state?
Not really realizing he was carrying the cross Jesus would be crucified on.
Then the pounding of the nails.
The gasping for breath.
The pain
The pain
The pain from his body and the pain from his heart.
FATHER…
And the silence fell upon his broken body.
Father…
And the silence cracked as the skies darkened above him.
Father…
As the blood ran and poured upon his broken and wounded body.
Father…
IT IS FINISHED
The word says he was taken down and placed in a tomb and a large rock was put in the opening to be sure no one would steal the body.
I wonder
I have wondered
What happened in those days in the tomb?
Was there perhaps a conversation between the Father and Son?
He was dead
The word said the stone was rolled away and the burial clothes were laid upon the stones in perfect form.
He rose as a perfect Savior.
He saw Mary weeping and asked her, “woman why do you weep?”
She was grieving her heart was heavy and broken,
“They have taken my Lord away.”
Then Jesus said, “Mary”
And the word said she immediately knew it was Him.
I wonder
I have wondered.
If he said our name would we know it?
Do we know his voice so well that there would be no doubt ~
It is Jesus.
Easter
A time of rejoicing.
Easter
A time of renewing our hearts and our love.
His name is Jesus
Do you know him?

Hope comes

by | Apr 21, 2011 | Uncategorized

Our last look at the topic of hurt.
Pastor was saying last Sunday that our hurts often define us.
He said, “If we let the hurt and pain shape us then we allow the hurt to move into something good. Remove the negativity that is attached to the hurt and build on what could be strong in it.”
He said, “A survivor looks for sympathy. An over comer looks for majesty.”
That is a thought that has stopped me in my tracks a few times this week.
Do I look for the majestic moments in the ‘trauma’ of life?
How do we live our lives as over comers?
We pray.
“Lord shape me through the hurt, help it not to define my identity,
help it to grow me into a better stronger person
who can help others in the process of their pain and heartache.”
Can we allow ourselves to  know that God’s heart breaks over our heart break?
He is sad when we are sad.
He weeps and keeps track of our weeping. Every tear is recorded.
Pastor said, “If you don’t see the opportunity in the midst of the pain ~ you loose the lesson.”
“Healing is like a moving target, it feels healed and then it is not, it feels settled then it is not. It is a continual process of deep internal work. Healing is not the absence of pain, healing is the step to wholeness that we desire through the pain.”
It takes movement on our part and trust too.
Pastor said, “If you do the possible, God will do the impossible. God will bless you through the hurt and he will join you in it, you are not and have not been alone.”
He said, “Being an over comer is allowing the hurt to strengthen and shape you.
The final result will be HOPE…
the only hope that comes from a healing caring God.” 

Three questions

by | Apr 19, 2011 | Uncategorized

As we enter into the Easter week our pastor continued on the ‘hurt’ topic.
This time he focused on Peter, and the conversation he had with Jesus.
Remember when Jesus was in the garden praying and how he had asked for some ’emotional’ support from his ‘disciples’ and found them all resting instead of praying with him. His heart was broken deeply for he knew the pain ahead of him was not really what he wanted to experience. Remember he was God in flesh so the flesh would experience the flogging, the weight of the cross, the crown of thorns forcibly placed on his head. He knew the separation between himself and God would take place.
His heart was heavy. 
He knew yet he chose ~ to love us.
He knew and He continued to press forward in obedience.
He knew the nails that would pierce his hands.

He knew hearts would grow cold against him and the hatred from the people.
In the courtyard in John 21:7 someone said to Peter, “You  knew him”… and Peter said, “No I have no idea who he is” … “No I don’t know him”. Three times Peter denied Jesus.
Three times as Jesus had predicted to him and on the third denial the rooster crowed and Peter immediately remembered what Jesus had said, “You will deny me three times”…
his heart was full of grief and remorse and anguish because of what he had done.
After the resurrection Peter and the ‘guys’ were back to fishing. It was the only thing they knew to do.
A figure came near them in the water they realized it was Jesus. John 21:7 Peter jumped out of the boat to go to him. Pastor said his heart was so broken by what he had said that he ‘raced’ to go see Jesus even in the water. (Like a long lost friend returning) Jesus said to them in verse 12, “Come have breakfast.” The disciples didn’t have to ask who he was they knew it was the Lord.  
Later on as they were talking Jesus said in vs 15, “Peter do you love me?” and Peter said yes.
Then Jesus asked again in vs 17: “Peter do you love me?” and Peter by now frustrated by the questions said, “Yes again” in the voice tone of …’I am hurt you would even ask me again.’ 
Then Jesus asked a third time, “Peter do you love me?” at that point Peter was hurt and sad over the fact that Jesus did not believe him. Jesus was restoring the relationship that Peter had broken. When Jesus needed him the most, when he needed the support in the most intense way.
Three times. He denied.
Three times he was asked by Jesus ~ it was more like the question of, “where is your heart Peter?”
Jesus was restoring Peter’s identity to him. As a friend and as a brother who loved him.
It was a confirmation from Jesus that they both knew the significance of the three questions.
I am wondering if there was an opportunity between you and Jesus.
What three questions would Jesus ask you today?
 

A place of healing

by | Apr 13, 2011 | Uncategorized

Following the last blog:
What if those who have offended us won’t move towards us into a place of healing.
Then what do we do?
On Sunday our pastor said, “Offense means in the biblical text: skandal (that was the spelling he had on the screen) ~ to stumble or to snare as in a trap.” (showing us the example of a large mouse trap)
Dictionary.com said offense is: a violation, a transgression, the feeling of resentful displeasure, the act of attacking, to trespass against.
He said, “When an offense is allowed to grow and entangle itself around something it strangles the life out of relationships.”
The offender begins to poison any attempt at ‘reconciliation’ or healing from anyone especially the one offended. They wall themselves off  as the offense is stirred and churned over and over until the words harbor expectations that cannot ever be met.
The offender will demand peace without wanting to realize they must do something in order for the peace to take place.
The offender brushes off all responsibility to the offended one and demand that they calm the storm or calm the chaos between them. People who are offenders are critical and have great difficulty thinking in a different way. Critical people are offended by other peoples happiness; they struggle with it because they cannot seem to be that way themselves. Critical people are unapproachable. They recoil when asked to ‘accept responsibility.’ They get angry and defensive when asked to deal with the hurt they caused. Most often they push the closest people near them away and demand space from them. Offenders who are critical feed off of unresolved hatred or unresolved issues. They delight in seeing the other person suffer almost as if  it is a pay back towards them. They generally do anything they can to not apologize as they justify the ‘fault is not theirs to deal with.’
Pastor said ‘what kind of person do you want to be and what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?’
What will happen in the midst of a place of healing between the those who are involved matters more than what has happened between them.
Jesus did not ever minimize the hurting people he maximized the healing they could receive.
In a place of healing the hurt is dealt with in an honest real way so that healing and restoration can begin to take place.
The legacy you choose to leave behind is directly related to the openness of heart you express towards another.
Is your heart open to maximize the healing today and be kind to someone who hurt you?
Would you be able to walk away and let it go if they chose to never be responsible?
It is something to think about as we continue to explore this topic of hurt.

Move in Us God

by | Apr 11, 2011 | Uncategorized

Our pastor continued his teaching on the ‘hurt’ topic today.
It was powerful as it always is, leaving one with much to process and think about when heading home.
Last week he said: our hurts are the darkness of our hearts where we feel overwhelmed, and full of grief.
In order to heal we need to re-define what happened in the midst of the hurt. What happened in the midst of the pain or the trauma or the deep grief. We have to understand what took place in order to move forward out of the darkness.
We need to realize the greater purpose for the hurt and pain so we can put it in a proper context for healing.
Such as someday we can walk alongside someone who has experienced the same kind of hurt and pain we have. We can be an important teacher and guide for them as they walk through and experience the darkness of their heart in the same way we did ours. The wounded-ness of soul. The broken heart ache. The intense pain and sorrow. We all have experienced it at some point in time.
In order for healing to take place we need to learn to say, “I am not a victim, I am an over comer.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He then moved into the second part of the teaching today and talked to us about dealing with our offenses.
In the way we were offended often times we see life through the lens of the grudge or the anger or the deep resentment surrounding the offense. Our filter is like a pair of sunglasses and every thing we look at or experience is based on the distorted view of the lens we are looking through.
Life is not seen clearly.
It is distorted…blurred and…cloudy.
We learn to not handle our hurts ~ we allow them to handle us.
He wanted us to realize hurt people offend easily.
Have you ever met someone who is hyper sensitive and it becomes very clear that no matter what you say or do it becomes distorted or viewed way different then what you had intended?
Hurt people can’t do relationships in a healthy way.
They perceive life as an offense put upon them so that every relationship is sabotaged. Offended people learn to hurt others and learn to do it well. Offended people push others away and rarely allow anyone close to them.
Pastor said, “We must move away from our offenses and learn to let them go.”
The more we hold onto our offense our hearts becomes hardened and walled off from authentic feelings.
The longer we stay the offended hurt wounded person the longer we push… healing… away.
The goal must be to heal the offenses ~ acknowledge the pain ~ let it go and then let healing begin.
Lord God move in us so that we are not the ‘offended one’. So that we are not the ‘hyper sensitive judgemental person.’ So that we are not the hurt wounded person stuck in that position.
Move in the places of our heart and show us
those who have offended against us and then help us to move forward to a place of healing towards them.

Lifes challenges

by | Apr 6, 2011 | Uncategorized

I can’t believe I am so behind in the blog writing.
My goal has always been to write three times a week but lately it just hasn’t happened.
A season of dry ideas or thoughts?
Last week another bug that had me down for a few days. It was so nice to just rest and rest more and do nothing. Even surprised myself by going to bed and really resting without tv or music in the background.
It was very restful.
Life seems to be throwing curve balls as each day begins or maybe each month.
Someone said: “Adversity re-defines ones character.”
If that is true then our characters have really been re-defined this year.
In three months my husband had rotater cuff surgery on his shoulder, then he reacted badly to something they gave him in the hospital and he had a severe rash that was more like a second degree burn leaving his skin peeling all over his back, arms, face shoulders this situation involved two visits to the emergency room then recently he has a surgery for skin cancer. In the process of all this he is still doing physical therapy for his shoulder surgery.
It is only April and so much has taken place.
Do I need to explain why we both feel tired?
God will keep protecting us. Life will go on.
But I do pray for a small break in the crisis department. 
Thank you for your patience as I slowly move back into the writing it has been a bit challenging lately.
How has your life been?

Trust His Heart

by | Apr 1, 2011 | Uncategorized


This is a beautiful song I thought I would share. I am down with a bug and not able to write today. Perhaps tomorrow I could come up with a writing. Enjoy these words by Babbie Mason.

A QUESTION

by | Mar 26, 2011 | Uncategorized

Can I ask those readers who read this ‘blog’ to let me know if you actually read it?
I have ‘about 90’ readers and I have no idea who actually receives it, reads it and wants to respond to it.
can I ask for a bit of feedback?
JUST wondering most blogs take me about 4-6 hours to ‘process’ and I will continue to do that but it will help for me to know ‘if there really is’ an audience.