God

It’s a jungle out there…

/ Lesa / Leave a comment

house on Letitia AveI grew up in the city.  It wasn’t the concrete jungle part of the city though.  I lived in a single family house with a decent sized yard with an above ground pool.  This was my house…not sure why it had two-tone siding…it was like that when my parents bought it and we just kept it that way (smile).

I can’t speak about neighborhoods outside of the city, but the guys in our little neighborhood were very territorial.  There were several little neighborhoods around ours, and they all seemed to be rivals of each other. Think of your sport team’s nemesis and that is what it was like. Unfortunately, this lead to some neighborhood fights.  There was one in particular that was really bad.  I’m not sure why this fight started, but I can tell you I’m sure it was over something trivial.  The guys were preparing for the fight by gathering chains and other items that could be used as weapons. It was like something out of The Outsiders movie (or book).  When I outsidersrealized how bad it was going to be, I started to head home.  I guess the police got wind of the fight because as I was making my way home I almost got hit by a police car…and I was on the sidewalk!  Things were chaotic and crazy!

That’s pretty much how I feel about all the bickering that goes on fueled by the media.  Crazy!  The latest being the coverage of Michael Sam and his being the first openly gay player selected in the NFL draft.  Immediately I saw posts complaining about the acceptance of Sam, and the negative comments that Tim Tebow received previously for being Christian. People get so tied up in knots about this stuff, and they spew words that can hurt as much as fists and chains.

Some people will say they are just expressing their opinion…it doesn’t mean that they hate any specific group of people.  They wonder why people get so defensive or angry about it.  Well lets pick on smokers for a moment.  If someone told you every time you smoked a cigarette, that you were killing the precious body that God gave to you, I have a feeling that it would get really old eventually. How about every time you lit up, someone quoted the verse in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:  Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.  You may get a little defensive about it over time.  And smoking is something that you do…it’s not who you are…you can become a non-smoker.

Gay people are bullied, discriminated against, sometimes beat up, and are told over and over again that they are an abomination to God and are going to hell.  Daily.  Of course eventually they can’t take it and they get angry or defensive…or both.  So when people post articles like the ones out there now about Michael Sam, it feels like a personal attack.  Being gay is who they are not something that they do.

I’ve read some things recently that Christians feel that circumstances such as the differences in how the public reacted to Sam and Tebow mean that Christians are being persecuted.  I think it is crazy to feel that way from “some” people’s opinions.  I think things get blown so out of proportion.  Like the guys in my neighborhood that would fight over trivial things.  I’m a Christian.  I don’t feel like I’m being persecuted.  Do some speak out against my beliefs?  Of course.  But I’m not going to whine about that.  Just ask Meriam Ibrahim what it’s like to be persecuted for faith.  She is pregnant, sitting in a jail, and sentenced to death because she won’t renounce her faith.  That is persecution.

We are told that being Christian at times will not be easy.  It is our choice to be a Christian.  I can tell you that being gay is not easy.  People do not choose to be gay.  They can choose to be celibate, but they are still gay.  And I can tell you that they face persecution almost daily because of it.

Jesus’ words remind me that life on this earth won’t always be easy:

John 16:33 (NLT)

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

MacLaren’s Expositions has this to say about the above verse:

So end these wonderful discourses, and so ends our Lord’s teaching before His passion. He gathers up in one mighty word the total intention of these sweet and deep sayings which we have so long been pondering together. He sketches in broad outline the continual characteristics of the disciples’ life, and closes all with the strangest shout of victory, even at the moment when He seems most utterly defeated.

We shall, I think, best lay on our hearts and minds the spirit and purpose of these words if we simply follow their course, and look at the three things which Christ emphasizes here: the inward peace which is His purpose for us; the outward tribulation which is our certain fate; and the courageous confidence which Christ’s victory for us gives.

I like the statement, “closes all with the strangest shout of victory, even at the moment when He seems most utterly defeated.”  I get frustrated too by comments that people make about Christians, as well as, comments that people make about gay people.  I just remind myself that Jesus has this.  He is victorious.  I don’t need to argue. I’m not saying that we should all stick our head in the sand, but I will say that we need to educate ourselves fully before we become a squeaky wheel about any topic.

I found these this week.  I think they speak into this issue and I love what they all have to say:

Remember to love each other…because love matters.

Love never fails…

/ Lesa / Leave a comment

Well…I am feeling quite under the weather this week.  Good ole’ spring time cold.  My prayer time has also been focused on other things lately so I haven’t really talked to God about a post for this week.  I did, however, come across this gem during one of my devotionals…and well…you know how I feel about love:

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

New Living Translation (NLT)

Love Is the Greatest

13 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

 

No matter how discouraged I get with the negative comments that I see day in and day out.  No matter how much I question if I am doing the right thing…I know that love never fails.  love never fails

Without love, I am a noisy gong, I am nothing, I gain nothing.  So I choose to love…no matter what…because love matters.

 

 

 

coffee for your heart

Driving through the storm…

/ Lesa / Leave a comment

The year was 2004.  Hurricane Jeanne, the deadliest hurricane during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was heading right for Florida…and so was I. The trip had been planned for a couple of weeks.  I had taken the time off work, gotten my mother-in-law set up to come stay with my husband and kids so she could get them to school, and my sister made arrangements to join me so I didn’t have to make the drive alone. It was a 950 mile trip.

At the time, I had been dealing with an illness for 10 years.  I had seen many doctors, but wasn’t getting any answers.  My father was living in Florida and found a really good doctor there.  During a visit with my dad in 2000, I made arrangements to see this doctor and he was very helpful.  The trip in 2004 was to see that doctor again.  He had some ideas to help with some of my latest symptoms.  One of which was a fever.  I woke up one day with a 103 temperature for no apparent reason.  I went to the doctor and had lots of tests, but nothing showed up.  At the time of this trip, I had that fever every day for a year at various degrees.  When you have a fever, you feel pretty lousy.  And this particular fever did not respond to medication.  I was desperate.  So driving to Florida was really not a big deal for me.  Everything was in place.  At first it seemed like hurricane Jeanne was going to cooperate and miss Florida, but in the final moments before the trip, the storm changed course and headed towards Florida again.  jeanne

I didn’t care.  I wanted to feel better and was willing to do whatever it took. My sister was on board as well.  Our plan was to call my dad as we entered each state (there were 5 in all), and he would check on the storm and tell us whether we should continue on our journey.  Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and dad said to keep going.  When we hit state number four, Georgia, we could feel the wind picking up, but Dad said we could make it.  We made it through Georgia and as we entered Florida it was clear that things were getting rough.  As we entered the state, the first thing we were greeted with was one of the big road signs torn out of the ground, twisted up on the side of the road.  There was also a row of trees that were completely missing their tops.  Did I mention that my sister is afraid of storms??  From the passenger seat, the words, “Oh my!” were repeated over and over again…each time with more enthusiasm and fear than the last.  We called dad and he said he thought we could still make it to his house.  He was 3 hours away.

Midwest StormsAt this point, the sky was very ominous.  It looked like it was split in two…the top was black and the bottom section was white.  My sister was fidgeting in her seat looking back and forth at the sky.  The question she would ask over and over again was, “Is that a funnel cloud?!”  Over and over my answer was “Nope.”  I have to admit…I was watching that sky like a hawk.  Little tufts of black kept dipping down into the white section of the sky.  I didn’t tell her what I was thinking, but it was basically, “No that’s not a funnel cloud, but it’s the beginnings of one.” And then it happened…I looked over to my left and I watched as one of those little tufts turned into a tornado.  It was just a few feet away from us.  We were just a few exits away from my dad’s so I floored it.  When we took the exit, we saw more damage from the wind. Traffic lights were down in the road and I had to weave around the debris.  We made it safe and sound to my dads. The storm hadn’t hit land yet, but when it did I remember thinking, “What in the world did I get myself into??” The winds were incredible.  They made the glass patio doors bow almost like curtains blowing in the wind.  I’ve never seen anything like it before.  We could hear transformers blowing up all around us.  It was a long night, but we survived.

Driving through any storms in your life lately?  Are you letting your heavenly Father guide your path?  He can see the big picture.  He knows what path the storm is going to take.  He will wave you on, or block your path.  But how will you know what He wants you to do?  It takes knowing Him.  It takes having a personal relationship with Him. He knows you intimately and loves you.  He wants you to take the time to know Him.  If you do, you will hear His voice guide you through the storm.  My dad told me to keep coming because he knew what I could handle.  God knows what you can handle to…if you have Him with you in the storm.

I found this on FB this week and it reminded me of this adventure.  I think there is a lot of truth in it.  I like it You-are-a-strong-person-who-has-weathered-the-stormbecause it is a great reminder to me.  That fever I mentioned. I had it everyday for 5 years.  It left as mysteriously as it came.  It comes back occasionally, but it doesn’t last as long…thank goodness.  But honestly when it does come back…I don’t know whether it will last another 5 years or more.  I have to trust God to give me the strength I need to deal with it.  No matter what the duration.  I have weathered some storms, but I still love to dance in the rain…I do a little singing too (smile).  I hope you trust God to get you through your storms.

He wants to be there for you because He loves you…and love matters.

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee-for-Your-Heart-150

Is God REALLY good ALL the time…

/ Lesa / 4 Comments

We have this little back and forth interaction with our pastor on some Sunday mornings.  It goes like this:

Pastor:  God is good.
Congregation:  All the time.
Pastor:  All the time.
Congregation:  God is good.

Don’t worry…this isn’t going to be a long post on theology (smile).  I find myself cringing sometimes when people use the statement, “God is good.”  It’s not that I don’t believe it because I do with all of my heart.  I just wonder what people who question faith or don’t have faith think about it.  For instance, I’ll see a post on FB asking for prayer.  Everyone chimes in and says that they will pray for the situation.  Days later, we may get an update that things went well and the prayer was answered in the way the person wanted.  Friends will then comment that “God is good.”  I find it interesting, however, that people do not comment this way if the desired outcome is not achieved.  I wonder…what do people who don’t have faith in Jesus think about this?  I agree wholeheartedly that God should be praised for good outcomes to prayers.  But we need to remember that He is still good and should be praised when things don’t turn out the way we may have hoped.  I would hate for someone to assume that God is bad, or that they themselves must be bad, if God doesn’t answer in the way they wanted.  We tend to think that because God is good…only good things will happen.  This isn’t true.  When my mom died suddenly from a brain aneurysm while playing with my children, God was still good (you can read about that in the post “I will see you again”).  When my sister was in the throes of her addiction to alcohol, God was still good (she has been sober for over 10 years now – woo hoo).  When my son spent a week in a psychiatric hospital because he wanted to end his life, God was still good (post “Buttons and shoestrings”).  I could go on.

All of these things were difficult, but God was and is still good.  These events caused me to wrestle with God.  That wrestling has developed some good spiritual muscles (smile).  God can take a tragedy and bring something miraculous from it.  He can take our darkest moments and change lives of others.  I would like to share a story with you.  It’s not my story, but it so easily could have been.  I introduce to you Rob and Linda Robertson.  This video is from the last ever Exodus conference on June 20, 2013.  Their story is one of pain, loss, hope, redemption and so much more.  It’s 34 minutes, but it doesn’t seem long as you watch it.  I urge you to take the time to view it:

God is Good

 

God IS good…ALL the time.  Thank you so much Rob and Linda for sharing your story.  It truly is saving lives.

Are there “buts” attached to your love?  We should love “just because they breathe.” Because love matters.

 

I always feel like somebody’s watching me (said like Rockwell’s song from the 80’s)…

/ Lesa / 2 Comments

My mom was a people watcher. One of her favorite past times was to sit on a bench at the beach, and watch the people walk by on the boardwalk.

bench

 

She could spend hours doing this.  In her defense, there were a lot of interesting sites to see. There was a down side to her favorite past-time though.  She did not hide her expressions if she thought what people were wearing or what they were doing was a little “out there.”  David_Morgan4

dangerIt was particularly embarrassing at the mall.  She would pass someone, give them a look, and continue to crank her head around to see them once she walked past them.  She just couldn’t help herself.  This lead to a few disasters of walking into glass walls, tripping over her own two feet, and knocking items off of clothing racks.  Many giggle fits took place after these mishaps.  I have to admit these are some of my favorite memories of her.

I get to do a lot of people watching on Sunday mornings at church.  I’m at the Guest Service area where new people can get information about the church.  It’s one of the first things you see when you walk in so I pretty much get to see everyone that walks through the door.  I paid particular attention this past Easter Sunday.  Our church has a casual dress policy, but on Easter Sunday people tend to dress up.  Everyone looked so nice in their “Sunday best.”  I mentioned that I was extra observant this past Sunday.  The reason for this was my son agreed to come and I was anxiously awaiting his arrival. It’s been a tradition for years to go to church as a family on Easter (we used to go every Sunday as a family, but times have changed).  You see, he’s pretty much given up on God right now.  Unanswered prayer does that sometimes. But I asked him if he would come and he said yes.  I wasn’t sure if he would because back in September I started this blog (with his permission) that pretty much outed him as a gay young man.  I wasn’t sure if he would be brave enough to walk through the doors.  I can only imagine how self-conscious he felt.

I’m very grateful that there were two ladies in the lobby who have known him since he was a little boy who gave him a welcoming hug.  I can tell you that this would not happen at all churches.  Did you know that there are websites that gay Christians visit to find gay affirming churches?  These are churches that welcome LGBT people.  Can you imagine having to do that for yourself? The Bible says very strong things against divorce, but divorced and/or remarried people don’t have to find divorce affirming churches.  I could give many other examples.  I have friends that would have loved to go to church on Easter, but couldn’t because their church has kicked them out because of their gay children. And these are children who haven’t had sex. They are discriminated against for how they were born.

So along with everyone in their Sunday best, I also saw greed, anger, jealousy, lust, and many others walk through the doors of my church.  Are they repenting of these sins?  I have no idea.  No one knows what is truly in the heart of another.  Yet they were all welcome.  There was no one at the door checking sin ID’s.

Let me ask you…if you’re neighbor was an addict, would you invite them to church?  If you knew a couple where infidelity was tearing them apart, would you invite them to church?  If you had a gay friend, would you invite them to church?  What if they had a partner?  Would you invite both?  I bet two things run through your mind with the last question.  Would they be allowed in my church?  Would people think I was “ok” with them being gay if they walked in with me?

I wonder…what would Jesus do?

Love each other…because it really matters.