Welcome, those of you who have ventured into my life from today’s Encouragement for Today. I am praying for you. I pray God be with you to lift you and give you courage, strenghthen you and give you joy for today's journey.
Years ago, when I was young and totally naïve about cars, the front end of my car literally fell into a huge pothole. I mean my teeth rattled. I was actually surprised when I maneuvered my car out of the deep rut. I remember the feeling of relief and elation – I drove away and all seemed well.


…until months later when I took my car in to have it serviced. The mechanic asked me too many questions, and it was then I recalled the massive hole in the highway. No longer did I feel so proud because I had to pay for neglecting my front end.

You know, if we don’t check ourselves after experiencing those unavoiadable emotional falls into  the deep pits of life, we may sustain damage – just like a car. And if we continue along as if nothing has occurred we may end up with irreparable concerns.

I’ve got to be honest with you: for too many years I kept on going after driving through potholes. Either I ignored the damage or I refused to check out the possible harm. I denied reality or suppressed truth. Consequently fear, anger, insecurity, bitterness, and lies slowly eroded my faith, trust, relationships, and joy. I found myself becoming…a bitter, weak, and whiny woman. Discontent ruled my life. The abundant life I longed for seemed like an impossibility.

I knew I had to make a change.

Potholes are inevitable. How we deal with them is up to us.

I realized that “driving around” with a scratch or a dent, mud on me, or splashed by spoils of the road was not a good practice. I needed to learn to take myself to the nearest “mechanic’s shop.”

For me that place of repair became God’s Word, prayer, Sunday morning worship, Bible study, and friends who are willing to hear about my smash ups and give me healthy perspectives on the inevitable destruction life doles out to all of us who are on the road.

Rather than ignore reality I slowly began to accept – potholes are everywhere! They can’t be avoided, discarded, denied. I had to find a way to repair the damage. I couldn’t procrastinate.

I’ve learned to no longer allow potholes to surprise me. They exist to threaten and thwart my progress. But I am not going to let that happen. Instead I choose to run to my Father for cleansing and purifying, to worship my God even when  I don't feel like it, to ask my friends for prayer even though pride would keep me from sharing all, and, because Jesus has told me I can, in the midst of the mud and dirt I strive to

Shine!

I challenge you to entertain a conversation with someone - anyone and concentrate on the other person’s life. If you listen well, you will learn they are waiting. Their life is in a holding pattern.

Just this week I have learned of many waits:

A dear friend is waiting until Friday for a surgery that will determine if she has ovarian cancer or not.

An acquaintance who was wrongfully charged of a crime, must appear in court, and has no money to hire lawyers, and is scared.

Missionaries whose lives have been threatened are waiting on the predicted raid that will eliminate the gospel in the area where they preach.

I too am waiting…

I know you are also.

So what do we do as we wait? It seems like such a waste of time to sit silently by and wait. Is there nothing to be done to change the course of events?

I read Streams in the Desert as if it were the meal my day depended upon. The April 7th entry encourages the reader to sit still. The last line of the days devotion reads,

“ There is a perfect passivity that is not laziness. It is a living stillness born of trust.”

Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding.”

For me, when the wait becomes so heavy I don’t believe I can stand it another moment, I turn to my Father in quiet obedience and whisper, “I trust You. Give me strength to wait for You to move.”

The idea that I am practicing obedience gives me the confidence I need to wait a little while longer, until I have to whisper again, “I trust You. Give me strength to wait for you... and as I wait, help me

Shine!





 

Moving Toward a Place Called BOLD


This week I celebrate a milestone in my life! As I head toward 60 one thing about me that stands out is my lack of roots- this week marks the longest I have ever lived in one place – 11 years to be exact. Never in my life have I lived in one place more than 10 years and now I have clicked over.

As I contemplate this new season- especially given the fact that we have just put another Holy Week behind us I want to MOVE forward with the life God has planned for me.

I continue reading the story of Jesus’ resurrection – don’t finish there because so much of the story is yet to be told…

The women return to their friends who have gathered to mourn and grieve. Breathlessly they announce “the tomb is empty! Jesus is not where we left him.”

Jesus’ disciples, after having witnessed the empty tomb and the risen Lord, moved out into the world:

Acts 4:13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.


Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.


2 Corinthians 3:12: …since we have such a hope, we are very bold.



Ephesians 3:12: Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

I want to be an eager announcer. I want to be bold in what I believe, not a brassy bold, or a pushy preachy bold, but a loving and kind bold, a secure and confident bold. I think we need bold people today to give others hope and encourage them along the way.

I know that I had a brush with the city of BOLD when I was a young woman – the women of BOLD boldly guided me through the rocky patches in my marriage making sure I kept the promises I made at the altar on my wedding day. Later, the women of BOLD encouraged me as I worked at being a mother, homemaker, and leader in my church. God bless these women for they planted security and confidence in me.

I have it in my heart that I am moving, that God has asked me to move - to a place called BOLD. I have begun to pack up, to get rid of the stuff I will not need for my next assignment, to “clean house,” to become acquainted with the citizens who live in BOLD,

According to what I read about these people I need to pack faith, confidence, hope, prayer, freedom, courage and invite the Holy Spirit to move with me.

So here I’m knocking on the door of a new place in life called BOLD where, with God's grace, I hope to

Shine!

listen to what my teens shared with me today in class:

Teaching in a Christian school has its advantages. I am encouraged to weave spiritual lessons into my classes.

Today I introduced my teens to Resurrection Eggs- in Spanish!

Resurrection Eggs? Plastic eggs filled, not with candy, but with symbols representing different stages of Holy
Week.

Examples - a little donkey or a picture of a donkey. Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.


Another example: three nails. Jesus was nailed to the cross.

Example number three: praying hands. Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified.





Pause. Students thinking.  "Uh...."  Head shaking back and forth. "Dunno."

A hand flew up. "I know. The garden of ---- Eden. Eden, that's it, right?"

"Yeah," another chimes in. "The garden of eatin'." They had just finished eatin' the last supper."

Now they were on a roll. They had it! Or so they throught.

Talk about the blind leading the blind!

"No way, not the garden of eatin'," came another voice. "The garden of Eden, dude."

Then discussion, debate, and corrections developed around the garden of eatin' and the garden of Eden.

I sat still, observed, and listened   ---- amazed.

"That was Adam and Eve in the garden of eatin'. They were eating apples! Long before Jesus. Get it? "

Confusion ----on many faces.   "Well WHERE was he then?"

Mind you this is a Christian school.

But before you get too judgmental, let me tell you that the school where I teach is an out reach school. Families do not have to profess or practice Christianity to attend, they only have to agree to allow their children to be exposed to Christianity.

I love it!

So I wasn't too aghast as I observed the young teens talk about a topic they thought they understood.

Remember - they are battling Easter bunnies and Easter eggs - and what do they have to do with Holy Week and the resurrection? These kids have every right to be confused! 

Yet, they were interested and searching for truth and the facts.

I explained - about the Garden of Eden - Adam and Eve - and sin.

I described - the Garden of Gethsemane - Jesus - and forgiveness and redemption.

"Ah --" I get it confused face responded. "Thanks."

"Jesus prayed for you in the garden." I explained. "He prayed that you and I would step into relationship with him and the Father. That is what he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane."

Before they left I prayed with them, for them -- to get it, to understand the message. It's not new or foreign. They are invited to come to Jesus each week during chapel. I prayed that Jesus would become real to each one over the next week.

I'm praying tonight that lives will be changed.

I love my job. I love those precious kids, their honesty, their innocence, their curious minds, and their willingness to open up. I'm honored that God has invited me to