??

I must admit that this week, I am having a difficult time writing. Why? Rahab appeals to me. She reminds me of myself in many ways (no, I'm NOT a prostitute!) and that results in a unique challenge in my writing.

So, here is what I came up with:
1. Grace - I have been saved by grace - the same grace that weird, stinky, unique, "different" people can be and have been saved by grace...but why do we still judge?

2. Faith - I have an incredible faith. I know God is in charge and I can't recall too many times when this has been shaken...One that stands out is a situation that surrounded the adoption of one of my children. (I must protect this information and not share all of the details in such a public forum in order to protect my child's privacy.) Let's just say that the thought of losing a child that you've raised for a period of time due to an unforeseen legal glitch can shake your faith - even just for a moment. In this specific situation, I really wanted to lie to protect this child but in the end told the truth. God was faithful - yet again revealing a mini-snapshot of all that he provides for us! My faith in Him reconfirmed once again and I am grateful that we did not become one of those families handing over a child to his/her birth family live on national TV! Thank you, Lord!

3. Commitment - I tend to be a pretty committed person (at work - I'm mission driven; at home - I'm committed even if others aren't; in church...hmmmm....maybe that is a place where I can use some help.) Seems I've been "church shopping" for a little too long...Been there? Yeah, I think I need to commit.

4. Courage - Cognitive dissonance is a psycho-social concept that I recently studied. This is when there are inconsistencies between one thing and another (e.g., single white woman with two children of minority race (different at that) ... um, can she be a Christian? Can she live a Godly life? Boy, does she "get around"...

I must admit that it takes courage to live this life. Thankfully, God has granted me abundant courage and although I often have to take a deep breath and let things go because our family doesn't "fit" the traditional mold, I have been blessed by courage.
Now, my real fears come from: fire & eye inquiries.

5. Obedience - Now you've hit the nail on the head. I sometimes have challenges in being obedient to God's will. You? Specifically, I am somewhat intolerant of incompetence; drives me a little nutty. Sometimes I say things I later regret. For this I need to remind myself to obey God's command to love one another - even when others perform below my expectations! :(


I wish for you: grace, faith, commitment, courage and obedience. May you be committed to welcoming people who don't fit the traditional mold into your world (work, home, church congregation, play group, athletic team, coffee break, etc...) God has offered both of you grace; you have something in common even if it doesn't appear so on the outside. Be obedient to his command - love one another (and keep reminding me of this too!).

Be brave.
Be loving.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Be Brave

I applaud all the BRAVE women on the Rahab side of the story! So many brave ladies have crossed my path lately. Like Rahab these brave women have been stepping out and trying to follow Christ. Maybe you are one of them because you are going to a church for the first time, moving to a new city, stepping away from a wrong relationship, protecting your children, overcoming an addiction, starting a Bible Study or making career adjustments just to follow Christ. It can be difficult, but like Rahab…God sees you, loves you, and has big plans for you. Be Brave!

Sometimes it is hard to know…are Christians actually “for” anything? We seem to make such a reputation for ourselves about what we are “against” more than showing God’s love. We seem to forget that God loves people and accepts them at the point they come to Him. He doesn’t ask them to get cleaned up and be perfect before He loves them. He accepts you just the way you are, but loves you so much that he won’t leave you there…just like Rahab!

It amazes me daily the way God’s Spirit draws people to Him…in spite of how we (Christians) act! Sometimes when we have been a Christian a long time or in church forever it is easy to be tempted to become a “holy huddle”. Look around you and your fellow Christians…would it be easy or hard for someone new to feel accepted and loved. Would they have to change their dress, attitude, social status, race or language just to talk to you? Even wilder…would you knock on their door? Do you go out of your way to make others feel comfortable? Do you watch for the "Rahabs" and go the extra mile to befriend them? If not, why not? Here’s the challenge…Be Brave. Make a shift. Look for it. Jesus came for ALL of us and let's face it...hung out with sinners.

Be Brave – whether you are on the Rahab or Spy side of the story – Be Brave! We all have the free gift of GRACE and need to show it to others! God has big plans for all of us and wants to use us in mighty ways…Be Brave!

JJ

Welcome In Our Church?

Would Jesus be welcome in your church, or would you be worried his blood would stain the carpet, get on the pews, or offend someone? I believe it is through hurting people that Jesus comes to us to see what we will say to or do with them. When we die and go to heaven will He say He knows us because we fed Him, gave Him a place to stay, and love Him, or will He say He never knew us because we went to church, read our Bibles, did good things, but didn't stop to love Him through the homeless, prostitutes, drug dealers, widows, orphans, abused, neglected, and hurting?
These chapters really hit home for me. I tend to be very passionate about a few things and one of them is how we as Christians/the church body sometimes shun, judge, and push away people/ ‘sinners’/ anything different.
I love what Jen says on the bottom of page 79; "When is the last time a dirty homeless man was welcomed into your church service, not just its food pantry? What if a hooker aligned herself with your women’s ministry? What if God selected someone like Rahab to deliver His Word or His people? Who would listen to her? We’d be so uncomfortable with her sin; it would be a matter of “Someone deal with this so we can get rid of her.” Rahab’s story is beautiful news to the Rahabs but often not welcomed by the pew fillers. Redemption is for everyone, not just those who seem worthy. That often necessitates a period between debauchery and liberation. Can you fathom how many live in that gap? Can you see how many souls are left on the proverbial salvation table when Christians won’t stand by—much love—another so broken? It is a short step into grace; Jesus made it so simple. The divide is no greater for a prostitute than for a preacher’s daughter. Often all a person needs is one friend to show her the way, but we are too preoccupied with “speaking truth,” “rebuking,” and “being set apart” to make contact with anyone under our spiritual rank. Had this been God’s position, the Bible would be half its length; we’d be left with tabernacle dimensions in the Old Testament, and much of the New Testament would be thrown out because it was written by a reformed terrorist.”

This makes me think of the songs by Casting Crowns

• “If We Are The Body”
• “Does Anybody Hear Her”
• “Love Them Like Jesus”

Believing We Are Brave

Ok, I have to admit that I did not read this week. Where does the time go??? I know that I have to make a post every Wednesday and every Wednesday morning I wake up saying, "OH NO, IT"S WEDNESDAY!" I am pretty sure it comes the same time each week, but still I "forget" it's Wednesday. So admitting that, I skimmed the chapters and what stuck out for me was about the Brave Women. We can each be brave, but there is a certain fear that I think tries to take us down every time we try to be brave.
I know in my life it takes a lot for me to believe that I can do certain things. How many times do we tell ourselves, "If God is with us, who then can be against us"? But do we really believe that and take that to heart when we have a difficult situation we are facing?

Here is what God promises us...
*You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)
*God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:17)
*Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 3:6)
*On my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:18)

When we feel God pulling us to do something, if we can remember theses promises, we can accomplish the impossible!

Have a great week and BE BRAVE!

Amazing Grace That Saved A Wretch

AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET THE SOUND, THAT SAVED A WRETCH....
I've always wondered what exactly a wretch is...so I looked up the word in the dictionary.

Wretch
1 : a miserable person : one who is profoundly unhappy or in great misfortune
2 : a base, despicable, or vile person

Oh...so a wretch is someone like Rahab. A common harlot, a lady of the night, an outcast clinging to the very bottom rung of the social ladder. What could she possibly have to offer the God of the universe? He would never bother with such a bottom feeder. But wait a minute... the song doesn't say saved a wretch like Rahab....it says "saved a wretch like me". Like me? How can that be? I'm not like Rahab at all. I'm the daughter of a minister, the wife of a pastor....I've never been a prostitute....but there it is in black and white..." saved a wretch like ME".

Let's be honest here. Haven't we all looked down on the Rahabs of the world? Those we consider under our spiritual rank. We are so quick to judge telling ourselves that their sin is bigger than ours or it's worse than ours, but you know what? The same grace that saved Rahab is the same grace that saved me (and you). It wasn't earned and it certainly wasn't deserved, but nonetheless it was given freely to us by God. In her book Jen Hatmaker says, "It is a short step into grace; Jesus made it so simple. The divide is no greater for a prostitute than for a preacher's daughter. All the blessings of the covenant of mercy belong to you. If you have but a simple faith, you will yet comprehend how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ that removes our shame, develops our courage,and crowns us with honor. Unfathomable is His grace."

Thank you Lord for an Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like me!

The Fear Which Project

I never thought I would be cheering on a prostitute in the Bible but go Rahab! Could I have been so brave to defy a King? Probably not - and unlike Rahab, I have the knowledge of God's power and love! I'd probably just stick my 'No Soliciters' sign on the door and be done with it.
Our family has a secret doorbell ring to alert each other it is us at the door so it's okay to answer it. I'd tell you what it was but then I'd have to invite you in. Wow! Is this how we prepare to answer when God knocks? And He does knock, just ask Rahab!

Fear is a tough one. We all have fears - here are a few of mine:
Moths
Scuba Diving
Turbulence
Hair Balls
Confrontation
Loss
The unknown
Being alone
Death

You see how my fears went from nonsense to seriousness so quickly? Fear is unrational. As Christians, fear is unnecessary!! The opposite of fear is faith.
The chapter title of Hebrews 11 is 'By Faith'. Verse 31 says:
'By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies'

'Don't be Afraid' is the most frequent command in the Bible. There are specifically 2 types of fear in the Bible. Think of it as the 'Fear Which Project'. One is detrimental and the other is encouraged. Which do you have? Hopefully it is the encouraged fear of the Lord. Can you imagine living with no fear?

As I'm writing this post, Matt Redman's song 'Never Let Go' is playing over and over again in my mind. It honestly sums it all up way better than I can. The lyrics say:

Even though I walk, through the valley, of the shadow of death - Your perfect love is casting out fear - And even when I'm caught - in the middle - of the storms of this life - I won't turn back I know you are near - And I will fear no evil - For my God is with me - and if my God is with me - Whom then shall I fear? - Whom then shall I fear?

There are a lot of brave women in the Bible. I just finished the Beth Moore Esther study and if you haven't done this already it is a must. Talk about a brave woman - Esther stood up to fear and came out on top. All in God's plan of course. With God on your side, who could be against you? Next time a killer moth flies right at me, I hope I remember to call on God to cast away my fear!

Have a fearless week!

Greater Than? Less Than? Equal?

Week 1, Chapter 1-3.... Ms. Understood is not begging the question whether woman are greater than, less than or equal to men...   I believe the question is Do you believe you are the apple God's eye?

I am amazed how much this book has stirred my existence in the last few days... 

My pre-reading prediction was I'd end up with more guilt about not reading or studying the Bible more or not being closer with my God. I'd read through this book, trying to decide am I all I should be for my Lord or am I submissive enough ...as that is the holy command for woman of God, right?

But joyfully, this has not been the case... I have been shaken by the joy and encouragement God has filled my heart with a new view of my role as a woman of God.

My old view was a helpmate, the organizer, the keep on top of everything to keep the family going, train up children who, like their mother seek God's favor.

My radically, invigorated new view includes a gleaming tiara and the title of underdog!

So, first the tiara:

From Psalm 8:5: " I've put a tiara of honor on your head."  Straight from God's word: woman we must believe we are chosen, we are God's crowning jewel to his creation. We were the final touch of his creation. We are his glory bearers. We are the little girl standing before a loving God... who brings us the only validation we need. He loves us unconditionally, there is nothing we can do to undo his love, favor or opinion of us. This is so liberating knowing that I am  a prize position of the God of the Universe. 

The message, Jen Hatmaker delivers about woman is powerful when she explains that God has chosen us to be adorned with talents, beauty, charm and humor.  She paints a moving moment of when Jesus will take one look at us and say, " I would have died on that cross if only for this one." 

The key to this message is that you believe. Believe in the God who speaks the truth.  Trust and Believe is the command of our God... take heart that this is your calling, not to seek the validation of others... just trust this message and believe this God adores you, his tiara-wearing, glory-bearing, chosen woman of God. 

Next, here comes the underdog: I have been in Sunday School and Bible Studies since I was born and had never heard the tale of Tamar.  Tamar is God's story of his faithfulness to those who are underdogs caught being bullied by those who make up the rules of life as they travel along. These folks (Judah and company) that Tamar was tied to... elevated themselves above God, took advantage of others, refused to obey laws, and had stone-cold hearts.  Tamar's life is a demonstration of God's "affinity for the hurting and his zero tolerance for those who take advantage of others and situations".

Tamar married into a family that was chosen, but refused God's favor and blessings. She was abused and abandoned by these men, yet, God found his favor in this woman. Being the underdog can be hurtful, devastating and just plain rotten... however the tale of Tamar, for me showed that God's heart is passionate and frantic to deliver the oppressed. So, resting in his promise to right the persecuted is true, complete and powerful for those of us who at times in our lives fall prey and wear the cape of the underdog. God always, always has the back of the underdog. 

Stand strong knowing, that God always has your back.

Tamar also reminded me of a wise woman, who I just have to believe knew this story when she stated, No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt, 'This Is My Story,' 1937. 

Tamar was not disqualified by any one's opinion. She did not give in... she showed integrity and cleverly overcame. She did not resort to be acting like the victim, she activated her God-given intelligence. She did not give into nagging, gossiping, threatening or complaining. Strong lesson there... yes?

I urge all woman to RUN to read and share this message in Ms. Understood with friends, family and especially young woman... may you see your God lovingly and proudly raising you up as a woman of favor.