Hospitality Is Not My Gift

    Okay, I admit it! I’m not the Suzy Homemaker type. I barely know the difference between a colander and a custard. Did you know that dusting can mean putting something on something OR taking something off something? You dust the coffee table – you dust the coffee cake. No wonder I’m confused. 

    I don’t really have any excuses for not being more domestic, either. We live in a world where appliances do all the hard work for us. The grocery store has food – it’s not like we have to plant and harvest it ourselves. I just don’t really enjoy it very much. I love the results, but getting there is not fun for me. However, my friends still hang out at my house occasionally; my kids (when they lived at home as teens) invited their friends over and nobody got sick; and I’ve even been known to host an occasional Tupperware® party. I guess I’m somewhat hospitable, but I’m sure there’s room for improvement.

    Hospitality is important to God. After all, He’s in heaven preparing a home and a banquet for us. He wants us to practice hospitality here as well. Romans 12:13b says it plainly: “Practice hospitality.”

    Over the next three days I'll show you three examples of hospitality in the face of adverse circumstances.

Reading The Bible Is Too Complicated

    Yesterday I met with three of my girlfriends to touch base and pray. We talked about the changes we'd like to see in our spiritual lives in 2011. One thing we all mentioned is that we'd like to be reading our Bibles more.

Excuses I've heard - and used myself - for not reading the Bible:
    I don't have time - my schedule is too busy. I need sleep - my body and mind is too tired. I don't understand what I read - the Bible is too complicated.

     The word of God changes us. I was a christian for over 12 years before I started reading my Bible regularly. It wasn't until that time that I started to really understand who Jesus is and how He loves me. I learned that I must not let the "tyranny of the urgent" crowd out what is really important.

    Rest and refreshing came when I spent time reading and meditating on the Bible. I slept better and became a more cheerful and positive person. Even if this was the only benefit, it is worth it.

    The priorities of life become clearer and I was able to let go of the assumptions, expectations and obligations that really weren't worth my time and effort.

    The more I read the Bible, the more I was able to make connections between the Old and New Testaments. I learned to understand and apply the principles outlined there. It became less complicated and more cohesive. I came to understand how important context is and how the contradictions I thought I saw weren't really contradictions at all. I also learned that Jesus loves me unconditionally, and without restraint. His promises are for me.
    AND...they are for you. But you won't know what they are unless you read your Bible regularly.

A Challenge:

Read Your Bible Every Day For A Month

(Get a translation you understand. I use the New International Version (NIV))

You can also get a Bible reading plan from the link to

HeartLight on the left of this page.

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?

Jesus is the Reason for this Season.

Today I choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. He is my God, my King, my Lord, my Savior, my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my Friend, my Brother, my Husband, my Father, my Peace, my Hope, my Joy...He is EVERYTHING to me!

I am so very, very grateful for His grace and mercy. For His choice to come to earth and make Himself subject to my situation (human-ness), so that eventually I can be 'subject' to His situation (heaven.) For His sacrifice (death on the cross) for me so I can sacrifice for Him (give my life.) For His good plans for me, for a hope and a future. He has made the way. I declare today that I trust Him with my life, my heart, my family and friends.

Mere words cannot express my love for Him. My heart is full.

Thank you, My Jesus, for loving me so. It's amazing and wonderful and more than I could ever express in human words. I love you, My Jesus.

If I'm Really A Christian I'll Never Have Problems...

A women in my small group said that if we struggle with obeying God, then we should question our salvation. I know her very well and understand what prompted her statement. However, I'm not sure I agree. I propose that our struggle is proof of our salvation. A person who is not born again doesn't struggle with obedience to God; he or she usually only struggles with the consequences of his/her actions.

I believe that what we're actually struggling with is our own willful nature, physical desires, emotional baggage or our own opinions and erroneous beliefs. Our non-spiritual self is like a two-year-old: "Mine!" "I will do it myself!" "I want it!" Imagine a two-year-old running your life. Not a pretty picture.

Like a parent with a strong-willed child, the power struggle goes on. Our ‘born again self’ knows what’s right and knows that the child within must not be allowed to have free reign. The problem comes because this child is loud, manipulative and usually throws some kind of temper tantrum. An embarrassing, frustrating, confusing situation.

When we are born again, the new person we become desires the things of God. When we're born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He has given us everything for life and godliness, according to 2 Peter 1:3.

When we encounter problems and we’re always worrying that we’re not born again because of it, we can't continue our journey with Jesus. There comes a time when we need to start really believing scripture when it says that Jesus Christ loves us supremely and that He will never stop loving us. There's nothing I can (or not do) do to lose (or gain) His love for me.

What's Wrong With Me

Contentment eludes me

Satisfaction never comes

“What’s wrong with me?!” I cry

“Why can’t I be happy with what I have?”

HIS voice rings true and strong:

“What you want will never satisfy.

And there’s nothing wrong with you.

You were made for another world.

You were made to long for something else,

something more than this.

The things you long for here are just shadows

Of what you were made for.

Love deserts me

Emptiness always comes

“What’s wrong with me?!” I cry

“Why can’t I be full with what I have?”

HIS voice croons soft and low:

“Earth’s love will never satisfy.

And there’s nothing wrong with you.

You’re a vessel for My love only.
You were made to be full of Me

And after you’re full, to pour yourself out.

The love you long for is just a shadow

Of the love I have for you.

Come with me into the quiet places, beside the still waters.

Come restore your soul.

Come let Me love you – hear My heart.

Come let Me fill you – rest in Me.

Grace and Mercy - I Am Not A Candidate

    Mercy is different from grace. Of course you probably know this.

Grace is getting what we don't deserve.

I don't deserve a lot of things. I certainly wasn't a perfect parent, but I have wonderful children. I don't deserve my husband and his servant heart toward me, but we're still married after thirty years ~ now that's grace! I don't deserve the faithful friends I have, but there they are, accepting me as I am and loving me 'anyway'. Grace is undeserved blessing.

I see grace clearly every day: letting someone go ahead in the grocery line; smiling; asking the clerk about HER day & listening; greeting the baggers; exhibiting patience with others who are slow or confused.

Workplace grace is smiling (again); submission to bosses; noticing others' workload and not putting more on them; figuring out problems yourself.

At home, grace is serving my husband when I'm as tired as he is or honoring his desire to see a movie that I think is boring. Grace is opening our home to others to come and find a relaxing, loving place to rest.

Mercy can be described as not getting what we do deserve.

I'll say it plain: I am a sinner. I couldn't begin to tell you all of my transgressions, and it's too embarrassing anyway. However, for reasons mostly unfathomable to me, God has chosen to forgive me, accept me and allow me to be His Beloved. What a wonderful thought ~ the Creator of the universe loves me! Amazing! Based on this most excellent example, I'd say mercy is undeserved forgiveness, as well as unconditional love. [Yes, UNCONDITIONAL love!]

Mercy is a bit harder to see than grace. If mercy is undeserved forgiveness, then I need to quickly let go of the irritation of loud, crying, &/or unruly kids [and my judgmental attitude about parenting]; obnoxious customers [maybe they're having a bad day]; slow, confused customers [we all get older ~ that could be me someday]; aisle hoggers [how many times have I been distracted?]

In my workplace, I need to quickly forgive slacking, whining, grouchiness, disrespect, interruptions.

At home, mercy is choosing your battles ~ ignoring blue hair on your teenager, letting go of the hurt I feel when others talk to me in a mean tone-of-voice, or not taking me seriously when I'm being serious.

    Grace and mercy go hand-in-hand. You can't really have one without the other.

A picture developed in my mind about how these two words would intersect. Interestingly, they could intersect at the 'R' to make a cross.

Grace as the vertical axis is like God allowing us to come to Him

even though we don't deserve to even be in His holy presence.

Mercy as the horizontal axis is like the open arms of Jesus on the cross,

accepting us, dying for us to make a way for His grace.

If You Love Me You'll...

“Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give You,’ he said, ‘if You will bow down and worship me.’

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”                  Matthew 4:8-10

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Ah, LOVE…the subject of epics, ballads, sonnets and poems…the one thing that reduces us to melted butter and yet inspires us to greatness. 

The Bible tells us that love is patient, kind, humble, content, unselfish, forgiving, trusting, protective, hopeful, persistent, loyal, joyful, consistent and excellent.

We each have circumstances in our lives that confuse us about the loving course to take. Do we confront our husband who has been spending more time at work than at home; or is unaffectionate and demanding? Do we speak to our friend who seems to be more interested in her neighbor than in her own husband? How do we respond when an unbelieving coworker tells a dirty joke and a believing coworker laughs at it? What about society, or even family members, who put you down because you’re a Christian?

I do not claim to have it all together in this department. I do not think I am wise in this area. In fact, these are areas I have struggled with at one time or another. All I know for sure is what the Bible says and that it’s the best standard to live by. Although the saying “What Would Jesus Do?” has been trivialized today, it is still the best question to ask in situations such as these.

In Matthew 4, satan tempted Jesus by offering to give Jesus the whole world if Jesus would worship him. Jesus actually wanted the whole world (it wouldn’t be a temptation if He didn’t want it.) He wanted to save us and spend eternity with us. If Jesus had taken satan up on his offer, He wouldn’t have had to confront anyone; or suffer ostracizing from his family; or the ridicule of society; or bear the horrible pain of our sin. It would have been much easier for Him.

Sometimes I’m tempted to go the easy way – the way that makes me, and them, feel better. I don’t want my husband to feel more stress; I don’t want my friendship to end; I don’t want my coworkers to not like me; I don’t want to appear judgmental or prudish or intolerant to my family (who knew me ‘before’.)

In these situations the first, most loving thing I can do is to remember that I don’t have to have an immediate response. It’s usually better to let the situation cool off first. Calm down, pray it through; if necessary, talk it over with someone wiser, or at least more objective. When I do this, I can remind myself that here on earth things won’t ever be perfect and that there are some things I just can’t fix and/or its not my job to fix; that I can’t ever change another person; that things are not always what they seem; and that people are complicated.

The next step is to examine my heart. Do I have any ulterior motives for confrontation? Do I want my husband to help me more around the house because I’m lazy or resentful? Do I want to hurt my friend because she hurt me? Am I afraid of retaliation at work if I speak up? In my family, do I stand up for what’s right and face rejection or do I want personal acceptance more? Is this more about me and my ‘rights’ or about the highest call of showing Jesus' love to people?

Then, I have to ask myself another hard question:

What is best, in the long run, for this person? What would Jesus do? I can tell you that Jesus would not take the easy way, the convenient way, or the most ‘peaceful’ way. He would take the most loving way. The way of sacrifice – the way of love.

It takes courage and wisdom to love. God is wisdom and courage and God is love. Love is deliberate. Love is steadfast. Love is...well...love.

Lies? What Lies?

What lies do you live by?

Is your worth wrapped up in your face? your figure? your finances?

Are you valued for your wisdom? your works? your wow-factor?

What's the truth?

How can you move from lies to truth?