Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Jeremiah 29:11
I know it's been months since I last wrote. Truth is life just gets busy sometimes, and it's been a very busy summer. It isn't that I haven't thought about writing...I have probably started at least 20 blogs, in my head, I just haven't actually sat down to write them. This time however, I need to write. I need to write about one of my all-time favorite scriptures, Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and hope."
Yes, it has been a very crazy and very busy summer. Let me give you just a glimpse of my summer. We have had plans to remodel the bathrooms at our church, a much needed job, for sometime now. Well there we were in the middle of our summer vacation and boom...the phone rang at 9:30. We were in the hotel room trying to get our daughter asleep because she had her big dance competition the next morning and I was going to have to wake her up at 4:30 AM just to get her ready and at the venue by 6:30 AM. So the phone rang and it was one of our deacons letting us know that a water valve had busted in the ladies bathroom and our foyer that had just been renovated two years before was underwater. In fact the bathrooms were flooded along with the nursery, the hallway, the church office and most of the sanctuary! We were 6 hours away in Florida....with commitments. We couldn't just drop everything and take off, so we told our deacon to call in the reserves and do the best he could. We finished our vacation and came home to a mess! (The good news is by the time we are done remodeling...well it's gonna be a whole brand new church just about! Guess we are remodeling those bathrooms a little earlier than planned!) And it hasn't stopped yet! Honestly it's getting to be something new going wrong almost every day, we are kind of laughing about it now.
My husband and I could be stressing about it...we could be worrying...we could be living in the day by day drama of it, but we aren't why? Because we both remember Jeremiah 29:11...we've lived it before. We've had our "dreams" shattered, our hopes crushed...only to see that we serve an amazing GOD, a GOD who sees beyond the shattered dreams...the crushed hope and says, "Oh what a beautiful thing I can do with this!" (Kind of like those ladies we all admire..you know the ones I am talking about? The ones who go to a yard sale...sees someone else's castaways and takes it home because she sees potential! And oh what she does with it!!!!!) That's what God can and does do with your shattered dream!
I'm talking about shattered dreams all because of Ryan. Ryan is the youngest son of my best friend Michelle. He's "my redheaded son"! Well that's what I call him. After the death of my first husband and my move back to Florida, Michelle and her family sort of adopted me. Most evenings I would be at their house having dinner so she could help me pass my college algebra class. We went shopping a lot too! I can still remember one shopping trip to the mall with her two sons, Jared and Ryan. Jared looks exactly like Michelle, Ryan has red hair, did I mention that I am a red head too? Well Ryan was being a bit....ummm active that day and the sales lady just had to make some comment about "redheaded children", I almost started a fight right there in the JC Penney kids department! (Then she really would have found out what they say about redheads!) Most of the time everyone thought Ryan was mine, and that was fine with me. (He really has red hair from his dad!)
Well back to Ryan and shattered dreams. Ryan became a very focused young man. He went to high school and joined the ROTC and decided that the military was what God had planned for him. He was full of dreams, plans and thoughts of graduating from Paris Island and wearing the USMC uniform. (I was so excited..my first husband was a Marine and I couldn't wait to go see him graduate!) I was able to be at his going away party in Jacksonville, Florida only a few weeks ago, and it was a great party for a great kid! Three days later Ryan got on a bus and was taken to Paris Island. Just a few days into that first week of basic training and Ryan was in a hospital room because he was experiencing tremors in his hands. Later tests would reveal some abnormalities that make it impossible for him to pursue his dreams of being a Marine.
His mother posted the news the other night on Facebook and in her message she said this, "Ryan received the news that they are going to disqualify him and are sending him home. He sounds good. He knows God has a plan and He will lead him." It just struck me...as a matter of fact, our whole Sunday morning service yesterday became just about that, God has a plan and HE will lead. So many people are running around with shattered dreams. A job is gone. A husband has left. A diagnosis has come in and it's bad. Your dreams and your plans seem to be taking a turn you can't understand. The church is flooded after you've been having an increase in attendance and giving and now people aren't coming back...ooops did I say that? Anyways what faith Ryan has! That he can say at 18 years of age, "I know God has a plan and He will lead me!"
We all need to remember that! Maybe the way life is heading is not the way you thought it would go, BUT GOD knew! He saw! And HE is the one who will LEAD...if you will listen to his voice! I know after Rob died that I had no clue what I was going to do. So many things to consider, and there I was only 31 wanting to be a wife, not a widow; wanting to be a mother, not childless. It took me a few weeks to just get rested up after the turmoil. Then it took me a few more months just to wrap my head around the "new" life I had to think about. When God finally told me to leave my family in Maine and move back to Florida where I just had a few friends and a great church my first thought was, "Are you sure God?". (Okay maybe it was "Hey God can you be the one to tell this to my mother because she really isn't going to like it!") But I knew that He was telling me to pack and head out. Now I can look back and say I am glad I did.
My husband Randy said something yesterday....oops the day before, it's after midnight, a new day now! During the altar call that became our service..."Nothing has God wringing his hands in desperation. Nothing takes him by surprise." He knew about Ryan's problem before Ryan went to Paris Island. He knew the water valve was going to bust this summer. God isn't up there saying, "Oh no what am I going to do with Ryan now? What are Randy and Gina going to do about the church now?" He's got a plan...and HE will lead.
Maybe this is just for me to write about here in the wee hours of the morning. Maybe I am just encouraging myself....but hey even us Pastor's Wives need to remember sometimes...Jeremiah 29:11-I have a plan Gina, says the Lord! I have a PLAN...and I will LEAD!
All I can say is Thank You Lord...I promise to follow! I can't wait to see what you have in store for my "redheaded son"!
Yes, it has been a very crazy and very busy summer. Let me give you just a glimpse of my summer. We have had plans to remodel the bathrooms at our church, a much needed job, for sometime now. Well there we were in the middle of our summer vacation and boom...the phone rang at 9:30. We were in the hotel room trying to get our daughter asleep because she had her big dance competition the next morning and I was going to have to wake her up at 4:30 AM just to get her ready and at the venue by 6:30 AM. So the phone rang and it was one of our deacons letting us know that a water valve had busted in the ladies bathroom and our foyer that had just been renovated two years before was underwater. In fact the bathrooms were flooded along with the nursery, the hallway, the church office and most of the sanctuary! We were 6 hours away in Florida....with commitments. We couldn't just drop everything and take off, so we told our deacon to call in the reserves and do the best he could. We finished our vacation and came home to a mess! (The good news is by the time we are done remodeling...well it's gonna be a whole brand new church just about! Guess we are remodeling those bathrooms a little earlier than planned!) And it hasn't stopped yet! Honestly it's getting to be something new going wrong almost every day, we are kind of laughing about it now.
My husband and I could be stressing about it...we could be worrying...we could be living in the day by day drama of it, but we aren't why? Because we both remember Jeremiah 29:11...we've lived it before. We've had our "dreams" shattered, our hopes crushed...only to see that we serve an amazing GOD, a GOD who sees beyond the shattered dreams...the crushed hope and says, "Oh what a beautiful thing I can do with this!" (Kind of like those ladies we all admire..you know the ones I am talking about? The ones who go to a yard sale...sees someone else's castaways and takes it home because she sees potential! And oh what she does with it!!!!!) That's what God can and does do with your shattered dream!
I'm talking about shattered dreams all because of Ryan. Ryan is the youngest son of my best friend Michelle. He's "my redheaded son"! Well that's what I call him. After the death of my first husband and my move back to Florida, Michelle and her family sort of adopted me. Most evenings I would be at their house having dinner so she could help me pass my college algebra class. We went shopping a lot too! I can still remember one shopping trip to the mall with her two sons, Jared and Ryan. Jared looks exactly like Michelle, Ryan has red hair, did I mention that I am a red head too? Well Ryan was being a bit....ummm active that day and the sales lady just had to make some comment about "redheaded children", I almost started a fight right there in the JC Penney kids department! (Then she really would have found out what they say about redheads!) Most of the time everyone thought Ryan was mine, and that was fine with me. (He really has red hair from his dad!)
Well back to Ryan and shattered dreams. Ryan became a very focused young man. He went to high school and joined the ROTC and decided that the military was what God had planned for him. He was full of dreams, plans and thoughts of graduating from Paris Island and wearing the USMC uniform. (I was so excited..my first husband was a Marine and I couldn't wait to go see him graduate!) I was able to be at his going away party in Jacksonville, Florida only a few weeks ago, and it was a great party for a great kid! Three days later Ryan got on a bus and was taken to Paris Island. Just a few days into that first week of basic training and Ryan was in a hospital room because he was experiencing tremors in his hands. Later tests would reveal some abnormalities that make it impossible for him to pursue his dreams of being a Marine.
His mother posted the news the other night on Facebook and in her message she said this, "Ryan received the news that they are going to disqualify him and are sending him home. He sounds good. He knows God has a plan and He will lead him." It just struck me...as a matter of fact, our whole Sunday morning service yesterday became just about that, God has a plan and HE will lead. So many people are running around with shattered dreams. A job is gone. A husband has left. A diagnosis has come in and it's bad. Your dreams and your plans seem to be taking a turn you can't understand. The church is flooded after you've been having an increase in attendance and giving and now people aren't coming back...ooops did I say that? Anyways what faith Ryan has! That he can say at 18 years of age, "I know God has a plan and He will lead me!"
We all need to remember that! Maybe the way life is heading is not the way you thought it would go, BUT GOD knew! He saw! And HE is the one who will LEAD...if you will listen to his voice! I know after Rob died that I had no clue what I was going to do. So many things to consider, and there I was only 31 wanting to be a wife, not a widow; wanting to be a mother, not childless. It took me a few weeks to just get rested up after the turmoil. Then it took me a few more months just to wrap my head around the "new" life I had to think about. When God finally told me to leave my family in Maine and move back to Florida where I just had a few friends and a great church my first thought was, "Are you sure God?". (Okay maybe it was "Hey God can you be the one to tell this to my mother because she really isn't going to like it!") But I knew that He was telling me to pack and head out. Now I can look back and say I am glad I did.
My husband Randy said something yesterday....oops the day before, it's after midnight, a new day now! During the altar call that became our service..."Nothing has God wringing his hands in desperation. Nothing takes him by surprise." He knew about Ryan's problem before Ryan went to Paris Island. He knew the water valve was going to bust this summer. God isn't up there saying, "Oh no what am I going to do with Ryan now? What are Randy and Gina going to do about the church now?" He's got a plan...and HE will lead.
Maybe this is just for me to write about here in the wee hours of the morning. Maybe I am just encouraging myself....but hey even us Pastor's Wives need to remember sometimes...Jeremiah 29:11-I have a plan Gina, says the Lord! I have a PLAN...and I will LEAD!
All I can say is Thank You Lord...I promise to follow! I can't wait to see what you have in store for my "redheaded son"!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Open Our Eyes God!
I am not sure if you keep a journal, but I do. Or maybe I should say I did. Seems like life is so busy now that writing daily in a journal is almost impossible. I love to re-read what I wrote however! It helps me to see where I've been, what God has brought me through, and often just makes me smile remembering the things that God has used to teach me lessons. So here I am going to share with you a journal entry I made several years back...I hope it makes you smile, and THINK!
"This morning as I sat on my favorite side of our "old" couch in our "new" home trying to catch up on my reading in my awesome devotional book, something happened that God used to speak to me through! It may seem insignificant, but then again, it may not.
My children Josiah 10 and Aiden Rose 4 were quietly watching a movie in the den as I had my quiet time when all of a sudden Aiden Rose came screaming in pain out of the door. I was startled! She was running almost blindly to me only peeking through one eye. It didn't take me long to see that some how all of her beautiful long eye lashes on her right eye were trapped under her eyelid. You know how just one eye lash can irritate your eye, imagine all of your eyelashes on your eyeball! I knew that in order to relieve her pain I had to get her eye open all the way and free those eyelashes!
Aiden didn't understand that however! She didn't want her eye to be opened. An open eye was what started the pain in the first place. As I tried to open her eye and calm her fears at the same time I realized that I needed help. I told my son who was anxiously looking on that he needed to run upstairs for daddy. While one more time I tried to calmly explain to Aiden Rose the need to open her eye. Just as my husband rounded the corner I was able to get her to trust me enough to open her eye.
After it was all over and we had prayed for her, each of us went back to what we had been doing before. I was still sitting in my favorite spot on the couch and tried to go back to my Bible reading when it hit me. What had just happened was a lot like LIFE! Each day, or maybe for you each month, something hurtful can or will happen to us. We want to keep our eyes shut and hope the pain will just go away. Many times the Lord wants us to open our eyes to the pain (incident) and to TRUST Him to get us through it! He wants to get the "pain" out. He often uses the painful situations in our lives to help us see Him more clearly. We simply need to do the very thing that sometimes we are afraid of doing....Opening our Eyes!
Today...I encourage you...if something painful has or is happening in your life, let God open your eyes to the reality that NOTHING is TOO HARD for HIM! You can believe that HE will get the pain out, and even if the situation doesn't turn around, HE is ALWAYS there for you!
"This morning as I sat on my favorite side of our "old" couch in our "new" home trying to catch up on my reading in my awesome devotional book, something happened that God used to speak to me through! It may seem insignificant, but then again, it may not.
My children Josiah 10 and Aiden Rose 4 were quietly watching a movie in the den as I had my quiet time when all of a sudden Aiden Rose came screaming in pain out of the door. I was startled! She was running almost blindly to me only peeking through one eye. It didn't take me long to see that some how all of her beautiful long eye lashes on her right eye were trapped under her eyelid. You know how just one eye lash can irritate your eye, imagine all of your eyelashes on your eyeball! I knew that in order to relieve her pain I had to get her eye open all the way and free those eyelashes!
Aiden didn't understand that however! She didn't want her eye to be opened. An open eye was what started the pain in the first place. As I tried to open her eye and calm her fears at the same time I realized that I needed help. I told my son who was anxiously looking on that he needed to run upstairs for daddy. While one more time I tried to calmly explain to Aiden Rose the need to open her eye. Just as my husband rounded the corner I was able to get her to trust me enough to open her eye.
After it was all over and we had prayed for her, each of us went back to what we had been doing before. I was still sitting in my favorite spot on the couch and tried to go back to my Bible reading when it hit me. What had just happened was a lot like LIFE! Each day, or maybe for you each month, something hurtful can or will happen to us. We want to keep our eyes shut and hope the pain will just go away. Many times the Lord wants us to open our eyes to the pain (incident) and to TRUST Him to get us through it! He wants to get the "pain" out. He often uses the painful situations in our lives to help us see Him more clearly. We simply need to do the very thing that sometimes we are afraid of doing....Opening our Eyes!
Today...I encourage you...if something painful has or is happening in your life, let God open your eyes to the reality that NOTHING is TOO HARD for HIM! You can believe that HE will get the pain out, and even if the situation doesn't turn around, HE is ALWAYS there for you!
Monday, March 19, 2012
An Anxious Heart
There are moments in our lives that stay with us forever, and then there are some things that slip silently into the night and we completely forget about them. Several years ago I was a stay at home mom enduring another sweltering summer in Georgia. My then three year old daughter was a handful, but add her very busy nine year old brother into the mix and well you can imagine that something was always happening in our home. Let's just say that life is never boring in the Scalise household.
This particular summer was especially unsettling for me. My husband was an Associate Pastor at a church I had grown to love, when our Lead Pastor told us he was gently "pushing us out of the nest". He said that he believed my husband would make a great Lead Pastor. This was something we had not even discussed. We love teenagers, and had determined that our ministry was to be Youth Pastor's until we were well into our Senior Years. Well the whole process of leaving this town and church that I had grown to love and looking for a place to Pastor was making me a nervous wreck.
You see I often suffer from an "anxious" heart! My husband believes it's because I like to be in control of things, but let's not go there right now. I am one of those people who gets excited by the prospect of change, but then reality hits when the boxes begin to come out! I become anxious when I realize that I am leaving a place I've called home for four years, and wonder, just what is going to happen when we get to the new place, and WHERE is it going to be? You can hear my "anxious" heart even in my breathing! Sounds crazy right? Well I have so many questions, so many concerns about our "next" adventure that at times I feel I can't even breathe.
I remember this one particular morning that summer. I had got up before either of the children, a major accomplishment since they both like to watch morning cartoons. I went to grab my Bible and devotion book to read in the living room only to find them gone from their usual place. I marched out into the living room fully intending to harass my husband, who was still home, about taking my things. Instead he simply laid the Bible down he was reading, took me in his arms and gave me a great big "bear" hug. He never said a word. He just held me.
Honestly at that moment I felt like God Himself was holding me close to His heart. He wasn't telling me, "It will be all right Gina.". He wasn't even saying, "This is the path to take, walk in it." No, instead I felt like God was simply giving His anxious child a great big "bear" hug which said, "I'm here! Don't be afraid.".
There are many times in life that we become anxious. Maybe you are anxious because you don't know what the future holds for you. I can't calm your heart with words, but I believe that if you let Him, God can! He wants to give you a great big "bear" hug today! He wants you to release your worry over what the future may hold and He wants to remind you of just WHO it is that holds your future!
I encourage you today, if you are suffering from an anxious heart, get out your Bible and turn to Luke 12:27-30. Then go on to Philippians 4:4-7. Here it says this beginning in verse 6- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
My wish for you today is that you will experience God's PEACE!
This particular summer was especially unsettling for me. My husband was an Associate Pastor at a church I had grown to love, when our Lead Pastor told us he was gently "pushing us out of the nest". He said that he believed my husband would make a great Lead Pastor. This was something we had not even discussed. We love teenagers, and had determined that our ministry was to be Youth Pastor's until we were well into our Senior Years. Well the whole process of leaving this town and church that I had grown to love and looking for a place to Pastor was making me a nervous wreck.
You see I often suffer from an "anxious" heart! My husband believes it's because I like to be in control of things, but let's not go there right now. I am one of those people who gets excited by the prospect of change, but then reality hits when the boxes begin to come out! I become anxious when I realize that I am leaving a place I've called home for four years, and wonder, just what is going to happen when we get to the new place, and WHERE is it going to be? You can hear my "anxious" heart even in my breathing! Sounds crazy right? Well I have so many questions, so many concerns about our "next" adventure that at times I feel I can't even breathe.
I remember this one particular morning that summer. I had got up before either of the children, a major accomplishment since they both like to watch morning cartoons. I went to grab my Bible and devotion book to read in the living room only to find them gone from their usual place. I marched out into the living room fully intending to harass my husband, who was still home, about taking my things. Instead he simply laid the Bible down he was reading, took me in his arms and gave me a great big "bear" hug. He never said a word. He just held me.
Honestly at that moment I felt like God Himself was holding me close to His heart. He wasn't telling me, "It will be all right Gina.". He wasn't even saying, "This is the path to take, walk in it." No, instead I felt like God was simply giving His anxious child a great big "bear" hug which said, "I'm here! Don't be afraid.".
There are many times in life that we become anxious. Maybe you are anxious because you don't know what the future holds for you. I can't calm your heart with words, but I believe that if you let Him, God can! He wants to give you a great big "bear" hug today! He wants you to release your worry over what the future may hold and He wants to remind you of just WHO it is that holds your future!
I encourage you today, if you are suffering from an anxious heart, get out your Bible and turn to Luke 12:27-30. Then go on to Philippians 4:4-7. Here it says this beginning in verse 6- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
My wish for you today is that you will experience God's PEACE!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Stand by Your Man...Part Two!
Okay, so I come from a long line of Maine boat builders. Maybe that's why I LOVE Noah's wife so much. Here's a picture of my grandfather standing next to one of the fishing boats he built. Kind of neat huh?
I left off the last blog by saying that Noah's wife had her own faith in God. We all know the story, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was in a unique way a savior of mankind, but for Noah where would we be today? The Bible goes on to tell us that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people. God had an idea! He was sick and tired of the sin that was going on in the world He had created, and He had to destroy mankind. Yet when He looked on the earth he saw this righteous and godly man, Noah. He decided to save Noah and his family and start all over again. God spoke directly to Noah and told him what to do. He laid out the plans for the ark and told him exactly how He was going to destroy mankind.
All right so here it is, the standing by your man part! Imagine with me that you are living in a place where you have never seen the ocean, and you have no clue what rain is. Imagine that your husband comes to you and says, "God told me last night that I need to build an ark because He is going to send rain and make a huge flood over all the earth!". Remember you have no clue what rain is or a flood for that matter and you don't even know what a boat is! I am trying to get you to realize that Noah, his wife and the rest of his family must have been teased, ridiculed and mocked for what they were trying to do. People must have gathered in his yard just to see what the old "coot" was up to now.
They were evil people in that day, so they must have jeered at his wife when she would go off to the market. His son's must have been picked on at "school" for what their father was saying. Noah wasn't even quiet about his project from the Lord. In 2 Peter 2:5 it says that Noah was a "preacher" of righteousness. I have never met a quiet preacher yet, have you? Especially when he knows he has something to tell people to try and help save them from destruction. He was trying to convert the sinners before it was too late!
I have immense respect for Noah, his wife and family. They must have gone through some very trying times. They must have been looked on as crazy by the people surrounding them. I can just hear the people now..."Rain, we have never seen rain, what are you talking about?", or "Flood what are you talking about? This boat you are making is HUGE Noah, have you lost your mind?". Noah's wife must have been free from the bondage of other people's opinions! WOW, that's a gift! Free from the worry about what her parents would say, free from the worry of what her friends would think of her. Free to obey God no matter what!
Noah's wife must have been a woman of God. She stood by him even when she may have not been exactly sure of what he was doing. She had to have faith in God and in Noah. Nobody without faith could have done what she did. How could she have backed her husband in building a large ocean going vessel to escape a flood when she had never even seen rain? Without faith how could she have raised three sons with the constant sound of hammering in her ears as they joined daddy in his boat building adventure? How could she have stepped onto the Ark that fateful day and left nearly everything behind, knowing that the world she would come back to would never be the same? She must have believed that God could and would save them just as He promised! She may have even been aware before she married Noah that her husband to be was destined for a special service to God.
The most crucial thing to her faith was the fact that her eyes had to be fixed on the world to come after the flood. She lived and raised her family for more than half of her life in a world that was filled with sin and doomed for destruction. She had to teach her sons to stand up to the wrong things in her world and live for the right things! She must have known how easy it would be for her sons to cave into the temptations all around them. Isn't that what we are supposed to be teaching our children today? That this is not our final destination? This is just a temporary dwelling place! Don't become a slave to the things around you, but look forward to heaven!
Her family had to be close because they had to move further and further away from the beliefs and practices of the people around them. They also had to prepare for a time when there wouldn't be anyone else, except them. Here is where I could go on to discuss the three women that Noah's sons married, but my blog isn't about them. Again they are three nameless women but I believe that they had to have a strong faith in God too! Otherwise I don't think they would have made it on the boat! (I really love it that God often doesn't name peole in the Bible who do great things! I think He wants us to all realize that we are somebody!)
What courage and determination Noah's wife must have had to sustain her lonely position. To face the destruction of everything she knew. What spiritual strength would have been necessary to endure the hostility and ridicule that she must have faced? This woman a nobody? No, she must have been one of the greatest women to ever live. It doesn't matter that we may never know her name this side of heaven, she impacted the world's history forever.
Here are four things I believe that Noah's wife must have had:
1. She must have viewed life as an adventure to experience, not as a trial to be endured!
2. She must have kept herself ready! Preparing as best as she knew how for the upcoming adventure and trusting God for the rest!
3. She must have trusted her man as she followed him into the ark that day! Anticipating what God would do next!
4. She must have been a prayer warrior! I believe she had to have had that..."Cast your cares upon Him" mentality that says take it to God...and leave it with Him! Because you see I believe that she must have known this "floods" come and go in your life, But God is Forever Faithful!
It took team effort to pull off the ark. When all was said and done I believe that Noah realized he couldn't have done it without the help of his wife and sons. She had been as busy and as faithful to the call as he had been. Stand by Your Man...I couldn't help but think of this song when I was writing this message. Our men may not be perfect, and they may sometimes say and do things we wonder about. But God wants us to stand firm with them in the call He has given them! Think about Noah's wife today in a whole new way, and maybe even thank God that He hasn't called your husband to build a big boat in the backyard!
Blessings!
The Original Stand by Your Man Woman
A few years ago I preached a Sunday night message on a woman who I believe is probably one of the most overlooked heroines of the Bible. She has a place in Bible history. Many women in the Bible are never even named, just like this lady. So...let me ask this...have you ever heard a message on Noah's wife? Well I know that I hadn't even really thought about Noah's wife until I was doing some research on the internet and I came across a very interesting article on her.
Noah's wife is referred to five times in the Bible as just that, Noah's wife. No name just a description of who she is by being associated with another person. There is a whole message right there! How many times have I been referred to as Randy's wife, not Gina? Or Josiah's Mom? I know that when I was growing up I was forever labeled by my brother's, Gary's sister or Steve's sister. It really isn't a pleasant thing to be labeled that way. We all want to be noticed for who we are, not who we are related too. Okay, that was way off track let me get back to who I really am talking about.
In my research on Noah's wife I discovered that according to Jewish tradition the name of Noah's wife is Naamah, which means pleasant one. What a nice meaning. I think she had to be a pleasant woman to have to deal with what she went through. Noah's wife had an important part in a miracle of God. She was a somebody. I believe that she was just as much hand picked as Noah was. She had a purpose and a reason for being. She fulfilled her god-given role as a "helper" faithfully. She helped Noah during several hundred years of farming. She supported him during approximately 120 years of boat-building. She was with him for more than a year of zoo-keeping on an enormous houseboat, and many other things as well.
The world back then was a very different place than it is now. Disease as we know it was almost non-existent. It wasn't unusual for a person to be a first time parent at the ripe old age of 100. Of course back then we know they lived well into their 800's. Can you imagine that? The plant life was different, the atmosphere was different...and Facebook was not up and running!
Yet there are similarities to our world too. First of all the population was growing rapidly. Scientists guess there must have been around a billion people alive at the time of Noah. They were not cavemen either, they were rapidly developing many new skills, much like we are experiencing today with our technology that seems to change every few hours. The most important similarity however is the sin that existed in the pre-flood world, just like our world today. It seems like you can't even turn on the television without hearing about the violence and wickedness of this generation. We are truly living in a society that is much like the days of Noah. God was watching the world of Noah very carefully, and you can be sure that He is watching our's with just as much interest.
Noah's wife knew that her world was under God's judgement. Her husband had told her that God planned to destroy the earth with water because of it's sin (Genesis 6:13, 17). God also gave Noah specific directions for building an ark (meaning box) to preserve his family and the animals. I don't think she would have had a problem with any of this. Noah's wife was very much aware that her God had created her to be a helper to her husband.
Many women today believe that fulfillment comes from living a lifestyle that is independent and separate from their husbands, but the exact opposite is true! When a woman takes an active and supportive role as a wife she enables her husband to become all God created him to be and in the process God accomplishes His purposes and plans for them as a couple. The Hebrew word for helper means to provide what is needed or lacking. The idea is for someone to come alongside another and by her assistance and support enable that person to accomplish what could not have been accomplished otherwise. Noah's wife knew that God would have revealed His plans to Noah before her. She wasn't a nobody, but rather a real somebody fulfilling her feminine role! She obeyed God by submitting to her husband's leadership. The word says of Noah that he was a righteous man, and because of this she knew he would not have abused his position.
One thing I think we have to come to realize and remember about Noah's wife is that she had her own relationship with God. Her faith didn't hinge on Noah's faith....I'll write more about that in another blog!
Noah's wife is referred to five times in the Bible as just that, Noah's wife. No name just a description of who she is by being associated with another person. There is a whole message right there! How many times have I been referred to as Randy's wife, not Gina? Or Josiah's Mom? I know that when I was growing up I was forever labeled by my brother's, Gary's sister or Steve's sister. It really isn't a pleasant thing to be labeled that way. We all want to be noticed for who we are, not who we are related too. Okay, that was way off track let me get back to who I really am talking about.
In my research on Noah's wife I discovered that according to Jewish tradition the name of Noah's wife is Naamah, which means pleasant one. What a nice meaning. I think she had to be a pleasant woman to have to deal with what she went through. Noah's wife had an important part in a miracle of God. She was a somebody. I believe that she was just as much hand picked as Noah was. She had a purpose and a reason for being. She fulfilled her god-given role as a "helper" faithfully. She helped Noah during several hundred years of farming. She supported him during approximately 120 years of boat-building. She was with him for more than a year of zoo-keeping on an enormous houseboat, and many other things as well.
The world back then was a very different place than it is now. Disease as we know it was almost non-existent. It wasn't unusual for a person to be a first time parent at the ripe old age of 100. Of course back then we know they lived well into their 800's. Can you imagine that? The plant life was different, the atmosphere was different...and Facebook was not up and running!
Yet there are similarities to our world too. First of all the population was growing rapidly. Scientists guess there must have been around a billion people alive at the time of Noah. They were not cavemen either, they were rapidly developing many new skills, much like we are experiencing today with our technology that seems to change every few hours. The most important similarity however is the sin that existed in the pre-flood world, just like our world today. It seems like you can't even turn on the television without hearing about the violence and wickedness of this generation. We are truly living in a society that is much like the days of Noah. God was watching the world of Noah very carefully, and you can be sure that He is watching our's with just as much interest.
Noah's wife knew that her world was under God's judgement. Her husband had told her that God planned to destroy the earth with water because of it's sin (Genesis 6:13, 17). God also gave Noah specific directions for building an ark (meaning box) to preserve his family and the animals. I don't think she would have had a problem with any of this. Noah's wife was very much aware that her God had created her to be a helper to her husband.
Many women today believe that fulfillment comes from living a lifestyle that is independent and separate from their husbands, but the exact opposite is true! When a woman takes an active and supportive role as a wife she enables her husband to become all God created him to be and in the process God accomplishes His purposes and plans for them as a couple. The Hebrew word for helper means to provide what is needed or lacking. The idea is for someone to come alongside another and by her assistance and support enable that person to accomplish what could not have been accomplished otherwise. Noah's wife knew that God would have revealed His plans to Noah before her. She wasn't a nobody, but rather a real somebody fulfilling her feminine role! She obeyed God by submitting to her husband's leadership. The word says of Noah that he was a righteous man, and because of this she knew he would not have abused his position.
One thing I think we have to come to realize and remember about Noah's wife is that she had her own relationship with God. Her faith didn't hinge on Noah's faith....I'll write more about that in another blog!
Monday, March 12, 2012
What Will You Do with Your "Broken Pieces"?
Wow...it has been quite a while since I last wrote. I didn't mean to stop...but life sort of got in the way, imagine that! I spent last week in Maine for a very relaxing visit with my family as we celebrated my mother's cancer free report. For that I am praising God!
Last evening my husband and I were honored to share our testimonies with the women and men of a great church in Columbus, Georgia. In my testimony I share about allowing God to take the "broken pieces" of our life and put them back together to create something beautiful. My broken pieces came after the death of my first husband Rob, and the three miscarriages that Randy and I have suffered. Our family was able to spend the evening with some really great friends there in Columbus, and we enjoyed an incredible time of fellowship. Lots of laughter!
This morning after two wonderful cups of coffee with my friend Julia I was sitting in her living room waiting while she got ready to head out for breakfast. From my vantage point in the living room I could look right into her dining room, when all of a sudden there was a loud crash and I watched as all of this crystal came falling off the shelves of her hutch. It was eerie to say the least. No one was in the living room and I couldn't imagine how this had happened. My first thought was, there must have been an earthquake? But I hadn't felt any tremors. The next thought was well, I have to admit it did look a little like something out of a "Poltergeist" movie, but I knew that it couldn't be that either.
My friend came flying around the corner and looked at the mess lying there on the floor. I only had to take one look at her face to realize that those had been special pieces to her. Her son and my husband began to pick up the shattered glass while she told me with tears in her eyes that they had been her mother's glasses. All I could do was hug her, there didn't seem to be anything else to say. The boys were taking the larger pieces of glass and putting them on her dining room table she was clearly not sure what to do with those pieces and then I remembered a scene from this phenomenal movie.
The movie is "Joshua" and there is a scene where a glass angel gets broken and it's really special to this lady. She yells at Joshua, who is type of Jesus in the movie, and tells him that her life is like that broken glass, shattered and no one can fix it. After Joshua leaves town he has a beautiful glass heart delivered to her, and the person who gives it to her says, "Imagine something this beautiful coming from all that broken glass!" It's like a light comes on in her, because she realizes that what was being said is this, "You can trust God with your broken pieces, He can and will make something beautiful from them!"
I encouraged my friend NOT to throw away all those pieces, but instead to find someone who can make something beautiful out of that shattered glass. It may sound like a strange idea, but honestly I've seen too many beautiful things made out of the "messy" things in our lives! I've watched God restore the broken pieces of my life and countless others, and make them shine for Him. Somewhere there in Columbus, Georgia I believe there is an artist, who can take those shattered pieces and make a beautiful piece of art full of old and new memories!
You see not only do I have a story of "broken pieces", but my friend does too! She is one of my heroes! She is a cancer survivor! As a matter of fact, I think it's very fitting that those goblets were pink...you see Julia is a PINK WARRIOR! One of several friends of mine who have fought breast cancer and won!
Yes, I can"t wait to see what someone makes of those broken pieces. It may have been a hard thing to watch as those precious goblets came crashing down, but isn't that like our lives? The difficulties we face are hard for the moment, BUT WITH GOD, even those difficulties can be made a work of art! Let Him take the "broken pieces" of your life and make something beautiful out of it today. Don't keep worrying, stressing or crying out over your situation, instead CAST YOUR CARES on Him, because HE CARES FOR YOU! Then walk away and say, "It's in your hands now Father!" Trust Him to take it, and make it shine! After all....He is a Master Artist who delights in taking a piece of ordinary clay and making a beautiful piece of pottery!
And for my other PINK WARRIOR'S...who are still fighting, know I pray and believe every day that you too will soon hear those words...CANCER FREE!
Last evening my husband and I were honored to share our testimonies with the women and men of a great church in Columbus, Georgia. In my testimony I share about allowing God to take the "broken pieces" of our life and put them back together to create something beautiful. My broken pieces came after the death of my first husband Rob, and the three miscarriages that Randy and I have suffered. Our family was able to spend the evening with some really great friends there in Columbus, and we enjoyed an incredible time of fellowship. Lots of laughter!
This morning after two wonderful cups of coffee with my friend Julia I was sitting in her living room waiting while she got ready to head out for breakfast. From my vantage point in the living room I could look right into her dining room, when all of a sudden there was a loud crash and I watched as all of this crystal came falling off the shelves of her hutch. It was eerie to say the least. No one was in the living room and I couldn't imagine how this had happened. My first thought was, there must have been an earthquake? But I hadn't felt any tremors. The next thought was well, I have to admit it did look a little like something out of a "Poltergeist" movie, but I knew that it couldn't be that either.
My friend came flying around the corner and looked at the mess lying there on the floor. I only had to take one look at her face to realize that those had been special pieces to her. Her son and my husband began to pick up the shattered glass while she told me with tears in her eyes that they had been her mother's glasses. All I could do was hug her, there didn't seem to be anything else to say. The boys were taking the larger pieces of glass and putting them on her dining room table she was clearly not sure what to do with those pieces and then I remembered a scene from this phenomenal movie.
The movie is "Joshua" and there is a scene where a glass angel gets broken and it's really special to this lady. She yells at Joshua, who is type of Jesus in the movie, and tells him that her life is like that broken glass, shattered and no one can fix it. After Joshua leaves town he has a beautiful glass heart delivered to her, and the person who gives it to her says, "Imagine something this beautiful coming from all that broken glass!" It's like a light comes on in her, because she realizes that what was being said is this, "You can trust God with your broken pieces, He can and will make something beautiful from them!"
I encouraged my friend NOT to throw away all those pieces, but instead to find someone who can make something beautiful out of that shattered glass. It may sound like a strange idea, but honestly I've seen too many beautiful things made out of the "messy" things in our lives! I've watched God restore the broken pieces of my life and countless others, and make them shine for Him. Somewhere there in Columbus, Georgia I believe there is an artist, who can take those shattered pieces and make a beautiful piece of art full of old and new memories!
You see not only do I have a story of "broken pieces", but my friend does too! She is one of my heroes! She is a cancer survivor! As a matter of fact, I think it's very fitting that those goblets were pink...you see Julia is a PINK WARRIOR! One of several friends of mine who have fought breast cancer and won!
Yes, I can"t wait to see what someone makes of those broken pieces. It may have been a hard thing to watch as those precious goblets came crashing down, but isn't that like our lives? The difficulties we face are hard for the moment, BUT WITH GOD, even those difficulties can be made a work of art! Let Him take the "broken pieces" of your life and make something beautiful out of it today. Don't keep worrying, stressing or crying out over your situation, instead CAST YOUR CARES on Him, because HE CARES FOR YOU! Then walk away and say, "It's in your hands now Father!" Trust Him to take it, and make it shine! After all....He is a Master Artist who delights in taking a piece of ordinary clay and making a beautiful piece of pottery!
And for my other PINK WARRIOR'S...who are still fighting, know I pray and believe every day that you too will soon hear those words...CANCER FREE!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Family Huddle Time #8-
When to Say No, and when to Say Yes!
So yesterday was a day! First it was Sunday and one of the busiest days of our week. I honestly have no fun thing to do with your family this week. But I do want to share something that happened to me yesterday. I said Yes, to way to many things. I said Yes to working in the Church nursery on a Sunday morning, when I know my husband wants me in the service with him. I said Yes to teaching Sunday School for the adult class....which I have to say was an AMAZING CLASS! And I loved every minute of it. The sad thing is I say Yes to much in life.
My son is acting in a local theatre production and has practices every Sunday. Yesterday was no exception. After getting him some lunch we dropped him off at the church, and came home. It was a great day for a nap. Raining, overcast just a great day to rest and enjoy. I wanted to just take time for me, and you know what it would have been okay if I had. I could have read that book, or written that letter or taken that nap. The more I thought of my daughter downstairs watching TV the more I realized I had said Yes to everyone else....it was TIME to SAY YES to her. Sure I spend time with her, watching TV, taking her to dance, and doing other things, but what about just taking a rainy Sunday and spending time with her?
That's what we did. I found a "Once Upon a Time" scrapbook I had purchased years ago for her, with every intention of writing her her own fairy tale. I got out all of my scrapbooking supplies and we spent hours creating a story together. We had NCIS on at first, because don't we all secretly LOVE Gibbs? We also saw Cupcake Wars, and David Tutera The Wedding Planner! Okay, so we didn't really watch them we just had them on for noise! Don't tell me you have never done that? The neat thing is, we still aren't done with our project! Yup...the clutter from it is still all over the dining room table! But we'll finish today...after all today I have learned to say NO to things! Today...the kids are out of school...the sun is shining...and I am saying YES to spending time with my TWO favorite kids!
Don't always SAY YES! It's okay to look at people in love and occasionally say, "NO I am sorry, I can't do that...". Oh...and if you have an urge to do something creative with your kids! DO IT! Just say YES!
So yesterday was a day! First it was Sunday and one of the busiest days of our week. I honestly have no fun thing to do with your family this week. But I do want to share something that happened to me yesterday. I said Yes, to way to many things. I said Yes to working in the Church nursery on a Sunday morning, when I know my husband wants me in the service with him. I said Yes to teaching Sunday School for the adult class....which I have to say was an AMAZING CLASS! And I loved every minute of it. The sad thing is I say Yes to much in life.
My son is acting in a local theatre production and has practices every Sunday. Yesterday was no exception. After getting him some lunch we dropped him off at the church, and came home. It was a great day for a nap. Raining, overcast just a great day to rest and enjoy. I wanted to just take time for me, and you know what it would have been okay if I had. I could have read that book, or written that letter or taken that nap. The more I thought of my daughter downstairs watching TV the more I realized I had said Yes to everyone else....it was TIME to SAY YES to her. Sure I spend time with her, watching TV, taking her to dance, and doing other things, but what about just taking a rainy Sunday and spending time with her?
That's what we did. I found a "Once Upon a Time" scrapbook I had purchased years ago for her, with every intention of writing her her own fairy tale. I got out all of my scrapbooking supplies and we spent hours creating a story together. We had NCIS on at first, because don't we all secretly LOVE Gibbs? We also saw Cupcake Wars, and David Tutera The Wedding Planner! Okay, so we didn't really watch them we just had them on for noise! Don't tell me you have never done that? The neat thing is, we still aren't done with our project! Yup...the clutter from it is still all over the dining room table! But we'll finish today...after all today I have learned to say NO to things! Today...the kids are out of school...the sun is shining...and I am saying YES to spending time with my TWO favorite kids!
Don't always SAY YES! It's okay to look at people in love and occasionally say, "NO I am sorry, I can't do that...". Oh...and if you have an urge to do something creative with your kids! DO IT! Just say YES!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Family Huddle #7
I am determined to at least do this on my blog! So...this one will be short! The other day we were cleaning out our son's bedroom. It was about time! Tucked away behind some book shelves in the corner were these old poster boards. It was a craft we had done one day while daddy was away. He still had them! Of course we ended up throwing them away that clean up day, but here's what the kids and I did. First we went to the Dollar Tree and bought several white poster board. (You could get whatever color you want however.) We also found those ketchup/mustard bottles that you can fill up and reuse. We went to a craft store and found acrylic paint in colors that they love. Then we added the colors into the bottles. We put on old clothes, laid out the poster boards on the back porch and began to squeeze the paint onto the poster board! It really was a FUN day! Okay, so we didn't hang the pictures any where but they never forgot that day either. It was creative and fun! (You could fill up balloons with acrylic paint and pin the poster board onto something, then attach the filled balloons onto the poster board and get out your darts! Now that sounds like something we will have to try soon!)
Get out there and have fun with your kids! They grow up way to fast!
Get out there and have fun with your kids! They grow up way to fast!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Family Huddle #5 & #6
Family is extremely important to me. It's what makes me smile. Like the fact that I love being able to watch as my ten year old walks home from school in her big pink winter coat, Coca Cola polar bear hat with a smile on her face as she screams...."Mom, I got a 100 on a math test!" Yup...family it's important.
So last week I didn't do a "family huddle". This week I am doing two in one, encouraging you to explore your "creative" side and love on your family. I wish I could take credit for this next idea but I can't. I stole it from a friend but since this is going to be a potentially long blog I decided it could be a two in one deal.
A few years ago my husband turned 40. I did a "40 Days' of Birthday Fun" for him. I started forty days before his birthday with a nice dinner at a great restaurant with some friends we had been wanting to get together with forever. I got a baby sitter, took pictures and even grabbed something from the restaurant to remember it by. I won't list all 40 things I did here, but I will highlight some of them.
At the end of the forty days I got sneaky. I had been planning a "huge" surprise party for Randy. He had no clue, but I had managed with the help of his best friend to find out the e-mail addresses of friends from long ago. I also had contacted many people from our older youth groups. Several who were not able to attend made videos of themselves wishing him a happy birthday. Many sent e-mails which I added to the scrap book. I told Randy that a big party just wasn't in the budget. He seemed let down, but he had no clue what was about to happen.
We had two girls drive all the way from Florida to be with us that weekend. They were part of the "surprise", but also my helpers. They supposedly left after our Sunday morning service, but really they went up to the Fellowship Hall where a deacon let them in to decorate for his party. Friends and family came after the Sunday PM service started and snuck in the back door of the Fellowship hall. After the first praise and worship song, our worship leader said, "Pastor Randy you are looking a little tired there, are you feeling well?" One of our friends came from the back running down with a stethoscope in hand and then the church was flooded with a load of people all singing "Happy Birthday"!
Looking back it was so much fun! So many great memories of people who took time out, even if it was just to send a card or an e-mail to wish him a Happy 40th! It may not have been as good as what he did for me on my 40th, but I know we all still remember the 40 days of fun! Hmmmm, maybe I will have to bring it back when my son turns 18?
Love on your family this week, maybe even have a Star Wars night, after all it comes out in 3-D this week!
So last week I didn't do a "family huddle". This week I am doing two in one, encouraging you to explore your "creative" side and love on your family. I wish I could take credit for this next idea but I can't. I stole it from a friend but since this is going to be a potentially long blog I decided it could be a two in one deal.
A few years ago my husband turned 40. I did a "40 Days' of Birthday Fun" for him. I started forty days before his birthday with a nice dinner at a great restaurant with some friends we had been wanting to get together with forever. I got a baby sitter, took pictures and even grabbed something from the restaurant to remember it by. I won't list all 40 things I did here, but I will highlight some of them.
- I made a scrap book so I could keep track of all forty days of fun.
- Took the family to Disney's Princesses on Ice...not my sons favorite but we did have fun!
- Had a Star Wars night complete with pizza, a Star Wars movie and some games. We chose two teams and competed for points by doing a Star Wars word search with so many minutes on the clock; a Star Wars Trivia game; and then each team had to take things I had taken from my crafts to "make an alien". We had to name the alien and the planet they were from. One was Princess Atara from Moldari, the boys made "The Flush King" from the planet of Bladder-ooine...they still remember this night!
- I got creative with change too...like one day I gave him 40 pennies and tried to find one from each year he was born...same with nickels, dimes and quarters. (I bought him a photo box to keep his loot in! Let me tell you it got challenging finding forty things to do!)
- One day it was 40 Hershey kisses day.
- We had Josiah day when Josiah made a special picture just for dad...it went in the memory album.
- One day I wrote 40 reasons I love you!
- On Aiden's day she painted a "fireman" picture because her dad is her hero, and he was a fireman for a while!
- Friends started getting in on this plan, one day a friend of his took him to play golf!
- We had family football night (the original huddle time) when we went to see a friend's son play high school football. It was freezing cold that night and Aiden said "my toes are like ice-clickles".
- One day Josiah wrote his dad a poem.
- One day Aiden wrote a poem for her dad.
- One day it was 40 reasons you are special.
- Josiah wrote his "dream adventure with dad" which at the time was a Lord of the Rings adventure scenario, lots of Orc killing going on there.
- I wrote a poem on my dream vacation with Randy.
- I had a romantic mad lib one day, and a romantic word search game another.
- I bought him some crayons, because when we were dating we colored with Josiah, a lot!
- Aiden wrote a story about her favorite adventure with daddy. She wants to head to California with him!
- There was a lunch date with Aiden, a movie day with Josiah, and a guys night out with his best friend.
At the end of the forty days I got sneaky. I had been planning a "huge" surprise party for Randy. He had no clue, but I had managed with the help of his best friend to find out the e-mail addresses of friends from long ago. I also had contacted many people from our older youth groups. Several who were not able to attend made videos of themselves wishing him a happy birthday. Many sent e-mails which I added to the scrap book. I told Randy that a big party just wasn't in the budget. He seemed let down, but he had no clue what was about to happen.
We had two girls drive all the way from Florida to be with us that weekend. They were part of the "surprise", but also my helpers. They supposedly left after our Sunday morning service, but really they went up to the Fellowship Hall where a deacon let them in to decorate for his party. Friends and family came after the Sunday PM service started and snuck in the back door of the Fellowship hall. After the first praise and worship song, our worship leader said, "Pastor Randy you are looking a little tired there, are you feeling well?" One of our friends came from the back running down with a stethoscope in hand and then the church was flooded with a load of people all singing "Happy Birthday"!
Looking back it was so much fun! So many great memories of people who took time out, even if it was just to send a card or an e-mail to wish him a Happy 40th! It may not have been as good as what he did for me on my 40th, but I know we all still remember the 40 days of fun! Hmmmm, maybe I will have to bring it back when my son turns 18?
Love on your family this week, maybe even have a Star Wars night, after all it comes out in 3-D this week!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Danger of Criticism
What no Family Huddle this week? Hey, it's been a crazy month for me. I've decided I did January all wrong. I tried to fit too much into it, and didn't take enough time for me. Which come to think of it, is the story of my life. I led Kidz Life Church all this month, and had a great time doing it. I was a Mom, which is a full time job in and of itself. I worked more hours than ever before at the church, and I spoke on a Wednesday on What Seventh-Day Adventists Believe....oh and I took my last credentialing class at GSOM, and got a 100! Not that I am bragging or anything. Yes, I am tired just remembering all that happened in January.
It was during my study on Seventh-Day Adventists that I came across, in my New Living Translation Study Bible, Romans 14 and I looked at it with new eyes. Written over the chapter are these words, "The Danger of Criticism". I would encourage you to read this chapter this week. It's an incredible word for the body of Christ. It's not saying that I can't discuss what I believe and why I believe it. It is really saying don't criticize me if I choose to wear pants to Sunday morning service, and you choose to wear a skirt! (A word I received from our Associate Pastor's wife, that still echoes in my spirit.) Okay so it really isn't saying that word for word, but I think you will get the drift once you have read it.
God wants to be at work in all of us! Critics can cause division. They can hurt people. A long time ago I said some things to a family member. It caused so much pain, and I regretted the words as soon as I said them. It took a while and some tears, but eventually I was forgiven. I wrote this poem and sent it to my family member. I won't share it all here, but I thought it fit my thoughts this morning.
The words that lie between us,
Keep haunting me in my mind,
And though I try so hard to forget them,
They are with me all the time.
For you wound me, you wound me,
With the words of a hateful tongue you wound my heart.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us.
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll have a brand new start.
I cannot blame it all on you,
For my tongue did damage too.
If I beg for your forgiveness now,
Can we work it out somehow?
For I hurt you, I hurt you,
With the words of a hateful tongue I broke your heart.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us,
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll have a brand new start.
For the tongue can do much damage,
To a brother or a friend,
And those hateful words we said, we'd like to take them back again.
So guard against this evil, for it comes not from our Lord.
For the tongue can be more painful than a mighty battle sword.
For you wound me, and I hurt you,
With the words of a hateful tongue we hurt each other.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us,
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll become brothers....
I am not proud of many of the things I have said throughout my life, but I like to think that now I try to "Think" before I "Speak". I want Words of Life to come forth from my lips, and not words of Criticism. Read Romans 14 this week, and if by some chance you have said something to someone, words that hurt them, go ahead and ask forgiveness. The relationship may never be the same again, but at least you will know you did something to begin the healing process. Blessings......
It was during my study on Seventh-Day Adventists that I came across, in my New Living Translation Study Bible, Romans 14 and I looked at it with new eyes. Written over the chapter are these words, "The Danger of Criticism". I would encourage you to read this chapter this week. It's an incredible word for the body of Christ. It's not saying that I can't discuss what I believe and why I believe it. It is really saying don't criticize me if I choose to wear pants to Sunday morning service, and you choose to wear a skirt! (A word I received from our Associate Pastor's wife, that still echoes in my spirit.) Okay so it really isn't saying that word for word, but I think you will get the drift once you have read it.
God wants to be at work in all of us! Critics can cause division. They can hurt people. A long time ago I said some things to a family member. It caused so much pain, and I regretted the words as soon as I said them. It took a while and some tears, but eventually I was forgiven. I wrote this poem and sent it to my family member. I won't share it all here, but I thought it fit my thoughts this morning.
The words that lie between us,
Keep haunting me in my mind,
And though I try so hard to forget them,
They are with me all the time.
For you wound me, you wound me,
With the words of a hateful tongue you wound my heart.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us.
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll have a brand new start.
I cannot blame it all on you,
For my tongue did damage too.
If I beg for your forgiveness now,
Can we work it out somehow?
For I hurt you, I hurt you,
With the words of a hateful tongue I broke your heart.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us,
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll have a brand new start.
For the tongue can do much damage,
To a brother or a friend,
And those hateful words we said, we'd like to take them back again.
So guard against this evil, for it comes not from our Lord.
For the tongue can be more painful than a mighty battle sword.
For you wound me, and I hurt you,
With the words of a hateful tongue we hurt each other.
But He'll heal us, He will heal us,
Through His love and His forgiveness we'll become brothers....
I am not proud of many of the things I have said throughout my life, but I like to think that now I try to "Think" before I "Speak". I want Words of Life to come forth from my lips, and not words of Criticism. Read Romans 14 this week, and if by some chance you have said something to someone, words that hurt them, go ahead and ask forgiveness. The relationship may never be the same again, but at least you will know you did something to begin the healing process. Blessings......
Monday, January 23, 2012
Family Huddle #4....and SO many Good Intentions
Wow...I can't believe I didn't get back on here once last week...shows just how busy my life is. So I am determined to at least write once a week, and give out new ideas for spending time with your family. Life does get way too busy and many times in the rush, we neglect those closest to us.
So...here's what I wanted to share this week. We live near the city of Atlanta. We go into downtown quite a lot for things, and have often wanted to go to the top of the Westin Hotel, to the revolving restaurant. We always see the Westin in the skyline, and say "someday" we are going up there, but after six years here so close to the city we had never done it.
Have I told you that we are NOT having Sunday PM services as much anymore? Well we aren't. Instead of sitting home one Sunday afternoon and evening watching TV we got a quick bite to eat at our favorite sub shop...Firehouse Subs...not only because it has the whole FireMan theme going on...and my husband LOVES it...but also because it was started in the city where we fell in love, Jacksonville, Florida. After eating our subs we drove into downtown, it was a beautiful fall day the sun was shining and we parked the car and headed up the glass elevators to the top of the Westin.
I will never forget seeing the kids faces as we climbed up the side of that hotel in the elevator. They both were sitting down they were so scared. Once we got to the top they calmed down some. We ended up getting sodas/coffee and we shared two desserts. We sat for two hours...revolving around that restaurant...talking, laughing and enjoying the view of Atlanta. I know I won't forget our day, and they won't either.
So this week...I challenge you, do something with your kids in your city or area...something you have been meaning to do. It doesn't have to cost that much, ours didn't really. The time together laughing and doing something new is priceless!
So...here's what I wanted to share this week. We live near the city of Atlanta. We go into downtown quite a lot for things, and have often wanted to go to the top of the Westin Hotel, to the revolving restaurant. We always see the Westin in the skyline, and say "someday" we are going up there, but after six years here so close to the city we had never done it.
Have I told you that we are NOT having Sunday PM services as much anymore? Well we aren't. Instead of sitting home one Sunday afternoon and evening watching TV we got a quick bite to eat at our favorite sub shop...Firehouse Subs...not only because it has the whole FireMan theme going on...and my husband LOVES it...but also because it was started in the city where we fell in love, Jacksonville, Florida. After eating our subs we drove into downtown, it was a beautiful fall day the sun was shining and we parked the car and headed up the glass elevators to the top of the Westin.
I will never forget seeing the kids faces as we climbed up the side of that hotel in the elevator. They both were sitting down they were so scared. Once we got to the top they calmed down some. We ended up getting sodas/coffee and we shared two desserts. We sat for two hours...revolving around that restaurant...talking, laughing and enjoying the view of Atlanta. I know I won't forget our day, and they won't either.
So this week...I challenge you, do something with your kids in your city or area...something you have been meaning to do. It doesn't have to cost that much, ours didn't really. The time together laughing and doing something new is priceless!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Family Huddle #3- Funny Book Moment!
Just before I married Randy I bought a journal. Nothing new really, I've been writing in diaries since I was 13 or so. This journal however wasn't for me...it was for Josiah. I began writing him letters, notes, poems or just writing down "funny" things he said or did. When Aiden Rose was born I had already bought one for her too. The kids funny books have become as much "fun" for me as they are for them. I don't always write in them, but I try to write down the really big moments, or the really "funny" moments.
Often the kids will ask me to get out their journals and read from them. If I have sent an e-mail or a letter to a Grandparent, and I do this often with news of what the kids have been up to, I simply add those to the journal. So my idea for this week...begin writing down the funny things your kids say and do. Often we share them with someone, but by the next year they may be forgotten. Writing them down makes sure they are around for a long time. I know one day when my kids grow up and move away they are going to love taking their "funny" books with them! I will just be sad to see them all go!
Spend time with your kids this week! I am about to go make Whoopie Pies with Aiden Rose...yum!
Often the kids will ask me to get out their journals and read from them. If I have sent an e-mail or a letter to a Grandparent, and I do this often with news of what the kids have been up to, I simply add those to the journal. So my idea for this week...begin writing down the funny things your kids say and do. Often we share them with someone, but by the next year they may be forgotten. Writing them down makes sure they are around for a long time. I know one day when my kids grow up and move away they are going to love taking their "funny" books with them! I will just be sad to see them all go!
Spend time with your kids this week! I am about to go make Whoopie Pies with Aiden Rose...yum!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
That Ah-Ha Moment!
I love the book of Job! I can really relate to that guy. As a matter of fact when my first husband Rob was dealing with cancer, we compared ourselves to Job a lot. One of Rob's favorite sayings was, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." Kind of a hard concept to wrap your head around, but what a creed to live by.
I was reading in Job the other day. Job 42:1-6....I am reading in the New Living Translation and verse 5 says this...(Job speaking)...."I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes". I called this in my journal...the Ah-Ha moment. That moment when you stop hearing about how GREAT God is and you see it for yourself.
So what is your Ah-Ha moment? I've had several. I think the greatest one for me however came on September 28, 2001 at 2:20 AM in the morning. It was then that the drugs from my emergency
c-section had worn off, then that the Doctor's declared my little Rosebud okay and I held her for the very first time, my miracle baby girl. When the promise that God gave you comes to pass you can't help but have that Ah-Ha moment.
But I could also tell you that I sometimes have that Ah-Ha Moment when I look at His creation. When I see the stars...or yes, hear the rolling thunder! I thank HIM for my Ah-Ha moments when they come. I am anxious for that wonderful Ah-Ha moment, "when my faith shall be my sight", and I shall behold HIM face to face.
Just loving you more today Father...than I did yesterday.
G
I was reading in Job the other day. Job 42:1-6....I am reading in the New Living Translation and verse 5 says this...(Job speaking)...."I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes". I called this in my journal...the Ah-Ha moment. That moment when you stop hearing about how GREAT God is and you see it for yourself.
So what is your Ah-Ha moment? I've had several. I think the greatest one for me however came on September 28, 2001 at 2:20 AM in the morning. It was then that the drugs from my emergency
c-section had worn off, then that the Doctor's declared my little Rosebud okay and I held her for the very first time, my miracle baby girl. When the promise that God gave you comes to pass you can't help but have that Ah-Ha moment.
But I could also tell you that I sometimes have that Ah-Ha Moment when I look at His creation. When I see the stars...or yes, hear the rolling thunder! I thank HIM for my Ah-Ha moments when they come. I am anxious for that wonderful Ah-Ha moment, "when my faith shall be my sight", and I shall behold HIM face to face.
Just loving you more today Father...than I did yesterday.
G
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
It's...Complicated
So I am sure that I have mentioned that I love my new job? If I haven't...know this...I do. I am now the Ministry Assistant at our church working along side this very nice looking Italian guy.
One part of my job is to send out visitor letters. On the form we have there is a place for Marital Status. It says things like the usual, Married, Widowed, Divorced, Single and Single Again. A while back one came across my desk that made me smile, actually it made me rollover with laughter if you want the absolute truth. On this card the visitor had put in their own category....are you ready for this? It said, Complicated! (Told you this was funny!)
I think we have all been there in relationships and in our family. Complicated sounds like a great way to describe my relations. I mean I have three mother-in-laws...well I sort of do. There is Linda, the Mom of my first husband Rob. A great lady, talented singer and the mother of 5 boys! She used to be a singer on Cruise ships....yes, that is me being a bit envious. Then there is Ann, the Mom of my second husband Randy (the nice looking Italian guy I work with!). Ann is an incredible woman, and a wonderful Nina (grandmother). She encourages and educates her grandchildren mostly with stories of their dad. Then there is another Ann...who technically is Randy's mother-in-law from his first marriage to Rhonda...so I am not sure what that makes her to me, but to me Ann is family! She loves my daughter Aiden just as much as she loves her daughter's son Josiah. (See I told you it got complicated!)
I love my crazy mixed up family! I love Ann S. and Ann M. and I love Linda! WOW...three mother-in-laws! No matter how complicated your family relations are, just remember to LOVE on them. After all think about this....Jesus's family was complicated too! I mean how do you think he tried to explain about His siblings? Yes, it's Complicated. Life sometimes is...don't you know!
One part of my job is to send out visitor letters. On the form we have there is a place for Marital Status. It says things like the usual, Married, Widowed, Divorced, Single and Single Again. A while back one came across my desk that made me smile, actually it made me rollover with laughter if you want the absolute truth. On this card the visitor had put in their own category....are you ready for this? It said, Complicated! (Told you this was funny!)
I think we have all been there in relationships and in our family. Complicated sounds like a great way to describe my relations. I mean I have three mother-in-laws...well I sort of do. There is Linda, the Mom of my first husband Rob. A great lady, talented singer and the mother of 5 boys! She used to be a singer on Cruise ships....yes, that is me being a bit envious. Then there is Ann, the Mom of my second husband Randy (the nice looking Italian guy I work with!). Ann is an incredible woman, and a wonderful Nina (grandmother). She encourages and educates her grandchildren mostly with stories of their dad. Then there is another Ann...who technically is Randy's mother-in-law from his first marriage to Rhonda...so I am not sure what that makes her to me, but to me Ann is family! She loves my daughter Aiden just as much as she loves her daughter's son Josiah. (See I told you it got complicated!)
I love my crazy mixed up family! I love Ann S. and Ann M. and I love Linda! WOW...three mother-in-laws! No matter how complicated your family relations are, just remember to LOVE on them. After all think about this....Jesus's family was complicated too! I mean how do you think he tried to explain about His siblings? Yes, it's Complicated. Life sometimes is...don't you know!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Family Huddle #2
Okay...so the really funny thing is it's Monday night. I am cooking the Scalise family favorite..spaghetti, and we are, are you ready for this? Painting Josiah's bathroom. You know when you have been promising your kids that you would do something for like, forever, and finally late one Monday afternoon you pull out the paint can? Well that's what's happening.
Did I mention that it was I who pulled out the paint can, but it's Dad who is putting paint on the wall? Pretty sneaky aren't I? Hey..but it's Monday, and Dad is instructing the children in painting. It's great! I will try to post pics of before and after soon.
I wanted to throw out another Scalise family favorite for "huddle time". We love to LAUGH! So...we have scoured the Christian bookstores for some of our favorite comedians. We really love Tim Hawkins as a family...but there are so many others out there. Can I suggest "Thou Shalt Laugh". There are about 5 of them...haven't seen the last one, but so far we have loved them all. (WE LOVE MICHAEL JR!!!!!) Go buy one...read your Bible together and then pop in a video and sit back and LAUGH together! It's the BEST medicine.
Hey we Scalise's don't have it all together...there is still stress, and tension in the house, but one thing we can do really well together is LAUGH...and quote Tim Hawkins!
Enjoy.....and oh yeah...eat some spaghetti while you are at it! Wow...I cooked dinner, got the family painting the bathroom and wrote a BLOG! My Monday is complete!!!!
Did I mention that it was I who pulled out the paint can, but it's Dad who is putting paint on the wall? Pretty sneaky aren't I? Hey..but it's Monday, and Dad is instructing the children in painting. It's great! I will try to post pics of before and after soon.
I wanted to throw out another Scalise family favorite for "huddle time". We love to LAUGH! So...we have scoured the Christian bookstores for some of our favorite comedians. We really love Tim Hawkins as a family...but there are so many others out there. Can I suggest "Thou Shalt Laugh". There are about 5 of them...haven't seen the last one, but so far we have loved them all. (WE LOVE MICHAEL JR!!!!!) Go buy one...read your Bible together and then pop in a video and sit back and LAUGH together! It's the BEST medicine.
Hey we Scalise's don't have it all together...there is still stress, and tension in the house, but one thing we can do really well together is LAUGH...and quote Tim Hawkins!
Enjoy.....and oh yeah...eat some spaghetti while you are at it! Wow...I cooked dinner, got the family painting the bathroom and wrote a BLOG! My Monday is complete!!!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Dreams......
May your dreams
never disappear with age,
but may they continue
as alive and as beautiful as you
with the knowledge that they
will someday come true.
-Joanne Domenech
I just love Blue Mountain Press Poetry!
never disappear with age,
but may they continue
as alive and as beautiful as you
with the knowledge that they
will someday come true.
-Joanne Domenech
I just love Blue Mountain Press Poetry!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Family Huddle #1
Okay...so one thing you have to know about me is that family is very important! We are a busy family. Our son is in a Performing Arts high school, and our 10 year old daughter dances on a Show Troupe team. My husband is a full time Pastor and I am fulfilling my call as his Ministry Administrator and a Mom! All of this keeps us running around quite a bit.
A few months ago we began to actually eat at our dining room table again. It's been awesome! Monday's have worked the best for us. Here is my first challenge of the year. Begin having a concentrated time with your family in the New Year. Maybe the same night each week won't work, but set apart some time to sit down at the dining room table and be a family!
Our times started with me simply cooking a nice meal. The kids would help set the table and on our very first "huddle", we each talked about our favorite Bible character or book of the Bible. Dad wrote down each of our "favs", and we discussed why these were our favs...Josiah picked King Josiah in the Bible, I wonder why? We began to use our "huddle" times to read from the Bible and discuss the Bible characters or the book we were reading. We didn't do it every week, we tried to mix our family time together with our Bible study. It made for some very good conversations. (Believe me in a parsonage almost every conversation comes back to God in some way! I love that part about being a PW!)
Hey maybe you are already having a concentrated family devotion time, if so that is great! I just know that with our busy schedules a daily one doesn't always work! A weekly time set aside has been FUN, and informative! So this New Year...make time for your family and your faith!
CHALLENGE: Find out what your kids favorite book of the Bible is...or maybe their favorite Bible character. More Family Huddle ideas coming!
A few months ago we began to actually eat at our dining room table again. It's been awesome! Monday's have worked the best for us. Here is my first challenge of the year. Begin having a concentrated time with your family in the New Year. Maybe the same night each week won't work, but set apart some time to sit down at the dining room table and be a family!
Our times started with me simply cooking a nice meal. The kids would help set the table and on our very first "huddle", we each talked about our favorite Bible character or book of the Bible. Dad wrote down each of our "favs", and we discussed why these were our favs...Josiah picked King Josiah in the Bible, I wonder why? We began to use our "huddle" times to read from the Bible and discuss the Bible characters or the book we were reading. We didn't do it every week, we tried to mix our family time together with our Bible study. It made for some very good conversations. (Believe me in a parsonage almost every conversation comes back to God in some way! I love that part about being a PW!)
Hey maybe you are already having a concentrated family devotion time, if so that is great! I just know that with our busy schedules a daily one doesn't always work! A weekly time set aside has been FUN, and informative! So this New Year...make time for your family and your faith!
CHALLENGE: Find out what your kids favorite book of the Bible is...or maybe their favorite Bible character. More Family Huddle ideas coming!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Just Another Piece of the Puzzle
I have finally done it! Started blogging! WOW...after all the talk, the planning, the note taking and the decisions on how cute to make the blog I am actually sitting down to write it. And even though it's a few days late....I had it all mapped out on when to write too, I am so excited to actually be writing.
I want to talk about puzzle pieces...may seem like a strange way to start my blog, but I have a reason. Do strange things happen to you? Well they do to me. Like for instance it's strange how many times I will be on a walk and see just one lonely puzzle piece on the ground. I've found them in my neighborhood, in the Kroger parking lot and in other places as well. I always wonder how did it get there? Who was working on a puzzle in the parking lot? Inevitably the pieces bring a smile to my face because well it's just not normal to find one piece of a puzzle where I have been finding them.
Pieces....broken pieces...now that I can relate to. My life hasn't always been easy, puzzles aren't always easy. There have been times when I have felt like that piece of the puzzle lost in the Kroger parking lot....but the wonderful thing is this. God has always found me, and taken me back to the puzzle of my life. He's been there in the tears, and let me tell you, He has been there in the laughter. As a matter of fact, it's in the laughter that I think He shines.
I did a quick search in the concordance the other day using the work "pieces", Try it one day, you will be amazed at how often God uses broken pieces! I think He loves using broken pieces! Today I start a blog, to make some smile, to encourage others, to be a piece of God's puzzle in life!
Hope we can "connect" again! Blessings!
I want to talk about puzzle pieces...may seem like a strange way to start my blog, but I have a reason. Do strange things happen to you? Well they do to me. Like for instance it's strange how many times I will be on a walk and see just one lonely puzzle piece on the ground. I've found them in my neighborhood, in the Kroger parking lot and in other places as well. I always wonder how did it get there? Who was working on a puzzle in the parking lot? Inevitably the pieces bring a smile to my face because well it's just not normal to find one piece of a puzzle where I have been finding them.
Pieces....broken pieces...now that I can relate to. My life hasn't always been easy, puzzles aren't always easy. There have been times when I have felt like that piece of the puzzle lost in the Kroger parking lot....but the wonderful thing is this. God has always found me, and taken me back to the puzzle of my life. He's been there in the tears, and let me tell you, He has been there in the laughter. As a matter of fact, it's in the laughter that I think He shines.
I did a quick search in the concordance the other day using the work "pieces", Try it one day, you will be amazed at how often God uses broken pieces! I think He loves using broken pieces! Today I start a blog, to make some smile, to encourage others, to be a piece of God's puzzle in life!
Hope we can "connect" again! Blessings!
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