Month: December 2016

God of My Mother’s Heart

Somewhere in my young adult years I fell into ‘crisis orientation.’ I had to have a battle to wage against something or someone to get out of bed each day and be productive. My usual foe was satan so all my endeavors were not vain and I got a lot done. However, I kept myself in constant survivor mode, perpetual self-induced anxiety and panic.

Everyone is born with survival instincts. The human body has hormones and reflexes that respond, no matter what, when a threat approaches. Practiced habits take their place in this drama too, but a constant state of terror is not healthy or normal. I feared that if I quit worrying and ceased micro-managing the world as far as I could reach, my life would unravel and I would lose everything. My perpetual hyper-awareness of evil and injustice held the universe together, so I thought. Fear became stress, stress evolved into anger and anger provided the energy to go get em’! Imagine what a joy I was to live with.

One evening I was running around my house frantically telling my two young daughters to hurry and get out the door. I was grabbing fashionably coordinated coats, gloves and scarves when I became angry over a glass that didn’t make it into the dishwasher and a carefully styled coiffeur destroyed by ear muffs put on without my assistance. Suddenly my beautiful, precious, ‘I can’t believe God chose me to be her mother,’ twelve year old stopped and began crying. Through her tears she sobbed, “MOM I just want you to be happy! I’ll do anything to make you happy but you’re always mad and I can’t make you stop!”

The air left my lungs. I became very small. She was right. No power on earth could make me happy because I was controlling my world with anger and panic! My sin was destroying the relationships God had created.

I changed. I took proactive charge of learning better behavior. I was not being a wise parent, but even in the midst of the mistakes I was making, I was a praying mother. I knew then as I know now that I must daily take my children to the Throne of God. He knew my heart and loved me and mine as I put aside my immaturity and grew in wisdom.

My deepest lessons in love have been learned watching my Heavenly Father love my amazing, blue eyed beauties. He loves you and yours too. God is always good. His mercy, love and grace endure forever.

Love,

Gretchen

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

You can argue many aspects of theology, but this one is pretty clear. Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross, rose from the grave, reigns victorious over death.

Eternal LIFE doesn’t begin when you die, it begins when you are saved. So please, join me for a lifetime!

Love,

Gretchen

God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. Genesis 1:16

God and God alone is infinite. He always was and always will be. All other things begin with His breath and continue by His will. Scientific study and ingenuity are unraveling some of the beautiful mystery of God’s wonder filled creation, but still, we can only grasp a minuscule fraction of all that was woven together at the beginning of linear time.

Creation didn’t happen as a passing whimsical thought. Earth is the exact distance from the sun, positioned perfectly from the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Any change in this distance would create toxic radiation making earth uninhabitable. The planet Jupiter is so big that its strong gravity actually shields earth from incoming meteors and comets. Jupiter pulls some of them into itself or throws them back into the outer solar system, thus protecting the planet we call home. If any space debris does get past our massive body guard it gets burned up by earth’s perfect atmosphere. Pretty amazing!

Everything about us and our world is a perfect design. God doesn’t do things any other way.

If God can bring the cosmic order into being, then He can certainly bring to order any struggles you are having with the chaos of your world.

Love,

Gretchen

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

Upon salvation God calls us to Holiness. This means that we put away our selfish attitudes and agendas and remold our patterns of thinking and behavior. In this passage of scripture, Paul does not waste time with generalities but points out that our behavior must mirror the likeness of our Savior.

The cultural background of Ephesus, the city to which this letter Ephesians is written, was a hub of the occult, black magic, spiritism….. These people understand the concept of darkness. Paul also wrote a letter to the people of Galatia that contains a familiar passage listing nine attributes of a Christian called, The Fruit of the Spirit. (5:22-23) They are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and should permeate all relationships and actions of those who have experienced salvation.

Pursuing things of darkness is fruitless and leads to death. Your life is precious. Protect it against such things.

God and sin cannot….. will not coexist. You have to chose one or the other.

Chose joy, peace, love……

Gretchen

For Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people, you must listen to everything He tells you.” Acts 3:22

Peter accompanied by John had just healed a crippled man sitting by the temple gate called Beautiful. As soon as word got around, people came rushing to the three men as if they were rock stars. Peter responds by reminding the crowd of recent events. Jesus, God’s son dwelt among them only to be unjustly executed, but rose from the grave. By His power the crippled man was made strong.

Peter turns this moment of spotlight into an opportunity to spread the Gospel. He reminds those listening that Jesus fulfilled the Prophecies of their forefathers. This audience of Jews knows the ancient stories. Their traditions and daily actions are guided by the words of Moses. They must connect the promises of the past to the grace and mercy of the present.

God is constantly at work in the world today, from global issues to the most intimate details of our lives. Thousands of years before Jesus walked as a man, Moses walked by faith to deliver God’s people, a nation, from the bondage of man’s selfish ambition.

From a nation, to a nameless cripple, God sent His beloved Son. You are loved and miracles still happen.

Love,

Gretchen

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26

The people of the church at Corinth just couldn’t get along with each other. They argued and debated everything! Paul couldn’t return there immediately, so he pens a letter and sends it with Timothy. Chapter 12 very clearly speaks to the need for unity of heart with respect to differentiation of function.

In kindergarten the learning process goes like this: See things, define things, give or learn names of things, then sort things. The sorting is actually organizing and categorizing. It is a very efficient way to prepare and store knowledge for fluent, usable retrieval.

This process refines itself as we grow older, but sometimes it becomes perverted. For instance, a child would not say that a ‘b’ is better than a ‘d’. But, eventually sorting leads to qualifying. Students may say that athletics are better than the arts, math is more important that literacy, one gender is superior to the other. Learning has stopped, fighting has ensued and everybody loses.

Paul is very specifically teaching that assigning value to each other’s contribution is toxic! Through salvation we become One Body and we cannot survive this difficult journey without each other! Through our diversity God’s light shines brightest.

Glad my world has a ‘YOU’ in it.

Love,

Gretchen

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9

You may have noticed two references for the same verse. It is not a mistake. These words are found in both gospels, however, the setting for each is slightly different. Two men, telling the words of Jesus with slightly different verses before and after, delivering a powerful message.

This very familiar verse is quoted, memorized and sometimes misused like a spiritual American Express. Just ask, and it’s on the way. In Matthew’s gospel the scripture is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Jesus concludes His words on seeking with “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (vs. 12 The Golden rule) The accumulation of material goods is not the promise these words deliver. Rather, as children of God we can afford to be incredibly generous because we have a loving Father that will abundantly provide for all our needs…… Remember, where He dwells they use gold bars for paving stones.

Luke narrates Jesus teaching His followers to pray. His words conclude with “How much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.!” Again, God will provide our needs, but always pray because praying begets spiritual strength, brings power and accesses the Glories of Heaven so that the faithful can share.

Ask, seek……God doesn’t play petty games so of course you will find…….plenty to share.

Love,

Gretchen

A Thomas Kinkade Kinda Day

As a public school teacher the weather forecast is a very important part of my morning. There is a constant struggle with the seasons, temperature and precipitation. I find myself mentally preparing for the worst in order to achieve the best.

There is so much to consider in the child/weather formula. A stormy morning brings an awareness of children standing at a bus stop with lightening approaching. Bundling up for cold means extra time stowing coats and gloves to begin the day and allowing minutes for finding missing mittens when preparing to return home. In and out of buildings is a challenge when the young delight in rain dancing but grown-ups respect the importance of warm and dry. A windy day means a very important note to parents might take flight, never to be seen again, or worse, travel beneath bus tires and become a terrible hazard. Weather is an ever changing variable. I don’t appreciate change!

As I list my climate concerns, I remind myself of the wonder of childhood. Children take delight in all things. When it rains they marvel at how it hits their face, how it sounds, how high it splashes and the polka-dot patterns it leaves on  their jacket. When autumn leaves fall, children are keenly aware of the whispering breeze that set them waltzing. Feet shuffling through a leaf drift or stomping dry flora to crumbs is a symphony. Snow is the most amazing phenomenon on earth! It’s fluffy rain and blankets the world in pristine perfection. It’s as versatile as play dough, but self cleaning so as not to ruin the carpet! Children bask in the heat of sunshine too. More than just birds and bees experience giddy exuberance on a warm cloudless day.

I can wax poetic at length, but three days after a good ‘frog choker,’ all those little shoes that dried while being worn on little feet, begin to smell like a gym locker. Consecutive days of inside recess means every child has developed a strategy to enhance their odds of winning Candy Land.… Fun’s over. Bah Humbug!

One gray, drizzly morning I was going through my beauty rituals. A gentle tone from my phone meant a text message waited attention. The glowing screen said, “Good morning mommy, how are you?” I replied to my daughter away at college, “Yuck! It’s an inside recess day!” Moments later she responded, “Don’t be sad, pretend you’re in a Thomas Kinkade painting.”

Melissa, my daughter, held the promise of a beautiful new day. I was jealous of her mind and heart so free to feel the good. I suddenly realized, the wrinkles on my face might tell the age of my body, but the choice to see the world with childlike wonder was and always would be mine. I stepped out of my house and into that dreary day with a new spirit. Later, while walking my students across an alley from one building to another, they stopped as one child called, “Look at the rainbow.” I looked up. They looked down. In the middle of the street a school bus left a drop of oil. Now there was a circle of color where water and petrol met and refused to mix. Long moments passed as they marveled in the miracle of a rainbow in the road.

See the ugly and inconvenient, or see good. It’s a choice.

This holiday season I encourage you to choose a Christmas card state of mind. Reside in a world where the child born of a virgin, The Alpha and Omega, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, The Truth, The Way, The Life, is the promise of each new day.

Love,

Gretchen

For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. Acts 18:10

The missionary Paul had been speaking regularly in the synagogue in Corinth. However, his teaching about the risen Jesus upset the traditional Jews. So Paul ‘shook his clothes’ and decided he was going to take the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews were still not satisfied and wanted an end to the gospel telling period! They took Paul to court, they beat him….generally made his life miserable by normal standards. In the midst of this struggle Paul has a vision from the LORD. “Do not be afraid, keep going, do not be silent!”

The Gospel that we have didn’t come to us without tremendous sacrifice. From God that gave His only Son, to that Son Jesus, that died a horrendous death, to the many messengers that suffered and were martyred, our Holy Bible IS the greatest story ever told and IT should be our great treasure.

God provided for Paul as he boldly, without hesitation, took the story of salvation as far as his feet and voice would carry him. Someone that had as many personal encounters with God as Paul did seems invincible, yet he still needed a continuous, new touch from God. What did God do? He provided with great love!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Gretchen

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13

The Testament of Joel is a short book of prophesy that gave early Christian Disciples the basis for the events of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit). It also tells of salvation to all who call on the name of the LORD. The people of Israel constantly struggled with disobedience, consequence and then a return to God. God never turned away a sincerely repentant people.

The focus of my comments is “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Tearing one’s garments was an ancient sign of grief or remorse. The problem with this outward sign is that it may not reflect an inwardly humble and contrite heart. God knows the difference! He’s not impressed with dramatic acts of emotion, He is the author of Truth.

Since the fall of man, we have all struggled with the cycle of sin, repentance, renewal and obedience. The good news is, you can’t sin enough to make God give up, and you can’t ask for forgiveness so many times He will eventually say, “Sorry, you’re out of chances.” God is slow to anger, compassionate, abounding in love. He relents and forgives!

You are loved so keep your seams intact and rejoice!

Love,

Gretchen