Miss Nancy's Blog

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

2010-02-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later because I travel so much for work. I got stuck in New York City due to a major winter storm at the end of February. Hundreds of flights were cancelled coming into and going out of the New York area airports. Thousands of people were stranded for two days. I was just one of them.

On day two of the storm, I was just one of hundreds in Terminal A, waiting 12 or so hours for a flight out with one airline. The experience was being repeated all over the New York area airports in every terminal.

We fought the weather and the weather won. We just had to wait it out.

You know the saying “misery loves company?” It is a mean kind of comment, implying that if you are miserable, you want others to suffer too. It can, unfortunately, be true of we faulted humans.

But sometimes it applies only because you already are suffering together and you want to acknowledge it – here is something we are sharing, a story we have in common. That is how it felt at La Guardia on that weather-bound day. All of us were tired. All of us were looking for electrical outlets so we can call, text and e-mail the outside world. We were trying to nap in uncomfortable chairs or standing in line for coffee to wake us up.

In the end, we went our separate ways, but for that day we were comrades in the fight to have a meaningful day in spite of it all. We talked to each other when under normal circumstances we would not. We gathered news of flights coming in or getting out and shared the hope and joy it brought.

Jesus came to the earth and took on the experience of being human – of getting hungry and tired, of sweating, bleeding, laughing and crying, of living in a body that decays and of being hurt by the ones you love. While here on earth, He prayed to the Father in solitude and worshipped with brethren. He worked with His hands six days and ceased His physical labor on the Sabbath. And He faced His own mortal death, as we all will, and experienced resurrection to eternal life, as we have to potential to do as well.

Because of that, He knows what we are going through. He has been through it. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the felling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Although he now resides at the right hand of the Father, when life trials and troubles come – things like lost jobs, betrayal, terrible illness and the death of loved ones – we know that He is still with us, sharing our suffering, dwelling in us and helping us work through it, if we are Christians.

Misery needs company if we are to bear it, handle it properly, survive it and thrive in spite of it. God provided Jesus for that – our High Priest who shares in our sufferings.

He isn’t just sharing it theory. He has been there. He doesn’t just see our suffering. He shares it with us. If you are miserable and need company through it, you can find that in Jesus. What a fantastic plan. Jesus is our comrade in our daily fight -- even if we are just losing a battle with the weather.
Love,
Nancy

IDENTITY CRISIS

2010-02-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

In the musical “Jesus Christ, Superstar” the character of Mary Magdalene asks Jesus, “Do you think you’re who they say you are?” You can’t find that anywhere in the scriptures. However, Jesus actually asked His disciples who the people said He was and who they thought He was. Although there were several theories out in the community, those closest to Jesus were able to identify Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

Do you look the same up close as you do from a distance? Who are you, really?

With the 2010 Winter Olympics just beginning in Vancouver, I was reminded of an article I’d read in the New York Times several months ago that had me thinking about identity. The article was about a recent case of the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who competes as a woman but whose gender identity is somewhat blurred. The article explained that once drugs were ruled out (steroid-driven performance enhancements are often the culprit in these cases) the discovery process is very thorough and intimately invasive. It involves checking everything from organs to chromosomes.

How easy is it to tell who YOU really are? Is your Christian conviction apparent in everything you do and say?

In the movie “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire Cat asks Alice repeatedly, “who are you?” I always assumed the cat was not getting the answer he expected, which is why he kept asking, “WHO are you?” “Who ARE you?” “Who are YOU?”

Although you might be many things and play many roles in this life - a parent to your child and a child to your parents, a sibling, an employee, an athlete or a couch potato, and more - the answer to who you are across all those roles should always be “a Christian.”

In every aspect of your life, all indicators should point to the fact that you are an ardent follower of Jesus. If there is any nook or cranny of your life or behavior not in sync with that, then people are going to wonder “is she/he really a Christian? Are you really who you say you are?”

The people whose lives you interact with on a daily basis should not have to undertake a difficult and thorough search to figure that out. It should be what enters the room before you and exits after you – like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.

Do you, does your life, reflect who you say you are?

HAPPY NEW YOU!

2010-01-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

It’s a brand new year and a brand new decade. Doesn’t seem that long ago that we began a brand new century, nervously watching lest our world fall apart due to short-sighted programming code for dates. In the last 10 years we survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a major recession, presidential campaigns, war, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, and scores of personal tragedies, like broken marriages, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, that plague the human race every day.

It is a time when many who celebrate the calendar change make resolutions to be thinner or smarter, to get more organized, to be less stressed, to save money, to drink less, to give more, and so on. New Year’s resolutions fail more than they succeed. But people will try again next year. On 12/31/10 at 11:59 p.m., they’ll be firmly committed to fresh start with a brand new year.

Luckily, as a Christian, I know that I can have a fresh start every single day. Each morning when I wake up, it is a new chance to be better than I was the day before. I can be a bigger person today. I can reunite with a lost friend. I can reconcile with a brother. I can give more. I can worry less. And if at the end of the day I find that today has not turned out to be my best day yet -- if I have fallen on my face again – if I have broken my resolutions before my morning coffee got cold -- I can start again tomorrow.

If I sin today, forgiveness awaits. If I accept it, I start with a fresh slate. I don’t even have to wait for tomorrow. Because God’ forgiveness is always there for me, I can confess my sin, repent, and start fresh with God at any moment, completely untainted by the failure of the moment before.

Psalm 51, especially verses 7-13, show the path of a sinner, through repentance to restoration – renewed to snow white purity by the forgiveness of God and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus – right then and there. Because God renews us, WE are new every day. Praise God that each day is a new opportunity in Him.

With His forgiveness and the support of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s start each day with new resolve and celebrate it as a fresh, new start to a better tomorrow. Nah, don’t wait for the new day, start each moment new in Him.

With that thought in mind, I say, Happy New Minute AND Happy New You!

Love, Nancy

THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!

2009-06-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is dead at 50. Whatever the autopsy finds, Jackson died a victim of his own insecurities, obsessions and phobias. Mutilated by surgeries of choice gone wrong, Jackson lived his last decade or more in constant pain created by his desire to end some internal pain on the inside by recreating the arrangement of his outside.

Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.

Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.

Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.

Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.

The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.

Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!

Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.

Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.

Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)

Love, Nancy.

YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND

2009-05-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Early in his career, Will Smith, the actor/father/singer, was just Will Smith, rapper, and he had a song called “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” It was a comic look at the decisions that parents make (mild things like discount, un-cool clothes) that cause teenagers to groan. No, parents don’t always understand what is important to our children (especially when it comes to fashion); but the reverse is even more true – children do not understand the decisions parents make. How can they? Until you’ve had children of your own, you just cannot understand the concern, responsibility and love that go into parenting.

Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?

I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.

If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.

The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…

We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.

The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.

Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.

Love, Nancy.

GRANDE, NO WHIP, TRIPLE SHOT, SKINNY, NO FOAM, EXTRA HOT, SOY…

2009-05-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, I’m THAT person – the one who takes ten words to describe my drink choice at Starbucks. The franchise is struggling and the lines do seem shorter in the airport cafes, but that means I don’t have to wait so long for my venti, triple shot, skinny, cinnamon dolce latte or sugar-free, skinny, venti, London Fog. But, hey, at Starbucks it is all about ME – my particular cravings, likes, wants. I have my own, personal coffee niche.

But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)

When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?

My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.

Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…

When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.

Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.

I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.

I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.

So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.

After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”

Love, Nancy

POT LUCK CHURCH OF GOD

2009-05-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve mentioned many times in my blogs that I work in an industry that supports magazine publishers and that publishers are in trouble. This week, in a publishing-industry e-newsletter, I found a quote about why magazines are failing that I think applies to the current struggles of many churches.

In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)

He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)

It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?

You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.

When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.

Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?

What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?

The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."

God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.

Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.

But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.

If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.

Love,
Nancy

UNPLUGGED OR UNHINGED!

2009-04-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else feel overwhelmed with the job of reporting on every second of your life or is it just me? I’ve got FaceBooks, MySpaces, LinkendIns, Twitters and Blogs – not just one, but multiple accounts for most of them – personal, DCM and work. I tweet. I blog. I post. I can’t keep up with all the telling of all the things I’m supposed to be telling or reading about all the people I’m “connected to” on all the places we are connected.

I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.

With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!

There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.

As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.

Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….

Love, Nancy

PROXIMITY PART TWO

2009-04-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

I love hugs from little kids. They hug with total abandon, squeeze as tight at they can and have no hang ups about what is or is not a respectable length of time to hold on. Much better than the kind of side-ways hook or butt out hugs we are forced to do as adults for the sake of propriety.

Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.

Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.

You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.

I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.

Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.

Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?

God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.

Love, Nancy

THE BENEFITS OF PROXIMITY, Part One

2009-04-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

The other day I was running errands for work – preparing for a visit from a potential client. I’m the sales person for this company, so everything about the visit of a potential client is my domain. I was waiting for 200 color copies to be run at Kinko’s and needed to pick up some items from a craft store. I planned to stop at a store I’d been to before on my way home; but, conveniently, there was one in the same shopping center as Kinko’s. The other craft store lost my business because there was one closer to Kinko’s. There was no other reason to shop at Store B instead of Store A. Both stores had what I needed. It all boiled down to proximity.

In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.

So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.

God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.

From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.

During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.

Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.

Love, Nancy

IF YOU ARE STUPID...

2009-03-28T10:48:00.001-07:00

My husband has many sayings – phrases or sentences – for which he is well known, for example: serious yellow, which I just taught to three rambunctious preteen boys. (It’ll have to be explained at a later time.) But the one that comes to mind today is “God will let you die if you are stupid.”

I’m thinking about it in relation to recent, tragic death from a head injury acquired in a skiing accident of the actress Natasha Richardson. She was relatively young (seen from my 50-year-old eyes anyway), beautiful, smart, talented, wealthy, athletic (or at least fit) and healthy. She died, when she could have survived, because she thought she was okay when she wasn’t.
Reports say that she turned away an ambulance, saying she was fine. Indeed, she felt fine and, for a while, acted just fine. But she was NOT okay. The trauma to the head was worse than she knew. A CT scan could have told that. The results of the injury worsened while giving no warning. If she was in the hospital under observation they might have caught the worsening symptoms. I grieve for any family experiencing the loss of a loved one.

The Spiritual lesson for Christians is that we cannot assume we are okay when, in fact, we are not. On our own we are NEVER okay. We need God to be okay. Without God, we are destined for death, we are lost, we are condemned, we are not okay. But we may not know it. Without God’s word, the Bible, we don’t know what sin is or even that we are sinners. Without the Holy Spirit we are not convicted of our sin (John 16:8). Without the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin cannot be removed (John 1:29) – we cannot be healed (Isaiah 53:5) – we cannot be restored to relationship with the Father – we cannot have life, let alone abundant life (John 10:10).

It is the Passover season – a time when we can and should focus on exactly how un-okay we are – a time to focus on our need for external help. It is a time to examine our lives and evaluate our progress.

The word of God is our CT scan. The Holy Spirit is our monitoring system. God is our doctor – the judge of whether or not we are well. Jesus is our life-saving medicine. Don’t turn them away.
God will let you die if you are stupid and turn away the help offered to you – although He is going to do everything He can to get you to accept the help you need. He just won’t throw you forcibly into the ambulance.

Don’t be stupid.
Love, Nancy

IS THAT RELEVANT?

2009-03-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Bobby Jindal, Republican Governor of Louisiana, in a recent Q&A session featured in Time Magazine was asked what changes were needed in order for the GOP (rejected by voters in Nov. 09) to become relevant again. He responded, “Republicans need to worry less about fixing the party and more about what we can do to fix our country.” Good answer and great advice for churches (and organized religion in general) today.

We’ve gone the Joel Osteen route – basically the spiritualized version of “Think and Grow Rich” -- God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and if you are not, you just don’t know God wants you to be healthy and wealthy.

We’ve gone the Mega-church route – making the church experience as hip and impersonal as a rock concert, shared with thousands of strangers, repeated twice on Saturday night and four times on Sunday – praise, cry, pay, repeat…

It is a far cry from 12 Apostles going door-to-door, taking the message of personal salvation to synagogues, the steps of pagan temples and the streets of the market place. What connection does a health and wealth message have to the gospel? Does experiencing pack-mentality conversion make it more real? Will a Vegas-style light show set to a contemporary Christian rock beat move you to actually change your sinful ways? None. Nope. Seriously doubt it.

But does any of this make church more RELEVANT in society today? I don’t think so. Does it make the gospel more relevant? Not possible. It always has been and always will be relevant. The good news that Jesus died for your sins, creating a way out of whatever issue you face, no less relevant to the world today than it was in 30 AD.

Church and Christians, who worry (as I do) about dwindling attendance and the aging attendees, don’t need to focus on making church or Christianity more relevant. We need to do one thing – STOP trying to fix church and go back to teaching how to fix sin. Two sentences just about cover it: Jesus died for your past sins. Now, go and “sin no more.”

Smooth words, great music, and quick services aren’t cutting it. Church attendance is down in literally every Christian denomination.

Fix people -- fix broken, sinful, hurting, lost, hungry, angry, suffering people -- and church will fix itself. Greed. Selfishness. Hate. Pride. All the sins that plagued mankind when Jesus walked the earth in human form, are still causing our suffering today. I challenge you to find one national problem that cannot be boiled down to one of these, running rampant and unchecked.

Maybe how you reach people is different – blog, Twitter or Facebook the message, send out a podcast, post a YouTube video – but the message is the same one that Jesus and all the prophets before and all the Apostles after, brought: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden (carry heavy burdens) and I will give you rest.”

How can THAT be any LESS relevant in our society today?

With Love, Nancy

Twenty Years From Now

2009-02-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

Wow. I had something entirely different in mind for my blog today, but a story on Yahoo News caught my eye. I cried as I read it and found it so moving that I must blog about it. I’ve attached part of it below my blog. I hope it moves you as well.

I’ll try to bottom line it for you. Darius McNeal, senior captain of the DeKalb, Illinois Barbs basketball team, deliberately missed two free throws, awarded his team for a technical foul caused because the opposing team wanted to allow a player on the court who was not there for the start of the game and therefore not on the roster. That player? Johntel Franklin, who came to play just hours after his 39 year old mother lost her battle with cancer.

Johntel wanted to play. He needed to be with his team at his time of grief. The letter of the rule was followed, but it was a different spirit at play that night. To quote the DeKalb coach (who advised his player to miss those free throws) -- "This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night." Doesn’t matter who won. The two teams went out for pizza together after the game.

What will people remember about you 20 years from now? Would you lose a game to win a brother? Would you even be willing to take the risk? That is exactly what Jesus asks us to do – risk it all to save others. He has called us to serve one another.

We are called to be “living sacrifices” and to esteem others above ourselves, to look on the things of others and lose our lives for the sake of our calling. (I challenge you to find the scriptures to go with these.)

It isn’t my place to tell you when, where and how to sacrifice for others. I don’t know your gifts, your resources or the needs of those around you. But I do know one thing – no matter how poor or ill or talentless you might be, you can be nice to people around you. You can show love. It costs nothing – except, occasionally, your ego or a chance to win.

Recently, a friend of mine and I sat crying tears of joy over the way several churches and the community in our small town rallied around to help her father who is recovering from a major injury. He lives several states away. He was self-employed all his life and has little insurance.

Maybe in this case we’d be tempted to say “I don’t know him. Why should I help?” Or “He needs to be an example of what happens when you fail to be adequately covered by insurance. It is his responsibility, not mine.”

But sometimes, to paraphrase a famous line, the team has to “take one” for an individual player. That is what happened in the DeKalb/Milwaukee game. That is what should happen in the Christian game of life. All true believers are on the same team. And, since everyone is a child of God and a potential believer, the whole world is ultimately in the same family.

In 20 years the members of both these high school basketball teams will still remember THAT night – even if they forget every other game. In 20 years, my friend will still remember what others did for her family.

In 20 years, what will people remember about your life? About mine? It bears some thought now about what will be remembered in 20 years.

Love, Nancy

**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**
AMID THE GRIEVING, A RARE ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP (AP)
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play.
(The Franklin showed up and said he wanted to play.)
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play," (Franklin) said. "I felt like I had a lot of support out there."
It hasn't been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.
"We maybe don't have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business," Womack said. "We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."

A SMOOTH TRANSITION …. NOT SO MUCH

2009-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

I’m reading a great book that was recommended to me, called Founding Mothers, written by Cokie Roberts (the reporter). It is a history of the wives, daughters, mothers and sisters of the Founding Fathers and their impact on the birth of this nation. I am really enjoying it, highly recommend it and will most likely find that it inspires quite a few blogs. Lots of material for thought and discussion.

I confess that I looked at the end of the book. After all, remembering my high school American History lesions, I know how it all turns out. The book closes with the emphasis on the first smooth transition of the Presidency – from George Washington to John Adams. It was an amazing, unique and virtually unheard of thing in those times. My husband, Wes, plans to use the details of the first to transitions of the US Presidency in a future article or sermon.

It still is amazing and unique in this world. The USA has experienced 40-some elections and transitions. The most recent, from George W. Bush to Barak Obama, was a study in transition etiquette. The then president-elect Obama frequently responded to requests that he jump in and do something, “we have only one president at a time.” News reporters marveled at the open and cooperative actions of President Bush and his staff in handing over the reins to the Obama Whitehouse.

In a world where even allegedly open elections all too often result in months of violence, we can all be very thankful for the smooth transition from one administration to the next.

You know, it won’t be that smooth when Jesus returns. The Bible tells us that the world will fight against Him and it will be VERY BAD – the worst time of conflict ever. Blood up to the horses’ bridles. God expects it and has planned for it, although I’m sure He’d be very happy if the world would surprise Him.

As women, our lives are full of transitions – from daughter to wife, wife to mother, mother to grandmother, maybe great-grandmother, or widow before it is all over.

As Christians, we begin with one huge transition – from non-believer to believer, from one living in this world by our own wits to one guided by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Some of us go down easy, some have to be knocked off a horse and blinded, like Paul.

Once we become believers, we agree to continually transition. We don’t change all at once and we truly never stop changing – become more like our Heavenly Father in thought, word and deed. Although the initial turn might be dramatic, the lifetime that follows is typically more one of slight shifts and changes – like those transition lenses that slowly shade over when you come out into the sun.

Problem is, sometimes we resist. We don’t want to give up that habit, thought processes or behavior because it is comfortable or because we just like it – get something out of it. Or, worse yet, because someone we don’t like or agree with told us we needed to change.

Today, I want to encourage us all to work toward a continual and smooth transition from who we were to who God called each of us to be. And then, at Jesus’ return, we’ll experience the final change-over to spirit-being. That will be dramatic.

Then final transition from man’s government in every form to God’s government over all of mankind will be a violent take-over at first. But, ultimately, God will work with all the world as He works with us now, to change a little more each day. Our chance is now, don’t fight the transition.

With love,
Nancy

Prophecy, Fulfill Yourself

2009-01-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

Ever tried this experiment? You ask someone if they are feeling well. You tell them they look a little pale. You warn them that they seem run down and are susceptible to the flu that is going around. Sure enough, we can influence them to feel unwell and maybe leave work early. I don’t advise doing this, but I believe we are well advised to remember that the voices we listen to can affect a desired result.

I work in an industry that is being very hard hit by the tough economic times. Long-term, top-position employees are losing their jobs. The sad news comes at me daily. There is real reason for these companies to tighten their belts, work more efficiently, cut spending, etc.

At the same time, I see that some of these companies are making decisions based on fear of what might happen. They are cutting people and programs that might actually help them to stay financially healthy in tough economic times, because they are getting pressure to cut something, they think, and it looks good on the bottom line right now.

I’ve also seen news reports and read articles that point out that some very profitable companies were created in depressed times of the past. One man’s dire situation is another’s opportunity for innovation, creation and success. One thing is sure – if you can grow a business during tough times, you are going to look really good in better times.

Churches should be growing in tough times. Yet, I find that some of the churches I visit are taken in by the dire predictions around them. The call to belt tighten that is going on in the business sector has these churches cutting programs, saving money, and discussing stock-piling assets.

They fear losing what they have (people, money, a building), when they ought to be afraid of not taking advantage of opportunity.

Un-churched people are MORE likely to be looking for God, for spiritual guidance and for a church home in these tough times. They are MORE likely to open to a religious discussion now. Our young people need MORE help and guidance, more activities, more support and more opportunities to be together during these tough times. Our senior citizens need MORE financial support, more programs, more opportunity to serve the church and more time with fellow believers during these tough times.

Just like business that are taken in by a “hunker down and just hold on to what you have” mentality, Churches that are trying to hold on to what they have, rather than trying to grow now, will find, I believe, that exactly what they worry about – loss of income and loss of membership – will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They will not grow now and once times get better they will not have any momentum for growth. They will have lost the infrastructure that would support exponential growth later on.

In a time when we hear of men dying of electrocution while trying to steal copper wire from electric lines, we KNOW times are tough. But this point shows us that it isn’t just the economy falling on slim times – morality and moral choices are in the toilet too!

Tough times are prophesied. So is the return of Jesus, the gospel being preached to the world, the sheep being cared for, and the church never failing. What is your congregation doing to help fulfill THOSE prophesies?

At a time when there are prophets saying “hold on to what you have” and those saying “these times are an opportunity for us,” which voices are you listening to? Either way, the decisions you make now, will dictate your future. The prophecy you make and support will most likely be fulfilled.

Love, Nancy

AND THE BEAT GOES ON....

2009-01-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

Officially, we have a new year beginning today. Last night champagne flowed, people danced and resolutions were made. People made commitments to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, get a better education so they could get out of their dead-end job, get out of debt. Some few will complete the change. Many of those resolutions will be broken today. Others may last a few weeks.

We have a new president who promises change. President-elect Obama is different in very many ways from President Bush. He’ll put new people into office. He’ll change policy. He says he’ll work to facilitate a speedy end to the war in Iraq. He’s our first African-American president. But he is still, at the core, what Bush, Clinton, Regan, the other Bush, Carter and all the others before that were – he is a politician. And the beat goes on.

There is fighting in Israel. Gas prices are on their way back up. Retail stores are running major sales in the hopes of drawing people in to buy after the Xmas spending spree. I could go on. Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Sonny & Cher said it more poetically: “Grandma's sit in chairs and reminisce, Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss, The cars keep going faster all the time, Bum still cries, ‘Hey buddy have you got a dime?’"(Okay, so they ask for a dollar these days.) “Men still keep on marching off to war.” “And the beat goes on….”

It is 2009 – nine years beyond what we thought would be the end of the world due to the collapse of computers in 2000 – and it looks like we might be in for more of the same old thing we’ve experienced for thousands of years. Bummer. I’m old enough and have seen enough of the world’s pain and sorrow to really, really mean it when I say, “Please, Jesus, come soon!”

In the mean time, a Christian’s life is one of moving forward. Each day, we should be getting more Christ like. Each day, we should set an example for those around us. Each day, we should spread love, peace and joy. Each day, we should pray. Each day, we put one foot in front of the other, moving ever onward toward the Kingdom. And the beat goes on…

God knows we can get warn out with it all. So, Galatians 6:9 says, “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” (New Living Translation)

The good news is that each day, no matter how much it seems just like the day before, is actually one day closer to Jesus’ return to rule and reign on this earth. Praise God! There is light at the end of the tunnel. One day things will really change. Christians just need to keep on doing what Christians are called to do.

And the beat goes on…La-dee-da-dee-dee; La-dee-da-dee-da……

With love, Nancy

YOU CAN’T UNSCRAMBLE AN EGG, SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

2008-12-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

Maybe I’m the only one who ever had this problem after the 5th grade – said something or did something that hurt another person. Worse yet, broke their trust. Compound the damage if this is someone close – a friend or family member.

I’ve always told my children that trust is something hard to repair. Only time and opportunities to prove yourself can restore trust. Once you scramble that egg, you are stuck with a mess, especially since that the person you hurt is (understandably) not likely to give you many opportunities to rebuild trust – at least at first.

Of course the KEY is to not break the trust in the first place. I have to admonish each of us to watch our tongues and our actions to be sure we never, ever betray a trust or hurt someone else. But, if you are like me, and all too often have these words of Paul running around in your head: “When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway,” [Ro. 7:19 New Living Translation throughout], then as much as you’d like to say differently, you have hurt people by words or actions at least a few times – even since the 5th grade.

Remember, the Bible says, (in James 3:5) “So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do”—warning us of its power of destruction. So we have to admit that this is a common problem with human nature and all people – even Christians. If you have avoided it in your adult life, you are indeed wise and godly.

Once you realize you have betrayed trust in word or deed, you need to repent before God and ask His forgiveness. Then I suggest you ask for strength, spiritual support, because you may need it once the full impact of what you have done hits you, as you see the pain you have caused for another and understand that there is simply nothing you can do to take that back. You must humbly admit your wrong to the injured party and ask forgiveness.

I also suggest you pray that God will help the injured party to be merciful – realizing that the better part of mercy might be holding you accountable even while forgiving you – and for their own peace and strength to work through this too. They may be in for some rough times as well, while dealing with issues or feelings you created.

If you’ve damaged someone’s reputation by gossip – even by telling a truth trusted to you – and God has blessed you by allowing you to truly understand what damage you have done – then you are in a “in for a world of hurt,” as we say in the South, as you face the hard truth. It is painful. I know. I’ve been there. I’d love nothing more than to be able to press the rewind button and unscramble that egg.

So, I suggest lots of prayer for yourself and for the person you harmed – fasting to draw closer to God and live more in line with Him – Bible study to fill your mind, heart and mouth with the right things.

But, although these are all good and right things that you should be doing, they work on the current and future you. The point is, once the dead is done, you can work on never doing it again, but you can’t undo it. Sometimes you get the opportunity to do some repair work, but that is very rare. I wish I could say differently – oh how I wish it!

Proverbs 18:19 warns us that “it is harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city.” I can vouch for that, unfortunately.

So, I have only two rules for us on this:

RULE #1: Do all you can to avoid breaking someone’s trust. Guard your tongue, guard your actions, and think before speaking or taking action.

RULE #2: There is no second chance – go back to rule #1.
I hope this saves us both from scrambled eggs in the future!

Love, Nancy

P.S. You know who you are: to you I say, again, I am terribly sorry.

I KNEW JACK KENNEDY AND YOU ARE NO JACK KENNEDY

2008-12-20T08:52:00.001-08:00

I work in sales, an industry where image leads and functionality follows. The two questions I must answer at the very start of the sales process are “Who are you?” and “What can you do for me?”

It is well expressed in this blurb I read recently in an industry publication: "Two basic tenets of selling are that (1) people buy from other people more happily than from faceless corporations, and that (2) in the marketplace as in theater, there is indeed a factor at work called 'the willing suspension of disbelief.' Who stands behind our pancakes? Aunt Jemima. Our angel food cake? Betty Crocker. Our coffee? Juan Valdez. Anyone over the age of 3 knows that it's all myth. But like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, the myths are comforting."

There is certainly a lot of theatrics going on in our country today. As shows like Saturday Night Live skewer the leaders of the auto industry for greedy adherence to their rich lifestyles while their industry is on the verge of collapse and as Governor Blagojevich resurrects the image of Chicago politics during the reign of the mob, we would all be well advised to consider what kind of impression each of us makes as representatives of our families, our faith, our congregations, and our heavenly Father.

When it comes to “buying” the whole Christian thing, people are going to be just as attracted to people first as they are when it comes to any other sale. We must “sell” the fact that being a Christian is worthwhile, brings happiness and fosters internal peace even when the world is at war. But the main thing we must sell is that Christianity IS love. In this, you are the Aunt Jemima, the Betty Crocker, the Juan Valdez – in other words, the spokesperson, for Christianity.

More narrowly, you are the spokesperson for your congregation. So, when people talk to you or when they walk into the door at church, does everything about you “sell” the congregation with a favorable image? Are you open, smiling, happy, welcoming? Do you meet visitors with a handshake and thank them for coming?

What if it is someone from a group that split off from yours? Do you get to set aside brotherly love in favor of letting them know that you are unhappy with their choice? Do they feel unwelcome? If so, then you are failing to make that sale – not only to them, but also to your own children and others who may be watching your actions. What kind of impression do you think you are making on the six-year-old who can tell you are suddenly tense? What about that even more vulnerable group – teenagers – who are watching you closely? They often will reject the belief system parents have spent years teaching them in response to witnessing a routine disconnect between words and actions.

Christ Jesus calls us His brothers. We are the sons of God. We are made in their image and tasked with becoming more like them, with the help of the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

People have a right to see Christian behavior in the spokespersons for God, for your faith and for your congregation. The image comes first. Then they will be open to the functionality of the Christian walk.

To paraphrase that famous indictment of Dan Quayle during a political debate: we never want anyone to be able to say to us: “I know Christians and you are no Christian!”

Love, Nancy

TIS THE SEASON

2008-12-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year – a time when people who aren’t religious at all find that their faith is now extremely important and they MUST have a nativity scene on the County Court lawn. A time when companies who don’t do anything religious any other time of the year now find they simply MUST send out holiday cards and/or gifts, they simply MUST put up a tree in a public area. A time when people who don’t help the homeless any other time of the year are asking for canned goods for various programs.

This is the time of the year, this is the holiday season, when those who would NEVER EVER think of committing terrorist acts in the name of religion (like the various Islamic nations), would never go to war over sacred ground (like the Palestinians and Israelis), get all aggressive about what they must be allowed to do, must have and what YOU must have too.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it thousands of times: say “Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays.” Why? Why this time of year, the time when they MUST show their religious fervor and YOU must not only allow it, but align yourself with it.

Do I insist on a tabernacle (temporary dwelling) being assembled on the County Court lawn during the Feast of Tabernacles? Do I insist they all put blood on their doors at Passover? Of course not. I do ask that you allow me to observe my faith freely and I am willing to offer the same to you.

Let’s be clear – I believe with all my heart that you are wrong, that Christmas is a pagan holiday, and that God is NOT happy with your show of lights, decorated trees and gift buying. I KNOW He is not happy with the trampling of innocent Wal-Mart workers just for first right to some deeply discounted toy or electronics.

I’m not stupid. I realize you believe with all your heart that I am wrong.
However, the thing that is supposed to separate the USA from all these other warring nations is our openness about religion. I am willing to gather canned goods for the needy this time of the year or any other. I am willing to accept it if you want to say “Merry Christmas” to me. I understand that is important to you, but you don’t have a right to command me to say it back or even “Happy Holidays.” I will say “thank you” because being polite knows no season. I do eat cookies even if they are shaped like bells, snowmen or wreaths.

Not all my non-Christmas-keeping fellows feel the same way. Some will, some won’t go to the company Christmas party. Some will, some won’t sign holiday cards if they don’t have the word Christmas on them. Some will, some won’t eat those cookies.

But (to my fellow non-believers) we do all have the responsibility of setting a good example. Just because others get all aggressive about their faith this time of the year doesn’t mean that we have the right to stop being polite, patient and kind. The receptionist who asks for the 5th year in a row if you will sign the holiday cards is just doing her job and warrants only a polite “no thank you” unless she asks you to explain why. At that time, she deserves a polite and direct explanation.

Jesus said “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” He did not say to return behavior in kind. I believe He isn’t happy about Christmas and finds it offensive. I do not believe He is pleased with ugly, rude or angry responses to those ignorant of the truth.

One of the things I hate about Christmas is the rude behavior and frenzied buying it encourages. For people who frequently say “put Christ back in Christmas” I still see the behavior getting worse every year. For that reason alone, I would not ask a Christmas keeper about his/her faith.

The question for me, and all others of similar faith, becomes then “is my behavior this time of year encouraging others to ask about my faith or is it turning them off to it?”

Tis the season to let your like shine to this dark world – not with lights and presents and parties, but with true love shown, with kindness, patience and politeness, even in the face of religious aggression by those who need to know the truth.

Love,
Nancy

ARMAGEDDON , NOW WHAT?

2008-11-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

According to prevailing marketing industry wisdom, the key emotional hot buttons that influence human behavior are fear, greed, guilt, anger, exclusivity, salvation, flattery and patriotism. I think at least two of these are also on the list of Seven Deadly Sins.

Getting back to my watching of the movie Armageddon: so the world is saved, all people, nations, faiths and colors rejoice that this common disaster has been averted. Sure Paris is decimated, but the French are no one’s favorite people any way.

How long do you think peace would last? Since the peace achieved was accomplished based on fear, my guess is that in the given scenario once the common fear is gone it would be days at best before war among nations would resume. All it would take would be a seed of greed or misguided patriotism or exclusivity (hoarding food and supplies within a country less devastated, for example) to take us from being bound as brothers to World War III.

My father had a favorite lecture he often resorted to when my siblings and I were arguing. It began: “if you are fighting now over this issue now, what will happen when we have only one slice of bread?” My father died before we ever saw those hard times, but he had a point.
Fear is a HUGE motivator. So is greed. When you combine the two you have a lethal mixture.

The world is a slave to the ruler of it – Satan. But Christians, with the Holy Spirit active and following in them, should be immune to it – at least after years of being a Christian.
Armageddon, not just the movie but the actual event, and some ugly times before it are coming to this world. Christians, like everyone, need to be somewhat prepared for tough times.

But should Christians, like those who don’t know better, be thinking in terms of “how can I store up and hoard (for MY family, MY church) the goods I’ll need to survive?” Shouldn’t we be thinking in terms of “how can I seek God first and help others to do the same, so that we have the faith to rely on God when tough times come?”

Before you say, “but…” let me quote a scripture: Mathew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Verse 34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”

Read verses 22 through 34 for the entire guidance. I know the word “thought” can better be understood as anxious care, which makes my point – fine to give it thought, not fine for those thoughts to be about preparing for personal, physical survival of those in your exclusive “group” – whatever that group might entail.

That kind of thinking leads you to fight over that last slice of bread instead of sharing it. That kind of thought leads to comments like “sorry, buddy, you aren’t one of us, so I can’t help you out.” It leads to issues like needing to decide if a person is “of my fellowship” or “a member of our church” before sharing what you have and to saying things like “I can’t help you now because I need this for us/me later.”

A store house of food, money socked away in the stock market or under your bed, gold coins, even a stockpile of firewood for heat are all things that can be stolen, lost or destroyed – and things that someone might someday kill you to get.

None of those things are guarantees against disaster. The only guarantee is an intimate relationship with the creator of all things, our Father Provider. So, I encourage us all to let Spiritual salvation be the key hot button that influences all our behavior, not greed, not fear, not salvation (saving of) the body/this life.

Spend your resources to spread the good word of salvation now. Share your resources now and in the future, even if you find yourself down to one slice of bread. Store treasure in heaven, not your 401K, only there is it truly going to bring dividends for the future.

Love, Nancy

ARMAGEDDON AND THE ABILITY TO FOCUS

2008-11-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

The other night I was flipping through the channels and caught the end of the moving Armageddon – the one with Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler and Ben Afleck. I always cry when Bruce has his last conversation with Liv, a single father, saying good-bye to his only daughter just before he saves the world. I cry even harder just as he pushes the button on the nuke and his life with Liv, including the future he will miss, passes before his eyes.

And, if possible, I collapse further when all the military, NASA technicians, politicians and scientists embrace, slap each other on the back, whoop and holler with glee. But I am not watching them. I am watching Liv Tyler, separated from the group and looking down at the revelry, detached from it all. You can read it on her face, “yes, the world is saved, but I have just lost my father.”

Finally, Billy Bob Thorton’s character looks up and understands what she is going through. He goes to Liv and holds her while she cries on his shoulder.

This world is a hectic place. Our lives are busy. Our days are full. Most of us move about in a rush from one item to the next on our never-ending “to do” lists – never noticing the hurting people around us. You can spend your whole life doing the important, necessary, legal, moral and right things that make up our daily chores, but still miss out on our biggest opportunities to impact the lives around us.

You and I are not very likely to be called upon to literally save the world. But probably every week of our lives we have the opportunity to spend a few minutes making someone else’s life better with a card, a kind word, a phone call, a visit. It doesn’t take much time or even any money.

It does require an ability to focus on things outside of the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.

I confess that this is a problem for me. At this point in my life I just want to come home from a long day at work, eat dinner and vegetate. I often end up doing household chores and just preparing for the next day. Sometimes I have work for DCM to do.

Recently, I had a friend in the hospital. I wasn’t able to visit her before I took off on a trip for work. When I got back, I came down with the flu. I still have not been to see her. I do call, but it isn’t the same for my friend. She feels the need to see me.

My life is busy. I am doing meaningful things – earning a living, working at DCM, trying to keep myself healthy with exercise a few days a week, trying to build my marriage. I find that there are people who are important to me who are getting left out of the equation. Yet, if you asked me I’d say relationships are very important to me, but, big sigh, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Truth is, I need to focus on each thing before me, and not lose focus on what I say is most important. So, I guess this blog is for me. But I hope it touches you too. There are enough hours in the day – not to meet everyone’s needs, but to meet a few, even in the busiest day. I’m going
to try. You should too.
Love, Nancy

HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

2008-11-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

I remember once being so sick with a sinus infection that it was all I could do to get my older kids off to school before I’d collapse on the bed again, with the TV on to entertain the youngest child, trying to gather my strength to make lunch in a couple of hours. It didn’t last long, but for a time I knew that I could only do the very most basic, necessary things. I literally had no energy to spare for anything but caring for my children’s most basic needs.

It is strange how a near-death experience, a devastating illness, the death of a loved one, a job loss or a natural disaster will change your focus, at least for a time. Suddenly, you pare your life down to what is most important. More often than not, you slow down either to enjoy the remaining moments or because the illness or injury requires that you do.

What things in life bring you the most joy? What things give you the most satisfaction? When asked these questions, people routinely list the simple things in life – those that don’t really cost anything – like walks in the woods, hearing their children laugh, eating with friends and even enjoying the company of a beloved pet.

Why do we humans need some external force to propel us to what should be the core focuses of our lives any way? One reason could be that we have come to consider being busy as a badge of honor. We are a busy people here in the USA.

But could it also be that we have forgotten what David said in Psalm 39:4-5 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand…” (New Living Translation)

The truth is, we are all dying – even if you have just received a clean bill of health from your doctor. If it were not for the plan of God and the sacrifice of Christ, that would be the end of it. We can be thankful there is more after this life has ended.

We should also be thankful for the time we have in this life – here on earth, as human beings. This life isn’t just to be endured through gritted teeth. There is a lot of joy to be gained, if we use our time wisely, knowing that in this life, time is finite resource.

Life isn’t always good. Bad things happen. But we don’t have to be diagnosed with cancer in order to focus on the most important things in life.

Why not reconcile with a long, lost friend now and enjoy some quality time? Why not invest more time playing with your kids, use some time to really talk your mate, spend time gazing at the stars and contemplating the universe now? If these things are the kinds of activities to which we assign the highest value (and they are), if they are the things that bring us the greatest sense of satisfaction (they are), if they are the things we would do if we had six months to live (that is what we say), why aren’t we doing them now?

Why wait for some external force to realign your priorities? We have “all the time in the world.” It just isn’t enough time that we can waste it on things that don’t matter. Your days are numbered and, most likely, you don’t know when your number of days will be up. So, spend the time of your life wisely.

Love, Nancy

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TRAUMATIZED ELEPHANT?

2008-10-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

“What do you do with a traumatized elephant?” seems like the start of a joke, but an August 15 article in the Dallas Morning News (written by James C. McKinley, Jr.) brought up that exact question. The debate was over whether to send Jenny (a 32-year-old African elephant) to a 300 acre drive-through park in Mexico or a 2,700 acre sanctuary in Tennessee.

Jenny had been orphaned, “stolen” from Africa, sent to the circus in the USA and beaten by her trainer. The experience left her with mental problems which resulted in self-mutilation and depression. For the past 22 years, Jenny has been given humane and loving care by the Dallas Zoo.

The debate was about whether she should live out her “last years” in seclusion, considering what human beings have put her through. Elephants have about the same average life-span as human beings (70-80 years). Jenny may have many years left to live with her emotional scars.

If you’ve ever watched the Dog Whisperer, you know that traumatized dogs can be rehabilitated. If we can go by the movie The Horse Whisperer it seems that the same goes for traumatized horses. So, I wonder why, after 22 years of tender loving care, Jenny still has her emotional scars. Perhaps this gives credence to the old saying “an elephant never forgets.”

It is not my intent to review your responsibility to go to an injured brother to ask for forgiveness. Nor do I intend to cover the need to forgive others.
What I want to say is, after the forgiveness occurs, after the war is over, after amends have been made, there is still the trauma and emotional scars in need of healing. You and God have to deal with those.

The book of Jonah deals with this subject. Jonah had some hurt feelings and reason to be a bit depressed about the forgiveness of Ninevah, knowing, as he did, that they would ultimately oppress his people. God dealt with Jonah privately, teaching him a lesson through the miracle of the gourd about compassion.

Jonah had to be willing to learn, be willing to let go, and be open to God’s teaching. Otherwise, the hurt and trauma he felt could have haunted him for the rest of his life.

People do mean, ugly things, sometimes deliberately. When they repent, when reconciliation and forgiveness occurs, sometimes there is still healing to be done that only God can do. I encourage you to seek His healing for all your emotional needs. Don’t carry them around for the rest of your life and let them influence your behavior. You are the one that is hurt by that, more than any other.

God is the Human Whisperer. Only He can rehabilitate traumatized humans. And He will if you seek His healing.

With love,
Nancy

THE RIGHT TO DIE, FOR ONLY $5.00

2008-10-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

This blog is not what you think. It isn’t about actually dying. What sparked the idea was a recent article I read about a tradition at a particular Buddhist temple in Thailand that allows visitors the opportunity to lie in a coffin for a couple of minutes while monks chant a funeral dirge. When the visitors climb out, they believe they have been cleansed of their pasts.

Those who spend the 180 baht to go through the ritual (about $5 US) believe the bad karma has been sucked from their lives. Many of the followers use the term “reborn” to describe how they feel. As Spock would say, “Fascinating.” I don’t think I could do it – lie in an actual coffin – not even for a few minutes – not even with a 11 other visitors doing it at the same time.

I understand the desire to remove the bad feelings (not to mention potential repercussions) created by our past actions, but spiritual rebirth has already occurred for you if you are a believer who has been baptized – and it didn’t cost YOU a thing. It certainly cost Jesus plenty. Once you’ve done it, you don’t need to go through it again, unlike the temple visitors who go through the service multiple times.

Colossians 2:12 says that we are “buried with Him (Jesus) at baptism.” Continuing in verses 13-14 we find – “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.”

We were already dead because of sin, became buried at baptism and then resurrected to a new life. Of course, our new life looks a lot like the old one when we first come up out of that watery grave. But it isn’t the same. We have a new life and we have the opportunity and the responsibility to walk in “newness of life.”

Upon receipt of the Holy Spirit, we also have the will and the means to live a new life – our past sins no longer held against us. And it cost you nothing – God’s free gift to you.

Jesus gave His life so that we can have a new life in Him. With all past sins and the penalty of death wiped away a baptism, with the Holy Spirit to guide, with Jesus as our example and our advocate with the Father, the life ahead will be different from the one behind.

The past cannot hold onto us. It is gone. Sure, sometimes a penalty for our past sins will continue with us – like the fact that, even though God forgave King David of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, He still allowed their first son to die.

But as far as God is concerned, the sin is gone and so is the death penalty your sin has earned for you. Now eternity within God’s Kingdom is our future. Hallelujah! If that isn’t reason to feel fresh, new and unburdened, I don’t know what is.

Whenever we are tainted by a sin from baptism forward, we can repent, pray for forgiveness and immediately have that sin forgiven and removed from us. No coffin required. You are free to spend your $5 on a Latte at Starbucks or, better yet, use it to reach others who don’t know this good news.

With love,
Nancy

I NEED A HERO

2008-09-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the banking crisis, on the eve of a bailout to the tune of $700 billion dollars … $700,000 BILLION, with housing prices plummeting, crushing fuel prices, and with the sound of my 401K screaming “I’m melting, melting, melting…” I watched the first presidential debate. No disrespect to these two men vying for the right to take on this mess, but I don’t feel it is possible to for either one of them to save this country from the greed and corruption that got us where we are today. Makes me wonder if a sane person would be running for office right now. But someone has to be willing to try.

I have Christian friends who intend to vote for Obama and those who intend to vote for McCain and some who do not intend to vote at all. They all seem to have very well thought out reasons for the stances they have taken.

All I can tell you is that we – the USA as well as the rest of the world – we all need a hero – a real hero, like Superman. Someone unstoppable. Someone incorruptible. Someone with the power to change human behavior by changing the human heart.

We need Jesus. There is no other solution. I pray God will speed the day of His return to take over this mess and make sense of a world gone crazy.

You can vote for whomever you want or you can abstain, that is your right as an American citizen. But real, true change will not occur until Jesus returns. So, what is a Christian to do? Pray. Praying isn’t a “do nothing” position. It is, in fact, the best thing we can do. Praying for national leaders is addressed in I Timothy 2:2, where Paul encourages us to “pray for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace…”

Pray for Jesus to return and in the meantime, pray for our leaders, no matter who they are. God ultimately places them in office any way (see Romans 13:1-4). They need YOUR help. It is right and proper to pray for whoever becomes president of this country. I urge you to spend significant time each week, before and after the election, praying for the leaders of this nation and the world and praying for the coming of the one, true hero who will ultimately save us from them all: Jesus.

God speed that day. I need a hero. Don’t we all?

With love, Nancy

MORE THAN THE "BIG BANG" FOR YOUR BUCK

2008-09-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Sandwiched between articles on the political fray of the coming elections in the US, hurricane Ike and remembrances of 9/11/01, I found the extremely significant story of physicists trying to recreate the “god particle” – that initial particle that defined the start of life, from non-life. The physicists are trying essentially to recreate the so called Big Bang and the beginning of evolution.

I have one question for them. If you succeed in recreating the start of life, what are you going to do with it? I’m not talking about the obvious answer of using it to “prove” the theory of evolution. I’m asking, now that you have become a creator, what will you do with your creation?

After all, mankind has a history of creating things for one purpose and ultimately using it for another (and often more destructive) purpose entirely.

I am not an evolutionist. I am a creationist and very thankful to be a part of the creation of caring and thoughtful Creator God who planned every aspect of this life and the next prior to beginning the project. God knew what He intended to do with each part of His creation before He brought life to any of it. He did not make anything without a reason for its existence.

God also knew exactly what it would take to make that plan work and He has been working that plan ever since. I don’t know God’s schedule. I am not privy to exactly where we are on His timeline. But I can be confident that His timing will be followed, because He has always been a faithful Creator – always stuck to His own master plan.

What is that plan? “To bring many sons to glory.” (See Hebrews 2:10) God created us to be His sons, forever in His family as Spirit beings. His plan is drawn out for us in the Bible and those of us who keep the Holy Festivals outlined by God (Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day) are privileged to act out that plan in these annual observances.

I won’t go into the details of the plan of God here or the Holy Days and their meanings here. We have all sorts of booklets on the Dynamic Christian Ministries Web page that will explain them and answer any questions you might have about them or God’s plan and purpose for mankind.

However, while physicists work hard to reproduce the “god particle” that they hope to use to prove the evolutionist theory of creation without a creator, I will be observing the fall Holy Days, which actually give to all of us details of God’s plan and our purpose in that plan.

Eternal life in the family of God is way more exciting than life beginning with a sudden, scientific event. For me, it represents way more bang for my buck than anything man could envision for the new life these physicists hope to create.

With love,
Nancy

Smoke and Mirrors

2008-09-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

It has gotten to the point that might cause us to wonder if anyone, anywhere can be trusted to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about anything. Are we a world where “smoke and mirrors” are perceived as being necessary to success?

Forget athletes and their steroid scandals. Forget politicians, whom we have come to expect to lie, misdirect and hedge. Forget accused criminals who might lie to get out of trouble. In the same way that you might find fashionistas saying “grey is the new black,” I wonder if it has come to the point where the reality is that “perception is the new truth.” In other words, what we want the world to believe about us is as good as the truth.

In an August 11 article in Information Week, Thomas Claburn reported that China provided an altered video of the fireworks at the Olympic opening ceremony. Apparently, event organizers feared they would not be able to capture the pyrotechnics live on camera. In an August 12 Associated Press article, Cara Anna reported that a member of China’s Politburo asked for a last minute change to the Olympic opening ceremony that resulted in a “cute” girl lip-synching the “Ode to the Motherland” because the actual 7-year-old girl who sang it had crooked teeth.

Call me crazy, but I think China’s national reputation could have handled the “ill effects” of less-than-stellar footage of fireworks and a 7-year-old singer with crooked teeth. Considering their horrible record on human rights, China might actually have come out looking more genuine and less plastic if they had allowed these minor imperfections.

China may be an easy target to call out on this issue, but don’t think they are unique to the human race. I believe that each of us has to fight the tendency to white-wash our lives. After all, it isn’t easy to admit our flaws. But when we fail to be as open to criticism as we are to praise, we do two negative things.

First, we inhibit our own ability to change. I don’t like criticism any more than the next person; but you and I have to be open to seeing our flaws if we want to change. We have to be open to having our flaws pointed out by God’s word in our personal Bible study, from the pulpit, and one-on-one by friends and foes alike. It may be tough to swallow; but, if you are wrong you are wrong, even if the person pointing it out to you is doing it from a wrong motive. We have to be willing to accept accurate criticism, even if it comes out of the mouth of a proverbial donkey. We have to be willing to look at the validity of the criticism itself, regardless of the source.

Second, we inhibit our ability to help others see their own faults and make changes. When we go to others with faults and problems (even those that are not sins), we should be going out of love and genuine concern. We don’t want to be seen as the donkey used by God to call out another’s mistakes. However, if you cannot take criticism brought to you, others might have trouble accepting even the gentlest guidance from you.

The final step, after accepting your faults, is occasionally that we have to admit them publically. Occasionally, we will have to openly say, “I messed up here. I was wrong and here is what I’m going to do about it.”

To be sure, we do not need all our sins and faults made public. I’m not advising we air dirty laundry as standard operating procedure. I am suggesting that there will be times these things need to be acknowledged and dealt with in a public forum. I am suggesting that being human, making mistakes and sinning is as natural to human beings as breathing. I’m saying that your good reputation can withstand the accurate criticism of others. I’m suggesting that your reputation can actually be improved by being willing to admit your mistakes and flaws. And I’m advising that the place to start is by being able to accept criticism and learn from it no matter what the source.

For Christians, reality is the only truth. We Christians don’t need smoke and mirrors to clean up our lives for the sake of standing in the community or ego or reputation. We need to be genuine – crooked teeth and all. For Christians, it is the only way to live.

With love,
Nancy

The Next Great Leader of the Free World

2008-08-30T10:22:00.001-07:00

What a great summer it has been! First, the Olympics, next the Democratic National Convention, shortly the Republican Convention. Although political conventions and sports events don’t seem to have a lot in common, perhaps because of them occurring back-to-back, or maybe because of the venue of the Olympics being in China, I found a common thread that you might not typically consider – false promises.

The Chinese government, not known for its honesty and fair treatment of the average citizen, out did itself in the Olympics. In a future blog I will use more of that detail, but today I want to highlight one particular incident.

The August 21 issue of the New York Times ran an article titled “Too Old and Frail to Re-educate? Not in China” about two seventy-year-old women sentenced to “re-education through labor” for applying to hold a legal protest in a government-designated area. Note: their crime was for APPLYING for government approval to protest. They did not protest. The Chinese government told its citizens that they could protest during the Olympics, but only in a particular area and only after written approval from the government. Then they arrested two feeble old women for applying for approval to protest.

I wish I could say that a government that does just the opposite of what it promises was a unique thing. I wish I could say, “Well, you’d never find this type of ‘bait and switch’ tactic in the USA.” While it is true that American’s have an unparalleled right and ability to protest when, where and how we want, the connection here is that even the US government cannot be trusted to always keep its word or honor its promises either.

Who can you believe? Who can you trust as a leader?

As I watched the Democratic Convention and listened to the speeches, I was very much impressed. The words and delivery showed that among the group were some great orators. The crowd was rallied, encouraged, uplifted, stirred to action, etc. I was impressed with their words. I’m looking forward to more great speeches and inspiring words from the Republicans.

With the nomination of a black man as Democratic presidential candidate and the nomination of a woman as the Republican vice presidential candidate, it is going to be an exciting election process if nothing else. Should be good, clean fun to watch; but I don’t intend to get suckered in by what they actually say.

I’m not judging the intent of the candidates or the politicians that support them. I’m certainly not judging the intent of the delegates. I’m just saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” There is only one leader who can be trusted to do 100% of what He says He will do. There is only one leader who CAN follow through with all intents and promises, and that leader is God.

Jesus Christ, when He walked on this earth in human flesh, was the only human being whose words and actions always perfectly aligned. More importantly, He is the only one who will ever bring about the kind of world-changing government, the world-wide peace, the universal prosperity and the return to a Garden-of-Eden environment that He promised. It is in Jesus Christ and God the Father that we must put our trust. It is in them that we can put our faith. They are the leaders to believe and follow.

A new world order. Real change. Peace. Freedom. Prosperity. None of these things will be achieved, no matter what government leaders and leader-wanna-be’s promise, until Jesus Christ returns to the earth and establishes God-rule, God’s government and Himself as King of kings and Lord of Lords. There is no debating that!

Thankfully, we have the Fall Holy Day season right around the corner – with the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day – to remind us that the only true government “for the people” will not be a government “by the people” but will be the government of God established on this earth. God speed that day!

With love,
Nancy

Leading from the Shield

2008-08-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

I caught a small part of a History Channel program on Vikings the other day. What I heard, however, really made me start thinking.

One fierce Viking leader, called Ivar, had the nickname “Boneless.” No one was sure why, but they know that Ivar was unable to walk and had to be carried everywhere on a shield. Whether this was a disease or injury, it impresses me that Ivar continued to be a man that could rally troops and lead battles from this position and with this disability.

If I picture well-decorated generals in history – whatever the country – and the image is always of a man standing straight and tall, marching or riding into battle, wielding a spear, gun or sword – not of a man being carried into battle.

Obviously, something in the character of Ivar drew others to follow his leadership.
It goes without saying that we should all follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and both the teachings and example of Jesus. But what about the people who come into your life and influence you? Do you look to the rich, the good-looking, the powerful, the successful or the famous in this world to find your guidance and examples in decisions for your life?

When Israel sought a king and God offered them Saul, it seemed like a good thing. Saul looked the part – head and shoulders above the rest of the men of the country. Originally, Saul had the right heart, but he lost that along the way. All his kingly stature could not make up for his poor character.

When God choose David even his own father could not believe the boy would be considered for the next king of Israel. God explained that HE looks upon the heart – not the outward appearance.

Since we don’t have that luxury – of truly knowing another person’s heart the way God does – all we can do is judge by whether or not their actions follow God’s word.

Follow those who have proven themselves by weathering storms and trials in life without losing their character or convictions. Follow those who, when they do make mistakes, have the strength to admit they are wrong, the courage to seek to correct that wrong and conviction to strive to change.

Sometimes these people are easy to find, they live under public scrutiny because they are in a visible leadership role. Other times, you will have to seek them out and get to know the ones that quietly live their convictions and maybe feel too insignificant to lead from the front of the line.

These are the ones who are leading from a shield – maybe too feeble, or too poor, or too humble to promote their own lives. You will have to go to them – seeking out the quiet widow who served as the support for a more gregarious or honored, but now-dead mate. Maybe it is an old man in a wheel chair, who served before you were ever converted, but now is too weak to even lead songs or give a closing prayer.

These leaders are still worthy of following and maybe more worthy that the obvious leaders. What they have to offer in the history of their battles can’t be found anywhere else except in the sharing of their scars – their triumphs and their tragedies and the lessons gleaned in each.

Maybe you are at that point in your own life. You have a lot to share, but no one to carry you into battle. Please reach out to those of us who need you. We need you to help us in our current roles, and we will need to follow your examples when we too can only lead from the shield.
Those who lead from the shield still have the heart for battle. They still have the wisdom to lead the fight, even if they have to be carried into battle.

With love,
Nancy

Olympic Dreams and Annoying Realities

2008-08-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

The world is all about the Olympics right now. And why not? Thousands of athletes from the world over have worked and sacrificed for years just for the chance to compete. For those who make it, it must be surreal just to be there. For those who win a medal…. I doubt I could imagine, let along express, how it must feel.

Competing among your peers , doing your personal best, pushing yourself, setting and achieving goals, using discipline and sacrifice to reach your dreams – this is commendable behavior.
While the USA cheers the American swimmer Michael Phelps, who (as of August 13) has already achieved five gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, I am fascinated by Eric Shanteau who put his life on the line by postponing cancer surgery in order to have the chance to compete. He made the cut to be on the US team. He did not succeed in the pre-trials in Beijing. No chance for a medal. He will go home now to receive his treatment.

It makes me wonder: is he happy with his decision now? He may be just fine after a successful surgery or he may find that he made the wrong choice. Either way the cancer goes, would he have been vindicated in making that decision if he had won a gold medal?
What drives a person to risk his life for a dream?

Each Olympian may have a different motivation. They each have unique skill sets and practice schedules. They will certainly have different results from their Olympic competitions. But they will have in common the fact that each and every one made it to the Olympics where, in one way or another, they had the opportunity to be among, to compete along side, those who are arguably the best in the world, and maybe, if luck and effort align, to achieve the designation as the best in the world.

Whatever these men and women achieve this year, except for a select few like Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz before him, the annoying reality is that all too soon the glory of this competition and set of achievements will be forgotten or replaced by other news of the day.
For those who follow Jesus, we have a better crown awaiting us – an eternal crown that will not be erased or forgotten when the next Olympics competition comes around, nor even in tens of thousands of years.

I saw an awesome synchronized diving competition where the Chinese team won gold. I have no idea who those girls were – don’t know their names, can’t remember their faces or their scores. Perhaps they will remain famous in their home towns for years to come, but ultimately that will fade too.

For those of us who follow Jesus, we do well to remember his admonition to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where months don’t eat it, rust doesn’t ruin it and it can never be stolen by a thief or even the next deserving athlete.

Unlike Shanteau, we will never risk more than we can get in return. Jesus laid everything on the line for us. He expects the same from us, but no more than that. Our investment in Christian living will never fail to result in the ultimate crown of righteousness – eternal life in God’s Kingdom. Our reward is sure and it will never tarnish or be forgotten or be replaced by the next contender. There is room for EVERYONE on the gold medal stand in the Christian race and Jesus will welcome us ALL to the ultimate winner’s circle.

With love,
Nancy

MAKING SILK PURSES OUT OF SOW’S EARS – PART 2

2008-08-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

The thing about making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear is that the two have absolutely nothing in common with each other. The reason for the saying being popular among my grandmother’s generation must have been that it so adequately expresses the fact that it cannot be done. At least, it cannot be done by mere mortals.

In the business section of the August 2 Dallas Morning News, there was an article about the changes made to the McDonald’s European division restaurants. In addition to sleek, new decor, the European group features menus that are varied by region, including some regional favorites along with the standard burger and fries. The menu for French McDonald’s restaurants includes wine (McMerot maybe?) and the tables include iPod stations. In Britain you can order porridge at breakfast instead of an egg McMuffin. In Italy, there is pasta on the menu – although surely they don’t say “do you want fries with that pasta?”

While these innovations have the European division seeing huge McProfits, does this really represent change? Yes and no. McDonalds is still, at its heart, a burger place – although, arguably, a more hip and healthier burger place. But no American could walk into a McDonald’s in France and fail to notice that it is significantly different than what you experience in Dallas, Texas.

As Christians, we have to change. Left alone, we are able to make changes. But no matter what each of us alone is able to accomplish, it is not within our power to become silk purses. God, and God alone, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can do that.
Make no mistake about it, that is exactly what He does – He takes flesh and bone, mortal beings, and makes us into eternal, spirit beings. At creation, He took mud and made it flesh. At a wedding, Jesus turned water into wine. God is not bound by the laws of physics that He created. He is not constrained to working in the physical realm. God CAN make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

While we are in the flesh, there will always remain in us a portion of what we are at the core: sinners. But, sinners who are in the process of change. Linked to God by the Holy Spirit, we are able to make real, lasting changes even now. We are able to build right character by choosing right behavior. That is what we are to do each and every day of our Christian walk. Those around us should notice the change.

Alcoholic’s Anonymous teaches it’s members to always consider themselves to be alcoholics – recovering alcoholics. We are all recovering sinners throughout the course of our mortal lives.
Then, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the return of Jesus, we will be completely changed –TRANFORMED – from what we are now, to something that is entirely different. We will become what we have been destined to become from creation: eternal, spiritual beings in the image of our Father. Right now, the changes we make can seem small. Right now, the work to make those changes can seem huge. A single, desired change can be a life-long struggle. But each change builds upon the other and works together in us to become part of the final and complete transformation.

God makes silk purses out of sow’s ears – only He can.

With love, Nancy

MAKING SILK PURSES OUT OF SOW’S EARS, Part One

2008-08-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dr. Phil is famous for saying “the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior.” Unfortunately, it is very sadly often true. But CAN people change? DO people ever change? If so, what motivates the change?

The number one rule of dealing with your fellow man or womankind and the first point I have to make today is that you cannot change someone else. No matter how hard you try. Plead, console, cajole, beg, manipulate, withhold love, give unconditional love – none of it will change another person.

And, yes, if it sounds like I have tried, I confess that I have tried. I don’t mind saying that I failed. But I learned from it. It bears repeating: you cannot change another person. Didn’t work for me. Won’t work for you either. You can only change yourself and even that isn’t easy.

Paul had a life-changing event – a literal “come to Jesus” moment when he was struck down and blinded by God on the road to Damascus. Paul saw his need to change during his time of being blind. He could have chosen to ignore God once he got his sight back – could have gone back to killing Christian. The early New Testament church was blessed that he didn’t.

Saul got uppity when he became King of Israel. He changed for the worse and Old Testament Israel shared the penalty.

We’ve all seen TV shows where the protagonist has some life-changing epiphany – gives up smoking overnight, stops drinking, stops cheating, quits gambling, turns from drugs, walks away from prostitution, leaves a gang, etc. Sometimes it because of a single, external event (death of a loved one or their own brush with death for example); sometimes because they hit bottom and just can’t stand to continue living that life.

The thing about meaningful, lasting change is that while the commitment to change may come upon you suddenly, the process is rarely what you can fit into a 60-minute TV program.
Ultimately, the whole world will change at Jesus’ return – people and animals too. Those humans who refuse to change will at least be brought to their knees before the Lord. For us today, we don’t have to let it come to that. God is willing to work with us now and His changes can be gentle, consistent alterations if we have willing hearts.

Mary Kay Ash used to say “you will only change when the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of change.” Changing is tough. Sometimes in life staying the same is tougher. When that is true, you will change. I believe it is a survival instinct built into our nature. Or you can wait for God to strike you blind along the way to where you think you are going.

I encourage you to choose to ask God to help you change. In the long run, the pain of change is more than overcome by the joy of remaining in Him for all eternity.

More about the transition from sow’s ear to silk purse in my next blog… For now: love to all!
Nancy

NO FAILURE TO THRIVE

2008-07-27T18:04:00.001-07:00

They call it “failure to thrive” when I young baby dies for lack of attention and no other noticeable reason. This is not about abuse or neglecting the child in a physical way. This is about a phenomenon that occurs when a baby does not get enough human touch. It would seem that God intended for human life to be interconnected from the very beginning – first with our parents and family.

The need for connection with other Christians is no less important to our ability to thrive spiritually. Women might have a leg up on this over men – not that we need it more, but that we recognize it more easily. I believe this is because women also recognize the need for each other on a human level as well.

There is an e-mail that has been going around – it has been forwarded to me maybe a dozen times – that is in the format of advice to a new wife from her mother. That advice goes along the lines of not neglecting her connections to other women – girlfriends – even though ones husband and children may take top priority.

Women need each other for interaction (yes, just to talk), emotional support, encouragement, advice and often physical support. Fortunately for us, we recognize it.
In his book titled “Blind Spots,” Bill McCartney, creator of Promise Keepers, says that for real connection among Christians we need to move from simply acquaintance to real, spiritual intimacy in order for any lasting change to occur.

Reading about this reminded me that the women’s conference I just attended in Birmingham, Alabama, was a great witness of true, spiritual intimacy within a group of women gathered from various church congregations and fellowships. The messages were great. The meals were fabulous. We had great fellowship and interactive time. However, none of those things requires deep, spiritual connectivity, although they help to foster an atmosphere where it can occur.

What does require deep spiritual connectivity, and what I witnessed over and over again, is the ability to bare your soul – your intimate fears, hopes, dreams, etc. – and ask for prayer. More than once, I saw a small group in quite discussion that then bowed their heads for prayer over whatever they were discussing. It takes trust to bare your soul. It takes love and concern to take the needs of others together to God in prayer.

Coupled together, that boils down spiritual intimacy. Where that exists, there can be no failure to thrive as a son of God, no matter what the world or Satan or our fellow man throw at us emotionally, physically, financially or spiritually.

Women just seem to be more open to the vulnerability required to move into spiritual intimacy with our sisters in Christ. I am thankful for the examples I saw at the conference and for my own spiritual sisters who support me at home. I hope each of you have found spiritual intimacy with a group of Christian sisters. Surround yourself with these and you can’t help but thrive.

With Love,
Nancy

WELCOME TO THE 20TH CENTURY, NANCY!

2008-07-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Children love to see images of themselves and they love to see their names in print. They are fascinated with this concrete proof of their existence. It is a simple form of validation.

Well, some of us don’t out-grow that. I know I haven’t. I’m as excited as can be to have my own dedicated segment of the DCM Web site and to come into the 20th Century with my own blog! Yes, I know we are in the 21st Century and I will get there eventually – maybe a MySpace account or a posting on YouTube or Flicker.

With so much opportunity to reach out and touch strangers, you know what brings me the most child-like enjoyment? Interacting with real people, in real places, where I can see real smiles and get real hugs. Creating a fake (avatar) persona in Second Life holds no allure for me. There is enough I’ve yet to do in first life – or real life – or whatever the opposite of Second Life would be called.

So, I’m very happy to be writing my first blog, from my car – don’t worry, I’m not driving – on my way to Fultondale, Alabama to speak at the women’s conference there. The conference is sponsored by United Christian Ministries (www.4ucm.org), The Sabbatarian Church of God, and Our Only Hope Web Ministry in July each year. This is my second year at the conference. This group is so friendly and welcoming that they all became my instant best girlfriends last year and I am thrilled to be getting together with them again. In many cases, this is my once-a-year opportunity to see these wonderful ladies and hug their necks. We can stay connected in cyberspace, but, for me, it just isn’t the same. In person, we will laugh, cry, pray, eat, laugh some more, share stories and chocolate, laugh some more and eat again. Nothing going on in cyberspace could be as much fun.

I’ll be giving a message there that I have titled “It Ain’t Heavy, It’s Important OR The Weightier Matters of the Law.” It will be videotaped and posted onto my section of the DCM Web site within a week or so. In this way, I get to connect in person with my girlfriends AND I get to have my name, my face and my voice posted in cyberspace for all the world to see. It is my prayer the message will not just be my own, but will be inspired by God.

So, I get the best of both worlds – I get in-person, human interaction and my name in print in cyberspace. The 21st Century is so much fun!

With Love,
Nancy