What is a bunny compared to the greatest miracle man has ever witnessed?  I know, “but that bunny is so cute…and the colored eggs and treats…” What child can resist the bright colors and sweet surprises that the Easter Bunny promises?

How can we, as parents, bring our children into the Gospel story in a way that does it justice and helps them relate to the true meaning of Easter?  What can we do to show them that the promises of God are far greater, than the ones the Easter bunny delivers?

Before we can lead our children we need to take an honest look at where we are with our faith.  Ask yourself these important questions:

• Am I reflecting Christ inside our family home? 
• Does my daily routine show my children that God is my top priority?

 If not, Easter is the perfect time to re-dedicate ourselves to the Lord and ask Him to take back the throne of our lives.  

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other…” Matthew 6:24 [Full Chapter]

Our children need to know we know them and love them for who God created them to be.  The only way to accomplish this is by spending quality time with them just as we need to spend quality time with the God.

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” Timothy Keller

By spending quality time with them we will begin to  “train up a child in the way he should go…” Proverbs 22:6

Here are 5 practical things you can do with your children to make Jesus the focal point of Easter:

1. Find a great kid’s Easter devotional to do together as a family: http://www.lifeway.com/kidsministry/2016/03/11/free-easter-devotional-guide-for-families/
2. Bake resurrection crescent rolls, sharing the symbolism and Easter story as your kids learn to make this tasty treat:  http://www.food.com/recipe/empty-tomb-crescent-rolls-293915
3. Take art into nature and make a cross out of items you collect together. You may collect seashells, stones, flowers, or other objects together. Take pictures to share with friends and family digitally. Say a simple prayer of thanksgiving, when you finish your creations, for Jesus dying on the cross for our salvation.
4. Share your story with your children.  In simple terms, tell them why you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Pray about how much of your story God wants you to share with them in advance.  They are not always ready to hear our complete testimony, focus on the key elements of your faith.
5. Do make attending church the center of your Easter Day celebration.  When it is prioritized as the best part of your Easter celebration, you are pointing your children’s hearts toward God.  If you are not able to physically go to church, find an online sermon that you can watch as a family. Here are some suggestions:

Hillsong Church: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSYGkbzVd5-EzAMEpf3EaGg

Bayside Church:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFz8W4dgHo

These 5 practical things will not only open the door for conversations about God with your children, they have the potential to bring you all closer to God and closer to each other.

The Easter bunny may make an appearance this Easter, but your children will know the true meaning of why we rejoice on Easter Sunday.

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”  Luke 24: 45-48

May you and your families be blessed this Easter with renewed faith, dedication, and love for our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Happy Easter!

Have you felt restless, confused, or discouraged about the direction your life was headed? Like stepping off a subway only to realize you got off at the wrong stop. It’s funny how we can feel so unsettled and out of place in our own lives.  As a Christian, I desire to walk in God’s will. The trouble is, I can so easily get off track. The world is loud. So loud, in fact, that sometimes it is all we can hear.

Where is God?

I have experienced gnawing restlessness so strong that it made me anxious and full of doubt. I could not shake these unsettled emotions and worries about upcoming decisions. I was fearful and discouraged despite my faith and trust in the Lord. I was not able to sense God’s presence and His will for my life. These are common feelings in a world full of choices, changes, and distractions.  So what do we do about it?

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

He is With Us

God is with us even when we are not sure He is there. During a recent time of confusion I felt I had all the answers right in front of me but could not find peace in any sort of decision.  The choices seemed very logical, as if  I should be able to just move forward in one direction or the other.   But one word kept popping into my head, “wait”.  I needed to seek God in prayer and faithfully expect an answer. I committed to doing nothing until I knew I had heard from God.

A pastor once said, “…people are God’s hands to meet your needs and answer your prayers.” This is a beautiful truth. As I was seeking God, my women’s small group decided to do a study by Priscilla Shirer called He Speaks to Me. The revelation and wisdom in this teaching came from God at the exact moment I needed to hear it!

In the midst of this study I came across a video of another Godly woman, Jennie Allen, speaking to a group of women on YouTube. She wrote a book entitled Restless. I bought the book and was struck with awe and wonder as each page I turned spoke directly into my heart and circumstances. God wove together the two teachings in a beautiful and amazing way for me. 

Surrender

Still searching for answers, I knew I needed to continue to position myself to hear from God.  Complete surrender was the next step. The ministry of these two gifted women led me to write a special prayer to God about the struggle I was in:

Lord, I am afraid to make this prayer. I know that you are good, but I don’t know if I have the courage to go where you will call me. The, “what ifs,” are holding me back, Father, but I have committed my life to you and want to live a life of obedience that will glorify you. So I pray; God, I will do anything, anything you ask of me.

Jennie Allen shares in her book Restless, that she and her husband said a similar prayer together. In fact, her first book was titled Anything.  I read and learned that they had walked where I found myself walking too, and, out of a heart of faith and obedience, positioned themselves to be used by God to bless others.

He Answers

The questions I was wrestling with about life decisions suddenly fell away in the weeks that followed my “anything” prayer. As we finished our Bible study I continued reading Restless, in place of this unsettled heart, God truly did give me answers, not the ones I was expecting, but ones that gave me peace and something I can only describe as Holy contentment. If I had not been waiting on Him to answer my prayer, I would have missed the blessing completely.

If you are feeling like you don’t know where you are going, or what your purpose is at the moment, stop. God has something important to tell you. Simply ask Him, and you can be sure He will answer through His word, His people, and His Holy spirit. The answers God gives us are immeasurably better than the ones we come up with on our own! Trust Him, He has great plans for you…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity…” Jeremiah 39:11-14

Dear Lord, help us to remember that your ways are not our ways. Open our hearts and minds to whatever your purpose is for us. Help us to discern our gifts and strengths so that we may grow into your plan for us God. Thank you that we have a Holy purpose in this life as wives, mothers, children and so much more. Lord, help us to see the ministry right before us. Every person in our lives is there for a reason. Show us how to love and serve them Father that we may honor you and bring glory to you, in Jesus name, amen.

I shared a story about a difficult Christmas in my last post.  It was our family’s first Christmas after my parent’s divorce.  Divorce is a difficult reality most of us will face either directly or indirectly.  It is the result of brokenness.  For many years I spent a lot of time crying out to God, asking him “why”?  Why was my family broken, why did He let this happen?  It tormented me and kept me stuck in my emotions and feelings of loss.

The difficult Christmas night I sat in my car alone, watching a happy family through their window (really it wasn’t creepy), something in my heart was formed-  a strength and fortitude I would not be aware of until many years later.

In his book, A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis wrote,

But suppose that what you are up against is a surgeon whose intentions are wholly good. The kinder and more conscientious he is, the more inexorably he will go on cutting. If he yielded to your entreaties, if he stopped before the operation was complete, all the pain up to that point would have been useless. … What do people mean when they say “I am not afraid of God because I know He is good”? Have they never even been to a dentist?

God is for us.  Do not be deceived by the emotions in the midst of pain.  They cloud our vision and blind us from what is good.  It is hard to look for good when our hearts are broken, but it is there.  If we can not see it in the moment, have faith, we will see it in God’s good time.

Because I experienced the suffering of a broken family, I understood the cost of quitting.  When I got married several years later and took my vows, I understood every word; in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to honor and obey, ’til death do us part.  I promised God to persevere through the trials of my marriage, because I knew too well the cost.  God knew I would need this resolve.  He knew my story before it began.  He knows yours too.

What suffering have you endured that God has redeemed for good?  Or are you stuck in the middle of your pain, unable to see any purpose?  When we can’t see beyond our trial, we can’t see God.  He can not redeem what we do not bring to Him.

Jesus spoke to His disciples whom He knew would suffer greatly in his name:

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”  John 15: 5-6

The worst thing we can do in the midst of trials is forsake the goodness of God because we are bitter, angry, or frightened.  God calls us to stay with Him and abide in Him, so He may uphold and guide us.  God answers our cries of “why” in Romans 5:

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5: 3-5

And herein lies the redemption of our suffering.  It is for a purpose.  We may not see it, but it is there.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

Dear God bless the families who have endured or are enduring the trials of divorce and brokenness in their homes.  Pour your Holy power over them God and give them strength to save what can be saved and let go what must be released to you God.  Through faith in Christ we are adopted into your eternal family God.  I pray for the souls who read this and do not know you, that they will choose today to surrender their lives to you Father. Yours is a family that will never be broken. Heal the families afflicted by divorce God, bring others alongside them to minister to them and love them God, especially the children.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Life often leaves us feeling empty and lost.  As the holiday season approaches, for many, those feelings are overwhelming and hard to cope with.  The holidays are a time filled with memories and traditions that are best when shared with loved ones.  But relationships can be complicated, and circumstances can be devastating.  In difficult times, we don’t always see clearly, we are vulnerable, and the worst thing we can do is isolate ourselves whether by silence or distance.

God desires us to be in community.  He designed us to be relational and He blesses us through others.  When we don’t have this community, one where we are loved and accepted for who we are, where we feel safe to share our challenges and hurts, we feel disconnected.

There are times in life when the community we are in is broken and not as God intended.  One Christmas in particular stands out in my memory as especially difficult for me.  My family was broken.  I was just 18 and my parents had been divorced for a year.  The reality of two separate households was a revelation that unfolded slowly, like pulling stitches from a tender wound, one bleak insight at a time.

It was Christmas Eve and being a devoted daughter, my game plan had been to do whatever I could to please both my parents (not much of a plan!).  With good intentions I headed to mom’s only to find that she was having her own struggles with our new reality that were coming out in odd and uncomfortable ways.  Despite my best efforts, when it came time for me to head to House #2, my mom was not ok.  I left on a sour note and found that it was not much better at dad’s; he was not in a good place mentally or emotionally so, despite our best efforts, Christmas unfolded that year like an unrehearsed melodrama staged by party clowns, strange and hard to watch. It wasn’t pretty, but hidden within the struggle was a purpose.

As I got in my car to leave at the end of that cold winter night so long ago, I saw through an open window a family smiling and celebrating.  It was a family I’d known for many years, a family like ours used to be.  My heart hurt to think of the terrible loss of our once close and devoted family.  I knew on a deep level that it would never be like that again for us.  The sadness overwhelmed me.

In that moment, Christmas was all about my pain and my circumstances, Jesus was nowhere to be found.  I had pushed Him out; there was no room with so much pain and sadness swimming around in my heart and mind.

I wish I had known then that if I had let Him in and kept Him the center of my world, Christmas would have looked very different!  I could have ministered to my hurting parents and my own suffering would have been diminished under the sheltering wing of God’s eternal love and peace.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2

More than 20 years later, I can testify to how God has restored our family and used our trials for instruction and a greater purpose.  In the moment, I could not see how anything good would come of our situation and the ugliness that surrounded us. We let our circumstance overshadow the Truth.

The truth is, the Family of God is Eternal and rooted in love.  The beautiful truth about our pain and suffering is that God can make beauty from ashes, he redeems our brokenness, and by His grace all we need is faith.

To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.  Isaiah 61:3

Dear God, Help us keep our eyes on you this Christmas!  The birth of Christ is a light into the darkness of our world.  Help us rejoice, even in our suffering, for the glorious gift of Jesus.! You came to heal the broken ,save the lost, and love the unlovely.  We stand in awe of you.  Fill us with your strength, peace, and holy joy so that we may overcome whatever difficulties we face in this world.  Bring us into community Lord, and help us to be more like you as we love the people in our lives in a way that reflects who you are and brings glory and honor to you, Father God.  We praise you and thank you, in Jesus’ name, amen!

Every now and then the extraordinary happens; something, or someone, set apart, enters the world and lives are changed for the better.  For many years I was unaware of the miracle I was born into.  A story was unfolding in my family and I was an unknowing witness to events and circumstances that were being shaped by God for His greater purpose and glory.  Even today, I can only see the edges of His plan as I look back on the characters He cast…

One day on a trip to the grocery store I noticed a little girl staring at my aunt as we made our way through the parking lot.

“What is she looking at?” I wondered. I looked at my aunt and saw her for the first time, through someone else’s eyes…She was not tall, in fact short by most standards. Her back was curved which made her hunch forward. She did not walk like other people. She wore bulky metal braces on both her legs that went from her hips to her feet. Her strong hands gripped the handles of long metal crutches she used to propel her body in a forward motion by swinging her torso to move her legs forward, over and over again. She moved differently from every other person on the planet, her physical limitations and adaptations unique to her.

I understood for the first time that this is what some people saw when they looked at her, someone physically disabled, strange, different.

But this was not who she was.

I’d seen pictures of my aunt when she was little, before she contracted polio. She was unusually beautiful with perfectly placed features, a delicate nose, rosy red lips and big bright blue eyes. She had naturally curly brown hair and a contagious smile.

When she was 5 years old she became very ill. She would suffer the torment of doctors who did not understand how to treat polio, and who performed surgeries and procedures that left her crippled and in constant chronic pain.

But this was not who she was.

When my Aunt was diagnosed with Polio, they put her in a quarantine ward in Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, California. At one point, no one, not her mom or dad or any family members were permitted to see her. She lay alone and frightened surrounded by strangers in contamination suits; nameless, faceless shadows that moved in and out, they could offer neither hope nor healing.

One night, alone in her sterile hospital room she wondered if anyone was coming to check on her. She wondered if she might die alone and what that would be like; and she wondered if there was a God and if He was watching.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:9

She was staring out the doorway of her empty room when an “angel” appeared on the edge of her bed. It did not speak, and yet she knew why it was there; God was letting her know she was not alone, that He was watching over her. She felt the full comfort and hope of a loving God in that moment of pain and loneliness, and it changed everything.

Fast forward 20 years and several miracles later, by the time I was born, Aunt Bonnie was the loving face that looked down at me, changing my diapers and holding me close. She was the warm hand that held mine when I stood close to her for comfort. She was the maker of many home cooked meals and special family gatherings. She was the one who picked me up after school when my parents could not. She was the one who sat with me when I was sad or discouraged and took my mind off my own troubles by effortlessly cheering me up.

She didn’t let me feel sorry for myself.  She showed me how to be grateful for what I have, and not waste time thinking about what I don’t have.

Aunt Bonnie knew what was important and what was not. She was a rock and a comfort to all who knew her.  Her family leaned on her, not the other way around.

This was who she was. Smiling in the face of pain.

Today, God speaks to me through my Aunt’s life. I realize this is how He sees us, the way I see my Aunt, through the eyes of love not the lense of brokenness.

The message of The Cross is love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

This was who she was. She was a child who saw an angel sent from God and found a hope and strength that few posses. She became a light to other children and families stricken with polio.

I often though of my Aunt as my guardian angel, never seeing her as anything less. I will forever be grateful that despite the doctors certainty that she could not possibly live past age 7 or 8, God had a different plan, a perfect plan…

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesian 3: 14-21

Ephesians 3: 14-21 reminds me that the love of God is stronger than any disease. It reminds me of the extraordinary things He does through the weak and broken, and it reminds me that when we are firmly rooted in this love, miracles can happen.

Thank you God for the extraordinary people you raise up, for the angels and guardians you send to watch over and protect us. Give us eyes to see them among us so we may be blessed with hope and courage by your loving protection and provision. Thank you, that you love us and will never forsake us, that you go to prepare a place for us in Heaven.  Let our prayers intervene for those who can not call on you Lord, for you alone are mighty to save! In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

I dropped my oldest daughter off at college recently and I feel like I am in the spin cycle of an industrial size washing machine. I can’t seem to slow down the myriad of emotions that keep steamrolling through my mind and body; I miss her, but I am excited for her, I am happy she is boldly following her dreams, but I am sad for the loss of her presence in our home, I am scared that I can’t protect her from so far away, but I am proud of her courage and independence. I know God is with her as the journey leading to this moment was marked by confirmation after confirmation that she is truly on the path He has set before her. This alone should give me transcendent joy and peace. I know this. I want to embrace it. But it is so hard to let go.

 Where did the time go, I ask God? There were so many things I wanted to do as a mom over the course of her childhood. Here at the end it feels as though it was over just as it had begun. My heart aches with wanting more time; more time together for simple things like walks and talks in the park, sitting and listening to what is going on with her, brushing her hair, holding her close, putting everything else aside to just be with her.  I wanted to read her books that were magical in my childhood, sharing with her life lessons and beloved characters.

There were so many things I wanted to teach her that we simply never got to. I am shaken with fear over the things that I missed, the memories that were never made because I was too busy, or distracted, or just plain focused on myself, and my circumstances.

How much time did I lose with her, worrying about money, plans, errands, social agendas and other distractions that were inconsequential? There are things that need to be done in life, no question, but my regret lies in losing sight of what was most important. In the midst of busy life everything seems important at the time, but looking back, only one thing remains, love.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.  1 Corinthians 13: 1-3

God’s word reminds me that our relationship with Him is the same, nothing else will matter in the end. I know this but find myself being pulled by the world and it’s priorities. He gently reminds me in this season to keep my eyes on the prize, to refocus and choose with intention where my treasure lies.

 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  1 Peter 1,2

For this realization I am grateful in the midst of what feels like a terrible loss, the loss of a precious stage of life. I was not prepared for what this would feel like, perhaps we always feel cheated, like the time was not enough. But as I lean in to God He comforts and guides me.
The truth is, with Christ, it is all gain. I am gaining a young woman who I love no less and who needs me as much as ever. From this day on I will remember what this feels like and focus with intention on where and how I spend my time. How blessed I am to have the future with her ahead and time to make more precious memories. When the spin cycle ends, the truth is I don’t have to let go, I need to hold on. After all, in Christ, we have eternity.

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21