time to laugh

 

 

A Time To

 

Laugh

 

Ecclesiastes 3:4

 

 

When one is living with physical or emotional pain (or both), it is important to have many coping skills.  I look at these skills as tools that help me sculpt a meaningful life.  One of my best tools, which I use on a regular basis, is humor.

 

My children are an endless source of fun and laughter.  Since today is my forty-first birthday, and the past few posts have been so serious, I would like to share some funny things my sons Sterling and Preston have said. 

 

Sterling (age 3):  I don’t like it when you call me honey.

Sara:  What do you want me to say?

Sterling:  You can call me “hunk-of-burning-love” or “Sterling”.

 

Sterling:  Do I have to be handsome?

  

Sterling:  How does a baby get in a mommy’s belly?

Preston (age 5):  Nobody knows!

  

 

Sara:  Why did you put these stickers in my Bible? (4 large stickers)

Sterling:  I was decorating it; I thought you would like it.

My husband assured me I would think this was funny when we are old.

 ~

Preston:  It is hard for me to give my girlfriend things she likes.  She likes it when I give her money. 

Sara: Do you actually give her money?

Preston: Yes.

Sara: What is her name?

Preston:  I don’t know.

 

Click here to read sweet things that my children have said about God:

“A Child’s Thoughts About God”.

Jesus’ head

 

Again and Again

 

they struck Him

 

on the head …

 

Mark 15:19

 

 

 

Recently, during a ferocious migraine, it occurred to me that Jesus also endured head pain.  His head hurt, not only while he was beaten, but also while He was hanging on the cross.  While on the cross, I can imagine Jesus hanging His head down, and when His muscles were so exhausted and taut that He could no longer bear it, raising His head to find relief — relief that could not be found. 

 

The crown of thorns upon His recent head injuries and decreased blood circulation to His brain certaintly added to his pain.  He probably had the worst migraine that anyone has ever endured.  Obviously, Jesus had far greater pain in other parts of His body, but it is comforting to me to know that there is no pain my head feels that Jesus has not felt. 

my head ~ my story

 

You are a shield around me, O Lord …

You lift up my head.

Psalm 3:3

~

The book To Be Told, by Dan Allender, Ph.D., encourages its readers to share their life stories.  In some of my favorite quotes from the book, he says,

We will never come to embrace the heartache of our story until we see it profit another human being.  Even then the sorrow doesn’t leave, but seeing someone benefit from our pain adds hope to that pain, and our gratitude begins to transform the past.”

“It is nearly impossible to feel someone’s pain if we do not know that person’s story.”

After reading this book, I realized that I want to share my story with you.  I have not had a day or a moment without a headache in eighteen years.  The last day I can remember not having a headache was my wedding day, May 25, 1991.  I probably had a few days that summer without a headache, but I didn’t know then to treasure those pain-free times.  Since the winter of 1992, I have felt an incessant headache, all day and all night.  Fatigue constantly accompanies these headaches, and I have had to learn to live with both. 

Over the years, I have had many diagnoses; however, the words we use to define ourselves are powerful and should be chosen carefully.  I do not want any diagnosis to define who I am; God defines who I am, and it is He who ordains the course of my life. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey, and if you are interested in more details, they can be found in the comments section below.  I am thankful that I have found true joy that is larger than my pain.   

In God’s Hands

 

My times are in your hands.

 

Psalm 31:15

 

What is it that you want the most right now?  When you want something so much it makes your heart ache, it is hard to be patient and trust God with the timing.  It is even harder to surrender it completely into God’s hands. 

More than anything, Jesus’ disciples wanted Him to “restore the kingdom to Israel”  (Acts 1:6).  Israel, at this time, had been conquered by the Romans, and the Jewish people longed for freedom.  During the disciples’ last days together with Jesus, they thought that surely now, after they had waited so long, Jesus would finally do what THEY wanted Him to do.  They thought the timing was perfect for Him to be King. 

Jesus told them, “You do not get to know the time.  Timing is the Father’s business.  What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.  And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the world” (Acts 1:7-8 The Message). 

Jesus was essentially saying, “You do not need to be worried about when you will receive what you want.  You need to be concerned about what I need you to do.”  It was not that He did not care about the disciples’ desires; He wanted them to change their focus.  Likewise, we are Jesus’ disciples today, and He has plans and goals for each one of us.  He wants us to trust He will fulfill His plans for our lives HIS time.

My friend Dianne asked me, “What are God’s goals for you for 2010?”  I would like to ask you the same question.  Please pray about this and take time to listen for God’s answers. 

“Wait for God’s timing ….”  Oswald Chambers

your beauty

 

The King is enthralled with

Your Beauty

Honor Him

For He is your Lord.

Psalm 45:11

 

 

 

Your Beauty 

 

Your story is wonderful

Your familiarity

Blinds you to your own beauty

You must look closer

 

It takes a paradigm shift

A change of lenses to see

Pain as being a part of

Beauty in your life

 

It is in the silent night

There is a whisper of love

Heard only in the stillness

A quiet thunder

 

The chaos was a great gift

Looking back I clearly see

The pain caused me to search out

Love searching for me

 

Terry S. Smith

My sweet Dad

“Your Story Matters”

 

Love of Christ

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

Romans 8:35

 

 

Dedicated to those who risk their lives to follow Jesus.

 

“Place your ear against the chest of the Savior so that when troubled times come and you don’t know what will befall you, you can hear the steady pulse of Christ’s boundless love.”  (paraphrase of a quote by Beth Moore)

~

Who shall separate you from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness of danger or sword?  For Jesus’ sake you face death all day long; you are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.  In all these things you are more than conquerors.  (based on Romans 8:35-37)

 

“There are more important things than staying alive.  Jesus’ followers must love him more than their own lives.”  (Randy Alcorn, Safely Home)

 

To help persecuted Believers, contact Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs-Canada, or Voice of the Martyrs-USA.

 

Door of Hope

 

In the desert prepare the way for the Lord;

Make straight in the wilderness

A highway for our God.

Isaiah 40:3

 

 

 

For those who are in:

 

A)  the desert

 

B)  the wilderness

 

C)  the Valley of Weeping

 

D)  the Valley of Trouble

 

E)  all of the above

 

Look for the Door of Hope! 

 

 

I will make the Valley of Trouble a Door of Hope.

(based on Hosea 2:15) 

 

the desert

 

Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the desert and speak

tenderly to her.  There I will give her

back her vineyards, and will make the

Valley of Achor a Door of Hope.

Hosea 2:14-15

 

 

From The Spiritual Formation Bible:

Imagine standing in a valley named “Trouble” (Achor means trouble) and in the far distance you see a doorway labeled “Hope”.  What do you hope is on the other side of that door?  From where you stand in the valley, what lies between you and the door?  What steps must you take to go through the Valley of Trouble and walk through the door into renewal?  How can focusing on God’s intimate, committed love deliver, heal and transform you?

 

For Piotr, Michelle, and Dana, who work with those who are in the desert of chronic pain. 

you will see

 

“Come and you will see.”

 

Jesus

 

Jesus still invites us to “come and see” (John 1:39) what He has to offer.  As “the Author of life” (Acts 3:15), Jesus wants us to come and see His plan for our lives.  He then wants us to show God’s passionate love to others. 

 

There are those who are in a spiritual desert, longing for a cool drink of water.  Will we take the time to see them and to lead them to the place of abundant life?   

  

The first thing he did, after finding Jesus, was find his own brother telling him, “We have found the Christ.”  He immediately led him to Jesus (based on John 1:41-42, The Message).

the voice of one

 

“I am the voice of one

 

Calling in the desert,

 

Make straight the way

 

For the Lord.”

 

John 1:23

 

 

“Who are you?  What do you say about yourself?”  John the Baptist was frequently asked these questions, (questions nobody has asked me!)   His life was radically different from those around him, and people wanted to know why.

 

John knew his purpose in life was to “show everyone where to look, who to believe in …” (John 1, The Message).  As a result, he was extremely focused.  He was able to give an answer to those who asked who he was, because he knew his life’s work was to show people the “Light of the World” (John 8:12). 

 

I have been thinking about John the Baptist, because I am studying the gospel of John with an amazing group of women.  When we read slowly, mediate on what we are reading, and then discuss it with each other, we see scripture in a fresh way.  I would like to invite you to study the gospel of John and share your thoughts and insights with me or a friend. 

 

Questions of the day:

Who are you?  What do you say about yourself?  (John 1:22)

 

“I’m the voice of 1 calling u in your pain. 

Create space 4 God.”

 

(My texting paraphrase of John 1:23.) 

 

  

Thank you to Kristie for sharing thoughts about John the Baptist’s life.

- Light -

 

“I am the Light of the World.”

 

Jesus

 

 

From Water My Soul, Luci Shaw

 

“I am reminded of the image of the moth and the candle in Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, in which the moth’s passion for the light draws it into the light of the flame, and it eventually becomes a charred attachment to the wick, a part of the wick in its self-immolation.  This is the image of the Christian drawn by the God-flame that burns up our mortal elements and turns us into wicks to light the rooms of the world.”

 

Jesus … said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”  (John 8:12).

 

Question of the day:

What would my life look like if it was completely consumed by the “God-flame”?

 

- light -

 

You are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14

  

~

From Matthew 5, The Message

 

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.  If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.  We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.  If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you, … do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.  Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!”

“Be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

 

For Renni, my mentor, who is generous with her life.  She reflects God’s light and brings out the God-flavors and the God-colors in the world.

turning and seeing

Jesus turned and saw her.

Matthew 9:22

 

Seeing how Jesus turned and not only saw the people in his path, but also responded to their needs, inspires me to do the same.  It is so easy to focus on my own life and the plans I have made.  My heart’s desire, however, is to steep my life in God-reality and God-initiative and to give my entire attention to what God is doing (based on Matthew 6, The Message).

I can remember a time when I saw a woman who needed help, but I didn’t stop to help her.  She was standing on a corner by a broken-down car and I was at a stoplight.  I could tell she needed help, but I didn’t want to become involved in her problems.  I had a really “good” reason for not having time for her, so I drove away.  I know I could not have rescued her, but I could have offered her a “cup of cold water” (Matthew 10:42).   

A continual challenge is to turn and see the people that God puts in our path, and willingly give them whatever we have to offer.

bartender + prayer = $1,000

“Rivers of living water will flow

from the heart of anyone

who believes in me.”

Jesus

 

 

Recently, one of my close friends had an experience that I found inspiring.  I asked her to write about it so that I could share her story with you;  I pray that it challenges you like it has challenged me.

 

 My Friend’s Story 

 

After a long day at a home with my children, my husband gave me a much-needed break.  I went to a restaurant with my Bible and journal in hopes of being rejuvenated.  When I got there, I saw a nice booth by the window in the bar section.  I decided to do my reading and journaling there, though it seemed funny to me to have my “quiet time” in a bar.  While I was there, I ordered something to eat.  When the bartender delivered my food, I struck up a conversation with her.  After chatting for a few minutes, I asked her if there were anything I could pray for her about.  She looked somewhat surprised and sat down across from me.  Then she said, “No one has ever asked me that before.”  She seemed genuinely touched.  She then proceeded to tell me about some financial struggles she and her husband were having.  I asked, “Would it be OK if I prayed for you right now?”  “Sure” she replied, so I prayed specifically about the things she had mentioned.  

~

In the months that followed, I continued to think about the bartender.  Gradually, I started to feel that the Lord was leading me to give her one thousand dollars, money that I had been saving (for a long) time in my benevolence fund.  I decided I would visit her at the bar and give her the money.  It had been eight months since our first encounter, so I wondered if she would remember me.  I decided to enclose the cash inside a card so I could write her a note.  In the card, I told her what my life was like because I knew the Lord.  I also enclosed a short essay that I had written, explaining how much God loves us, along with my phone number.  I wrote that I would be happy to answer any questions she might have, but that there was no pressure to contact me.

I was very nervous about going to see her, but I went anyway.  When I arrived, I sat down and waited while she was with other customers.  When she got to me, I asked, “Do you remember me?  I was here several months ago.”  At first she gave me a blank look, but then she said, “Oh yes, you were my angel who prayed for me.”  I was really surprised by this, but I was pleased that she remembered me.  I gave her the card and asked her to open it on her way home.

I left the bar feeling exhilarated.  It was so wonderful to follow through on what I felt the Lord was asking me to do.  I never did hear from my bartender friend, but I know that her life (and mine) is different because of how the Lord used me.

 

Good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.  1 Timothy 5:25  

Generosity of God

“If you knew the generosity of God … 

you would be asking me for a drink, and

 I would give you fresh, living water.”

Jesus

 

 

When my dad was only eight years old, his mother abandoned her family.  He found her, years later, after I was born.  She was a modern day “woman at the well”.  She had been married five times, and the man she was living with was not her husband.  Like the woman in John 4, my grandmother (after a lot of care and love) experienced the grace of God.

  

As I have been thinking about my grandmother and reading about the “woman at the well”, I have been struck by the verse, “For the Jews do not associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9).  Many Christians would not have associated with someone like my grandmother.  She was an alcoholic, an adulteress, and poor. 

 

Recently, I have been thinking, “Why are there people that Christians do not associate with today?”  Intentionally, and more often unintentionally, there are people that many Christians do not include in their circle of friends.  The people that we do not associate with are the very people Jesus would be around.

 

As author Mary Snyder states, “We, as Christians, have turned faith in Jesus into something that requires you to fit into a mold that is of our own making.  I know that Jesus is not pleased with what we are doing.”

 

“I’m after mercy, not religion, I’m here

 to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” 

 Jesus

 

 

 

Thank you Landon Saunders and Mary Snyder, for contributing to this post.  Scripture references from John 4:10 and Matthew 9:13, The Message.

every tear

 

For the Lamb …will lead them

To springs of water.

And God will wipe away

Every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

 

My Dad

I grew up hearing his stories

but not this story

of being forgotten

 

his mother left him many times

before the final leaving

she took her children to the movie theatre

(age seven, five and four)

leaving them there alone

choosing wine and party

 

they waited hours after the movie

for her to remember and return

a kind man had compassion

and waited with them

 

my heart travels to the past

and breaks

for the loneliness,

the pain,

the future abandonment

waiting around the corner

 

looking at them

I can see their future

I know the amazing things

they will accomplish

because they will be captured

by One who rescues hearts

 

 

For my parents:

Happy forty-fourth wedding anniversary!

God has used your marriage to flow

“springs of living water” into my life. 

With love, Sara

beside springs of water

He who has compassion on them will guide them

 And lead them beside springs of water.

Isaiah 49:10

 

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an inspiring conference.  For the past thirty-five years, my family has been connected with Heartbeat, a non-profit educational organization.  Heartbeat provides “springs of living water” to those who are seeking a meaningful life.

 

What makes Heartbeat unique is that “while there are millions of Christian communicators and teachers speaking to Christians, there are very few who have repeatedly focused on communicating with those who are outside of the Christian community.”  Heartbeat uses language that connects with those who are searching for life. 

 

The theme of the conference was “What Really Matters”.  One thing that matters to Heartbeat is being relevant to young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine.  Several men and women in this age group spoke, and it was startling to see the disconnection between church and the reality of their world.  Please check out Heartbeat.org and consider how you can connect in a deeper way with ”those outside the Christian community”.

 

See comments for a challenging essay from Heartbeat.

well-watered garden

You will be like a well-watered garden,

Like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58:11

 

 

“Soul growth begins when we actively embrace ourselves, even in seeming failure.  It took a while, just as a new plant takes a while to become itself, but living generatively, cultivating my soul soil … became the call of God to me.”  Luci Shaw, Water My Soul    

 

The Lord will guide you always;

He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land ….

You will be like a well-watered garden,

Like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58:11

 

 For Christine – who waited, watched, and now knows the answer is “Dallas”.  I miss you already.

 

valley of weeping

When they walk through the

 Valley of Weeping, 
They make it a place of springs…

Psalm 84:6

 

   

When I am in the kitchen, I enjoy listening to The Book of Psalms on CD.  I have found listening to the Psalms an easy way to imprint these words on my heart.  For the past two months, my favorite has been Psalm 84.  I find this Psalm especially comforting when I am going through the “valley of weeping.” 

 

 

How lovely is Your dwelling place,
       O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints,
       for the courts of the Lord;
       my heart and my flesh cry out
       for the living God.

 Even the sparrow has found a home,
       and the swallow a nest for herself,
       where she may have her young—
       a place near Your altar,
       O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
       they are ever praising You. 

Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
       those who have set their hearts on finding You.

When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
       they make it a place of springs;
       the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,
       till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;
       listen to me, O God…

Better is one day in Your courts
       than a thousand elsewhere;
       I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
       than dwell in the homes of the wicked.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
       the Lord bestows favor and honor; 
       The Lord will withhold no good thing
       from those who do what is right.

 O Lord Almighty,
       You bless everyone who trusts in You.  

 Psalm 84

 

This is a combination of the New International Version, New Living Translation, and the Contemporary English Version.  I also made some minor changes, such as, “set their hearts on pilgrimage” was changed to “set their hearts on finding You” (verse 5). 

if one part suffers…

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it…

1 Corinthians 12:26

 

 

One thing I enjoy is helping women transition into motherhood.  I like to send letters to my friends with the wisdom that has been shared with me and the helpful tips I have learned as the mom of three children. 

 

However, it is easy to forget that some women do not have even a minimal amount of support.  Over at Flowerdust.net, I read a story that broke my heart.  It is a story about a woman and a newborn baby rescued by the International Justice Mission.

 

Today our staff, in cooperation with the local police, were able to bring many laborers out of a slavery facility. One of the laborers was a woman who had been forced to work up to the moment of delivering her baby (without a doctor – the owner refused), and then forced to continue work immediately following. She was unable even to pause to bathe her newborn or to get food for herself. Today, the day of this rescue, the baby is 1 day old. 

 

Questions of the day:

What does it look like to suffer with those living in desperation?

Will I let myself truly feel other’s pain and respond to their needs?

 

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”

Bob Pierce 

 

 

“The International Justice Mission Institute is a community of Christian leaders advancing solutions for overcoming injustice. It is a place for sharing ideas, resources and tools to raise awareness of injustice and move the Body of Christ to action.”

Anne Jackson’s eloquent response to this story at Flowerdust.net.