Defeating Crankiness and Filling Your Life with Joy

Throughout my lifetime, I have reacted to criticism and disagreement in a cranky and negative way. It has become apparent to me that I tend to not look at constructive feedback as a gift that will help me be better at serving others. Instead, I get irritated and hurt, which is a sign that I bear pride in me. As we launch the New Year, our Heavenly Father is emphasizing to me that I need to defeat my crankiness, respond gratefully to otherswho offer me their insights, and live the rest of my life without pridefulness in my heart.

 

So often during our lifetime, I do believe that our Heavenly Father motivates people to share with us the feedback that He wants us to receive. Being receptive to considering the guidance that we are offered can be a pathway to the transformation of our sinful hearts and the effectiveness of our service to others. Like all of the other verses in the Bible, Psalm 131: 1 – 3 offers me an insightful message from our Heavenly Father, which tells me that a trust in God is the basis for our contentment in life. 

 

Psalm 131:1-3

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. 

 

Note who stills and quiets our soul. It is our responsibility. I have found that I successfully accomplish that task when I invite the Holy Spirit to govern my heart and my desires. After I pray, I tell myself to have no more anxiety in my heart, as it is a barrier between me and others on this planet and our Heavenly Father. I also remember the insights offered in Proverbs 15:1 that tell me when I am gracious others will be kind to me, and, if I am not, I will make them angry. 

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 

I know that I need to trust in my Heavenly Father and be content in the life that He has given me. I believe that Proverbs 29:23 confirms that my crankiness is born from my pridefulness and that my humility will bring me honor. 

 

Proverbs 29:23

A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

 

Proverbs 29:22 confirms that having anger in our heart is a prelude to sinful responses. 

 

Proverbs 29:22

An angry man stirs up dissention, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

 

Reading Colossians 3:5-10, I find my New Year Resolution. 

 

Colossians 3:5-10

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

 

In this lifetime, I am now putting on a new self and match my conduct with my faith in Jesus Christ. Since I am a Christian, I should act like I am. No more crankiness in my lifetime, as I want my love and respect for others to draw them to our Heavenly Father, who I love and in whom I trust and have faith.When I respond lovingly and respectfully, others will tend to be receptive when I testify about my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for reminding me that my crankiness in this lifetime is emblematic of the pridefulness of my heart. When I behave in a loving and respectful way, others will be receptive to listening to my testimony of my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and will be grateful to have me in their life. The alteration of my behavior is advanced by following my responsibility of leaning on the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I pray to you to help me behave respectfully when I receive constructive feedback from others by filling me with your Holy Spirit always. Amen! 

 

Silhouette

It was my first time in church. I had a wide brim black hat on, pulled low over my eyes to make it easier to avoid eye contact. I had a pink Chanel suit on, with black grosgrain bows at the wrists. My nails were lacquered to match my ensemble. My appearance was entirely intentional, I wanted to present myself in complete control and no worse for the weathering of my recent days.

Do you see the real me? Or, do you simply go by a silhouette of edges. Am I a composite of what you “assume” me to be? Made up of details that you judge from my surface.

Let me go back, this was nearly three decades ago. I was attending my best - since I was five - friend’s wedding. It was being held in the church where I was raised and had attended church twice a day on Sunday and nearly ever Wednesday. This church, and the people in it, had always been my safe haven. Until this day.

 I felt as a newly divorced, newly minted Single Mom that my faith, that my life would be judged as less than, as less spiritual or godly than it once had been.

 I had spent hours the night before crying because I was afraid of the whispers and the knowing looks that would come my way, since more than half of those in attendance that afternoon in June had probably all known me since about the time I had lost my first tooth.

 Instead of looking at this situation, which seemed so daunting to me, I should have looked at it as God commanded Samuel. But, the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not judge by his appearance…” (I Samuel 16:7a)

 I was totally living out of my flesh.

 I was hoping my appearance would make me worthy and acceptable. I was not relying on what God said about me, that I was so valuable that His son’s life was sacrificed for me. I was hoping that glamorizing my outside would make my trials and tribulations, my sins and my regrets overlooked, instead of living in the forgiveness and the cleansing Jesus’s stripes on his back and subsequent death had afforded me.

There it was clear as Caribbean water. Judging - and being judged - by appearances. PRIDE.

It was pride that led to my insecurity, it was pride that led to me wanting to appear something that in my heart I was not, it was pride that judged the people I would see before they judged me. Pride that leads us just to see a silhouette of someone else, or leads us to want to be seen as a silhouette of something we are not. It is pride that leads to misunderstanding. To wrong judgments. To discontent.

Pride leads to conflict, (Proverbs 13:10a) and that is entirely what is causing the unrest in a nation that once espoused that it was created under one God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pride looks at the differences in people. Pride looks only skin deep, and sometimes not even that far. Pride looks and judges. Saying, “I am better because I drive this car,” “I am better because I arrive at church on time,” “I am better because of the tone of my skin,” and “I know who you are because I can see you with my eyes and not with my heart.”

 All the conflicts that are raging in our country really are founded in pride. We are not looking at everyone around us with God’s eyes, and the truth is, The Lord does not see things the way we do. People judge by outward appearance, while the Lord looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16:7c).

Grace, humility, a lack of pride and judgmental ideals has to start in our heart, even before it starts in demonstrations and picket lines. Hearts have to change before any changes can be affected in our homes, in our towns, nationally, and globally. Change isn’t an outward thing - it is entirely a heart thing. Our hearts should be completely governed by God, and if they are, our actions will be a testament to His place in our lives.

If we are truly following the Lord, we know our steps are ordained, and that there are no accidents or coincidences that happen to each one of us, all the events in our lives God is working in. "And we know that for those who love God that he works all things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose". (Romans 8:28) This has to be applied for us to navigate these uncertain times. While many of today’s events can be saddening, disturbing, and even frightening, God is at work. He has not left us.

 But, the choice in these uncertain days is entirely our own. Will we live in a way that God can work in our hearts and change them during this constantly fluctuating, uneasy time? Or will we succumb to pride, to fear, to anger…

In closing:

Dear Lord, Please clothe me in humility. Do not let my pride cause me to judge others. Give me your eyes to see those other than myself. And, Lord, break my heart for others as Your heart has been broken for me. 

 I pray these things in your Son Jesus’ name, ~ Amen

3 Things I've Learned About Community While In Isolation

I’ve always welcomed isolation. At times, you could even say that I’ve longed for it. Isolation, to me, means renewal. It gives me strength, energy and is good for my mental health. I love giving, serving and coming alongside people but it needs to be balanced with time alone. But isolation can have a negative side if I am not careful. It’s my weakness, the place the enemy knows to attack. I’ll isolate from the hurt, pain or sorrow that have come into my life. I withdraw from my community when things get too hard or hurtful. I will just curl up within myself where it feels safe.

I do not always mean to stay in isolation for long periods of time, but too often I just get comfortable. I begin to believe the lie that I can get by on my own, just Jesus and me. But this kind of isolation is counter intuitive. It drains my energy. It does not cause growth but death. Death to my soul. Death to my relationships. It will push people away making me even more isolated sending me on a path toward discouragement, even depression.

During this time of forced isolation I have come to realize that I have grown far too comfortable in my self isolation of the past few years. As I said before, isolation can be a needed renewal of energy but it should be for short periods of time not a lifestyle.

God has used this time of quarantine to shown me why I need to be in community. I am sure there are more but theses are the, not so new, lessons I’ve seen.

Living in community our lies are exposed. We are more vulnerable to believe the lies of the world, our flesh and our enemy when isolated. It’s important to have a community around us that will challenge our beliefs, and speak truth to us when we are believing lies. As others live and speak the truth around us the lies we believe are easier to see. (Ephesians 4:14-16;25)

Community helps me to grow. I can and should have times in God’s word alone. I need to be able to study God’s word for myself, to be able to grow alone. But I also need God’s people to help me process, and challenge me to go deeper in my understanding of God’s word and who God is. (1 Cor 12:24-26; 1 Thess 5:11)

 Community is a safe place to be our authentic self. I really struggle with this one but it doesn’t make it any less true. Let’s just be honest here, community isn’t always safe. In fact, community has been a place of great hurt. What God has shown me though is that even in the hurt and pain it can still be safe in Him. It’s here that my brothers and sisters will love, support, pray, encourage, and point me toward Jesus.

They will not always do it perfectly, and neither will I. They will, however, accept me with love and desire God’s best for me. Within the larger Church we can find smaller communities of people that are safe. A group of close friends, a life group, a Bible study can all be really safe communities. They are more intimate and allow you a place to grow deeper, and become more solid in your walk with Jesus. They will hold you accountable to the truth of God’s word. (Hebrews 10:23-25; Gal 6:2; 1 Pe 4:8;)

 My challenge (to all of us) is that when this “forced” isolation is over we will pour ourselves out and really love our community. To reach out with abandon asking “how can I best serve Jesus as I serve His people.” We must be willing to go out on a ledge, if needed, in order to rescue our brothers or sisters in Christ. We need to surround ourselves with a group of God's family who love us, point us to Him, keep us accountable and grow us deeper in our relations with Christ.

In Christ’s community, we need to be willing to be rejected, hurt, or misunderstood in order to point our brother’s and sister’s toward a deeper walk with Jesus.

Do you want to study further how we should treat one another in community? Check out this list of the one another verses in the New Testament. Click here for One Another verses. 

In Desperate Need

I am in desperate need of a snuggle and a sleep-over with my granddaughter.

I am in desperate need of a good cry, the kind that leaves me not empty but cleansed.

 I am in desperate need of a Sunday family dinner, with ALL the seats filled.

I am in desperate need of connection.

I am in desperate need of forgiveness.

I am in desperate need of…

In this current situation of isolation and limitation, there are so many things I can think of to add to this small-scale list. Things that are real, heart-hurting needs and even the paltry me-focused needs of wanting to be pampered and preened over.

The Random Unabridged Dictionary defines the word “desperate” as feeling, showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with.

Right now in this suspended life, these needs seem pressing and at times smothering and maybe even desperate. That is my humanness in a season of limits, and in a season of lack of control over events and circumstances. My own strength cannot handle my needs, small and large.

My greatest and all encompassing, desperate need is that of a Savior.

These needs, listed above, are temporal. Fleeting. Transitory. My truest deepest need is surrender to a God who will meet ALL my needs. I do not have the power to overcome on my own, nor will I ever conquer this need and hold it at bay. “For I know that nothing good lives in me. I want to what is right but fail so miserably.” Romans 7:18. I want do those things that are right and good and pure. I want to have hope, and share it with others. I desperately want to be the woman, the wife, the daughter, the Mama, the Nona, the Mother in Law, the friend that I was created to be. I struggle when I fail, fall short, see only my own needs instead of those around me. Focus on comforting myself. I struggle, I stumble. I so often carry the weight on my own.

I try. I bargain. I do-over. I am desperate.

But, ahhhh sweet Jesus there is hope in my desperation. There is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other,” says the Lord of All. Isaiah 45:21b-22. 

How could it be this simple, and yet so hard, to surrender my desperation to Him. In the never ending yearning. The struggle we feel to have and do and be. To accomplish. To perfect. The age-long desires and the uncountable numbers of failures of doing it all on your own. Our struggles are not unique, they are present in every woman. They were present before the epidemic, and they will be present when this time of travail is locked in historic annals.

I look to those who were long ago God’s chosen people. They struggled and faltered. The sinned in their lack of trust and lack of faithfulness. The turned their back on God, even though He had been ever faithful and ever forgiving. My struggles, it seems, are not uncommon to woman [man].

Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the desperate burdens you carry, and I will deliver you from bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the desperate burdens. Exodus 6:6-7. 

And so, in my present desperation, in my future desperation I will call on the Lord God who is the only one who can meet me in my despair. In my fear. In my uncertainty. In the insecurity of the present day. In the unknown of decades into the future. I will trust in you Lord God. I will trust in you. Again, and again, and yet again. I will call for I am in desperate need of ALL of you Lord God.

Building Faith in Challenging Times

Given the way that our Heavenly Father has used the pain in my lifetime to transform me and build my faith in Him, I am confident that He will use this challenging time in the history of our world to draw us closer to Him. Reading the guidance that God offers us in 1 Peter 1:6-9, I know that, during the threat of COVID-19, I will continue to rejoice in God and my faith in Him will grow even stronger.

1 Peter 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

 I remind you of Moses’ guidance to the Israelites when they were enduring pain as they were pursued by the Egyptians on the way to the Promised Land. As the Pharaoh and Egyptians marched toward them, the Israelites cried to Moses, “Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”

 Exodus 14:13-14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

 As I read the Israelites frenzy, I am reminded how prone we humans are to not trust in the Lord in stressful times. We see evidence of how God will protect us as He protected them, parting the Red Sea and saving the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. In response, Exodus 14:31 confirmed that the Israelites responded by fearing the Lord and put their trust in Him.

 Jeremiah offers an excellent encouragement for us to trust in Him. 

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.” 

 My trials have grown my faith in the Lord. I trust in Him to protect all of those who I love, and I will be dedicated to praying for the health and well-being of the people of our world and especially for my sweet family in life, at Cornerstone, in DivorceCare, and at Lafayette. While that protection may not keep everyone on this planet, I pray that it will take those we lose to Heaven to worship God and that someday I will be forgiven by the Lord for my sinfulness and will join them there.

 COVID-19 has isolated many of us from our dear friends. I want to close this post by encouraging all of you to remember that even though we are alone, we are NOT alone. God is with us! That is confirmed by Him in many locations in the Bible.

 Dear Heavenly Father. I plead with you to protect those I love from this devastating health crisis that has overwhelmed our planet. I trust in you and have faith that you will protect us during this devastating time. Amen.

 P.S. A great theme song for this trying time is Steven Curtis Chapman’s tune This Day, which can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnlzUSP0w_c Just press “Skip Ads” and you can hear it right away!

Having Jesus Is Better

Before I begin I just wanted to share that what I am about to write is not something that I consistently live out. I haven’t arrived. I struggle day to day to live here, sometimes moment to moment. But I so desperately want to move this truth from a head knowledge into my heart so that I live it consistently. But I need reminders from God and His people. Just last week I was reminded of a truth I had long buried somewhere. A truth I had walked in before but now it was gone. It was the truth of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 which reminds me that Jesus is sufficient for all my weaknesses, distress, and difficulties. When I am weak, He is strong.

 I know this verse, I have read it, studied it, quoted it and shared it, but the thing is I am now learning to apply it into my life in a new way. Friday night I sat with two friends and shared my health struggles. I was honest about the depths of pain, both emotionally and physically. These two women have been where I am, they are were I am. Both live with chronic illness and pain. They were encouraging, pointed me to Jesus and then prayed with me. During prayer one of them said something like, “help Sharon see that You are better than her health.” That changed something inside me. Kind of a refocusing of my thoughts. Jesus is better, He is sufficient, He is more than enough. If I never go into remission of Graves Disease, if this life is my new normal and there is no healing here on earth, Jesus is enough.

 Let’s be honest, many reading this are struggling in some form or another. It might not be with your health, but it could be with any number of trials, heartbreak or suffering. When sin entered into this world along came much pain and suffering. Suffering that we can not endure on our own. We need to invite Jesus into our suffering, for He alone will be our strength. “His grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness...Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:9-10)

 This is not easy. We like to be comfortable. We do not like pain or suffering. We want to be healed. We place a high priority on being healthy and pain free in this life. But we need to recognize that having Jesus in our life is better than all these things. So even if God does not heal you, or rescue you out of your current circumstance He is still good. He is still faithful and He is, with a doubt, enough!

 One final though, while Jesus is enough, we must also remember that He never intended us to walk through suffering or life alone. We need our brothers and sisters in Christ. There are so many verses in God’s Word that remind us that we need to share our burdens with one another. Honestly, this is another hard area for some of us, but I pray that we learn to not only remind one another that having Jesus is better than what we are going through, but that we are there for one another for support and prayer.

Believing the Best of One Another

A number of years ago a dear friend said something that hurt me.  When I ask her about it I realized that I had misinterpted what she said. Once we talked it out she said something to me that has stuck with me in the years since. She said, “why don’t we just believe the best about one another? Assume that we have one another’s best interest at heart.” It made sense after all we love each other, want what is best for each other, and we had almost a lifetime of friendship behind us.Thinking that way has caused a lot less hurt feelings. It has made me stop and evaluate things that have been done or said to me. I mean why is it that I always am inclined toward believing the negative? Surely I am not the only one! It is so important to our relationships though to believe motives and intentions toward us are good. There would be a whole lot less hurt feelings.

Recently I saw something on social media that reminded me of this very thing. Someone had shared about something that they had done and how God had blessed them for it (no one from Cornerstone Church). It was praiseworthy. A testimony to what God had done in their life. But a few commenters took it as bragging and what followed just got ugly. There were all kinds of hurt feelings. Y'all these people were Christians. They were people who are called to love one another, build one another up and to preach the gospel. Sadly they failed in that moment. Please hear me, I too fail miserably at times. I can be just like them, maybe I don’t actually write it but I can surely think it! I can judge motives just like you can. I don’t think I miss speak (or write) when I say that we all have done it at one time or another. But as I read these comments I thought of my friend. I thought “Why can’t we assume the other person's motives are good? Why can’t we just believe the best of her?” Why must we think the person is bragging or whatever might come to your mind.

Luke 6:31 reminds us that we should do to them as we would want them to do to us. Phil 2:3-4 reminds us to put others above ourselves and to look out for the interest of others. I don’t think judging others’ motives is fulfilling either of these verses. Why don’t we begin the New Year with thinking the best of your spouse, your friends, family, the person in the pew next to you, your co-workers and that stranger you just met on the street? Let us try to assume that what others say or do are for the right reasons and with the right motives. Yes, some might prove not worthy of assuming good but why not assuming the good until they prove otherwise. I am sure we all have been wrongly judged for our motives. We know the hurt it causes. So from now on, why don’t we believe the best about one another just like we would want others to think of us.

Father, When I begin to assume wrongly about another person please remind me to think of whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, or worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8)

Seasons

Admittedly, I do not like change. And, if I were to be really honest, I dislike change so much that even when it is a change that is good and positive and exciting I approach it with trepidation. I do not even like the change of seasons, though I relish those things each Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. Bikini weather, apple picking, snowflakes, and tulips.

Many things have been changing these last months, and will be changing even more in the coming weeks. Some very sad and some highly anticipated with the joy they will bring.

God says there will be seasons, not just the earthly changes to the landscape, but there is a time and place for everything in our lives. The details. The newness, and the old passing away.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks to this:

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Yet, my spirit still battles with this. My humanness falters, struggles, tears leak from my eyes.

Just days ago an acquaintance reached her arms to wrap around me, her words, “I am so sorry for the loss of your dear, sweet Grandmother.” Her words were apropos, as my Gran did go to be with Jesus on August 3.

I am still not comfortable with this reality. I dislike the change. Yesterday, I looked at a piece of jewelry she had given me when I was quite young, and it hit me like a shocking slap across the face that indeed she was no longer on this earth. I could not talk to her. I could not hear her say to me, “I love you. More.

An unwelcome season.

But.

God says “there will be a time to be born and a time to die.”

The words of my acquaintance came flitting through my mind, “ I am sorry you lost your Grandmother.”

I breathed in. Tears afresh again.

I did not lose my Gran. I know EXACTLY where she is. I know she stood by Jesus and was welcomed home by him with open arms. I imagined that my Grandpa was standing near to those incredible gates of heaven when she entered in.

With that, I thought of nearly an hour after she had stepped beyond the veil, she stood with the Savior of All Humanity and watched as her great-grandson’s reaction to her death played out. He bowed his head, joined by me, and his wife and their precious little girl and gave thanks for his Gran’s life and all that she had taught our family.

So while I still do not easily embrace change, I know that it is all, every last detail, in God’s hands, in God’s providence for my good. And, I am comforted that God will, in fact, work all things - change included - for my good. Just as in the passing of my Gran my family, generations, were brought to their knees in prayer.

Responding to God's Blessings

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.” John 15:16a

At Lafayette College, I feel joy as I witness the success of our graduates as they apply the wisdom they have gained in their careers. As I hear of their success in leveraging the degrees they have earned, I am reminded of a similar time in my own life. After four years of a determined pursuit of knowledge, I was awarded my degree in chemical engineering by Grove City College. Unfortunately, 1984 was the year that the bottom fell out of the oil market and so many chemical engineers with decades of experience were laid off. That year, a young woman like me with no experience struggled to get a job. 

Throughout my lifetime, our Heavenly Father has blessed me by creating opportunities for me to gain knowledge and skills that I did not have. My choice has been to use those gifts to serve Him. My service to Him has blessed me by allowing me to gain even more skills and by bringing me joy through the knowledge that I am responding to His blessings by serving Him.

Before I tell this tale, I want to emphasize as Paul does in Romans 3:22 – 24, that I am not earning my way to Heaven through my service. As the verses say:

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justified those who have faith in Jesus.

I emphasize this now because I have been sinfully prone to thinking that I am earning my place in Heaven. In reality, it is His sacrifice that created a pathway for me, and His graciousness in calling a sinner like me to believe in Him and His sacrifice, to beg His forgiveness, and to strive to repent of my sinfulness which has put me on the pathway to Heaven. I respond to that by my determination to know Him, love Him, and trust in Him. I also find joy in serving Him.

I began my career when a Grove City chemical engineering graduate who worked for Pennsylvania State University’s Nuclear Engineering Division contacted me to invite me to interview for a position doing science assembly and classroom presentations focusing on cutting-edge technology in schools throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Given that I was considering going on to earn my master’s degree in education, I jumped at the opportunity to test my potential as a teacher. 

Fortunately, people judged me talented in this regard. As I approached the conclusion of my first year, I was contacted by a consultant at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to join him in creating a presentation for area schools. The opportunity paved the way for a lengthy career there, which gave me on-the-job opportunities to learn how to write and manage media relations activities. 

As my career continued, I faced potential career losses as the companies I worked for were bought out by other companies or failed due to the loss of major clients. In each chaotic moment, God protected and paved the way for me to work for another employer where I gained even more knowledge and skills.

After losing my son, Zachary, in a custody battle with my soon-to-be ex-husband, God also paved the way for me to be offered a job close to Zach’s father so that I could partner with him in raising our child even after our divorce. The job did not include a lot of writing, so the Lord laid it on my heart to volunteer to write for the newsletter at the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey. As I wrote for the Lord, he gave me skills in writing feature stories that celebrated and honored others as they served our Lord. Ironically, when I was told that I would soon lose my job because of my employer’s merger, the talents I gained and the feature stories that I wrote became an instrument for me to be offered a job at a local marketing firm. 

After my son began his studies at Cedarville University in western Ohio, I chose to give up my job at Elizabethtown College and come to the Lehigh Valley to be with my now second ex-husband. Unfortunately, I struggled with finding a full-time job. My part-time job at Lafayette helped me collaborate with my husband in paying the bills, but I felt called to volunteer to support my new church family in launching Cornerstone Connections. Funny tale: I researched an online marketing tool called MailChimp, which offers free support to non-profits like Cornerstone. As I continued my job search for a full-time job, the skills I gained in learning how to use MailChimp enticed SunGard K-12 Education to offer me a full-time job as their Public Relations Specialist. 

My gratitude to our Heavenly Father calls me to respond to his blessings by serving Him. This service brings me joy and helps me grow closer to Him and my church family. I am blessed, like others who serve also are.  

When God calls you, He does not waste your gifts. The story of Rahab early in the book of Joshua demonstrates another individual using her talents to serve God. God gifted Rahab with savviness, which she used to enable the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. Her aptitude for thinking on her feet saved two Israelite spies. In Joshua 2: 8 – 14, we also see how her ability to negotiate with these spies ultimately saves her entire family.

When God called Rahab, He overlooked her sinfulness as a prostitute but did not overlook her talents and intellect. Instead, by using her gifts, Rahab forever changes the course of history. God has also gifted you with skills and talents. When God calls you, He will not waste the gifts He has given you. 

Dear God, I praise You that You have created me with gifts to make a difference. I ask that You open the way for me to use them in extending Your kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

When Shame Speaks Your Name

There have been moments that all I seem to be able to remember are the names of the past. Names that whisper over me to remind me of who I was. Stupid. UNLOVABLE. Clumsy. ABANDONED. Ugly. UNWANTED. Invisible. UNWORTHY. Dirty. SHAMEFUL. Hateful. ALONE. Sinner. These are the names, the emotions that have plagued my life, my mind, and my heart. These are the names I would hear repeated over and over in my mind. Names that expressed who I was. Who I thought I was. Who I was told I was. And sometimes names I still believe describe who I am. Names the enemy loves to taunt me with. I have lived so often in bondage to shamed-filled thinking. I have filtered everything through shame. BUT, I have learned that I can choose to think differently. I can choose to remember that Jesus came to set me free. He came to give me a new name. He gave me a new identity. A new life. And oh what a marvelous name it is! A beautiful name. He calls me BELOVED. I am no longer condemned. I no longer live in shame. Because of Jesus I am very much LOVED. I am WORTHY. He finds me BEAUTIFUL. I am FORGIVEN. I have not been abandoned for He is ALWAYS with me. I’ve been made CLEAN. I am RIGHTEOUS. He SEES me. Watches over me. He CARES about every part of my life. Because of who He is and because He lives in me I am a new creation. The person who was is no more. She dies daily as Jesus continues to renew my mind with His holy, perfect Spirit within me. I wish I didn’t have to be reminded of who I am. I wish I could just rest in the truth of who I am in Christ. But I know this is my weakness and my enemy knows this too. Sometimes I will need a daily reminder. I forget so easily, but He is faithful to send reminders. This is what I know, He continues to work in me in this area. One day I know I will really, really get it. I will “get it” into the depths of my heart and soul. Then shame will no longer have such power over me. For even today I am aware that my enemy has less power over me in this area than before. I am thankful that Jesus continues His work in me, He never tires of reminding me of who I am. He never tires of the sanctification process in this area of my life. I can run to Him at any time and He gently whispers in my heart the names He has given me. My dear friend if you also find yourself mired in shame then let me speak these truths over you. Say them out loud. Choose to believe the truth as these words filter down into the depths of your heart. Then choose to walk in them today. I know you may not FEEL these truths at first, but keep trusting, keep believing them. Keep speaking them to yourself when the enemy tries to remind you of who you were. Memorize them. Ask God to remind you. I promise He will use these truths in your life to change your thinking. He changed my thought patterns, He will do it for you. Sure I still struggle some days but I don’t stay there. I am confident in the truth that these verses speak of who I am today! And on those days that it is painfully hard to believe these truths I just choose to walk in them anyway as if they are true. Because they are!! God says, “My precious daughter you are my beloved.”
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved… Col 3:12
As He says also in Hosea, "I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, 'MY PEOPLE,' AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, 'BELOVED … Rom 9:25 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God ! How vast is the sum of them! Ps 139:17 "The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; Duet 26:18 "My delight is in her... For the LORD delights in you" Is 62: Oh, dear friend, He does delight in you!! Now go and walk in the knowledge of whose you are and how much He loves you, whether you feel it or not!

Where There Is Pain

“The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word "love” and look on things as if man were the center of them. Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest "well pleased".” ― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Pain, and loss, and brokenness have existed since the beginning of time. And while mankind may struggle in disparaging the existence of man and God, and God before man, the whole of the universe set into motion by a flick of His wrist, a glimmer of will across His all and everything minds-eye- and the universe, snaps into orchestral harmony- we cannot argue that pain has always been. No discussion with an atheist or even grieving heart-wide-open-baby-Christian has been without, “then why? Why if we have been created by and for a God (THE God) who loves us, why would that same God of love and joy also set sorrow and pain in the souls of so many?” And really, why not just do without? Why not just leave that one out, or those ones who would perpetrate it upon us if pain in and of itself is necessary? And we do see that pain is necessary, in the sense of self-preservation, and if you’ll allow it, divine creation. Without nerve endings to allow the pain which radiates and screams as we burn our hands on an oven, we may very well continue to drive that lacking sensation until the limb is no more. We need pain. Pain is our central alarm system. “Stop! Stop it! Don’t do that or things cease to work right!”

But what about emotional pain? What is its necessity? Does a mother need to experience the searing and abrupt, unjust loss of her child for things to work right? Does the lack of hope; black, bleak hopelessness… do we need that? To function? The hopelessness that leads us to drug abuse, to poverty, to suicide, to unspeakable evil? What about that could we ever need? Why? Because when those things exist, we can agree that the mechanisms within the human soul which differentiate healthy pain and scary pain, in some capacity, are already not working right. Things have ceased to work correctly when we have taken our lives or the lives of others or experienced the brokenness of failed marriages, abandoned children, drug and alcohol abuse. These things, and these people- they have pain and they are broken.

And here is where I am stricken- things cease to work right where there is pain.

I see the hand of God in all things. I see His hand at work in the trees, I can feel Him at work as I watch my children mull over a math problem. I almost feel like loving Jesus is the continuous up-springing of awareness of His everywhere and everything, and His purpose; of His hands. The winds of life, the proverbial breath of His lungs. It wasn’t always the case, though. I’ve had  “God is a bully” moments, too. Hard teenage and pre-adult years, teeming with anger and resentment of that same all-seeing, all-knowing, coming and going, and intentional God. Infidelity despite children, knees with broken skin, begging Him to relent. Make it stop. “This isn’t fair.”

And yet today, I sit in a cacophony of grace, and goodness, and mercy. Jesus, the mercy. I tap at this computer on a day mixed with both joy and sorrow simultaneously, with my coffee sitting too cold, among the voices of three and not two, in a home that we own, on the anniversary of my children's adoption. Grace, and goodness, and mercy. Divorce, and sorrow, and pain. Lord- searing, tearing pain. But He said it, “You will live.”

Where joy and sorrow meet is the place of the fulfillment of every promise God has ever bestowed upon mankind. Pain, and its necessity, is what grabs our attention. What calls us to cease. What conditions us to wait. On who or what? Eventually, on HIM and on His goodness, so separate from our own.

“I can’t see, what’s in front of me, still I will trust you. Steady grace that keeps forgiving, steady faith that keeps believing, lead me on.” 

“Steady Heart”, Steffany Gretzinger

In this ringing and relentless weight of pain left in the wake of Jen's passing; in losing any of those that we cherish,  I am plagued by that sensation. In my conscience, these words, “Things cease to work right, without pain. Without correct observance of that pain. Without pursuing the root of that pain.” And what follows that has baffled me and left me confused, but grateful; ashamed, but so hopeful, “But God.Is.Good.”

It feels so counterintuitive to speak, to allow, to further the thought. Seconds beyond the shock-loss of a friend, “God, I know this feeling. I have felt this, and I know that you will do something good with this current pain.  Don’t take it away, but Lord, it hurts. Give us YOU. Show us your kingdom work at hand.”

And He will. And He does. And He will continue to. We need only praise Him in the wait.

So That What Cannot Be Shaken May Remain

“We ignore even pleasure, but pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
C.S. Lewis, “The Problem of Pain”

I am a terrible gardener. If one should walk upon my property, they might find the remnants of intentional landscaping, carefully maintained and designed by a loving homeowner prior. Her name was Mildred, and while the interior of her home left much to be desired as far as updates and renovations are concerned, she carefully curated sweet, simple landscaping. Easy to maintain for her, I imagine but fulfilling in bursts of color and sweetness. A rose bush, tulips, a few daffodils, hydrangeas, primrose, many others which unfortunately my untrained eye is incapable of recognizing beyond, “green” and “pretty”. I imagine her, wide-brimmed hat to head, probably tiny in stature, but posture slightly curved, gloves to hands, clad with a spade, knees to the ground, with slow and deliberate movements, lovingly treating her weed-free, and life-giving garden.

Three years into receiving Mildred’s lovingly kept garden, the flowers remain for the most part. Perhaps not quite as lush and vibrant. The rose bush, one hydrangea, azaleas, (albeit overgrown

and in dire need of a good trim) and the tulips have come and gone for this year. More than that, unfortunately blindingly so, weeds. Weeds everywhere. Particularly the prickly ones. I’ve procrastinated pulling them for the entire Spring season because they hurt, and they are in abundance. Overwhelming. Heavy in that some of the stalks are, embarrassingly so, nearly the circumference of my wrist. My garden is overrun by abundant, painful, prickly weeds which, quite frankly, I cannot stand to allow in existence another moment. Which is precisely why, after I do everything else that I need to/want to/can come up with to do today, I will start to conquer them all.

This morning as I pulled up into my driveway; silent car ride, rather the change from the bantered, cheerful resonance of children’s voices just moments before, I placed the car in park in deep thought. Death, dementia, enemy lies, heavy words and emotions looming and spindling dangerous little webs around the fibers of my mind, my attention was immediately called upon by the ankle, waist, and shoulder-high weeds, prickly and overwhelming; domineering, even that is my new garden. “Another day another failure, and honestly, I’m just too tired to deal with one more thing, I think.” (It’s only going to get worse, and more burdensome as time goes on.)

I step out of the truck, toes of my sneakers hanging a second from floor to macadam, when among the cancer that is those thistles, I see a flash of red, then purple, then pink and still yet white buds on the hydrangea.

“Faith makes a fool of what makes sense
But grace found my heart where logic ends
When justice called for all my debts
The Friend of sinners came instead
Your ways are higher
Your thoughts are wilder
Love came like madness
Poured out in blood-washed romance
It makes no sense but this is grace
And I know You're with me in this place”

- Hillsong UNITED, “Here Now”

Droplets of dew and rain glistening in the morning light, still obscured so slightly by rainclouds of the night before, a rose. A velvety red rose, bright and proud among the overwhelming invasion of weeds. I look down to find tiny purple flowers, then budding primrose, bright as the sun, once bloomed. I couldn’t believe that any of it could still manage to survive my neglect. Immediately I reach out to remove the weeds surrounding that rose, but those slivers of pain reminded me- Overrun.

What is it about the threat of pain, that ceases our growth? Its mere existence is an alarm, a warning, “something is up here. Watch that.” Even once we are willing to reach into it- the persistence of the pain, the threat of more still, it’s all consuming and overwhelming until the existence of the prickly weed overwhelms all that is good, and true, and beautiful. (Not all that we feel or fear or see is actually true.)

God created pain, knowing both that it WOULD happen, and that it would happen with regularity. After the fall, the protection never ceased but it was also conditionally removed. Women will have painful childbirth, you will make choices and the consequences will have painful results, “I have overcome it all, child, but you’re still going to have to walk.” The results on the other side are always far greater than any pain I might endure over the process of growth, but why then does it still hurt?

So we can acknowledge that it has a purpose. We can acknowledge that the pursuit of the other side, is worth the perseverance necessary to endure it. But still. But STILL. Why? And if we can acknowledge it, why can’t we be FREE of the effects of it?

Defiantly, I reach into the green, pulling at the root, birthing fresh, damp soil as I remove each stalk and cast it behind me.

“So that what cannot be shaken may remain.” Hebrews 12:27

God allows us pain to alert us to a wrong, perhaps not what is wrong, but to let us know that there is something there which must be shaken, which must be plucked at the root, and away, out of us, BEHIND us.

Pain, in essence, is the courtesy of a loving God, removing the weeds of our life, prickly, soft and supple, but a hindrance and nuisance regardless, to come what may make room for the birth and growth of that which will remain.

I’m sitting here, thinking of a way to wrap this up. I do not yet have an answer for the rest of it. I’m still wrestling. I don’t know why it still hurts. I want to say that it is part of the grand mystery that is Creation and a relationship with a loving Father, but from where I sit, to put it bluntly, that’s just an irritating thing to say to someone who is suffering. What I do know is that where there is pain there is purpose; where there is purpose there is growth; and where there is growth, there is grace sufficient for the whole lot of it. Where do acceptance and peace come in from there? We can answer the grand mystery of pain, but answers provide not emotional peace and understanding and ultimately, willingly relenting to Him.

In the end, I suppose that that is a question not to be answered this side of Heaven.

"But They Did It First!"

I’ll bet every parent has heard this woeful refrain on multiple occasions from their little cherubs when sibling skirmishes have broken out. This all too familiar justification is what children offer in defense of retaliating after an initial push or provocation: “But they did it first!!” Somehow, in their childish minds, that statement makes their sinful response to being sinned against perfectly acceptable. After all, isn’t the worst sinner the one who started it? And doesn’t the sinful behavior of another deserve a response in kind? Children certainly seem to think so. We can chalk it up to childish immaturity, recognizing the need for loving, mature parental correction and training.  Surely grown adults would not engage in this kind of behavior or think this way. We know better … or do we?

This is an area that God has made me increasingly aware of over the past few years. Of course, this applies to all relationships but I must confess, nowhere am I more deceived by this self-serving attitude than with my own husband.  How many times have I retaliated (isn’t there a less convicting word to use??) with disrespect, unnecessary sarcasm or a harsh rebuttal when unkind or hurtful words were first directed towards me? Why do I feel justified in responding with “works of the flesh” rather than displaying the fruit of the Spirit when I’ve been sinned against? How is it that a spouse’s sin seems more sinful and obvious than our own angry outburst, brooding silence or self-righteous criticism? Why do those of us who respond sinfully to another’s sin fail to see our own sinful hearts for what they really are and recognize our desperate need for repentance? How can we so easily justify, minimize and dismiss our sinful response, excusing it as acceptable, while fiercely clinging to a “They did it first” mentality? Are we as adults blinded to our own foolish immaturity and childish sinfulness? As author Paul Tripp has said in his writings, “We serve as our own best defense lawyers.” We are masters at absolving our own guilt while readily pointing an accusing finger at others. 

Scripture well understands this dynamic and speaks poignantly to the deceitfulness of our human hearts: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Mt. 7:3-5)  By nature, we are all hyper-vigilant speck seekers while tripping over our own personal logs! The writer here minces no words. We are hypocrites who don’t see clearly! Scripture tells me there is something I need to do before I address any “speck” I think I see in another. I need to first “take the log out of my own eye”. This requires self-examination, honesty, and humility. It doesn’t come naturally to any of us. My flesh recoils at confronting my own sin. I must allow the spotlight of God’s truth through his Word and by His Spirit to search my heart.  He will be faithful to identify those logs of self-righteousness, pride, superiority, and justification that allow me to excuse my sin while condemning those who sin against me. 

The classic example that comes to mind concerning this dynamic is the scenario between Moses and God in the wilderness wanderings with Israel. Once again the congregation cried out against Moses, accusing their leader of bringing them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness for lack of water.  Rather than speaking to the rock to yield the water needed, as Moses was clearly commanded by the LORD to do, he instead struck the rock in anger twice with his staff and spoke harshly to the “rebel Israelites”. By God’s grace alone, water for the entire assembly and their flocks gushed out of the rock, bringing it’s sustaining life to all. However, the LORD held Moses responsible for his sinful reaction to the sinful provocation, accusations, and complaints of the nation. “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” Moses’ response of anger and disobedience to God’s clear command bore heavy consequences and he forfeited the privilege of leading the nation into the Promised Land. (Num. 20:1-12, Ps. 106:32-33) 

Often, the response to this narrative is that we feel sorry for Moses. After all, these Israelites were a real pain in the neck! Look how they treated Moses. Look what Moses had to put up with. Constant complaining and whining…constant criticism and accusations…they challenged his authority and leadership at every turn. Humanly speaking, Moses had had it with this rebel bunch and lashed out at the rock with his staff. We tend to excuse his sinful response to the people. Certainly, we can understand his frustration and cut him some slack.  “After all, what does God expect?” we think to ourselves.  

God expects His holiness to be upheld. He expects our obedience. He expects us to lay hold of all He has provided through Christ to live a life of godliness. He expects us to say “No!” to sin. He has equipped us in every possible way to be His image bearers, no matter how provoked or sinned against. Rather than making excuses and responding humanly… naturally… He expects us to respond supernaturally! He has provided everything we need in order to do so. He has given His indwelling Spirit, His abundant grace, His great and precious promises, His abiding presence, spiritual gifts, resurrection power, Christ’s intercession on our behalf, the motivation and enablement to do His will, prayerful access into the throne room at any time, the armor of God, etc. The resources believers have in Christ in order to live for Him are myriad! 

We ARE responsible for how we respond to the sinful offense of another. Let us stop making excuses and deceiving ourselves. Lord, help us take responsibility and respond with humility and repentance whenever needed, in all our relationships.  Help us not to be like immature and foolish children, pointing a finger and calling out, “They did it first!” Please move us to lay hold of all the resources you have supplied so we as your people can live godly, even in the face of provocation or offense, that your name may be greatly honored and that your holiness may be upheld.   

I Was Made For This

It was my Grandfather that would announce my pregnancy to my family - even before I myself knew that I was pregnant. He called my Mother with such exuberance and joy, saying, “Janis is going to have a baby!” My mother in her shock didn’t reply quickly enough before he enthusiastically went on, “I could tell she was pregnant the moment she walked in the house, she looked just as your mother did when she was carrying you and your brother.

It would be days later that my son’s father and I would do a pregnancy test on a Sunday night, as a practice run before doing one first thing the next morning, as the test indicated that testing in the morning would provide the most accurate results. But, before the kitchen timer even went off, two blue lines boldly presented themselves.

After realizing for sure that I had fell pregnant, to my best calculations, I had begun feeling ill the morning after I conceived. There is a princess who has made the condition I suffered from a common household term - hyperemesis gravidarum- throughout nearly 8 months of my pregnancy I struggled. I had IV fluids because of dehydration, I dropped weight instead of gaining, and largely felt I might, instead of having life created within me, be instead dying.

My son’s Father was not the least bit pleased with this turn of events. It was not in our plan book of the way our life was to play out. We were to be married till I was about thirty, travel, and jet set to places people only dream of. 

He did not want a baby. Now. He did not want THIS baby.

And, all I knew was that this person that was probably no larger than a small seed, that could be sucked from my womb and deposited with some trash, was my very own child. And I was made to be its mother.

My mind constantly felt to God’s word, spoken in Psalm 127:3 which proclaims “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

Creation was growing within me. I was chosen. What a lightness of heart I had while enduring the heavy reality of a life’s circumstances.

I was living the gospel in the things that no one saw. I was making a sacrifice for my child, putting his value ahead of my own. What an amazing calling God put on my life by gifting me with this child.

Weeks later, under the care of a specialist for high-risk pregnancies - there were signs I might be carrying twins - a doctor would do an ultrasound, and I would learn that the dear sweet babe who was sharing my heartbeat was a boy.

God had answered a little girls prayers. A little girl who only played with doll babies, and those doll babies should they have long hair instantly were given boy haircuts because it was my deepest desire to be the mother of a boy. Even back when I was five and got my very first Madame Alexander doll who I named Joey John.

I fought for this child’s life. I was willing to give up everything to carry my child to term and give him life.

There were those people around me who were quick to say why I shouldn’t have him, how I could have prevented him, and that I surely wouldn’t be smiling after he was born and I had to give up my plans for the future.

He was of so little importance to some people but - I would lay down my life for him, and 29 years later I still would. I would give up everything.

Then, and even more so now, children rank below careers, and travel, and leisure. They rank behind a trim body and a vacation. They are disposable entities. 

Yet for me, motherhood was not some bump in the road in my dancing career or finishing my college degree. Motherhood was and continues to be a ministry God ordained me for. To carry a child He had chosen for ME to mother before the foundations of the earth. The babe who would grow to be a man and carry my DNA, handcrafted by God, and share it with future generations.

By giving birth to my son I was testifying that I valued what God values. Life. I was standing for the defenseless, and the unwanted. At this moment, I gave up my petty desires, and my often selfish motives and decided to live for someone other than me. I lay down my imaginary future and instead grabbed with gusto the future God had for me as a mother. 

It was no accident I fell pregnant when I did. This world needed the presence of my son, and God had pre-ordained his days.

In faith, I stepped out and lived the gospel in all the things that no one sees when you are a mother. I lived out the lesson of calvary and put someone’s life before my own.

Motherhood is a calling, and it is God who does the calling. It is not for the faint of hearted, as they say.

It is the testimony of our lives as Mothers and as Women that should weigh heavily on our hearts, that our children will come to know the Lord through our actions and our teachings.

As Paul writes to Timothy acknowledging the importance of his mother and his knowledge of God,  “. . . knowing from whom you learned it.” (2 Timothy 3:14 b) He is talking about Eunice and Lois, Timothy’s mother and grandmother. There are three clues that lead us to this understanding. First, Paul refers (in v. 15) to this learning as happening “from childhood.” Second, we see in 2 Timothy 1:5 these words, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” So Paul has already connected Timothy’s faith with what he got from his mother and grandmother.

Whether it is for a few short weeks or for the rest of your life God specifically places THE PERFECTLY CHOSEN CHILD IN YOUR LIFE for you to have a ministry. Whether through adoption or surrogacy or mentoring we are called to care for children, step into your calling, step into your ministry, claim God’s promises because you were born for this.