Take Off Those Stinky Shoes...Preparing for Lent

Ok, I admit it. I'm a horrible Christian. In the past I have given up things for Lent that would benefit me personally rather than bring me closer to Christ. Like one year I decided to give up French fries. I wish it was because every time I thought of eating French fries I prayed or thought about Christ's sacrifice, but the truth is I wanted to be healthier and lose a few pounds and Lent provided the perfect spiritual excuse for setting a goal I normally would have trouble accomplishing. Feeling guilty and realizing my motives were not pure, a few years ago I turned things around and instead of giving something up for Lent I tried to add a spiritual discipline. This worked and brought me closer to God but still left me feeling like I wasn't getting the true meaning of sacrifice. I think this year I finally have it.

This year I am going to give something up. The difference is instead of it being, food, social media, or something that I know I should be doing less of, I'm choosing to look at the areas of my life Christ wants to come in and change. Think of it like shoes. You know those cute flats that are so comfortable and go with everything but you can't wear socks with. Not wearing socks makes your feet stinky, but it doesn't matter you love these shoes and, they are comfortable, so you keep wearing them. 

I realize my life is like that. I have so many pairs of stinky shoes that God wants to come in and remove, but I hold onto them like the shoe fanatic I am. There are things like unforgivness, judgment, and much more that are taking up a lot of space in my closet. Honestly, they are stinking up my closet but because they are comfortable and I am ashamed to show my un-pedicured toes to the world I keep wearing stinky shoes.

I don't know about you but this year for Lent, I am going to try and take at least one of those pairs of stinky shoes and for 40 days give them over to God who makes all things new. Think of Him like the odor eater of your soul. For forty days I will try not to hold onto bitterness and judgment. It will be hard especially when my feet feel vulnerable and ugly, but I think they will finally be able to breathe and so will my family ;) 

All metaphors aside, take a look in the closet of your heart. Are you holding onto things that are stinking up your heart and soul? If you are, join me in a little spring cleaning this Lent and give those stinky shoes over to God who loves you...corns, calluses and all.

Compassion: Spring's Hottest Accesory

I have many titles: daughter, wife, school administrator, sister, aunt, volunteer, etc. However, the one title that I love the most is Mom. Sure, life as a full time working mother of three is tough, and when I hear, "Mom," yelled or whined from across the house sometimes I sigh and think I wish I could change my name. Yet, most of the time when my kids call me Mom, I think it is such an honor and there is no better name to be called.

Mom is not a title I take lightly. I realize that it is my job to love and care for my children 24/7. I know that my job is not just to make sure they are happy, healthy, clean and fed but to provide them with the spiritual and moral guidance to help them as they prepare to one day leave our home as adults contributing to society and maybe one day raising a family of their own.

So, with Mother's Day and the important role mothers play on my mind it is with a heavy heart that I read about the situations in Syria, Sudan, Nigeria and other parts of the world. These places and lifestyles seem so far away and so odd to me because they are quite different than my experiences. Yet, when I see a mother crying because her daughter has been kidnapped by terrorists because she wanted an education, I can't help but relate. I, too, want my daughter to get a good education, so she can pursue a future full of dreams. When I see a mother holding a baby on her hip and the hand of a younger child as they walk hours to refugee camps in search of food and safety I can't help but remember how the cries of my children as newborns motivated me to quickly feed and comfort them. Then I think some more and realize that their cries pierced my heart, but I was able to provide for them without a second thought. How agonizing it must be for these mothers to hear the cries of their children and not be able to feed them. How difficult to be faced with such fear but have to remain strong for your children. I think of the times I have been sick,with the flu and have forced myself out of bed to make lunches and make sure my children have normalcy even when I am sick. How sad it must be for a mother with AIDS. Her young ones must provide for themselves while she withers away not knowing what the future holds for her children.

My mind can't help but think of all this when my husband asks what I want to do for Mother's Day. Don't get me wrong. I work hard and can't wait to have a day all about me. I love the pampering and attention, since I feel I'm always giving to my family. Yet, all I need is their love and some home made cards telling me how they feel. When compared to these other moms, I have everything I could want and need and more. 

With all of this in mind, I am asking my family to change things up this Mother's Day. Instead of getting me a present, taking me out to a nice meal, and spending tons of money on cards, I am asking them to make a donation to an organization that helps moms that really could use a Mother's Day gift. There are many local and international charities doing great work and making a big difference. Won't you join me this Mother's Day? What better way to teach your children to wear compassion than having them give on your behalf.

Below are a list of some organizations that I like, but you should pick one that speaks the most to you and your family.

Sheridan House Minstries - Helps South Florida Single Moms

sheridanhouse.org

Direct Relief - Humanitarian Medical Aid

directrelief.org

Water.org - Helping people gain access to safe drinking water and sanitation

water.org

Promise for Haiti - Empowers local Haitain leaders in order to improve the quality of life 

promiseforhaiti.org

Blood Water Mission - Partnering with Africa to end the HIV/AIDS and water crises

bloodwater.org

Blood Water Mission currently has a Mother's Day program where you can get a card for Mom in her honor and provide help to a mom-to-be. Deadline is May 1st.

Reach Out World Wide - First Responders to Natural Disasters Nationally and internationally

roww.org

UNICEF - Children's Rights and Emergency Relief Organization

unicef.org

There are plenty more. List one of your favorites in the comment section and let's start a revolution of compassion this Mother's Day!

Listening Ears

And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10 NLT)

I'm an educator and around school you will often hear teachers say, "Put your listening ears on." I think that God wants us to do the same thing. Often he is speaking to us but like Samuel we don't recognize his voice. A lot of us are just like Samuel. God called out to him multiple times and he heard something but was unsure of the source of the voice. This happens to us for many reasons. 

Many times we, like Samuel, go and ask another person what they hear because we doubt our own ability to hear from God.  Other times we hear something but just don't know who is speaking.  As a teacher, I can tell which of my students is speaking without even looking at them because I know them. I am with them day in and day out. We need to spend time with God to be able to hear and recognize his voice.

It is also interesting that this account takes place at night when all is quiet and still. In order to hear from God, we need to quiet our hearts and minds and be still before him. This means sometimes even turning off the good things will fill our lives with. Being still is a lost art in our society. We constantly have to be busy. We have headphones in, the television on and are texting and updating social media all at the same time. When God passed by Elijah it was in the stillness and this is still true today. We can be busy, even busy for God,, and totally miss hearing from him because he speaks in the stillness.

Most people I know, myself included, constantly say, "I wish God would just tell me..." What if God is telling us, but like Samuel we just don't recognize his voice.  Is he talking to you? Are you listening for his voice? Do you know him enough to recognize his voice from the voice of others or are you too busy looking to friends and self-help experts for advice? Are you still enough to hear God speaking to you? 

I believe God is always speaking to us; we just need to put our listening ears on to hear him.

                                                                           

                                                    

                                                    

Gearing Up for a New Year

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT)

     It's a New Year and many people resolve to get healthier and more in shape. The stores are selling workout clothes and equipment and gyms will sell more memberships this month than any other time during the year. Maybe you are resolving to get healthier. Just be reminded as you put your sneakers and workout clothes on that as a believer in Christ, you are in a race. Be disciplined in your training like Paul talks about in Corinthians. Get your spiritual life in shape by adopting spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading God's Word. When you train for a regular race you may win a prize, but one day that prize will fade away. On the other hand, when you train spiritually you are gaining a prize that is eternal.

Paul tells us to be purposeful in every step. I know people that plan every exercise, doing certain muscle groups on certain days; tracking how much weight they can lift verses when they stared and every calorie put in their body. If we take so much care and time for a body that will one day fade away, how much care should we put into our spiritual life? Be purposeful. Fill your time with things that will nourish your soul and bring you closer to God. Paul says that he doesn't just talk the talk. Everything he preaches, he lives. He trained like an athlete with a prize in mind. This New Year resolve to do the same for yourself.

Put on Those Rain Boots

            “Look!  I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing everything on earth will die.” Genesis 6:17          

           “Finally, the day came when the LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous.”  Genesis 7:1

I know what you’re thinking, who wears rain boots anymore?  I don’t know if anyone does but they should.  There is nothing more annoying than walking around with wet feet all day. 

In Genesis, God tells Noah that He is tired of the corruption in the world, sound familiar?  Noah is the only righteous one among the whole earth.  Talk about being different.  And if being righteous in a corrupt world isn’t enough, God asks Noah to build a boat while it wasn’t even raining.  I’m sure he stood out like one of those poor girls with the black bar across her eyes on the fashion don’t page in a magazine. 

You may be asking yourself, what does it mean to be righteous?  Well Webster defines righteous as, “acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin.”  Jesus’ death on the cross allows us to be righteous.  His sacrifice makes us “free from guilt or sin.” After we accept that gift we must choose to act “in accord with divine or moral law.”

 
            That means that like Noah, we will be asked to go against the culture and stand out. We must follow God’s divine law to be set apart for God.  It may mean you may not be as popular as you would like but it is definitely worth it.  Noah’s righteousness paid off for him in the end.  He and his family were the only ones to survive God’s destruction.  I don’t know about you, but a few unpopular choices now in order to survive God’s destruction for eternity sounds like a no-brainer.  It’s kind of like choosing to wear rain boots when it’s raining even thought it’s not the in-thing to do.

What to Wear???

Alright ladies, there’s no denying it; we’ve all been there before – staring at our closet in frustration wondering what to wear.  It’s not just a simple question like some might think; it’s a lot deeper than that.  You have to consider so many things when picking out the right outfit.  What do you feel like wearing?  What’s on your agenda that day?  Who do you want to impress?

I hate to add more pressure to you girls but everyday you not only choose to put on physical clothes but spiritual ones as well.  These “clothes” are more important than anything else you wear.  In Colossians 3:12(NLT) Paul says, “Since God chose you to be holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  That means that as Christians we actually choose what attitudes to “wear.”

This blog won’t help you with fashion dos and don’ts like most fashion magazines but it will help and encourage you to choose the right qualities you can strive to live out in your life.  I say the word choose when talking about these Christian qualities because just like deciding what outfit to wear you make a choice everyday if you will put your faith into action.  So pick up all those clothes off the floor and bed and get ready to learn what to wear and learn to dress His best.