[face...palm]

Warning:  This is definitely not going to be one of my most creative pieces.

I saw my last post was written in May. I refuse to read it just yet because I shudder to think what I may have written because I was still in the throws of being very ill. One thing is for sure, it must have been something I was passionate about in order to get me online and actually remember my email and password.

Yikes.

So here I am again. Finally.  However, this time my mind is actually "awake" and I know where the letters are on the keyboard.  Oh yeah, and I can see the screen without feeling like the room is spinning.

Good start.

Anyway. The reason I'm here is because last night as my husband and I where watching TV, there it was again. In plain view. For all the world to see. A christian.  And of course, regardless of this man's sincere beliefs, he was made out to be slightly above crazy and paranoid.

[face...palm]

We've all done it haven't we? Not the crazy part. I was born that way. (Thank you Lady GaGa)

The [face...palm] thingy.

You know it. You see or hear something that simply makes you say "Ay, yay, yay!" (well, maybe if you're hispanic...or been around hispanics...or watched hispanic television...or a movie with a hispanic actor...or an actor playing a hispanic saying "ay, yay, yay!") 

[face...palm]

Sorry for that stream of consciousness...but that's exactly what I meant. Something so completely off it makes no sense, yet it does, and yet...it doesn't. And we shake our head and our palm meets our face.

Get to the point Lisa.

(You do realize this is my blog and I can ramble on as long as I'd like. Yes? Good.) 

It's kinda like this:

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" - Ghandi

I decided last night that I no longer want to call myself a christian. Why? Well, the world is seeing Christians in a different light and I am not who they see. I want them to see who I follow. I want them to see who I love. I want them to know Him for Him...not me for my shortcomings.  I want them to see Jesus.

Yes, Jesus. The radical of his time. The revolutionary. The brown skinned Jewish man who lived in ancient Palestine who gave out free health care. The man who rebuked the religious powerful of his time and ate with those who were considered "sinners". You know...those tax collectors and government officials.

He had a gang of twelve men. He had real friendships. He had enemies. His mother loved him. His brothers hated him. He was fearless and He spoke the truth...in love. Always. Every time. He was tempted. He was victorious. He was followed by many. He was alone when necessary.  He was pursued. He was persecuted. He taught the greatest message of Hope ever spoken by anyone before him or since him. He was tortured and murdered for that very same message.  He died. Yet...He lives.

Many people can snark at that comment "He lives".  And still so many talk about loved ones who "live" because of us...our memories, our conversations, our thoughts, our actions.

[face...palm]

Get it?

He lives. And I'm not just a fan, I'm a Jesus follower.


Blessings for your day,

Speechless

Hello long time ago friends.

I haven't been writing because of some unfortunate health issues over the past few months.  What makes today different?  I'm am gripped in sadness at what I see on the news today and wanted to journal the fewest of thoughts I can muster together to have on my blog...forever.

First I will say this, I will never forget the emotions that laid a hold of me on 9/11.  Second, I never stopped praying for those whose eyes are covered by a veil of hatred -- no matter if it presented itself as religion or justice.

I never rejoiced in Saddam's death.

Nor do I rejoice in the news I received this morning.

Terrorism did not die with Osama. I'm grateful that justice has been served but I do not celebrate in the death...of anyone.

So here are my Nine Little Words for today:

Eternal separation from Almighty God should never be celebrated.

Remember that:

 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, New International Version, ©2011)

So I ask you to be different from the rest of the world who celebrated when our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters died as a result of the attack on our country -- whether civilian or military.  Honor their memories by understanding that for their families, their lives will never be "normal".  The death of Osama may bring a sense of justice but it doesn't change the past.

Pray for us and the rest of the world.

¹ First, I tell you to pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to him.² Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God. (1 Timothy 2:1-2, New Century Version)

Pray for grace, mercy, and peace.  That all peoples of the world may learn and know the love of one, true, holy and just God.

Blessings for your day.

Merriest Christmas!

I am thrilled beyond measure at the celebration that is Christmas!  Unfortunately, I'm only mid-way through the little project I had started in the beginning of December.

For those of you who follow this blog, the possibility exists that you may understand the word "warfare" when it comes to spiritual matters.  Let's just say I am battled and bruised but not defeated.

I ended up getting a raging sinus infection this week.

But I will be back.

We'll finish Why the Nativity? by David Jeremiah this coming week.

Enjoy your Christmas celebration.  Whether you've celebrated for years, or this is your first one, or you still have questions...there is no better time than Christmas to slow down and soak it all in.

A great place to start?







  Get this book :)







Blessings for your Christmas!!!

Preparing for Christmas

Remember how this blog first started?  If you're new here, read the story about how it all began:  Nine Little Words.

I still ask the question.

"How can I ask God to bless you today?"

I do know it has been an adventure -- stepping out of my comfort zone to open up conversation.  A question seeming so simple to ask yet so difficult when truly moved and prompted to do so.  It has been a question that has opened up my eyes to a world and people -- His children -- who long for someone to just care even a little bit.

But what I haven't done is venture further out from my local stores and restaurants.  Perhaps it's become too easy and comfortable again.  Could I really make a difference or an impact if I stepped out a little further and really asked, "How can I ask God to bless you today?"

Perhaps I'm too afraid of what God would show my heart. Perhaps.

What if I was in little Bethlehem all those centuries ago?  Who would I ask? How would I respond?  Would I even think to approach shepherds in a field?  Regardless of their faithfulness to their work, they were known to be thieves and foul mouthed men.  As a woman, of course I wouldn't approach them alone but would I look down on them from a distance...judging them?  Would I be a "good" Jewish woman and consider myself too good because shepherds had such a dirty job and they were considered "unclean"?

What if those very shepherds were asked, "How can I ask God to bless you today?"

What do you think their response would be?

Personally, I believe God listened to their hearts every time they were given a look by "good" people when they went into the marketplace to buy food or supplies.  I believe in the loneliness and poverty of their jobs they had time to question God and ask if He would ever bless them.

I believe He answered.

From the book by David Jeremiah, Why the Nativity?

Question #14

"Why the shepherds?"

He writes:

"Men whose skin glistened with sweat, whose clothes gave off the stench of the fields; those who lacked the most basic manners, who used language unfit for your children's ears; minimum wage earners who were unlikely to be admitted to any respectable establishment of the time -- on this night they were favored by heaven."

I don't know about you but the above words brought me to tears.

Instead of giving you more of my insight from Dr. Jeremiah's book, I'm going to give you his discussion questions and suggestion for further reading.  Trust me. They made me think.

1. Who would be the equivalent of shepherds in society today? Why?
2. How do you respond to these people when they intersect your daily life? What could you do to improve that?

For further study: Read John 10:1-11. What other reason might there be for Jesus' birth being announced first to the shepherds?

Continuing to prepare for Christmas.

Next: Why the Angels?

Here is the link for Why the Nativity?




 
  Maybe you'll get it in your stocking?









Blessings for your day,

Preparing for Christmas

For those of us who are parents, most can remember the moments we first saw our children whether they were our own or adopted. We were filled with indescribable emotion.

For those who have adopted, from what I understand, the emotion is usually a combination of nervousness, joy, protection, apprehension, and an overwhelming sense of..."finally the wait is over".  Next comes the paperwork, and until those documents are signed there is always a chance the hopeful adoptive parents and child would have to part ways.

All of my life, I've been surrounded by adoptions and have five in our family circle.  I have friends who have adopted and have counted down the days with them.  All you can do is wait...and pray.

For those of us who have given birth to our own children, we all have similar emotions while waiting but we also wonder who the baby will look like. Some of us secretly hope that the child will look like "our side of the family".  But all of us hope for a healthy baby and we count all fingers and toes when the baby finally makes his or her appearance.

I used to stare at our babies.  I would study their faces and imagine what they would look like when grown up.  I would dream of conversations I would have in raising a little lady.  I would also think of all the ways I would teach our son to be a gentleman.

Imagine Mary and Joseph.

They had both waited for the coming of the Messiah.  They had heard the prophecies. They had heard the songs and the poems. They expected so much of the promised King.

Now they were told the Messiah would come, but arrive as an infant.

Imagine Mary and Joseph.

Imagine their anticipation as to who the Child would look like. Would he look like any other infant?

The baby boy is born, Son of God.  The waiting for the Messiah was over.  Mary and Joseph counted fingers and toes.  But what now?  How long before this Child is no longer theirs?  Joseph is now the adoptive father. Do you think they knew the boy Mary delivered would be the One who delivers them both?

Can you imagine waiting as parents..."until further notice"?

I certainly couldn't.

From the book Why the Nativity? by David Jeremiah


Question #13

"Why did Jesus come as a baby?"

He writes:

"In that regard, we have seen that the Virgin Birth is the sign of his [Jesus] divinity. He comes to the earth from outside, pure and clean, and is in no way a product of this world. Now we see that, in the same way, the infancy of the Child is the sign of his humanity.  He is one of us in every way. He arrives from heaven with perfection and godliness of which no man or woman is capable -- yet he takes the full human journey, which even God in heaven had not taken. How could we follow his footsteps as a man if we hadn't seen him crawl as a child? How could we believe he had undergone all the temptation we have faced if he had bypassed the most difficult years in which we struggle to earn our adulthood?

To make the full sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus had to make the full commitment."

Wow.

Get the book Why the Nativity? to read the rest of David Jeremiah's words.


Next:  Why the shepherds?





   Here is the link from Amazon.











Blessings for your day,