Dear Christians everywhere,

Please, please don’t use your religious faith as an excuse to justify discrimination or to not show loving care. When you do, you’re missing the point of the gospel completely and doing more harm than good. It’s truly an embarrassment.

When the pregnant 13-year-old needs a safe home to stay in, offer yours.

When the 80-year-old convicted murderer dies in prison and you’ve been asked to be the casket bearer in a memorial service of less than 10 family members, you carry that casket with a humble respect.

When the adulterous male or female is in need of a friend when all the other church friends have scattered, instead of murdering his or her spirit with ugly stones, be the one with kind words and a non-judgmental listening ear.

When the Pastor’s daughter is getting ordained in your church, show up and give her a big supportive hug.

When the man with HIV AIDS is dying and you find him at home to weak to get our of bed and covered in his own feces, gently carry him to the bath and clean him up, strip and wash his linens, and carry him back to bed with the strong loving arms the Lord has blessed you with.

When the drunken man wearing pajama pants arrives late to church and walks down the center isle, be the first to go and give him your best warm welcome.

When the church attending mentally ill, drugged up mother needs help, instead of standing off to the side speaking gossip, be the one to help. Make sure not to forget her spouse and children as well.

When those of different race and color show up to your church, go over, introduce yourself and tell him how happy you are to see him. In fact, invite him over for dinner – and all his friends too.

When those from a different country move into your neighborhood, bake them a pie and welcome them to the area.

When the Ethiopian nurse of Muslim faith shows up to your home to care for your child for the night and she holds a belief that dogs carry evil spirits and believes it is wrong to even be touched by one, you place your dog in the kennel before she arrives. Then, respectfully, welcome her into your home and thank her for the loving care she provides to your child.

When you find the non-church attending, tattoo laden, Samaritan on the other side of the street in need of loving care, go over and offer all you have.

When you see something that you disagree with on social media, instead of firing off judgmental hate filled words, respond with loving kindness instead, or even maybe better yet, don’t say anything at all.

What is wrong with this world? I am. Guess what, so are you.

In the words of John Stott: “Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it.”

When I read the gospels, I read that Jesus came to be a friend to sinners. I don’t know about you but I am so thankful for that because it tells me that He came for all. In fact, my Pastor has shared these words in his sermons, “We are more sinful than we ever dared to imagine and we are more loved than we ever dared to believe.”

Don’t let your religious faith prevent you from being the hands and feet to those who so desperately need it. Don’t allow your religious beliefs to cloud your view of being able to see Jesus in the least of these.

This very well might not be received as a popular post. That’s okay. Last I checked, Christianity wasn’t very popular now days. However, these are the thoughts that kept me up last night. These are the thoughts that I just had to get out.

Friends, go forth and do what you can to show the radical love of Jesus today. The world needs it.

One Sunday morning in April of 2012, my boys and I made our way into church and found a spot to sit. There were a few minutes before the service would start so I began to read the church newsletter full of important information. My eyes immediately drew to a section that said something similar to this; “An organization called “Healing the Children” is looking for a family to host a young child from Honduras who is scheduled to have surgery at Sanford. This family will have the responsibility of caring for this child after surgery and follow-up doctor appointments until she is able to return home to her parents. If you are interested, please contact the church office.”

Sitting here 4 years later, I am having trouble finding the right words to describe how I felt immediately after reading that. All I knew is that every portion of my being WANTED that child to come into our home. You see, for several months before that, my husband and I started to devote our time to really teaching our boys about “loving our neighbor”, especially the sick, poor, and homeless, and what that looks like. We began doing what we titled “Food Pantry Friday’s” at our house where after school every Friday, we would drive down to the food pantry and drop off groceries. We wanted to not only speak to our children about how to love our neighbor but we felt strongly on teaching by example and actually doing it – most importantly with having them participate. When I read that request in the church newsletter, I felt like this was just another way God was giving us an opportunity to “love our neighbor” and the thought of being able to care for and love on this child had my heart swelling.

Now, my mind knew that this would be a huge commitment for our family, especially with the amount of time my husband was gone at work and the level of care our younger son required with his own medical cares, but my heart strings were singing a different tune. I just felt so deeply that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and asking this of us and I was all for it. Being a mother of a child with medical needs, I kept thinking about the parents who would have to send their young child to the USA and what they must be feeling. I knew that I had the love inside of me to care for this little girl as if she was my own, giving my best for her parents.

Being a little worried that my husband would not share my enthusiasm or see this opportunity the same way as I was, I honestly did try to talk myself out of it, but I just couldn’t. Thoughts such as this raced through my mind:

“God does not always lead us to places of comfort and this is not about us; it is about being obedient and listening to the Holy Spirit and trusting that God will use us to show His glory”…

 “This would be a great way to offer our love, time, and talents other than just financially supporting something”…

 “Since we can not travel with Noah, this would be a way to be on a “mission trip” without ever leaving our city”…

“Yes, my plate is full and I know that I will be taking most of the responsibility on this, but I trust that God will fully give us all that we need to do so. What better way to go into something than to fully lean on Him”…

 “This could have a huge positive impact on my children and a wonderful way to be fully hands on”…

 “We already know and have a relationship with the doctors at Sanford who would be caring for this child, plus we have the knowledge to be able to do so.”

My husband came home from work that night just in time for our family’s bedtime devotions. During his prayer, he specifically prayed asking God to show us ways on how we could love our neighbor. He didn’t know that as soon as the boys were in bed, that I was planning on sitting him down to talk about this. I took it as a good sign.

When I brought it up to him later that night, to my wonderful surprise, he didn’t freak out and listened nicely. He didn’t say much and just smiled… I took that as a good sign also.

The next morning, I pursued looking into this further. I called the church office and spoke to the contact person letting him know that I felt we were the family for this little girl and gave him all the reasoning’s going through my mind. He gave me the number of the woman who coordinates all of this in Michigan and I immediately called her as well. We spoke for a good 30 minutes; I gathered more information and details so I could speak with my husband about it again that night. My heart was now bursting with excitement, even more so than the night before and I was so certain this was meant to be.

I got the boys to bed that night and my husband returned home from work shortly after. He was barely inside of the door when, with the excitement pouring out of me, I once again brought up the little girl and this opportunity. Standing there in the kitchen, listening to what I was saying and realizing that I was actually serious about this, a look of pure shock came across his face. Very quickly I started to realize that this was not going to go the way I had hoped.

Just as he does best, my husband was thinking of this through his wonderfully logical mind while I admit, I was thinking with my wonderfully emotional one. He continued to explain his perspective on it all. I knew our plate was already full and it was like being stuffed after a huge meal and then asking for more. Why would we do that, right?

That evening, after our conversation, it was very quiet in our house and when we went to bed that night, instead of cuddling like we normally do, we laid with our backs to each other. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well that night. I knew that if my husband and I were not on the same page with an assignment like this, it would never go well. I started to pray and ask for wisdom because I could not figure out why God would allow the Holy Spirit to fill me so strongly on this when my husband felt the complete opposite. What lesson was there to learn? Was I to further pursue this and try to talk to him or let it go?

In the quiet of the night I prayed, “Lord, may your will be done and not my own.”

The next morning, I felt a calming in my heart and mind. I thought more about the logical points my husband made the night before and I knew I needed to show him respect. I began to resolve with the fact that this little girl might not be coming into our home and the overwhelming desire started to fade. I reminded myself that if this was meant to be then God would indeed work this out and I placed my full trust in that. I asked God to speak through my husband and quickly realized that He already was. I was reminded in that moment that I needed to submit to his leading and let love trump any further activity between us on this matter.

Within the following week, I found out that another family was chosen to care for this child and instead of feeling disappointed, I felt happy for her and knew this was how it was meant to be.

After meditating about all that transpired and how I felt, the one thing I was sure about is that when the opportunity presented itself, my heart was open and ready. Even though this assignment was not meant for us to fully carry out, I believe the assignment of the Lord testing my heart was. While it wasn’t working out as I had hoped, I believe wholeheartedly that my response is exactly what the Lord required of me.

And then, right after I felt peace about all that had taken place, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart again. I felt certain that He was asking me of one more task in this situation, maybe the most important one of all – to love our neighbors by lifting them up in prayer.

 My eyes filled with tears when I realized that my desire to help this little girl and to impact my children would still be fulfilled. What greater teaching and example could I make than to show them to lift others, even those we have never met, up in prayer? 

 So, with great responsibility, this is exactly the task that we, as a family, choose to do.  

Such a simple, yet amazing gift and privilege we have in lifting others up in prayer.

On a cold winter day, in the early months of 2008, I got an email from my younger sister, Naomi, who was living in California. At that time in my life, my son Ethan was an active 5 year old and my son Noah had just turned 2. Due to Noah’s fragile medical condition, we were forced to live in isolation, taking him out only for doctor’s appointments or admissions to the hospital, which were frequent.

Her email explained that she had met a young single gal in her early 20’s, named Julia, who was looking for work for the upcoming summer months. She mentioned that Julia loved children and was thinking about finding a nanny position. She went on to say that she knew we were not looking for such a thing, but that God had laid it upon her heart in mentioning it to us and who knows, maybe if we would consider it, Julia could come and live with us for the summer and help me out at home.

She was right. My husband and I had never considered having someone come and live with us to help us out. Lord knows however, that as much as I didn’t want to admit it, my husbands 80+ hour workweeks and living in isolation was wearing on me. So we talked about it, prayed about it, and the more we thought about it, we started to get a real sense of peace that this would be the right thing to do and considered the benefits it could have for all of us. It would provide a job for her and it would allow me to take Noah to the doctor without having to bring Ethan along. It would allow us to train her to care for Noah so I could also have some one on one time with Ethan as well…something that was difficult to do as Noah required so much time and care.

Trusting my sisters judgment that this would be a good girl for us to have, we eventually got in touch with Julia and on a leap of faith and courage – from her and us – the arrangements were made for her to move in and live with us for 3 months that summer.

When she arrived from California to South Dakota that day in May, an immediate connection was made and I knew that God had led us to the right decision. That summer went wonderfully. I was provided with a new friend and someone to be around to talk with. We spent time teaching her and despite not having a medical background, she quickly picked up the medical knowledge in learning how to care for Noah. The boys gained a new friend as well and she loved on them in the most beautiful way. She learned sign language to help communicate with Noah and watched many “Signing Time” videos with him. I was able to spend quality time with Ethan and I was also able to take Noah to the many doctor appointments without having to haul Ethan along. My husband and I were able to spend some date nights together without worry. It was a true blessing!

I also came to find out that she was in the midst of experiencing raw grief. A little girl whom she was very close with was killed from being hit by a car while riding her bicycle and I was able to spend time listening to her and helping her process that. Also, during that particular time in her life, she was attending college and was struggling to know exactly how God was leading her and what career path to take. After seeing how well she picked up on the medical knowledge, I encouraged her by stating that I thought she would do well in the medical field, either as a nurse or working in child life services. Either way, we let her know that we would be praying for her and asking God to make her path clear.

It was a sad day to say good-bye to her at the end of that summer, but we knew that a lifelong friendship was made and we would keep in touch.

~

This past year on a Tuesday afternoon in early October, I pulled up a chair and sat next to the desk of a young boy with Down-Syndrome whom I have the privilege of spending one on one time with in class a couple days a week. It was time for Bible and that particular day, the class was studying the book of Esther, specifically the familiar story in Esther chapters 4 & 5. Many times, I find that even though I am in the room helping out one particular child, I am the one who is blessed in some way. This specific day, I found myself smiling over the story, listening and being reminded of the truths it held, and watching the kids as they soaked it in.  I sat and thought about the many different paths that the Lord has put me on, many of which I least expected.

Later that same day after the boys and I arrived home from school, I was in the kitchen doing the usual multi-tasking of preparing supper and Noah’s evening medical cares.  My phone ringed a tone that notified me of a new text message and as I pulled it up, I smiled to see that it was from Julia as it had been awhile since we had last spoken. She had since moved from California to Kansas City, MO and had been living there for several years, working as the Children’s Ministry Director of the church she was attending. However, as God would have it, she recently felt the calling to pursue her studies to becoming a nurse and is currently attending school for that.

As I read her message, it stopped me in my tracks.

Immediately, my thoughts went back to the story of Esther that I had been reminded of earlier that day as I sat in the 5^th grade classroom.

“And who knows, but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

Tears filled my eyes, as I knew without a doubt that the Lord was allowing me to see how even 8 years later, His plan from that stressful time was still being fulfilled. Only He could arrange for a young girl from California whom we had not met to move in with our family for the summer; for a lifelong friendship to be born and encouragement to take place; for the chance to teach her specific medical knowledge; for us to be there for each other in a variety of ways and to experience great joy when we both needed it most; and now knowing a young child was laying in a hospital room with a trach who experienced a life threatening crisis was saved because of it.

Friends, if you have ever once questioned it, I want to remind you today that you have a purpose! God has a specific calling on your life, whatever that may be, and you matter!

Maybe you feel stuck in life and just do not know which way to turn or what path to take. Pray for wisdom and trust that He will lead you to it.

Maybe you are a stay at home mother or father who is weary from the day-to-day life of raising your little ones. Pray for wisdom, strength, endurance, perseverance and energy and focus on raising those little ones to love the Lord. After all, that is the most important job a parent has!

Maybe you are on a busy career path and have no time to even breathe. Pray for wisdom to know which areas need to be let go of and then have the courage to do it.

Maybe you find yourself with an unexpected new opportunity and you are wondering if you should go for it. Pray for wisdom, take time to listen to His voice, and then act!

No matter where you find yourself right now, only you can be responsible for yourself before God. Only you can choose to follow God’s will. You may be one brave decision away from the most important change in your or someone else’s life. Will your faith and courage be tested? You better plan on it! But also plan on experiencing the joy that comes from knowing you are fulfilling the purpose that God has for you.

You were created for such a time as this! You just never know how God is going to use you when you least expect it.

And maybe someday, even if it is years down the road and in the most unexpected way and time, you will get the blessing of knowing without a doubt that He is still at work stemming from a time in your life where you were just doing your best to survive.

Like Esther, pray for wisdom and walk forward in courageous, trusting, obedient faith.

Who knows, you might even end up saving a life!

Linked up at #TellHisStory

On this day, October 27, 2013, it was a Sunday. As we do once a month, my extended family gathered together at my parent’s house for noon lunch.

While we were standing next to the front door, saying our good-byes for the day, my 3-year-old niece Autumn jumped up on me, put her little legs around my waist, and her arms around my neck. She looked at me with those beautiful eyes and smiled, telling me how later on in the week she was going to dress up in “all white” for October 31^st. We hugged, I told her I loved her, and out the door she went.

I didn’t know it at that moment, but that would be the last time I got to hold her, hear her voice, and see her smile here on earth.

~

Around a month ago, at sunrise, I stood at my kitchen sink window to let the sunshine in. I’m not one that likes the dark; in fact, I can still get scared of it. As I opened my blinds and looked upon the clouds in the western sky, I instantly noticed they were reflecting beautiful shades of pinks and purples. I immediately went to the other side of the house, opened my front door facing east, and what I saw was one of the most glorious Autumn sunrises that I can remember. I found myself just standing there with my thoughts reflecting on my Heavenly Father, quickly realizing that this was a gift from Him, the start of a new day.

Each day since, I find myself drawn to gaze up at the sky, to realize the art and beauty of it. In fact, I have caught myself looking forward to those brief moments when the morning sun kisses the earth to wake it up. On a recent drive to school, the bright shining sun was coming up over the horizon in a most beautiful scene, and my son Noah said, “Mom, I think it looks like heaven.”

The rest of the drive to school, we talked about heaven, what the Bible describes it as, and how our minds can’t even imagine how amazing it must be. I feel that God gives us glimpses of extraordinary beauty here on earth only to remind us that the best is yet to come. We talked about Uncle Rodney, Autumn, and all of the other believers who God has called to their eternal home and what they must possibly be experiencing. While it hurts our hearts because we miss those we loved dearly, the comfort knowing they are in a place where only life and love shine forth, gives us peace.

John 14:2, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” ESV

Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ESV

Revelation 21 also tells us that the Holy City, laid out like a square, has 3 gates all made of a single pearl on each side. Each wall has twelve foundations named after the twelve apostles. The walls are made of jasper, the city streets of pure gold, as transparent as glass. The foundations are decorated with every kind of precious stone: jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, ruby, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, turquoise, jacinth, and amethyst.

Revelation 21:23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” ESV

~

This past Sunday, two years later, my extended family and I gathered together again, like we continue to do once a month for noon lunch. My father stood up to read out of the Bible, and before he did so, we had a moment to remember Autumn. He asked if any of us had any special memories to share and while many were running through my mind, the lump in my throat was too big to allow me to speak.

Sitting here now, this morning, that lump is still there. The beauty of writing however is that it allows us to share our voice from the heart without having to open our mouths to speak.

I just want to take this moment to share a few special memories:

One of my favorites is when she would come to my house to visit and then need to take a nap. I would take her up to my bedroom and tuck her in under the covers. She would lie on her side; knees curled up and smile at me. I would always bend down, give her a kiss, tell her I loved her, and just smile back as I noticed how little she looked in my big grown up bed.

I loved how she used grown up words at her young age and the spunkiness and feistiness that she possessed. Despite that however, when it came time for the yearly 4^th of July fireworks on our driveway, she would get scared and stand inside the house with her hands over her ears and watch out of the window.

She was a little rock star and perfected the rock star hand sign. Shortly before her death, she performed for me the song, “Monster” from Skillet, getting the monster voice just right and I laughed at hearing it. She loved music as I do.

She was a joyful little girl who’s favorite color was purple and brought light with her wherever she went. She is my niece and I loved her and love her still.

~

Autumn got dressed in white clothes on October 31^st, 2013, the day she entered her eternal home, but just not in the way that we realized it would be.   Revelation 3:5: “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

 ~

 Friends, we live in a world with much pain, sadness, anger, frustration, injustice, fear, and so on. In recent weeks alone, I have heard of several deaths of young people, very sick children teetering between this life and the next, friends my age getting diagnosed with cancer, friends in chronic physical pain, and the list goes on.

As my boys and I continued the conversation on our drive to school, we talked about the sadness this life can bring. I reminded them that we were never promised a long life or a life free from pain or suffering. We do however have a Bible that we can go to, a Bible that holds promises of many things.

This past month, it has been the morning sunrises that bring my thoughts to the Father, that has me seeking out promise by promise and to be reminded of them. One of those is from Deuteronomy 31:8 and it says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” ESV

This world might feel like a battleground but that’s because it is. Carry on in comfort knowing that He goes before you, will never leave you, and we need not to fear the dark days.

Keep looking up friends. Let the light of the one and only Son shine through you each and every day to reflect the beauty of Him as the western clouds did that recent morning of the eastern sunrise.

Today as my heart is reflecting upon the last time I held Autumn in my arms, it feels heavy. However, I hold comfort in knowing where she is, who she is with, and I look forward to walking along the streets of gold with her, Rodney, and all those loved ones who have went before me.

We might even take a moment and sit at one of the Beautiful Gates. 🙂 

Linked up at: #TellHisStory

The summer day started out beautifully. It was sunny with a light breeze, a perfect day for my oldest son of 7 years old to play outside with the neighbor boys who, while each a few years older than him, had become his best friends.

As the day went on, the dark clouds slowly started to come in and before we knew it, it started to rain. The boys each ran inside to their own houses and my son, frustrated, stood looking outside the window. What he said next, I never expected.

“Those f***ing raindrops.”

What felt like a momentary freeze in time, I stopped what I was doing and looked over to him. He slowly turned his head to meet my eyes and in the most calm voice possible I said, “What did you just say?” To which he repeated this time with a little less conviction in his voice, “Those f***ing raindrops.”

Thankfully what happened in that moment is something that I feel every parent should know and be reminded of.

Reaction is everything.

While I make a lot of mistakes in my parenting, I feel that this is one thing that I tend to do OK with and have continued to keep in the forefront of my mind at all times. I made my way over to him, knelt down on his level, and looked him in the eyes. I could tell that he wasn’t quite sure if this was a word he should be using or not and explained that he learned it from the neighbors. Quite possibly right before he came inside.

While keeping a calm spirit and using a loving tone to my voice, I went on to teach him why that particular word is not one that we use and reassured him that he was not in trouble because he didn’t know. However, now that he did, the next time I heard it there would be a consequence.

If only parenting could always be that easy and there have been many times when I wish the problem I was dealing with was needing to teach them about the use of an inappropriate word. As time has gone on and the boys have gotten older, they share things, sometimes through their tears, that can break my heart and the mamma bear in me rises up and just wants to scream out.

Friends, our kids are going to do things, say things, and tell us things that will cause our insides to want to explode out of anger, frustration, or hurt. It is at those moments, when being in control of our emotions and reactions is of upmost importance.

What I have discovered over the years is that how I have reacted in the tough moments has dictated the kind of relationship that I now have with my boys. By reacting in a way that is non-threatening, a trust has formed. I have been completely shocked by what my oldest, now almost 13 years old, will share with me that I know without a doubt would never happen if he didn’t trust my reaction.

We need to let our children know that our home is a safe place to open up and share. Having that close trust and relationship with your child will also help you guide them in a way that is effective. After all, who can positively respond and learn by an out of control parent?

What about those moments when your child is sharing something with you and you want to guide them but you don’t know exactly what to say? This has been happening to me a lot lately and as much as I want to help and make it better for him, in the moment, answers escape me. So, I sit and listen and have to remind myself that it is OK to not have all the answers right away. Sometimes there is no right answer; and just last night I was reminded that the best thing we can say is what I overheard my dear husband say to my son in the most calm caring voice, “I’m sorry that happened to you buddy. I want to remind you that daddy loves you.”

When it comes down to it, isn’t that what we all have to remember? Maybe the dark clouds of life suddenly came in, took you by surprise, and ruined your bright sunny day. We may cuss, scream, get angry, and want answers, fight, make mistakes, get hurt, and cry out, but we always have a Father who continues to love us despite our circumstances and the way we react to them.

Psalm 86:15, “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

 While some of life’s lessons are tough, especially the ones that you learn through the hurts of your own children, I am thankful for the Word in which we can be taught and reminded on how to follow His example. He is always there in complete control of His reaction; ready to listen to whatever we might have to say.

The next time you, child of God, need a trusting place to share your feelings; you can always go to Him, your Father. After all, that is the best place to be.

Linked at: #TellHisStory