Another Easter is in the books! And today I’m a bit melancholy. Easter has always been a very special holiday for me. Since I was a little girl, it was the day my sisters and I looked forward to with excitement! We got brand-new patent leather shoes, and they were white because it was Spring. We got to pick out new Easter dresses that matched most of the time-except for being in different colors. We anticipated the family egg hunt, with my cousins, aunts and uncles. There were plenty of eggs and goodies for everyone, but the most treasured and sought after egg was the “hallelujah egg!”  The finder of that egg got a special prize! Easter was a time for family, for having fun together, and for going to church.

When I was younger, I knew that going to church was the central part of Easter, but I did not understand the true significance. I just knew it was an important holiday. Isn’t it true that much of the time we celebrate holidays, we have every clothing and decorative detail down, but we can miss the holiday’s true meaning?

The clothes we wear, that menu we serve, the decor in our homes, the place settings, the baskets filled to the brim sitting on the hearth…yes even the resurrection eggs. We try and teach our children the true meaning of Easter, but amidst all of the celebration, does it stay with us after Easter is over? Do we take the true meaning of Easter, and live it every day in our lives so that Jesus truly lives in our hearts every day of the year?

After the last chocolate bunny is eaten, after the last jelly bean is found in the corners of the couch, after the last hard boiled Easter egg is turned into an egg salad sandwich, what remains with you?

If we are missing the transforming power of Jesus’ resurrection, we are missing the most significant piece of our faith! Without that, you miss the truth of Easter. We are missing the truth that forever changed the world!

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, everything we do for the rest of the year in Christianity and in His name, holds no significance. If Jesus lives, and if He lives powerfully in our hearts every day of the year, then Easter truly never ends!

 

I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today, He walks with me, he talks with me, a long life every way! He lives, He lives! He brings His salvation to us each and every day. He lives within our hearts, every day we live for him!

So, how do you and I take this “Risen life” and live it every day? Well let’s take a lesson from the disciples. Those who walked with him physically on the earth for three years. They saw a Jesus resurrected, alive and supernaturally well! They walked with him and talked with him in his resurrected body, and what did that relationship do to their lives?

There was something radically remarkable about the disciples lives immediately following the resurrection of Jesus! Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times, who was grieved in his spirit for failing Jesus to the point of weeping bitterly, declared emphatically,

“As for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things that we have seen and heard!” Acts 4:20

And he said that face to face with a hostile Jewish audience! Nothing could silence his joy! He had to tell everybody!

Truth bomb:

Jesus’ tomb is empty so that our hearts can be full!

What about you? Who do you tell? Who can see the joy through the life that you live?

What is it that you and I could not stop talking about? Is it the latest trend? Is it the latest sale at Nordstrom? The latest TV show? The latest political debate? Who should be the next Bachelor or Bachelorette? Who should be on Dancing with the stars?

Or rather, is it what Jesus did for you, today?  How did He help you mend a fence with a neighbor, or bring healing words to a friend?  How did He help you say an encouraging word to your spouse, or maybe just help you hold your tongue? Did He help you make a difficult decision, or did He lift your spirit when nothing else could?  That is resurrection power, demonstrating how Jesus is living and reigning in your heart!

Let’s take a one week challenge, and let our thoughts and speech reflect how Jesus is Risen and filling our hearts with joy. Ask God to bring someone across your path, to whom you–like Peter–won’t be able to “stop speaking about all that you have seen and heard!”

Speak Truth Love

“I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today, I know that He is with me, whatever man may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His Voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, he’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives TODAY! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!”

I want to introduce you to the greatest example of a Christian that I have ever known: My grandma, Lela Switter! She wasn’t famous, she didn’t have a lot of money, she came from humble means; she wasn’t a scholar, never wrote a book, and she never held a degree from an educational institution. In fact, she never went past a junior high school education. She came from a family of eight children and was seventh in line. She didn’t grow up in a fancy house or in a large town. She came from Wadsworth, Ohio: a small country suburb to Akron. Her mother and her father had less of a formal education than she did. But no one could hold a candle to the light that shone inside of her! She didn’t just say she knew Jesus; she lived Jesus!

She was kind and loving to everyone she met. I never heard her speak a harsh word to anyone. She was the first to help out anyone in need. In fact, one of my earliest memories of her was watching her serve Meals on Wheels!

She showed me an amazing example of what a true Christian wife should be; she loved my grandfather and respected him. She loved to put a smile on his face, and he loved her cooking, and she always topped it off with “Jell-O” at the end of every meal. That was his favorite! None of the rest of us ate it, but she still made it and served it to him after every meal.

She was a good listener. She always had time for you, no matter how busy her schedule was. She was also a hard worker! I remember her taking me and my sisters proudly to her place of employment, a high school cafeteria, where she helped prepare lunches for the high school students and helped serve them and clean up after them every single day. Nothing was beneath her. She did everything with a smile on her face, joy in her heart, and it shined out of every ounce of her being.

She taught vacation Bible school every summer at her church, and always brought the best dishes to each and every potluck. She faithfully taught the two and three year-olds in Sunday school all the years that she was alive here on earth! She heard me get angry at my sisters, and she calmly instructed me “that would not make Jesus happy,” and I needed to tell them I was sorry. She always cared about making relationships right between my loved ones. Yes, she knew it was hard, but she would say, “we can do anything through God’s strength!”

I remember the day like it was yesterday, I was a teenager, and was sitting in the back of a small church chapel. My sisters were all up front, standing beside my mom. She was getting married for the second time, and I just couldn’t accept it. My grandma sat down beside me, not saying a word and just grabbed my hands. She sat there with me for quite a while, and we both stared straight ahead. I looked at her and she could see the tears in my eyes. I was torn. I knew my dad had been unfaithful to my mom. I knew my mom wasn’t really doing anything wrong, but still my heart was breaking! My grandma seem to understand all that I was feeling.

I don’t remember if the words actually came out of my mouth, or if she just could read them inside, but she put her other hand over mine and quietly said, “Lisa Kay, if you don’t walk up there and stand beside your mom, you will regret it for the rest of your life.” I do remember my words coming out, “But Grammie, I don’t think I can make it down the aisle by myself.” She said, very confidently, “You’re not walking alone.  Jesus is with you every step of the way.” I walked down that aisle, and to this day I still don’t know how I made it.

My Grammie taught be truth by the way she lived her life. She had forgiven time after time after time, and now she was asking me to step out in that same trust, and in that same forgiveness. She was showing me like she had done countless times before: to live Jesus, not just talk about him. That day, the next day after that, and every day since,  I have been so overwhelmingly thankful that my grandma helped me do the right thing.

My Grammie walked and talked Jesus! She told me that others will know Jesus when they see him living in you and through you! She didn’t just tell me to do it, she showed me how to do it through the life that she lived.

She taught me the song that I quoted in the opening. She loved to sing! She had such a sweet, sweet voice. She told me that in another life she was sure that she was a famous singer! “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart!”  She taught me to memorize the words to that song with her voice, but she taught me the truth of that song through her life!

I miss my grandma every single day. I sleep with her picture framed next to my bed. I put my feet on the floor every morning and I say, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it,” because my Grammie taught me to do that! But my joy is in knowing that I will see my Grammie again someday in heaven-because Jesus lived inside of her heart and He lives inside of my heart too!

 

I serve a risen Savior! He walks with me, and he talks with me every single time I need a friend, and every time I need encouragement. He walks with me, and he talks with me every time I feel so low that I don’t think I can pick my head back up-whether along life’s narrow way, when life is hard and restrictive or along life’s wide path, when life is beautiful! His salvation is my gift each and every day. And you ask me how I know he lives? Because he lives in my heart!

This is the week before Easter. This week we celebrate the last week of Jesus’ life here on Earth. It is a week of reflection, a week of thankfulness, and a week of rejoicing, as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death!

I serve a risen Savior! He’s not in a grave, the stone has been rolled away from the tomb! He lives!

“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” – Luke 24:5-6

TRUTH BOMB:

Don’t leave Jesus on the cross, He lives in the world and in YOU today!

I challenge you to not leave Him on the cross! I challenge you to not leave Him in the grave! I challenge you to not allow him to just be a belief. He is your living Savior! We serve a risen Savior; He is in the world today! Amen!

Speak Truth Love

“Rainy days and Mondays always get me down…” To quote the lyrics from a classic Carpenters song from my childhood. It’s not really the rainy days that get me down. It’s not the dreariness; I love rainy days. I’ve already made that clear in a past blog post. It’s more the fact that it’s raining and it’s Monday, the day I have to get up and go to work. I would rather snuggle up next to the fire with a warm blanket and a good book, drink my cappuccino slowly, and enjoy the rainy Monday.

So what is it that really gets us down? Is it the the fact that we have to do something that we don’t want to do? Is it something that we are afraid of, or is it something that we doubt we are good enough to accomplish?

The lyrics to the song just may give us a clue…Feeling old and want to quit? Does nothing seem to fit? Do you feel like you don’t belong? Or, is there really nothing you can pinpoint is wrong?

The answer is: all of the above! Anyone of these feelings is real and can paralyze us. So what do we do when the feelings overwhelm us? We absolutely have to go to the Word of God!

I open up the pages to the Word of God, and I find a story about David. No, not David the young shepherd boy filling his sling with a choice stone and killing the giant. Rather, fast forward 10 years to the man David, now fighting against discouragement and potential rebellion from his own followers. David finds himself, not in the rich green pastures caring for his flock, but in the dry desert wilderness with 600 of his followers and their families, including his own family.

They return from war to find their entire community attacked, taken captive, plundered and pillaged! And all their wives and children, including David’s, dragged away.

When David and his men discovered all this, they all wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. That is sobbing from the inside out. And what is worse, is that at that moment of despair, David’s men turn to him in anger and want to stone him. Talk about kicking someone when they’re down. Even their very own godly leader.

So what is David to do with all this? Go hide in his bed, pull the covers up over his head, stay in his pajamas all day long, and hide from the world? Should he have gotten angry and have started screaming at his men and say, “How dare you go against me! I am your leader!”

No, David didn’t do any of those things. Instead, David turned to God!

God is the lifter of my head, not my circumstances. 

David did not quit; he went to the Lord instead. He went to the Lord first, not after trying to handle it on his own. He then went to the priest and sought God for his next steps to take.

The Lord said to David, “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” -1 Samuel 30:8

And read it for yourself: that is exactly what happened! They rescued all of their

family members, all of their belongings, and not a single person was killed. All because David was faithful to God, and God’s power showed miraculously in David’s life!

God wants to show His power miraculously in your life and in mine! All we have to do is take our eyes off the rain, off of our circumstances, off of our mood and off of ourselves. We instead need to put our eyes on Him and His word!

Are you willing to read the word of God and to allow it to miraculously transform your mood? God truly can turn our down days upward, when we turn our eyes upward to Him!

A Psalm of David:

“Lord, how they increase that trouble me; many are they that rise up against me. Many are they who say to my soul, ‘there is no help for him in God.’ But thou, oh Lord, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” Psalm 3

Can rainy days and Mondays get us down? Of course they can! So, how are we going to respond?

What are your rainy days and Mondays? Do you allow those circumstances to dictate the way you act, the way you feel, the fact that you are so down sometimes that you feel you can’t get back up?

Or, are you willing to take a few extra steps in to the place where you can open up God’s word, and read the truth in its pages? It can and will transform your attitude!

TRUTH BOMB:

Rain or Shine, The Lord My God Is My Comfort Every Day!

Friends, let’s trust God to do exactly what He says He can do! Let’s take God at His word by actually opening up its pages! God’s word will transform our attitudes and our lives. Let’s dig in together! God’s word will transform our lives each and every day, if we let it!

                       Speak Truth Love

I’m rocking my rain boots today, which is a  rare occasion in Southern California! I love the rain, it reminds me of home, which is Northern California. I get excited when it rains! I run and put on my rain boots and rain gear, and after the excitement fades a bit, the melancholy sets in. Northern California is home to me; it’s where my heart goes when I close my eyes and think of home. I prefer the lush green grass, and the streets lined with beautiful trees almost creating an arch as you drive through them. The rushing rivers that mark the highways, and intersect with each other pouring into the Delta. I miss the distinct seasons, though mild, they are distinct. The cold frost of winter turns into the rains of late winter and early spring, which brings flowers that pop up everywhere. I miss the clear blue skies that direct your view to the snow peaked mountain tops of the Sierras. I miss the rain storms that can get so fierce that you stay inside praying one of the trees in your yard doesn’t fall. I miss the Autumn when the rolling hills turn golden, and leaves fall to the ground in bright, beautiful colors. And yes, I even miss the dry hot summers that cause us to go to the rivers and beautiful Lake Tahoe to gain some reprieve from the heat. I would be content to live in Northern California all the days of my life!

Although, I write with the longing to be there, that is not where God has placed me. So therefore, I have a choice to make: I must choose to be content where God has placed me. It is a choice, I can choose to relish in the infrequent rainy days of Southern California, or be discontent in my longing to be where it rains more often.

I’m rocking my rain boots today and choosing to be content in the weather God gives me. I wish I could pull these cute boots out of the closet more often, but I am content to enjoy the rainy days God brings to Southern California, and not complain about the ones he does not!

CONTENTMENT= “satisfaction; the state of being satisfied, ease of mind, comfort.”

What is contentment? Is it settling for what we don’t have? Is it excepting what the world has shoved at us? Or is there a deeper biblical meaning to contentment?

Could it be that we have once again allowed the world to define the term for us? Or are we just discontent in our own selfishness of not having what we want?

The world defines contentment like this: a state of being satisfied and comfortable.

This definition leaves us with an “ease”, but not a true peace. This is because the missing ingredient is the state of our being. It is about who we are, not what our circumstances have made us. It is about who we choose to be!

I shared in my last blog post that I struggle with contentment. It felt like a bad word to me. It made me feel like I was settling, like I was being lazy, like I wasn’t putting forth enough effort to make something happen other than the situation I was discontent with. However, when I look further into the word of God, and let it define contentment for me, I find it is not a bad word at all!

1 Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

It is in choosing to live godly lives, that we are able to find true contentment!

Living godly lives. Now that is a big prescription to fill! It’s not an impossible task however, when we put our hope and trust in Him, We must allow Him to be our strength.

If we make Him the priority of our lives, and put His Word in us, so His Holy Spirit can shine through and illuminate the path He has us on.

You see My Rain Boots would not, on their own, lead me down a street in Southern California. My rain boots would prefer to walk a river path in the “City of Trees”, Sacramento!  I have to chose to let His Spirit fill my being, and chose to allow Him to guide and direct my steps, and He leads my rain boots down a dry path. Much of the time laden with sand, and just occasionally sprinkled with rain!

The choice after allowing Him to fill my being, and walk in His righteousness is this: Will I be content where He has placed my feet and find  joy on those occasional rainy days? Or will I allow discontentment to mark me while I grumble and complain that it doesn’t rain enough?

Contentment is not settling. True contentment is only found when you are putting in the effort! Settling is excepting what you have and not doing anything about it.

Once again, the choice is mine because contentment is a state of being. My inner being must be connected to God’s Spirit first and foremost. Then, and only then will I even come close to living the righteous life He has called me too, and BONUS, find contentment through it!

Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content in each and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12

“Content in all circumstances…” Allows me to put forth the effort to have contentment in my life through my choices.

How do I practice this?

Saturday morning is my Sabbath, my downtime, the only morning in my seven day week where I can sleep in at all, take it slow, and have some quiet time. It used to be that I was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings, driving miles to a Volleyball tournament, or packing sandwiches, orange wedges, and cold water bottles for soccer games all day! Now I am what is commonly referred to as an “Empty Nester.”

My two beautiful children are now grown adults and on their own. I loved the busy schedules my children had, and even more, I loved supporting them through it. I remained in the classroom as a teacher until our youngest graduated from high school. The year he left for college found me moving from the classroom to an office, now in charge of all of the Elementary Classrooms as Principal.

Saturday Mornings are now “sacred” to me! They are the brief period in my busy week when my “To Do List” is not begging to be completed. When no one is asking me a question or giving me a problem to solve. When I can actually hear myself think, and be quiet enough to “Be Still” before God.

Why then would I give up my precious Saturday morning and attend a Missions Training?

I got up to an early alarm, pumping the coffee and heading over to church for a México Team training meeting with 40 others from my church Saturday morning. I am so excited to go on our missions trip, but the day and time of this meeting certainly wasn’t my choice after the intense week at work I had experienced. When we arrived, we started studying and discovering God’s vision for the Nations, beginning with Abraham. God blessed him for his nearly blind faith and obedience to leave home and go to a distant land he knew nothing about. God chose that Patriarch to be a blessing to the nations, through his family and through Jesus, his most significant descendant.

It was then that I realized that the day or the start time of this meeting really didn’t matter! What DID matter is that we, who are blessed by God to be a blessing to others, have the privilege of sharing God’s love and grace with others far away, whom we have never met. We get to extend God’s grace and hope to them as well. Doing God’s will, sharing His love and joining God in His work: THAT is what really brings me contentment!

 

TRUTH BOMB

Contentment is not based on our circumstances but on Christ alone!

“The fear of The Lord leads to life; then one rests CONTENT, untouched by trouble.” Proverbs 19:23

When I  “Fear The Lord”, respect Him, honor Him, put Him first in my life above my comfort, I AM CONTENT. I do not become a victim to the “troubles” of this world. God becomes my strength, and even though troubles come, He lifts me above them, and takes me through them and I find true CONTENTMENT!

Speak Truth Love

Enjoyment: What a topic!

I mean, if we spent every day going to Disneyland, lounging by the pool, watching the waves roll up from the ocean, or eating hot fudge sundaes, it would be a simple topic, right? However, that is far from the reality of our daily lives!

Most days, our lives are full of responsibilities, timelines, deadlines, grumpy people, dirty dishes, loads of laundry…you fill in the blank.

In this crazy, ‘dog eat dog’ world that we live in, even in our “nice Christian” circles, life can be anything but enjoyable. Yet God calls out to us to enjoy ourselves. To enjoy this creation that He made. To enjoy this life that He gave to us. Although, that is not always an easy task.

This past week was a really difficult one for me. I found myself with more to complete and do than there were hours in the day for. I found myself coming home late every night, still, with an uncompleted check list.

Just so you know, Mondays are the worst for me. Not just because Mondays are the beginning of my work week, but they are also my husband’s day off. Now, that’s just throwing fuel on the fire!

Not to mention, I was entering the countdown to a very difficult deadline at work. I made it through this past Monday, by the grace of God, and was heading home just after dark. I had been too busy that weekend to shop, and I needed to pick up some groceries for dinner. I automatically turned my car in the direction of my neighborhood grocery store, but then it occurred to me. Why not go to the new Whole Foods they had just opened up down the street? I could slowly cruise down the aisles and look at all of the items I could not afford to buy, and then pick up one or two that I loved. I could peruse the sandwich bar, the salad bar, the pastry bar, and maybe even treat myself at the coffee bar! I was feeling enjoyment at just the thought of Whole Foods.

It has been one of my families favorite places for years. There is one right around the corner from my mom and sister’s house, and one within walking distance of my son and daughter-in-law’s house. I have been waiting for one to open close to us for a long time!

Enjoyment came to me as I reflected on all of the special times my family and I have spent there. We had a recent visit with our son and daughter-in-law, and took a lovely walk to the fountains by their house. We went into Whole Foods and had a coffee, accompanied by one of the best cookies I have ever tasted in my life! My daughter-in-law turned me onto a cookie called, “the kitchen sink.” It is everything delicious in one cookie! I thought of the times my mom and sisters and I had gone on a morning walk from my mom’s house and sat and shared coffee and conversation together. As you can see, Whole Foods brings up all kinds of memories of enjoyment for me.

My heart was already filling with warm thoughts, and it was helping turn a difficult day into a better one. I pulled into the parking spot right up front, I walked in and there, to my left was the coffee bar. My eyes read the menu and I discovered they not only had cappuccinos, but gelato as well! My husband’s favorite! I found the darkest chocolate gelato they had and asked for a cup to go. I asked for the largest nonfat cappuccino they make–the mega grandissimo! I was feeling enjoyment inside knowing that Jim would be excited when he came home from his men’s meeting and I had a cup of gelato waiting for him. It got even better-the woman behind the counter handed me my cappuccino, and on the cup it said, “ENJOY COFFEE.” Could it be any more perfect? That is exactly what I intended to do!

Maybe it was the difficulty of my day, maybe it was simply the delicious flavor, but that cappuccino was the best I have ever had. I strolled down the aisle sipping it’s deliciousness, savoring the  foam and strong espresso. In that moment my mood was lifted! God was speaking to me, in the little issues and in the big issues of life.

I have a decision to make: Am I going to enjoy my life and allow God’s goodness to shine through the good times as well as the bad times? Or am I simply going to focus on the not so enjoyable parts?

I love that God has a sense of humor! I love that He teaches me exactly what I need to know, even before I know I need it.

I find it completely comical that He put it on my heart this week to write about ENJOYMENT, when I am going through one of the most stressful seasons of my year.

I feel like I’m barely holding my head above water most days, let alone “ENJOYING MYSELF!”

However, when I pause, and give myself a moment to reflect on something other then my “stress”, I see that there is enjoyment all around me. When I am the most stressed, the most frazzled, the most pushed to my limits, where exhaustion makes me want to sleep standing up…that is when I need these moments of enjoyment more than ever!

God’s word calls to me, and brings enjoyment as I listen to the truth of His word:

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; ” I know that there is nothing better for men then to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- THIS IS THE GIFT OF GOD!”

And also, Ecclesiastes 5:19; “Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to except his lot and be happy in his work- THIS IS A GIFT FROM GOD.”

Are you catching this? It hit me like a slap across the face! Lisa, wake up! Do you understand that when you work, when you toil, I can give you enjoyment through it, and as a result, it is a gift from Me to you?

Are we too stressed out at the beginning of our day to enjoy a beautiful sunrise? Or are we too tired and frustrated at the end of our day to enjoy the beautiful colors across the sky when the sun sets?

God is asking us to be content in ALL things, in any and every situation. God wants to be our enjoyment in and through every situation. Not just when we have the whole day off, or we get a spa certificate. We need to sense Him, in and through our EVERY DAY, No matter how stressful it may be.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.” – Philippians 4: 12-13.

I used to think contentment was a bad word. I used to think that if I settled for contentment, it would keep me away from doing my best. However, all it proved to do was exhaust me and keep me from experiencing enjoyment all around me. I must cling to the truth of God’s word and what it tells me about contentment, and find enjoyment through it!

Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Righteousness, peace, and joy! These can be mine, and these can be yours, no matter what our circumstances.

So, lift that cappuccino up and enjoy it. Take that walk in those lush green parks. When you walk or run, feel your heartbeat in your chest. Talk with a friend, laugh heartily at a good joke, and let the joy of children put a smile on your face! God smiles when you do, and He wants you to enjoy your blessings.

TRUTH BOMB:

God smiles when we enjoy what He’s given us.

Find true enjoyment in something this week and thank God for it!

Next week, get ready for the topic of,  contentment.

Looking forward to talking with you then.

Speak Truth Love