I was listening to Céline Dion‘s version of O, Holy Night in the car this week…and it brought me to tears.
I love the song, but I’ll admit over the years I’ve become accustomed to robotically singing along.
But not this time.
Maybe it was the Holy Spirit pricking my heart — or maybe just my perimenopause flaring, but something about the opening lyrics stopped me in my tracks:
“O holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.”
In particular, the poignant words,
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining,”
opened the flood gates for me on a random Tuesday morning as my children obliviously played on their iPads in the backseat.
It’s a short phrase, but one that so accurately describes the state of the world before Jesus Christ was born.
And for the first time, the gravity of the situation of those B.C. (before Christ) hit me like a ton of bricks.
How dark it must have felt to live before the “Light of the world” was born (John 8:12).
Long lay the world — and I mean LOOOOONG lay the world…we’re talking thousands of years here, spanning the entire Old Testament and all its Bible periods (before the flood, the flood, the scattering of the people, the patriarchs, the exodus, the wandering in the wilderness, invasion and conquest of the land, the judges, the united kingdom, the divided kingdom, Judah alone, the captivity, return from captivity and the years of silence).
As all are (Romans 3:23), they were living in sin and error — even the “faithful” mentioned in Hebrews 11 were trapped by their depraved human condition, as the apostle Paul describes it in Romans 7:15-20:
“15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
Because of this, they were pining for a Savior…pining for a someone who was worthy to “open the scroll” (Revelation 5).
Because before Him, there was no hope, no light, no Savior, no perfect lamb, no one worthy to bring salvation to all. I don’t exactly know what that feels like to live through, but like John (Revelation 5:4), the thought of it brought me to tears.
Maybe I’ve just taken the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ for granted all my life, because I’ve grown up in the church or because the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice has been freely available for 2000 years now.
And maybe I’m not alone. I suppose we all take it for granted from time to time, because we no longer have to pine for a Savior — making it easy to forget what a priceless gift He is.
I hope the words of this song hit you the same way they hit me.
If the same lyrics were written about us as we wait for his second coming, how would we be described? Are we also pining for his return?
Praise God, through belief in the sacrifice of His Son and baptism into His death, this time the world can wait for Him in “forgiveness and redemption, shining.”
But, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” – II Chronicles 20:15b
On our way to school this morning, the boys and I were listening to today’s daily Bible reading on the PRAY.com app.
The story was taken from the first book of Samuel, chapter 13 — where Saul and the Israelites worshipped God right before entering into battle…only with arrogance and impatience, instead of in spirit and in truth.
As usual, both boys were still half asleep in the backseat as I pulled out of our driveway and the story began.
The first ten minutes were a pretty quiet ride…I didn’t look back to check, but I knew there were either one of two scenarios going on…the boys were either so entranced by the story that they didn’t want to say a word…or they were asleep. 😂
I was leaning toward the latter, when all of the sudden my twelve-year-old son busted out laughing.
Considering the fact that most of First Samuel plays out as a drama — not a comedy, I thought it was rather strange.
“What’s so funny??” I asked.
Turns out, something the storyteller said caught my oldest son’s attention.
“Mom, he keeps saying ‘warship!’” He replied, in between giggles. 🤭
“What???? What’s so funny about worship?” I asked, genuinely perplexed at this point.
“No, Mom! Warship!!!! He keeps pronouncing it wrong…and it sounds like he’s saying war-ship!”
I hadn’t even noticed.
“Let me rewind this…” I said, needing to confirm this absurd allegation for myself.
Narrator: “…now Samuel led the soldiers of Israel in warship before the battle…”
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Sure enough, clear as day…he was right…the narrator (in a clearly contrived 17th century colonial accent) was indeed pronouncing the word “worship” the same way my 8th grade math teacher pronounced words like Warsh-rag and Warshington, D.C.
I hadn’t even noticed until my son pointed it out, but it’s one of those things that once you hear, you can’t UN-HEAR it. 😂😂😂🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Oh, well…you say tomato, I say to-mah-toe…you say worship, I say warship…it’s really neither here nor there.
But then it dawned on me…there’s more at play here than just a peculiar pronunciation.
My mind immediately connected the dots between what the story was teaching and the way the narrator kept saying this word.
The people of Israel were worshipping before war…war-ship. They literally were warshipping!!!
I’m sure the narrator had no intention of leading us to that conclusion, but I believe the divine Author did. It was the perfect punchline to an otherwise very dramatic story.
And it’s a lesson we need to take heed from even today. Because, we’re in a battle too. Not a physical one, but a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12).
And the caliber of our worship has a direct relation to the outcome of our battle!
Our modern lives may be far removed from Old Testament culture, but these patterns and examples are given for our learning (Romans 15:4).
When it boils down to it, worship is still both our strongest weapon and our most powerful war cry — and take it from Saul, warming the pew doesn’t count — God wants our pre-battle worship to be in spirit and in truth!
And if you’re a soldier who’s not even there? Well, they have a word for that in the army…A.W.O.L. (Or Absent Without Leave).
Go AWOL for more than a month and you’re considered a “deserter” — I think you can guess what that means, and it’s not referring to someone with a sweet tooth.
Some people think, why all the hoopla about coming to worship when I can adjust my armor and sharpen my sword just as well on my own?
Organized worship on the first day of the week is about more than just adjusting our armor and sharpening our swords — it’s entreating the very Lord of Hosts himself to fight for us (Exodus 14:14) as only He can.
If we don’t worship God on Sunday, how can we possibly be prepared to face the battle on Monday?
Until next time,
Pilgrim with a Pen
P.S. Click the link below to listen to the same story we heard today!
When my oldest son was very little, his favorite movie was Disney’s Lightning McQueen.
At one-and-a-half, he would quote his favorite line over and over, “I am speed.”
Which would always crack us up because it came out more like, “I peeeeeed.” 😂😂😂😂
I’d seen the movie so many times by the time he turned three that I could have probably quoted every line by heart…😂.
(Parents, you know how that goes. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ I guess I should just be thankful that he never got on the “Baby Shark” bandwagon. 🦈🦈🦈🎶🎶🎶😂😂😂)
Anyways, I was thinking about this today as I was driving home from dropping my kids off at school.
Because I drive a minivan…when I’m going to and fro down the road, others may see me as just another blue minivan…but deep down, I don’t identify as a minivan — figuratively speaking, of course.
Deep down, I’m actually a Ferrari.
With potential for top speed…but with no open road to unleash it.
I’m no Bugatti…but I know I’m capable of going faster than my little Kia minivan can take me…and looking a lot cooler while doing it.
But why at 40 years old, haven’t I just put the pedal to the metal already?!
Well…simply put, Ferrari’s are not practical in raising a family: they don’t carry enough people or stuff and they cost too much to purchase and maintain.
A few years back, as a young mom, I read a quote that really resonated with me: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
They say it’s an African proverb…but sounds like something that could have been taken straight from the Bible itself.
Because just like Lightning McQueen was in a race, the Bible teaches that we’re in a race too.
A race called life.
The finish line is our death and it’s only then that we’ll know if we’ve won a crown of life.
And just like this proverb says, it’s not about speed — it’s endurance that counts in this race (Matthew 24:13).
In his arrogant ignorance, Lightning McQueen blew out his tires in the race — and if we’re not careful, we too can “blow it” so-to-speak by trying to be the fastest, not the wisest.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 says the race is not given to the swift (…sorry, Taylor 😂), but rather that it is better to run the race with endurance in mind (Hebrews 12:1) — slow and steady wins the race.
If we don’t slow down, we run the risk of not only blowing our own tires…but we will also end up leaving our neighbors “in the dust.”
Jesus uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate that. When we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we can’t just speed past them for our own selfish gain.
I think what Jesus is trying to say is that you might be a Ferrari, but if you see someone broke down on the side of the road, you better stop and see if you can help!
Going fast doesn’t always mean going far.
Thanks to characters like Sally, ‘Mater, and Doc Hudson and their little town of Radiator Springs, Lightning learns this much needed lesson.
It was a lesson I needed to be reminded of today, also (praise God!) — and I hope that it helps you, too.
They say it’s the little things in life that mean the most.
Well, the other day, one of those “little things” for our family was a walk.
Not just any walk — but a sort of impromptu pilgrimage to the spot where my husband sustained a life-threatening injury while riding his mountain bike just over five months ago.
As I explained in No News is Good News, the first 72 hours were touch and go…and at one point, we didn’t know if he’d ever walk again.
Our visit to the trail marked the first time he’d been back since the day of the accident and by God’s grace, this time he was returning as a triumphant conqueror — standing on his own two feet in the very spot where he had once lay paralyzed on the ground.
Going back to this spot was emotional to say the least.
As we arrived at the trail head, I couldn’t deny the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. They say lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but something about heading back to that fateful location made me wish I’d bubble-wrapped him before we came. 😬🫣
However, after a tranquil ten minute stroll down a surprisingly quiet, shady trail, I was feeling a little calmer about our visit.
Then, as we approached a clearing in the woods, my husband’s pace suddenly slowed to a halt.
“Here it is,” he said.
Here is what? I thought, squinting hard and shielding my eyes against the bright rays of Florida sunshine.
“This is where I crashed,” he continued, motioning toward the wide sandy plain straight ahead.
I was stunned.
The scene was not what I expected at all. No dips, curves, twists, or turns…just flat land as far as the eye could see.
And then a long, straight wooden platform caught my eye — it was the ramp my husband had fallen from.
Nearly camouflaged by a mixture of nearby sawgrass and sand, it’s low profile was no more than three feet off the ground — nothing like the Evil Kinevil-style stunt ramp I had imagined in my head.
To be honest, it looked more like something a kindergartener with training wheels could have dismounted with their eyes closed.
Which left me scratching my head and begging the question:
“How could someone with so much experience navigating the twisting terrain of off-road trails be taken down in such an unlikely place?”
Now, maybe that sounds like quite a judgmental question to pose, even rhetorically, but I promise I’m not trying to belittle the situation at all.
In fact, my husband has pondered these questions himself over the last five months.
And in his own words, he explains that he simply misjudged the ramp, failing to gain the momentum required to properly dismount. This caused the front wheel of his bicycle to take a nose dive, sending him careening over the handle bars and onto his neck…and, well, the rest is history.
It was a momentary lapse of judgment with life-altering consequences.
But…isn’t that the way life goes?
Not only is it the little things in life that mean the most…but it’s oftentimes the little things that trip us up the most as well.
Maybe that’s why the Bible says, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (I Corinthians 10:12).
It’s often in our comfort zones and our daily routines, when our guard is down and we think we’re safe, that we can be blindsided by the little things in life — a lesson my husband learned the hard way…and I think if we’re honest, we all can relate to in some regard.
I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve struggled with my faith more in the last few months than I ever did during the three weeks we spent in the hospital…and those were supposed to be the hardest times, right?
Wrong.
During those three weeks, though they were incredibly difficult, God was everywhere in my heart and in my life…and it showed.
Every serendipitous coincidence was not just happenstance…God was alive and working on our behalf.
He heard our prayers and the prayers of our loved ones. God really is near to the broken hearted…an ever present help in time of need. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t need a study Bible to explain that — I felt it.
And for that reason, during those three short weeks, nearly every phrase coming from my mouth was either a prayer, praise, or testimony to the grace and power of the one true and living God.
By all logical reasoning, those should have been some of the hardest days of my life…but with God, they were not only manageable, they were faith-building.
And yet, when we got home…that’s when things surprisingly felt like they got really hard.
But it made no sense to me.
After all, at home, we were no longer dealing with matters of life and death, but with the little things of life — juggling doctors appointments, therapy sessions, hospital bills and new medications in addition to the normal grind of dishes, laundry, dinner, and school functions.
Suddenly and very unexpectedly, the faith that was so “unsinkable” began drowning in a sea of to-do’s and what-if’s…and I’m ashamed to say that I was no longer turning my cares into prayers…but swears…and over the littlest things.
Like my husband, I underestimated the ramp into our new life and how difficult it was going to be to manage the transition…and figuratively speaking, it sent me careening over the handlebars of life as well.
But the good news is this:
Just as by the grace of God my husband stood up after his fall, I know that I will too — “For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16a).
Maybe you’ve been there before. Spiritually speaking, maybe you were blindsided by the little things and you’ve made a misjudgment that has led to a life-altering fall.
You can still get up.
There’s no need to remain paralyzed by it when God has the power to heal and restore.
By His power, God can make you stand in the very places that you fell.
Through Christ we are more than conquerors. We are overcomers through Him alone!
It’s the end of August and we’re deep into hurricane season here in what is otherwise known as “the sunshine state.”
Hurricane season technically starts in June, but it’s usually not until August and September that the storms really start brewing — and this year was no different.
Like clockwork, school started, both of my kids subsequently picked up the obligatory case of whatever plague was circulating amongst their classmates, and then a tropical depression formed in the gulf…with every intention of becoming a full blown hurricane and heading our way.
So, we’ve spent the last few days battening down the hatches, gathering flashlights, batteries, bottled water, and of course plenty of hurricane snacks, and now we’re ready as we’ll ever be to ride out this storm.
It took me a while, but now doing things like filling bathtubs to the brim with water and sticking pennies in the freezer have almost become second nature to me this time of year.
But I’m not a native Floridian, so as you can imagine, in the beginning it was quite an adjustment.
During our first few years in Florida, there weren’t many hurricanes at all…and even the ones that came our way tended to fizzle out to Tropical Storm status before even making landfall.
But then Hurricane Irma came in 2017 and ended that streak for us.
Irma was a category 5 storm forecasted to make a direct hit to our area. We were freaked out…so while many native Floridians, including my in-laws, stayed and hunkered down…we did what any sane Florida transplant would do — loaded up the van and ran. 😂
Thankfully, we had family in north Alabama who were gracious enough to lend us a couple of spare rooms for the week!
When we returned home after the storm had passed, we were very surprised to find we hadn’t incurred much hurricane damage at all — a couple of loose shingles and missing fence slats, and that was it. (Of course, the inside of the house was a whole ‘nother story…but that was mostly because of the two little hurricanes I gave birth to. 😂😬😵💫)
Long story short, we’ve never run from a hurricane since — and surprisingly I’ve grown to feel pretty confident about it…as long as we’ve got our generator and plenty of snacks. 😂 It’s also comforting to know that we live in a block home that is built to hurricane code and that we are far enough from the coast that we don’t have to worry about completely evacuating.
Thanks to Doppler radar, we can see a hurricane coming from (more than) a mile away, giving us (and thousands of other Floridians) ample time to act and prepare — a phenomenon that the grocery store shelves bear witness to every year. People know life is at stake and time is of the essence — and so they prepare.
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If you’ve read any of my blogs before, you knew this post wasn’t just going to be about a hurricane. You knew at some point, I was going to bring up my favorite Book…and you were right.
I can never ride out a Hurricane without thinking of the story that Jesus tells in the Bible about the wise builder and the foolish builder.
Matthew 7:24-27 says:
“24 ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.25 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand.27 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.’”
Jesus is not teaching us how to be ready for a hurricane, but for the storms of life…which are far more unpredictable and often more tumultuous than any hurricane could ever be.
One thing that hit me as I was thinking about this scripture, is that he is teaching us all of this from the standpoint of “when,” not “if.”
Because it is not a question of “if” the storms come, will your house stand firm?…but rather “when” the storms come, will your house stand firm?
Living life thinking you will never have a storm come through is about as silly as living in Florida and thinking you’ll never see a hurricane!!
We build our houses to hurricane standards down here — our windows are rated for high winds, our roof trusses to hurricane code, and of course most of us have cement block walls.
And despite popular belief, most of us don’t own ocean front properties either…we’re not that dumb…nor that rich, for that matter. 😂
When the storm comes, it’s no longer “location, location, location” that matters most…but rather “foundation, foundation, foundation.”
When the rains and the winds set in, the time for construction is over — and at that point, all you can do is ride it out and hope your house will withstand the onslaught.
That’s just like life…we have to prepare today for the storms of the future by making choices that are built on the foundation of Jesus’ words.
Because storms will come in everyone’s life (God makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust) even if you’ve built your house to God’s standards.
But the good news is this — if Jesus is your foundation, you might lose a few shingles, but your house will stand firm. It will stand the test of the storm!
And you? You will be safe inside eating your snacks.
Please join me in praying for all those in the path of the storm, whether literally or figuratively.
I pray that no matter the circumstances, your house will stand firm through it all.
A day of fireworks, weenie roasts, and all things red, white, and blue.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Formally known as Independence Day, it’s interesting that July 4th does not actually mark the daythat we as a nation won our independence, but rather the day we declared it. 🤔🤔🤔🤔
At first glance, it may seem that these phrases are almost interchangeable, but the reality is that it took approximately eight years and 20,000 American lives to bridge the gap between the two! 😳😳😳
From the time Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 to the day the British finally surrendered on October 19, 1781, thousands of courageous Americans paid the ultimate price to gain a victory that we are still reaping the dividends of today.
Freedom isn’t free. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Our forefathers understood that — and thankfully still chose the high cost of liberty over a “peaceful” existence under the hand of tyranny.
“Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!”
“Give me liberty or give me death,” are the rousing words spoken to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry in 1775, which inspired delegates such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to deploy the first Continental troops in the Revolutionary War.
Henry’s words hit on the crux of the matter — and even now, centuries later, the dichotomy between liberty and death is still as relevant today.
Liberty through Jesus…or death through sin — it’s one or the other, no in between.
Patrick Henry was right, liberty and death really are the only two choices you have in war…and the same goes for spiritual warfare, as well.
And as in any battle, the stakes are high — we have to make a clear cut choice and cannot afford to be lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16) or double-minded (James 4:4-8).
Figuratively speaking, you can’t fight for the cause of freedom while wearing a red coat.
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
You may be thinking, wait a minute…I thought Jesus Christ already won the war against sin and death and purchased our freedom with His blood (I Corinthians 15:55-57)?
True.
But the battle isn’t over yet.
It may sound counterintuitive, but scriptures like II Timothy 2:3-4 still call on Christians to be soldiers of Christ and to fight the good fight of faith.
Why? Because unlike the British, Satan hasn’t signed a peace treaty yet. Our war with him will not be over until the world itself comes to an end (I Peter 5:8).
Many Christians don’t seem to understand this and mistakenly rest on their laurels long before the battle is finished…but we are called to be faithful to the end (Matthew 24:13, Hebrews 3:14, Revelation 2:10).
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but…against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Satan knows He can’t defeat Christ, but he would like nothing more than for us to become distracted in battle, retreat…or even worse, to convince us to defect like a spiritual Benedict Arnold, becoming a traitor to the cause of Christ.
And so we must remain “sober minded and vigilant,” putting on the full armor of God daily — the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit — so that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-18).
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph!”
But the conflict is long and is bound to wear us down. Just as the Revolutionary War wasn’t won overnight, often many years of sacrifice, perseverance, and endurance are required to stay faithful to our Lord.
During the American Revolution, the harsh realities of war caused many who were once full of zeal and patriotism to, in the words of General George Washington, return to the comfort and safety of their own “chimney corners” (Smithsonian.com).
John Kiger of History.com writes that during the winter of late 1776, after a series of particularly severe setbacks, “Washington and his troops camped out along the banks on the west side of the Delaware River, where soldiers tried to rekindle their zeal by reading Thomas Paine’s pamphlet The American Crisis, which exhorted them not to follow the example of “the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot” who melted away when times got tough. ‘The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph,’ Paine wrote.”
It was a much needed exhortation and reportedly inspired Washington and his troops to literally soldier on, courageously crossing the icy waters of the Delaware and advancing the American cause through a series of subsequent victories.
Much like these soldiers, at the beginning of our spiritual battle, we were undoubtedly full of faith, zeal, and determination for the cause of Christ. However, through years of disappointments, losses, struggles, and hardships, it becomes easy to forget that remaining faithful amidst the conflict will lead us to a glorious triumph!
It is in these trying moments that we too need to look to words for inspiration as well — the inspired Word of God, that is:
“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” – James 1:12
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).
As we celebrate this 4th of July holiday, I am thankful to be a citizen of a nation where we have the freedom and the right to speak plainly and openly about Jesus Christ without fear of government interference or retaliation.
And yet, as proud as I am to be an American citizen, I also understand that my true citizenship is in Heaven and that our freedom in Christ is far greater than any earthly freedom could ever be.
Where is your citizenship?
If you want to enjoy freedom through Christ, it all starts with a declaration — a Declaration of Independence from sin through confession of faith in Jesus Christ and baptism into his death (Matthew 28:18-20).
The war is already won. Now, fight the good fight with us and let your freedom ring.
During the school year, convenience is how we roll when it comes to breakfast.
But with the kids home for summer break, we’ve decided to think outside the “cereal box” lately — starting with this frittata recipe from natashaskitchen.com:
Seeing as I had most of the ingredients in my fridge already, it seemed like a quick and easy way to change things up.
But I soon realized this “quick and easy” recipe called for a lot more whisking, shredding, grating, frying, dicing, chopping, and sautéing than I had bargained for…
In an effort to get the job done a little faster, I enlisted the help of my family — while I chopped, grated, and sautéed, they took turns whisking in each of the ingredients.
First the eggs, then the cream, hot sauce, shredded cheese, diced onion, grated potatoes, and…
Boys: “…Ewwwww, WHAT’s THIS green stuff?!?”
Me: “Oh, that’s just spinach.” 😊
Boys: “Spinach?!? Yuck!!!” 🤢🤮🤢 “We’re definitely not eating that!”
(Ughhh…frozen waffles were sounding less and less stressful by the minute…🤦♀️…)
My husband could sense my frustration.
“Don’t worry…you won’t even taste it in there once it’s all done,” he reassuringly replied — and reluctantly they relented.
As I poured the batter into the muffin cups, I began wishing I had just grabbed a package of those Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches from the freezer aisle and called it a day — it would have been faster, easier, less expensive, and far less frustrating. 😩😩😩
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To tell you the truth, time, money, and frustration are the main factors that keep me from choosing hearty and healthyoverhasty on a regular basis.
And when you stop to think about it, isn’t that sometimes true when it comes to our spiritual diet as well?
There are many moments when following God’s recipe for life is more costly, more time consuming, and more difficultthan just picking up the conveniently (and attractively) packaged life that the world wants to offer us (Matthew 7:13-14):
– It’s a recipe that often costs us more than we bargained for. True, Christ paid our debt of sin at the cross…but we are also called to take up our own cross daily and follow Him — a choice that may cost us friends, family, money, jobs, fame, status, the list could go on and on.
But we would be wise to have to mindset of the apostle Paul when he wrote, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
– It’s also a recipe that takes time and effort and even risk to prepare…and there is always the chance that we (metaphorically speaking) might be burned by a frying pan or nicked by a knife in the process. But you know what they say — no pain, no gain. It’s all going to be worth it.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:17-18).
– Andit’s a recipethat will not often please the tastebuds of this world. The Gospel is foolishness to those who aren’t being saved by it (I Corinthians 1:18), and therefore may persecute us for righteousness sake.
But don’t give up and don’t give in. Don’t change the Word of God just to make it more palatable for yourself or others. We need only be concerned that we are a sweet aroma to the God who created us (II Corinthians 2:15).
The Bible is God’s recipe for life — a tried and true dish that’s been handed down for generations. If we follow it closely without adding to or taking away from it according to our own tastes, just like those muffins, in the end we too will rise (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
— But equally true, if we fail to take His commandments seriously, Jesus warns “…because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]” (Revelation 3:16, AMP).
And Gordon Ramsay ain’t got nothing on that.
Christ loves you. He died for you. He wants you to rise! All you have to do is follow his “recipe” and bake it ‘til you make it.
They were emailing to notify me that if I didn’t make a purchase by the end of May, all of the photos stored in my account would be permanently deleted by May 31st. 😳😳😳
Quite a marketing strategy…
Afraid of losing these precious memories, I scrolled through hundreds of pictures, saving them to my phone — it was like looking through a time capsule of our lives over the past 10 years.
In the process, I ran across this photo of Ben from Christmas morning 2013. He was sitting in front of our Christmas tree, wearing his brand new bike helmet, grinning from ear to ear, and giving two thumbs up.
The very sight of it stopped me in my tracks — it was the same helmet he was wearing the day he crashed on his mountain bike just a few short weeks ago.
I’m sure it wasn’t the most expensive (or most exciting) Christmas gift he’s ever received, but in hindsight, it felt almost eerie knowing what an impact it would have just a few years down the road (no pun intended).
Had he not been wearing his helmet the moment he crashed, the outcome of his accident would have undoubtedly been much, much worse.
That helmet helped save his life that day. ❤️
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Ephesians 6:13-17 talks about a similar helmet — the helmet of salvation.
Of course, it’s not a literal helmet, but it’s part of the metaphorical armor that Christians are called to wear.
While Ben’s bike helmet offered physical protection, the helmet of salvation is meant to offer spiritual salvation.
I’m actually so grateful that my husband was wearing BOTH that day. 🙏🙏🙏
When choosing his bike helmet, my husband that it was important to ensure it was one that was approved by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
He explained that a lot of helmets may look good on the outside, but you have to read the fine print to find out whether they are DOT-approved…and not just some knock-off.
“What’s the difference?” I asked.
He simply replied, “One will protect you. The other won’t.”
Boom. Light bulb moment.
When it comes to putting on our spiritual helmet, we have to make sure we are putting on one that is GOD-approved, as well. We need to do our research and read the fine print in God’s Word.
In Mark 16:16, Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
The way I see it, both parts (belief and baptism) are essential to salvation.
When you believe that Jesus is the Son of God it’s like picking up that helmet of salvation and placing it on your head. When you are baptized for the remission of your sins, it’s like buckling the chin strap, providing full protection.
Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is just trying to sell you some cheap counterfeit — it may look nice, but doesn’t provide any actual benefit.
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I know, I know….not everyone is a fan of helmets. They aren’t always glamorous — they’re actually kind of nerdy-looking and they give you horrible hat hair. 😂
But, they could save your life…physically and spiritually.
With so much on the line, why wouldn’t you wear one?
Especially when we have the hope of one day trading that unsightly hard hat for an eternal crown (II Timothy 4:8).
Yesterday, on my personal Facebook page, I shared a video of my husband walking up a small grassy hill for the first time since undergoing surgery on his spine two weeks ago.
In the caption, I wrote, “I feel like today is Good Friday for more than one reason!” ❤️
I literally couldn’t have been happier if he had climbed Mount Everest. 🙏⛰️❤️⛰️🙏
In case you hadn’t heard, the whole thing started two Fridays ago when he was involved in a freak mountain biking accident. He sustained what the doctor called a “catastrophic injury” to his spine, resulting in instant numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness in all of his extremities. 😱
It was one of the scariest phone calls I’ve received in my entire life.
After being air-lifted to our local hospital, results of the MRI and CT scans confirmed what we were afraid of…he had a complete subluxation of the cervical spine…or in layman’s terms, the vertebrae in his neck were not only broken, but severely dislocated…and he would require emergency surgery.
Thankfully, his spinal cord had not been completely severed by the accident. However, the neurosurgeon informed us that it was in a very fragile state and there was a significant chance that the manipulation required during surgery could make matters worse, resulting in a permanent state of quadriplegia. 😱
This was NOT easy news to swallow, and in my desperation I remember asking if there was any other alternative…
The doctor assured me there were no better options — so, I signed the surgical consent and kissed my husband goodbye, not knowing what the future would hold.
That Friday felt far from being good.
In fact, it felt so bad that I remember thinking, “Whoever said Friday the 13th was unlucky, has apparently never met Friday the 24th.”
It was a helpless feeling watching him be wheeled away toward the OR.
The last words the neurosurgeon said to us were, “This is going to be a very long surgery and I will NOT be giving ANY updates during the procedure unless something were to go terribly wrong. If you don’t hear from me, things are going well. No news is good news.”
And off they went.
The operation began around 12:30pm on Friday afternoon and the next 12 hours were brutal.
We sat, we waited, we cried, we prayed.
Friends and family came to surround us.
And with every hour that silently passed, the surgeon’s words kept echoing as a small reassurance in my mind: “No news is good news.”
Finally, around 12:30am in the morning, the surgeon came in to update us.
The surgery had gone as well as it could have…however, there was no way yet of knowing if any permanent damage had been done to the spinal cord during the procedure.
We were not out of the woods yet.
He explained that post-op swelling could potentially cause additional compression to the spinal cord, resulting in permanent paralysis.
All there was left to do was watch and wait.
We spent the entire day Saturday in the ICU. I sat next to him all day and all night as he lie lethargic in the hospital bed, grimacing in pain from time to time. He was intubated and sedated —but I was as wide awake as I could possibly be.
Running on nothing but pure adrenaline, I sat anxiously for hours upon hours waiting to see how things would unfold.
Over the course of the day, we began seeing positive signs…first his legs moved…🙏🙏❤️❤️🙏🙏…then a few hours later, he began to move his arms a little too…and then a little more…🙏
As the nurses slowly weaned his level of sedation, he began to show signs of breathing on his own.
All of this information caused us to be cautiously optimistic, and we spent the rest of Saturday watching, waiting, and praying some more.
When the neurosurgeon came to do rounds, he was so pleasantly surprised by my husband’s progress that we finally allowed ourselves to fully embrace the hopeful signs we were seeing.
When I thanked the surgeon for all that he did, he simply said, “Don’t thank me. I just did my job…but I didn’t do this,” implying that a recovery of this magnitude was divinely disproportionate to the injury that he had sustained.
I was floored. I told him thousands of people were praying…and he didn’t hesitate to join us in giving the glory to God for such a positive outcome. 🙏❤️🙏
By 6am Sunday morning, my husband had been extubated and with some help from the nurses was standing up at the side of the bed for the first time!
I felt like I was witnessing a miracle…and I couldn’t wait to share the news!
I texted a picture of it to my husband’s side of the family.
That’s when my sister-in-law Christa texted back something that in my sleep-deprived stupor, I would have never realized on my own.
This is what she wrote:
“Call me crazy but it being Sunday, I just can’t help but think about the parallels here. No, he is not God’s immediate Son, but he is His child. Friday he wasn’t killed (thank God), but he was certainly knocked down on his back and it was hard to have hope! He stayed down all day Saturday and through God’s power Sunday he walked. God is certainly writing his story. Friday is good because Sunday’s coming!”
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Her words were what inspired me to write this post.
She was right — the parallels of God’s love and mercy were overwhelmingly obvious.
Just like Jesus, my husband had been knocked down Friday. Stayed down Saturday. And rose up for the first time Sunday…all by the grace and the power of God.
The Great Physician had healed him.
Sometimes God needs to take you down into the depths…just so He can demonstrate the awesome power He has to raise you back up.
He demonstrated that power with Jesus’ resurrection, and with my husband’s physical healing.
But most of all, He wants to use that kind power in us spiritually — ultimately, He wants to save not just our lives, but our souls. (II Peter 3:9)
When you let God take you down His way, He will bring you back up more victorious than you could have ever have been before! This all starts by being buried with Christ in baptism and then raised up to walk in newness of life! (Romans 6:4)
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Seeing my husband walk up that hill yesterday meant so much to me…but the walk that Jesus made up to a hill called Mount Calvary will forever mean so much more.
Jesus didn’t walk up that hill for exercise, He did it willingly to die a cruel death on a cross for you and me!
He didn’t have a physical therapist walking along side him — but rather an army of Roman soldiers and an angry mob.
He wasn’t fully clothed with a gait belt for protection in case he fell — he was stripped of his clothing and given a crown of thorns to wear.
And though what happened on top of that hill that Friday looked like defeat…it was merely the beginning of the most victorious comeback in the history of the world.
The silence of Saturday was not a white flag of defeat…but simply one of those times when, like the surgeon said, “No news is good news” — literally! Pals…I can’t make this stuff up…the word “Gospel” literally means “Good News.” 😱❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
And news just doesn’t get any better than that.
So, if you are living and breathing today and you’ve never dedicated your life to Christ through belief and baptism, what are you waiting for?
Then and only then can you have the peace of knowing that as unpredictable as this life is, whenever your last day might be, you will be ready to enter in those gates of Heaven.
Many have asked me how my faith remained strong in the face of trial…well, it helps to know that God is on your side and that no matter what happens to me or my husband in this life, as children of God, we have the kind of eternal hope that no one can take away, no matter what the outcome is here on earth.
I hope and pray you find that, too. If I can help in any way, please reach out and let me know. 🙏❤️
When my husband and I got married, one of the wedding gifts we received was a gift card to an upscale home goods store called Williams-Sonoma.
Maybe you’ve heard of it.
I had heard of it, too…but at the time, the closest brick-and-mortar store was an hour away from us…so I’d never actually been there before.
That all changed one fateful Saturday, shortly after we said “I do,” when my husband and I decided to take a trip to check it out and use our gift card.
It was a day I will never forget.
After a 60 minute trek to the big city, we arrived in the parking lot of the most grandiose mall I had seen in my entire life. 😱
As we unbuckled our seatbelts and climbed out of our little Hyundai, I felt like Dorothy Gale arriving at the Emerald City. 🤩🤩🤩
Arm in arm, we proceeded through the front doors and down the main corridor.
Everything was suddenly in technicolor and it felt like we were walking the yellow brick road.
Our jaws dropped as we passed each consecutive storefront…Gucci, Armani, and Tiffany (oh my!).
I gave my husband a look that said, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Target anymore.” 😂😂😳
Yes, it seemed as if were actually in Oz…or at least somewhere very close to it — and by the time we finally reached Williams-Sonoma, I was half-expecting to see the Wizard himself.
However, we were immediately greeted by the Wicked Witch of the West (disguised as a pretentious saleswoman) instead.
After looking us up and down, she said, “Welcome to Williams-Sonoma, have either of you been here before?”
“N-n-nooo, this is our first time,” I managed to stutter.
She then insisted on showing us around, which I later realized was sales floor lingo for “I’ll get you my pretty…and your little gift card, too.” 😂
Nevertheless, we obediently followed her as she patronizingly pointed out all of the “must-have” kitchen gadgets and gizmos — things I never even knew existed 😳.
It was like watching one of those models showcase items on The Price is Right…only, the price was so, so wrong…😳.
I did my best to hide my sticker shock with a smile…but the more we browsed, the more it became apparent that a $40 gift card was barely going to be enough for a new set of dish towels.
And that’s when she showed us…the pasta maker.
The $300 homemade pasta maker.
About halfway through her discourse on homemade noodles, my husband and I exchanged glances and I could tell he had had his fill of this saleswoman’s highfalutin mumbo-jumbo.
That’s when he threw his arms up and said, “Thanks, but I’ve got a perfectly good box of Hamburger Helper in the pantry at home.”
😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳
My face turned as red as a pair of ruby slippers.
We were finally outed for the country bumpkins we are.
I wanted to laugh, cry, and crawl under the table all at the same time…silently wishing I could just click my heels together three times and go back home.
But the saleswoman didn’t flinch — she simply peered over the rim of her Christian Dior glasses and condescendingly rebutted that only uncultured swine eat noodles from a box.
😳😳😳😤😤😤😤
Okay, okay…maybe those weren’t her exact words…but they were close 😂😂😂.
To be honest, I don’t remember what her exact words to us were, but I do remember that what she said made me feel small, insignificant, unsophisticated, and poor.
What happened next, you ask?
Well, we threw a bucket of water on her and walked away while the other customers broke into a rousing rendition of “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.” 🎶🎶🎶
I kid, I kid. 😂
We came really close to doing that, but then we remembered the whole “Vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord thing. 🤷♀️ (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19-21)
So, we just paid for our dish towels and left.
And we’ve never been back since.
Not because of the steep prices. Not because of the long drive. But because of the way we were made to feel.
It’s just like Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
And I couldn’t agree more.
I couldn’t tell you exactly what that saleswoman said…but I can remember exactly how it made me feel.
It’s not just that we didn’t feel welcome — it’s that we were made to feel unwelcome.
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And sadly there’s a lot of visitors who don’t come back to worship with the Lord’s church for that very same reason.
They’ve been made to feel “unwelcome” in one way or another by the church.
But it shouldn’t be that way.
Because the Gospel is for ALL (II Peter 3:9; Mark 16:15), not just for those who are already Christians, but for anyone who might believe (Romans 1:16).
I need to remember, as a Christian who is working for God, that my behavior (both inside and outside of the church building) should not chase away His “customers,” but bring them back!
We should never use our knowledge of the truth or our position as a saved citizen of God’s kingdom to be condescending or dismissive, but in love and humility we should always remember to esteem others higher than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
That’s the kind of love Jesus wants us to have. And that’s the kind of love that will bring people back.
So, let this serve as a reminder to us all — there’s a whole world of people out there who need Jesus. And if we don’t treat them right the first time, we may never get another shot.
After all, you know what they say, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
