Here I Am

My daughter is a pet sitter. For a fee she will come to your home and take care of your pet while you are away. When most people think about a pet sitter they think about a cat or dog but my daughter will sit for any animal, this week she is sitting for a bearded dragon.  Bearded dragons are not my favorite animal in the world and I have to be honest in saying that I probably wouldn’t take care of it. Like any other pet they need to be fed daily and taken out of their cage for exercise. They need love and affection and a light to keep them warm. They also need a hiding spot in their cage so they can feel secure when stressed.  Bearded dragons may be disgusting creatures to me but they really have some of the same needs that we have. God cares for us much the same way my daughter cares for the bearded dragon. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”.  Bearded dragons of course need to be fed. Unli...

I was reading chapter one in the book of Jeremiah and read about his call to ministry. God spoke to Jeremiah and told him he wanted him to be one of his prophets. Jeremiah was reluctant and made an excuse as to why he couldn’t fulfill this role. “..truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a boy”. Jeremiah was telling God, thanks but no thanks. He didn’t think people would listen to him because he was too young but God told him, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you…” In the book of Exodus, God called Moses. God told Moses that he wanted him to deliver his people out of Egypt, but Moses, like Jeremiah, told God he could not do it. Moses was being stubborn. God told Moses that his brother Aaron would speak for him and Moses obeyed. God repeatedly pursued Moses until he no longer found an excuse not to lead his people.  Both Moses and Jeremiah had their doubts about being able to pursue God’s wishes for them. God however gave his promise that he would be with them and he ...

I was walking in the mall one day when I happened to be behind someone who, as they walked, kept looking at the windows and mirrors of the stores as they passed by. I wondered what they were thinking. Was it about how they looked? About their clothes or hair? Or about their weight? When we look at our reflection it would be honorable if we saw the reflection of God instead. Do we see God in ourselves? I know we cannot physically look like God since he has no form, but we can show God’s image by reflecting his love in all of us, but just how do we do that?  Reflecting God’s image occurs when showing others how much we love them through our character. Have you ever noticed how much a devout Christian smiles? I was flying to Florida once and while on the plane I started a conversation with the person sitting next to me. I noticed that this person smiled even while they were talking. I asked this person what they did for a living and they said they were a pastor, I knew it! God’s love ...

Ever have one of those days when you just feel emotional for no reason? If you are a woman, you know what I’m talking about. When I was going through menopause I experienced mood swings, sadness and anxiety on almost a daily basis.  I was reading about the death of Lazarus in the Bible and started thinking about the emotionality of Jesus. Mary and Martha had notified Jesus that their brother Lazarus was ill. Jesus and the disciples went to Judea but were delayed four days. By the time they got to Bethany, Lazarus had died. John 11:33 says “..he was greatly distressed in spirit and deeply moved.” John 11:35 says “Jesus wept”. These verses show just how deeply disturbed Jesus was, he showed great emotion. Jesus’ emotions are not always visible to us in the Bible, but here, his emotions are clearly felt.  Jesus also shows great anguish when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:44 says, “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood...

Koinonia is an ancient Greek word that means fellowship. Fellowship is an integral part of church membership, it transforms believers into a solid supportive community. Today I went out to lunch with a group of ladies from my church. Some I have known for years, others I had just met. I had a great time talking about our everyday lives and our church affiliations. After lunch I started thinking about fellowship, is it really a necessary part of our Christian lives? The answer is yes!  I have a brother-in-law who believes that church is wherever you make it. He does not believe in participating in an active church. He stays at home, reads his Bible on Sunday and watches pastors on TV. That to him is church, but I have to believe that something is missing.   Koinonia is vital to church members, it builds community, provides encouragement and models what Christ would do. Jesus enjoyed Koinonia, he ate with tax collectors and sinners often. I can’t help but wonder what they talked...

I have Hypoxia, a medical condition where my bodies organs do not receive enough oxygen to function properly; because of this I am on oxygen 24/7.    I saw a post on another platform that said, “God is like oxygen, you need him to survive”. I thought, “How right is that!”  I was reading the Bible the other day and I came across a footnote talking about spiritual respiration. I did some research on this and came up with some good information. Just like we need to breathe in oxygen for our physical respiration, we also need to breathe in God for our spiritual respiration.   The great John Wesley used the term “spiritual respiration” to describe the closeness we should have with God, he says we should have a “constant and intimate connection”. Just like we take in oxygen constantly we also need to take in God as much as we can. Most people don’t have time for a constant connection but we can take him in through pauses in our actions throughout the day.  When we fil...

I was reading recently about the thirty three Chilean miners who were trapped underground in a copper-gold mine in 2010. They were underground for a total of 69 days, do you recall the story? For 17 days the rescuers did not know the status of the minors, were they alive or were they dead? Nobody knew.  The rescuers used a drill to go down to the approximate area of the miners to try to find them. They tried day after day but found nothing. After 17 days they drilled down and brought up a note indicating that all thirty three miners were alive and okay. What a glorious feeling that must have been, they had been found! Can you imagine being trapped underground, 2,300 feet, and not knowing if you would ever see your loved ones again? The miners longed to communicate with the rescuers on the surface so they learned to tap on the drill bit to communicate. It must have been excruciating to tap waiting for a response. You would strain to hear, desperate to communicate.  This is the ...

When I was in my 20’s I had a cat named Spunky. Spunky loved to play, in-fact, I was able to teach her how to fetch. Yes, you can teach a cat to fetch, it just takes a little more time and patience than with a dog. I would throw out the little cat ball to Spunky and she would bring it back to me again and again, she loved to play.  When thinking about Spunky fetching I thought about how our spiritual lives are much like playing fetch with God. He throws out his love to us, we catch it and bring it back to him. But just how important is it to show God our love and return it to him? It is very important! God gave us free-will and sometimes we stray from showing God our love and devotion. While deciding whether or not we’ll show God our love, we sometimes hold onto that ball when he throws it out to us. Sometimes for many years we don’t throw our love back to him.  If we don’t return our love to God we may find ourselves straying from him. Daily activities can distract us pulling...

When I was in high school I remember thinking about what would make me a success. I thought that if I married a doctor, lived in a brick house and could put fresh flowers on the dining room table then I would be a success.  When I got older, in my 20’s, I thought that having a new car and a house would make me a success.  When I was in my 30’s I thought that being a success would be having lots of money.  I found throughout the years that my definition of success always changed and involved material things.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes success as “the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence”. This unfortunately is what our society sees as an accurate description of success. Now, some 30 years later I find my definition of success to be much different. Today I find my success resides in God; it is what is most important to me. In the Bible there are many stories that tell of success. In the book of Esther, Queen Esther finds success when she defeats Hamen...