Give each other more honor than you give yourself – Romans 12:10

Romans 12:10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. 

I've been thinking about how harsh we can be with people around us whether it’s folks who work with us, neighbors, workers at the stores we go to, and especially with people who are closest to us.

It’s like we forget that we are forgiven and that God’s grace doesn’t discriminate based on the level of sin we’ve committed. 

Sin is going to catch up with us … believe it.  No one is immune.

Our “self-honor” doesn't allow us to see what deep burdens or hang ups others deal with…

Next time we start to criticize or show how witty we can be, we should consider honoring the other person more than ourselves. It just may change the words from our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts.

I’m making an effort to be kinder. I am. 

Absent from the body: Present with the Lord - 1 Corinthians 5:8

April 14, 2013

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1 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Many of us have been praying for Pastor Rick Warren and his family over the loss of his precious son, Matthew. Pastor Rick shared this tweet a few days ago, “After 4 days, finally got to see my son’s body. He wasn't in it anymore. “Absent from the body is to be home with the Lord.”

It struck a tender cord in my heart. 

My own mother left her earthly body in December and those very words are what jolted me back to reality. 

I stayed alone with Mom’s body for a few hours before the funeral home’s employees arrived. It seemed fitting since I had been by her side during a very long illness. She knew and I knew she would leave this world, but nothing prepares one for the jolt of seeing a loved one’s lifeless body. That includes those of us who are fully equipped by the Lord to minister to the ill.

I didn't cry, but I felt like I was swimming aimlessly in the ocean after my brother left my side. 

I pulled my thoughts together and sent texts to those closest to me. Thankfully, I remembered to text the executive who oversees the department at my day job. He loves Christ. He immediately responded, “Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Glad she’s not suffering.”

I needed to be reminded of that message of faith and hope – it changed my perspective immediately. I was able to get through the inevitable preparations and celebration of Mom’s life. 

That Scripture gave me the hope of seeing Mother's  tender smile again. We walk by faith, not by sight (v.7). Pastor Rick will see Matthew again, too. 

We know that for sure. 

There’s no going back - based on Genesis 19:14

Written: March 3, 2013

Genesis 19:14 …one of the messengers gave this instruction:
Messenger: Now run! Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the plain. Head for the hills, or you’ll die along with everyone else.

Go! Don't look back!

There’s no going back.

The story of Lot and his wife fascinates because many of us can’t help but continue to remember and stay in pasts that have been forgotten in God’s eyes. God is a place of safety, but our flesh is torn between here and now instead of eternal bliss.

Living a life that’s focused on God is such a privilege. What if God let me do life as I preferred on my own terms?

·       What would I be interested in?
·       Who would my friends would be?
·       How I would spend my free time?
·       What I would care about?
·       Who I would care about?
·       Would I go along with popular culture?
·       Would I turn my back on wrong just to be in the right?
·       Would I care deeply about those things that make no sense to most people?
·       Would I put myself out on a limb?
·       Would I share the vulnerabilities that have made me a better person?

Lord, keep me on your one-way road. I never want to go back.  

Top 10 tips to keep JOY through the wilderness

My ministry is all about sharing my experiences and what works for me, so you can be encouraged. These tips help maintain my JOY through the wilderness:

1. I confess my weaknesses and I ask for forgiveness. This one is hard because you have to say these things out loud and talk it over with the Holy Spirit.

2. I also confess my weaknesses to my accountability partner. When you don’t confess to a trusted Christian friend, the enemy can put guilt trips all over your mind!

3. I fight the enemy by confessing out loud, “May the blood of Jesus Christ repel and rebuke the enemy!” I learned this from my grandmother.

4. I don’t blame the enemy for everything because most of the time I get in my own way. I have to be brutally honest with myself and the Holy Spirit, so I can do effective ministry. This is an ongoing growth area for me.

5. The most important thing is to keep an open dialogue with the Holy Spirit – I talk out loud – I praise out loud – I confess out loud!

6. I realize that my mind has the power to bring me down, so I control it by reading God’s word, listening to worship music and asking for his POWER!

7. I focus on caring for others so that I can get myself out of my prayers – as my mentor Joyce Meyer suggests!

8. I also take time to enjoy my relationship with the Holy Spirit. He has a fabulous sense of humor – have you tapped into that yet?

9. Lighten up and remember that life happens and things pass.

10. Ask for help. I will be writing on this topic because I have a hard time asking for help.

Note: I wrote this several years ago. It's still spot on. 

Reflecting on the Papal election and my childhood

My First Communion Day with Tia Lupita

 I was born into a deeply devout Catholic family so it was natural for me to be moved by the selection of a new Pope. 

We attended Spanish/Latin Mass at 7 a.m.every Sunday and I went to Catechism class each Wednesday (when I didn't play hooky with my best friend...sorry grandmother). J  

I also celebrated my First Communion, Confirmation and Quinceañera with full blown Mexican-American family celebrations.

My mother celebrating my Quinceanera with me.

It was a big deal. Along the journey, most of the family left the church except my mom.  We found different congregations to fellowship and worship the Lord.  I dropped church and belief in God altogether for many years. But I returned to the Shepherd’s fold when my child was born, for her sake I say, but God caught my heart and that was a game changer – I fell deeply in love with the Lord.

We have a Pope text!

If I say I love God, then I have to love all of God’s people even though I no longer believe as they do. 

I found myself praying for the Catholic cardinals to make the right selection. I joined the Adopt a Cardinal site and prayed for Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio to make a Spirit-led choice. More than half a million of us were praying for the right person to be selected. 

I also signed up for Pope Alarm and received a text when the smoke turned white.  

My soul feels happy that in middle of an age when so many no longer believe in God or want to participate in “religion,” the election of a spiritual leader for a large number of the souls in the world today got so much world-wide media coverage.

Now my Catholic brothers and sisters have their senior pastor and spiritual father, Papa Francisco, from Argentina. I can’t help but love him and pray that God will use him in powerful ways.  After all, it’s all about God’s purposes and you and I can never-ever know the extent of God's purposes. 

Deep down in our souls regardless of what our mouths profess, we all have a great need for the spiritual force that created us. When God catches your heart, let Him have it.