Update!

Hello Friends!

I am trying something new and I am not one that likes change very much.  It's an experiment.  I have started a new blog:

simplycalling.godaddysites.com  (Two new blogs posted there!)

I am going to see if this new site will generate more traffic and I can get some followers...

If anyone of you regularly read my blog-It would be great to follow me, or comment and leave me a message.  I would love to hear from you!

I have a 30 day free trial and If I decide to stay with it, I think my new address in the future will be:

simplycalling.org.

I will keep you updated and wish me the best of luck!

Cathy

Heads not tails!

“Yours is the Kingdom!  You are exalted as head over all!”  1 Ch 29:11

It’s important to remember that God is sovereign and head over all!  Sometimes we forget this, because we look to very real people who are authority figures in our lives.  We look to our spouses, our parents, our pastors, our CEO’s at the job; people who have authority and can say yes or no to us very easily.  But truth is they are not God.  We need to pray for these people and pray that God would be sovereign and head over them, so they can lead with a compassionate authority that loves and serves the individual people that submit to them and look to them daily. 

It’s wonderful when God-fearing people are our bosses, but that’s not always the case, but truth is if you, yourself are God-fearing you can pray for God’s sovereignty and headship over your boss and I’m sure God will honor those prayers.

Don’t just get mad, leave, and get bitter at authority figures in your life.  Trust and Pray that God will work in these men and women and in your behalf. 

Personally, I’ve never been a manager of other men and women.  I have only had the privilege to lead children and that was tough enough.  Children will challenge your authority daily, and there are highs and lows, times when you really connect and encourage a child, and other times when you just miss the mark!

 It’s important to know that God is sovereign still over those times.  We are all imperfect people, that sometimes miss it, but thank God for His covering and that he works on behalf of all people regardless.

The truth is- “He’s a Good Good Father, and He’s perfect in all of His ways!”

Winning!

I heard a sermon by Joyce Meyer and she talked about the Biblical hero, David in it.  There is something about the character of David that makes you want to smile. He was a nobody- out tending his Father’s Sheep, but he had some experience with danger in defeating a lion and a bear.  This gave him confidence that he could go against the Philistine and smite him dead.  David was confident and bold in the Lord.

David was also himself.  He didn’t try to be like other soldiers, wearing their garb.  He had to use what he was accustomed to.  So, he took 5 smooth stones and when his time came to fight the Philistine, He didn’t sneak up on him, He ran to him.

David said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defiled!” 1 Samuel 17:45

And the Lord delivered Goliath into David’s hands..

David and Goliath is such a good ‘ole story Americans love to hear about the underdog coming back and winning.

We root for David, a young cocky kid that nobody ever knew about.  With one brave act, he left a life of obscurity and entered into public life in the King’s service.

But Goliath was peanuts compared to what David would face with King Saul at his back for years on end.  David grew accustomed to having an enemy, but he would sing and write and produce the most poetic psalms that many run to today to find comfort and solace.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

The difference between David and Goliath and David and Saul is that the Lord was with David.  And eventually his enemies would fall.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ” Romans 8:31

If God be on your side, it’s a win win!

New Englanders...

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:  Eccesisastes 3:1

For us, hardy New Englanders we know the seasons very well.  We know that each season builds on each other. The buds of spring break forth in songs of summer.  The falling of leaves prepares our hearts for the bareness of winter.  I always laugh and enjoy the closing of one season, and the entering into the other, because it’s like a battle for one to end, and for the next to embrace.  Such is our lives.

For many die-hard New Englanders that love the seasons, like my mother. She would only be bored with just one.  The seasons make it exciting and each season capitulates a beauty and uniqueness all of its one.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Eccesiastes 3:11

I will be as bold to say that the seasons of our lives is what makes life beautiful.  As we age, we become seasoned with our grays, and worn out sweaters.  Our eyes still bright, but with a deepening caused by age.

Spring brings gardens that we tend to with the hope of fragrance and abundant life to surround our modest homes. 

Summer bring sun and beach and a slowing down to the rhythms of waves and quiet waters.

We wear the seasons of our lives inwardly and outwardly and they tell our sacred story.

Our story that breaks through with song, and laughter, and even a chasing after the wind! Right, Solomon?

The seasons is what makes life beautiful.  Your life and mine, your story and mine unfolding since the beginning of time…

It is Finished!

“It is Finished!”

What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is Finished”  at the Cross?  It is finished is a Greek word, tetelestai, an accounting term that means, “paid in full.”

What did Jesus finish?  He paid the debt that mankind owed to God, the debt of sin.   He finished the work that God had given him to do, (John 17:4).  That work was to seek and save that which is lost, and be a messenger of reconciliation to the World. 

At the Cross, Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies that He was who the Father said He was, The Chosen Messiah for Jew and Gentile. 

And lastly, the suffering of Jesus while on earth was finished there at the Cross, too!

Completion, Fulfillment, It is Finished!

“There at the Cross” talks about our debt, what work we are called to, who we are in Christ, and our present suffering that will not compare to the “Glory that will be revealed in us.”  Romans 8:18.

All of this was accomplished at the Cross through the blood of Jesus!  We are not called to accomplish this again, but to allow Jesus to live His life through us.   

We are not called to endless suffering, but to a Glory that will be revealed in us!

We are not called to live in-debted lives, but to a freedom as children of God!

We are not called to shrink back, hide and play small, but to be bold, beautiful, and confident in knowing who we are as chosen ones.

We are not called to live purposeless futile lives, but we are called to be messengers of reconciliation, and pursuers of those who need God!

There at the Cross is our ticket!  It’s our freedom!  It’s our inheritance!  Do not be afraid to go there and behold Jesus, but not in terror, but in Triumph.  He triumphed over death so our future could be brighter!

At the Cross, Jesus advocated for us in a way that no one ever could.  Let Him advocate for you today.  Let Him be your Father….

Just another day at work...

Why is work so challenging?  The workplace can become a toxic environment when negativity surrounds you.  The workplace can sometimes feel like a pressure cooker just waiting for someone to “blow their top” with stress and demands placed upon you.

What is required to work a job?  I think strength is required.  I’ve never considered myself a physically strong person or a strong personality like many we can think of,  but I do have one kind of strength- I have moral strength.  It’s a unique- one-of-a-kind strength.  It’s a tender strength; A strength that preserveres over adversity and with a smile. 

The work world is really not about the work, it’s about the people!  Jesus actually called the disciples out from the “world of work” and said, “Now let’s go fish for people.”  If the disciples thought hauling fish was challenging wait until they encountered those who opposed Jesus!

If you want an easy job, go work alone! 

And truth be told, that is what many of us would do if we could.  But Jesus knows there are many people out there in the cold, sometimes hostile world of work that need a Moral Strength that displays the cost and character of Jesus Christ,  who laid it all done on the Cross and Overcame the most challenging obstacles, so we too could enter into His Glory.

“If you would, Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:13

With all things considered, Jesus- It’s just another day at work!

My Legacy-Here on earth as it is in Heaven!

I woke up today and I wasn’t excited to go to church, and I have my reasons why, but I decided to go anyway because I need God.

 When I got there I began to worship the Lord and experience His presence.  I thought to myself, “At this point in my life, I don’t have time for resentment.  I don’t have time for unforgiveness.  I desperately need the Living God!”  “I need His Presence, I need His Life, I need His Word, I need His Healing touch that makes all things well.” 

I need God! 

I realized tonight, I need God’s presence more than anything else in this life.  More than the best therapy, more than the most money, more than the loveliest home, more than the most well-meaning people, more than the most successful Job… I need God.

What else is there?

I really don’t know.  I’m not the smartest, most gifted, most articulate, most functional, most social person there is.  Quite possibly I have one claim to fame- I know that I know that I need God..

And God in all his Grace and Glory is more than enough for the likes of me.  Let that me my testimony, Let that be my legacy….Here on earth as it is in heaven!

Undoing...

A new undoing awaits you,

You’ve never traveled this way before...

Relying on intellect will break you,

New guides will lead you to heart’s open door.

Not knowing releases you in presence and pain,

with child-like wonder that holds no restrain.

God’s kindness will keep you with hope as your shield.

And Jesus will meet you, every part fully healed..

One Thing!

“Only one thing is needed, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:42

What was Mary’s secret, that Jesus commended her for?  Mary was basking in the presence of Jesus.  She was filling herself with His presence, His words, Himself.  This is the one thing that was needed for her, for Martha, and for their family. 

We need more of Jesus, and when you experience Him you know it.  “He is all you need.  He’s the more than enough.”  When we don’t have “the more” of Jesus we start filling ourselves with other things like food, drink, material items, personalities..

Jesus said, “You look for me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” John 6:26

Truth is we are a hungry people; spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  We will fill ourselves with something or someone.  We long to be full..

That’s why we need to eat God’s Word, bask in his presence, and be full of the Holy Spirit…

The problem with Martha was that she was missing Jesus in the midst of doing something for Him.  He was right in front of her and she was running around trying to serve.  If she took the time to be with Jesus, maybe Mary would have gotten up and started cooking. 

Being always comes before doing in God’s economy.  We Be before God, experience His presence, and listen to His Words, and then He sends us out to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead!

Mary chose the better part, and that part is always Jesus, seeking to know Him, seeking to be filled by Him, seeking to be in Fellowship with Him.

No matter what you are going through today, I want you to know that only one thing is needed, and when you find that thing, nothing and no one can take it from you..

Jesus will reward you, but with a treasure that far outweighs them all… You will find His love, Joy, peace, kindness and pleasure given to all who sit at His feet, delight in His presence, and drink from His words..

Attention

We all need attention.

Attention is what causes us to perk up and come to life.  Attention makes us beautiful and fragrant.

Consider a flower that is wilting.  We put it in the sunlight and water it and very soon it comes to life again; fragrant and beautiful for all to see.

We are like that flower- in need of attention, water, and sunlight so we can flourish and grow into a beautiful garden.

Beautiful gardens naturally offer hospitality and invite others in.  We can only hope to be such a person whom offers presence, beauty and hospitality to those who have lost their way, and to those who are in need of some personal attention of their own.

So many of us have been neglected in our past, in our present, and truth be told we have been conditioned to neglect ourselves. 

This perhaps could be one of humanity’s deepest darkest secrets- Neglect.  It may not be as violent as rape or abuse, but it is a silent killer…

We need to offer the neglected parts of ourselves to God.  We need to seek ways in which we allow our neglected selves some much needed personal rest and attention…

There are so many ways you can gift yourself some attention like going on a retreat, seeing a counselor, getting a massage, surrounding yourself with beauty and art, sitting in a garden, going to the beach, going to the gym.

Be good to yourself.  It’s ok to ask for what you need. Also, remember to take some time to read the written Word, which says…

“You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”  Isaiah 58:11

Trinity

Jesus is a parent.  Jesus is a lover.  Jesus is a friend.

These three relationships are most important to us.  We need our parents, we need our lover, we need our friends.

Early in life parental relationships are primary.  Parents help us develop a healthy self-esteem.  They are our protectors and providers. 

As time goes on we develop same-sex relationships and these friendships help us develop a sense of identity to the gender of our birth. 

Then we develop an attraction to the opposite gender.  This is powerful and exciting to explore.  We realize we have boundaries in relating to the opposite gender.

A healthy relationship to our parents, to our lover, to our friends is vital in helping us develop our identity, our boundaries, and our self-worth.

We realize that God engenders all three relationships. It’s vital that we explore God as parent, as lover, and as friend.

Jesus’ relationship to Father God is a powerful symbol to what a parent and child relationship can be; affirming, loving, and trusting.

God, as friend can be studied throughout pages of the Bible.  A good example is His relationship to Abraham, whom He called “Friend.”  Or David, who He said was a “man after my own heart.”

I was 18, when I first stumbled across the book of “Song of Soloman” in the Bible.  I couldn’t believe that God could be a passionate lover as depicted in the Song.  It broke my stereo-type of God as being a purely highly moral individual , which He is, but He is also passionate, pursuing, and fiercely devoted to me.

Just as God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; He is also parent, lover, and friend.

Reading the pages of the Bible is an exciting, healing, and grand-adventure filled with God’s attributes, and His loving relationships to men and women just like you and me.

It is written...

Brian and Jenn Johnson sing a song called, “For the One.”  The chorus says, “Help me to love with open arms, like you do- A love that erases all the lines, and sees the truth…”

I was really struck by the line, “Sees the truth.” How desperate we are to see the truth about ourselves, about others, about God. 

We can easily become victims to our emotions, and the dialogue that is constantly rolling in our heads.

We need the truth, though raw at times. It remains unashamed and unadulterated.

God’s Word speaks about the truth of who He is, and who He created us to be.  We need to meditate on this daily.

God will give us eyes to see the truth and sometimes we are very aware of this reality, but we still need a “It is written” truth that grounds us in the moment we are tempted to despair and believe the lie.

The lie that there is something wrong with us. 

The lie that we are not worthy of Love.

I realize now this happens at moments when we don’t feel loved or even liked by the people surrounding us.  This is dangerous ground. 

We need God’s loving affirmation that we indeed stand upon the Holy Ground of His written Word.  

The Word that tells us the truth- That He is our Father.

The Word that tells us the truth-That we are His beloved daughter and son.

Jesus told the enemy of his heart, “It is written…It is written…It is written…”

And the enemy of his heart left him, and angels came and attended him to go and do the work…

The Potter's Hand

Darlene Zschech sings a beautiful song called The Potter’s hand.  One of the lines of the song says,

“Teach me Oh, Lord to Live all of my Life through your eyes.”

We have to always remember that God sees us like a Father.  He loves us, He wants the best for us, He watches over us.  He also cares for us like a Mother.

He knows our weaknesses, insecurities and failures.  He knows our passions, our longing and our strength.  He is the Lord over all our desires.  He has watched our mustard seed of faith grow and develop. 

He realizes that sometimes our expectations for ourselves are higher than His.

He is always with us, like the Dad that goes to all His son’s football games, cheering and rooting him on when He scores, and putting his arm around his shoulder and speaking words of truth and comfort when he fumbles the ball.

God is first and foremost like a Father, like a Mother, like a Loving Parent.

He has cradled us in the womb.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  We bear His image, the image of God, male and female He created them.

We have to ask our loving Father, and our caring Mother to give us eyes to see ourselves like they do;  Full of Hope, Full of Trust, Full of Faith.

Prayer to enter in...

Dear God, give us eyes to see ourselves like you do.  Give us grace to love ourselves like you do.  Help us to slow down, pause and be in our lives, all of us! All the time. Thank you for my past, my present, and my future.  Thank You for your goodness to me in everyday In every way. You are my Morning Star. You are my firm foundation. Nothing can separate me from your love and your power at work in this crafted life. For you are indeed the Potter, and I am the clay.

In Jesus Name, I Pray...

The Promise Land

“A land flowing with milk and honey…”

God is always about bringing us up and out to a place of more freedom.  There are so many ways we can feel stuck in our lives; Stuck in addiction, Stuck in depression, Stuck in poverty, Stuck in isolation and timidity.  We are a stuck people, but the good news is that God’s heart for us is more freedom.

We’ve heard this many times before when we have been waiting on God for a long time for something, but how often and how long has God been waiting on us to take initiative for our own deliverance.

We can seek counsel. We can seek prayer. We can change our mindset and begin to think out of the box for our lives.  There is so many things that we can do to get out of our own stuckness.

Yes, we need God to empower, lead and direct us.  He’s always willing to show up and speak into our lives if we let Him.  God will show up often unannounced and often unrecognized.

The best place to start is on your knees… 

The Bible says, “A broken and contrite heart, Oh God you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

But even God does not leave us solely in a broken place.  He desires for us to experience wholeness.  

There are always two sides of the coin in the Gospel story.

Go learn what this means, “I Desire Mercy, not Sacrifice.”  Matthew 9:13

The promise land is not a place that we arrive to with a final destination here on earth.  We are always being led out and brought forth to spacious places filled with longing and delight.

The Story of Friendship...

Friendship is truly a gift.  I believe every friendship has a story.  What makes one person choose another as a friend and that person choose them back?  It’s a mystery, but I believe friendship is nothing more than sheer grace.

I was reminded this night of a friendship I started in middle school.   It was a big transition from elementary school to junior high and I felt it.  I needed a friend, and God gave me Jill.  She was new to the area and would wear skirts everyday to school and that was strange.  This got me interested in her right away.  She seemed different, and being the only Latina girl in a predominately white environment, I always felt a little “in a class of my own.” So, I was attracted to her, and somehow we connected in the Library over books and the Dewey decimal system- and Voila!  A friendship was born…

I can think of another friendship that occurred when I was much older and in need of a friend.  We just clicked- the same age, love for God, love for clothes…It was a match made in heaven!

So special friendships are, but they may not always last forever, and for different reasons friendships can drift apart and that’s ok.  They may have served a time when you really needed each other.

The Good News is that God can always build new friendships.  They can come when we least expect it, but always when we most need it.

Make room, and trust that God will bring you a friend.  It will be a new story, but no different than two people that find each other at the right time and see something in each other that makes them want to draw near.

Intimacy

We were created for Intimacy.  The best definition I have ever heard of this is: To Know and Be Known.  This is the foundation to relationship.

We long for intimacy in our marriages, our families, and our friendships.  Intimacy is a place where we can come just as we are and we are accepted.  Church and other places of community is where intimacy can be shared between people and God.  We need intimacy.  We need acceptance.  We need love.  This fuels us to do the work. 

Intimacy is also a safe place; a place where we can run to and a place where we can return to often.  It is a welcoming place; A place of hospitality and freedom to be who we are!  We don’t have to compete.  We don’t have to perform.

Intimacy is a place of Joy because we know that we are loved, and we feel the security of that love and that security gives us the courage to go out and conqueror the world!

It all goes back to Jesus.  All that He did in this world was because of the intimacy that he shared with His Father.  It was the key to His success.  It was the key to His life and death.  And He took along 12 men and formed an intimate circle, in which he shared with them the love and intimacy he had between Father and Son.

And there were women, too that He invited into His circle, and delighted in them and gave them a job to do, and even revealed His Glory to them in resurrection power!

Intimacy with God and Intimacy with each other; that’s why honest and vulnerable people are so alluring.  We are like them, too. 

Jesus experienced intimacy wherever He went.  He was called to listen, to touch, to heal, to speak life, to encourage, to exhort, to be present.  He modeled intimacy for us.  And He was the safest individual anyone ever met.  People let their guard down, people were themselves, people trusted him.

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”  Proverbs 18:10

  

Be Yourself

It’s important to know yourself;

The ways in which you live, think, be in this world.

The ways in which you offer your presence in body, soul, and spirit.

The look in your eyes, a smile, a compassionate listening.

You are truly a gift to the World!

When you know yourself, others will know you, too.

You don’t have to try to fit in. 

Be yourself and watch others walk towards you.

The Promise...

My reward awaits,
in the promise of your hand.

You reach out to me,
by the Grandeur of Your Plan.

My Fears and Foes
may never understand.

But My Sweet Reward
is in the promise of your hand.

Your hand that carries me,
Your hand the nudges me.

Your hands of safety,
Enveloped up above.

Your hand abides me with me,
in the Promise of Your Love.

Shadowlands

Fragile

 and Loved,

I am.

Across

 the valleys

Of golden

 lands,

I stand.

A queen,

I remember

who I am.

Though

 barren,

By this

shadowland.

I remain 

true to

The Great

 I am.

He is present

To this heart

That flows.

It remains..

Flawed,

and Loved,

Broken and

 Whole.

Out of the Ordinary...

I think what kills us, what we hate, can’t tolerate is that we live such ordinary lives.  We would rather live in the heights and depths of our emotions.  We want our breath to be taken away!  We want the Glory!  But ask for the Ordinary- No way!

How can the ordinary become a sacred place within us?  Our mundane lives here on earth, here with our feet upon the dusty road.  We have to accept the ordinary as sacred.  Nothing more, Nothing Less. Nothing Spectacular, nothing out of this world! 

In our humanity, the place where we break the bread, drink the wine, and invite others to the table.

Jesus will always manifest himself in the ordinary sacraments of our daily lives like prayer, exercise, work and meals together. 

In Genesis, after God created the world, he said, “Behold it is very good!”  We have to experience the goodness of the Lord in our ordinary lives.

In communion, God blessed the bread, breaks it and says, “Be Satisfied!”

How can we be satisfied in the ordinary?  Somehow on the dusty road the disciples found that they were actually walking with Jesus.

We need to realize that Jesus is down here on earth as much as he’s up there in heaven, and we need to look for him to meet us in our ordinary days where he blesses, makes sacred, and tells us it is Very Good.

Consider the Lilies

Waiting is a hard but fulfilling discipline.  We wait for so many things: the leisure of the weekend, the coming of the spring, the fulfilling of dreams like purchasing that first home, and birthing that first child.  

We wait for the Glorious revealing of the Children of God, and Jesus the Son.  We wait spiritually and practically for promises to come to pass.

But what do we do in the process of waiting?  In a garden we plant seeds and take great delight when we see sprouts of growth.

It is a growing process while we wait.  But God enables us to experience the growth.  It’s just not one step to another.  Consider a pregnant woman, who watches her belly grow and take shape for 9 months until delivery.

When God moves you to the next thing, it’s because you have grown into it.  The waiting for that thing has been a process of growth in your life.  Growth is slow, but change happens. 

I’ve talked many times about the evolution of a butterfly; the process, the change, the dazzling transformation.  Such is our lives. 

I know you are waiting for many things, but consider that you are growing into those things, and take heart that they can happen.  

Nurture the seeds planted in your life.  Give room for growth.  Take delight in the sprouts that spring up and encourage you to move in that direction.

Never give up that all things are possible, and keep your eyes on the horizon and the one whom...

 “Considers the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”  Luke 12:27

The Business of People

I know it’s not a happy thought, but in some ways we are all alone. We came into this world alone, and we will leave it alone.  The only hope we have is that God goes with us.

Marriage and family can ease the loneliness for a season, but spouses may die or marriages break-up and children grow-up and move on.

The only true gift God gives to us in Life’s Journey are people.  The investment we have made in others is the only fruit that will remain.

Jobs, money, status, power is just a means to an end. Its people that count and its people that God values. 

And at the end of our lives, it’s people that we will remember and reach out to.

We need a new mindset, we need a new motive, we need a new vision.

Wherever and whatever God will call you to, it’s because he has specific people he wants you to minister to.

Don’t just go to work every day to bring home a paycheck to pay for the house, the groceries, and the vacations.

Pray that God will bring you into relationship with those he wants you to reach out to, to befriend, to value, to appreciate, to support, encourage, and even challenge.

God is truly on our side, and the good news is He’s on the side of countless of others that we may not notice, recognize, and overlook everyday of our lives.

God is now and always will be in the business of people.