Acceptable Loss

Matthew Fawcett, Dale Head Farm

John 21:15 After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17 Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” -The Message

There is estimated over 6 billion people on the planet. Lately, as I watch the news and read reports I see abuses of many kinds, people being gunned down, bombs going off in war-torn countries, babies that have been abandoned, women working in sweat shops to feed their family, men being captured for ransom. In the latest shooting in Arizona, I rationalized and actually thanked God that only six people were killed when a man with an automatic weapon let loose on a crowd over politics. Then I caught myself. Were they saved? If this happened in my city, more than likely I would know one of the six people killed. Did I speak to them about Jesus? Did I do my part to make sure that they didn’t just die to earth but that lived on in eternity?

How many people can we lose in a crisis before it is too many? How many people lose their lives senselessly? And how many people are not dead physically but dead emotionally? Does the 10 year-old girl sold to slavery feel anything anymore? Does she still long for dolls or friends? Has she shut down or does she dream? What is my role in all of this? Is my demand for a $5.00 t-shirt create this environment?

And then the real questions come to mind. Am I doing all that I can do for these causes? Am I informed, am I unafraid to speak out, am I mindful of the orphan, the widow and the stranger? Do I care or do I just say I do?

As I sit here and write this post today, I am sitting under a blanket, as Clash Of The Titans plays on HBO and my dog is snuggled warming my feet. Do I realize the blessing or do I want and expect more?

This year I want to dedicate a part of this blog to speaking out about things going on in the world and how you can help. Today though I would like for you to stop putting off that conversation with that lost soul that the Lord has put on your heart. We have this thought that it’s just one soul in billions of soul but to God it’s the most important soul. Let it be so for us!

Happy New Year 2011

Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. 2 I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense. 3 And these God-chosen lives all around – what splendid friends they make! 4 Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names. 5 My choice is you, God, first and only. And now I find I’m your choice!6 You set me up with a house and yard. And then you made me your heir! 7 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. 8 Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. 9 I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. 10 You canceled my ticket to hell – that’s not my destination! 11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way. -“The Message”

It’s been crazy busy around the Young house. Friends, family, church, store there are lots of obligations that came on all at once. We’ve had a wonderful season this year and I have to take a second to encourage all the stepfamilies out there. This year, we finally were able to come together and have a really great season. Statistics tell you that it takes 7 years to blend a family and we were no exception.

This year my resolution is really simple. This year, I will breathe in deeply the presence of God, I will not measure my life’s success as a human doing but rather a human being. I don’t know about you but I am my harshest critic. I will turn 46 this year and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that my plate will always be full but I don’t have to eat everything off of it everyday. I’m sure I will one day die with a do-to list left behind and I’m sure someone will come behind me and finish it. This year I want to be focused solely on being.

I hope these first seven days of the year have been great to you. I am continually thinking of all of you and I there is still much to be said!

You Changed My Name

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As the New Year approaches I am reminded of who I am going forward. There is song by Travis Cottrell that says it so eloquently that I want to remember it’s the banner over my life.

 

You Changed My Name– CCLI Song No. 4577373

Verse 1

Who I am is a mystery I can’t explain

‘Cause Your mercy fell like healing rain

And washed away my past

Who I was all my secrets

All my hidden pain

Now Your grace has broken every chain

And set me free at last

And who I was before

Doesn’t matter anymore

 

Chorus 1

You changed my name when

You called me forgiven

You changed my name when

You called me redeemed

You took my shame and

Wrote a new beginning

To the story I was living

And I’ll never be the same

You saw what I could be

And reaching out for me

You changed my name

You changed my name

 

Verse 2

Now I live in the light of Your redeeming love

And I bear the marks Your healing touch

Has written on my heart

With each step I take

I’m reminded of the price You paid

And the living sacrifice You made

To set my soul apart

My life is Yours alone

You have marked me as Your own

(BRIDGE)

I’m not the man I once was

Behold all things are new

‘Cause You changed my name

 

Merry Christmas

christmas.sylvox.com

My grandfather was born in February 1900. They didn’t register him right away and then his parents couldn’t remember the exact day he was born but they knew it was in February. Somehow they picked a date to put on his birth certificate and they celebrated his birth on that day. The actual day he was born wasn’t really important, the fact that he was born was the important thing.  Frankly, he died in 1981 and I don’t remember his birthday at this moment but I think it was like February 13 or maybe it was the 18th. Whatever day it was, we always made a big deal about his birthday. There was cake, presents, singing, laughter, presents, family, ice cream, love, presents, family, singing, did I mention he had 12 kids and a bunch of grandkids? Yes, it was a big party. Maybe we had the date wrong for his 81 years on earth. Maybe not, who cares? We were celebrating his birth and our blessing.

So we can argue all we want to about how Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th but a whole bunch of  us are getting together and we’re going to celebrate. They’ll be food, love, singing, presents, family, love, presents, family, singing, smiles, love and food!

You can call it a Holiday, you can say it has no significance. You can say it’s all commercial. You can decorate your house with holiday lights and have a holiday tree and exchange holiday presents. For us, we have Christmas lights and a Christmas tree and exchange Christmas presents and we’ll all gather together in houses of worship as we celebrate together a Mass for Christ, a Christmas. It’s a joyful day, a day we’ve chosen corporately to say thanks to the one true living God who came for us, the one who determined life wasn’t worth living apart from us. Today we celebrate Christmas and we say Happy Birthday Jesus. We’re so blessed you came! So sing all you nations. Sing of the wonders of his love and the joy that he brings us! Sing and rejoice because your long awaited King made his way on the scene and he rocked the world, turned it upside down and it’s been a party ever since!

Merry Christmas

God Of The Probable

The Holy Spirit was ministering in my worship today. As I was praying, I received a word from the Lord. He began to speak to me about how we often profess that nothing is impossible with God but that word spoken by our own lips, never reaches our heart. In our heart we doubt. We think that there are some things in life that are impossible and so we begin to consider our Lord as the God of the probable.

We place him a box, in our mind, of what we as humans deem possible and impossible, just due to our life experiences. We wonder if the things we hear and see are truly miracles or just good luck? In our most spiritual time we see the wonders of God’s creation yet in our daily life we take it all for granted. We vacillate between one opinion and another never knowing what quite to do with our God. Yet, when we take God out of the box, and we let him do his thing, we experience adventure in huge measure. Not comfort necessarily but adventure!

I am seeing intently the 100 years that Abraham walked with the Lord and the things he saw in those 100 years. While he never saw the completed promise on this earth, still he never wavered in his faith of impossibilities being possible.

Hebrews11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

Wow! To walk with the Lord 100 years is a feat in and of itself. The fact that he never turned his back on the Lord, though he wasn’t perfect, he was obedient. To never have said the words that so carelessly have fallen from my lips in my lapses of faith, “Lord where are you and did you really mean this?” To live in tents for the remainder of my days on earth as Abraham did, never knowing if this stop would be my last or one of many seems hard for me. My husband is fond of saying, “The King can do no wrong”. Meaning that whatever God chooses is the right thing whether we like it or not.

Only wait a second, this is the life we lead when led by Christ is it not? Our flesh is a mere tent, lest you think you are really getting a mansion in heaven, another blog for another day. We are aliens and sojourners aren’t we? We don’t really LIVE in our house and our life here on earth.

Oh, if that were true. Most days I do find the life I lead is probably more like Lot, setting my tent near the city, liking a little too much the way luxury feels on my skin. Trying to be righteous and failing miserably and trying again the next day. Maybe it’s not that God can really do all things, maybe it’s that I stand in the way, therefore making things probable. Maybe when I set out to try to fix things in my own power I cancel out the possibilities of God.

This is why being child-like is so important. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

When I was a child, I thought I could fly by merely tying a towel to my back. I wanted so desperately to be Wonder Woman. You can probably see the remnants of that little girl in me today as well. It was that faith in the impossible that made things possible. It’s not that God will probably do it, maybe. It’s that I have to believe that the impossible is possible. I have to know that I can soar. I can’t be worried about what people will say. When I see Noah building an arc when it hadn’t rained I get encouraged. When I see Abraham taking his son to be sacrificed, never having seen a resurrection I get encouraged. I begin to believe that all things are possible. When I see a man at the altar weeping because the doctor has told him that cancer has eaten his body and that he needs to go home and prepare to die, and two months later he has no cancer whatsoever, true story, I get beyond encouraged.

So if you see me with a towel wrapped around my neck, don’t think I’ve gone crazy. Maybe I am just believing that I don’t serve a probable God but I serve a possible God and maybe I’m feeling like Wonder Woman.

The Southern 10 Commandments

For me, the ten commandments are just simple human decency. I had to laugh when I saw this version though! My husband read it out loud to me complete with the drawl that makes me smile.

Ten Commandments

 

image00111

Some people have trouble with all those ‘shall’s’ and ‘shall not’s’ in the Ten Commandments. Folks just aren’t used to talking in those terms. So, in middle Tennessee they translated the ‘King James’ into ‘ Jackson County ‘ language…..no joke (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro , Tennessee ).  This also goes for the folks from Lee County, Virginia.

 

(1) Just one God

(2) Put nothin’ before God

(3) Watch yer mouth

(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin’

(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa

(6) No killin’

(7) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal

(8) Don’t take what ain’t yers

(9) No tellin’ tales or gossipin’

(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff

 

Now that’s plain an’ simple.  Y’all have a nice day now!  Ye hear!

Consultation

businesstm.com

A reader asks:

On 4 occassions I tried getting a promotion but what happens thereafter buffles me. After the oral interviews the potential employer will call all my references. Normally if your references are called u know that u were the best and preferred candidate. On all those occasions instead of getting an appointment/offer letter I’ll be told that either filing of the position is put on hold or there are no funds.

I am a christiaan and belief in God. Will consulting a spiritual advicer assist in understanding were my iniquities in the Lord could?

Thank you Pastor Susan and my the Almighty give you wisdom and understanding into this matter, in Jesus name. Amen

Thanks for writing in! I believe there are some misconceptions, that some in the body of Christ have, that God is punishing us for our sins by withholding blessings. I don’t believe that. I believe that sin carries with it a natural consequence. Have you considered that this is the mercy of God which keeps you from these positions? Perhaps they aren’t for you right now? I believe that some doors are closed for our benefit. In fact, if our prayer each day is for the Lord to guide and direct our path (thy will be done), then if the answer is a no, it’s because it is not his will, and if the answer is a yes, it’s because it is his will. Have you considered that God has you exactly where he wants you? Has the Lord been asking you to gain more knowledge in an area of your career? Has he nudged you to pursue more education?

God is not mad at you nor does he ever reject you. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Make God your priority: Matthew 6:33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

I hope this helps!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I just have a few random thoughts:

I am grateful for the scene I saw yesterday in the store. Loved it actually! I was wheeling my cart out the door after the check-out. It was a madhouse at the store. A little boy about 7ish, was walking with a bag of groceries and his father, who was this boy’s older twin by the way, grabs him by the hood of his coat and says, “Son, wait.” The boy asks why and begins looking at me. The father says, “Men always let women go out ahead of them. If the door isn’t automatic, they open it.” The boy goes, “Why?” I smiled at the dad and said “Thank you”. I am sure the conversation continued. I am grateful that there are still men who are teaching their boys manners. It makes me smile!

I am grateful for Pastor Juan Hernandez’ family because his grandchildren are singing praises to their God and a legacy continues.

I am grateful for this scripture because I can make myself at home in His presence and that is the greatest gift I’ve been given and the thing that blesses me so!

Psalm 100:1 On your feet now – applaud God! 2 Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. 3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. 5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good and Great

thefuntimesguide.com

I was reminded of a time several years back. Casey, my daughter was in youth group and the leader was talking to them about their parents. Casey said, enthusiastically, it was told to me, “I don’t just have a good mom, I have a great mom.” She was 16, at the time and I had worked hard with my kids to have a good relationship with them. I was never Casey’s or Ant’s friend but I was a parent who worked really hard at establishing a good communication with them. When the leader told me what she had said, I was thrilled that she thought so.

What had elevated me from good to great in those days? I think it was just that I loved her and we had a close relationship. She was my partner to shop and to go to plays with. I held her to a standard and she respected me for it and I respected her for trying her best. I miss her desperately some days, because she’s all grown up and off on her own. She doesn’t need her mom anymore as she once did. Now, I get calls about how to make certain food or what do I think about something. Now when we are together, it’s all I can do when I am with her not to just squeeze her and love her up. I know better than to do that because I’d embarrass her more than I already do.

So it is with our Lord. When we first learn about him and begin our relationship with him, he’s so good. Jesus even gives us the criteria for being the good shepherd:

John 10:11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

When we first discover that Jesus loves so completely, it makes something stir in us. It makes us feel whole again. It makes us feel understood and a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

As we progress along with our relationship with him and we discover all that He is in our life he is so much more than good. He overwhelms us with his love. We can’t quite comprehend how he is able to see our flaws and our hang-ups and yet still love us so deeply. When we find that he never ceases to teach us and guide us, we discover that he is great!

Hebrews 13:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

TLC’s Conference

We were honored to have such powerful conference this weekend. Almost 150 women gathered to discuss why God asks us not to arouse or awaken love before it so desires. Women from the ages of 10-100 came and learned what God’s plan was and why he said wait. I was so impressed by our teens who were honestly saying that they had never really considered why God said wait.

Some of the comments that touched my heart were:

“Now I understand why my dad acts like he hates boys to talk to me you know? He is trying to protect me. I mean, he’s still not doing it right but I see his heart now you know?”

“I would never do the things I do in front of my dad but I had never considered that my father in heaven is always watching. It makes you think.”


“I can’t talk to my mom because she always runs and tells her sisters and her friends.”

“I can’t talk to my mom because she always starts yelling and judging.”

“I feel helpless when my daughter comes to me because I see my baby asking 13 year-old questions and it scares me.”

“I sometimes don’t know what to say to my daughter so I revert to rules.”

“I still wear scars by the things boys said to me in high school”

“I didn’t live what I am teaching and I want more for my daughter but I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m scared of what I see happening to the young girls today.”

“My mom just lectures and I have no one to talk to but my friends.”

Thank you Jesus for a ministry that allows us to come forth with the questions of our heart. Thank you that you see every question and that it is meaningful to you!