Category: Love

Two Encounters

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On Saturday I attended a birthday party of a great woman in the Lord. While I was there people were mingling about both family and friends. Some were saved and some not. It was a great mix of people. They all made me feel welcome into their family.

After being there about an hour and meeting a really great couple who had just come back from a trip to Vegas to get tattoos, which were fabulously done by the way, by Hart and Huntington (a very cool shop in the tattoo world) another family member came up to the table I was sitting at to say hello to the people she knew there. I was introduced as, “This is my Pastor, Susan Young.” The woman said hello and was talking when all of a sudden in mid-sentence she said,

“Did you say Pastor?” The other woman said, “Yeah.” She exclaimed, “Oh Sh**! and I’m here with a beer.”

She begins to try to hide her beer behind her back as she apologizes to me and I see her discomfort. I smiled and quietly said, “It’s okay and you’re fine. The bible says nothing about drinking a beer; it’s being drunk which is the issue. I am not here to stone you.” She smiled and instantly seemed to relax, she still left quickly, but later came back and sat down to talk. It makes me think though, why the reaction? Pastor Doug says it’s because we have the Holy Spirit and therefore conviction follows. That is a part of it, but also it’s because

we judge.

It makes me very uncomfortable when people feel weird around me. Did they have that reaction with Jesus? When he talked to sinners did they squirm and run and hide, or was he so captivating and loving that they accepted his invitation to talk, and to learn about his beliefs, and why he believed them. I am not talking about the demon possessed either, just normal people. Did the conversation and the man’s presence change them? I believe it did.

This woman’s language didn’t burn my ears. I am a word person, cussing doesn’t offend me when adults say it. The word CONVERSATE offends me more because it’s a non word! Her beer didn’t offend me. Personally, I think beer taste horribly and I don’t know why people drink it, the taste makes me shudder, but simply because it’s not my thing.

How many times have I walked into a room and the room hushed since I’ve been in ministry? It’s been too many times. Why? Because whatever it was they were doing they felt they couldn’t do in front of me. How many times has someone said a cuss word and then looked at me red-faced and said, “Sorry.” In those instances when they KNOW that I am a pastor and they are SAVED it’s a whole different ballgame. Then I believe it’s conviction but when it’s an unsaved person I wonder if they don’t know any better. The only thing they know is that Christians are judgmental. Why is it that people freak out when a person in ministry is near? Should they not be drawn to us by our love?

At the end of this encounter, I pray I showed Jesus to the woman with the beer, and as I left she asked where our church was located. Maybe I’ll see her someday. I pray I do. In the meantime, I was there to celebrate a birthday and be light in the dark, not by my judgment but rather by my love. Not by my tolerance of sin but my acceptance of those who don’t yet know Christ but will by my example.

I left the birthday party and went to the grocery store. As I was wandering the aisles two teens were in front of me. I have to admit, I notice where bodies are in relation to me but I don’t notice who those bodies are. In other words, I know people are in front of me but I don’t look to see who they are. This gets me in trouble a lot of the times. So the only reason why I know it was a boy and a girl was that the girl was cussing stupidly as only teens do. Every other word is a cuss word because they can. I noted that one of them used to come to church. I tried to make eye contact but he was having none of it. When the one who used to come to church finally said, “Hey, don’t cuss, that lady is a pastor”, now the talk got ugly as the words began to spew from this other teen’s mouth. She didn’t give a F*** who I was she was going to F-ing cuss if she wanted to– and well, you get the gist. Okay, in that instance it was a total different response from me. I didn’t even try to speak to them. Instead I began to pray for them. Wow, how incredibly sad that she despised authority and had not ever been taught respect for adults. I felt bad that their parents had been too busy to instill the moral character that it’s going to take to make it in society. They have a big wake up call coming. I did notice however that she wasn’t yet woman enough to face me. She said all of this as she walked away from me making sure she was yelling in the store and making sure all the people in the vicinity knew that she had been raised by wolves!

Two encounters, two different reactions to my presence, and I had two different reactions, all in the course of one day.

Couple Down Time

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So my husband and I took off for a few days of rest. We stayed in South Lake Tahoe and took a drive to Virginia City. It’s a beautiful drive with lots of great scenery. We got off along the way to take some pictures and do some walking. After all, not having an agenda is the goal!

It was such a gorgeous day, the snow is melting, the sun is out and it’s a good time to be outdoors.

Isn’t the lake just the best sight? Imagine that God made this all for YOU!

My husband decided that if he was going to live in Virginia City then he wanted to be the Sheriff. He is a Louis L’amour fan! Then we saw this church. When it was built it cost $12,000. Man, talk about a cost of living increase. I wonder what they’d think of what we’ve paid to have our church put back together?

It’s been a good time off. Now it’s time to head home and get back to work! I’m blessed to work, and I’m blessed to have a good man to share my life with. Some things we should never take for granted!

Abnormal

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adjective; not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard

1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Nothing about you is normal. You weren’t called to be normal. So why do we work so hard to fit into a world that is completely and totally temporary? It’s not about the clothes you wear, but the fruit you bear that sets you apart. If your fruit looks exactly like the world then of what benefit was it to others? How did it help humanity?

If it didn’t help humanity then of what purpose did my life serve? As a follower of the Way then love is my mandate and if love is my mandate and I play it out ordinarily then I’ve missed the whole point.

My prayer for you is that your life is never normal. That your life takes twists and turns and ups and downs that form such a powerful love for others that nothing else matters. Not money, not fame, not our own way or opinion or judgment but simply that our love for God outweighs our love for anything else. My prayer is that you find your place in a church where your gifts are used, not as you think they should, because most people want platform promise, but where your love and talent can shine through.

My prayer continues that you will never take for granted a single day of your life. It’s easy for us to go about our day but it’s a different thing to notice the extraordinary. We’ve had fabulous sunny warm days here in California these days. Do we take the time to notice it? Do we take the time to show God the gratitude for it? Do we look at it in terms of how it works for us or for others? No one is promised tomorrow so we have o make the most of today!

It’s Never Good Enough

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I’m learning so much! We are taking The Love Dare at church. The lessons have been excellent. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the kind of wife I am. On some things I’d grade myself an “A”. On other things I fail miserably. Yet, my husband, week after week loves me anyway.

One phrase that seems to be the resounding cadence of the men in the class is, “It’s Never Good Enough”. Wow! I can certainly see how the snake in the garden of Eden got to Eve and caused her to sin so simply. In her eyes, it simply wasn’t good enough and there was room for improvement. Since in our inner design, we as women are multipliers. I suppose that at our base level we view everything as able to be improved. However, in our saved condition we must learn to be at peace and content.

It has really been a learning experience to hear good men say they feel that they can’t do things right at home, when really the issue is they don’t do the task as their wife does it. It can be something simple like sweeping the floor or something a little more complicated like giving the kids a bath. We women have this idea that we can do it better.

So my resolve is set, my eyes are fixed on the prize and that is to have a husband who feels more than adequate and who really is my partner in life. He’s not perfect, but neither am I so we’ll have to be works in progress together.

Find Your Wings

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As my son Anthony moved out of town 4 hours away, I’ve really been looking back. Now that my daughter Casey has graduated from college and is working and living her adult life about 20 minutes from Anthony, I’ve really been looking back. Time flies so quickly with your children. It seems like yesterday they were babies and now they are grown and off on their own. We talk on the phone, by text and Facebook, but the days of baseball and cheerleading competitions are long gone.

I knew they were only mine for a season. I knew they weren’t really mine forever. I tied them to my apron strings and held them close to my heart and taught them to be good citizens who love God and who are kind productive members of society. Some days were beyond easy and some days were crazy hard but all in all it was good. I loved being a mom. It was truly my greatest job ever. My role is different now but I will be forever blessed to have these two in my life.

If you are a parent, cherish this time with your children. It will be gone before you have time to catch your breath. Whenever I hear this song on the radio I think of what it means to raise a child and how it really is true. Our roots as parents, if they are planted in good soil and tended carefully, will help them find their wings.

Good Enough Sometimes Isn’t

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Genesis 11:24. When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had Terah.
25. After Nahor had Terah, he lived 119 more years and had other sons and daughters.
26. When Terah was seventy years old, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran. The Family Tree of Terah
27. This is the story of Terah. Terah had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
28. Haran died before his father, Terah, in the country of his family, Ur of the Chaldees.
29. Abram and Nahor each got married. Abram’s wife was Sarai; Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran. Haran had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah.
30. Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram’s wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there.
32. Terah lived 205 years. He died in Haran.

As I Wait

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I think of Sarah, who wanted a baby. She didn’t care that God said he would make her husband a great nation. She simply wanted one baby to kiss and to hold and to call her own. My prayer is not for a baby but it’s a hope nevertheless.

As I Wait

I think of Sarah who for a moment lost her faith in God and sent her handmaiden in to sleep with her husband. The consequence of helping God out was that Ishmael was born and the fight was on. I pray I stay in submission to the plan.

As I Wait

I see Sarah receive her promise in her old age and I wonder, God will that be me? Will my promise come at the end of my life?

As I Wait

I read God’s word and I see where he says, Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. How long is the wait Lord?

As I Wait

I understand that my timing is not God’s timing and that he deals in issues of eternity and I deal in issues of today. They look quite different in perspective don’t they?

As I Wait

Sometimes I have to confess that I am like the father who came to Jesus to ask for help with the healing of his son. Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Help my unbelief Lord.

As I Wait

I find that I have more strength than I thought I have.

As I Wait

I find that I believe more than ever that I have all the power I need.

As I Wait

I grow and I learn and I learn and I grow…

As I Wait

The prayer changes and takes on a different shape and so does my life.

As I Wait

I realize the answer begins to come into focus.

As I Wait

I praise You Lord for I am like Elijah and I see the cloud in the distance. It is only the size of man’s palm but I can close my eyes, I can take a deep breath and I can almost smell the rain coming.

Haiti Hit Again

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Another earthquake has hit Haiti. People are scared, tired and hungry, hurt and in dire need. Moms Against Hunger has moved into action.

You can make a difference in bringing aid  to Haiti!

Project Haiti

Mom’s Against Hunger supplies are being shipped to the crisis happening in Haiti now. Due to conditions beyond anyone’s control in the earthquake, deep human suffering, disease, and death are happening daily. Through our provisions we can ease the pain of Haitian men, women, boys, and girls.

Please join us in this most worthy cause of compassionate care for the earthquake victims of Haiti.

By clicking on the Donate button on the top of this page you can get aid to Haiti. Moms Against Hunger has already moved into action to help. To read more about Moms Against Hunger click here.

Faith

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I’ve been wondering how come it’s so easy to have faith in people but not in God? It’s strange isn’t it? The bible says:

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

So what does that mean? What is faith exactly? Faith is going for a job interview, hoping that you will ace the interview and then getting the job. The boss says, “You are going to start tomorrow, be here at 9 and the pay will be $1500 a week.” The next day you came to work at 8:45 (impression and preparation are everything). You work that day and 9 more days before a check appears in your hand for 1.5k minus taxes. That’s faith. Now faith is the substance (work) of things hoped for (the job), the evidence (a paycheck!) of things not seen(10 days later). You worked in advance, hoping that at the end what they boss told you they were going to pay you, they would.

Most people don’t have great faith. We’ve been disappointed enough to know that not everyone/everything comes through. God does come though. Here is a story from the bible

Matthew17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Okay, so here’s the story, the disciples didn’t have the faith even collectively to heal a boy who was an epileptic. Why? Jesus said it was because of their unbelief. He said that if we had faith as a mustard seed we could have things move in our lives. The mustard seed is the smallest seed, it’s tiny, smaller than a peppercorn. So we only need a tiny bit of it to move the mountains in our lives. We only have to believe a little bit.

The problem I am seeing is that we have faith and patience to wait for the paycheck from our job but if God doesn’t snap to it, we give up! Don’t give up on that thing you are believing for. Don’t give up on that job you want or that promotion, don’t give up on that marriage and don’t give up on that baby.

Sometimes the answer is no. The Apostle Paul asked for God to heal him from an affliction. The bible doesn’t say what the affliction was and it doesn’t even matter. God said no. Almighty God answered Mighty Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient.” In other words, “I am taking care of you and you’re fine just as you are. These times are disappointing but not fatal.

Sometimes the answer is yes but it takes a long time in coming. We get desperate for an answer but God is coming with one. Sarah and Abraham had to wait years and years to have a baby but God had said yes and so they waited. The wait paid off in their old age when their son Isaac was born. Can you imagine the joy?

Don’t lose hope. Don’t get impatient. God is moving in your life and he will answer you. Have a little faith!