It’s time to move.

As I search the scriptures in my attempt at being a better student of the bible, I am amazed at how I can be directed to certain verses at the exact time I need to read them or at how something I’ve read in the bible suddenly takes on new meaning or becomes so clear.  The latest ‘ah-ha’ moment I had was when reading John 5:1-9.  This is the story of how Jesus comes across a lame man who was lying near a pool.  It was believed that when the waters of this pool suddenly churned and stirred, that the first one to go into the water after such a disturbance would be healed of whatever sickness they had.  The short story that most of us read in verses 1 through 9 is that Jesus heals this particular man.

But this time when I read verses 1 through 9, I saw the long story.

The lame man had been lying there for thirty-eight years.  Thirty- eight years!  THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS!

Jesus happened to notice the lame man lying there and asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

Well, the lame man replied that he, of course, wanted to be healed but that everyone else beat him to the waters when they churned and he was just waiting around for his chance.  Waiting for 38 years!

Jesus simply said to him, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk!”

And the man was cured and he picked up his mat and walked.

How often do we all sit and wait for things to happen??  Especially when we are praying for something – God certainly loves to hear us talk to him and to seek Him in all things.  But do we just sit back and wait for it to happen?  I truly believe that God wants us to trust Him and pray about things and then we are to get moving!  How long do we sit and wait when we could be moving forward under God’s prayerful guidance?

So, yeah, I wrote a book … and I blog … and I want to share my faith with other moms … and I wrote a bible study … and I want to write more … but what to do next and how should I do it?

It was time for me to get moving.  Especially when God has put so many opportunities in front of me:  I have an invitation to speak at a school, I’ve been requested to write a review on a women’s devotional, I am recording an audio version of my book, Amanda, Perfectly Made, and I think God is laying out a roadmap in front of me – I just need to take the first steps and start moving down that road.

So …

I am in the process of having a new blog/website designed that will provide so much more info for all you readers out there – and I am redefining who “you” are … I feel God’s nudge to encourage other women of faith … and of course I have a special bond to all you caregivers out there … and I especially have a tie to all you wonderful spina bifida moms.  I hope to provide resources and inspiration.  It’s taken a couple of big commitment and financial steps to get moving … but I couldn’t lie back and just pray about it … it was like God answered my prayers with the question, “Do you want to get moving with this ministry?”  He kept laying all these road signs in front of me … so … of course I wanted to get moving.

<gulp>  (a “ministry” ??)

So things are moving …. Look for a new website and other new things.

Please pass this on and be patient while the new website is under construction.  I shall try to keep you all updated … and will share more of what’s coming in the next several weeks.

John 5:1-9

Just Laurel

I was thinking …

What if women were present in the place of men during some of the interactions between Jesus and the people of His time?

Imagine Jesus explaining to a woman about how man needed to come to God by being born again?  “Oh, I’m not going to go through THAT again!” she might blurt out before Jesus would have time to explain.

Or, when those five thousand people showed up to hear Jesus speak, and Jesus asked his followers if they could buy enough bread to feed everyone?  If the disciples were women, they probably would have disappeared to run home and cook up a lunch.

At the last supper, as Jesus was breaking and passing bread around the table, it would be just like a woman to say something like, “Oh, my Lord, this is lovely pita bread.  Can I have the recipe?”

Last week at our first LOL Bible Study, we learned how God made us purposefully and individually.  We are all unique!  He also made us specifically male and female.  We are all different!  We can laugh at our differences, but we should also celebrate them.  If there is someone you idolize and would love to be ‘just like them’ – well you can use them as an example of some ways that you would like to be like – but why would God want to make you exactly the same as someone else when He’s already made one of those already?

Women do things differently than men.  And that’s okay.  Women are nurturers and more creative.  We can be useful servants of Christ – just in different ways than men.

This week the LOL Bible Study is going to look at how women were treated in the time of Jesus.  We are also going to take a look at how women may have been portrayed through the ages, and today as well.  You may be surprised to know that Jesus actually treated men and women equally and gave a voice and respect to women!

Stay tuned to my blog if you want to hear more of what we are learning through bible study.  Join us if you can – Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9pm.

Just Laurel

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I find it curious how the stores all have ‘organizing containers’ and bins as the featured special each January.  I guess as part of our New Year resolutions to slim down, unclutter, make better, and re-do areas of our lives, it means we are cleaning out and organizing our closets and basements as well.  Maybe we clean out in January because we have old toys to throw out and new toys to put away along with all the other Christmas stuff.  It may also be because it is too stinking cold outside to do anything but find something to do INSIDE.  (Well, at least in the northern states.) The “cleaning out bug” bit me yesterday – my dresser top looks polished and cleaned off now!  As I was sorting through some stacks of papers, I came across this Q&A that I cut out ten years ago from the magazine, “Focus on the Family.”  God bless you Dr. James Dobson.  Posted in the February/March 2003 issue was the following question with Dr. Dobson presenting the answer:

Q  You have said on several occasions that a society can be no more stable than the strength of individual families.  Specifically, you said sexual behavior is directly linked to survival of nations.  Explain how that principle works.

A  A book could be written on that topic, but let me give you a short answer.  This link you referred to was first illuminated by J.D. Unwin, a British social anthropologist who spent seven years studying the births and death of 80 civilizations.  He reported from his exhaustive research that every known culture in the world’s history has followed the same sexual pattern:  During its early days of existence, premarital and extramarital sexual relationships were strictly prohibited.   Great creative energy was associated with this inhibition of sexual expression, causing the culture to prosper.  Later in the life of the society, its people began to rebel against the prohibitions, demanding the freedom to express their internal passions.  As the mores weakened, the social energy abated, eventually resulting in the decay or destruction of the civilization.
Unwin concluded that the energy that holds a society together is sexual in nature.  When a man is devoted to one woman and one family, he is motivated to build, save, protect, plan, and prosper on their behalf.  However, when male and female sexual interests are dispersed and generalized, their effort is invested in the gratification of sensual desires.  Unwin wrote:  “Any human society is free either to display great energy, or to enjoy sexual freedom; the evidence is that they cannot do both for more than one generation.”
It is my belief that the burgeoning social ills seen in Western nations, including rising crime rates, drug abuse, sexual exploitation of children and the disintegration of families, can be traced to the disintegration of traditional values and biblical standards of morality.

Oh my!

The United States used to be a country with strong traditional values and passionate patriotism. This country is going quickly to hell in a hand basket!   Where have the standards of right and wrong, good and bad gone?  It’s more of a “if it feels good, do it” kind of society.  <sigh>  What happened to respect, responsibility, and religion?

Today I saw a news story of how members of a Satanic Temple insist that a 7-foot tall statue of the devil be located at the Capitol building in Oklahoma.  Seriously?  Here’s the story if you want to look it up:  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/01/08/satanists-seek-spot-on-statehouse-steps/
Looks like Satan is getting a strong hold.

PewResearch just released statistics on religions in America.  Included in their results was this finding:  “Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.”  That is very sad.  Here is the link if you were interested in the complete report:  http://religions.pewforum.org/reports

Folks, it is a new year and you probably have aspirations to ‘make better’ and re-do areas of your life.  Why not ‘make better’ your relationship and commitment to God?  The results can be far-reaching.  As you walk closer to Him, perhaps you will influence friends and family and they will influence more people along the way.  It’s time to clean up our act and stand strong.  Show a little backbone and recognize a right from a wrong.  We need to save the next generation.

Stand strong.

Just Laurel

We are less than a week into the New Year.  Have you already made and broken any resolutions?  Haha!  I start my diet over again every day.  How about you?

Resolutions are challenging because they pretty much require a change of behavior, thinking, or habit.  Change.  <shudder>   Some people just can’t handle any change.  Take, for instance, my dear daughter Amanda.

For those of you who aren’t aware, we are currently in the midst of a Michigan snowstorm.  Yesterday, the grocery store was full of frantic people who were loading up on groceries and toilet paper so they could go home and hibernate while the snowstorm dropped six to ten inches today.  Ted and I walked into the grocery store yesterday to get our weekly groceries, and then walked out empty handed.  We weren’t going to be part of that chaos.  Today, we went back to do our shopping and the crowds had died down and the shelves had been restocked.  However, there were many items that were sold out after yesterday’s frenzy.  Part of my shopping list was Amanda’s list of groceries of which I shop for each week for her.  Four of her items were not available and I had to substitute other brands.  <horrors!>  Substitutions I made included a different flavor of Capri Sun that she drinks every day, a different brand of potato chips from her usual preferred, and a different brand of bread from what I got her last time.  Now most of you might think, “So what?”  Oh, no no no.  Not Amanda.  When we got home from shopping, I immediately explained to Amanda the shortages at the store and prepared her for the changes in her food supply that she will have to adjust to this week.  I could read distress on her face as her whole body tensed up a bit and she kept sighing heavily.

The sermon at church touched on this subject somewhat today.  Pastor Blythe preached about how the Christian life is an adventure.  Even Jesus, as a young boy, took risks by following His Father’s will.  For three days Jesus’ parents lost track of their son because he had gone back to Jerusalem, where they had departed from, to teach in the temple.  Jesus took a risk, changed it up, and did something different.

I don’t know about you and if you have any resolutions to keep.  But why not try to step out a little more boldly in your faith this year?  Make a change!  Try a new Bible study class.  Stand up for your Christian beliefs.  Talk to your neighbor about Jesus.  Help with a Sunday school class.

We have a mission and a ministry to share the Good News!

And Amanda:  Splurge and take a new adventure by drinking a new flavor of Capri Sun!  Try a different kind of potato chip!  Go all out and eat some chip dip even!

Be bold – change it up – make it a new year of risks and challenges!

And for those of you who were in church and saw it this morning – here’s the video that Pastor included that had us all laughing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dTyWQ6gHtQ

You can even take the lid off your coffee

Just Laurel

Please forgive me for not writing in such a long time.  I am sure we can all give the excuse of being busy with the holidays.  But before the year ends, I thought I should at least speak about Christmas while at the same time, catch your attention with the hope that my blogs shall come more frequently in the New Year. 

Christmas.  It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  And even with all the decorations, shopping, baking, school programs, and even Santa Claus, we all know that it began with the birth of the Christ Child.  CHRISTmas. 

At church this past Sunday, Don had the children gathered around him for the weekly Sunday Children’s message at the front of the church.  (His messages are heard by the rest of the congregation at the same time – little do they know they are getting a lesson, too!)  Don talked about Christmas and presents.  He was asking the children if they were familiar with the classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as he helped them remember the story.  For those of you who don’t know, the Grinch steals all the presents and decorations from the residents of Whoville on Christmas Eve, assuming they will wake up and find Christmas gone thereby sparing the Grinch from hearing their happy Christmas celebrations.  As the children listened intently to Don, he was at the part of the story where the people of Whoville wake up on Christmas morning without any signs of Christmas and, “What?” he asked them, “Do they do?”

There was a young girl with curly brown hair and a cute little dress who knew the answer and with all the confidence and enthusiasm of a young child, she popped up and shouted with glee, “THEY SANG WITHOUT ANY PRESENTS!” 

Bravo, dear child! 

And that, folks, can stand alone as the simple explanation of the joy of Christmas.  We give gifts because the Magi gave gifts to the baby Jesus.  But it’s not the presents or the decorations or the fancy holiday food.  It is the joy of God’s son coming to earth to live among men … to become our Savior.  Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  O holy night!  The first Noel!  Go tell it on the mountain!

That girl’s shout of “THEY SANG WITHOUT ANY PRESENTS!” gave me a smile that wouldn’t quit.  It was said so simply, so joyfully, so purely.  The people of Whoville, in the story of the Grinch, came together, hand in hand, and sang for joy that is was Christmas morning.  That’s all they needed.  You can take away the presents and all the frilly fancy stuff of Christmas, and we can still rejoice about that little baby boy. 

I pray you all had a joyful Christmas full of love and family and friends. 

And may you keep singing for joy, even when there aren’t any presents.  God’s gift to us, His Son, is all we need.

Just Laurel

Are you all as busy as I am with the holiday season?  It’s all so fun:  shopping and decorating and baking and all of that good stuff!  But I had a little ‘moment’ today that I thought I’d share.

I had gotten off of work relatively early for a change today and was running errands – a quick stop at a few stores as well as the post office.  At one of my stops, I swiftly parked and then grabbed up my car keys, cell phone, and purse.  With a free hand I pulled on the lever to open my car door and as I turned to stick my legs out the door and make a quick dash through the cold air to the store … ugh! … oomph … I was stuck!

Folks, it is hard to get out of your vehicle with your seatbelt securely fastened!

I quickly sat back, restrained in my seat as I already was, and just giggled.

It made me think

So many times we are anxious to make a change, to get somewhere, to start anew, to change things up a bit, to give up an old bad habit, or to simply start over.  For any of those things to take place, you have to give up the old ways … let go of the past!  Ha ha.  It’s the first big step – letting go and unfastening yourself from the person, place, or thing that you want to change but are so scared to give up.

You’ll never win the race if you keep your shoes stuck in the running block.

Just something to think about … especially with the New Year fast approaching and everyone already thinking of turning over new leafs or making new positive changes.

Don’t forget to let go of the old stuff.

And don’t forget to unbuckle your seatbelt!

I hope you are all having a holly jolly Christmas Season … think of it as a big birthday celebration

Just Laurel

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

thankful

adjective

Definition of THANKFUL

experiencing pleasure, satisfaction, or delight <we were thankful that someone else was footing the bill for the lavish wedding banquet>

Synonyms:  blissful, chuffed [British], delighted, gratified, happy, joyful, joyous, pleased, satisfied, thankful, tickled

Related Words:  beaming, blithe, blithesome, buoyant, cheerful, cheery, gay, gladsome, lighthearted, sunny, upbeat; gleeful, jocund, jolly, jovial, laughing, merry, mirthful, smiling; beatific, ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, intoxicated, rapturous, rhapsodic (also rhapsodical); exuberant, exultant, jubilant, rapt, rejoicing, thrilled; hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine

 

When my daughters were young and in elementary school I often drove them to school in the morning.  Down the street from us lived several other little girls who often hitched a ride as they walked past our house and noticed I was pulling out of the drive.  I didn’t mind the extra passengers.  Many times they clambered into my van at the end of the school day for a ride home as well.  At the end of one school day, I was at the school standing and talking with the other mothers outside the school doors.  Lindsey, wild-haired and bright-eyed, ran up to me and the following conversation ensued:

 

Lindsay:  Can I have a ride?

Me:  Can I have a ride what?

Lindsay:  Can I have a ride in your van? (spoken with a grin and some puzzlement)

Me:  Can I have a ride in my van what?

Lindsay:  Can I have a ride in your van to my house?  (with mild confused frustration)

Me:  Can I have a ride in my van to your house what?  (as the crowd of curious little girls around us started to giggle softly)

Lindsay:  (with growing exasperation)  Can I have a ride … when you drive home … in your van … can you give me a ride home?

Another little girl nearby:  Lindsay!  Can I have a ride please?

Lindsay:  (the light bulb went on) Oh!  Can I have a ride home please?  (with a big smile added for punctuation)

 

All of us have so many things to be thankful for – and more than we even realize or acknowledge.  Whether it’s a ride to a destination, food, safe travels, healing, friendships, family, or even basic clothes and shelter – we all have plenty of reasons to say thank you.  Sometimes we ask others for something (Can I have a ride?  Or Can you please do me a favor?) And many times we pray for something (Dear God please heal my friend.  Or God please give me direction.)  There’s also all those things that we just take for granted and should be saying thank you for (like beautiful weather, money to pay the bills, a good night’s sleep).

For whatever reason Thanksgiving is celebrated – whether as a recognition of the pilgrims and their first big harvest of food in the new land or because a president declared it an official holiday – it is good to give thanks.  And although we should be saying thank you daily for all our blessings, I think it is nice to have one special day to gather together and say a very big thank you with family, friends, and food.

 

Happy Thanksgiving and

 

Please pass the gravy

 

Just laurel

 

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

 

Excuses, excuses.

You will surely agree with me when I say that life gets too busy sometimes … or a lot of the time.  Some days it feels like we are always running from one thing to the next:  Get gas in the car, take the kids to school, go to work, stop at the store, make dinner, get kids to practice, attend the meeting at church, etc.  In our hurried frenzy, I am afraid that we often times forget about, well, we forget about the forgotten ones.

At the surgical center where I work, we offer transportation to patients who don’t have anyone to drive them to have eye surgery.  That really makes me sad.  Many of the elderly patients have no friends or family to take them to have their eyes fixed.  I wonder if anyone ever visits them.

I also have a friend around my age that has succumbed to early Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home.  My friend Clara and I try to visit her when we can.  It’s not important to us if she knows who we are – we just feel it is important to visit her.  I wonder how many people actually visit her.

And this subject hits close to home for me personally.  It has been wonderful how Amanda has found some independence with living in her own apartment.  But, she is alone most afternoons.  I try to stop by almost every day when I can.  There are so many people who know Amanda, but hardly anyone takes the time to stop by and visit her.

I ran across these verses today about how Jesus was being questioned by the Pharisees about healing and taking care of people’s needs on the Sabbath.  Old Jewish law said that you had to rest on the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:9-12 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? “He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

I’ll bet those old Pharisees just wanted one day off each week and so they insisted on not serving needy people on the Sabbath.  It was too much work for them.  Excuses, excuses.

So how much are we all like those lazy Pharisees who are so busy with our own royal business to not take time to help the forgotten ones?  Isn’t lonely old Grandpa Jones, widow Bertha, or handicapped Liza more valuable than another trip to the store or fifteen minutes of a video game?  Oh –wait – we are also tired, too.  Right?  There are so many forgotten ones out there who are also tired – tired of being alone.   Tired of feeling like nobody cares.

With the holiday season upon us, I ask for all of you to not forget the forgotten.  Do you know how welcome a visit is to those alone?  Do you know how just fifteen minutes of time can show a person that someone cares?  Is there an aged relative or neighbor who would welcome a visit from you?  Do you know of a lonely somebody who is aching for someone to care?

How much more valuable is a person than a sheep!

just Laurel

Many many years ago when I was working in Detroit (and before we had kids) I had a co-worker who once asked me for a ride to work.  She lived in the same city as I did on the south side of Detroit and her car had broken down.  She gave me her address and I assured her that I would get her the next morning.  As dawn peeked over the horizon, I pulled up in front of the address she had given me and went to the front door.  I knocked softly.  As the door opened, I was suddenly afraid I had knocked on the wrong door.  This young lady at the door was still in her pajamas and not at all ready to go to work.  She had different hair and a different face than my co-worker.  Dang it – I must have got her address wrong.  “Hi,” the girl said in a familiar voice, “I must have over slept.  I will get someone else to take me to work – thanks anyways, Laurel.”  She said.  Oh my.  It WAS her.  I just didn’t recognize her without her hair done and make-up on.

I recalled that story this morning as I was on my way out the door to the gym.  It would be silly to shower before working up a sweat – but I hesitated before going out the door without some make-up on!  What if I saw someone I knew and didn’t have my make-up on?  Oh come on girls – we’ve all been there.  We have all made that dash to the grocery store with our bare faces on – hoping not to run into anyone we know.

It made me think

There are certainly times when we have to put on a different “face.”  We put on a brave face for our children during scary circumstances, we put on a happy face when we have to try and enjoy an unfavorable situation, and there’s also the poker face and the straight face.  But when we wear those different faces we are still recognized as our selves.  Now a major make-up paint job that totally changes your looks is one thing – but has your behavior ever made you unrecognizable?  How about that time you lost your temper and went into a screaming rage?  Or the time you drank too much and were obnoxiously drunk and belligerent?  Or that time you were hanging with the wrong people and you were trying to show off?

Many times when Ted and I are getting ready to go someplace I will tell him to wait just a minute while I finish drying my hair and putting on my make-up.  He will reply, “You don’t need make­-up, you have natural beauty.”  Thanks honey!  But he really needs to just put on his glasses!  There’s nothing wrong with enhancing what you have and looking your best.  But I want people to always see ME and I hope ‘me’ is someone that pleases God.  Quote Shakespeare:  “To thine own self be true”.  Go William Shakespeare!  I couldn’t play a different role all the time and be a different person based on the company I keep.  Some people live like that all the time – there’s Joe at work, Joe with his friends, and then Joe on Sundays at church.  Although I must admit, there are times I am more Christ-like than others which means there are times I am NOT very Christ-like.  I better work on that.  

I don’t want God to be looking for me some day and not recognizing me.

just Laurel

Matthew 10:32-33  Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.