Umbrellas

Umbrellas

by | Jul 3, 2024 | Encouragement, Friendship, Support

Squeal with delight

This blog post was written by my friend Christy McIntyre. She shared her thoughts with me one day while walking and they resonated. I hope it encourages you too.

Christy has been a teacher in 3 countries, Director of Training for Totalfit, and married to her best friend for 23 years. She is currently launching her two kids into adulthood, loving Jesus, and trying to find the next iteration of life God has for her, probably on the other side of the planet. Meanwhile, she writes observations and God-given notes in her phone that hopefully won’t break before she puts them all in a book.

I love her perspective on life and her teaching spirit. Enjoy!

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When exactly did the lie begin? You know the lie, that being a grown-up was a straight path, predictable, and for the most part, planned.

We, well at least I, grew up antsy to become an adult and couldn’t wait to be out there doing all the adult things. For some reason, watching our moms and dads do the mundane seemed extraordinary. Seemed effortless. Seemed, like a straight line on a smooth road. Did they just not tell us about the bumps along the way or storms that popped up out of nowhere? Were they better at navigating the bumps, the curves, or even the quick hard left turns that life seems to throw at us regularly?

Hope and Help

Despite the answer, the truth is, adult life is just a series of storms. Unfortunately, we can’t watch the “adult life weather report” because there is no meteorologist for each of our lives predicting the sunshine, clouds, torrential rain or damaging winds on the horizon.

But just like the actual weather, life storms will come and nothing can be done to stop them. What if instead of trying to avoid the storms we looked around for hope and help, like umbrellas on a rainy day?

Umbrellas are everywhere, useful, and can even change the course of our day especially if we don’t have to get totally drenched in a pop-up storm. The people we choose as friends, work partners, and even our community are just like those umbrellas. They impact our emotional state in ways we can’t fathom.

Relief and Calm

The relief and calm they bring help shift our perspective, offer good advice, bring humor to situations, and make moments of joy and hope that are the sunshine and fair weather that help us carry on. Friends will often sit with us in hard times offering wisdom beyond our capacity or a place of calm to process the crazy.

Long gone are the days of umbrella holders right inside the entry to homes and businesses, but what if we look at our collection of friends and memories as just that? A collection of umbrellas that help us to endure a storm and steady us in the rain.

This week look for the umbrellas. It could be a moment of joy or a friend. Go be an umbrella when you see a storm approaching someone you love.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity,” (Proverbs 17:17 NIV).

 

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Don’t know Jesus? You can.

It would be my greatest honor to take your hand, introduce you and walk you through how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and how to have a personal relationship with Him.

Find out more here.

Pride Goes Before a Fall

Pride Goes Before a Fall

by | Jun 25, 2024 | Determination, God, Humility

Squeal with delight

I tumbled down the stairs of a small plane.

I had traveled to New Orleans to speak to a group of communications professionals. The opportunity had me nervous but also energized. Although young, I tried to appear confident and poised.

That backfired. My heel caught on a step and took me down, my composure with it.

Embarrassment gushed in like a flash flood. At least it was a small plane so few people witnessed my calamity. I picked myself up, looked at my bleeding knee and greeted the person designated to drive me to the meeting.

Impressive, I know. I’m still puzzled about how my slacks didn’t tear, but my knee did.

Pride leads to downfall and destruction

The dictionary shares a proverb describing pride. If you’re too conceited or self-important, something will happen to make you look foolish.

I imagine you can think of one foolish act driven by pride. It can sneak up on us and lead us down a road we never thought we’d travel.

The Bible says, “Where there is strife, there is pride,” (Prov. 13:10 NIV).

Pride can also destroy a person. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV).

Even leadership expert John Maxwell has something to say about pride.

“Leaders who fail to prune their pride will meet demise. That’s not a guess, it’s a guarantee. With pride, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ we will fall, but ‘when.’ There are no exceptions.” – John C. Maxwell, #1 Leadership Expert and Best-Selling Author

Pride opposes God

At its core, pride is opposing God.

The Bible describes others who struggled with pride. Haman, who tried to abolish the Jewish race, found his story didn’t end well. (See Esther 3-7.)

King Saul disobeyed God out of pride and self-importance. He lost his kingdom . . . and his life. (See 1 Samuel 15.)

Satan’s pride led to his downfall, falling like lightning from heaven when he attempted to overthrow God and steal His glory. (See Luke 10:18 ESV.)

The giant Goliath, arrogant and rude, was defeated by a teenager with a sling and a stone. (See 1 Samuel 17.)

Put pride in its rightful place

Pride is dangerous. We need to put it in its rightful place.

Choose humility over pride. Humility brings wisdom. Pride generally leads to negative outcomes. Jesus said, “Pride is one of the many ‘evil things that come from within and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23 ESV)

Recognize limitations. Acknowledging our limitations allows others to lead or excel in a particular area.

Resolve conflict. Putting pride aside opens the door for restoration. Admitting you’ve made a mistake can go a long way toward handling conflicts and strengthening relationships.

Be teachable. Maintain an open mind. Listen and learn from others and embrace an attitude of lifelong learning.

Pride tells us to measure ourselves based on our accomplishments. Instead, let’s ditch pride and live in our God-given identity. Grab hold of the confidence we have in Jesus. Know that He works in and through our lives. Day in. Day out.

Anyone can slip up. We never know what’s coming. The key is to stay grounded in the One who gives us all things – including the ability to accomplish whatever task is required.

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Don’t know Jesus? You can.

It would be my greatest honor to take your hand, introduce you and walk you through how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and how to have a personal relationship with Him.

Find out more here.

The Cross has Spoken

The Cross has Spoken

by | Mar 30, 2024 | Joy, Trust

Squeal with delight

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. As I strolled along the Gulf of Mexico, I saw an object beneath the shallow water. The sparkling waves disguised its identity, but the faint outline of a cross grabbed my attention.

I tried to get a closer look. However, the constant lapping of the waves obstructed my view.

The object looked like two wooden beams had washed up and lodged in the sand. . .  in the perfect shape of a cross.

Later, I discovered that the “cross” was simply buried pipes from a condo construction site forming a “T.”

That cross in the water spoke to me, reminding me of Christ’s great sacrifice and of His perfect love. It reminded me that God’s presence is with me no matter where I am.

His cross. Our burdens.

A. W. Tozer explains it in his book Mornings with Tozer (July 14). “The cross represents pure, selfless love in its fullest perfection.”

And that is what it is — a picture of selfless love.

The cross points us to Jesus. The cross bears our burdens. It promises fullness of joy and offers hope for the future. It represents His great love for us. The cross was the plan all along.

The cross speaks volumes.

I love it when God shows up anywhere to remind us of His presence, even through two pipes lodged in the sand. We can put our complete trust in God who reveals himself to us whether in a worship service, driving through traffic in a busy city or strolling down a quiet beach.

I am thankful for the cross.

I pray the cross and Jesus’ resurrection will remind you that in His selfless love, Jesus chose us. He sacrificed for us and today affirms us to the Father. He promises to give His Holy Spirit to those who know Him.

The cross has spoken.

Wishing you and your family blessings this Easter, Patricia

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God,” (Hebrews 12:2).

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Don’t know Jesus? You can.

It would be my greatest honor to take your hand, introduce you and walk you through how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and how to have a personal relationship with Him.

Find out more here.

 

The Delight of My Heart

The Delight of My Heart

by | Nov 10, 2023 | Joy, Love, Redeemed

I love weddings. Attending my niece’s wedding recently brought fond memories and happy times. Also, she touched my heart when she included her Uncle Matthew’s photo in a memorial display at the reception.

With weddings — and human nature — hiccups surface here and there. Usually, they’re insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

However, some weddings have a story to tell. Like my sister’s.

Two hours before the ceremony, her wedding dress caught on fire. Yes, you read that correctly. Minutes before marrying the love of her life, the wedding dress caught on fire. Typical of the late 80s, candles filled the stage and big hoop dresses were the thing. A LOT of candles and a WHOLE LOT of dress marked that day.

The photographer asked her to move closer to the candlelight. Which she did. He then asked her to step forward. And in that moment, the lace in the big hoop of her skirt caught the wick of a votive candle on the altar. Flames shot up. It was such a large hoop that she did not immediately notice it.

Fortunately, someone else did and began yelling and waving her arms, saying “Lisa!” “Lisa!” “Lisa!”

The photographer beat the flames out with his hand while he and my sister had a moment of pure shock thinking “did that really just happen”? Then the photographer asks… “who’s the best seamstress we can get”? That seamstress was our mom.

Mom and the pastor’s wife came to the rescue with thread and white shoe polish. And no one who wasn’t witness to it saw the hole from that near disaster. Amazingly, my sister held it together, and did not fall apart.

Was God with her that day? You’d better believe it. If not for the hoop in her skirt, the flame would have touched her skin and been much, much worse.

But we have God to thank (and a hoop) and a story to tell.

Love and adoration

Thankfully, there were no disasters like that at my niece’s wedding! However, I am sure there were things that didn’t go exactly as planned. But nothing could take away the pure joy on their faces.

I think that there is a moment when the busyness, the stress of all the preparation, the last-minute mishaps — and sometimes disasters — fall away when standing face-to-face reciting vows. At that point, it’s just the bride and her groom, completely immersed in love and adoration for each other, making their commitments and beginning a new life together.

I especially love seeing the moment the groom sees his bride for the first time. His expression speaks volumes.

Face-to-face

Here’s something to think about. The Bible tells us that one day soon Jesus will come for his bride, the church. That bride and groom moment will be reversed on the day we see Jesus face-to-face. We will look on Him with complete love and adoration. He alone will be our reward.

Friends, the King of the World has chosen us and wants a relationship with us. As believers, He is our redeemer.

He has redeemed us from:

  • Shame and guilt of the past
  • Feelings of failure
  • Low self-esteem, low self-value
  • Our mistakes, and the resulting regret
  • Our pride
  • And a host of other things.

Don’t let mistakes or mishaps or “near disasters” take your joy from the one who loves you with an everlasting love. You CAN

  • Find joy in the Lord.
  • Find joy in the word of the Lord. The principles we find in scripture are truly life-changing.
  • Find joy in the opportunities for new beginnings. Let Him become the delight of your heart.
  • Find joy and praise Him for His protection when challenges or disasters come our way.

Let’s be completely immersed in love and adoration for Jesus, our King of the World.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16 ESV

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Don’t know Jesus, our Redeemer? You can.

It would be my greatest honor to take your hand, introduce you and walk you through how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and how to have a personal relationship with Him.

Find out more here.

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Written in collaboration with Lisa Mencer.

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(Blog posts and pages may contain affiliate links. I may receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made using any affiliate link. My main affiliate program is Amazon.com, but I may add more in the future.)

 

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