This is the Moment

Thursday greetings,

When Jorge and I were first married we happily moved into our little condo with all the joy that comes from being newlyweds.  Our first washer/dryer was a small stackable combo unit, and I remember how nicely it fit in the small utility room.  One day the dryer started making a funny noise, and Jorge, Mr. Fix-it that he is, removed the back panel, tinkered with it for a while, and reassembled it.  It worked perfectly fine, except there were 16 tiny screws left over that Jorge did not know where they were supposed to go, so off to the surplus screw jar they went.  Jorge, of course, was proud of himself nonetheless.

He and I have something in common: Jorge enjoys taking things apart, rebuilding them, and feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I also enjoy breaking down scripture, examining every bit of a verse, extracting as much truth as I can so I can build myself up – encourage myself, bring joy to myself, and bring peace to myself.

Take Esther 4:14, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" 

I have known this verse since forever.  But yesterday I read another translation that says, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”

Suddenly, I wanted to break this verse down.  I wanted to examine and extract any inspiration God had for me. 

Let’s think about it.  Why were we born when we were born?  Why wasn’t I born in 1865?  Why weren’t you born 20 years ago or 20 years from now?

Could it be that right now, at this very moment, you are to use your life, and the season of your personal existence in the continuum of history, to do something AMAZING?

Esther had to be born at just the right time to just the right family to be just the right age when God called her through her bravery and courage to literally marry the one person who could save the Jews, her own race,  from annihilation.   It’s an incredible story that we will dive into one day, but for now, each and every one of us can be sure that this – our life, our families, our friends, our communities, our churches – is the moment for which we have been created.

In the absence of history-altering scenarios like saving an entire race of people, is there still something grand that we can be a part of?

Sometimes I think I was born because I would be the only one praying for certain folks I know.  Maybe that doesn’t sound exciting, but prayer changes lives and circumstances.  We should never ever underestimate its power. 

And as I think about the upcoming Presidential election, I thank God for a few of those candidates who came along at just the right time in history because they are willing to fight to take back the reins of our nation’s leadership and hopefully lead us back to our Founding Father.

No matter what the reason why we are here, not one of us is alive on October 29, 2015 by accident.  God has us here for a GREAT PURPOSE!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that we are important and matter to You.  We are living right now because You have a purpose for us that only we can fulfill.  Make it clear to us what You want us to do. We are willing to step in and change the course of history.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Nothing Slips Through the Cracks~

Greetings!

This past Sunday Jorge and I took our niece, Emily, nephew, Santi, and our granddog, Tucker, to the local Howl-O-Ween event at Pinecrest Gardens.  Hundreds of dogs and their proud owners showed up dressed to the nines (or should I say “canines”) for the festivities.  Santi went as Captain America, Tucker went as a lion, Hormone went as Robin, Lis went as Cat Woman, and Trooper went as Batman.  It was SPECTACULAR!

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pet costumes, watching Trooper race through the agility course, and filling up my bag with doggie treats and candy. The highlight of the day, however, came when Jorge decided to enter Tucker into the pet costume contest.  Much to our surprise, Tucker came in third place in the Big Dog category.  I WAS SHOCKED and proud and excited! We had so much fun, and I found myself thanking God for the pure joy dressed up dogs bring.  I am pretty sure they all brought a smile to God’s face as well.

Psalm 36:5-6 “Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.”

When you care for someone, you hurt when they hurt, you rejoice when they rejoice, you smile when they smile, you always want to see them well and protected, and nothing they do can make you stop loving them.  Multiply that to the quintillionth number and then you might start to get a grasp on GOD’S LOVE, LOYALTY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and JUSTICE, all of which are VAST and INCALCULABLE and all of which applies to us, those we love, and even, yes even, our beloved pets.  The verse above in the Message version says, “…nothing slips through the cracks.”  N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

Let’s live like we believe it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, How might our lives change if we truly believed that You care about every single thing about us, including our animals?  Would this inspire us to be more confident in our prayers? What about if we totally embraced the fact that You rejoice when we rejoice? Would we enjoy life more knowing that our heavenly Father is smiling down on us? Help us to receive these powerful truths into our souls.  You are worth getting to know each and every day.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Live Under the Wing!

Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus!

Today I am doing something with Speedy Palomino that’s never been done: I am recanting the entire DEVO published on October 15, 2015.  The name of it is Go to the Wing! Read it one more time then delete from your brains!  

The point of that DEVO was to go to God for help and comfort in times of trouble, until the calamities pass by.  But I do not want any of us going anywhere.  Rather, I want us all to have already settled in there – to live, 24/7, under God’s wing – to be burrowed, perched, lodged and roosting there.  To abide under God’s wing means we are dedicated to a life of prayer. 

If I had to choose, I would rather nest daily under God’s loving protection and care than leaving Him on the back burner until a time of crisis.  Yes, our Lord will always be there when we need Him, but it is so much better to have an open and ongoing relationship with Him. “Give us this day our daily bread,” was written for a reason.  We need nutrition for our souls and a soft safe place where we can rest every single day.

Let us all LIVE under the wing, dear ones!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that as we pray today we are cozying up to You and the joy, peace, protection, guidance, and hope You provide. We are so grateful for all this amazing sustenance You provide to our weary souls.  Sometimes life, as beautiful as it is, is one big series of ongoing pressures, this is why we are grateful for You making Your wings available to us.  We accept Your invitation to snuggle in close.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

FALL PROOF!

May the Lord's blessings be upon us all today~

Rayray is about to complete her internship for Occupational Therapy.  By the time she finishes about three weeks from now, she will have logged six months worth of patient care on babies all the way to senior citizens.  And perhaps because I am now officially in my fifties (Jesus, help!) she, more often than not, reminds me that a good majority of the folks in my age group need help because they have fallen down.  They trip, tumble, and slip on everything and anything.  And of course, as if to punctuate her expertise, the last two times I saw her I did indeed stumble over a shoe and then my own granddog, Tucker.

Falling can be scary and can result in serious injury, not only to our physical bodies but to our souls as well.  We can overreact and say something we regret forever throwing us into a tailspin of ugly emotions.  Or we can make a wrong turn in our spiritual journey and find it hard to get back on the right path. Just ask that dad who threw away a 25-year marriage and five kids for the temporary pleasures of a woman who left him three months after his divorce was final.  My own father is the one who did that, and all I can say is that succumbing to temptation never ever blesses us.  All these years later, the fallout remains.

The ways in which we can spiritually topple over are innumerable, and dangers are everywhere.  What can we do?

In the natural sense, Rayray explains that there are measures you can take to fall proof your home: install handrails, improve lighting, rearrange furniture, use non-slip rugs etc…

And the Bible gives us the most important action we can take to avoid spiritual falls:

Psalm 17:5 “My steps have remained firmly in Your paths. My feet have not slipped.” 

When we keep steady in the Lord’s path, out feet will not slip!  When we seek Him in all our decisions, when we ask for strength, when we accept as fact that He is on our side and wants to help in every area of our lives, when we apply the wisdom of the Bible, we will not falter; we become FALL PROOF!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are committed to remaining firmly in Your life-giving paths. Help us and our families to keep steady. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

GO TO THE WING!

Psalm 57:1 “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me: for my soul trusts in You: yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over.”

What are we to do until the “calamities of life be over?”  Where are we to go? Where should we be when they finally do pass?

We must make our refuge in the shadow of God's wings. According to dictionary.com a refuge is "a place of shelter, protection, or safety or anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape."  Allow me to suggest a slight edit to the fine people at dictionary.com: Please add that a refuge is also "Someone" Who offers aid, relief, and escape.

If this part of the Holy Scripture evokes an image of a bunch of fluffy little defenseless chickies running under their momma's wing when they get scared, or are cold, or just want to snuggle, you would be correct.

God's wings are broad, tender, and provide everything dictionary.com says and more.

When your kids do stuff they shouldn't do — go to the wing.

When your hubby or wifey is acting all special — go to the wing.

When your bank account is running low — go to the wing.

When your health is uncooperative — go to the wing.

When family relationships become strained — go to the wing.

When you are in a bad mood — go to the wing.

When there is bad news after bad news about the economy — go to the wing.

When crazy stuff happens in our society — go to the wing.

GO TO THE WING!!!

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, Sometimes life, as beautiful as it is, is one big series of ongoing pressures. You tell us in Your Word that Your wings are available to us. There's plenty of room for everyone, so we come to You today and ask for shelter. Your cooling shade offers us relief, and we need it. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Choose What is Better

Sunday night Jorge and I grabbed a bite at a local Cuban restaurant.  There were so many families everywhere, but one in particular really made an impression on me.  Included in this family were a grandma and grandpa, two younger couples, and five kids all around three or four years old.  What caught my eye was that each of those rugrats had a phone they were playing with.  All the adults were at one end of the table, laughing up a storm, and all the kids were at the other end hyper focused on their devices and quiet as quiet can be.

It made me think about my own kids when they were little.  Back then we did not have any electronics to keep them entertained.  NO! We the parents had to actually interact with them.  You know, talk to them, play with them, bounce them on our knees, and color the menu with them…

Don’t misunderstand me.  I am not hating on the parents who give their three-year-olds iPhones. Maybe if I would have had the opportunity, I would have done the same.  But there is something to be said for enjoying your kids while you can, and Jesus makes a similar point:

Luke 10:38-42 “Now as they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what He was saying. But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, You do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don’t You? Then tell her to help me.’ The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. But there’s only one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her.’”

Martha rightfully figured that interacting with the living breathing Christ was somehow a better choice than washing dishes with Mary.  Dishes do eventually need washing, and Jesus is not saying to abandon all earthly chores.  But He is saying that there are other priorities to be considered – there are better choices. 

Mary could have easily enjoyed Christ’s company and done the dusting later; she missed out because it’s not as though Christ was going to live there forever.  Those parents in the restaurant will realize one day too that time FLIES when the kids are little, and every moment is precious.  What are they missing out on? But don’t we all tend to be the same? We have a million other things to do that are keeping us from what really matters, and this applies spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally.   

Let’s heed the words of Christ and choose what is better in our day-to-day living.  When we spend our valuable time in prayer, with family, or with friends, it can never be “taken away from us.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us get our priorities in order.  Time goes by so quickly.  We will never regret spending our time with You and those we love, but we might regret missed opportunities because we were busy doing things that could wait. Show us the way! In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Worthy of Those Words...

TGIF greetings,

Yesterday I attended a funeral for someone who was buried with Military Honors.  I had never been to one, and it really touched my heart to see the 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps on the bugle.  What impacted me the most, however, was when the Honor Guard lifted the flag off the coffin, folded it with fierce precision, and lovingly placed it in the widow’s arms saying, “This flag is presented on behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation as a token of appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.  God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America.”

I got the chills when I witnessed the ceremony first hand, and I got the chills again just re-writing it.  

And the person who passed was worthy of those words. Mario Felipe Seijo spent a lifetime expressing his great love for our country and humbly showing everyone who asked to see it, the Purple Heart he was awarded in Vietnam.  One time he allowed my then nine-year-old Rayray to actually take the Purple Heart to school for a presentation she was doing.  Rachel in her innocence asked for permission, and he, in his magnanimity said yes without giving it a second thought!

Most of us will not be buried with Military Honors, and I can’t even imagine what so many veterans, Mr. Seijo included, had to endure to be honored this way. However, we can all still be at the receiving end of some amazing words:

Matthew 25: 34-40 “The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began.  I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me.  I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me… I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was Me—you did it to Me.’”

Do we want to receive good things from God? Do want to inherit the kingdom? Be a blessing to others, and God will say the words in the verses above directly to you!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We take a moment to thank You for Mario Seijo and the veterans of this great nation who did so much for us.  We know that beyond the heartfelt words we could ever speak of them here, You have great rewards for them in Heaven.  In Your goodness, You also have rewards for those of us who choose to be a blessing to others.  Strengthen us in Jesus’ name to always be a shining light. We also pray for your peace for the Seijo family. In Christ’s name, AMEN~

Embrace This God-life!

*Greetings in the name of our Awesome and prayer-answering God!

Mark 11:22 “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you...”

I love telling people about when Jorge first met Rachel’s husband.  It was a little awkward to do more than shake hands.  But guess what? Jorge wanted Emilio to know he was fond of him, that he fully expected him to become another son.  The greetings steadily progressed from a handshake to a handshake and a hug, and now – watch out! – it’s a love fest.  It’s a handshake, and a hug, and I-kiss-him-and-he-kisses-me-back display of affection, when Emilio arrives AND when he leaves.  And when he visits, I make fun of them because they sit kind of close on the couch.

Truth is, we the Cuban people are known for our affectionate greetings, but occasionally I encounter those who take a short cut.  Rather than make lip-to-cheek contact, they will smash their face into mine and not follow through with the actual smooch.  It feels so incomplete, and more than once I have called the offender out and made them re-do the salutation. 

I want to be wholeheartedly welcomed and loved, and so does God.  That’s what embracing the God-life is all about: Making an all-out effort!  When we really embrace Him we show it.  We spend time with Him, even when there’s no immediate crisis, and we tell Him we love Him and need Him. 

Think about how you would feel if those who say they love you never called, never visited, or worse, never gave you a complete and thorough full-contact kiss?  It wouldn’t take you long to start questioning the degree of their devotion. 

Let’s not forget the advantages of embracing God either.  We will always get so much more in return than what we give.  For one, we will be confident in our faith and live lives of peace and joy.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us move past any reservations we have about fully embracing You.  You are worth getting to know, and we love You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~   

*This DEVO originally published Nov. 6, 2014

Jesus Did Many Other Things...

John 21:25 “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”

I love books, and I love reading!  For Mother’s Day this past year, Rayray gave me a pillow that says, “I Love Big Books And I Cannot Lie.”  Of course, it’s true, and I use it to prop up any big book I am reading.  (Right now I am reading The Goldfinch: A Novel).  Also, years ago when I visited the Library of Congress, I self-imposed a moment of silence; I was awestruck.  It’s the world’s largest library with over 120 MILLION items.  That is mind boggling!

This is why the verse above speaks so powerfully to me. It testifies to the INCALCULABLE AWESOMENESS of our Lord by using books as a means of comparison. And notice how it says, “Jesus DID many other things.”  Jesus is a man of action.  He didn’t think about doing stuff, he didn’t sit around planning to do stuff, HE DID STUFF.

I am certain that if “the whole world could not contain the books that would be written” (this includes the Library of Congress) about everything Christ did, then for sure and most certainly Jesus has already done every single thing that you need done right now.  In other words, He’s been there and done that, and He will do it again.

I wonder how many requests He had for a healing touch on a marriage, for a place to live, for a new job, for a rebellious child, for a sick family member, for money to pay bills, for peace from a tormenting situation, for hope that everything will be okay, for someone to share life with, for the ability to have a baby, for self-control...The list is literally endless. 

And Jesus’ ability, power, and desire to help you is literally endless as well.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that we serve an awesome God!  It is beyond our comprehension that Jesus did so many wonderful things, but we are overjoyed to know that He is active in our lives today.  We are eager for our miracle to be listed among the works of Jesus.  Help us in this area ________________________ today.  In Christ’s name, AMEN~