A Trifecta of Birthdays!

Greetings in the name of the Lord,

One year ago today Hershey Pie was born.  One year ago yesterday Jorgie was born, and one year ago tomorrow Rachel was born.  This week I am celebrating a trifecta of birthdays!  

These three characters have brought me a lot of blessings, and naturally I find myself looking back over the years.  It's  amazing how far they have come, particularly Jorgie and Rachel.  God has been with them since their conception and never left their side.  Through every happiness, sorrow, difficulty, joy,  smart decision, dumb decision, up, and down, God has been there.  And  the Bible verse I am praying for them is found in Psalm 138:8, "The Lord will work out His plan for their life  -  for His faithful love endures forever."

The good news is that God has a plan for each of us too.  The Bible teaches us that His plan is to "take care of us," "teach us," "direct our steps," "watch over us," "grant us wisdom," "give us the desires of our heart," "give us a full life with firm muscles and strong bones," and so much more.  

The even better news is that even though it may not be our birthday, we can pray that verse over ourselves today!

PRAYER:  Dear Lord,  Thank You that You are working out Your beautiful plan for all of us.  Because of Your faithful, enduring love, You desire to see us safe, secure, blessed, wise, at peace, and healthy.  Seeking You each day is the wisest thing we can do because it helps our hearts and minds be in the right place to receive these blessings.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Tongue Taming~

Thursday greetings~

A few months after I started wearing braces, the orthodontist analyzed the way I swallow and

determined I was a "tongue thruster."  My tongue would always hit the back of my front teeth

while I was swallowing, and this was causing my slight overbite. 

The solution was a little metallic device – don’t know what  it’s called – that was glued onto the

back of upper teeth.  Whenever I swallowed, my overbite-causing tongue would go up there and

be harshly pricked by the needle-like pincers that were attached to that device.  The orthodontist

called it a “deterrent.”  I called it for what it truly was: “Child abuse!”  Sometimes it would make

my tongue bleed.  Poor little Yenisita.

But guess what?  It didn’t take long for my tongue to go to the roof of my mouth when

swallowing, leaving the front teeth alone.  Before I even realized it, it became a habit; I didn’t

even have to think about it before I swallowed.  My tongue had been tamed to do the right thing.

There was a payoff too; I still have most of my teeth:

   

From a spiritual perspective it is a good idea to have a tamed tongue too.

1 Peter 3:8-12 "Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble...no exceptions. No retaliation.  No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless  -  that's your job, to bless.  You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.  Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful...God looks on all this with approval...responding well to what He's asked."

God intended for us to use our tongues to bless others; He says it's our job.  And we will get paid well for doing our job. We will get blessed ourselves, our days will fill up with good, and God will respond well to what He's asked.  

If only there were a device that could be attached to our mouth that would redirect our tongue when it's about to say something mean or critical.  Well, there kind of is.

Psalm 141:3 “O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.  Keep watch over the door of my lips.”   

God wants to reward us so much for using our tongues wisely that He will even help us do it!    

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are right.  Set a guard at our mouths today, and keep watch over the door of our lips because life is better when we speak beautiful things.  Our days are good when there’s nothing evil or hurtful in our language.  We are blessed when we run after peace.  And it’s all because You respond to us.  Thank You for all the help You give us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~  

Mega Do-over

Greetings,

Have you ever messed up and wished you could get a do-over?  I have.   But rather than share a personal story, I want to talk about Peter in the Bible.  There are failures and then there are epic failures; Peter's would be the later, and the details are found in the 26th chapter of Matthew.

Right after sharing Holy Communion and a few hours before His arrest and subsequent crucifixion, Christ tells Peter and the other disciples in verse 31 that "Tonight all of you will desert Me."  Peter is quick to respond in verse 33, "Even if everyone else deserts You, I will never desert You." 

However, Jesus knows better and replies, "...this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know Me."  Peter, so sure of himself yells, "No!, Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You!"

Those are reassuring words, and since they are emphatically punctuated with exclamation points Peter really wants Jesus to get the message that he is a true friend.  

A few verses later, however,  Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He is in "anguish and distress" over what's about to happen, and asks Peter to stay close to Him and "keep watch with Me." Suffice to say that Peter fell asleep at the time Christ needed him most.  Christ is then arrested and "Peter followed at a distance."  What happened to "I will never desert You?" 

It gets worse...

As our Lord is being beaten not only is Peter a safe distance away "out in the courtyard," but when someone says to him, "You were one of those with Jesus," verse 70 says, "PETER DENIED IT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE."  Ouch. The third and final time he denied Christ he swore that "I have never laid eyes on the man!"

So much for "I will never deny You!"

The rooster did indeed crow immediately after Peter's final denial, and all Peter could do upon realizing what he had done was, "cry, and cry, and cry."

That's not the end of the story, thank God.

After Christ's death and resurrection He appears to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee where they are fishing.  Peter is there, and Jesus is about to do something very powerful: He invites Peter to a home-cooked breakfast.

He doesn't yell, accuse, express disappointment or anger.  Instead, He lovingly provides for Peter's very real human needs and welcomes him back into fellowship by sharing a meal together. 

Christ's love and grace overwhelms me  and transforms Peter.  It gave him a mega do-over, and after that beachside feast, Peter is on fire for the Lord.  He goes on to heal the sick, preach to thousands, and eventually die for his faith, but not before leading even his jailers to Christ.

(I wonder what would happen if I kept my mouth shut and cooked breakfast more often?)

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are so forgiving and kind.  It amazes us how You treated the one who denied You, but it also shows us that You are all about do-overs.  We could all use one  -  another chance to get it right.   Thank You that our failures will never have the final say when we accept Your invitation.  In Your name, Amen~

Life-Blessing Words~

Thursday greetings,

For the past couple of months I have been praying through the Psalms.  It has been such a joyful time, and I look forward to my prayer every day.  Not because I am going to say anything brilliant, but because I am offering back to God His very own life-affirming, life-changing, life-blessing words.  It's as though I am speaking His language!

While impossible to pick a favorite, Psalm 63 comes close.  I invite you to pray it with me today:

O God, You are my God. I earnestly search for You.  My soul thirsts for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water [and where there is no relief from bad news]. I have seen You in Your sanctuary and gazed upon Your power and glory. Send Your power and glory into my life today and into the lives of those I love. Your unfailing love is better than life itself. How I praise You! I will praise You as long as I live, lifting up my hands to You in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise You with songs of joy.  I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on You through the night.  You are my Helper, and I cling to You; Your strong right hand holds me securely...in Jesus' name, AMEN~

You Are a Masterpiece!

Greetings,

I love cows!  I have cow pillows, a cow sleep mask, a cow paperweight, a cow cookie jar, a cow teapot, a cow pencil holder, a cow planter, cow napkin rings, cow salt and pepper shakers, cow kitchen towels, and more.  But by far and away my favorite cow asset is a portrait on canvas of Sassy the Cow.  She is my masterpiece, and I love her.

She is so pretty with her inquisitive, soulful eyes, pointed ears, and cotton white crest.  Yet Sassy does not come even remotely close to another masterpiece that was created.  This other masterpiece is a one-of-a-kind, outrageously beautiful, talented, wildly loved, perfectly imperfect, invaluable work of art and it is...

YOU!!!   

Ephesians 2:9 "For you are God's masterpiece.  He created you anew in Christ Jesus, so you can do the good things He planned for you long ago."

There are no exceptions to this verse, sorry.  YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE made by God Himself.

It does not matter what your momma says or your boss or Hollywood or any bully.  You are AMAZING, and there are good things planned for you to do. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that I am Your masterpiece.  I have incalculable value, and I really am special.  You created me to do good things, so please reveal Yourself to me so I can do them.  Guide me into all the goodness You planned for me.  In Jesus' name, AMEN! 

Sassy~

Like David Did~

Greetings,

Once upon a time there was a man who led a very interesting yet turbulent life.   He was appointed king only to have the former king try to kill him.  Once on the throne, he was constantly defending his kingdom against violent, bloodthirsty enemies.  His kids were completely out of control; one son killed another son as revenge for sexually assaulting a half sister. And a series of poor moral choices led him to try and cover up his married lover's pregnancy by having her husband killed.

His life was a series of ups and downs; some were self-inflicted and some were not.  His name was David, his dramatic story is found in the Bible [1 & 2 Samuel], and even after all the scandals  -  scandals that would give any soap opera a run for its money  -  David's lasting legacy is that he is ultimately described in the Bible as "a man after God's own heart."

Psalm 70, written by David, shows us why.

"Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me.  May those who try to kill me be humiliated and put to shame.  May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace...O God, You are my helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay."

In the midst of his life's most difficult, unimaginably painful moments, David always turned to God.  He never stopped praying or believing God would help him.  He had a lot to contend with, and no one would have blamed him for putting prayer on the back burner as he fought to literally stay alive and save his kingdom.  But there are over 70 Psalms in the Bible written by David as a testament to the living, breathing, all-powerful God Who is right there when we need Him most.  David never failed to look to God and neither should we.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, The very first thing we need to do every day, no matter what is going on, is look to You, like David did, for forgiveness, help, restoration, protection, provision, wisdom, and peace.  The Psalms are beautifully written, inspire us to pray like David did, and assure us that You welcome bold requests.  Do not delay in sending Your blessings.  In Jesus' name, Amen!

Following Instructions~

Greetings,

When I was in eighth grade my Earth Science teacher, Mr. Blackerby, was notorious for messing with our impressionable teenage minds.  His tests would often either be all "true" answers or all "false" answers, and lest anyone in first period spread rumors that the answers  that day were all "true," subsequent periods would get tests where the answers were all "false."  More than once I would see students turning in their papers early only to get a big fat ZERO!

But by far and away the best trickery Mr. Blackerby ever pulled off was the "Follow the Instructions" exam.  He handed out the tests, and the very first directive was: Place your name in the top right hand corner,  and please read every single question before you start answering.

Some of us did not follow the instructions, like myself, for example, and started answering the questions right away.  What was the point of wasting time? How sad for me to get to the end of the test and read: This test was a test of your instruction-following ability.  Do not answer any questions. Hand in your blank paper to receive a 100%. 

Ouch and dang and rats and MOAN!

Now I know better and am happy to report that following instructions can save us a lot of aggravation. 

Proverbs 13:13 "Whoever scorns instructions will pay for it, but whoever respects a command is rewarded."

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We would rather be rewarded for doing things Your way then pay a price for doing things our way.  If You ask us to forgive, love our neighbor, deal honestly with others, work hard, fight the good fight of faith, keep our souls pure from the lusts of this world, etc...it's because it will lead to peace and happiness.  Help us respect all your life-giving commands.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

SELAH!

Greetings,

I have an annoying habit that Jorge has come to accept; I hit the pause button in the middle of a TV show for any and all reasons.

Sometimes I do it because I know the answer to a Jeopardy! question and need the extra time to unlock it from my fuzzy memory bank.

Other times I do it because I want water.

One time I did it to tell Jorge a long story of how the girl in the movie reminded me of me.

More often than not, however, I pause after an intense scene that has left me emotionally shaken.  I can't help it if I need a moment to recover.  Dead Poets Society, Life is Beautiful, Schindler's List anyone?

I'm not the only one in favor of pausing, however.  The Bible tells us to pause over 70 times in the Psalms with the use of a beautiful Hebrew word: Selah. (Pronounced See-la).

Selah literally means "pause for a moment," and these are some of the verses it appears after.

Psalm 32:7  "You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance."  SELAH!

Psalm 57:2-3 "I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me.  He will put to shame him who tramples on me." SELAH!

Psalm 63:3 "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!" SELAH!

God invites us to take a moment and think about how He protects us, fulfills our purpose in life, saves us, takes care of our enemies [sometimes these enemies are negative emotions], loves us and so much more...

Pausing for a moment after reading these life-changing truths allows them to settle into our weary souls and fill us with peace.  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We praise You for Your unfailing love. We praise you for hearing our prayers. We praise You for the many blessings we receive each and every day. Help us to always re-direct our thoughts to the good and the lovely. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Horas Volat!

Greetings dear friends,

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner."

About six months before I got married, I started a countdown calendar.  It was a sheet of notebook paper with squares representing the months with tinier squares representing the days.  Every day I would pull it out and make a nice black X over the corresponding date noting there were 100 days left, 99 days left, 98 days left etc…

One day I was in the middle of my linguistics class at the local college when I pulled out my countdown calendar to mark the X.  I was not aware the professor was nearby, and he took great interest in my calendar.  I will never forget what he said, “Miss Alvarez, horas volat - (time flies) - and before you know it, 25 years will have flown by – forget about the four months until you are married.  Let’s focus, shall we?”

He was right, of course, and it’s actually been almost 30 years since that conversation.  That’s why when we read “with glory just around the corner” in the verse above we can take heart and hold onto hope.  Glory is closer than anyone of us realizes, and this is great news.  Before we know it all hardships will cease, and we will enjoy so much of what eludes so many nowadays – peace, joy, happiness, tranquility, health, love, security… I’m not saying we don’t have any of those things right now, but none of us has all those things 100% of the time.  

Horas volat: Soon "we will share in all that belongs to Christ” (Hebrews 3:14).  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, It is true that time flies, which is good because the sooner we get to share in all that belongs to Christ the better.  In the meantime, we are filled with hope because Christ is our Savior and You are our Father.  You help us and heal us. You protect us and provide for us. We thank You for helping us in this life and for the beyond-awesome blessings in the eternal life to come!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~