My friend, Becky’s story:

         “A wrong turn down a 25 mile dirt road on our way to a secluded national park left me and my kids alone in the middle of the desert, miles from any signs of life. What was Lola (my GPS) thinking? She tried to get us back on track, but suddenly I was faced with crossing a dry river bed to continue on the dirt road on the other side. I'm adventurous, have four-wheel drive and it was only about a hundred yards across, so why not? Besides, there was no easy way to turn around and go back the other way on the rutted road.

         Halfway through, I realized I made a terrible mistake. The car was slogging through two feet of dry sand, gradually slowing down. If the car stopped, we would never gain enough momentum to get going again. My kids and I frequently travel alone and I've never been fearful, but this time I was afraid. I desperately pleaded with God to give us enough momentum to keep the wheels turning and get to the other side. He graciously granted my petition and we made it across and continued on our way.

          This experience reminded me of another woman stuck in a desert 4,000 years ago. Hagar was a young woman in desperate circumstances not of her own choosing. She ran away and found herself scared and alone by a spring in the desert.

         BUT GOD... met her in that place. He comforted her with words conveying these thoughts:

"I see you. I know how you got here and I know where you're going. I care about you and I have a plan for you."

After he told her what to do, Hagar gave him a new name because she had experienced him in a new way:  

El Roi...the God who sees me.

There is a new generation of women in our churches who are walking alone in their faith journey and need to know there is a God who sees them and loves them. They need to know their church loves them and values them and that there is a place for them in the body of Christ. They need to know that, even though their family may not look like a traditional two-parent church-going family, there is a place for them to connect and build community and grow in their spiritual walk. They need support and mentoring to learn how to gracefully navigate the desperate trials they are facing.

May El Roi, the God who sees, give you His eyes to see those who are hurting so you can encourage them this week.”


         What I admire about Becky is she didn’t stay stuck in the desert. She did something about it. She started a ministry at her church for women walking their faith out alone. Now she no longer walks alone, but is building a community to encourage each other as they walk out their faith.

You can find her ministry at www.facebook.com/womenwalkingingrace  

Have you ever found yourself in a difficult or uncomfortable
place in life?

Has God used it for good in your life?

Has it changed you?

To read all the 31 Days of Change stories, click here to access the whole list.

        Everyone else was practicing their typing skills. Hands on the home row, typing    A S D F G . . . H J K L ;. Todd was sitting in the back of the class trying to flirt with the pretty blonde next to him. Actually, he wasn’t flirting, he was being crude. He was telling her things he would like to do with her. Basically, he was being a jerk.

         Overhearing Todd’s comments, a football player, named Bill Hill, sitting in front of him, turned around,

         “Todd, you need Jesus. Do you want me to tell you how you can become a Christian?” he asked.

         Surprised by his boldness, Todd immediately replied,
                          
                           “I don’t need that. I already am a Christian.”

         Then Bill Hill said something that rocked Todd’s world.

                           “Then why don’t you act like it?”

         The truth was Todd grew up going to church. He was there every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. He did not pay much attention to the preaching. He mostly sat in the back playing hangman and goofing off with his friends. He thought that was enough to put him in the category of being called a Christian.

         That day he went home from school and asked his Mom for a Bible. That rocked his Mom’s world! He began reading the book of John. When he reached John chapter 14, he read:

Verse 15 – “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.”


Verse 21 -- “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love him and show myself to him.”


Verse 23 – “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.”

         Todd got on his knees in his room and gave his life 100% to Christ.

         Some time after that a good friend of Todd’s was killed in a car accident. Todd realized in all the hours he spent with his friend they talked about everything in life . . . except God. He sat in the funeral service wondering if he would see his friend in heaven or not.

         Todd made a commitment to always tell everyone he knew about God’s love and forgiveness. At 15 years old he committed his life to God and said he would do whatever God wanted him to do with his life.
      
         Today Todd pastors a large church in Albuquerque. His heart is to share God’s love and forgiveness with the city and the state. He is a gifted communicator, passionate about sharing the love of Christ, because he knows “there really is a heaven and there really is a hell, and people are going to spend eternity in one place or the other.”

         He is honest about his flaws and people relate to his humor and authenticity. What people say most often about Todd’s preaching is they feel like he is talking directly to them, as if they are the only one in the room, and he knows their situation personally.

     Perhaps that is because God spoke directly and personally to Todd, through John chapter 14, and miraculously CHANGED his life.
 
      **If you would like to hear teachings from Todd, you can find him at      www.sagebrush.cc.**


     How about you? Have you had an encounter with God that changed your life? We would love to hear it!  

 
 To read all the 31 Days of Change stories, click here to access the whole list. 

The clichés’ go both ways.

We warn each other about businesses with bad customer service, and we marvel when we receive excellent customer service.

For those of us in the customer service industry, we also complain about how mean customers can be, and it makes our day when customers are deliberately kind.

We were talking about it at our store this week. It doesn’t cost anything extra to be kind, either for the customer or the business. Kindness is free. We charge the same and we give our best customer service whether someone is purposefully condescending or if they are refreshingly complimentary.









Kindness is free.

I’m not sure why someone I have never spoken to before, would purposefully speak down to me, act rude and demanding, as a way to begin a working relationship. I can’t see how it benefits them, and it is certainly not a pleasant experience for me. They don’t seem to understand that being kind does not take away anything from them, because

Kindness is free.

In the same day, another customer went out of their way to compliment my shirt, ask about my day, and chat pleasantly about how they were learning to be more thankful for the little things in their life. It lifted my spirits and I also thought about the things I had to be thankful for. It did not take her any longer or rob her of anything to speak positively. She wished me a good day and I reciprocated. We both left the conversation with a smile because

Kindness is free.

It is easier to be kind when we have experienced the kindness of God. The Bible says it is God’s kindness that draws people to Him. (Romans 2:4)

     It was our last stop and the climax of our 10-day tour of Israel; the Garden Tomb. Our escort through the beautiful garden grounds was a white haired man with a British accent, named Alistair. He led us along the stone path, through the well maintained trees, flowers and shrubs. I had forgotten the site of the tomb where Jesus was buried was so peaceful. Just outside the tall stone walls traffic and people hurried to their destinations. But inside the garden, a calm slowness could be felt. The spacious grounds held small areas tucked away for prayer and reflection.
 
     On past trips I was always anxious to hurry to the main attraction, the highlight of the trip and one of the proofs that Jesus rose from the dead – the empty tomb.  But this time, our group walked to the slower pace of our elderly guide. He led us to a shaded spot with a straight view of the rock cliff that looked like a skull, called Golgotha.


 
     With his endearing accent, he told us the story of how Jesus was beaten and crucified on the cliff we were looking at. It was appropriate to see the barren rock, and hear the terrible story before heading to the resurrection site.
 
     When he was finished, he allowed time for the group to take pictures and ask questions. He had a great smile and even at the end of the day had so much joy and passion in his storytelling, we were drawn in. 
 
     He said he lived England, but after he retired he and his wife saved their money and every year flew to Israel for three months where he volunteered at the Garden Tomb. He said it was the best job in the world, because he had the privilege and honor of telling group after group the amazing story of our Savior, and how He willingly died a brutal death, but that death could not hold him. Because as we would see in a minute, the tomb that was owned by Joseph of Arimathea centuries ago, was indeed empty.
 
     How many times had he told the story? He lost count years ago. Yet, even this time his eyes filled with tears as he talked about His Savior.
 
     I was jealous with joy for him, because he really did have the best job in the world.
 

                                             Happy Resurrection Day!

When I was four years old we lived on the island of Guam and one day someone gave our family six baby chicks. They were so cute! They were fluffy and soft and constantly in motion in their new home on our screened in back porch. I am not sure what happened to our precious pets, but after the words ‘loud’ and ‘messy’ were heard a number of times, the chicks disappeared. 
         Recently, it seems more and more people are raising chickens in their backyard. Costco even sells a kit to build your urban chicken coop. When my friend bought one and put it together for her two baby chicks, I seriously thought about buying and raising chickens too. My schedule and the amount of coyotes that live and roam in our neighborhood deterred me.
         When my friend’s chickens grew to a certain size, she took them to the vet to have their wings clipped. The vet told her she only needed to clip one wing because if the chicken’s wings were unbalanced they would never be able to fly. It didn’t matter what size their wings grew to, as long as one wing was longer than the other the chickens could not fly and would stay safely in her backyard.
         Kay Arthur, in her book, Lord, Teach Me to Pray, says prayer and God’s Word are like two wings of a bird: Both are needed if the bird is going to fly.
         I don’t know about you, but in certain seasons of my life one of my wings is usually longer than the other. Sometimes my prayer wing is longer when I have many things to talk to God about, and I pour out my long list of requests to Him. But without my other wing, reading God’s Word, I don’t hear from Him. I don’t know His thoughts or plans for me unless I am reading His Word daily.
         How about you? Are you a chicken with one of your wings longer than the other, keeping you from flying in your Christian walk? Or are you like an eagle with both prayer and the Word of God propelling you higher in your journey?

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

           I love our wooden Nativity scene we bought in Israel. It is made of olive wood and we purchased it on Manger Street in Bethlehem. The street name is kind of cheesy, but it is easy to remember. It is a beautiful reminder of Jesus's miraculous birth.



  

             Our Pastor says the wise men do not belong in the Nativity scene because they arrived later, possibly two years later bringing their gifts to the child. But most people, including us, keep the wise men in the scene.

If we want to be factually accurate we wouldn’t have the wooden barn or the wooden manger either. Many parades and Christmas plays include Mary riding on a donkey, yet no donkey is mentioned in Luke 2 in the Bible. We celebrate His birth on December 25, but history tells us the Catholic church chose that date. December would have been too cold for shepherds to be sleeping out in the fields. It would have been too cold for Joseph and Mary, or anyone, to take a long journey. It is more likely Jesus was born in late September, during the annual Feast of Tabernacles, when it was more acceptable to travel such a long distance.

Our Nativity scene is wooden, yet traditionally mangers, or troughs where animals were fed, were cut of stone. Archaeologists have unearthed many stone troughs throughout Israel.

Something new I learned recently is the Greek word for the term ‘inn’ (kataluma) is only used one other place in the Bible. The word means a “furnished, large upper story room inside a Jerusalem house.” On the last night of Jesus life, when He celebrated Passover with His disciples, He told them to find a kataluma, a large furnished upper room.

More than likely, Mary and Joseph traveled to his hometown of Bethlehem and stayed with relatives. But, because of the census, the house was crowded, and the kataluma was already filled with elderly or more important relatives. (Why they didn’t make room for a girl about to deliver a baby is still a mystery!) Mary and Joseph probably stayed underneath the kataluma, on the bottom level, where the animals stayed and were fed from stone troughs.

Do these new things I learned about the Christmas story ruin it for me? No, not at all. I love Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Savior. I think it is important to read the story from Luke 2, watch movies and plays to help us visualize that night, and display Nativity scenes to commemorate Christ’s birth.  

The facts of Jesus's birth are more marvelous than the traditions we hold. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin (Luke 1:31), just like it had been predicted centuries before (Isaiah 7:14). He was born in Bethlehem and an angel announced his birth to shepherds. They found Him wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger (Luke 2:12).

The truth is:

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. (John 3:16 NLV)

        Wishing you a Christ-filled Christmas with peace and joy!

          I remember standing on the Mount of Olives looking at the iconic view of the old city wall of Jerusalem. Our guide pointed out where there used to be a road leading into the now sealed gate, during Biblical times.


          The people would enter this Eastern Gate (also called the Golden Gate) on their way to worship at the Temple. During the Jewish feast of Passover, the sacrificial lambs were herded down the road and through the gate, into the Temple area to be inspected before the sacrifice.

          The lambs were raised from birth for this specific purpose; to be sacrificed as the payment for the sins of the people. The lambs were raised in a small community outside of Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem. This area known for raising the lambs is mentioned several times throughout the Bible. It is the small community of Migdal Edar. The shepherds there were not ordinary shepherds. They were commissioned by the temple Rabbi’s to inspect and certify which lambs were without flaw, perfect. They were to let the flawed lambs go for ordinary purposes, but the perfect lambs they wrapped strips of cloth around, to save for the sacrificial offering at Passover.

          The most famous time Migdal Edar is referenced, the name is not used. Given it’s purpose and proximity to Bethlehem, it is believed when the Angel Gabriel announced the birth of baby Jesus, it was to the shepherds at Migdal Edar.

           10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”                     Luke 2:10-14

                                   
           The shepherds who were raising and inspecting the Passover lambs were the first to be told about the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) They were the first to inspect, or admire, the final lamb that would be slain. (Revelation 5:12)

          As we celebrate the birth of Christ, are we thinking about the holiday to come? Passover, or Resurrection Day. Do we think about how Jesus was born for the purpose of dying for the payment of our sins?  Christmas is not only a time to remember and admire the baby Jesus. It is also an invitation to bow to Him, as the Magi did.

           This season when we see a nativity scene let’s remember Jesus came not only to be seen in the manger, but also to be followed. When baby Jesus grew up, his ministry was to call people to,

                             “Come, follow me.” Matthew 4:19

           The person who has inspired me the most to do this blogging thing is my friend Michele. She has a wonderful blog that she faithful posts at called Family, Faith and Fridays. For the month of December she is having friends guest blog about the The Gift of December. I am honored to write the opening post about Prepping our Hearts for Christmas.



            Do you look forward to playing Christmas music and setting out Christmas decorations? A lot of work goes into planning, prepping, cooking, buying and wrapping to make Christmas a beautiful and fun holiday.
This year, I questioned if I plan and prepare for the right reason. Instead of spending all my time on the tasks of physically setting the stage for the big event, like Martha did. I need to sit and prepare my heart like Mary did, at the feet of Jesus.
           In preparing our homes and our hearts for Christmas, I’ve made a short to-do list. click to continue reading   

Welcome to 31 Days of Hearing God! 
This is part of a community called write31days.com where bloggers write and post everyday for the 31 days of October. There are many topics and categories, so after you finish reading here, click over to read the great blogs there!
Topics

Day 1: Take Off Your Sandals
Day 2:  God in the Grocery Store
Day 3:  God in the Grocery Store - Part2
Day 4:  Peeking During Prayer
Day 5:  How Do We Know God's Voice?
Day 6:  A Young Mom, Toddler Toys and Hearing God
Day 7:  Hearing God When Making Decisions
Day 8:  Lining Up Those Ducks
Day 9:   Hearing God for Our Kids
Day 10: God or Genie in a Bottle?
Day 11: The Perfect Day to Hear God
Day 12: Hearing God in a Crisis
Day 13:  7 Ways to Test an Impression
Day 14:  Remote Assignment
Day 15:  God's Silence
Day 16:  Hearing God While Dating
Day 17:  Hearing God Bible Verses
Day 18:  What Others Say About Hearing God
Day 19:  Hearing God Through Distractions
Day 20:  Hearing God as a Child
Day 21:  Hearing God in Confusion
Day 22:  Hearing God's Encouraging Voice
Day 23:  Hearing God on a Tractor
Day 24:  An Email Confirmation
Day 25:  Do You Really Want to Hear From God?
Day 26:  Why Hear God?
Day 27:  Are You Texting God?
Day 28:  Hearing God in Our Depression
Day 29:  To Hear God We Must Know God
Day 30:  Desperate to Hear God
Day 31:  Desperate to Hear God (Part 2)