Renew A Right Spirit In Me

“Hey, Missy, do you know Jesus?”

I was 7 years old. Both my parents worked; so, I had to walk to and from school by myself. I don’t remember any lecture about strangers. If I was told about the dangers, I quickly forgot them when an elderly black man halted me in midstride to ask me a question.

“Hey, Missy, do you know Jesus?”

I was walking past a large cotton mill in Rome, Georgia. When I stopped, he motioned for me to come and sit down beside him. I realize now he was sitting on a retainer wall leading down to a docking bay for delivery and pickup, and he was probably on a break or waiting for the next truck to arrive.

His smile was infectious, so sincere and welcoming. I didn’t hesitate to join him. Seeing I was too small to join him on the wall, he jumped down and hoisted me up. Then he joined me.

“Have you ever heard about Jesus?” He asked, smiling at me again.

I just shook my head. Curiosity killed the cat, as my Papa would have said. I wanted to know who this person was.

“Jesus was a great man. He taught us love. We are supposed to tell everyone about this love.” Then he laughed. I could hear it bellow over my head. A deep, throaty laugh, deep like his voice.

That day began a meeting every afternoon for what seemed like forever, especially now. I remember his voice and his words. He would tell me stories about Jesus. Then he would start the drill. All I remember are the first few names he had me recite, “Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, Jude, and James.” I tried so hard to memorize them just like he said. I wanted to please him so he would tell me more stories about Jesus and the people that knew Him.

This beautiful black man has stayed in my memory for almost 60 years. If he told me his name, I have forgotten it, but I’ve never forgotten his attention and the powerful words he shared with me. I’ve often wondered if this was God’s way to begin my journey into faith. Seeds planted that have grown and grown because one man decided to tell me about Jesus.

The year was 1957. I didn’t know anything about racial tension or color bias. I was a 7 year old girl who met a man who was living out his commission in life: spreading the gospel of Jesus to all who came across his path.

Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Nothing matters more than for followers of Jesus Christ to keep the Words written in red close to our heart and proclaim Jesus’ victory in our lives. We’re to share Jesus’ love with everyone regardless of who they are.

“Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding.” (Proverbs 2:3)

Become more interested in a person’s character rather than the package they are in. Look beyond the color or disability or size and into their heart. It might seem too simple to change the explosion of racial tension that is threatening to implode our country, but we need to stop running down the agonizing road of hate and dissension. It didn’t work in the ‘60’s and it won’t work now.

How do you view people? By color? By faith? By actions? By sin?

Take these to Jesus and let Him guide you through scripture for a fresh revelation.

Our hearts are messy with sin, weakness, and judgment. We feast on selfishness, pride, and ambition. On our own we can accomplish nothing, but with Jesus we can conquer the bitter bile of racial conflict and social tension.

Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
Take not Thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;
And renew a right spirit within me.

God bless you,

Conviction of Faith

I’ve been praying over this passage for two weeks. Every word hammered me, testing every facet of who I am. I’m questioning. I’m playing rhetorical-scenario-mind-games with myself.

What does it mean to truly believe in anything?

What does conviction truly mean?

What does it mean to “truly believe” in Jesus?

What is conviction of faith?

Conviction is a firm belief. Belief is a conviction in the truth. Truth is a verifiable indisputable fact. Faith is the belief and loyalty in God. Do you see how conviction, belief, truth, and faith are intertwined?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

I don’t see any loopholes here. The I AM said, “I AM the truth.”

But our society has made it easy and accommodating to vacillate between truth, half-truth, and no-truth to the point that I wonder if anyone truly knows the truth. The world sells sweet tonic-talk with false messages and promises. The culture pushes hard against believers, mixing faith based words of love to sugarcoat a multitude of offenses. There seems to be no moral truths. This dilemma has caused a rift within us. Truth is the force that stabilizes and centers us. It keeps us focused.

When we begin to doubt, we sway, not knowing right from wrong or east from west. And it affects everything about us. Our emotions. Our physical health. Our mental wholeness. Our self-worth. It feels as if we are a yoyo, going up and down in our convictions with no time to process their implications.

Do you remember the movie, A Few Good Men, and the scene where Colonel Jessep (Jack Nicholson) shouted:

That’s what mainstream culture wants us to think. You can’t handle the truth; so, how about I tell you what it is. The problem is their truth is coming at us from all directions and changing as quickly as it’s delivered. Without a strong conviction of the truth, these words uproot us, begging us to wonder if we can handle the truth.

What Jessep handed the young lawyer was the truth to many-“I don’t want  to handle the truth”. Being duped seems to be the new norm. It’s easier to let others think for you and decide what truth and conviction and faith and belief actually are. Maybe it’s easier to live in a preconceived world-bubble in order to keep life neat and orderly because the truth, the real truth, might be more than they can handle.

There’s a little tucked away verse that is appropriate here.

                        “Later, a great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together

                        and asked Jesus to leave – too much change, too fast, and they were

                        scared.” Luke 8:37 (MSG)

Scared? Some translations use the word “fear” Is it fear that draws us away from the truth? Fear of reprisal, maybe persecution. Because that’s what the Bible says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

Truth is the core of who we are. We yearn for it. Truth is the anchor and stabilizing force in our life.

I finally stopped assaulting myself over these questions.. I am a student of the Bible. Getting to know God is my passion. Maybe my question is not if I can handle the truth, but do I know the Truth. That’s the only way I am going to be able to discern the real thing from a falsehood. If I don’t know God’s Word, then those half-truths circulating will begin to etch away at my conviction of belief. My faith.

It takes courage to stand firm on who God is and who God says we are. And to stand firm is what conviction means. If your conviction is not solid, you will be like chaff that blows away in the wind. You will be vulnerable to the distortion of the truth and Satanic attacks. My husband always says, “You’d better stand firm on your beliefs or you’ll fall for anything!” He’s got that right!

There are so many great men in the Bible who resolved not to defile themselves, like Daniel, who stood firm in his conviction to live his faith out by following God and biblical principles. These principles are found in scripture. The more you read the Bible, the more you will see God delivering blessings upon blessings upon His faithful followers.

Think about your conviction of faith.

            Do you believe God is who He says He is?

            Do you believe God will do what He says He will do?

            Do you believe you are who God says you are?

What does the Bible say about these things? Take these treasures to heart. Stand firm. We are in a spiritual battle. Be ready and be prepared. Stand tall in the face of temptation and compromise. Keep God’s Word at the forefront of your being.

To God be all glory!

Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

 4 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.
 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord.
 6 And there are different activities, but the same God
      activates each gift in each person.

 7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: 

 8. to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of             knowledge by the same Spirit,

9  to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10  to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages.
11 But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.

Years ago I heard a Sunday school teacher talk about Spiritual gifts. I did not have a clue what the woman was talking about. Later I asked her. Don’t ask these things if you aren’t willing to hear the answer. I sat patiently trying to absorb the meanings of words that were foreign and irrelevant to me. Distinguishing between spirits? In the neighborhood I grew up in, I figured it must mean whether they bought Jack Daniels or Kentucky Gentlemen. No, seriously . . . I had no reference for “holy matters”.

The class teacher gave me a “Spiritual Gifts” test. I’m ashamed to say this, but I was truly bummed out about that test. Reading Corinthians, I hoped for something huge and magnificent, like performing miracles or healing. Dummy me thought as soon as that test was over I’d miraculously receive a dart from heaven. Wham! Gift applied!

As it turned out, the teacher sat down with me and explained the Holy Spirit had blessed me with the gift of hospitality. HOSPITALITY! You gotta be joking!!!! It was all I could do to contain my rotten self.

It took me years to understand the enormous gift I possess. And, I must admit, the Holy Spirit got me dead-on. I love doing for others, from fixing meals to being a caretaker.

In Cries of Innocence, there is a lot of talk about Spiritual gifts.

Romans 12:6-8  “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

I hope you will embrace your Spiritual gifts. And I hope you enjoy reading about the characters in the book who struggle with their gifts, some not understanding, some fully embracing them.

God be with you always!

Even the Strongest Believers Question at Times

 

Hard questions.

“My daughter just blurted out that she was questioning if God really exists.”

“My son just told me that he was a nonbeliever.”

“My teacher said that God wasn’t real.”

When someone presents these kind of questions to you, how do you respond? Do you have scripture on the tip of your tongue? Do you react by refuting the idea? Do you sit in silence not knowing what to say?

Elisabeth Elliot said, “Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”

Elisabeth implies, or so I assume, that we know where to find answers to life’s questions. We go directly to the source, God’s Word. And that’s certainly valid. However, if you’re not a student of scripture or familiar with the varying themes, this answer might seem daunting.

As Christ followers, we want to be able to validate the One whom we love. But how?

“Christ has no body on Earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.” (St. Teresa of Avila)

Of all the things we could do or say, I believe our lives speak volumes about where our faith lies and who the cornerstone of our faith is. We do this by living intentionally for Christ and trying to be like Him.

 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

Now, let me clarify something. We are not saved by our works, but we are saved for works. Our works are a manifestation of our love for Jesus. We do because we love Him. It’s as natural a response as drinking the water God provides to quench our thirst.

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Throughout the scripture, Jesus showed us example after example on how to live. The word “follow” and “serve” become a way of life.

Okay, I apologize. In the middle of writing this post, my fifteen-year-old granddaughter texted me, asking me to listen to Eric Church’s song, “Like Jesus Does”. Maybe this is the very example Jesus wanted me to use for this post. There’s no doubt that people in our culture are starving for affection and validation. The very thing Jesus did so well is the very thing that will lead more people to believe in Him. Pouring out my love on others to show the passion in my heart for the Father might be the most powerful way to demonstrate that our God lives! God’s love is our template. The fruit of the Spirit is our behavior modifiers.

This song is a little crude, but the world is crude, unloving and questioning. Love them like Jesus does. He’d probably be at dinner with this man. You know that’s true!

"Like Jesus Does" by Eric Church

I'm a long-gone Waylon song on vinyl,

I'm a back row sinner at a tent revival,
But she believes in me like she believes her Bible,
And loves me like Jesus does.

 

I'm a lead foot leaning on a souped-up Chevy,

I'm a good old boy, drinking whiskey and rye on the levee,
But she carries me when my sins make me heavy,
And loves me like Jesus does.

 

All the crazy in my dreams,

Both my broken wings,
Every single piece of everything I am,
Yeah, she knows the man I ain't,
She forgives me when I can't,
The devil, man, no, he don't stand a chance,
'Cause she loves me like Jesus does.

 I always thought she'd give up on me one day,

Wash her hands of me, leave me staring down some runway,
But I thank God each night, and twice on Sunday,
That she loves me like Jesus does.

 

Yes, she knows the man I ain't,

She forgives me when I can't,
That devil, man, he don't stand a chance
She loves me like Jesus does.

Life on Mission: A Book in Review

I read constantly: books, magazines, Bible studies, fiction, nonfiction, comics, cookbooks . . . well, you name it, I read it. Well, not everything. There is a lot of garbage, to put it plainly, coming out in book form and print. When I find a piece that feeds my soul and hits me between the eyes, I’ve got a winner and I want to share it.

My life has been changing as rapidly as my 15 year old granddaughter. This time it’s not hormonal, thank you, Jesus. But the feel is just about the same. To put it mildly, I am “clinging to the old rugged cross”. Truth. Honesty. Realism. And then I want it presented in ways I can press forward and use it.

Tim Harlow has nailed it! His book, Life on Mission, was a page turner and eye opener.

            Your mission if you accept it is to:

                        Connect

                        Serve

                        Share

                       Grow

                        Pray

Sounds simple? Well? Kinda. But, probably not.

It’s all about doing what Jesus did and said in The Great Commission. Jesus role modeled all these aspects. The King of kings rolled up His sleeves and went right in the middle of the mess and mire of this world to connect. Thieves. Money mongers. Prostitues. Lepers. Liars. You name it, He sought them out. But Jesus also pulled His sleeves down and met with members of the religious order, the wealthy, and ones who were just plain curious. Jesus always served others, shared, helped others grow, and prayed.

            Tim Harlow said, “We must return to the methods Jesus used and modeled for us in his ministry. Through a close study of the Gospels, we learn not only what Jesus did in His ministry, but also how he did it! In four passages of Scripture—Matthew 10, Mark 6, Luke 9, and Luke 10—Jesus gives us 15 specific instructions to the mission teams He sent out.”

Trust me, I could go on and on about the lessons I learned from the book on what Jesus needs me to be doing. I am so far from the challenge. One thing Harlow said hit me to the core. I always felt there was something lacking in me because I did not have a heart for foreign missions. Then Harlow quoted Mother Teresa, “I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?” My heart rejoiced.

I live in a Tier1 county. That means poverty. That means a lot of our kids go to school hungry. It means we have a lot of low income housing, people in debt, crime, drugs, and social unrest. This is where my heart is.

            Harlow says, “For some reason, we’ve bought into a church culture of “sending” missionaries and waiting for them to report back to us at home base. If we’re not careful, we run the very real risk of simply paying for mission elsewhere instead of engaging in mission right here. Clearly we can’t afford to do that anymore. We’re losing ground at home.”

I am on a mission. The harvest is ripe right here in my Jerusalem. I have a plan to connect, serve, share, grow, and pray. Will you pray for me? If you are in my area, will you join me? I won’t even mention what I will be doing. You must be curious enough to ask me. Sorry.

I want you to read Life on Mission. I want you to consume it like fruit of the Spirit. God needs boots on the ground, right here in the USA, and more importantly, right in your hometown!

Let me leave you with another quote from Tim Harlow. I hope it stimulates you to grab his book and get ready for the harvest! I hope this leaves a question in your heart to find out “the how”.

            “When I was younger, verses like this one from Matthew used to really freak me out: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NIV). To a kid who has only perfected the art of getting in scrapes and terrorizing his younger sister, this sounds like a death sentence. You have got to be kidding me. Does being perfect include never getting grass stains on your Levis? If so, I am doomed to the fiery flames.

            I hope we’re all on the same page by now and understand that nothing but Jesus’ sacrifice is what yanks us out of hell by the scruff of our necks. And yet . .  .here we are, rubbing our necks, left to grabble with commands like this. Grow up. Be holy.

            How? Is it something we do, or is it something only God can do—or is it somehow, weirdly, both?”

God bless you all.

 

Novelist

             Wife, Mom, Nana, Novelist: Living Life Through Faith.

            I’ve tried to cover the bases on what’s important to me, although not in order. First and foremost is my faith, then family, and next others. If you were a Girl Scout it was your motto: God, others, and self. I’m an old Girl Scout leader. I believe the words and follow them.

            Novelist.

            I’m not as comfortable with this as I am my other roles. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write. I write everything from short poems to short stories to novels to Bible studies. I’ve written plays for Scouts. I’ve penned countless essay papers in college. Then there’s blogs, newspapers and magazine articles. I once wrote an author, raving over her book on menopause, and she put my letter up on her website. Okay, I’d rather not be a spokesperson for menopause, but it is what it is!

            Writing is easy for me. Telling people I am a writer seems like I’m violating my own character. It’s like I’m confessing. Writing can often be personal and intimate, daring to unevenly slice you to the marrow and expose you. It’s uncomfortable. The only time I’m completely in my soul’s writing zone is when I’m writing about my hero, Jesus Christ.

            For over two years, I’ve felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting to write a book about some things that were cutting me to the quick. Looking around, I didn’t find many people that seemed overly concerned about what I was seeing. And until I wrote the book, it plagued me night and day. I’d see a scene completely play out in front of me as I was stopped at a red light. Scripture would scroll across my mind when I wrote, causing me to halt and pray about the next scene.

            In all my years of writing, I’ve never wanted to talk much about my writing career. I’m timid and shy. I’m insecure and doubt whether others would even want to read what I write. My next book is hard. After the release date, I will begin a series of discussions about the topics in the book. I won’t give away the ending or pivotal areas, but just delve into a world most of us pretend doesn't exist. It is not a world of vampires, werewolves, black magic, or wiccans. There’s no hokey-pokey. It’s real, complex, and to me, more terrifying.

            Well, I’ll stop there. I write.

            Are you a writer?

            I’ve often wondered what Jesus stooped to write on the ground when the Pharisees brought him the adulterous woman.

            What do you think Jesus wrote?

 

Faith:

Faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)

            I love Martin Luther King, Jr’s quote, “Faith is taking the first step when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

            All I can think of when I read this quote is trying to make it up the staircase in the Currituck Lighthouse. Being slightly claustrophobic, it’s all I can do to put one foot in front of the other. If someone is coming up close behind me, I panic. There’s nowhere to go! There’s nothing to hang onto. The wall is slick as glass. If you lose your footing, there’s no place to go but down!

            Several years ago, my granddaughter would hear none of my whining about not going up to the top of the lighthouse. She literally pushed me up the first step and became my encourager with each step I took after that. “You can do it, Nana!”

            I thought I was doing really well. I finally took my eyes off my feet and actually looked ahead. Then this rotund man decided I was going too slow and squeezed past me, causing me to almost lose my balance. It was not a pretty sight. But my granddaughter put her hand on my back and said, “I’ve got you, Nana!”

            My granddaughter’s hand became a physical presence of reassurance and faith that I could make it up those steep, winding, narrow steps. Plus I knew her, trusted her. Our relationship and love gave me extra comfort.

            But what about God? How do I establish faith in an unseen God?

            Trust me, I’ve struggled with this. Wondering. Questioning. When I shared my doubts with a sweet, elderly woman in my church, she said, “Read the Bible.” Read the Bible? I left thinking the woman was a simpleton; she hadn’t helped me at all. Just read the Bible?

            I picked at verses and chapters, nothing made sense. I went back to my church friend and announced, “I’m so confused. Where do I begin?” She looked at me as if I had two horns and pronounced, “Read John! Get to know your Savior.” I didn’t question her.

            Her advice began my daily journey into discovering faith. Let me confess, crawling into the Bible wasn’t easy. It was often hard to digest, being firm, bold, and relentless. Then one day, I ran across Romans 10:17. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

            I remembered my friend’s words. She didn’t tell me what faith was. She sent me to the source to find it for myself. That’s when I declared her to be a spiritual genius. Well, in my limited knowledge of geniuses, she was a genius!

            “To one who has faith no explanation is necessary, to one without faith, no explanation is possible.” (Thomas Aquinas)

            Faith is too grand to be fully explained. It is a way of life, an awakening to something more than we can ever become. Faith comes through a relationship with Jesus.

            Last summer, I sat staring up at the lookout area on top of Currituck Lighthouse. With a huge sigh, I went inside, paid my entry fee, walked to the first step, and hesitated. Looking up at the circular steps I uttered, “Jesus, you’ve got my back on this one.”

            I kept my head up, imagining Jesus walking ahead of me and standing behind me. My breath stabilized. With each step, I became more confident. By step sixteen, I could have cried. We were doing it. I wanted to high-five Jesus, but stopped when I heard two teenagers say, “excuse me”. The next few steps were swallowed up behind a wall. I could not see them, and the teens were shoving and pushing one another to see who could climb up faster.

            I reached into my pocket, grabbed the index card I had placed there the night before, and read, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of the faith is to see what you believe.” (Saint Augustine)

            My back straightened. I could almost feel the light pressure of a hand. Taking one step at a time, I began my ascent. Two more people passed me. I kept moving forward. When I reached the top, I realized the journey wasn’t really about climbing Currituck Lighthouse. It was about confirming my faith. It was a pivotal moment for me, one that continues to be affirmed

            “The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

            Faith.

Here's my family!

Wife, Mom, and Nana:

            Well, here’s the clan. All precious 16 ½ of us. Yes, ½! Dana is due July 7^th, which happens to be my father-in-law’s birthday. Dallas, my husband, and I feel overwhelmed with blessings when we see all of us gathered together. Outside our faith, we are devoted to these precious ones.

            I wanted you to see my family. There is no doubt I will be talking about each and every one of them over time. To ease my daughter’s minds, there will be no son-in-law jokes. On occasion, you’ll hear tales of our grandchildren’s antics and the “truth” that often erupts from their mouths. It is startling and honest. Sometimes it causes pause, other times it causes bright, red cheeks. You grandparents will know exactly what I mean.

            Part of our family is also a Boston terrier. She is almost 4 years old, and we are crazy about her. She is equally devoted to us and to all the grandchildren. She thinks everyone belongs to her.

            Okay . . . let me introduce my family. You’ll have to guess who’s who in the picture.

            Dallas, my sweetheart.

            My oldest daughter, Tia, and her husband, Ed. Their girls are Jackie, Reagan, and Maddie.

            My middle daughter, Tara, and her husband, Brian. Their girls are Dani, Grace, and Allyson.

            My youngest daughter, Dana, and her husband, Keith. Their daughters are Samantha and Sydney. In July, we’ll welcome our first grandson, Hudson Edward.

            If you read my bio, you saw that Dallas and I met as teenagers. We were baptized together at sixteen in a pond outside Williamston, NC. We married early and put one another through school. When we look at this picture of our family, our knees almost buckle. God has been so good to us.

            We also have a beautiful family beyond our nuclear one. God is at the center of our lives. We trust Him and purpose to follow Him daily. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you will join me often to hear about my family, faith, and writing.

            I also love to cook. So I’ll share recipes. I read a lot and will share books with you. I write bible studies for a group of women that have become my family. Sharing our times together will probably wind up in a blog post, too.

            Share something with me about you and your family.