ENCOURAGE - EQUIP - EMPOWER
IT STARTS HERE.
Over the past two years, many events in my life have been unexpected experiences. We were pregnant with twins only to lose them far into the pregnancy. Started a new job to further my career only to realize it wasn’t a good fit. I got pregnant again and miscarried that baby. We started fostering children, and found it to be its own journey down the unexpected.
As soon as Pastor Greg introduced this new sermon series, I knew I was going to be convicted. Honoring the Sabbath is an area in life I have not taken seriously. I have chosen a career that does not have a working day on the weekend but truly using the day as rest to glorify God is not how I use my Sabbath. I want to challenge myself and you to reflect on Pastor Greg’s teaching and see how we can apply it to our lives.
The effort started out simply enough.
I set out to pen a note to my sweet mister on the occasion of our 20 years of life together. Over two decades, we’ve exchanged countless expressions of affection and appreciation for one another. But as the 20-year mark approached, I was looking for a fresh way to let him know how grateful I am to walk this life with him.
When I think about trusting God, it usually relates to big decisions. The life-altering ones that keep you up at night, cause you to eat chips and salsa way past bedtime and have loud discussions with the people in your house. Last week, our oldest son graduated from eighth grade -- which is really silly….
I am training for a triathlon this summer, and it is hard work, my friends. I am not a natural runner, so I’ve been training for the run portion since October. OCTOBER, PEOPLE. Those 6 miles of running after the 1-mile swim and 24-mile bike just might be the death of me, I think. But I’m doing it anyway because I feel like I need some practice in discipline.
Confrontation is something I think we all try to avoid. Sometimes it’s over petty stuff: a snotty cashier, a customer service rep who just won’t refund that extra charge, etc. But sometimes it’s over the big stuff: an unfair criticism from a boss, a cruel comment from a spouse... We get hurt, so we hide that feeling inside. We get snippy and don’t deal with the fact that we feel unnoticed. This happens because we are busy, tired, and let’s face it-- simply human.
It’s prom season everywhere. At the Holguin house, we just passed through the sweet season of the hundred-fold decisions about length and color, style and shoes, handbags and jewelry. Working with high school students as a profession has offered little reprieve. My juniors and seniors are rapt in continuous side conversations about prom attire: where did you buy your dress? What heels are you wearing? What kind of tux did you rent?
My husband is a huge classic Corvette fan. He has been given countless Corvette models, shirts, watches and even cologne. He can identify which light shape corresponds to each model or how the vents on the side indicate what year it is. If we were driving to my brother’s house in Bowling Green Kentucky, he would want to take a detour to the National Corvette Museum. I admire people who can be driving someplace and stop along the way for little adventures. But that is definitely not me! I am the person that heads straight to my destination and then, once the car is unloaded, the vacation begins… and not a minute before!
This past year, we studied the book of John in Bible study. In chapter 15, Jesus uses the analogy of a garden and gardener to reveal to us how we are to live. God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine and we are branches and are to remain close to the vine in order to bear fruit and have life. We are also told that the branches are pruned in order to produce more fruit. In this story, Jesus reveals to us his command for us, his followers. Not once, but twice. In verse 12 he states, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." And then again in verse 17 he says, "This is my command: Love each other." Sounds simple enough, right?
After hearing me speak at the Christmas Tea this last year, a woman walked up to me and asked, “Will you be my new best friend?” While others might have recoiled at this bold question, the woman had totally endeared herself to me, and I wanted to reply, “Sure I will!” I am a serial friender, an instant connector. Now, you may not be wired like me, but the truth still stands: friends are essential, even if you’re intimidated by the thought of having to make new ones.
Driving to a soccer practice. Texting. Cooking. Cleaning. Reading. Chasing after my German shorthair pointer. As a working mother to two busy girls, I find myself pulled in a variety of directions. In the span of five minutes you can find me whipping something random together from my fridge for dinner to responding to an email from my boss that popped up on my phone. All the while my kids are vying for my attention. Do you ever struggle with simply being present?
Have you ever noticed that belief comes far more easily than trust?
I believe a lot of things about God. I know He created the world and sustains it. I believe in Jesus -- that He came to earth, died and rose from the dead so that I can have a relationship with Him. I do not doubt that these things are true. My problem is that, even amidst those strong beliefs, I don’t always trust Him.
I have always loved Easter. I mean, what's not to love? It's a holiday that heralds flowers and spring. When I was little, my sisters and I would anxiously wake up early Easter morning. We would compete to see who could find the most eggs and which one of us would discover our treat-filled baskets first. It was also a day to show off our new dresses or outfits; we loved the fashionable 70s clothes my mom made us each year. I even enjoyed going to church and hearing the Easter story.
I’ve become an early riser. Each morning, I get my coffee and then try—really try—to exercise by getting out on a long walk with my dog, followed by spending time reading the Bible. It’s a habit I’ve cultivated through the years with a friend: trying to make each other accountable to wake up each morning to Jesus. I usually have a passage I’m studying, which right now is the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12, and a devotional from New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.
