Got Quiet?

Have you ever misplaced your watch…or better yet, your phone? Then you proceeded to tear the house apart looking for it?  Finally, in exasperation, you sit down a minute and either hear the watch ticking, or you finally ask someone else in the house to call your phone (or if you’re alone, you wait until you get a text or notification)!  What’s my point here?  It was in the quiet stillness that you heard the missing object.

Is your life busy? Is your corner of the world loud? When is the last time you just sat still - preferably with the Scriptures - and listened for God’s voice? He comes to us in whispers sometimes, and if we’re not careful and quiet once in a while, we will miss it. [Elijah learned this lesson in 1 Kings 19, when God had to get his attention after he went and hid in a cave, afraid of those who were seeking to do him harm.] 

This principle actually connects with my word for the year: FOCUS. When we are still and are focusing on something, that is when we will see it or hear it or “get” it. But many times we are just too busy or seem afraid to have stretches of quiet stillness in our life; it forces us to be alone with our thoughts…and some of us don’t like the things we are thinking about! Even more to my point. We need to fill our minds with the right things, the things that are going to point our focus back to God and shape us into who He wants us to be.

I challenge you all to spend some time in complete silence, a little bit every day.
Read a passage of the Bible and let it sink in….write a prayer list and focus
on those things, pausing after each prayer to listen.

I know there will be some of you who just cannot stand complete silence…but that’s
because you’re not used to it. So, work up to it; perhaps you can have some
uplifting, positive, Christian music playing very low in the background,
but still take the time to be still and focus on hearing
the voice of God.

Our Father in Heaven longs to talk to us and have a relationship with us. We must make the time in our schedule to be with Him ~ feel His presence, understand His Word, and receive a word from Him. Spoiler Alert: it is in those times that we receive our strength to face each day and it is in those times that we realize our value and understand our purpose for being alive.  Don’t miss those precious times!

*I must confess that I have also been too “busy” lately, which is why I haven’t posted a blog in weeks! I have been Reading Through the Bible in a Year, and that seems to take my extra time each day, making me feel like not writing. Sometimes we just need to force ourselves to do something to get back “into” it!  I want to make the best use of this platform, to bring glory to God, so I will try harder too!

My New Word

So, I found my word for 2021:   FOCUS!

I want this to be a year of re-focusing on what is important and what God wants me to do for Him. It is so easy to step off the path we intend to be on, as there are so many things coming at us all the time, vying for our attention and wasting our precious time.  However, I know it can be done; I’ve seen other people get so much accomplished, using the same 24 hours in a day that I have…so that is my goal.  To stay the course and accomplish much; to me, this is FOCUS.

One of the things I aim to do this year is read through the Bible, cover to cover.  I found a great little online App to help with this.  If you want to join me in this fruitful adventure, I would recommend first getting the Bible App. The logo is a little brown Bible with the words ‘Holy Bible’ on it. Once you are in that app, you can search for “The Bible in One Year 2021 with Nicky Gumbel.”  So far it has been an excellent 40 or so minutes a day, reading parts of the Old Testament, New Testament and then a Psalm and/or Proverb. Mr. Gumbel has put a lot of work into organizing the daily readings and presenting a little devotional to tie all the passages together into a daily “theme.”  I’m loving it!

Another goal I have this year is to be more intentional with reaching out to the different groups of people of which I am a part.  I teach a Sunday school small group for 6-7th grade girls, I facilitate an accountability group for this yearly Bible Reading, I am the ‘section leader’ for the 2nd Sopranos in my church choir, and I have co-workers that I’d like to bless and encourage throughout the year.  Not sure how I’ll fit it all in every week, but with God’s help and focus, it will be an exciting year!

Following are some Scripture verses I will cling to in correlation to my word Focus.

1. “I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”
Psalm 16:8
2. “Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you.” Proverbs 4:25

3. “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

I would love to hear if any of you choose words each year and what your word for 2021 is and why. Just send me a message (via “Contact Me”), and I'‘ll be sure to respond, Thank you for your encouragement and support in reading H.O.P.E.

Hoping & Waiting

We did it.  We survived the year 2020!  What an unexpected year it was, too.  I hope this finds you healthy, safe, and ready to begin a new trip around the sun.

For the last couple years, my sister-in-law and I have chosen a “word for the year.” It’s just a word that we want to focus on and explore, and hope it can be used by God to grow us in our faith.

While I decide on my new word for 2021 (check back in a few days for that reveal), I continue to see my current word, “HOPE” arise in many places (even the name of my Blog!). It seems to have been the appropriate word for 2020, as many people across the world have needed it...and even more have lost it. People have lost hope in their governments, their societies, their communities, and even in their own futures, as everyone has been trying to avoid or conquer the Covid-19 virus.

Sometimes the words “hope” and “wait” walk hand in hand.  I think of when people in the Bible hoped for things to happen; they understood it could mean waiting for a while in order to see the outcome: waiting for days, years, even centuries!  We (in America, at least) have become a very impatient culture, and just the thought of waiting for things puts us on edge.  Never mind the fact that many times the one we are waiting on is God.  Now, God is certainly worth waiting for, because He always keeps His promises and He knows what is best for each of us… the problem is that sometimes what WE think should be done in a situation is not what God has planned.  For example, we treat God like a genie in a bottle, expecting He will give us our every wish, but He doesn’t work like that. God is outside of time and He sees the “big picture” of our lives and acts accordingly. In fact, sometimes He lovingly doesn’t give us our desires as it would not be good for us in the long run.

Even believing God knows best, I totally understand how hard it is to wait for things; especially when we feel like those things are important to our lives, or could potentially help others.  We also want things to happen quickly so we will be sure to experience/enjoy them. The reality, however, is that there are times when we will not see the answer to our hopes and dreams during our lifetime. God may choose to answer certain requests after we are gone. God’s timing is NOT our timing!  It is nothing for Him to wait years or centuries to bring about His plans. But that doesn’t mean we should trust God any less. Our future is in God’s hands and we have a hope of eternity in heaven with Him. But we must wait.

What are you hoping - and possibly waiting - for? Are you praying for a miracle? A healing?
A restored relationship?  Give it to God and let Him decide the timing.
Then you know it will be perfect.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What’s Wrong With the World?

What’s wrong with the world? Well, you are. And I am. We are. Before we begin blaming everyone and everything, we need to take a quick personal inventory.  Start by pointing your finger. Go ahead, I’ll wait.  Now, if you’ve formed your hand properly, as you point your finger outward, you’ll notice something very interesting…underneath the ‘safety’ of your thumb, you have 3 fingers pointing back at you. I believe that’s part of what’s wrong in the world; we want to blame others when in truth we ALL are contributing to the downward spiral of life.  And we’re covering it up with our hardened hearts, pride, and disbelief, thinking we are “safe” from being part of the problem.

Now, I know this is not a new concept, and you’ve probably heard the 3 fingers thing before, but as I was reading one of the apostle Paul’s letters this morning, I realized that way back then he knew this idea to be true. In 1 Timothy 1:15 he penned, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” Of course, he was right, because before coming to faith in Jesus, Paul was a bad guy…and while we might not all have done the things he did, many of us have things in our past that would make a good scary movie! But, our past doesn’t have to define us.  Jesus came into the world to save sinners (John 3:17), which we all are!

So back to the original question: what’s wrong with the world?  The answer is a simple, 3-letter word.  S-I-N.  We were born with it, not by choice, but because the very first two humans failed and disobeyed God, resulting in getting us all cursed. But God in His mercy has not left us to flounder and suffer with this curse. He gave us the cure! The remedy is believing that Jesus, God’s son, came to earth and died in our place; but He didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead and conquered sin and death so that if we have faith in Him, we can be redeemed from the final result of sin, which is to spend forever (life after death) in hell, away from God. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with the illness of sin while we are living on the earth, but we can know that it won’t condemn us to hell in the end.

So, we are what is wrong in the world….but with God’s help we can rise above the condemning result and be part of the solution, by trusting in the One who made us and is able to save us.  Take that pointing finger you made earlier and turn it upward, showing the way to God and giving Him the glory He deserves; and you’ll start to notice some blessings coming back at you (sometimes 3-fold!). God has promised believers a new life to live, free from the impending result of sin.

Have questions? Contact me and we’ll talk some more.  This is real. This is what is important and right in the world.

Color Blind

I recently watched a movie with several different nationalities in it…and for some of the film I was confused, as the genetics were not matching up and no one was explaining the rationale as to how the family members could belong to each other. Then I read the summary of the movie online, and they said it was considered a “color-blind” film, where they just used several different people, regardless of their nationality and didn’t try to match the genetics.  Then it made sense to me, AND I thought it very clever and appropriate for today’s world!

The next day, I read a devotional from Our Daily Bread about a speaker at a graduation ceremony encouraging the seniors to think about how they were going to make decisions in a way to live for Jesus. Again, I was confused, as it didn’t mention this was a Christian school graduation, so I thought, “how many unbelieving students are listening to this and not understanding or worse, not caring?”

Then it hit me, and I connected these two scenarios:  God is “color-blind” and His gospel is no respecter of persons, meaning it is for everyone, regardless of color and genealogy. What a beautiful concept! Just as in the movie, God has created a rainbow of people on this earth and expects us to live and work in harmony.  Further, just as in the graduation speech, we as believers need to be bold and comfortable in speaking about God and His Word, as if our audience knows what we’re talking about.  And if they don’t, God will work on their hearts and minds to bring about the understanding…our job is simply to tell them; His is to change lives.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we are insensitive to our surroundings and the people with whom we are talking - we don’t just blurt “Jesus loves you!” out of the blue, with no appropriate context.  But it DOES mean that we should not be intimidated to speak of Him from the love in our hearts to anyone who will listen. It is possible that someone will hear us > be confused > ask questions > and then - praise God - find the answers!

Our world needs to be color-blind… and to remember that we are all the same on the
inside, regardless of our skin color - kinda like M&M’s!
And if we could do that, what a ‘delicious’ world this would be! ;-)

Don’t Hit the Curb!

While driving, have you ever scraped your tires against the curb as you are making a tight turn?  Not a fun experience!  On one of the many routes I can take to work, there is a curvy road which is kind of tricky to navigate. I never actually scraped my tires on that road, but I did tend to hold my breath through those turns, especially if a car was coming in the opposite direction;  I’d worry they wouldn’t stay in their lane.  Over the years, I have gained confidence in learning the best way to drive that section of road.  Instead of watching the curb and trying to stay away from it, I focus my attention on the middle yellow line, making sure I stay close to it. 

So I got to thinking… this is actually a very good life lesson. Picture it: you are driving this curvy road and looking at the curb to make sure you don’t hit it…but in steering clear of the curb, you don’t realize that you are not staying in your lane and could possibly collide with an oncoming vehicle.  On the other hand, if you are watching the middle line and know exactly where you are in the lane, you can also be sure that you won’t be hitting that curb.

In practical terms: (1) we need to focus on where we WANT to go, not looking where we want to AVOID; (2) We need to behave in a proper manner, not trying to avoid behaving badly; and (3) In regards to eating healthy,  it is better to think about all the wonderful things you CAN eat, rather than dwelling on the things you CAN’T/SHOULDN’T eat. In spiritual terms: stay close to God (middle yellow line) and you will avoid the enemy (that nasty curb)!

I hope this makes sense!  If you have tried this, I’d like to know how it went; leave me a comment!

Sentences Matter…

If you’re a fan of good books, like me, then you know that many times the first and last sentences are critical.  The author needs to capture your attention right away to keep you reading, and then he/she needs to wrap up a satisfying ending to reward you for sticking with the whole story…

Let’s see how some of these classics measure up: FIRST SENTENCES

1. Gone With the Wind:  “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.”

2. Twilight:  “I’d never given much thought to how I would die - though I’d had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.”

3. To Kill A Mockingbird:  “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”

4. Harry Potter (first book):  “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

5. A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Do any of these opening sentences make you want to read the book?  If not, then maybe the authors didn’t do their job correctly.  Let’s now see their endings: LAST SENTENCES

1. Gone With the Wind:  “After all, tomorrow is another day!”

2. Twilight (4th book):  “And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.”

3. To Kill A Mockingbird:  “He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”

4. Harry Potter (7th book):  “The scar had not pained Harry for 19 years.”

5. A Tale of Two Cities:  “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

Do these endings satisfy?  Do they cause you to take a deep breath and smile about the journey you just took?  These are the kinds of questions I ask when I write.  I haven’t written my first novel yet, but I hope to one day.

Now I’d like to draw your attention to the most important book in the whole world that anyone could - and should - read… God’s Word, the Bible.  Let’s see God’s first and last sentences:

(Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  I don’t know about you, but that is a pretty big statement, and God knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy (evolution vs. creation), but He starts at the very beginning of time and makes it perfectly clear that He was there; can’t do much better than that!

(Revelation 22:21) “Amen.”  (which translated means, ‘Let it be done.’). I am going to cheat on this one, however, and type for you the last 2 verses of the Bible, to give you more context:  “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Rev. 22:20-21).

This brings me such comfort and excitement.  By reading the entire Bible, and then seeing what is going on in the world today (as prophesied therein many times), this is the perfect ending.  Jesus is coming soon to take His believers away from this place to our eternal destination, which He has made especially for us.  I can’t wait!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

My Tribute to Brandon

A fine young man recently walked into heaven.  I say ‘walked’ with an extra emphasis and a smile on my face, because this particular young man has spent the past 14 years confined to a wheelchair. His miracle of healing finally came; just not in the way we all had hoped.

I first met Brandon Goeller (pronounced “Gā-ler”) in 2010 when he came into our youth group at church. The family had just relocated to Kissimmee from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and wasted no time at getting involved in church activities and ministries. Brandon struck me right away as a likable guy, with a contagious smile and approachable demeanor, willing to talk to anyone. In fact, the entire Goeller clan (there are 6 of them) are a friendly, smiling, lovable family. We have been blessed to call them our friends!

Brandon Joseph Goeller

March 7, 1994 - July 2, 2020

Among his many talents and interests, Brandon loved to sing and was a faithful member of our Sanctuary Choir. In fact, I believe he was the inspiration for a wheelchair ramp leading to the church platform where the choir sang. I loved watching him navigate that ramp - actually, any surface, with ease and confidence. The chair had become one with him; he had mastered it and made very little of it, so that we who knew him barely noticed it anymore.  We would just say “Oh, here comes Brandon,” not  “Here comes the guy in the wheelchair”!

The ‘Celebration of Life’ for Brandon on July 11th was a great reminder that our life should not be defined by what we can or cannot do. Nor should our weaknesses or handicaps limit us from having a great life. Brandon showed us that we can rise above our limitations to be whoever we choose - and HE chose to accept who God had created him to be! Brandon did not let the chair or his weak muscles stop him from trying new things and going on adventures; he even had his driver’s license!

The best part is that God used Brandon - in his wheelchair, in his 20’s, and incapable of doing many things - to bless and help many people who came across his path. But I’ll bet if we were to ask him, Brandon would say that he was the one who was blessed.  What a great heart he had. 

We serve a mighty God who is able to create life, sustain it, prolong it, and reclaim it for His perfect will and in His perfect timing. Brandon will be missed and his memory honored, but I know his hope for all of us would be to bring glory to God with what we’ve been given - handicaps, weaknesses, flaws, and all!

I encourage you to read all the wonderful tributes and posts on Facebook* honoring
Brandon’s life. You will soon begin to see the big picture of what kind of guy
he was; a young man on mission for his LORD.

* FB: “Brandon Goeller” … or check out www.conradandthompson.com/tributes/Brandon-Goeller.

My Testimony

My story begins when I was 6 years old…and I discovered I would not automatically go to heaven when I died.  My family was not involved in an evangelical church when I was little, but there was a lady on our street who babysat me once in a while, and she told me Bible stories.  I was intrigued and wanted to hear more; in fact, I asked my Mom if we could go to church with this lady.  So we did join her as a family a couple times and one Sunday while my brother and I were in “Children’s Church,” we heard about how everyone will spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell.  We both made a choice that morning to follow Jesus so we would be sure to go to Heaven when we died.

Speaking privately with the teachers, we both prayed, asking Jesus to forgive us for sinning and trusting Him to be our Savior.  We discovered we needed saving from the punishment of sin, which would be death and hell.  As we continued to attend church and read the Bible for ourselves, we learned the whole story of how Jesus, God’s Son, came from Heaven to earth to live a perfect life and then die in our place, taking the punishment for sin so we wouldn’t have to. This was His plan for redemption from the very beginning of time!

So now I can say I have peace with God who made me and loves me, I know for sure I’ll be in Heaven someday! I also have a desire to live my life in a way that pleases Jesus and follows His plan for me.  Life is not perfect, of course, but I have a Savior who is always with me, ready to guide, forgive, and help me to serve God.  He brings real joy to my life, even when things don’t go as I think they should. :-)

This is how I became a Christian - a true follower of Christ.  I have a personal  relationship with the God of the Universe and my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Do you know a time when you put your trust in Jesus, or are you still wondering how you can have peace in this life and assurance of a future in Heaven? Contact me and we’ll talk.

“Crazy Year We’re Having…”

It is unfortunate that I feel the first topic in my new Blog should be about how we are getting through the crazy year we’ve been having!  The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has swept our world has left people fearful, confused, frustrated and angry. Our daily lives have been turned inside out, upside down, and every which way from normal, and we are left treading water in the wake of uncertainty and the reality of death from this virus.

As a result, we’ve had to face change. Many people have made some very big and unforeseen adjustments in their day-to-day schedules. Others have lost much of what they depended on to live. While change can be difficult and unwelcome in many instances, there is one thing we can be sure of that doesn’t change - in fact, one Person who is the same yesterday, today and forever - that is God (Yahweh: LORD, Jehovah).  This pandemic has not taken Him by surprise and He is still in control of His world. It is comforting to know we can turn to God no matter what is happening around us, and I hope you have a relationship with Him, so that in all this uncertainty you can find HOPE; hope for a future restored to “normal” and a peace presently amid the chaos.

I keep hearing people say how these are crazy, uncertain times, full of racism, skepticism and political unrest…which, actually, is nothing new!  Read Ecclesiastes 1:9. If we look back through history we see a very familiar thread of racism, skepticism, and political unrest - even pandemics, with high death tolls!  See? Nothing new.  In fact, Solomon wrote this verse thousands of years ago! We humans are caught in a never-ending cycle, spiraling downward, away from God and stuck in our sins.

** That’s the bad news **

The good news is that we can be redeemed from it all!  Now read 2 Chronicles 7:14.  This is a promise from God (Jehovah-Rapha: Healer) that He will hear, forgive and heal IF we, His people, will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our sins… WE HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST STEPS!  No, it isn’t easy, but it’s the only choice we have if we want to experience restoration.

I honestly don’t see the nation doing this as a whole, but it definitely needs to be done by the Church (those who are redeemed and following Christ), as we set the example and light the way. May God have mercy and help us to do just that.