Lemon Lessons

I need a lemon and I don’t have any loose change to buy it. Dang it!

Mom kindly gave me $2 pesos she found in her purse. I wondered if it was going to be enough money to buy the lemon. I needed it for the experiment I was making.

“Mom, do you remember when lemons used to cost $1 peso? And less than that?”

I don’t remember what she replied, but I remember saying I would even try begging the guy if I needed to. A lemon for $2 pesos. I was certainly desperate.

So I walked down to the shop and said, “Hey, I need a lemon. I have $2 pesos here…”

The guy looked at me and dismissed my offering. “Here,” he said. He was giving me a lemon for free!

Right then I understood everything the Lord tried to tell me this morning. It was like him saying, “Yes, you’re poor and needy. I know that. You’ve messed up. I know that too. But my grace will be given to you for free. I delight in a contrite spirit. Wait on me.”

Needless to say, I returned home with a lemon in hand and a smile on my face.

Life like a cake

A  dear friend of mine told me something the other day that I hope I never forget.

As we talked about life and other stuff she said,

“Life is  like a cake. A cake is a mix of eggs, sugar, butter, flour… Each of these ingredients on its own does not make a cake. Actually, you might like trying the sugar but you will not like trying the eggs (they taste funny and nasty).

Well, let’s say all of these ingredients (tasty blessings and sour trials) are being used by God to make a beautiful, delicious cake. And He MUST use all these ingredients because together they make a PERFECT cake.  There are many aspects of the baking process we do not like (like the heat in the oven of affliction), but let’s be assured that it will be good. God will always get the desired results.”

Dear soul, stand the test of fire and trial. Your faith, which is of greater worth than gold, will result in praise of Jesus Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,⁴to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and  unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,⁹obtaining  the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-8

 

My God of all seasons

There’s at least one reason why the Bible is full of “DO NOT FEAR” statements.

The God who created heaven and earth,  and you and me, knows our hearts and how our thinking works. Because we live in a fallen world, fear is almost an intrinsic part of who we are. And we all know what fear can do to our lives when we let it rule our lives.

Fear makes some people neglect their responsibilities. And if you’re like me, it paralyzes you. It’s like you know there’s an important task awaiting for you, but you feel you can’t move. And if you do, it is always  backwards.

The fear of failure, of being laughed at, of not being able to finish a daunting task is very powerful.  I have found that it is rooted in the empty “what if’s…”. If I look at myself, there is weakness and lack of experience. Yet God’s promises for His sons and daughters are true and perfect. So if I look away from myself, there’s God– strong, faithful and good. Therefore it is OK to take risks, live by faith and wait for Him to act.

And when God finally finds you and you experience His faithful presence in your life, you can only go up and move on. Move on in His plan, unto what He knows is best for you. I am not saying everything will go great and like you want it. I’m saying that at the end of the day, it will go even BETTER than you ever expected because your heavenly Father is in loving and wise control. When you understand that, you find true joy as you give him your past failures, mistakes and successes; hold with an open hand your future plans, and live fully and fearlessly in the present time.

If God is God there’s nothing to fear:

God was in my past- He took care of me then and has proven to work all things together for my good. Jesus died for me and I was welcomed in God’s family.

God is in my present– I am GLAD to be in this place, in this moment…for He is with me and there’s nothing better than Him. Jesus lived the perfect life I cannot live, and I am accepted in Him.

God is in my future– He will not leave me or forsake me. His plans are WAY better than mine. Guaranteed!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  There’s nothing to fear!

“Please Jesus come (in a little while)”: What I learned from Harold Camping

As we drove into the night it finally dawned on me. My friends and I were certain that no matter what Harold Camping had said and  announced on billboards, Jesus was not coming on Saturday. He simply wasn’t. The same old verse rang through our ears as we discussed the issue and how damaging it was to the real gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus was and is coming back again for His own. The Bible says so. But right then I wondered if most of the time our discussion ends here– in the timing of the event, while the real issue at hand remains silent.

Yes, I’m talking about His second coming. And as I write this, I am eagerly longing to see my Savior’s face and finally live by sight with the most beautiful Being there is. No more sin, no more hindrances and distractions! Just Jesus and I (and the million of Christians of all times and places). But that night I also realized that I did not want him to come– at least not right then.  It was like a girl that hasn’t seen her fiancé in a whole year and tells him on the phone one day, “Hey love, I know you love me more than anything. Your kindness melts my heart. I love you too! Someone told me you were trying to surprise me by showing up one day at my door and I REALLY can’t wait to be with you one more time. But could you wait a little bit while I finish living my single life and partying? I’m sure you want me to be happy…”

In other words, it’s like saying “Please come soon Jesus!” and then saying under our breath, “not till I get married, get a great job, have kids, minister to people in need, run a marathon…” and the list goes on, changing from person to person.

Lydia Brownback writes,

” We tend not to be heavenly minded…we live to mold our lives around whatever makes us happy today.”

Am I saying all those things are not to be desired? Yes. And no. Some of our desires are not bad in themselves. The problem lies in wanting them too much. In fact, many times we are willing to put off His coming or our going because we want to achieve those things first. So the intensity of these desires is what we have to be very aware and wary of.

Again, Lydia Brownback nailed it,

“Paul knew the secret to possessing and enjoying the blessings of earthly life is to hold them loosely“

THIS is not our Home. We are living here for a while–a moment that lasts a blink of an eye. Are our hands open or is our fist closed tight?

Please God, take away my eyes from what is seen. Give me a heart that will live and sing “Maranatha: Yes, Lord Jesus, COME!”

Friday (Finally!) – The city

This week has flown by very quickly.  I’ve got lots of plans (and blessings!) ahead of me for summer. Can hardly wait!

So, I thank God today is Friday. I really do.

I have never lived in the country. Always in the suburbs. I commute to work and such every day. And I like it this way. Too much noise at home would make my life more…noisy. I need peace. BUT watching this video REALLY made me want to live in the city, in a BIG city— where the real action is. I LOVE Santo Domingo…there’s no other place in the world like this. There’s no other place in the world  I’d rather be right now  Yet, watching this video made me wonder and smile.

This is a gorgeous time lapse. I would recommend you plug in your earphones, turn on the volume and ENJOY!!!

Have a gorgeous weekend!

Update:  to watch it bigger on vimeo click HERE