The Good News

     Almost 10 years ago, my husband  Rod was dying. His liver was failing, due to a disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. He was #1 on the Liver transplant waiting list and we were anxiously awaiting a call that an organ donor had been found. It was a sobering thought that someone had to die for Rod to live. Our good news would be a result of someone else's pain. On the eve of his transplant, Rod was walking in the hallway near his room at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. He had been admitted two weeks earlier through the ER because of hemorrhaging in his esophagus due to Esophageal Varices. He almost didn't make it then and his days were numbered. His kidneys were showing signs of failure and time was running out. As he was walking, a nurse asked him what he was doing out of his bed! She gave him the good news that early in the morning he would have a liver transplant! On August 19, 2002 Rod received the gift of a new liver, the beginning of a new life.  I am happy to report that on August 19, 2012, he will celebrate the 10th anniversary of his transplant and is doing quite well! God gave him a second chance. The scar on his abdomen reminds him daily that someone died so he could live. Jesus died so we can live and Isaiah 49:15 and 16 tells us that He would never forget what He has done for us because of the scars engraved on his hands. Knowing what God had done for him gave Rod a passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus with those who didn't know Christ, especially other fishermen and hunters. The Outdoors Ministry of our church developed from this passion.

Rod

     This Saturday, August 4, 2012, Ridgecrest Outdoors Ministries will host its 5th Sportsman's Banquet. The sold-out crowd will eat a delicious chicken dinner, visit vendors, laugh with Comedian Lee McBride and meet and listen to Jase Robertson, Duck Commander and a star of the reality show "Duck Dynasty".  Most importantly they will hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. They will hear how God gave his One and Only Son Jesus to die for them, so they can live.  By trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life, and by making a decision to follow Him, they can receive a "heart transplant", the beginning of a new life. The old will be gone, the new will come. They will receive the gift of eternal life. Pray for those coming to the banquet. Pray that their hearts will be receptive and open to the Good News. Pray for the volunteers at the banquet. Pray they will follow Jesus' example of service and love for the lost, and that they will be good representatives of Christ to the guests at the banquet. There will be a great banquet in heaven one day (Revelation 19:9), pray that the number of guests attending that banquet will grow on Saturday night!

"Then the master told his servant, Go out to the roads and country lanes

and make them come in, so that my house will be full."

Luke 14:23

(Photo credit: Bob Ayers)

Do You Think I'm STRANGE?

Do you think I'm strange? Ok, maybe not the best question to ask. I can hear you laughing right now. "Of course I do!" you say! Well, you may think I am the strangest person you know, but in reality I am very normal. But, I WANT to be strange! I want to be different.

Peter, in his epistle to the Christians scattered throughout what we know as modern day Turkey, reminds them over and over that they are to be "strangers" in the world. For believers in Christ, the world is not our permanent address. The world is our temporary address and our permanent address and home is in Heaven. Therefore, we are foreigners in this world,  "strangers". As a believer in Christ, we are to have different values and standards than those of the world. What might it look like to be strange? The world says be first always. Strange says serve others and put yourself last. If someone insults me, the world says I am to insult them back. Strange says love them and do not retaliate.  If someone hurts me, the world says seek revenge and hold a grudge. Strange says to forgive them and pray for them. If someone jumps ahead of me in line, the world says huff, puff and show them how angry I am. Strange says, let them go first! If the cashier at the grocery store is impossibly slow, the world says complain to the manager and give them "the look". Strange says, give him or her an encouraging word and smile.  If someone cuts me off on the highway, the world says HONK really loud and long! Strange just smiles and says it's ok, I'm not in a hurry. The world says I am busy and don't have time to care. Strange says slow down and listen, really listen. The world says talk about others and be critical and judgemental. Strange says, be compassionate and merciful and shut your mouth! When I am suffering, the world says blame God and everyone around me. Strange says, God cares for me and He will not waste my suffering. He will use it to refine me to make me more like Christ. I can trust Him and rejoice! I can use my suffering as an opportunity to share why I have hope and WHO my hope is in. The world says read that #1 Bestseller, Strange says, it goes against God's standards and instructions, don't read it.  The world says you've got to see the #1 movie! Strange says the subject matter and dialogue are contrary to what pleases God, don't watch it. The world says ask for that raise, you deserve it and threaten to quit if you don't get it. Strange says respect and submit to authority and have a good attitude about it, work as working for the Lord. The world says if I don't like the President, I can show the most outrageous disrespect for him. Strange says I must submit for the Lord's sake and respect the office, even when I disagree with  the politics.  

I wish I could say I am strange all the time, but sadly a lot of the time I'm not. Many times I am normal, I am the world. In fact, if you were in the store of my wireless carrier last Saturday, you could testify to how really normal I am! As part of God's family, through Jesus Christ, I am called to holiness. I am called to be a walking, talking advertisement for Jesus.  I have to examine myself and ask how really effective my advertisement is. It can't be very effective if  I am rude, impatient, selfish and prideful. Strange is different. I want to be different from the world. I want to be like Christ, but it goes against my sinful, human nature to be like Him. It goes against "Me" to be strange. It is only with the Holy Spirit in me can I begin to be strange. Each morning, I must pray, "Lord help me to be different, help me to be strange. Help me to be a good representative so others will see and glorify You."

Dear friends, I urge you , as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2: 11,12

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Love, Braces, and The Test

     Recently, one of our associate pastors, Shay Reyner, preached a message that challenged my thoughts and actions. In the message he asked us to answer 6 questions and then grade ourselves. The first question was easy, pretty much a yes or no answer. I answered "all the time" and scored a high 5! I was feeling right spiritually smug until Shay asked the next question, and then the next and then the next. Uh-oh. My score ended up being as dismal as my high school SAT Math score.  I am not a Math scholar. I simply don't understand why we need to know what A, B,X, or Y is. If it were that important, it would be there already. But this test wasn't about Math.
     All of the questions caused me to ponder my relationship with Christ but the one that I thought about over and over was #6 - "Do I see people the way God sees them or through the world's eyes?" (Probably not exactly as Shay asked it but you get the point.) It's easy to answer yes, I see people as God sees them when it refers to people that I love or people that are easy to get along with. Easy obedience! But, then again, God commands us to love everyone. So why can't I see EVERYONE through his eyes?
     For 30 years I've worked as a Dental Assistant. For 23 of those years, I've worked for the same orthodontist, Dr. Diehl. During this time I've had the pleasure of dealing with many different people with many different personalities. God has made each one of us unique and I've definitely seen my share of "unique" in all the patients and families we have treated. We have many wonderful patients and families. I've had the privilege of counting them among my friends.Most patients are easy to love, some others, not so much. But I am commanded to love the others too. Really? Even the ones who habitually miss their appointments? How about the ones who are late EVERY time? Or the ones who never return my call? What about the patient that NEVER brushes his or her teeth? The one who NEVER wears their elastics or headgear like they should? Better yet, do I have to love the ones that smell bad, look bad, have stinky breath and are completely different from me? I know the answer to these questions. The answer to all these questions is .....YES! Today, I sat down with a patient that I know without a doubt had not brushed his teeth within the last 48 hours. The plaque looked like snow on his teeth. But as I was removing his wires, scraping grungy plaque off his teeth,and showing him how to brush once AGAIN,  the Holy Spirit brought Shay's question back into my mind as it has many times over the last two days. Do I see this boy as God sees him? Do I love him? How can I love him and the "others"? And then, as I was staring into this mouth before me, it hit me. God saw me  like I saw this boy, grungy with "plaque" all over me. I was covered with sin and no amount of brushing and flossing could remove it. No amount of good works would make me presentable to God. Sin made me smell bad, look bad and caused a stinky spirit within me. The only toothbrush and toothpaste that will remove the "plaque" of sin, wash me up, and make me presentable is Christ's blood. When I thought of this it was easier to see this boy and the others from God's eyes. Because I can see the reality of myself from God's eyes. I can love this boy and others because God loved me first, grunge and all. He was merciful and compassionate as He drew me to himself, before I was "cleaned up". And then with the Spirit in me, He started transforming me. He lovingly started to brush the grunge away. Bit by bit, piece by piece. He flossed down into the crevices of my heart to remove the crud.
     From now on, as I sit down with a patient and as I live in this world, I pray the Lord will remind me of his mercy and grace, therefore enabling me to show mercy and grace to others. I pray He will remind me of His love that enables me to love everyone. Even the others.

1 John 4:10,11 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
   

Broken Pieces - Lessons From the Shells

     I love the beach. I love to sit on the beach at the water's edge in my sand chair, hat on head, book in hand. There, in my spot, I people watch, read, nap, and daydream. This week at the beach, due to a strong and warm southwest wind, the ocean was rough and the tides especially high. When the water retreated it left in its wake a treasury of shells. My interest was peaked and I spent quite some time each day searching the shells, in quest of the most beautiful, colorful, and perfectly shaped. With every shell I  was reminded of my God who designed and created it; The One, True God who gave the shells their shape, color, and purpose. The dark colored shells reminded me of my sin and my need for a Savior. Some of my favorite shells were white with red markings. They reminded me of Christ's blood which was shed for me and cleanses me from my sin and makes me white as snow.  Some of the shells were brightly colored with orange and yellow. These shells reminded me of the sun that rises each day and the hope I have for the future because of Jesus Christ. With every shell, God spoke loudly and clearly with truths from His Word. But as I stepped over, on, and around the shells, I noticed many broken ones. In fact, most of the shells on the beach were broken and chipped, with jagged edges, evidence of wear and tear. They had been churned up, tossed about, thrown out and abandoned on the beach. If they could talk they might say, "I thought I was important. I thought someone loved me. I thought I had purpose. But now I'm left out here. No one notices me, wants me, or loves me. I'm not pretty or handsome anymore. I'm damaged goods. What good am I?" Sounds silly doesn't it? But that's exactly what many of us say and feel too. We are like those shells. Life has been hard. It hasn't always been fair. We live in a sinful world. Things didn't turn out like we thought they would. We've made bad choices and mistakes and life has churned us up, tossed us about, thrown us out and we feel abandoned and unnoticed. We think that no one could ever love us and we could never be "whole" again. We may feel we are undeserving of forgiveness and acceptance. But the good news is that God loves us even when life doesn't. Even when we think we can't be loved.  He loves the broken pieces and He takes each broken piece and smooths the jagged edges. He notices us and knows every tear that falls. In Christ, we have forgiveness and healing. God created each one of us for a purpose and He can use the bad choices and the mistakes to refine us for that purpose.  God never wastes our suffering and our experiences in life. He weaves them all together, good and bad, to create something beautiful that reflects the image of Christ. God knew when He created us that we were going to mess up. He knew that we are sinners and we would disobey Him. And yet, He still made us and He still loves us. So much so that He gave His one and only Son Jesus for us. In Him, we are made new, we are made beautiful, we are a new creation. The broken shells on the beach may not seem as pretty as the whole ones. But the broken shells remind us of God's love, forgiveness, healing, and restoration. In the cracks of our own broken pieces, Jesus shines through. I'm thinking those broken pieces are the loveliest after all!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

 he is a new creation;

 the old has gone, the new has come!

The Tiny Tin Condo

     Almost 25 years ago, my mother and father bought a travel trailer and moved it permanently to the beach. To the Oceanfront Trailer Court in Salter Path, NC. For you who may not know, Salter Path is halfway between Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach. My family had grown up going to Myrtle Beach one week every summer, but after they purchased the trailer "our beach" became Salter Path. The trailer became the Tiny Tin Condo at the beach. After several years, the original trailer was replaced by a brand new, shiny, larger trailer and it still stands today in the same spot - F7.
     Over the years the trailer has seen many changes around it. It has weathered many storms including Hurricanes Bertha and Fran, with little or no damage. Bertha tried to intimidate the "Tiny Tin Condo" with a sand blasting "facial" and great effort (but with limited success) to move the trailer off its "foundation". But the "Tiny Tin Condo" stood tough and firm.  The neighborhood around the trailer has changed quite a bit. When the trailer first took it's place at F7, the Salter Path Family Campground was its next door neighbor. Fishin' Fever was across the street, Smithfield Barbecue (which became Dairy Queen) was a few doors down and the IGA was THE grocery store to go to.  Several piers, including the Indian Beach Pier, where we could walk and get a morning paper or an ice cream treat, darted proudly out into the Atlantic and provided fishing pleasure to the common folk. Today, the Salter Path Family Campground is a fenced in lot of weeds, the Fishin' Fever is Albert's Florist and the IGA is a gift/food/everything store. The Dairy Queen has been torn down and several new towering "luxury" condos have been built. One had the misfortune of being built when the economy went south and still stands empty after over two years. A luxury ghost town. The fishing piers weren't able to weather the hurricanes well and no longer stand. But the "Tiny Tin Condo" remains. People have come and gone, some lost to age and some to illness. Some have moved "up" and some simply grew tired of maintaining a trailer at the beach. The trailer has seen long lasting relationships, broken relationships, and new relationships born. Grandchildren got married and great-grandchildren were added to the family. The "Tiny Tin Condo" has remained a constant in the family. This year, it got a face lift. My brother David, painted the accent stripe and doors proud Wolfpack RED. It looks rather nice I must say! I'm sure you would agree! The trailer has seen its share of wear and tear, but like the Velveteen Rabbit, the wear and tear is only a sign of the love and good times the trailer has provided those who have had the privilege of staying in it.  Sadly, my Daddy died in 2009. He loved to come to the trailer with my Mom, family, and with his dog, Muppet. He was meticulous in caring for the trailer and the yard around it. Daddy is still very much a part of the beach and the trailer to our family.
     The trailer has remained despite changes in the landscape and people around it.  It is a place of refuge and shelter for our family. When I think of this, I am reminded of my Heavenly Father. No current events, no weather, no terrorist attack, no political correctness or election, and no sour economy can budge God off His throne, off His foundation. His love is constant and unchanging. I am reassured by His Word, in which He tells me "I am the LORD and I do not change." (Malachi 3:6) My God is sovereign and in control! His love for me is constant and unchanging, despite my emotions and circumstances, and who may be around me. People may come and go, but God's presence is always with me. God is my shelter and refuge. Psalm 71:3 says "Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." Reassuring words from His Word, which stands forever!
     The Tiny Tin Condo has fewer years ahead of it than behind it. It's season is coming to an end. One day, it will no longer stand but the memories from its time will last forever. I am grateful to God for providing, through my Mom and Dad a special place to stay at the beach. I am more grateful to my God who will stand long after and forever past the days of the Tiny Tin Condo
     Isaiah 40:28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 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 grow faint.

    

   

What's Behind the Title

You may wonder where the the title of my blog came from. The verse beneath it may give you a clue. 1 Peter 2:10 is the main inspiration behind the title. It says "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." This verse and Ephesians 2:13 (NLT) have lunged out at me recently. Have you ever had that experience where you may read the same passages of scripture over and over and then one day BAM!, God hits you between the eyes with it? That's what has happened to me with these verses. But let me go back...
For the past year I have been involved with Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). BSF is an interdenominational, international Bible Study which takes place in 38 nations around the world. It uses a comprehensive 4 Fold approach to Bible study. Every Monday night from September to May I leave Rod and Izzie at home to fend for themselves to attend BSF. I am thankful for good friends who were persistent (but not pushy) in inviting me to attend. For several years, they encouraged me to try it out and for some reason or another (or excuse) I wasn't able to go.  But this past year, God opened every door for me to attend and during the year it was obvious why He wanted me in BSF at this season of my life! I am thankful that God gave me a husband in Rod who encourages me in my walk and study of His Word and didn't mind my leaving him on Monday nights!
Our study this year was the Acts of the Apostles. We studied not only the book of Acts, but also Hebrews, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Peter, James, Jude, and 1 and 2 Corinthians! As I intensely encountered God's Word, I encountered more and more of God. I love how Colossians 1:10 in the NLT reads: "All the while , you will grow as you learn to know God better and better." We must LEARN to know God better. He reveals himself to us in scripture. How can we know Him if we don't read and study His Word?? I became serious about my Quiet Time several years ago and I can truthfully say my relationship with Him has grown more than ever as I meet with Him every morning in His Word and in prayer. As I encountered Him and His holiness more in His Word this year, my sin became more and more obvious and I began to appreciate more than ever what Jesus did for me. Jesus took my sin and the judgement due me upon himself on the cross.  The once is gone, but now I am a new creation! Once I was separated from God, but now I am His! I am part of His family! Because of Christ, I am even called God's friend!!! God had mercy on me and gave His Son Jesus for me!  There is a song by Jason Gray called "I Am New". Some of the lyrics say -

 "I am not who I was

I'm being remade, I am new,

 I am chosen and holy and I'm dearly love, I am new".

Forgiven, beloved,

Hidden in Christ

Made in the image of the Giver of Life

Righteous and holy, reborn and remade

Accepted and worthy

This is our new name"

This song could be my testimony. Once..But Now - Exactly! Now you know.

Beginnings

       My mind is always at work. Thoughts are constantly being processed, reviewed, rearranged, edited and then filed away, sometimes never to be heard from again. Forever lost in the matter between my ears. I've always enjoyed reading other's blogs and thought, "Why don't I blog?"  So here is my attempt to put all the scattered thoughts together into writing.  Maybe they will make some sense. Maybe this way, those who know me and care will understand  a little more of what makes me tick. Don't expect anything deep or creative. Don't expect correct word usage, sentence structure, spelling, use of colons and semicolons.  Expect randomness and too many exclamation marks. It's the way I think and it could be quite entertaining. Beginnings -  you've got to start somewhere!