I just spent four glorious days in Charleston with my five Soul Sisters. They still live in Kansas City where I enjoyed eighteen years of “doing life” with them before moving to Alabama five years ago. Being with them reminded  me of how much I still miss the times we had while I lived there.

As I drove home through the Georgia/Alabama countryside, the trees were changing colors. They were pretty, but nothing compares to the brilliant colors Kansas City showcases in the fall. Traveling back to Alabama, not only was I missing my girlfriends, I found myself wishing I could see the beautiful shades of  Kansas City’s October foliage.

Fall is a bit different here than what we experienced in Kansas City. On this particular late-October day, the sun was offering warmth as the temperatures neared 80 degrees. But in Alabama, the weather can rapidly change. Realizing a freeze could be around the corner, I decided to enjoy the warm conditions while they last and I conducted a yard tour. Here’s what I discovered:

My impatiens have grown into giants — something I never saw in my garden in KC.

The re-blooming tea olives were still producing a sweet aroma  — even our college student who helps out on the ranch commented on the fragrance.

The red Coleus have grown so big and vibrant they look like  bushes — certainly nothing like the potted version I had in KC.

The beauty of my yard tour overwhelmed me and reminded me that God shares his splendor in different ways, no matter where I live.  It made me grateful for what I have right now.

It also helped me realize that enjoying my forever girlfriends — even if only for a few days — is also a gift to cherish and appreciate.

Winter will soon come (whatever that looks like in Alabama) and my beautiful plants will be gone for this year. But I don’t want to be sad, because as the next season approaches, I anticipate what amazing things God has in store for me to enjoy. I know it will be different, but the smell of tea olives and the gift of friendship reminds me to embrace this season of my life.

We are a society which measures success by size. We love grand. We tend to believe bigger is always better.

But is bigger always better?

Does it seem like you are in a season of small and the grand things are happening only to others?

Do you feel the things you are doing are not making that big of a difference?

Friend, I am convinced God has big plans for you and our world. But, I have also discovered he often does this through small and ordinary things — things that only you can do.

In this latest podcast of Unconditionally Her, host Karen Shayne and I discuss how your small  actions delight God and can also make a huge impact. We also chat about one of my favorite Bible women and her willingness to act upon faith using a scarlet cord.

I hope you will take a few minutes to listen and share your thoughts. Then, please forward this podcast to a friend you think might need to hear this encouragement.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”Zechariah 4:10

Click  HERE   to listen to the Podcast

By the world’s standards, she was flourishing. Business was good, allowing her a home of her own. She was known by everyone in town. Yet, life was not as rosy as it appeared because along with all these worldly accolades came a title she would rather not possess: prostitute.

Her name was Rahab. Of the eight times she is mentioned in the Bible, she is specifically called “Rahab the prostitute” five of those times.

I imagine she wished things were different. Perhaps she dreamed about another life. Perhaps sometimes she even pictured herself as a wife and a mother. But to make a change required a complete turnaround in her life and circumstances which seemed impossible. So when there was a knock at her door, she couldn’t help but wonder if this could be her chance at a new beginning.

The Israelites were about to enter and take possession of Canaan, the land God had promised them over 700 years earlier. Their leader, Joshua, sent two spies to scout the area, especially the city of Jericho where Rahab lived.

She knew there were spies on the other side of the door. Should she answer it? What did she have to lose? What did she have to gain?

Everything Rahab had worked for now hung in the balance. But she was worn out from living a life of shame, disgrace and disappointment. She was ready to take the first step in changing her story. She hoped this one small action of opening her door just might be the answer to realizing her dreams for a different future.

So with a deep breath and great resolve…

She opened the door.

There are times when a simple act, like opening a door, can have a huge impact. Sometimes it is the smallest thing — the one thing that begins the journey — which requires the most faith. According to the Bible, this is what brings delight to the Lord.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”  Zechariah 4:10

Is it possible that all God is asking of you right now is to do something simple, like opening a door? Although it may seem unimportant, the small thing you do today could possibly have a huge impact on you or someone else tomorrow. In my opinion, this is the beauty of small things.

My friend Heidi and I were enjoying coffee and delicious raspberry pastries at my favorite bakery in Waverly, Alabama. Heidi said, “I love raspberries.”

“Me too!” I replied. “Raspberries are my guilty pleasure. They are expensive and they never last very long, and almost every grocery store trip, I grab a small container of my beloved fruit.”

I explained to her how I justify (in my mind) the expense of my raspberry passion. “I don’t spend a lot of money on hair and makeup, so I feel like it’s okay to buy raspberries even when they are not on sale for 3/$10.”

When I shared my rationale with Heidi, she laughed and said I need to write about raspberries. So, faithful reader, here it is. But, if you have been reading my posts for a while, you know this is not really about raspberries. It’s much more. Pondering about my raspberry passion made me realize we make choices all the time about what we value.

As I thought about what I choose to “splurge” on, it made me wonder: what does Jesus value? What one thing does Jesus choose over another? In other words, what is his raspberry obsession?

It is apparent in watching how he lived that Jesus most valued people. All sorts of people. The lost, the unlovely, children, disciples, the outcast, the rich, the poor… and you.

This is what Jesus says about choosing, “You did not choose me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).

Of all the things in this world he could choose, Jesus chooses you. What a comforting and secure thought! He is a friend and a savior who would choose you every single time because you are what he values most.

Our crazy world — whose values seem to be turned upside down — can make you doubt your worth. If so, keep this in mind:

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4).

You were loved and chosen even before the world was created. That’s how valuable you are!

I don’t know if Jesus loved raspberries, but I sure hope he did. I’m thanking him that a  raspberry pastry reminded me that he made a choice about what he values. And that that choice is us.

 

 

 

 

Thank you Bear and James for showing us through pictures what the love of Jesus looks like.

“…He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart…” Isaiah 40:11

A Holy Week reflection…

I am told it is darkest just before dawn.This might be why Jesus said to Judas, the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come to arrest him, “This is your hour — when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53b).

Hanging on a cross, his followers could not fathom how Jesus’ death could turn out for good. They could not know this horrible situation would soon become victory.

But Jesus knew. Like any human, he preferred not to suffer, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me” (Luke 22:42a). Yet, he trusted his Father with his very life, “Not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42b).

Jesus’ words on the cross demonstrate to us that even in the darkest of times, he still forgave his enemies and loved sinners:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

“Today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43)

Often it looks like darkness is winning. But it can never reign when the light of Jesus lives in you.

Friend, I pray the sorrow and the sadness of the cross reminds you — especially this week — that Jesus is willing to do for you what he did for those while he was dying. He forgives you sacrificially and loves you endlessly.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5).