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I Was Once God’s Weird Science Experiment

The story goes of a young woman who has another broken relationship in her life finalized and she’d concluded in her heart that she’d had enough. There was no way she’d have anything to do with God again. But, not long after this she finds herself standing in the Jewish Holocaust exhibit and before her the pile of Holocaust victims bones. That settled it, no loving God would allow that to happen! If she’d ever doubted it before she knew it now. But then she heard a still small voice whisper in her soul, “Don’t leave Me… This is what happens when I’m rejected, darkness reigns and lives are destroyed, please… don’t leave Me.”

The story hit me like a ton of bricks as I was driving down the road yesterday listening to a podcast. I’ve asked that question myself. “Why?” Especially over broken relationships or harsh conversations when a dull knife stabbed into my soul and twisted would surely have been less painful. But looking back on those experiences they were nothing in comparison to the Jewish Holocaust. Not even worthy of being in the same sentence.

It is said that Ezekiel 37:1-14 the story of the dry bones, is a prophecy of the Holocaust and the rebuilding of the Nation of Israel. Whether it is or not, I’m not a Theologian, so I’ll leave it to their debate, but regardless the similarities are there.

Verses 1-5 ~  The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

Those bones that God brought back to life, rewrapped them in muscle and breathed life into their bodies may look like something out of a science fiction movie but it’s very much how God works in our lives. Only God can take broken lives that are shattered beyond recognition and restore them. It wasn’t happenstance that God revealed Himself to the woman in the story at the Holocaust exhibit; it wasn’t happenstance that he revealed Himself to me at Victory Baptist Church in 1996. God manipulated the circumstance in my life that caused my dead, dry bones (that did not know Jesus) to walk into a valley of restored bones in a church that was alive.

Perhaps that’s too “churchy” of a conversation for us to have this morning. Maybe God manipulated your bones into this cyber place this morning because He wanted to conduct a little science experiment on you. Have you all but given up on God, life, love, or family? God’s telling you right now, “Don’t leave me. Without Me there is no light to be found, only darkness.

That morning that God manipulated me (and that’s a whole other story!) into Victory Baptist Church, I didn’t realize that there was no life in me, until the Spirit of God began to stir in my soul. I didn’t know what that was either, I just knew I felt “something.” And as I heard the Word of God preached it was like there was an inner strength welling up inside of me. I found three things in that valley that caused me to never want to leave it again.

Strength (the struggles were not over, but I had the power to fight)

Connection (my bones knit with the bones of other believers and I had stable support)

Breath (I found air to breathe that had not been there for years. The pressure of the world on my chest more often than not felt like a literal weight shutting down my ability to breathe and move. I just existed)

That’s what God does. He takes a weird concoction like me and makes sense out of it.

Listen… are you in that valley this morning? Hear the Savior calling… Don’t leave me.

I can promise because I’ve experienced it, He’ll never leave you!

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The truth about the lies – Media today

Fixty-six percent (56%) of all voters in a 2013 poll done by http://www.rasmussenreports.com regard the news reported by the media as at least somewhat trustworthy, but that includes just six percent who think it is very trustworthy. Forty-two percent don’t trust the news media with 12% who believe the news it reports is not at all trust worthy.

So what’s real and what’s not?

I was asked last night why I didn’t watch the news. I’m certainly of the 12% who’s jaded by the media’s drive to report news with a political spin, left or right, and the infighting of network staff reminded me too much of churches. I can get opinioned news on the street and as for the fighting it’s readily avaialbe as well. So I turned it off. My husband and coworkers watch the news and if anything is of interest to me generally they bring it up. Or someone in social media gets on a rant about it and I’ll follow it up by an even less trustworthy source, the internet. I do trust my friend Dewey Moede who reports for www.fggam.org, a Christian ministry out of New Mexico and if a major disaster is going on I’ll tune in to a local station, usually WSAZ. For which I received a wonderful email from one my favorite anchors about their relationship with Christ.

I’m not anti media, I’m anti “anti.” The hostility toward views not their own is a real turn off for me and so I turned the off. Their negative views do not change the facts that I know to be true. The Bible reads as a modern day newspaper.

Matthew 24

Vereses 3-5 ~ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Have we not seen it?

Verses 7-9 ~ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

It’s reported that greater than 100,000 Christians are killed each year for their faith.

Read on…

Verses 10-14 ~ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

How many churches are across the world preaching false doctrine? Too many to count. How many denominations spend more time fighting with each other than spreading the gospel? Too many! And because of it people choose to believe nothing. But fear not. The truth is there and look how far it’s traveling. Scripture says it would be preached to all the world, and so we see that unfold today.

Read for yourself the entire chapter of 24 in Matthew and study it out and you’ll discover that it reads in great detail the headlines of today’s news.

So the answer as to why I don’t watch news? I do. It’s the Word of God. And it’s coming to life.

Jesus’s words in verse 33 sum it up quite well  ~ So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

He’s at the door. I’m not saying when, because the Bible is clear to say that no man knows, it’s also clear to say that we need to be ready. So, are you? Have questions or comments, ask them below or email talk2shari@gmail.com.

 

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The Mess of Success. Its bull.

Every day I strive to be a better Shari. Every day I feel like an epic fail. I have the grandest of intentions (the road to Hell is not the only one paved with them). Whatever project that I’m involved with chaos quite often ensues, just ask my church family. My house and my car are organized clutter. Meaning I know it’s there, I just often have to dig for it. My husband says if I’m in an accident it won’t be what’s outside the car that will kill me. I’m blessed with family and friends of high tolerance, but why do they do it? I think their reason is because among the mess has been an occasional success.

Proverbs 14:4 says Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

This verse was pointed out to me through a sermon I listened to a few weeks ago and I’ve not been able to get it out of my head. Mainly because every time I get in my car or walk into my house I think “Oh yeah, I meant to take care of that.” But the flip side of that is when my feet hit the floor at 4:30 a.m. each day my mind is on the ministry. I’m not saying I’m a super saint, it’s just who I’ve been since salvation in 1996. And this verse summed it up for me… there’s a mess in the ministry.

Your mess is likely different. But I can almost guarantee if you’re serving God there’s a mess around you somewhere. Relationships get messy in the ministry, even though you’re supposed to have all the answers. If you have children they’re likely imperfect and highly visible to church critics. Your finances are not what they should be, even though you try to live life biblical. Perhaps your issue is a quick temper or lack of discipline in your life. The point is if you’re in the ministry there is likely a mess somewhere in your life that makes you wonder why God chooses to use you at all. Or am I the only one?

It’s not hard to imagine what the stall of an ox is filled with or what it smells like. It has to be shoveled out and even then it leaves a trail of nastiness behind. But the labor of the field wouldn’t be getting done if the ox wasn’t in the stall. So before you (or I) are too hard on ourselves for the messes in life, remember… that mess just might be what equals success. The world doesn’t need to see perfect people in the ministry (Hallelujah!!!!). They need to see real people working through their day.

So, shovel out the barn and head to the field. You know what the Lord says, “for they are white already to harvest.” – John 4:35

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Black Friday Balance

We are just a few weeks away from black Friday shopping when the United States loses all of its ‘red sticker rationale;’ Meaning: if it’s got a sale tag, it’s a bargain. Only to realize once the receipt is in hand that this is not so much the case. But it’s truly more about the hunt and snare. We want the latest and greatest and we’re bringing up a generation who expects and demands it from not only their parents but the retail world, and they’re happy to oblige. I watched my grandson and granddaughter play with left over hardwood flooring last night for an hour or better. For Luke it was a construction project; for Paityn it was her “Balwance” beam. Yes I know it’s misspelled, it was just too cute. At my kitchen table where Luke and I played ‘Go Fish’, the television broadcasted a toy commercial and immediately Luke seriously needed it. Paityn had the new Build a Bear catalog and at two years old was in awe over the selection and it was fun to listen to her little girl dream about the bear with the magic wand. Just moments before both had been satisfied with what was there and available. There are many days that I seriously need stuff, and want Paityn’s magic wand to make it happen.

What God says about Want vs. Need

Deuteronomy 12:20

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

Obesity in the nation is out of control not because of all the delectable foods that are available, because rich and poor alike suffer from it. It’s out of control because both the rich and the poor won’t stop eating. The children of Israel had come out of the wilderness where the flesh they ate was used for sacrifice, it was killed at the door of the tabernacle, and part of it presented to God as a peace offering. (Lev. 17:3-4). But when they came to Canaan, they lived a great distance from the tabernacle, and God has now given more leeway concerning the meat, within reason. They were permitted to kill whatever they pleased or their own use of their flocks and herds without bringing it to the altar, but not just for the sake of its existence. There should be a genuine longing (hunger). There was no large screen televisions blasting images of temptation before them or marketing strategies of the day but to err is human and to forgive is a reason to celebrate and celebration is reason to eat… and so we grow. Horizontally not spiritually. God warned them as He does us, “Don’t just do it because you see it.”

Wise advice as we go into this season. Before you buy ask:

  • Do I or they need this? (or do they just want it)
  • Will it nourish or edify me? (Does it have purpose?)
  • Is it God approved? (Would you carry it to the temple door?)

Wanting something frivolous is not wrong, but it’s wrong if we want it just because it’s there and have no need for it, or if it draws us away from God. If after those 3 questions are answered and all three have been satisfied in your heart, and you’re not spending beyond your means then shop on my friend! It’s about ‘balwance.’ Life should be fun and we should be faithful stewards of it all.

One extra word of advice before the madness of black Friday. Pray over that day. Earnestly. Ask God for godly wisdom and ask Him for bargains, He can supply both!

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Unraveled at the Feet of Jesus

Trying to find a biblical family in the scripture to model your family after is next to impossible. Dysfunction doesn’t even begin to describe it. From the beginning it was filled with disobedience, betrayal and murder. So it should not come as a surprise that our own families are so messed up today, and yet when it happens we’re shocked. And when you couple the fact that those stories of dysfunction were within God’s chosen leaders of the day, who weren’t perfect, but their relationship with the Lord was to be desired; what does that say about us? Few of us have a relationship with the Lord that’s as tightly knit. So we unravel… and our family isn’t what we envisioned, and neither are we.

I can write from the heart of dysfunction. If God were still adding text to the Bible (and He’s not by the way), but if He were, there could likely be the book of Shari. Perhaps many sermons would be preached from my text with a title like “The Diva of Dysfunction.” There likely would not be the intrigue as many books of the Bible entail, but there would be comedy and chaos, heartache and hindrances to the will of God, fractured moments and failed missions. Several trips to the wood shed for certain. But… in the midst of it all you’d find Mercy. And me at His feet… unraveled.

From Heaven I have a feeling my life looks like a tangled mess of God’s intentions. Maybe yours does too. We have to remember that regardless of what we do, God does see the other side.

  • Poor decisions can take us down a wrong path. And though the distance is rougher and longer, God can still bring us to His intended spot.
  • Broken relations were not His plan, but the healing that He provides can make you stronger and more appreciative of the unbroken.
  • Finances may not be your forte, (it’s not mine) but by giving back to Him what we were entrusted with, perhaps that seed will take root and grow in ways we can’t even imagine. Or He may just give us contentment… and that’s okay too.
  • Sometimes family is the tie that binds, and sometimes it’s the tie that gags, but it’s the foundation of the gospel. We are the family of God. And if He can put up with our shenanigans do we not owe our family the same. A man who sought God’s wisdom ask his counselor “When can I stop caring.” The counselor’s reply was “When God does.”

If I wrote an exhaustive list of dysfunctions you wouldn’t take the time to read my blog. So let’s put it like this. You fill in the blank. “Dear God, ________________ is unraveling in my life. And I need you to knit it back together.”

Scripture says in Colossians 2:2 ~ That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

We don’t know the end of our story. But we can be comforted in the knowledge that we are loved and that God’s plan is still on track. That tangled mess that we see, will one day be a viewed as a beautiful tapestry …or perhaps a cable knit sweater.

I hope today finds your life at peace, and wrapped up in the love of God

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A Victorious Chick!

As I was checking the data on my website one of the top word searches that lead people to my website was “Victorious Chick.” My first thought was, “that’s a cool search;” my second thought was, “Why on earth would that lead them to me?!” I certainly don’t see myself in that light. But I had to wonder… am I? And if so, why? And the greatest question is, if I am, why do I not know? You would think if someone were victorious they would know.

For answers I went back to Israel, I make a trip back there about every day or two because they are the kings and queens of disastrous decisions for which I can identify! So, in a warped way it makes me feel closer to God because His original chosen people likely frustrated Him every bit as much as I do.

Open your mouth and say “Ai”

Joshua 6-8 – the Shari seriously condensed version

After forty years the Israelites had finally made it out of the wilderness! For seven days they marched around the walls of Jericho and when the trumpet blew and the people shouted the walls came down and all but Rahab and her family were destroyed. God had given the orders and they obeyed and it went off without a hitch… until Achan spied a Babylonish garment, some silver and gold and hid it in his tent.  Then Israel went out again to battle and because of the Babylonian britches they got the pants beat off of them. Joshua prayed to God, “Why did we not stay in Jordan Lord, now we are here; our people are chickens and Your good name is ruined.” I told you it was seriously condensed! But then God says “Why are you layin’ on your face. There’s sin in your camp.”

Some of my greatest failures have been because I have had sin in my camp. It doesn’t even have to be great sin, but God’s people are held to a higher accountability. Achan and his family were stoned to death and burnt with fire, guilty by association, and recompense was made. I used to not understand why God took such extreme measures, until I studied the law of Moses. It is not by coincidence that when this event ended Joshua built an altar and wrote the Ten Commandments upon them. God is Holy. He hasn’t changed, but what has changed is that we are no longer under the law, but under grace; which still does not excuse sin, but it covers it with the blood of Christ. The “Thou Shalt Not’s” are still there, but the debt is paid by Christ’s death, not our own, which Achan had to learn the hard way.

After the death of Achan’s family the children of Israel returned to Ai, and beat the pants off of them and God’s great Name was glorified.

So now you say, what does that have to do with you being a victorious chick? I’ve had the victories, I’ve coveted things that were not mine, lost a battle or two and God graciously allowed me to return to the battle field that I’d been beaten on and have victory again.

Over the years I have desired positions and things that God never intended me to have, and when I got them it always lead to disaster. Rather than being satisfied with where God had me at the time or what I had at the time I would move ahead of God’s intended design, and the price was always high. But then I’d repent and settle back into my place and God would slowly but surely bring me back to that place and I’d have the victory. I don’t think it was as sweet as it would have been if I’d have waited on Him.  But it was sweet!

So I guess I am a victorious chick, but not of anything I have done, but as it says in 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen! Vctory comes in obedience. Are you in a rough spot, you’ll have to examne your own life and see where you are. There may be sin (if there is, you know) or it may be a waiting time when God needs to see obedience in the wait. Either way, just hold on! God will bring you through!

Share with me your victories! I’d love to hear

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Shut my mouth!

Oh, there’s that feeling again! I have my entire life struggled with self confidence and one defense mechanism I’ve used to overcome it is to pretend that I am confident. I figure if I pretend long enough I may actually convince myself. However, one way Satan can destroy my role playing of the confident woman is to send someone into my life that has in the past made me feel less than them. Oh, how I wish I could tell you that I am so close the cross as a child of the King that there is nothing that can penetrate my worthiness; but I cannot. And the second part of that feeling of unworthiness is my tendency to un-forgive people. Possibly my role playing is not limited to a pretender of confidence but I can also add to my portfolio of talents “Pretend Forgiver.” The quote “out of sight, out of mind” may be a more accurate description than forgiveness, I’m just being real; surely I am not alone?

As the Jesus Chick I have put myself in the center of a bulls-eye and made myself target practice for hypocritical knot heads that have made comments to me such as “Well I’m a Christian, but your constant talk of Jesus offends me,” Really? Or those who wait for me to show my imperfect human side and scoff, “Yeah, she’s the Jesus Chick.” Or friends who cut me and walk away as if I were but a loaf of bread. And that’s just this week. It was a full blown attack of the demon of strife. It was ugly! I fancy myself a “soul stirrer” when I speak. I love to stir the hearts up of the people I speak to and create in them a desire to serve God in a bolder way. I listen to encouraging speakers and preachers, and read blogs by encouraging people as a way to keep my mind focused on godly things; and then my godliness goes out the window when a person from my past enters into my mind, or better yet, I sit across from them at a table, and every demon I’ve faced before seems to be lined up behind them staring at me face to face and waiting to get their blow. Oh jeepers, is anyone else out there who knows what I mean?

Satan gets one foot in the door and the next thing you know he’s sitting on your couch telling you how pathetic you are and reminding you of how so and so made you feel and then strife ignites. Proverbs 26:21says “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” But 2 Timothy 2:24 says ~ And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. Argg… Does that mean I have to keep my mouth shut, because I’m not very good at that? Yes it does.

So rather than getting on Facebook and telling the world how I felt, or calling up my friends and getting them to jump on my band wagon with me, I sat on the couch. Me and Satan, like we were “besties.” And he pummeled me with thoughts of inferiority. And then I said enough:
• That contentious person…forgiven.
• That door… closed.
• That feeling… squelched.

Am I pretending? No. I can’t allow myself to pretend. As a child of God, as a leader in and out of the church I have to follow Timothy’s advice. Be gentle. Teach. Be Patient. Dampen the fires Satan ignites.

Hebrews 11:33-34 ~ Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

God has so much goodness in store for us and if we are to obtain His promise there are some battles that we will have to win by refusing to fight.