Merry Christmas! Can you believe Christmas is here again…already!? Where does the time go? Honestly, this year has been a blur-the older I get the faster it goes. I know this principal is true, I’ve heard it all my life and now that I’m middle aged, I see the reality of it! Time flies and not just when you are having fun. It flies regardless.

I wonder if it seemed to fly as fast 2400ish years ago when the recorded “word of the Lord” ceased and there was 400 years of silence in the nation of Israel. Did time seem to stand still or fly when this people were seemingly abandoned by YHWH as the Greeks and Romans ruled? Sure, false prophets spoke in the name of the Lord but He was silent- for 400 years.

Until…the exact right time! Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoptions as sons.” God spoke through His One and Only Begotten Son- He spoke the ultimate message of Grace, Mercy and Hope. God’s wrath against sin and His Holiness would be met by Himself- by a baby born to die…born under the Law in order to grow into a man to fulfill the Law and then die under the penalty of the Law. He died to sin. He became the sin.

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” These are the last days…God spoke through Jesus, His message of Truth. He is over all and He redeemed us- He finished it all. A baby, under the Law…grown into a man- fully God and fully man…the Way, Truth and Life. In these last days, may we remember God’s message of Grace and Truth- His message to a lost and dying world, His message of Hope and Peace. Time flies. May we remember our lives are simply a vapor or a mist, here and then gone. May we be women who live in these last days with the Hope, Grace and Peace only He can give. Merry Christmas, in this His Season!

The Stew

I have always and will always hate stew. Sorry for all your stew fans but from my earliest memories of stew I have hated it! My dad and I even came up with a code when it was “stew night” and we managed to almost ALWAYS avoid it…that is probably why my mom still has cool whip containers filled with stew in the freezer while we speak/write! Just kidding, kinda! Well, I’ve been thinking about stew. The question is what kind of stew!

So, this past weekend I had the privilege of going to the TieUsTogether Conference in Valparaiso and it was great! (Thanks Jackie for all your hard work!) Jan Silvious was the Keynote speaker and she talked a lot about wisdom and how that applies to our life, she did a great job too! (Thanks Jan too) She talked about Joshua 6 and the idea of needing to “Pay attention, you have never been this way before.” Meaning, every day…every situation really is new and we need to always pay attention to the Lord because WE haven’t been there before, He has though. (I know you are wondering what in the world this has to do with stew! I’m getting there!)

Anyway, she posed the question in her last session, “what can we run into when we have ‘never been this way before’?” This first thing she mentioned was our family issue…or if I may, the “pot we stewed in”.  See my stew thoughts?? I’ve been pondering it since Saturday…how many things, maybe family things, or church things, emotional things, default reactions in my life are just beliefs or knee-jerk reactions to the things I have “stewed” in?

You know, “things have just always been that way or this is just how I am” kind of thinking, it just all kind of melds together and mushes together…like stew. All the parts just kind of cling to the flavor of the stew. How much of how I live life is a reflection on my flavor of stew?

I’ve really been thinking on that…does my flavor taste like me or my family or my denomination OR of Jesus? I don’t hate the “Jesus Stew” but I do want to reflect on what other “flavors” my life might be giving the flavor of….just me thinking!

Kinda Creepy...

This past Monday I got to do the “wrap up” for Middle School Campus Life. I’ll be honest, 20 or so middle school kids is NOT my normal teaching venue and slightly out of my comfort zone, but we have a lot of fun!

For the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about who we are and how God made us. This week our topic was; God knows us. He knows you. I used Psalm 139:1-6, that Psalm is a personal favorite of mine…check it out if you don’t know it!

Anyway, as we were discussing how God knows EVERYTHING, including what we do, think, feel and so on. Two boys, almost at the same time say; “That’s just kinda creepy!” It made me laugh, but you know what? I can totally see why it seems kinda creepy. Especially, if you don’t know His Character.

It would be creepy if He wasn’t a relational, loving God. It would be creepy if He was just watching…but He is a God who is constantly interacting. Initiating. Knowing. Creepy? Kinda, but as we get to know Him and His character the creepiness lessens and it turns to cool.

The Scarlet Thread of Redemption...

I had a simply sweet and wonderful day…I heard my Mom speak for Ladies Bible Study and she did a wonderful job!! Ok, it was the Lord in her but still it was a huge inspiration to me. My Mom turned 80 this year and she is still…still serving. What an example to me and to all of us! He wants to use us until the day we draw our last breath!

She spoke on Joshua Chapter 2, the story of Rahab, the harlot. She spoke of God wooing (calling her to love Him) her to Himself and the scarlet thread of redemption, just like the scarlet cord that hung from her window. It is a wonderful story of faith and redemption! I have to share one quick thing. My mom and I worked together for 15 years in the family business and we had a blast together. In the last couple of years we were open to the public (we started out as a wholesale only company) and we made great friends along the way with lots of women!

Anyway, this morning a former customer was at Bible Study and heard my Mom speak. She shared with me afterwards that she needed the timely and encouraging word and it ministered to her heart. That ministry started years ago…when she was our customer! How cool is that? My Mom was used years ago in this women’s life as a store-owner and now as a speaker! What a wonderful scarlet thread of redemption…of the story of Christ meeting people right where they are, of wooing them. He is wooing our friend! He is wooing you. Whether you know it or not, He has a scarlet thread of redemption in your life too. In your life and in the lives of those you touch…He wants to use you, until you draw your last breath!

Engage...

This morning I drove around Laporte…seeing the Pole. Today was the national “See you at the Pole”, student led prayer around the flagpole event. I always get teary…it deeply touches my heart to see 100+ kids gathered around the flagpole to pray at a public school.

This year’s theme was…engage. I’ve thought about that word all day. Honestly, I’m struggling. I have kids in 11th, 7th and 2nd grade and honestly, ENGAGING is the last thing on my motherly mind…DISENGAGING is more like it! I want to build walls and protect. I want to see them come through their teen years unscathed…you know no drugs, no alcohol, no sex…hard working, good grades and so on and so forth. Hear my heart, those are not bad things, of course they are not bad things BUT what about being Godly? What about loving what our Lord loves? What about engaging with a really lost and dying world…engaging a sea of faces, with names?

What am I teaching my kids as I engage or disengage in my world…my sea of faces, with names? Engage. Is my goal just to be unscathed by the world…or to engage the world, with the only True message of Hope? I loved this morning. It inspires me. My heart is so full with the desire to see those kids engage- being in the world, engaging BUT not of the world…to see them know exactly who they are in Christ. Engage.

The Bag...

I must tell you a sweet, sweet story- 17 years ago or so I sat in a Chinese restaurant in Minnesota, with my Mom and 2 sisters…celebrating my oldest sister’s 40th Birthday. We ate well and sat drinking our “Birthday” tea. As we enjoyed the time…the conversation turned to gifts. What would she LOVE to have? What would be a great “marker” for her 40th Birthday? In a moment of sheer unguarded clarity she spoke…”A Coach purse.” We laughed and oohhhh and ahhhhhed and then…my mother said, “Let’s go get one, right now.”

Now, you have to understand, my mother is a Great Depression Era child, she is a seriously NON-frivolous person. She re-uses foil! Not knocking the foil re-use…I do it too, sometimes. But you have to understand, the last person IN THE WORLD who would buy a $200ish purse would be my Mom! That was simply unheard of!

No joke, we paid the bill at the restaurant and we marched right up to the Couch counter, in Macy’s (I think it was Macy’s, or some department store) and my mother plunked down the money for a brand new Coach purse for my sister’s 40th. Unbelievable.

That was the beginning of a family tradition…we did the same thing 2 years later for my other sister’s 40th. And baby Mandi? She wouldn’t be turning 40 for quite some time, so she got a knock-off at a flea market. :) I must tell you, I’m really not that big of a Coach fan, or a $200 purse fan.

Anyway, this summer I turned 40 and low and behold my Mom, sisters and I found ourselves at the Coach outlet. HMMMM….honestly, we were there because of my niece and I really had no idea we would be looking for me! As my Mom came up to me and said, “Well, which one do you want? “ I was really quite dumbfounded…not to sound ungrateful but I really didn’t WANT a Coach purse!

I looked around…handled a few purses and was getting ready to settle for one when my sister brought me a sleek black Coach briefcase-satchel-like-thing, she said; “Wouldn’t this be great for all your Bible Study stuff?” My Mom looked at me and said to me something like, “That’s the one.”

I don’t think I can put into words what it meant to me to have my mom buy something so extravagant for what I have been called to do. To Teach. We talked about it later…she was so pleased to “invest” in a bag that would carry the Word and be a help to me, as I minister the Word to women.

My Mom turned 80 this year, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll have her in my life, but her extravagant purchase of tradition, for my 40th, meant the world to me. I’ll think of her always as I carry my bag week by week. When you see me in class don’t notice the bag, but remember what the bag contains. What it contains is worth all the investment in the world. Had to tell you my sweet, sweet story…thanks Mom.

Fall 2009 Bible Study..."The Relationship"

Fall 2009 Bible Study "The Relationship"....5 distinct parts, yet all connected! Trying out the web-cam and no I don't have anything in my eye...evidently I just like to blink and talk with my eyes! I don't really think anyone looks at this anyway, so I'm going out on a limb and posting it! I need to seriously work on my promo skills! By the way, at the end...I meant to say "join me" but I crossed it with "enjoy" and got..."en-join me!" LOL!! Seriously though, I am excited about Bible Study this year. Obviously...there is no video. Darn. It wouldn't upload. You'll just have to trust me, it was a hoot! Still excited about Bible Study, hope you can come!

A child will lead them...

I must say, we all know kids can be, well…kids. Cute. Funny. Annoying. Kids. I have a unique relationship in my life with a 56 year old adult, who has the mental capacity of about a 4-5 year old. My friend “Lilly”. Lilly comes to church with us every Sunday as long as the weather is ok, otherwise she’s on “vacation”.

Lilly has been “dropped in my lap”, by the Lord, and honestly I’ve struggled with that. Please don’t get me wrong, I love Lilly but I have my own kiddos to take care of and sometimes I struggle resenting the fact that I have another. Honestly (I’m ashamed to admit it) I’ve thought to myself, “what is the point of all this?”

Until on a Sunday a few months ago, I picked up Lilly for church and we were driving along talking about her week. She mentioned something she was “teaching” her little 2 yr old niece…something that was not appropriate at all. Lilly thought it was SO very funny and I gently mentioned that teaching her niece that particular song/action could really teach her something wrong. Not much was said but as you would correct a kindergartner…I corrected Lilly, end of story…so I thought.

We went to Sunday school and Church as usual and I “watched” Lilly…again, slightly annoyed at times. At the end of the service, Lilly broke down in tears, hung her head, and cried into her arms…it was really quite heart-breaking. I put my arm around her (lots of times she cries over things she wants, or people who might be sick in her family) and said…”Lilly, what’s wrong?” She looked up at me….”Mandi, I don’t want to teach *Carrie bad things. I want to teach her good things…things about Jesus. I want her to grow up and be a good girl.”

In a span of just a few hours I saw such genuine, beautiful, and authentic brokenness in this 56 yr old/ 5 yr old. She understood what she taught her niece mattered. So was torn up and broken before God that she might led her niece away from the things of the Lord. That hit me like a ton of bricks…Lilly led me. Simply, sweetly, not even being aware….she taught me about brokenness over sin and softness toward others. What we do, matters…what we teach with our lives, matters. I was in danger of teaching my children that all people, don't matter-as I can be impatient with Lilly. What we teach by our brokenness over our own sin or lack of it, matters. A little child, in a 56 yr old body can and….will lead them. That morning, Lilly led me to my own brokenness over how I treat her. It was quite beautiful!

My Mom...

My Mom turned 80 today…amazing, how did she get that old!? I just hope I’m a lot like her in 40 years. She is sharp, active, loves life-family and Jesus. She is truly an amazing woman. I spent the day celebrating, watching, asking reminiscent questions and listening to her answers. Wow, it was fun and I loved it. I have heard all this before, but listening to her again, my how things have changed in 80 years.

Here is a few things that she shared...She was born in the year of the stock market crash 1929, the year the Great Depression hit our country. They had no telephone…they “shared” with a neighbor. They did have running water and electricity but no refrigerator, just an icebox….a literal box that held ice! My grandmother had 3 sons and the nun at the hospital promised my grandmother if she had the baby before midnight it would be a girl and if after midnight a boy. Well, my mom was born at 11:54pm….and my grandmother had her girl! Go figure!

Life was simple and my mom has seen so much in 80 years…I can only imagine that I will see and have seen so much too. Life and time just flies by. Only a few things last…may we be like my Mom and invest in things that WILL last.