Walking His Call

It's been a while since I've made a post, and for good reason. In August I started an unexpected journey into seminary. It is one I never dreamed of, but God opened the doors in ways that only He can - so I walked through them. I'm now pursuing my Masters in Applied Bible and Theology. It has been an exhilarating and terrifying ride, but oh so good! In my first semester I'm taking the two hardest classes of my degree: Intro to New Testament and Christian Ethics. What a ride it has been! When God called me into ministry in 2000, I promptly told Him that I couldn't be in ministry because He made me a girl, and girls can't be leaders in ministry. To this He told me that I should read His word and get back to Him on the subject.  Up to this point in my life I was, as my upbringing had dictated, a strong complementarian. What exactly does that mean? www.theopedia.com defines it like this: A generally patriarchal view of the family (the father is responsible to lead,

Over this space in time we have been living in I've become a bird watcher. In order to enable me to see more birds I've put a hummingbird feeder in my back yard.  They are fascinating little creatures.  Did you know that while hummingbirds may be small they are mighty? They are highly territorial; the males stake a claim to a feeder and drive off any other male that comes along - they will also do this to other species of birds. They also get to know "their human" (the one that comes to fill the feeder), and will let them know when the feeder is empty or the nectar needs to be replaced.  I actually had my little guy fly up to my sliding glass door and stare at me! It was pretty cool.  Because of my fascination with my winged friends, I've started paying attention to their feeder everyday. After all, I want to make sure they have what they need. But an odd thing started happening. I would fill the feeder all the way up in the morning, and by the next morning it wou

Any of you who have been following my blog know that I preach, regularly, that most things are choices. We choose what we are going to do, how we are going to do it, the attitude we are going to have, etc. Sometime it's really easy to make the right choices... other times... not so much.  I find myself, as many of you do (I'm pretty sure of this assessment), in a place of having to make the hard choice of being joyful . Why is it so hard? Because we are living in difficult times. There seems to be an overwhelming sense of sadness, unrest, oppression, disfunction, etc. everywhere we go. Things are different. We have to wear a mask everywhere we go (that is a debate all by itself; one that I am not entering into here). It seems like EVERYTHING takes longer to do. The things that we once did to pass the time we can no longer do. Yep! Everything is difficult, and it sucks - a lot. (No sense in sugar-coating it!) Because things are so difficult, it is SUPER easy to allow ourselves t

(I was going to make this into a video for you all, but today is not the day - it would have been SO long! I promise the whole article isn't a downer, but let's go into the pit and acknowledge it for what it is, then turn our face to the source of our hope! )   Crisis fatigue, combat fatigue, compassion fatigue, ________ fatigue, etc... Whatever name you want to put on it, it is a very real thing and MANY of us are sitting in this space. I want to tell you this: WHERE YOU ARE IS REAL, AND YOU NEED TO PAY [SOME] ATTENTION TO IT!  Fatigue: weariness from bodily or mental exertion. Anyone else in this space?  14 weeks ago we were introduced, quite violently ( definition: intense in force ) to what I "lovingly" referred to as The Rona. Life as we knew it ceased. We were working from home - if we still had a job; we couldn't leave home. Our churches were closed, and folks bought ALL the toilet paper! We had an "unseen enemy" that seemed like it wanted to kil

Be still and know that He is God - He will be exalted! The LORD will fight for you - you need only be still! Everytime the LORD tells us to be still its because HE is about to do something big and HE needs us to sit on our hands...do nothing...and WATCH what HE is about to do! (Basically HE needs us to stay out of the way!) We'll most likely have a role in the fight, but not until it's our turn. He will eventually give us the words to say or the things to do, but we must FIRST wait for HIM to fight on our behalf.  The waiting is hard. Harder if you are a doer; harder still if you are a justice driven personality! But this waiting is a sweet spot. While "sitting on our hands" waiting for HIM, our faith us built. This is not a time of complete idleness, though. This waiting in not like sitting is the waiting room at the doctor's office where you are reading 3 month old magazines; this waiting is like that of a child waiting for Christmas! It is a time of eager expec

In life everything we do has consequences - everything.  Sometimes the consequences of our actions are postive (we like these), and sometimes they are negative (these...not so much). I worked to instill this fact into my boys as I raised them. I can't count the number of times I told them that they would face the consequences of their actions. I told them that I would be there with them on the journey of facing them, but they would face them - and that is how it has been. At times it is very hard, as a parent, to have to walk with your children as they face the consequences of their actions, but in doing so they learn some things. They learn the lesson (hopefully) that they need to learn, and that you will always be there for them - no matter what.  Over the last 4 months I have had the lamentable (there's a word for you!) privilege of walking out one of the most horrific things with friends that I have ever been witness to. NOTE: I received permission to share this with yo

Today marks 2 weeks I have been mostly at home, and I'll admit I'm not "knocking this one out of the park". Because I am an introvert, one would think that this would be a dream come true for me - but it's not. While I enjoy being home, I do not enjoy being told I must stay home. A friend referred to it as "like being grounded by your parents" - and that is so true. We have been grounded... forced into stillness, and I don't handle that well - as a rule. We live in a, usually, fast-paced society. My husband won't even look at my calendar because of how packed it usually is. But now... crickets... nothing... and I am struggling. And if a national shut-down weren't enough... Last week I slipped down the stairs in my home and sprained my ankle - badly, then 2 days later was in urgent care with a UTI. So NOW not only am I stuck at home, but I am also stuck in a chair - a lot! ugh! Back to modified workouts - no more running. :-( Here is w

In Ezekiel 36 the Lord tells His people that He will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. A heart of stone is impenetrable; you can't hurt it... its hard and cold, protected, cynical and unfeeling. A heart of flesh is sensitive and susceptible to hurt and harm, and can feel ALL OF THE FEELINGS. Hurt and harm doesn't sound fun; feelings are ok, as long as they are the good kind. So why is it so important that this take place in the hearts of the people of God?  A little self-protection is ok, right? It is important to note here that there is a difference between self-protection and wisdom.  We all need God-given wisdom as we walk through life, but I challenge, on some level, the concept of self-protection. (I know, shocker... right??? You guys are used to me saying things like this by now, I'm sure.) Since I was a little girl (and most likely since I was conceived) I have had a sensitive heart. I know things, feel things and have the abil

This is a tough one for us in the western world - especially America.  I was raised in the Deep South where God and Country went hand-in-hand. The teaching from early on was, "Stand up for your rights because if you don't they will be stripped away!".  There is truth in that, but are God and country supposed to go hand in hand? Are my rights supposed to be as important to me as following Jesus. I don't think so. (I can already hear the groans, but please stick with me.) As a Christ-follower, I'm supposed to look like Him. Jesus didn't "stand up for His rights" He stood up for the kingdom - that involved laying everything down. My husband and I had a conversation on this recently, and it rings in my head every time my rights demand a say in what is going on. The nutshell version of the conversation went something like this, "If you are going to follow Christ, sometimes you are going to be a doormat."  I know, I know... being a doormat is

Friends, It's with a heavy heart that I'm writing this today. I usually wait until I'm on the other side of things to write about them, but in this case I feel I need to write now. My momma's heart is sore.  I've known for a very long time that God gifted me with a very sensitive heart. I have to guard it well, because things impact it that don't impact other people. In guarding it though, I also have to keep it from repelling the pain that comes with sensitivity.  No easy task.  I have to make myself feel all of the things so I don't become hard-hearted. Having a sensitive heart IS a gift, but it is also a burden sometimes. I feel all of the joy and happiness and sorrow and pain - deeply. Over the years I have learned how to steward my heart well, but it can still be a bit of a challenge sometimes.  So why is my heart so sore right now?  My oldest is getting ready for his 3rd deployment, and that is always a challenge for my heart. This time when you

Friends - this world's gone crazy. I stopped watching the news a while ago because it's almost never good, and, with my oldest in the military, it's just best I don't know. There are wars and threats of wars, there are wildfires and floods and earthquakes, there is violence everywhere. Yep!  This world has gone crazy. "Well thanks for the downer, Jacqui!"  I can hear you saying that now, and it makes me smile. There is a lot of bad in this world BUT there is also HOPE! Matthew 24 talks a lot about things like this, but it also says:  Such things must happen... All these are the beginning of birth pains... Matthew 24 is a bit of a downer of a chapter, but I would challenge that it is also full of the hope we all desperately want and need today. Yes, things are bad today, but today we are one step closer to our eternity with Him - Jesus - if we walk in relationship with Him. We are so much closer to all of the wars and famines and natural disasters and