Mikki's Blog - Living in the Grace and Love of God » Jesus

A Holy Invitation

Mikki — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:25:17 +0000

How does a human frame with words

What the Divine framed with his literal body

The sacrifice so complete

So deep

So encompassing

That my human mind fails in its ability to grasp

His face set as a stone

To enter into the fullness

Of suffering

Over and over

He faced into the pain

With every step from

Gethsemane to Golgotha

He chose again and again and again and again

To embrace the pain

To feel the suffering

The loneliness

My darkness

Knowing that, if he but called, the angels would have rushed to his rescue

Faced with the choice of every excruciating moment

He chose me over relief from pain

Over escape from suffering

Over the horrors of death and separation

He chose to take my sin into his own body

So I could choose to take his holiness into mine

I cannot understand the depths of his suffering

But I can respond

With my limitedness

To the holy invitation

To accept what is beyond words

An offering so complete

In its depth and width and dimension

That all who desire

Can receive its sufficiency

And find peace

And a journey to wholeness

And healing

And restoration

And life

His full embrace of undeserved pain and suffering and death

Is my holy invitation

To a life

Which fully embraces

Again and again and again and again

The offering of my own heart

In the journey

Of knowing him

The offering of my own life

In his service

The offering of my own will

To his purposes

And the holy invitation

To live in the mystery

Of wonder

And amazement

Of such love

Framed beyond words

On a cross

A Holy Invitation

Enjoy this post? Share it with your friends by clicking the Facebook LIKE button..

Powered By Facebook Like Post Plugin

Christmas Eve Gift

Mikki — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:26:36 +0000

When I was a little girl, I believed in Santa. I was the last of my classmates to find out that Santa was really my mom and dad. I can still feel how defensive I became when my friends told me that there was no Santa. After all, I had been to Santa’s Village and actually seen the reindeer in Hope Valley, California!

I remember finding my “Santa” Christmas gifts hidden away at my house. Tears flowed freely. How embarrassing to defend Santa to my friends and then find out that he didn’t exist! It actually took me several years to forgive my parents for “lying” to me. How could they set me up for such a painful fall?

It seemed to me that Christmas was never the same afterwards. The magic was gone. I adamantly refused to teach my own children that there was a Santa. It wasn’t for the religious reasons that many of my friends espoused although I believed that Christmas was about Jesus. It was because I WOULD NOT lie to my kids.

One time my mother-in-law had my daughter’s picture made in Santa’s lap. Oh my goodness, my husband and I just about had a “come-a-loose”, each of us for our own reasons. Some twenty-three years later, I think I probably overreacted just a little.

I think my kids have survived my anti-Santa regimen. They seem fairly well-adjusted. Of the two of them that are married, one is sticking to the anti-Santa/Jesus is the reason for the season/ program and one is probably going to go the Santa route when her children arrive. My younger two seem happy enough because there are gifts under the tree, and as for me, I still struggle with Christmas.

I love the family times. I love the wonderful food. I love the Christmas decorations.

I do have the important things. My family is all tucked into our warm house. My daughter and son-in-law are here, too, and even my mother is here.

The menu just keeps getting yummier. We are starting today with pumpkin cream cheese spread and bagels, donated by my vegan daughter. Later, Paula Deen’s Rigatoni and Sausage Bake will simmer in the oven. Spinach dip, cookies galore, cheese balls, and more await us and it’s only Christmas Eve. Tomorrow will be the real kicker.

Christmas music fills the air. Karen Carpenter sings Merry Christmas Darling, and Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra add their songs.

Snow is forecasted for Christmas Day, a rarity for those of us in North Alabama.

I literally stuffed everyone’s stockings to the top last night.

So everything is ready. Well, maybe my heart needs a little work.

I have a few bad Christmas memories to release, and I’m working on that. After all, Christmas and the ability to dream are inextricably joined together. From the very first Christmas, dreams were a part of the magic, from Joseph to the Wise Men, God showed up and gave hope and direction in their dreams.

I will work through my Christmas ambivalence. I will cry a little if I need to, mourning those who aren’t here and the loss of Santa and some of my grown-up Christmas dreams, but when it’s all said and done, I expect that it’s gonna be a wonderful holiday.

My dad had one particular Christmas tradition that I have held onto. He loved to be the first in the family to say, “Christmas Eve gift”. Whoever remembered to say it first, got a big kiss. It’s the one tradition that has endured for me. I’m about to go give some kisses to my family and celebrate the simplicity of love and life and Christmas dreams.

And Christmas Eve gift to all of you. I send my Christmas kisses and wishes of love and joy and peace for you all today. May your holiday be all you dream of.

Christmas Eve Gift

Enjoy this post? Share it with your friends by clicking the Facebook LIKE button..

Powered By Facebook Like Post Plugin

Making the Right Choice

Mikki — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:07:50 +0000

We make a thousand choices every day, beginning from the first moment our eyes open.

Will I get up now?

Or will I stay in bed a little longer?

Will I drink one cup of coffee or two?

Creamer or black?

Breakfast or not?

Check my email?

Facebook?

Twitter?

Shower?

Wash my hair?

Read my Bible?

Meditate?

Exercise?

In fact, our ability to choose is one of the ways that we are made in the image of God and it is one of the things that has confounded mankind for centuries. Why would God give us the ability – and the right- to choose incorrectly? Why would God allow us to make choices that would harm us – even to the extent of choosing heaven or hell? Well, that is a theological debate for another day – or not – I’ll choose later:)

I’ve often heard it said we make our own choices, and then those choices make us. How painfully true I’ve found that to be at times! But on the flip side, our good choices make room for a good results in our lives.

Luke 10 records the story of Mary and Martha. Most Christians have heard a dozen sermons on Mary and Martha, many of which make Martha look like a selfish woman. Yet, how often can we identify with Martha? There is just so much to do in a day! Think of how you would feel if you were hosting an event at your home with Jesus and several more people. You’d want them to feel honored. You would want to serve them some great food. Everything would need to be clean. I imagine that most of us would rather quickly get caught up in the swirl of activity.

Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

We applaud Mary for sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening. We look down on Martha for her choice. It’s all so black and white to us, as most things are in hindsight. And there has been so much said about Mary and Martha, so many lessons we can look at but for today I only want to focus on a few thoughts about this real-life story.

Martha made a good choice by inviting Jesus into her home.
Sometime after her initial good choice, she got lost in the swirl of activity and failed to make the most of the opportunity which was, so to speak, right at her front door.
Martha got distracted. Need I say more? I assume you can apply that to your own life.
She got distracted by all that needed to be done. Was she distracted because of her own need to perform? Her need to impress? Perhaps it was her godly desire to serve? The Greek word used here in the original is literally “with much serving”. Ugh, she got distracted by her serving.
Martha complained to Jesus. I imagine that she had been stewing for quite a while before she got up her courage to actually complain to Jesus. Perhaps what she wanted to say to Jesus was, “Hey, I am doing all this because of you and if you really appreciate it, you need to tell Mary to get off her butt and help me.” (that’s the Southern translation). Call it what you will, but the heart of this matter is that MARTHA TRIED TO CONTROL MARY AND JESUS. Do you realize that if God gives us the right to make choices, we also have to give others that right?
Jesus cut through the exterior of what Martha was saying and got to the heart of the matter. I don’t think he was primarily rebuking her. I think he kindly addressed her, very personally, saying her name twice – purposefully. He then acknowledged her emotions. You see, I believe Jesus wanted to bring the truth about Martha’s emotions out on the table, so to speak. He wanted Martha to see that her choices had led to her emotional state of being upset and worried. Jesus wants us to honestly acknowledge our emotions, whether they be anger or worry or fear or… Then we can deal appropriately with them. Before Jesus said anything about Mary, he first lead Martha into the depths of her own heart.
Jesus offered Martha an opportunity to refocus. He said, “…only one thing is needed.” Basically, he didn’t bash Martha for the cooking, cleaning, and organizing, he simply offered her an opportunity to tune in her GPS. Her focus was to be on Jesus, not what needed to be done, and not on Mary. Jesus still speaks to us this way today. He kindly lets us know that we are not to compare ourselves to others in order to prove our worth, but we are to set our aim on him. I really don’t think Jesus was comparing Martha to Mary, as some suggest, because he never does that in the Word. He compared where Martha’s heart was at that moment to where it needed to be.
Jesus affirmed Mary’s choice. In fact, he said it was a BETTER choice. Again, I don’t think he was comparing or putting Martha down. He was addressing what I believe was underlying Martha’s frustration in the first place. SHE WANTED TO BE SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET HERSELF. Jesus affirms that the position of sitting at his feet, listening to his teaching, being with him, is truly a better position than the one that is so busy with “doing” that we forget “being”.
Jesus said, “It will not be taken away from Mary.” He basically said, “I am not going to ask her to get distracted with all the doing because she is being and that is something she will never lose.” Fast forward, what about a few years later. Mary still had, in her spiritual bank, the deposit she made that day by sitting at Jesus’ feet. And perhaps Martha took the opportunity to do so after her conversation with Jesus, but assuming that she did not, what did she have in her spiritual bank from that day? Was it a deposit or a withdrawal?

Well, there is so much more we could say on this topic, but let’s end by reflecting on these questions.

Is your approach to the Christian life one of “doing” or “being”?

Is your approach to the Christian life filled with “shoulds” and “have tos”?

Does your service for Christ leave you feeling pressured, distracted, and disconnected from Jesus?

Are you centering your life on knowing Jesus, sitting at his feet, and receiving from his presence?

Do you spend time enjoying God?

Do you try to control others and even God Himself?

There is so much that does need to be done in this life in our service of Christ. But let’s all take some time out to check and see if our service is being done in a way that builds us up or tears us down – spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. Our body, soul, and spirit are to be sanctified for the glory of God.

Are there changes you need to make today? Take a deep breath – or two – or several. Quiet your busy mind and emotions and spend some time at Jesus’ feet today. What you gain will never be taken away from you. It’s the right choice!

Making the Right Choice

Enjoy this post? Share it with your friends by clicking the Facebook LIKE button..

Powered By Facebook Like Post Plugin