Photography by Lesa

A Place for Us Ministries Promotion

2010-05-05T15:02:00.000-04:00

Coffee

2009-07-30T11:57:00.003-04:00

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got to talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university Professor, now retired. During their visit, conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite.......telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, 'Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, NOT the cup, but consciously went for the best cups... and then you began eying each others cups. Now consider this:
Life is the coffee; your job, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life. The type of cup one has does not define, nor change the quality of Life a person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.
The happiest people do not have the best of everything.
They just MAKE the best of everything.
GOD BREWS THE COFFEE, not the cups... Enjoy your coffee!
Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Spend time with God over your coffee.

Author: Unknown

The "Heart" of the Matter

2009-03-17T08:44:00.003-04:00

I see all kinds of crazy things while driving to work...no seriously....Friday while at a traffic light I saw a van that passed by that said..."Design a Casket.com" .... Do I hear any volunteers that want to rush to their website and put your Picasso flair onto a sketch pad for your casket!! Seriously....folks...this is ridiculous!

That was just a side note to what the real "heart" of the matter is that has been placed inside of me, especially over the weekend. Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to begin a new ministry....God has stirred in me to begin "Life Moment Photography". With this opportunity I am offering free photography to those facing life threatening illnesses. No, I am not a professional and don't profess to be one either, but I feel that God has given me an "eye" to zoom in at the right moment and capture "joy" in a picture. I took several of my mom while she was battling pancreatic cancer...and they are "precious memories" to me now...

Two days after this idea was created in my mind.....I get my first phone call. It's from a mom that has a young son with only months to live. I get prepared and go over there....I quickly find out that she lives differently than I do. I see by the stressed look on her face that life has dealt her a hard blow....to her own consequences?? Maybe, but definitely not for me to decide. Honestly I don't know if I should even be there...I feel out of place. These people stare at me, and I at them...our worlds collide. We are different, so different. We have different values, different beliefs, different ideals in life. Different views of what is important, of what looks clean, of what looks dirty....totally different. But during the photo session something happens. The precious little fellow's younger brother accidentally hits his sore leg, tender from a previous operation. He melts down into the couch and begins to softly cry with pain....at this point I am kneeling next to him and I see close up the exchange.....the young mother holds her son, and silently her fearful tears are released....she weeps. I see that we are exactly the same at that very moment. Her heart and my heart intertwine for just a brief moment...but it is long enough for me to know that the outward things no longer matter....its the "heart" .

In I Samuel there is a story that speaks of the heart....honestly it reminds me of the fairy tale Cinderella. Jesse brings before Samuel all of his sons whom he feels is ready to be anointed....but all of them pass before Samuel (except one) and not any of them are deemed by him to be anointed...so he asked..."are these all of your sons"....Jesse replies..."all except one, the youngest, he is out tending the sheep" (all quotations in my own words) ... then Samuel asks Jesse to send for him.....and Samuel anointed him. In verse 6 when the eldest son is about to pass before Samuel , Jesse exclaims "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him" But in verse 7 it reads "But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart".

Wow....what a revelation to me....what a lesson for me to learn....heard this scripture all my life....but last Friday ...while kneeling and watching a hurting young boy....his last months here on earth......I beheld the true "heart of the matter"....I watched a mother love him....and comfort him....exactly like I would....and suddenly the differences that appeared so noticeable at first....came crashing down....and we were the same.....we were of one heart.

Today, I challenge you.....if you happen to come upon someone who..... may not look like you, may not dress life you, may not smell like you....please ....do me a favor.... take just a moment.....to get to "the heart of the matter" try and see things differently....the way the Lord saw them in 1 Samuel....you may be quite surprised at what you find....I know I was!

Blessings

Life Moment Photography by Lesa

2009-03-03T23:26:00.006-05:00

God has directed me to begin a new journey toward helping people capture those "life moments" when life is threatened or prematurely shortened (of course nothing is premature to God...only to us) .....I cherish your prayers for this as God is directing me to do this in order to give people a "gift of life" through pictures.

The concept is to offer the "gift of life" through free photography

for you, your family or friends
During difficult and uncertain times when life is no longer the

issue but capturing the "moment of life" is.

From the tiniest of hearts to the oldest of smiles my
aim is to try to capture those precious times with your loved one

by offering the simple gift of photography...
...capturing a moment and remembering it for a lifetime….
Free photography to those facing:
~Life Threatening Illness~ Hospice care ~ Neonatal Intensive Care~

A Happy Day!

2009-02-18T22:22:00.002-05:00

Jefferies-Cunningham

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 2:22 PM EST
Lindsey Grayce Jefferies, of Abbeville, S.C., and Nicholas Charles Cunningham, of Lafayette, Ind., were married at 5 p.m. Feb. 7, 2009, at First Baptist Church of Greenwood.

Dr. David Olshine, of Columbia, S.C., and Pastor David Evans, of Greenwood, S.C., officiated.

Wedding music was presented by musician Travis Wright, of Columbia, S.C.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grayson P. Jefferies Jr., of Abbeville, S.C. She is the granddaughter of Sarah Roche Jefferies, of Abbeville, and the late Grayson P. Jefferies Sr.; and the late William H. Saylors Jr., Gwendolyn Saylors Adams and the late Brewer Lester Adams, all of Abbeville. S.C. She is a graduate of Anderson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology-Exercise Science.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Patrick Cunningham. He is the grandson of Mr. John Cunningham, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and the late Lois Cunningham; and Mr. Robert Flack, of Indianapolis, Ind., and the late Patricia Flack. He is a graduate of Columbia International University with a double major in Bible and Pastoral Ministries. Nick serves as a Youth Pastor at Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio.

The bride wore a fitted, A-line silhouette taffeta dress with a sweetheart neckline. The strapless bodice was embellished with intricate lace. The back of the gown featured a low back and covered button detailing.

She wore a finger tip veil of ivory French tulle featuring Chantilly lace edges.

She carried a bouquet of short stem creme calla lilies and green hypercium berries.

Miss Paula McNeill, of Greenville, friend of the bride, served as maid of honor.

Bridesmaids were Miss Lauren Walden, of Greenwood; Miss Anna Lyle, of Greenwood; Miss Courtney Lewis, of Greenwood; Mrs. Allison Scott, of Duncan; Miss Jessica Wilks, of Lexington; Miss Lyndsey Adams, of Spartanburg; and Miss Jenna Owens, of Lexington.

Bridesmaids wore a tea-length; strapless, taffeta dress featuring an empire bodice and bubble hem in vintage silver. They carried hand tied bouquets of short stem wine calla lilies.

Olivia Oliver, the bride’s cousin, was the flower girl.

Mr. Trevor Miller of Lexington, friend of the groom, served as best man.

Groomsmen were: Mr. Jay Hendricks, of Abbeville; Mr. Patrick Boatwright, of Lexington; Mr. Matthew Elrod, of Columbia; Mr. Chris Farr, of Columbia; Mr. Matt Baker, of Columbia; Mr. Drew Jefferies and Mr. Brett Jefferies, both of Abbeville and both brother’s of the bride.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at The Belmont Inn in Abbeville, S.C.

After the honeymoon, the couple will reside in Troy, Ohio.

"Daydreaming"

2009-01-06T21:35:00.002-05:00

Strange how things affect us....

Emotions are tricky, especially when you keep them in tack too long. My emotions got away with me the other day. It caught me so unaware…for a moment my emotions escaped me and ran rampant......they flooded my entire being and amazingly it all happened in the express line at WalMart (which on that day was not express at all!!)

I was waiting in this long line with my few items held tightly in my arms when I saw the “back of her head”from a few check-outs over. This lady’s head looked identical to my mama’s. It caught me so off guard……a flood of emotions escaped my “guarded” mind and I was surrounded with a gazillion feelings. I found myself daydreaming and pretending she was still here…..pretending she was here again inside of WalMart….just a few counters over from where I was standing. I imagined her turning around…..seeing me….then smiling and waving. I imagined myself running over there….and asking her what was for supper….I am sure those in Walmart never suspected my day dreaming ….nor did they notice my intent stare at her…..hoping and wishing the lady would never turn around…..cause then my daydream would end….and reality would bring itself back into focus.
This scenario ended all too soon….she turned around, and it was no longer “mama” but a total stranger whom I have never met and who had no connection with me whatsoever….but for a brief moment she was there......the person I have loved all my life….the woman I learned from, the one who gave me life, she was my "mama"……and for one moment in time, I was allowed the glorious opportunity of loving her once again here on earth, standing in the express line at WalMart…..and though it caught me off guard, I enjoyed every second of it…..
Daydreaming…..
Pretending…..
While staring….
At the
Back of her head!

I don’t usually write about such private thoughts….but for those of you who have lost someone close to you….you will know exactly where I am coming from…because if we are honest…we all have those moments…those sacred moments when we get a brief glance of someone that looks like someone we once loved here on earth that is no longer with us. Or we hear a voice that reminds us of that special person.
And…for those of you who have not yet lost someone close to you…my advice is ….go visit them today….call them on the phone and tell them how much they mean to you. Don’t wait…

Peace,
Lesa

Rejoice!

2008-12-16T19:16:00.003-05:00

I love a good, soft, warm blanket when it is cold. The Christmas before my mama passed away my sisters and I decided to make her a blanket out of fleece. We chose bright cheery colors on one side and a turqouise on the other side. In our family we like to give our blankets names. (bet you never thought of that!!!) Anyway, we decided to name this blanket "Rejoice" because it looked "happy". Mama used it everyday....she never forgot it's name...."Rejoice". Shortly after mama passed away I inherited her "rejoice" blanket...(I was thrilled to say the least!)

Not long ago I was curled up on the couch....it was one of those cold wintry nights (that is rare in the south) and I began to watch a movie. I considered it a wonderful night because I was warm and cuddly deep inside my "rejoice" blanket and I was also watching a pretty decent movie. I have to say that I began to doze off about an hour into the movie when I heard a quote from the movie that jolted me. The movie by the way was "What a Girl Wants" . The story basically is about a girl who was born into royality but doesnt know it...until her father finds her and invites her to come and stay with him. While there, he inducts her into society. She tries really hard to "fit in" with her groupies.....but just is not "cut out" like they are. A boy that she meets whom she really likes...says to her one day..."why are you trying so hard to "fit in" when you were meant to "stand out".

That is when I woke up out of my TV trance and my spirit began to wake up as well.....I thought to myself....WOW....what a great quote for Christians. Why ARE we trying so hard to fit in? Especially in a place that is truly not our home?

Just like this unsuspecting girl....we are the same....we were FOUND by our FATHER in Heaven....He gave us BEAUTY for our ASHES......a ROYAL ROBE instead of our FILTHY RAGS....and He looks at us and says..."quit trying so hard to fit in!!!!" You WERE meant to stand out.....to stand out for me....and for what I have made you...a CHILD OF THE KING....A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD.

Wow....a tiny quote in a secular movie can have such a profound effect! So.....we can "REJOICE" in that over 2000 years ago....the KING of GLORY came down to us. Not by a mighty shout and proclaimation....no....He came as a tiny baby, no accolades for Him...just a simple birth. And during His life here on earth He didn't try to "fit in" because He knew Who He was.....and now He wants to remind us....

"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. " I Peter 2:9

Now quit trying so hard to fit in....and rest in knowing....you were MADE to stand out!

Rejoice....the King of the Universe has called you His OWN!

Blessings!

"Trust"

2008-11-20T08:18:00.003-05:00

Gadgets.....we use these tools everyday....we trust them to work...everyday. Like for instance, I am so reliant upon gadgets in my daily life...the other day a friend of mine reminded me of a time at church when I was running around after church looking for my 14 year old to tell him that I was ready to leave and go home. I didn't realize what I was doing, until I found myself calling his name and pressing my remote to the car simultaneously ...pretty bad, if I say so myself! I guess I thought that if I pressed the remote to my car, my fourteen year old would "beep" to let me know where he was. Now that my friends is called "reliant" on gadgets and technology....needless to say...it didn't work...but my friend sure got a kick out of it...and I felt as though I had a "duh" moment, or "blonde" moment...please no jokes!

Seriously speaking, I have been reminded a few times this week about the issue of trust. So many people are putting their trust in people and in things that are going to fail them. As you can see, I have been guilty of putting too much trust in gadgets and in people as well. Many have put their trust and their hope in our new president elect. But he is human and he will fail. It will happen, because he wears a suit of flesh and with that comes frailty that causes mistakes and errors. But this isn't about politics...this is about trust....trusting in Something that cannot fail us.

I have been directed this week to the Psalms. I write in my Bible....makes it hard to purchase a new one once the old one wears out! But I write things that come to my mind in the margins, or I remember special times or events when God led me to a certain scripture. One special place that I have placed a lot of ink marks is found in Psalm chapter 20. Next to this chapter I have written on the side ~ "Praying earnestly for Drew's healing" ..

Drew is my oldest son, a freshman now at Clemson University. He was born with several birth defects, and although this caught us all by surprise, none of it was a surprise to God. Long story short, one of the issues that Drew has is a very curved vertebrae called scoliosis. When he turned 18, Shriners had to make a decision to either fuse bones in his back, or hope that he had stopped growing and leave well enough alone. At 18 I didn't want him to have surgery. The recovery would be harsh and he would be "fused" and movement that he was used to having would be halted. So I began to seek God and pray about it. God led me to this chapter...and it caused me to be strengthened in my spirit. The greatest part of this chapter to me is the beginning and the ending of this chapter....it says ~

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high (and defend you)."

and the ending~

"Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God. They are bowed down and fallen but we are risen and stand upright. O Lord give victory, let the king answer us when we call."

Now when you get this revelation, it doesn't necessarily mean that your trial is over, but to me it is was just "added fuel" to continue the walk. Many days that followed this trial I did invite the enemy into my playground....called my mind. And he did spread doubt and fear. But then I would hear that scripture ring back from the depths of my spirit....some trust in chariots Lesa.....but you, my daughter....trust in Me....trust in My way....trust that it is perfect ...and that My plans for Drew are for good and not for evil....to give him and future and a hope"

The ending? Well we didn't have to go through the surgery. Although he still has a severe curve, it is not severe enough to have a surgery of this magnitude. I was deeply thankful to God and His Word for sustaining me through this trial.

We have a lot of things, gadgets, and people that we trust in. We have jobs that we trust in....we have vehicles that we trust will get us home after a long days work....we have spouses we trust in....pastors we trust in....but God's Word is clear....He is the ONLY ONE in which we can place our truest trust and hope. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and he is in love with us.

And the best news....

We don't have to press our remote to find Him....He is already there.........skeptical???

Go ahead, pick up His Word....Call on Him.....

CALL unto Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."Jeremiah 33:3

Blessings!

Arithmetic

2008-09-30T08:08:00.003-04:00

My thoughts have been flying wild lately. Like for instance, last week I passed a Krispy Kreme truck....the driver was overweight....and my crazy thoughts went to a question...."I wonder if he actually gains weight by just smelling those soft, warm creamy doughnuts that he delivers
everyday?" Strange isn't it?

Stranger yet, is the world around us? Financial crisis, gas shortages, debates, doomsday machine....I could go on and on. Our world, as we know it, is changing rapidly around us. I panicked yesterday....my "new" bank (as of last week) sold out to Citigroup.

Now do you think my financial advisor knew that as I was signing the papers?..... or did he forget to let me in on the secret?

Then I pass a gas station on my way home from work....and there were bags on every pump with the words...."SOLD OUT" on the bags.

Now although I wondered how I would get gas should the situation continue to deteriorate.....

I wondered more about how the delivery trucks would get gas to bring in our food.

Ok stop.....I wonder too much....when my thoughts should be centered more around God's solid truth....not on uncertainty.....all the above things are uncertainties....and no one can tell which way the economy will go....BUT regardless of which way the economy goes....I know who holds the future....it is God. He holds it all in His hands.

His ways are not our ways....His economy is not like our economy....He even does arithmetic totally different than we do.....

Take for instance the feeding of the multitude......In Mark 6, Jesus takes what amounts to a kid's lunch and turns it into a miraculous feast for a crowd many believe was in excess of 20,000 people (when you take in account the women and children who were also present that day).

"Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. Late in the afternoon His disciples came to Him and said, 'This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.'" Mark 6:34-36

The verse goes on to say in verse 37

"Jesus said, 'You feed them.' 'With what?' they asked. 'We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!'

This comment here by the disciples is called natural multiplication and addition....which is what I called myself doing yesterday....looking in the natural instead of looking in the spiritual and what God's Word had to say about the situation looming over our economy.

Then Jesus asks a question in verse 38

"'How much bread do you have?' He asked. Go and find out.' They came back and reported, 'We have five loaves of bread and two fish.'"

With our ever declining economy....it seems many of us are taking stock in what we have left....instead of what we have ever present IN CHRIST!

There were so many people in this remote place that were hungry. The disciples went out to see how much food they had to work with. They came back with only two fish the size of small sardines and five loaves of bread which were the size of muffins. This was all the disciples could gather up among all these people!

Verse 39-44, "Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward Heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, He kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!"

Now, granted, I'm not a mathematician...but I do know that a few loaves and fishes will NOT feed a multitude of people. And if I were a disciple on that day back thousands of years ago...I would have been the first to have raised my hand....and said..."ummm Sir.....we only have these few loaves and fishes...there is not enough to feed all these hungry people".

Doubt.....

But God doesn't want us to doubt....He wants us to KNOW. To lift our eyes....to the heavens...where our help comes from. You can finish reading this miraculous story of God's multiplication in Mark chapter 6....it may well do us all good to remember how God works in the area of "lack" and turns it around to supply every need!

In writing this I am reminded of a neat song...by Bebo Norman it speaks of what Christians around the world should be doing now......

I Will Lift My Eyes
Written
by Bebo Norman and
Jason Ingram

God, my God, I cry out

Your beloved needs You now

God, be near, calm my fear

And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up

Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker

Of the mountains I can’t climb

I will lift my eyes to the Calmer

Of the oceans raging wild

I will lift my eyes to the Healer

Of the hurt I hold inside

I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing

Her melody over me

God, right here all I bring

Is all of me‘Cause You are and You were and You will be
forever

The Lover I need to save me

‘Cause You fashioned the earth and

You hold it together, God

So hold me now

© 2006 Appstreet Music (ASCAP) / New Spring (ASCAP).

All rights for the world on behalf of Appstreet Music (ASCAP) administered by New
Spring (ASCAP). / Peertunes,
Ltd./GrangeHill Music/J Ingram (SESAC)

I would like to leave you with SOLID, RELIABLE advice....not based on my opinion (because I have the ability to be the greatest doubter of all...) or the economic outlook....but SOLID advice....from God's Word....this is WHAT we should all be doing today....lifting our eyes and looking to the ONE that saved us, healed us, made us whole, and will one day give us our eternal destination with Him in Heaven:

(I would much rather trust the "Feeder of Multitudes" rather than a financial advisor on Wall Street anyday!)

Psalms 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come? ]

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in

From this time forth and forever.

Blessings!
Lesa

Keeping what you already got....

2008-09-06T12:03:00.002-04:00

The vast majority of churches are solely focused on keeping the people that already attend their church. Rather than designing ministry to reach new people, the focus is on keeping the people that already attend. Think about the typical church. List all the church programs/ministries/events in two columns. Label one column “for people who are already here” and the second column “for people who aren’t here yet.” For the typical church (including churches that the world sees as being seeker-sensitive), almost all of their programs, money, staffing, etc. are focused on providing ministry for the people who are already convinced that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. If you agree with that, then you have to ask the question: “Does it matter if people leave a church to find another church where they can go deeper or be fed more?” In the big picture, I would argue that it doesn’t really matter to God where people grow. And, in my opinion, there are already lots of churches that are designed to, at their best, disciple Christians, and at their worst, keep Christians happy. There are very few churches, though, that are truly missional in words and in actions. There are few churches that are designed to do whatever it takes to reach the lost. That concerns me because I’m convinced it really matters to God that there are people who are lost and separated from him.From Tony Morgan

Hell

2008-09-06T11:43:00.002-04:00

In the words of a daring twentieth-century missionary, C.T. Studd, "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

Enough Said!

2008-07-19T07:46:00.004-04:00

Karl Barth, was a famous though sometimes controversial contemporary Swiss theologian. He was a great thinker, a wonderful writer, and a professor at several leading European universities.

On one occasion he was interviewed by a reporter who wanted a brief summary of his twelve thick volumes on church dogmatics. Barth could have given an impressive intellectual reply or a profound theological dissertation. He didn't. Quoting from the popular children's hymn, he simply replied, "Jesus loves me.... THIS I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Nothing else....nothing more....enough said!

The true meaning of John 3:16...

God...the greatest lover
So loved...the greatest degree
The world...the greatest number
That He gave...the greatest act
His only begotten Son...the greatest gift
That whosoever believes...the greatest invitation
In Him...the greatest person
Should not perish...the greatest deliverance
But...the greatest difference
Have...the greatest certainty
Eternal Life...the greatest possession

Nothing else...nothing more (because this is the MOST)....

Enough Said!

Them and Us.....Us and Them

2008-04-05T10:33:00.004-04:00

"I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the LORD God of Israel,
have called you by name." Isaiah 45:3

Our prayer room at the ministry has many different books scattered around through out the place for reading, or just meditating on. I came across a book the other day in there that caught my eye....and pierced my heart. "Hope in the Dark" by Jena Lee and Photography by Jeremy Cowart. Profound piece of work.

Jena's words capture so much of what is not spoken but felt inside of me:
"We know that American pity Africans" he told me. "But sometimes I think Africans pity Americans."
"How so?" I asked him.
"Americans seem to expect that everything will be provided for them. For us," he said, "this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a shower of mercy upon us. This healthy bread is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, but our hearts are so full from God's provision."

****Decisions I must make on any given day:
Blue shirt or pink cardigan
tall soy chai latte or grande carmel macchiato
write reports first or work on budget
text message or call
eat out or frozen dinner
reality television or headline news

****Decisions she must make on any given day
blue dress or blue dress
river water or puddle water
walk once for four hours to get water or walk twice for eight hours to get more water
sleep with the fisherman who will give food in return or let orphaned grandchildren go to bed hungry
persist through the struggle or give up
curse God or praise Him

"I stood within the filthy, shack-filled slum of Kibera while also looking up at the stunning clouds that danced across the vast stretch of the African sky. There is such tragedy and yet such beauty at the same time. Overwhelmed by the unsanity of this broken world, I find it diffcult to understand how the pieces of it all fit together. The same earth can hold the fragrance of a field of flowers while also occupying the stench of urine on hot concrete. Who is this God that we call Father, Creator, and Lord? Kenya is here....and so is God."

"What keeps us apart from one another? Some would say an ocean. Others would say cultural differences. What must we change about ourselves to break down the wall that separates us? I think it begins by abandoning the pointed finger of blame. It begins by coming with humble spirits and a sincere desire to know one another. Otherwise, it becomes an us/them mentality and the wall simple becomes thicker. Welcome to the face of a child who is so desperate for an embrace by the rest of the world"

What this book said to me:

Go out......search for the dark place with hidden tresures.....abandon the "us" and "them" mentality. Break down the thick walls that divide. It's not us.....It's not them...........It's lives....human lives....deep emotional lives....all of our hurts feel the same....all of our smiles look the same no matter what language we speak.....we are all the same.....our blood is all red.....no matter if our skin is all different.
Go out.....and break down the walls....
of
them...
of
us....
of us....
of
them.....

"Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows" Isaiah 1:17

10 cent prayers

2008-01-24T08:15:00.000-05:00

Okay....seriously......I didn't really think that I would post a new blog again this week....but I just can't let this one go and get stored into the back of my mind.....it's dangerous there.....that part of my mind is a deep abyss that has all sorts of loss thoughts and ponderings in it.
Enough.....here is it:
I would like for churches to prayerfully consider the things that go on their signs for the lost world to see. I now know why people don't like churches. What kind of message are they sending??? I past a church sign on my way to work the other day....I spent the rest of my time riding to work and talking to God about the whole thing. The message of the sign?
"Don't expect to get a thousand dollar answer from a ten cent prayer."
Now I am not a theologian nor am I a great author who has written plenty of books on prayer. I am just a simple person living day to day.....following God, hearing His voice, and trying to be totally His. But, what I do know is God hears the prayers of His children. I have had many ten cent prayers.....I am sure many others have yielded up to heaven ten cent prayers. And it has sometimes resulted in thousand dollar answers. (not to be taken literally)
To me this sign showed a "boxed" in God. A "formula" God. An "apples to apples" kind of God. God does not work like we do. He does not give like we do. This sign does not reflect God....it reflects us and how we sometimes are with each other...."scratch my back and I'll scratch yours"
God is much bigger than this. I have been in places and in situations where I was not strong enough to even pray a prayer and all I could muster up was His name....."Jesus" "Jesus". He heard my cry.....my prayer reached His ears......although it was not this long eloquoent prayer......it was the Name above all Names.
This brings me to my next question....."what is a thousand dollar prayer?" What does it look like? How do you pray for those thousand dollar answers? Is it the length of the prayer? The words that we use? What is it?? Gah.....this is so frustrating to me.
This all reminds me of something God taught me last spring. My mom was terminally ill last spring with pancreatic cancer. It was an awful time for all of us....because my mom (aka "nana") was the glue that held us together. Shortly before she passed, God taught me a lesson about a ten cent prayer (or what I think others would deem as "ten cent"). My neice (three years old at the time) came over to my moms house and my mom was not feeling well at all. In fact I think that we took her to the Hospice house on that day. My mom asked Olivia (my niece) to pray for her. So Olivia walks over to the couch where my mom was lying down.....placed her little chubby hand on my moms hand and took a deep breath and said these simple words:
"God is great.......God is good.....amen"
That was it....nothing more than the beginning words to a childhood table blessing.....what we have all grown up praying before we would eat our food. As a child I use to breezed through that prayer not ever thinking about those words. God grabbed my heart that day and showed me the intensity of those words spoken by a young child....this was more than a table blessing, this was a profound prayer.
Now to many that prayer could be worth ten cent and could possibly get a ten cent answer...but on that day, it changed the way I viewed prayers and the way I viewed God's answers to our prayers. God knows the heart. He knew this little girls heart and he answered her prayer by being Great and being Good on that day.

God is Great
God is Good
now.....let us Thank Him!

Is Your God Too Safe?

2008-01-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago I read a book entitled, "Is Your God Too Safe?" by Mark Buchanan. It was a great wake up call to me and my "slouchyness" (don't know if that is a word....but it sounds good to me)

Anyway I was made aware through reading it that my God was too safe.....not that I made Him that way on my own...but through teaching from earlier years by leaders and the influence of others......I had made Him too safe.

One chapter relates to the differences between Jesus and the Pharisees. Weirdly enough, I found myself relating to the Pharisee (the people that I have grown to dislike after reading the scirptures) but I found that I had been acting alot like they did and I had not even realized it. From Buchanan's view the Pharisees didn't ask "How can I make others clean"....instead they asked, "How can I keep myself from getting dirty". They did not seek to rescue sinners, only to avoid sinning.

Jesus in sharp contrast, got involved. He sought to help, to heal, to save, and to restore. Rather than running from evil, He ran toward the good.....and so evil...in fear...fled. Those that are brave enough to leave their "borderland" environment and experience the deeper water will indeed set the captives free!

Jesus got close to people. He took tax collectors, the rough fishermen, the harlots, the demon possessed, and gave back to them "life". The Pharisees avoided these people lest they were infected and overwhelmed with their evil.

Buchanan quotes: "The tragedy is that we have often preferred the ethic of the Pharisee to the ethic of Christ. We have become self-obsessed in our doctorine of sin, as though sin were merely a personal flaw like acne, plantar's warts or crooked teeth. As though sin is merely about personal victory or defeat. We seldom see sin as a brokenness that's bone deep and creationwide. Overcoming sin requires MORE than avoidance. God desires restoration and reconcillliation----of relationships, of creation, or our own true selves. This is the wider and deeper meaning of the Cross.

The Word says that we will be known by our "fruits" not by our tree rot. And so with that we need to ask ourselves..."how can I be an effective witness....how can I be SALT" This challenges us to turn bars into chapels, drug dealers into evangelists, biker gangs into a gathering of saints. Don't get me wrong....there are risks to this.....one being.... succumbing to the world instead of overcoming it..... But risk are in everything....but that doesn't mean we don't do them. But consider the greatest risk of all.....NOT getting involved! Never leaving "borderland" Avoiding Christ......never becoming God hungry or God dependent. What a tragedy!

Buchanan quotes: "Jesus uses the marketplace to touch the sick with healing. There, He is Lord of Lords spreading His hands wide pressing those hands against scalding flesh that has fever or icy with approaching death, disease soaked hands grab hold of Him. That's Jesus in the marketplace. Then there are the Pharisees. Lords of the borderland....charter members of the safe God society. They avoid the residue, even the shadow of the sick .....they are minicing with each step, holding themselves tight, picking up items between the pinched ends of two fingers, rushing home to scrub up....lest they become infected. Jesus is about healing the sick, the Pharisees are about avoiding them and making sure above all that they themselves don't get sick.

I don't want to live in "borderland" ...I want to be discerning and dangerous at the same time.

There is an old saying that I grew up with and actually adhered to most of my life......but maybe now.....I don't want to abide by it any longer:

"It is better to be "safe" than "sorry"........

Now..... I would rather be "sorry" than "safe"

"BREAD"

2008-01-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

Obedience....what is it about being obedient? God does not force us to follow Him. He lays it all out for us in His Word and through His Holy Spirit... and then..... He gives us the choice.

Obeying is quite simple....IF ......it is something that you have a desire for already. But.....it can be difficult when there is no desire and you know that He is calling you.....then.....you are stuck. Because then....it is truly obedience. Following yourself.....or following Him. I have found that you can be obedient and still disobey God....kinda sounds like an oxymoron.....but God looks at the heart. If you obey and your heart is far from the obedience it is nothing more than a sacrafice. God is looking for obedience. It is NOT for Him......it is totally for US! He is not trying to GET something from us....He is trying to GIVE something to us!

Surrendering your life to Him....means that you are saying....Your life is no longer your own. He has total control. When this is done.....and done truly from a pure heart....then ....there is peace. A peace that you cannot understand but you know it is there.
Once we are obedient and our hearts are in it ;then God can "show out" and use us in such awesome ways. I heard a great quote the other day.....(sorry I do not know where it came from and I may not get the words exactlly correct)

"A life broken into a thousands pieces will feed a multitude...yet if it remains a loaf.....it can only feed one small lad."

What is it that thing that God is asking you to do? Where is that place that God is asking you to go? Or is it just a simple day to day obedience with your life in general. Are you obeying with a heart fully surrendered to Him? Are you ready to be broken, for His sake, into thousand of pieces so that through this obedience...many will come to know the One True Living God? Or, are you content to be a loaf that will only feed one.......mainly it will only feed yourself.

The best things that come to us are not those that accrue from having our way, but by letting God have His way.

Bread....
..............are you still a loaf?

Blessings,
Lesa

Yarn & Flying

2008-01-08T17:44:00.001-05:00

Flying! I dislike it, or at least I think I do. Maybe it is because of the few times that I flew with my dad. He always did like to scare me while we were up there!

But....fear can be a big dream stealer.

I have the opportunity this summer to go to Africa. It is a great ministry opportunity. And it has definitely been a God thing. First let me explain: (to make a long story short)

I am involved with a home for unwed mothers. Our staff had the opportunity recently to go to an international conference. The day before we left, a friend of our family that is serving in China called and said that he had the greatest opportunity for my husband and I to serve in Africa at a Christian school there. I said, "why on earth would I want to go to Africa of all places".....(ps....don't say things like that....God has a great sense of humor!!)

Well, we went to the conference and while we were there we met a neat woman from.....AFRICA. That began the whole Africa thing. We talked with her... and then suddenly our hearts were drawn there. On the way home we talked about how neat it would be for the birthmothers living at the home to knit and crochet baby blankets to send over to Africa. That way they could pour out a part of themselves to someone else in another country.

We got back to the ministry and the next day a guy comes in and says that he has some yarn to donate to the ministry (no joke!!) and wanted to know where he should put it. I told him that he could put it in my office. He looked at me strange and said...."it's too large of a box",...I thought to myself....how much yarn can this be and who knew that we needed yarn? I met the guy at the loading dock and he unloaded a refigerator sized box full of skeins of yarn... I almost started crying. The man that had donated it had a business across the street selling applicances. He had no idea that we were wanting yarn....he just donated it because his mother no longer knitted or crocheted. WOW God is so good. Well the birthmothers got excited and everyone left that day with a couple of skeins of yarn. (since then customers, supporters of the ministry, and many others have come into the office to pick up yarn to knit blankets)

A month ago, a partner of the ministry walks into my office, sits down and asked me what my plans were for the summer. I was caught off guard with his question. After a minute he asked, "how about going to Africa?" First response? No Second thought: No Third thought: I better ask God.

Well (believe me I am trying to keep it short but God has done so much to tenderly show me His hand in this) I will just give you the highlights. He has been literally in my face about going. I have been trying to figure out such dumb questions like: "why me?" Don't get me wrong it is not that I don't want to go, I just wonder out of all the people that this man knows....why did he choose me? Well he said that the Holy Spirit led him to me. I believe that. I am not joking when I say that God has chased me about going. Everything that I pick up or listen to or see is abotu AFRICA!! Last night, I finally got the message loud and clear. I went to a prayer meeting. There is a man there gifted in praying for people and has the gift of knowledge. I asked that I would know beyond a shawdow of a doubt that Africa was the place God wanted to use me. I also asked him to pray that I would no longer have a fear of flying. He did. Then I went home, got up the next morning, and went to work. At work I have an email that comes maybe once or twice a month that contains some really neat devotionals. The devotional for January 7, 2008 was "No Fear of Flying" Yep that's right. I froze at my desk and slowly opened up this truly neat and God inspired devotion just for me.

I will quickly summarize it and bring this to a close:

A pastor had to give the children's sermon one Sunday and after running out of creative things to use, he came across some milkweed branches. These have blow away seeds in them that float once you blow on it and then softly land on the earth. He used these to demonstrate how God blows us and how we can trust him....then a young one piped in from the audience and said..."yeah because God knows where we are going to land." God says we CAN fly because He knows where we are gonna land. !!! What a big lesson and a big confirmation in my decision to go to Africa.....because God is blowing me.....and He knows just where I am going to land!!

Question: What holds you back from pursuing your dream? Is it fear? What others think? Fear of success? Fear of failure? Where would you like to land?

Can you believe it....God really does want us to achieve our dreams?
Blessings,
Lesa

Be My Everything

2007-12-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

Great message today, given by Dr. Holmes. Not a doctor in theology but in medicine. That's what I love about our church. We have doctors there who are just as much aware of the spiritual side of a person as they are the physical. His messge? "God With Us" Immanuel. God has been with us; He is with us; and He will be with us.
To quote Psalms 139: 7-12 from the Message:
"Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you are there! if I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute...you are already there waiting.Then I said to myself, "Oh He even sees me in the dark! At night I am immersed in the light! It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to You. Night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to You."