Extraordinary Ordinary Ways

It has been a while since I have written, but this morning I was reminded of how I see God's hand in my life and the lives of others.  So often, I ask and I hear others ask, "Where is God in this situation?"  Or, "If God is real then He will do something amazing in my life."  The temptation that faces us all is to ignore the great and amazing ordinary blessings we receive each day.  In my life, God works miracles that others call coincidences or chance.  I know better, and I see the hand of God moving and working in the ordinary events around me.

I have been reminded of this in my time with Him this week, as I have been praying for others and asking why.  Sometimes the why just isn't answerable, which is difficult for we mere mortals to accept. We want to see the big picture, to have all the answers, but they just don't always come to us.  I believe that is what true faith is, hanging on even when the answers seem inconceivable or incomprehensible. As Hebrews 11:1-3 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old gained approval. ³ By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."  Those things we hope for should not be earthly things, but heavenly qualities, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and godliness.  These are the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that we hope for, not because we hope without knowing if we can have these qualities, but with the assured hope that salvation through Christ offers.  He is our certain hope, and His promises are sure to come to pass.

But God often chooses the unlikely people and unlikely ways to get His work accomplished.  He chose the lowly, throughout the Bible to accomplish great tasks, people like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Esther, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary.  These were not great leaders, but humble, faithful people who chose to be obedient and to see God work in their lives, sometimes in simple ways, sometimes in miraculous ways.  It was through their obedience, humility, and faith that God brought about His purposes.

So what extraordinary ordinary occurrences have I experienced?

First and foremost, salvation through Christ's shed blood at the cross.  I am a sinner, big time, yet He chose me.  He forgave me and still forgives me everyday and loves me in spite of who I really am. That thought alone will bring me to my knees.

Second, loving, Christian parents and family, who were faithful to teach me about God's love and His redemption through Christ.  My parents took me to church every week, bought me my own Bible, and taught me the lessons of the Bible.

Third, a mother, who, when she lost her husband, raised four children faithfully before the Lord, sacrificing her own happiness for ours.

Many times, grace and healing of me and my loved ones, from the time I was hit by a car on the Anthony Wayne Trail at age 8 to the healings my mother has experienced.

Meeting my husband, who has been such a blessing in my life.  An ordinary story, but an extraordinary outcome.

My career, for which I know I have been called. Teaching gives me the opportunity to touch the lives of children, some who need Christ.

My sons, Jonathan and Christian, who were blessings to me from the moment of conception.  God continues to work in their lives, blessing them with opportunity and success.

There are so many ways that I see His hand,  in the sunrises and sunsets, in the gorgeous Italian fields, abundant with crops, all around me; in dear friends who share my joys and sorrows; in my brother and sisters and their children in America; when I go home, the natural beauty of America, and in her people who are so diverse.  I see God in the people I meet, and I know He loves them.  My prayer is that I can be His reflection to those around me, that He will curb my sharp tongue and convict my judgmental heart, that He will soften me and mold me to be more like Him. I want to continue to see Him in the ordinary, extraordinary people and events of my life.

My challenge to you.....find Him, not in the huge, miraculous ways the world looks for Him, but find Him in the ordinary, humble ways that He has always shown Himself, and rejoice in your blessings.

Living in Truth

Blessed Resurrection Day!  It has been a long time since I have written; nearly a year.  I have been busy with life, adjusting to an empty nest, and working on a Master's Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership.  It has been and eventful year, with many changes.  This weekend, I learned that there must be more changes in my life, and these changes will be based on God's truth.  They will not be easy, but I believe they are necessary.  Felix and I are are choosing to release some cultural and family traditions in order to be more in line with the Word of God.  We know this will not be popular, but we aren't aiming for popularity.  Thankfully, our sons are understanding and will stand with us.  So what have we learned?


“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24: 14-15

The second part of this passage, verse 15, is often quoted by Christian families, ours included.  In the context the whole chapter, this verse is calling God's people to live differently than the pagan nations, to  cleanse themselves from pagan traditions.  I have read this passage many times, but never thought of myself as having any pagan beliefs.  And I don't.  But I have been following pagan traditions that have become culturally acceptable.  Of course, I did not know this.  Oh maybe I had heard somewhere, in the past, about the incorporation of pagan customs into Christianity, but I did not fully understand how repugnant these customs are to our God.  I believed that it was okay, because I certainly did not worship anyone or anything else, and that God's Grace would cover my ignorance.  Besides, these traditions have meaning for me, for my family, and for our culture that have nothing to do with paganism.  And those are the lies.  Lies that help perpetuate wrong traditions and beliefs.  Fear plays into this, too.  Fear that I will be different, weird, outside of the norm.  Fear that, in letting go of the tradition, I will also let go of so many sweet memories.  Yet, in His love and mercy, God reveals truth and redeems memories.  I can and will trust Him!

Are you curious?  Do you want to know the traditions I am referencing?  It begins with Easter....the word Easter.  It was originally derived from the name of the Babylonian Goddess Ishtar, which was pronounced Eeeestar or easter.  She goes by many other names in other cultures, including Astarte, Innana, Aphrodite, Semiramis, Eastre, Hora, Ashtar, Astar, Isis, Ostara, Freya, Kwan Yin, Kwannon, Demeter, Nut, Hathor, Isis, Inda, Diana, goddess of the morning or dawn, and she is known as the Queen of Heaven.  She is typically the mother goddess, goddess of love, war, and fertility.  How could she have so many names?  In the Genesis, Nimrod, son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah, marries Semiramis.  Together they build the Tower of Babel and institute themselves as deities to be worshipped.  When the tower was destroyed, people were divided by the confusion of languages, hence the multiplicity of names.  When you study the worship instituted by Nimrod and Semiramis (Ishtar), it revolves around a divine conception by Ishtar from the rays of the sun (Nimrod), which was the dead Nimrod.  She gives birth to Tammuz, who becomes her consort, calling him the reincarnation of Nimrod.  As part of the worship, young virgins were brought into the temples to have sexual relations with the priests on the altar.  When they conceived and gave birth, those "sacred" children were sacrificed the next year, when they were three months old.  Eggs were dyed in the blood of the babies and given to women as an amulet or charm for fertility.  The rabbit was her animal and the symbol of fertility.  She returned every year with baskets of eggs to give out to young girls.  There is much more, if you research the myths surrounding the worship of the sun god and his goddess, but this was enough for me to be convinced that Easter is not what I am to celebrate.

Easter is not the only Christian holiday that has been defiled by pagan traditions.  Christmas, too is full of pagan symbolism, including the Christmas tree.  Of course, December 25th was the birthday of the sun god, so even the day is not the day of Christ's birth, which probably would have been around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles in September.

How could these pagan beliefs and traditions have made their way into Christianity?  As Christianity spread, many of these traditions were incorporated in order to help people accept the new religion.  They have become traditions with no basis in the Scripture.  Then, when Constantine incorporated Christianity as the dominant religion, he made it illegal to practice any of the "Jewish" feasts.  Thus, the feasts established by God in the Old Testament have been lost, along with their meanings, for Christians.  As a Christian, I have found each of the 7 Feasts of the Old Testament, the feasts that God established as permanent remembrances and celebrations, point to Christ...The Spring feasts point to His first coming, the Fall feasts to His second coming. 

As Felix and I learned more about the pagan traditions and their original meanings, we were heartsick to know that we had fallen for the lie of the enemy.  We want to live righteously, but how can one live righteously and practice these customs?  Therefore, we are leaving tradition behind in favor of truth.  The Bible contains many verses about cleansing the temple of pagan gods, and being true to God, many more than I could list here, so we will cleanse God's temple, our lives, and try to establish new traditions full of the richness of God's blessings. We will always love and honor others who choose differently, knowing that we too were misled, and that it took the Holy Spirit and Scripture to open our hearts to live in the truth.