Month: March 2022

Lent 2022 • Week Four • Celebration

Sunday, March 20th, 2022

Hello friends —

Today is the Third Sunday of Lent. Welcome to my blog space, if you’re returning I am thankful for you support. If you are seeing my blog for the first time, I am truly honored for your visit. I am looking forward to the start of a new week and new adventures in uncovering the love of Jesus. I am reading a devotional book by Asheritah Ciuciu, titled “A Lent Devotional ~ Uncovering the Love of Jesus.” It has helped to remind me of Bible stories I learned long ago and has opened new ones for me too. It is a joy to share my faith with you and share a bit of my personal journey of faith. My hope and prayer is that God uses this space for His glory and to bring encouragement and hope to a hurting world.

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — Magic Kingdom
February 16th, 2022

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

🔸 Jesus died to give us eternal life with Him.

Bible Reading: John 6:35-40

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:35-40 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%206:35-40&version=NIV

Challenge Questions

  1. Jesus says that God’s will is that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. What does this tell us about God?
    • God cares and loves all creation and wants us to spent eternity with Him in heaven. The Bible tells us that we (individually) were created by God, on purpose and with a plan. We are all children of God.
  2. What do you want to say in response to Jesus?
    • Jesus, I know that I am not worthy of your goodness. I know that I cannot buy or work my way to heaven. My salvation is a gift from God. Jesus you paid for my salvation with your life on Calvary. Your grace is free and your mercy is endless. I ask for your forgiveness of my sins and I seek your guidance in my life. Help me share your love with the world.
  3. How might you share this good news with others who need to hear it today?
    • I can share Jesus with others through my actions and through my voice. I can be kind to others. Kindness is free and easily done with a few seconds of your time or with a lot of your time. We each have daily opportunities to share goodness or create barriers. We have the ability to change lives simply by using our senses;
      • Make eye contact with someone; you might just remind them that they are seen.
      • Smile at someone; you might just make their day.
      • Open a door or hold a door for someone; practice kindness it just may be contagious.
      • Listen, be attentive when someone speaks to you; who knows you may be the only person who does.
      • Extend you hand in friendship or provide shoulder support when opportunities arise; it may be that your touch has healing qualities.

Thank you for stopping by today. Wishing you a beautiful Sunday and a new week filled with wonder and blessings. The song below was a favorite of mine growing up in a small country church. I pray it blesses you today.

Photo Credit: Me
The Church I Grew Up In
Yeddo, IN

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Lent 2022 • Week Three Review

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — February 16th, 2022

Hello friends —

It’s been a great week of beautiful stories of Jesus’ ministry. I’ve listed the Bible readings from the week as we uncovered the LOVE of Jesus in case you wanted to go back and read them again.

Do You Have A Favorite Story From This Week?

My favorite was the healing of the woman who had suffered 12 years from bleeding. Her faith in Jesus healing her was so strong she knew all she needed to do was touch His garment and she would be healed. The story was titled, “Jesus Sees Fully.” Jesus knew who had touched Him but still He ask . . . The point being, Jesus wanted more for the woman than physically healing her; Jesus wanted to heal her emotionally as well. He wanted to restore her dignity.

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
— Mark 5:25-34 (NIV) —

Bible Reading — Stories in Review

💚 Jesus Honors the Dishonored

✝️ Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
Luke 7:36-50 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Luke%207:36-50&version=NIV

💚 Jesus See Fully

✝️ Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
Mark 5:21-43 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%205:21-43&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Does Not Envy

✝️ Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Mark 6:30-44 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%206:30-44&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Drives Out Fear

✝️ Jesus Walks on Water
Matthew 14:22-36 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2014:22-36&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Loves Indiscriminately

✝️ The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15:21-28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2015:21-28&version=NIV

Week Three Activities

  • Deliver flowers to someone you care about and then prayer for them. 💐
  • Memorize a passage of scripture that is meaningful to you. Suggestions . . .
    • Isaiah 53 📕
    • John 19 📗
    • Philippians 2 📘
    • 1 Corinthians 13 📙

“We love because he first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19 —

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Care • Less

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

Credit: Disney/Pixar: Inside Out

Friends —

I’m not filled with pride writing this blog, it is not my usual energy [BUT] it is authentic and I am not ashamed of that. I am a person created by God for His glory and I am also 100% sinfully-human filled with emotions and shortcomings. Recently, I experienced both physical and emotional distress, it was as if a switch had been flipped and I was instantaneous angry.

Credit: Disney/Pixar: Inside Out

My chest was tight, my heart was beating fast, my back began having spasms and my mind overtly actively replaying the moments that lead to these paralysis. My world felt out of sync for a time. Yesterday, an incident happened at work that infuriated me to the point of physical and emotional pain that affected me both inwardly and outwardly. The actual incident details are unimportant to this story, only how it affected me and my outlook. I have become increasingly frustrated with how the office I work in is constantly being dismissed, overlooked and discounted. Admittedly, I have an extremely passionate (to a fault) personality that extends to and through the work I do and the office where I perform my duties. I also have a tendency to be overly protective of the people and things associated with my life; such as my work, my family, my friends, my church and my faith.

Sadly, all too often I find myself staring out into a dark space of mediocracy, it feels cold and lifeless, a place where I do not want to be.

What Would It Be Like To . . .

  • Care less
  • Feel less
  • Be mediocre
  • Be content with what is

What If Instead of . . .

  • Care less . . . Be Considerate

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” ~Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

  • Feel less . . . Be Kind

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ~Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

  • Be mediocre . . . Be Fabulous

“The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
~Psalm 138:8 (NRSVA)

  • Be content . . . Be Joyful

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
~Proverbs 17:22 (ESV)

By choosing to be CONSIDERATE, KIND, FABULOUS and JOYFUL, I do not devalue myself or deflate my passions, I need only to adjust my perspective.

Thank you for reading and I hope you find encouragement from God’s Word. It’s an honor to share my authentic-self with you in hopes that we all can learn and grow together to make this world a better and healthier place for everyone.

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” ~Philippians 1:6 (NRSVA)

~Charlotte, Hope Seeker

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Lent 2022 • Week Three • Jesus Loves Indiscriminately

Friday, March 18, 2022

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — February 16th, 2022

“Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”
— Matthew 15:28 (NIV) —

Bible Reading: Matthew 15:21-28

“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”

🕛 🕐 🕑 🕒 🕓 🕔 🕕 🕖 🕗 🕘 🕙 🕚 🕛 TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The Canaanite woman in our story today is persistent, relentless and determined to get Jesus to heal her daughter. In the story, the woman pleads with Jesus and Jesus does not respond. We do not know how long she pleads with Jesus but we do know that it was long enough to annoy the disciples. They finally had heard enough and said to Jesus , “ Send her away, for she keeps crying out to us.” The woman just would not give up. The woman addresses Jesus, “ Lord, Son of David have mercy on me!” This woman, this Gentile is proclaiming who Jesus is and believes in His power to heal her child. Based on the fact she was a woman and a non-Jew, she would have had limited knowledge of scripture and law, neither would deterred her mission. Why should Jesus heal her daughter (?) … After all, Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” —Matthew 15:24

**To the biblical scholars reading this, I learned something new today through this particular story, I can’t believe I never connected this before, God’s timing is always “on time!” I now see the meaning/connection of Matthew 5:26, “He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” The children referring to the Israelites and the bread being Jesus. The woman is quick and clever in her response, “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Matthew 15:27.

This woman from the very beginning of her cries for help acknowledged Jesus as the rightful King of Israel, she called upon His compassion and displayed more faith, maturity and humility than the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Jesus affirms her faith and says to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.” —Matthew 15:28

The very people that Jesus came to save rejected Him, but when He traveled in to Gentile territory; Jesus found mature and humble faith that touched him deeply. This would be the beginning of the expansion of His rule and kingdom reign over all people everywhere. This would be the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him.

Challenge

  • Have you ever found yourself frustrated by Jesus’ apparent delay to answer your prayers?

Yes, did I mention I tend to be impatient.

  • How might Jesus’ silence in your life actually be a sign of love?

Teaching me patience. Knowledge is something gained over time, with much studying and practical applications.

Further Study

1 Kings 17:7-24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=1%20Kings%2017:7-24&version=NIV
Matthew 8:5-13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%208:5-13&version=NIV
Matthew 15:21-28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2015:21-28&version=NIV
Mark 7:24-30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%207:24-30&version=NIV
John 1:11-12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%201:11-12&version=NIV

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/