Happy Father's Day!

My blog today is dedicated to all the wonderful fathers, father figures, and male mentors who have touched the lives of your own kids, others’ kids, your family, and others you’ve mentored and coached. We appreciate you! And, for the rest of us, let's be sure to celebrate our fathers in words and actions. Our gratitude and love for them won't get received if we don’t express it to them in the first place. So, I’m taking my own advice and celebrating all the fathers on this Father’s Day!

Father’s Day brings precious memories and so much gratitude -- for my own sweet daddy who I only knew for 15 years and my precious husband, who I knew for 49 years on this side of heaven. They are celebrating this Father’s Day with “Our Father Who Art in Heaven”! Okay – they've certainly one-upped us on a grand celebration with the second-to-none Father. And Happy Father’s Day to my two incredible sons: Ryan Wuerch & Larry Wallace, amazing fathers who lead their families by God’s example to them. Thanks, and well-done, guys, for blessing me with my seven beautiful grandchildren and thank you for all the men and boys you coach and mentor!

Dads, in my opinion, you are the most powerful force in the lives of your children. Thank you for not being passive. Thank you for understanding and taking responsibility for your power. Thank you for being living examples of our Heavenly Father's love. Thank you for having real-life conversations with your boys and having date nights with your girls. Thank you for showing them and others what respect, honor, and integrity look like.

I recently saw this video of a great example of how to be involved with your children right from the get-go! The video went viral from the mom’s Facebook page now with 57 million views. It’s a simple and adorable conversation between a father and his 19-month-old, a terrific model of time well spent between a dad and his child.
https://www.facebook.com/…/videos/vb.20…/10101574620232282/…

Maybe today, you don’t even know your earthly father, or if you do, he may not have been very present in your life. Maybe, like me, your dad was with you for just a short period of time. Like mine, your dad wasn’t there to walk you down the aisle on your wedding day. Maybe your dad is still here and your relationship is and always has been strained.

Here’s the really good news for all of us on this Father’s Day. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much and wants us in His family. When we invite His Son into our lives, we get God’s DNA. It cannot be denied. We have a Father who is gracious, open and wants to know us. When we reach out, He welcomes us into His presence. He even has conversations with us through his Word and even in our intimate times with Him. So on this Father’s Day, no matter who your earthly father may be, I ask these simple questions: Do you know your Heavenly Father? Do you understand how much He wants to have a close and ongoing relationship with you? I pray that you will have a greater realization of your “heavenly” DNA. Knock on His door. I know He will invite you in for a Father's Day celebration like none other.

Hospitality at its Finest

Have you ever been a guest at someone’s home and they made you feel like you were royalty? Right away, they offer you a drink and the most comfortable chair. They serve a meal fit for a king or queen and to top it off they bring you into the conversation – wanting to hear about you and your interests. You have their undivided attention. That is hospitality.

Jesus' hospitality was par excellence. He turned water into wine at a wedding. He fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. He cooked up a breakfast of fish for the disciples. A menial job for servants, He washed His disciple's feet. Once again, I pray: "Make me more like You, Jesus, even when it comes to being hospitable!"

What if we lived in a “hospitality” mindset? Not just having people over to our homes – but when we step out of our homes into a world where people are made to feel they are wanted and appreciated. What does that look like? Putting our phones away and giving them our undivided attention, being attentive when we’re speaking to someone (in that moment, that person, not a text message, an email, or a phone call is what is important), using words like “How are you today?” And, I get this one from my granddaughter who works at Chick-Fil-A, saying “It’s my pleasure / I am happy to”.

Christ is always in our midst, and we may be unaware that the stranger sitting next to us in church or the young woman needing assistance with her arms that are so full with her baby and diaper bag, is our opportunity to be Christ’s hands extended in hospitality.

We are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, and this world needs His hospitality. I remember a message I heard at church. Our pastor was speaking about hospitality in a Spanish church. He talked about Jesus being in their midst. He asked, "Will the real Jesus, please stand up!" To his shock, a man in the middle of the congregation stood up. What the pastor had forgotten, parents in the Spanish culture will oftentimes name their baby boys "Jesus". It was humorous but it's a question we hear Him asking us today: "Will the real Jesus please stand up?" The real Jesus is found in you and me as we reach out and touch others with His love, servitude, and hospitality.

1 Peter 4:8-9 "Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."

What Would the Walls of Your Home Say About You?

I sit here at my dear friends’ kitchen counter in the wee hours of the morning working on my post for this day. There are two little kitchen lamps dimly shining so mostly darkness surrounds me. Then I look across to the other side of the kitchen and there is the lighted manger scene glowing that I hadn’t noticed before in the daylight. I’m reminded of Emmanuel – God with us. Indeed, He is here in this beautiful home where the welcome mat is always out for me. My dear friends of so many years give me the royal treatment. It was especially meaningful this time as their Christmas decorations are still up. More than the lit Christmas tree and manger scene is the presence and light of Christ who lives in this home.

If these walls here could speak, I know they’d tell you “Love in any language fluently spoken here”! It is evident by the photos of their precious family and their two adorable grandchildren. Both Mick and Sheila beam with joy telling me how 3-year old Benjamin soothes his little 1-year-old sister when she’s crying with “It’ll be okay, Baby Sister!”.

Most importantly is the welcome mat is always out for God and His presence here. Every room in this home has its own personality and its own story to tell -- from Sheila’s mom’s magnificent paintings and artwork to the crosses, spiritual icons, statues, Bibles, devotion books, Christian magazines, scripture photos, and each room is named after a saint. The culture here is the free flow of conversation about the goodness of God and His love for us. No matter where the conversation starts – it will always include a gratitude word or blessing or encouragement in it. We just can’t carry on a conversation without it.

They humored me Saturday night as we watched the Dallas Cowboys game together – well, Mick and I watched the game as Sheila was with us but going through her 40+ years of a tub full of collected holy and scripture cards, sorting them to take to the women in the jail where she and Mick minister every Friday. At half time, we humored ourselves when, quite spontaneously, Mick got us going with Bible charades as he acted out Peter. The “hanging upside down on the cross” gave it away. When I acted out Mary Magdalene washing Jesus feet with her hair and crying, Sheila totally went to the place of remembrance of that meaningful and touching Bible scene and teared up as she said, “Ohhhh, it’s Mary!”

In this home and holding His Bible open, you’ll hear Mick remark, “Listen to this.....” as he quotes scripture and provides us with an enlightening explanation of the words. You’ll see Sheila’s face light up and hear her compassionate heart as she talks about the women who she witnesses to weekly in the jail or about the women that come to her home Bible studies. Truly this home is built on solid rock.

This same day while I was spending time with my 96-year-old Mom-in-love, who, by the way, is doing remarkably well – with just a few aches and pains in her legs, Sheila came over to visit her. It was the sweetest time and Mom beamed like a teenager as she nostalgically told her about how she and dad met and married six weeks later – a marriage that lasted 52 years before dad passed away. If the walls of Mom’s room could speak, they would tell you she is so loved and cared for by her daughter who is her loving and devoted caregiver. Mom’s vibrancy is proof of that loving care. The walls of this room are covered with family photos and scriptures and there's her Bible on her nightstand. It is evident who she is by what surrounds her.

Yesterday I spoke about friends who are for a season and those who are for a lifetime. Add to the list Sheila and Mick who live out the sanctity of marriage, friendship, loving others in word and deed. Their home is proof. Their lives are proof. The evidence is in the many lives that have been affected by their love, support and encouragement. Count me in on that one. Their home is evidence of WHO they are and WHOSE they are. Mom's little room expresses that, too.

What would the walls of your home say about you?

Excuse Me! Could I Have Your Undivided Attention, Please?

This photo may look familiar. It should because I was in this very spot two years ago. I’m back in Tulsa for a few days that lead up to my mother-in-law’s 96th birthday on Wednesday. After my home sold two years ago, I stayed at a dear friend’s home for another six weeks because I had speaking engagements and other responsibilities here. I am back in this sweet spot and I get to enjoy this little piece of heaven again. This city holds so many precious memories, precious people, and so many favorite places to go. It’s not a vacay, but it sure is a favorite place to be.

I sat in this very spot each morning for my morning devotions when I was here before. I’d look out across this beautiful pond that my home backed up to. I received so much peace and comfort in this spot. I like to think that God also enjoyed my stay here because He got my undivided attention.

I wonder how God must feel about the lack of our attention because I get a little frustrated when I don’t receive full attention when I’m with someone. I can be having a nice conversation with someone, and then their phone rings or dings and, without even a second thought, they leave me hanging while they answer their phone or text message. Okay! I'll admit it. I've been on both sides....the one singing "All By Myself" while others were heads down in their phones and I've been the one with my head down in MY phone. What in the world? Where did our respect for others go? I'm ashamed of us!! It's time for putting those phones in another room or turning them off so we can get back to what's REALLY important -- being a sincere, caring, and respectful friend and family member.

Even worse is how disrespectful we can be to God. We can be right in the middle of sweet fellowship with Him when our phone dings and we can’t resist checking to see what that text message is all about. After all, it could be the plumber, the friend that we’re meeting later or one of our children or grandchildren who might need us. Right? But, oh so WRONG! We can be fully engaged in conversation with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Who gave His life for us and we allow ourselves to be interrupted. Sound familiar? God must be tapping His fingers on the arm of His royal throne as He tenderly and lovingly says “Excuse Me....could I have your undivided attention, please? I have secrets to reveal and plans to give you for your good.”

Just look at the object in this photo that the enemy of our souls uses to steal our alone time with our Best Friend, our Father, and our CEO? There it is, smack dab in the middle, instead of away from being a distraction to my one-on-one time with my royal guest. Jesus sat the example for us in Mark 1:35-36 "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a DESOLATE PLACE, and there He prayed."

Convenience or Relationships?

Three days ago, I ordered two items on Amazon Prime. The items arrived two days later. Sometimes, it's next day. How convenient is that? I didn't have to leave my house!! My daughters often order their groceries from Instacart (Instacart is a grocery delivery service where personal shoppers pick up and deliver the groceries to your door within an hour). How much time does that save? They don't have to leave their home! We may go to church, but we sit at the back, then we're in and out without engaging in conversation with others. We drive into our automatic-garage-door garages -- so we never really converse with our neighbors. We sit at a dinner table -- and rather than being engaged with others at the table, we are texting or surfing on our cell phones.

Where am I going with these observations? I shared this because of a message I heard from Pastor Ryan Malouff at Expression Church in Austin last Sunday (where my kids attend). I perked up when he said, "We've gotten lazy in our approach to relationships. We opt for less conversation and more instantaneous convenience. Once upon a time, our society was about interacting, purposely engaging in conversations -- getting to know each other."

Whatever happened to "relationship" building -- making the effort to get to know our neighbors, our kids' teachers, other kids' family members, attending various groups of interest to get to know others and be a blessing to them.

Think about Jesus. He was a mingler. He went out of his way to engage in conversation (i.e., the Samaritan woman at the well, visits to Mary, Lazarus and Martha's home, spending time cultivating relationships with His disciples, going to Zacchaeus' house and speaking to him and his family about God's love for them). When we're avoiding relationships, we are missing the opportunity to be an encourager to them. Did you know we can be the CEO of our lives? We can all be Chief Encouragement Officers. We can be a light that others need in their lives.

"If you want friends, you must first show yourself friendly." Proverbs 18:24. I've taken that scripture to heart as I've forced myself to be a part of women's groups, Bible Studies, meet my neighbors, attend meetings at my community center, and hang around after church to meet and greet others in the family. I can't stay cooped up and withhold the goodness of God that someone is craving to have. How about you?

Shhh! You Talk Too Much!

There's just so much to say, and so little time to get it all in. After all, I live alone, so when a friend calls or stops by to see me, I release all those stored-up words. I thought about that and how talking so much can really get us into trouble. We witnessed a lot of that during the presidential election campaign. In my post, yesterday, I referred to those words by repeating that children's song, "Be careful little mouth what you say because you sure don't want to have to eat those words that weren't pleasant.

If you can believe it, more than me, my sweetheart was always the avid conversationalist, with great fervor in giving his best motivational pitch to someone needing counsel or encouragement. Eventually, in dealing with the pain from his illness, he rarely offered his opinion on any matter. Most of the time, he was just “at peace”. Some of the things he said during those days, to some, would seem insignificant, but oh so precious to me. He looked at a large picture of our granddaughter on the wall, just at the foot of his bed, and said, “I love lying here and looking at Alexia. She is so precious!” Or, “I love that smell” (the one that came through our bedroom window when our neighbor fired up her chiminea with pinion wood in it). Or, “Have you heard from the kids today?” Or the day when our daughter, Staci, his nurse and I were in the room with him, and he said, “I love you so much my precious darling”. I said, “Who are you talking to, Staci or me?” He said, “Both of you”! His nurse said, “He’s still got it!” Nothing earth shaking or world changing, but I realized those were the things that he valued so much -- seeing, smelling, appreciating the little things in life.

It was the 8th of November, 2010, and we were having our morning devotion. I saw his eyes shut and then he'd open them and gaze around the room. Then he'd shut them. I was curious -- "What was he thinking about?" I thought maybe he was having some divne encounters during those times. I thought it was time for a “heart-to-heart” conversation – just to see what was going on in his mind. I asked him, “Is God saying anything to you while you are sleeping?” No reply. Then I asked, “Are you seeing anything when you shut your eyes? Are you seeing your mansion in heaven? Do you want to quit and go there? I'll be okay, if you want to go ahead and go there. I'll meet up with you some day! But if you want to keep fighting and if God wants us to travel around the world giving witness to our faith and how God healed you, then I’m ready to fight on with you! So what’s God telling you, my Love?”

He opened his eyes, without giving a second thought and with convincing authority said, “YOU TALK TOO MUCH!!” LOL! Once again, I heard God’s voice, in his voice, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are busy about with too many things.” I got the message loud and clear from Ron AND Father God. Yes, I, too, must get into that place of being “at peace” even though there is so much to be done. It was during that season that I started being a better listener than a talker. I'm still learning to do that today. Oh, the lessons we learn from listening more and speaking less.