Because He Lives…

Because He Lives…
I can face tomorrow.

Because He Lives…
All fear is gone.

Because I know…oh…oh…
He holds my future!

Life is worth the living JUST because He lives!

Can I be honest???

As I sit typing this, I am not sure those are the exact lyrics. They are, however, the lyrics resounding loudly in my head.

And I love them.

I look at each of them…
Because Jesus lives, I can face tomorrow.

I remember when we miscarried our baby, I could not face the light of day. I could not face the exit of our house into a different part of the real world. I could not face the presence of people that did not lose babies…

I could not face anything.

I wanted to remain curled in my dark dungeon of death and hide.

But He was there.

Loving me. Holding me. Comforting me.

And, eventually, I began to live again.

Because He Lives, all fear is gone.

I remember when God asked me for Maxwell’s life.  My only son’s life.  He asked me to give Maxwell to him.

I remember shouting, “No, God!  I will not give you Maxwell.  I gave you my other baby and you TOOK that baby from me!  Therefore, you CANNOT have Maxwell.”

I remember the fear of losing my son.  My only son.  To death.

I remember the fear of trying to imagine life without my son.  My only son.  To death.

I remember the fear of not knowing if Maxwell would live or die.

I remember that fear as if it, that fear, is sitting next to me at this moment while I type this.

But the VERY moment that I relinquished my son completely into the hands of God, I remember that fear leaving me.

Instantaneously.

Gone.

Did I know if my son would live?

No.

Did I know if my son would die?

No.

I knew absolutely only one thing—God had Maxwell in his hands.

And with that, my fear was gone.

Because I know he holds my future…

When I was on the brink of a mental breakdown.  My marriage was in shambles.  My life was far different than I ever dreamed.  When I was on that brink — when I did not see my future as a family whole, I realized, probably for the first time in all of my life, that God is enough.

At first I thought God was enough—plus my family—plus my friends—plus my job—plus my husband—plus my children (I progressed as I got older and more married, you know—things like that).  God PLUS everything and everyone else were enough.

But when I was left with nothing but the very shell of who I was — THAT is only when I realized that it wasn’t God PLUS the rest.

It was only God.

Life is worth the living  just because He lives!

Take it from a woman that knows.  Life is worth the living just because he lives!

I pray that you come to this beautiful peace in your life, too.

Happy Easter, my friends!

***

After writing this, I went on Google, and look what I found!  Enjoy.

Also, in the above photo, Maxwell is in a full coma and simultaneously receiving a life-saving blood transfusion. So, if you donate blood, THANK YOU!  Also fitting for Easter, the fact that someone gave so that my son could live.

Grace. God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense

I hardly ever get to sit through one of my husband’s sermons. For several reasons. One, I have a toddler.  Two, I have a baby.  Three, I teach Sunday school.  Because of a lack of a nursery and teaching Sunday school, I can’t hardly recall the last time I sat through one of my husband’s sermons.

Our church is a small international church that meets at the Sheraton hotel in Poznan, Poland.  It’s called Poznan International Church and was established in 1997. We absolutely love it!  My husband has been the lead pastor there since May of 2002 (the exemption being the year and the half we lived in the States).

On any given Sunday, you will find roughly 16 languages under one roof—all worshipping one God. That’s pretty darn awesome, right?! Right!

This Sunday we didn’t have church in the general meeting room where we normally have service because there was a conference also taking place on the same day. So we met at the restaurant downstairs called Someplace Else. It is a fantastic restaurant with a great atmosphere.The walls display hundreds of signed photographs or musical or sports memorabilia that the General Manager, Marco, has collected for the Sheraton over the years where he has been GM.

On top of that, it is a cozy area where we meet. And, guess what! Children are full-on in the same place where we are. Does that cause some disruptions? You betcha! I feel like half the time I spend reminding little voices to quiet down and little boys to stop climbing equipment. But, overall, there is something beautiful when we all gather together at the restaurant bar for church.

We sit next to each other. We converse in the service together. And, after church, no one is in a hurry to go. And so we share for hours with one another our lives.

It’s a blessing. And you will never leave with a frown. I guarantee it.

Back to Richard’s sermon for today. It was a a beautiful sermon for me to hear. It was on Grace.

Sometimes we hear this word and forget how powerful its meaning is. Richard shared an acronym with church.  Grace stands for:

G—God’s

R—Riches

A—At

C—Christ’s

E—Expense

You know. I think that as Christians we sometimes become too callous to grace. We think, “We have given our lives to you, God, give us grace!” It’s almost as if we demand it. And we shouldn’t. Because grace is a gift. It is undeserved. And it came at a great cost.

Grace—God gives it to us for free. But Grace came at the cost of Christ.

So, I would like to end by simply reminding you… Accept the beautiful gift of God’s favor undeserved through Grace—but never forget to appreciate that it, Grace, is a beautiful gift that came at a great cost.  And then go and live your lives in respect of this fact, glorifying God in all that you do.

Be beautiful examples of God’s grace here on earth.  Be a gift of grace to your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers.  Set the world on fire for the love that God offers us through his son, Jesus Christ!

Amen.

The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him…God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.   Romans 3:22, 23 (The Message)