Do Not Be Afraid

Dear Friends,

Blessings! It’s finally here: the last week of school. Please know that we are praying for you as you take your finals and finish up last minute projects. In fact, let’s pray now:

Dear God, I thank You for this day and all Your mercies. I come before You in the name of Jesus on behalf of all the students this week who are taking finals. Please Lord, be with each one. I don’t know their all their names, but You do. I pray that You will give a sense of peace and direction to them as they study and take tests. For those who don’t test well, I pray that You would calm their nerves and melt their anxiety, that in the midst of taking their finals they will feel clear-headed, unrushed, and will be able to easily recall all that they have studied. I pray that even in the craziness of this week’s work they will still experience the wonder and joy of this Christmas season. You are so good; I know You can do this and more, and I pray for it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Don’t forget we are doing free lunches this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Just show up at the Wesley Foundation (Methodist Student Center) at about noon. We are located at 1355 College St., one block down from Cherry Hall on the left. For more info call us.

Christmas Caroling!

This Thursday night we are going Christmas Caroling on Campus. Meet at 6pm at the Wesley Foundation for a warm dinner of homemade stew. Then we will venture out to sing to folks on campus. If you want us to come and sing to you, please e-mail me back! We can also sing to anyone else you want also.

Now for Sami’s Rambling About Jesus:

What stirs in my heart this Christmas season is the admonition that the angels keep echoing throughout the favorite Christmas passages: “Do not be afraid.” Every time they show up with a heavenly message they say these words. They say it to Joseph before telling him it is okay to take the pregnant Mary to be his wife. They say it to Mary before telling her that she will be mother to God’s own Son. They say it to Zechariah before telling him that in his old age he will produce a child who is the prophet that prepares the way for the Messiah. They say it to the poor shepherds watching their flocks in the fields on the night they announce Christ’s birth. They seem to be saying it every time they show up. Why?

Maybe it’s because the human capacity for fear is so relentless. Many scholars have suggested it is because seeing an angel is a fearsome sight. Could be. I’ve never seen an angel before. But I do know that I don’t need an angel to be afraid. Fear can crop up anywhere, anytime, for all kinds of reasons. As I ponder especially the lives of students and the circumstances they face, fear is a familiar companion. So much is uncertain. So much of the future seems to be riding on the performance and decisions of the present. There is always that worry that what is happening now will negatively affect the rest of their lives and will also be impossible to undo. This is specially true this week, when the exams students are taking can make or break their final grades.

If an angel showed up right now in the middle of your dorm room, classroom, study room, or even bathroom, the message would still be the same: “Do not be afraid.” How can this message be said with so much certainty for so many different circumstances? It all has to do with the Child their appearance proclaimed 2000 years ago. Jesus has come to us. He came and lived among us as a human being. He gave His life for us as a perfect offering for the forgiveness of sin. And He lives now resurrected. He lives for us. And He lives in us if we let Him. He wants to take all our fear away. He came to us so that we would know the truth of God’s real presence with us. We never have to face any moment of our lives alone; His forgiveness can cleanse any sin; His power can help us meet any challenge; and His healing love brings us new life morning by morning. Every day is a new invitation to accept the hope, love, and help He gives. He can turn any lemon into lemonade. And know that it will be better than the “Country Time” pink kind.

He just loves us. And His love is with us. And His love makes it possible to overcome anything.

Rest in His love today my friends. I’m going to try to.

Blessings,

Sami

A Christmas Prayer For You

Dear Friends,

It’s beautiful outside, but so cold! Hope you are staying warm. The Lord keeps reminding me that sometimes the warmth we need the most is something to warm the heart. I pray that you have a heart-warming experience this week! We all need one every once in a while.

It’s PARTY TIME!

This Thursday at 7pm is our Christmas party. Just bring a gift (guys bring a guy gift, ladies bring a lady’s gift) that cost between $7-$10 for the “Crazy Santa” gift exchange. We’ll eat dinner, make tree ornaments, and watch “The Grinch.” It’s sure to be lots of fun.

Also, the time has come for our annual OPRYLAND road trip.

We’ll meet at the Wesley Foundation at 3pm and carpool down. We will eat on our way at the Rivergate Olive Garden. Then we’ll head on over to the Opryland hotel to see the lights. This year there should be plenty of time for shopping afterwards at Opry Mills for those who need to get gifts. This is a great event to come to if you have never joined us before. It is always a lot of fun.

Coming next week:

Finals week lunches—at noon at the Foundation on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Also Christmas Caroling on Thursday night; Jim and Michelle Schlinsog will provide a warm and tasty dinner before we head out into the cold to spread Christmas cheer.

Let me know if you have someone you want us to go sing to!

Now for Sami’s Ramblings About Jesus:

Last Thursday night before going out to shop for our Angel Tree gifts we thought about some things we wanted to ask God to bless our campus with this Christmas. Out of that list came the following prayer that we posted in today’s College Herald:

A Christmas Prayer for You—

As this crazy semester draws to a close

We pray perfect peace for each one of those

Straining within these halls of learning to see

Their futures bright with hope unfolding.

We pray for guidance, compassion, gratitude,

A heart full of love and a humble attitude.

We pray for peace, abiding and true,

Hope full of trust, strength to see you through.

We pray that your health will continue to thrive,

That graduation day soon will arrive,

That the joy of family and friends will surely bless,

That the weary and forlorn soon will find rest.

We pray for patience with end drawing near,

Travel safeties for all soon leaving here,

For contentment in life whether here or at home,

And the fullness of Grace touching needs not yet known.

As the holiness of this holiday comes clear

Know it is for you, dear one, that Jesus draws near.

He comes close with joy, the tenderest touch,

Just let Him in: His joy gladdens much.

As I read these words I am reminded once again how very tender the Lord is for each one of us He has created in love. There are thousands of faces on this campus that He lovingly crafted; hair, eyes, and facial features all distinct from person to person, and yet each is so intimately known by Jesus. I hear His heart longing for each of us this Holiday season. I wonder about all those students who are far away from Him during their college experience, who just haven’t found time or the right place to get connected to their faith. I hear his yearning. You may be reading this as one of those who are in a spiritually far off place right now. Can you hear those words, “Dear one,” spoken personally to you, from His heart? You are so dear to Him. You. Everything that is you sounds a chord in His being that isn’t resolved until He is able to relate directly to you. Gosh, I hope you are hearing His heart today. My prayer is that all of us would simply hear Him address us as “Dear one.” I think if we could honestly hear that in our deepest souls so much that is churning within would be resolved.

Know that you are loved.

Blessings,

Sami

Campus Minister/Director

Wesley Foundation (United Methodist Campus Ministry)

1355 College St.

842-2880

sami@wkywesley.org

Happy Birthday Jesus!

When I worked as an associate pastor at a church in Florida, I often got to help with the chapel service for the church’s preschool. Every Christmas we would sing a song called “Happy Birthday Jesus.” It went something like “Happy birthday, Jesus. We’re so glad it’s Christmas. All the carols and bells, and the tinsel is swell but the real gift is you. . . .” I’ve been thinking today about how we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, or at least how He would want us to celebrate it. I mean, what do you give to the One who creates everything in the first place? It’s kind of the same difficulty as trying to buy for people who don’t really need anything and who go out and get what they want when they do. In some ways gift giving would be so much easier if we were all children.

Yet there is a wonderful answer to this question in scripture, from Jesus Himself. It says this:

Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundstion of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. . . . Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. Matthew 25:34-40

When we want to give Jesus a gift, we simply give to those who need it. It can be stocking stuffers for young men whose families won’t give them anything, who may not even speak to them; it can be a doll for a young girl on behalf of a relative in prison who just wants her to know she is loved and remembered; it could be a cookie to a neighbor you’ve never met, who may have lost hope; it could be singing “Silent Night” to a someone on campus who has felt completely isolated and alone on a campus of nearly 20,000. I just know that when we reach out to others with love, Jesus is blessed. He smiles in wonder and joy the way a child does when seeing brightly colored presents under a tree. We love Jesus best by loving others, especially those who cannot repay us.

If you want to experience that special joy of knowing you have made a difference beyond yourself, knowing you have touched Jesus’ heart, come and join us. It is sure to be wonder-full fun.

Blessings,

Sami

True Words

have been slowly reading Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz. He says in his chapter called “Grace” one of the most beautiful and profound things I have ever heard:

If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her. This is not the voice of God. God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of His love.

Isn’t that beautiful? There is such tender mercy in the touch of Jesus Christ upon our lives. We experience true tenderness and true mercy so little in this fallen world, that it is often hard to recognize the voice and the touch of our Savior. And yet something primal in us years for grace and mercy, tenderness and understanding. The good news, the news Jesus left heaven to bring us and died on a cross to demonstrate for us, is that this grace and mercy, tenderness and understanding is God’s heart for us. God’s heart breaks for us to experience what we are so hungry for. Did you know it breaks God’s heart when He sees us suffering, yearning for a soft word of encouragement, and instead of hearing His words of grace, we instead open our ears to words that demolish our spirits and kill all that is beautiful within us?

I’ll be honest. This is a time of transition and change for me personally. It’s not easy. But I am learning that Jesus is so gentle and tender and forgiving as He engineers my transformation. I am learning there is nothing to fear in submitting to His hand in my life. I can say to you with good conscience there is nothing to fear from the Lord. He loves you. And in doing the hard thing in our lives, He always takes the hardest thing upon Himself. He shares our burdens. He gives us His strength. He surrounds us with people who love Him so they can love us with His love. I am so thankful.

Do you need a place where you can see His love for you personally? Just come on down. We have some good news we just can’t wait to tell you!

Blessings,

Sami

Becoming a Goldfish

Strange things are happening to me. After years of hating goldfish crackers and applesauce, I find myself eating both on a regular basis. It all began when Noah (my little boy) became a picky eater and we were looking for easy things to feed him that traveled well. All the books say that you must introduce a new food to a baby a total of seven times to get him or her to eat it. Well, I don’t know how it works for babies (we’re still working on Noah’s eating habits), but apparently it worked on me.



What does this have to do with Jesus? Well, in a very real sense we are what we experience. The things we pack into our lives are the things we wind up feeling comfortable around. Making a life of faith feel right has more to do with living in it a while than having a natural liking for “spiritual stuff.” People may say, “Yeah, I tried the Jesus thing, and it just isn’t for me.” But did they really give it a genuine chance? It’s not enough to go to church once in your life to see if it’s for you. In many ways it’s like planting seeds; we must allow time for them to bring forth fruit. The same is true for anything in life. One can just as easily begin to feel “at home” in dangerous activities (or at least not good for you stuff) by spending time around un-Godly influences.



Scripture says this: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20). Things of God are going to produce good fruit, i.e “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). If your life is not producing these things, take a look at how you are spending your time. Your life will produce exactly what you are cultivating in it. If the produce is not what you want it to be, begin to make changes. I promise that if you get invested in a Jesus-centered community of faith, you will begin to see peace and joy like you’ve never seen. If you don’t know where to start, then look for a person whose life demonstrates the qualities you want in yours, and hang out with them. Just don’t give up. Eventually you will find that you will even enjoy being a part of a group of people who love Jesus. Besides, if I can start loving goldfish crackers, anything is possible.



Hope the rest of your week is fabulous!



Blessings,

Sami

What Questions Would You Live?

When I was taking English Composition as a student at Western, my instructor gave us one of those assignments that have the potential to change a life forever. I don’t know how it affected others in the class, but it shaped me. She had us read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. One particular page spoke volumes to me. I guess because it made so much sense. Rilke writes:

I would like to beg of you, dear friend, as well as I can, to have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day. (pg. 35).

I don’t know if I could come up with a better definition for the life of faith, or at least what living by faith looks like in a real life. Life in college demands so much faith, because so many things continue to remain unsolved in the heart. Questions like, “Am I in the right major?” or “what will I do when I graduate?” seem to haunt students from the day they first arrive. The good news is that eventually life destinies do get figured out.

I love that phrase, “live the question.” What questions would you live? The really cool thing is that as we live into the questions of our lives, instead of trying to run away from them or give them a quick fix, we ultimately find ourselves living more deeply into God’s life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). As we seek Him to be all of these things for us, the big questions in our lives find the right answers.

I want to encourage you to be patient to all that “remains unsolved in your heart.” Listen to your heart and know that this is where the Lord speaks the most.

Blessings,

Sami

Need More Power?

In his book ­The Meaning of Prayer Harry Emerson Fosdick has this to say about the “hindrances and difficulties” of prayer: “It does cost to win a life that really can pray.” The truth of this really hits me as I sit here writing to you about Jesus. I guess for me, prayer is the place and time where Jesus takes His place in my life. It is that moment of meeting where the Lord becomes Lord of me. Sometimes I bring desires to prayer that are actually good, but cannot be accomplished because something stands in the way. Usually for me it is because I am trying to jump ahead of the Lord and pray for things that He isn’t ready to give (primarily because I am not ready to receive). To pray further into His will for my life, I have to go further into His will. Usually I will come to Him with my agenda on the prayer list. And He will quietly listen, letting me sit with it. I will leave feeling nothing has been accomplished. And then He will come and visit with me and share what is on His heart: I pray for measurable things; He invites me to know the measure of His love. I pray for immediate results; He invites me to immediately rest in His provision, trusting Him for the rest. I pray to go places and do things; He simply says, “being with Me is the most important place and listening to My voice is the most important thing.”

Not long ago I began chewing on a piece of scripture that caught my attention: Be still and know that I am God (Psalm ). As I dug into the meaning of this scripture, I discovered that stillness is more that not moving. To be still is to “slacken.” Some of the words used to capture the essence of its meaning include: abate, cease, fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (let go, let down), be slothful, (be) weak. (See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, entry 7503 for raphah, in the Hebrew Dictionary). This word “still” is derived from a Hebrew word that means “to mend (by stitching), … to cure” (Strong’s, entry 7495 for rapha, in the Hebrew Dictionary). What a powerful message! As we come to God’s presence in prayer, our best praying happens only when we relinquish our control, surrendering to God fully. In that we find the very thing we are trying to manufacture by our own efforts: healing, mending, well-being, a cure for what’s wrong. The big question is: Am I letting go of every conception I have of what is supposed to happen when I come to prayer and simply letting Jesus be who God sent Him to be, my Savior? Is the reason I am not seeing any fruit from my prayers, because I am fighting against Him instead of flowing with Him?

Over the last few weeks my experience of prayer has deepened. And an amazing thing has happened. As I have surrendered to that place of being held in the Lord’s hands, His power has become manifest in my life in ways I could not imagine. I am seeing Him show up in my daily life, leading my day, directing my plans, and even giving me unexpected Divine appointments that accomplish far more than I ever could on my own. It is truly awesome to see what happens when we create space in our lives for the Lord to work. He still isn’t doing things the way I would have Him, but His way is way more satisfying and is accomplishing much more. I guess it is always about trust more than it is about doing.

Hope you are able in this time of “Fall Break” to truly take a break and be still before the Lord. Give Jesus an opportunity to speak to your heart; listen for a change. You will be so glad you did.

Blessings,

Sami

To Pray for Real

In his book ­The Meaning of Prayer Harry Emerson Fosdick has this to say about the “hindrances and difficulties” of prayer: “It does cost to win a life that really can pray.” The truth of this really hits me as I sit here writing to you about Jesus. I guess for me, prayer is the place and time where Jesus takes His place in my life. It is that moment of meeting where the Lord becomes Lord of me. Sometimes I bring desires to prayer that are actually good, but cannot be accomplished because something stands in the way. Usually for me it is because I am trying to jump ahead of the Lord and pray for things that He isn’t ready to give (primarily because I am not ready to receive). To pray further into His will for my life, I have to go further into His will. Usually I will come to Him with my agenda on the prayer list. And He will quietly listen, letting me sit with it. I will leave feeling nothing has been accomplished. And then He will come and visit with me and share what is on His heart: I pray for measurable things; He invites me to know the measure of His love. I pray for immediate results; He invites me to immediately rest in His provision, trusting Him for the rest. I pray to go places and do things; He simply says, “being with Me is the most important place and listening to My voice is the most important thing.”

Not long ago I began chewing on a piece of scripture that caught my attention: Be still and know that I am God (Psalm ). As I dug into the meaning of this scripture, I discovered that stillness is more that not moving. To be still is to “slacken.” Some of the words used to capture the essence of its meaning include: abate, cease, fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (let go, let down), be slothful, (be) weak. (See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, entry 7503 for raphah, in the Hebrew Dictionary). This word “still” is derived from a Hebrew word that means “to mend (by stitching), … to cure” (Strong’s, entry 7495 for rapha, in the Hebrew Dictionary). What a powerful message! As we come to God’s presence in prayer, our best praying happens only when we relinquish our control, surrendering to God fully. In that we find the very thing we are trying to manufacture by our own efforts: healing, mending, well-being, a cure for what’s wrong. The big question is: Am I letting go of every conception I have of what is supposed to happen when I come to prayer and simply letting Jesus be who God sent Him to be, my Savior? Is the reason I am not seeing any fruit from my prayers, because I am fighting against Him instead of flowing with Him?

Over the last few weeks my experience of prayer has deepened. And an amazing thing has happened. As I have surrendered to that place of being held in the Lord’s hands, His power has become manifest in my life in ways I could not imagine. I am seeing Him show up in my daily life, leading my day, directing my plans, and even giving me unexpected Divine appointments that accomplish far more than I ever could on my own. It is truly awesome to see what happens when we create space in our lives for the Lord to work. He still isn’t doing things the way I would have Him, but His way is way more satisfying and is accomplishing much more. I guess it is always about trust more than it is about doing.

Hope you are able in this time of “Fall Break” to truly take a break and be still before the Lord. Give Jesus an opportunity to speak to your heart; listen for a change. You will be so glad you did.

Blessings,

Sami

Try this out and See!

Every now and then, the Lord lodges something in my gut for me to ponder.  Last week I was reading my Bible and came across this passage:  “he [Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20).  Something about that scripture just really spoke to me.  Probably because there are many days that my faith seems weak.  So I felt compelled to really dig into the meaning of this scripture.  I got out all my translations, pulled out a concordance and dictionary, and I went to work.  This is what I discovered:  Abraham’s faith was empowered by God as Abraham praised and worshiped God.  What this tells me is that God does for me that thing that I cannot do for myself, when I SEEK HIS FACE.  Wow.  And it isn’t even about getting all anal about being religious.  That place of praise and worship that God is speaking about is a place where we let the cares of the world (the cares of our hearts) go, and simply come into His presence, focusing on Him.  It is truly a place of resting IN HIM. 

 

I love it:  In letting go we are lifted up.  So many times I hear, “Let go and let God.”  I don’t know about you, but that is probably one of the most difficult things for me to get my mind around.  I want to know practically speaking what that means.  I am such a crazy perfectionist by nature that it is virtually impossible for me to let go of anything.  But to take a moment and focus my mind on God’s presence (“Hey God, You said You would be here, so here I am looking for You!), to say to those other pressing concerns “Not now” (like saying to a child, friend, etc. “not now, I’m on the phone,” or whatever you would fill that blank with), and to simply begin to praise God (“Oh Lord, You are beautiful to me”) and worship Him (“I bow my heart before you,” or even get on my knees in the floor as if I’m kneeling before an actual throne).  These things I can do.

 

And doing them, getting into that head space, then that heart space, does something in me.  Rather, it opens a portal where God can do something in me.  The things I keep trying to do to myself (i.e. make myself less worried or anxious, more organized, more prioritized, more whatever) He does for me.  He is able (allowed) to do whatever in me that is needed for that particular moment.  And most of the time I am no judge of what that is.  I even come to Him with my agenda of what I think He needs to do for me, and He looks at it and then does what is really needed instead.  I always glad God’s Spirit gives me what I need instead of what I am specifically asking for.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m still asking, because sometimes I am right on target with what I need.  But God is so much bigger and better than me.  And when we fall and worship Him, He is able to reach our deepest need, filling it to overflowing.

 

My prayer for each of you today is that you would find that place of blind faith where you trust that the presence of the Lord is really there, and you fall and worship Him, and then you receive from Him the life-giving love He has died to give to you.  It’s personal, it’s specific, and like a good back scratch-er, it reaches all those places you miss.

 

Blessings my friends,

 

Sami

 

 

Holy Distraction

There is so much going on at a college campus.  It can sometimes get kind of crazy.  As I talk with friends, students as well as those who work on campus, I become more and more aware of how crowded life can become.  My own life sometimes seems scheduled to the max.  But in the last few weeks the Lord has been challenging me with the following scripture:

 

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42

 

The question that I find myself pondering is: “What is the one needful thing?”   When I am connected to the Lord, that most important thing becomes so clear, and I am able to clearly see what is of real value in my life, and what is clutter.  I hate that much of the time I spend my energy on the clutter and then have only leftovers to give to God.  The sucky thing is that a lot of the clutter in my life could actually be classified under “good stuff.”  But given enough time it proves to usually be busy work.  Jesus understood this so well about human nature, that we like to expend a lot of energy proving ourselves and expecting others to do the same. 

 

Here is the good news:  Jesus doesn’t expect us to prove anything to Him.  He just wants us to BE with Him.  He wants us to give Him space to speak; to make room in our lives where we can LISTEN.  The novel thing about listening is we have to be quiet enough to hear.  This is really good news for me.  Sometimes I confuse the Lord’s voice with my own internal Martha one, and I think it is Jesus who wants me to do all this stuff for Him, even though it is making me miserable (and everyone else). 

 

The times when I really listened for His voice, He set the direction for my day, and often my life, in a way that cut through the clutter and helped me understand what was really important.  And even better, He gave me the power to complete those Most Important things, so I wasn’t trying to muster energy I didn’t have.  He is so sweet that way.

 

My prayer is that you discover His sweet voice for your own life.  Know that you are loved.

 

Blessings,

 

Sami

 

The Deepest Need

Now for Sami’s Ramblings About Jesus:

 

What is the biggest need in your life?  Have you ever spent some time thinking about the answer to that question?  I’m not talking about the most pressing issue or urgent demand of the moment.  All of us can so easily be swamped by the clutter of busyness.  I’m talking about that deepest need, the hunger that motivates all our busyness, the heart cry and heart ache that persists within us even when outward circumstances change.  Can you put your finger on that for a moment?

 

For me it has always been a longing for someone to recognize and affirm the person I really am.  To not feel the obligation to offer an apology for not being someone or something else, but to truly sense a deep, abiding appreciation for the stuff that is me.  There have been moments in my life when I have truly experienced this from another human being.  Even to remember those times, the feeling of being truly accepted and loved, delighted in, situates me in a sacred heart space I rarely get to.  It was as if for those few moments of my life the heavens opened up and Heaven flooded my soul.  I was a different kind of person.

 

The Lord has been teaching me that this is His true intention for us, for it is truly how He sees each one of us.  He is teaching me to look beyond the human vessels to the Divine Love that filled each one.  And I can truly say, though the people and situations were different, the quality to Love I experienced was the same. 

 

It is the same for you too.  It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, what you look like, what kind of grades you are likely to make, you are truly loved, delighted in.  Jesus recognizes you, affirms the person you really are.  He is not waiting for you to mess up so He can show His disapproval of you.  He is actually waiting for an opportunity to really reveal His UNCONDITIONAL love to you.  And if you will let Him, this could be that opportunity now.  Jesus wants you to know:  He deeply appreciates you with an abiding quality that is eternal; He is not going to complain about your quirks and mannerisms; He knit them into you in the first place;  He created you, and it is His love that will fulfill the person in you that you are longing to be.

 

In this stage of my journey, I am learning to come to the Lord to soak up and soak in the Love I need.  And I am becoming a different kind of person as I do.  Take a chance and join me.  You will be transformed too.

 

Blessings,

 

Sami

 

 

Real Hope

Now for Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus: 

 

I know that life can sometimes get crazy.  Just when you think things are getting normal, something else pops up that upsets your equilibrium.  Maybe it was an unexpected assignment, an unexpected personality clash, an unexpected relationship, an unexpected parking ticket (or towing expense).  Maybe it wasn’t even a bad unexpected thing—it was just something you hadn’t planned on.  And now everything is up in the air and you are scrambling to find a sense of calm again.

 

Well, here’s the good news:  God expects the unexpected!

 

There is nothing you will encounter this year that will find God unprepared to deal with it.  As the famous Veggie-Tales song goes:  “God is bigger than the Boogie Man.”

 

Let me be honest.  This faith I have is hard to explain in light of the tragedy unfolding before us during the past week and a half.  Yet even in the midst of natural and human destruction there are powerful signs of hope.  If God can move the hearts of people to open their homes to strangers for undetermined amounts of time, then God can move mightily on your behalf too.  If God can move the heart of Castro to offer aid to his most hated enemy for decades, God can move mightily on your behalf too.  If God can give people who have lost everything reasons to hope again, then God can move mightily on your behalf too.

 

This is the good news for you today, whoever you are, wherever you are:  The moment we invite Jesus and His Holy Spirit into the heart of our experiences, He begins to make a difference. 

 

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR HOPE, COME AND JOIN US, OR SHOW US HOW TO JOIN YOU.  WE KNOW THE SOURCE OF HOPE, AND WE WANT TO SHARE HIM WITH YOU.

 

You are so precious to God.  Thank you for sharing this journey.

 

Blessings,

 

Sami

 

To Pray For Real

In his book ­The Meaning of Prayer Harry Emerson Fosdick has this to say about the “hindrances and difficulties” of prayer: “It does cost to win a life that really can pray.” The truth of this really hits me as I sit here writing to you about Jesus. I guess for me, prayer is the place and time where Jesus takes His place in my life. It is that moment of meeting where the Lord becomes Lord of me. Sometimes I bring desires to prayer that are actually good, but cannot be accomplished because something stands in the way. Usually for me it is because I am trying to jump ahead of the Lord and pray for things that He isn’t ready to give (primarily because I am not ready to receive). To pray further into His will for my life, I have to go further into His will. Usually I will come to Him with my agenda on the prayer list. And He will quietly listen, letting me sit with it. I will leave feeling nothing has been accomplished. And then He will come and visit with me and share what is on His heart: I pray for measurable things; He invites me to know the measure of His love. I pray for immediate results; He invites me to immediately rest in His provision, trusting Him for the rest. I pray to go places and do things; He simply says, “being with Me is the most important place and listening to My voice is the most important thing.”

Not long ago I began chewing on a piece of scripture that caught my attention: Be still and know that I am God (Psalm ). As I dug into the meaning of this scripture, I discovered that stillness is more that not moving. To be still is to “slacken.” Some of the words used to capture the essence of its meaning include: abate, cease, fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (let go, let down), be slothful, (be) weak. (See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, entry 7503 for raphah, in the Hebrew Dictionary). This word “still” is derived from a Hebrew word that means “to mend (by stitching), … to cure” (Strong’s, entry 7495 for rapha, in the Hebrew Dictionary). What a powerful message! As we come to God’s presence in prayer, our best praying happens only when we relinquish our control, surrendering to God fully. In that we find the very thing we are trying to manufacture by our own efforts: healing, mending, well-being, a cure for what’s wrong. The big question is: Am I letting go of every conception I have of what is supposed to happen when I come to prayer and simply letting Jesus be who God sent Him to be, my Savior? Is the reason I am not seeing any fruit from my prayers, because I am fighting against Him instead of flowing with Him?

Over the last few weeks my experience of prayer has deepened. And an amazing thing has happened. As I have surrendered to that place of being held in the Lord’s hands, His power has become manifest in my life in ways I could not imagine. I am seeing Him show up in my daily life, leading my day, directing my plans, and even giving me unexpected Divine appointments that accomplish far more than I ever could on my own. It is truly awesome to see what happens when we create space in our lives for the Lord to work. He still isn’t doing things the way I would have Him, but His way is way more satisfying and is accomplishing much more. I guess it is always about trust more than it is about doing.

Hope you are able in this time of “Fall Break” to truly take a break and be still before the Lord. Give Jesus an opportunity to speak to your heart; listen for a change. You will be so glad you did.

Blessings,

Sami

Now for Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus: The part of the e-letter where I share what’s on my heart from the Lord



I know that life can sometimes get crazy. Just when you think things are getting normal, something else pops up that upsets your equilibrium. Maybe it was an unexpected assignment, an unexpected personality clash, an unexpected relationship, an unexpected parking ticket (or towing expense). Maybe it wasn’t even a bad unexpected thing—it was just something you hadn’t planned on. And now everything is up in the air and you are scrambling to find a sense of calm again.



Well, here’s the good news: God expects the unexpected!



There is nothing you will encounter this year that will find God unprepared to deal with it. As the famous Veggie-Tales song goes: “God is bigger than the Boogie Man.”



Let me be honest. This faith I have is hard to explain in light of the tragedy unfolding before us during the past week and a half. Yet even in the midst of natural and human destruction there are powerful signs of hope. If God can move the hearts of people to open their homes to strangers for undetermined amounts of time, then God can move mightily on your behalf too. If God can move the heart of Castro to offer aid to his most hated enemy for decades, God can move mightily on your behalf too. If God can give people who have lost everything reasons to hope again, then God can move mightily on your behalf too.



This is the good news for you today, whoever you are, wherever you are: The moment we invite Jesus and His Holy Spirit into the heart of our experiences, He begins to make a difference.



IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR HOPE, COME AND JOIN US, OR SHOW US HOW TO JOIN YOU. WE KNOW THE SOURCE OF HOPE, AND WE WANT TO SHARE HIM WITH YOU.



You are so precious to God. Thank you for sharing this journey.



Blessings,



Sami

It's been a good summer.

Hi Mom

Just want to see if this works!

Now for Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus:



A few weeks ago I worked a DiscipleNow weekend with a wonderful woman that I had just met for the first time. In the course of the weekend, she shared with me some things that the Lord laid on her heart to tell me after hearing how ultra-stressed I was feeling. Her humor-filled, loving, yet very pointed words really helped me to see how I needed to make some drastic changes if I expected to not just survive being a mommy, a wife, and a campus minister, but to thrive. She even enlisted the help of my very own students in holding me accountable to the things the Lord was asking me to do. And yes they have kept asking me if I have “done the things on my list.”



Now I’m not saying I’ve made all the changes God was asking me to make perfectly, but I have begun to make some significant changes in my life that have made a HUGE difference. Now this isn’t rocket science; these changes are simple things that need to be done to keep my body, mind, and spirit (in other words God’s temple) in good shape. I’ve begun exercising, making sure I have some daily quiet time with Jesus, drinking more water, and making sure I take time to be with my husband Tim and little boy Noah. Again, I’m not doing these things perfectly, but just the efforts that I have made have made a difference. My back doesn’t hurt anymore, I am less stressed, and I am generally happier.



It is amazing to me how in the business of life things can get so hugely crazy that the basic, “be a healthy person” things get completely edged out. It was like before I got hit in the head with the Jesus skillet I had forgotten that I had a life outside of my work. I really had thought that the sum total of my existence existed for the purpose of doing ministry. I had forgotten that there really was a person inside me who needed to live too.



I say all of this to encourage all of you who are so stressed out because of crunch time and impending finals. By all means, do the best you can, faithfully study, complete your work, but know this: Life exists beyond deadlines and final grades. First and foremost, you are a child of God. And God has plans for your life that are bigger than the next two weeks. In the midst of crunch time it is way too easy to abuse and misuse your body because there seems to be no time to take care of it. It is like everything else seems more important. This is the trap that I fell into. And not only did I suffer for it, I really believe my work suffered too. What I am learning, by the grace of God, is that honoring the temple God gave me (i.e. being nice to my body by giving it rest, food, water, and exercise), and finding balance between the ministry I’m called to while also being a regular person has made everything else better.



When I say Jesus loves you, I mean Jesus loves you, all of you, every last bit of you. It is not Jesus’ idea that you must sacrifice your well-being on the altar of perfection. Do your best. But don’t let it come at the price of your health and well-being. Take time in these next two weeks to eat a real meal at least once a day, to have several good belly laughs, to take a walk in the beautiful sunshine that is not on the way to class, to drink enough water so that you are refreshed, and to get plenty of rest when you need it. I promise that if you will make a good faith effort to do these things, then you will do better in your studying and test taking and project finishing because you will be giving from your full resources instead of from emptiness.



Gosh, if I could make it better for each of you I would. Just know that you can do it. Jesus is with you and will never leave nor forsake you. His promises are just as real during finals week as they are any other time of the year.



So just hang in there. And know that you are not alone.



Jesus loves you and so do I.



Sami

A Little Something to Encourage You

I want to write a prayer for you today, a little something to encourage you as you finish the semester:

Dear Father,

I come before You in the precious name of Jesus. He is so wonderful and so sweet. And He is so beautiful as I see Him reflected in the faces of each of the students you have placed in my care. I praise You and thank You for them now, and I ask that You bless them mightily in the face of deep stresses that always come at the close of another year.

Lord please bless each one of them with confidence. You have placed so many good things in them: gifts and strengths that shine brilliantly. But Lord, when we are stressed out and feel overburdened, it is hard to appreciate, and sometimes even see, the good things about our selves. I pray that You would put someone in their paths that will just encourage them and show them how wonderful they are.

Lord give them Your peace. While so many things are making huge demands upon their time, their energy, their resources, their hearts, please give them the peace that passes understanding. Lord when You are in our lives we can have that kind of peace, even though to the natural mind there should be no earthly reason to feel peaceful. Give them Your peace that permeates all things, yet is not dependent upon circumstances.

Lord give them Your presence. Sometimes college can feel so lonely. Lord, it breaks my heart whenever I hear of the loneliness these students face. Lord, You came to live within us that we might never have to be swallowed up by loneliness again. I pray that the joy and peace of Your presence would be a reality for every person who reads this prayer.

Lord, give them Your joy. Fill their days with small treasures that surprise them with happy moments. Open their awareness to the wonders of Your creation (especially dogwoods and redbuds). In the midst of the business give them moments of laughter and good clean fun. Help them to not be overwhelmed by impending deadlines. Help them to not be paralyzed by the “got to’s.”

Lord, if I missed anything, please cover it. KEEP THEM SAFE!!!!! Please provide for their needs and love on them real good.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen.

Jesus loves you and so do I!

Sami

Baptismally Beautiful

I have been on the phone with my Mom. She is making plans to travel here from Jacksonville to be present at Noah’s baptism on May 15^th. This is such a special time for our family. When I think of how God has blessed us with this little boy, and when I remember how God saved his life when we had to take him to Vanderbilt Hospital a week after he was born, joy and thanksgiving fills my heart. We are going to make a really big deal out of this. It is just natural that we give Noah back into the Lord’s hands, and promise to raise him to know Jesus. After all, Noah is a true gift of God’s love to both Tim and I, and our extended family. We are so thankful for the opportunity to love him and take care of him and raise him.

Did you know that Jesus feels about you the way that we (Tim and I) feel about Noah? Sometimes we go into his room and just watch him sleep, amazed at how beautiful he is. This is how Jesus feels about you. You are His precious child, intricately created by Him in amazing ways. He is so proud of you, not for what you do, but because of who you are. You are a unique, creative expression of God’s love. And by giving you the breath of life, God has lavished His love through you on the world. Now this is true whether you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior or not. You are God’s precious creation.

Now just imagine what joy must fill God’s heart when you return His precious gift and creation, your life, into His care through baptism? The Bible says that all the angels in heaven rejoice when one lost soul is found, when one precious and unique expression of God’s life is returned to God’s care to prosper and fulfill its purpose. When you come to know Jesus as more than just a good man, as more than just a great teacher, as more than just a religious leader, when you come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, something cosmic in the universe changes, shifts, and all heaven rejoices. It is like God rushes in to your heart to greet you with arms wide open, a perma-grin plastered across the Heavenly face, and love oozing out all over. God is crazy about you, and when you honor Him by returning your life into His hands, to allow Him to guide and love and protect His precious child in the way that only He knows how, He just bubbles over with excitement and joy. He probably even weeps. The way I do when I realize that this little boy of mine, who once was so sick, is healthy and happy and full of love to give us.

In the core of who you are, can you honestly say that you belong to Jesus, wholly and indefinitely? Are you still holding out for something better? Oh He loves you. He so wants your joy and fulfillment. He so wants to give you His very best. But these things can only happen in their fullness when you completely relinquish yourself into His care. And here is how you do it:

Talk to Him the way you would talk to someone on your cell phone, knowing He is there and listening even though you cannot see Him with your physical eyes. Tell Him you’re sorry for not realizing how great His love for you is and for not coming to Him sooner. Tell Him you no longer want to get in the way of His blessings by ruling over your own life. Tell Him you want to give Him the care and guidance of the beautiful creation He created when He made you. Tell Him you want Him to live in your heart, to love you and guide you and care for you forever. Tell Him you are ready to be found by His love. And then . . . . Thank Him for coming to you and making you completely His own.

Because this is what happens when you invite Him into your heart like that. And if you haven’t been baptized, go find your church pastor and tell him or her you are ready to be baptized. (If you don’t have a pastor to baptize you, call me at 842-2880, or email me back, and we will make sure you get baptized!) Because there is something so beautiful about having the water of baptism poured over your physical body as a sign of what the presence of Christ has already done in pouring Himself over and into your life. It represents that you are washed clean: everything about you is made new; all your sins are forgiven; and now you can live with the fullness of God’s creative power making you every part of the beautiful creation He made you to be. It is so beautiful. And every angel in heaven celebrates with you.

You are all so precious to me. I rejoice every time I see each of you. For those of you whom I have not met, I still know that you are special and precious, because I know my Savior, and He doesn’t make any junk! I so want for all of you all that Jesus has to offer. It is a beautiful thing when you let Him make you His own. I promise; He is everything He says He is and more; He will give you His very heart. Know that you are so special and blessed.

Blessings,

Sami

Now for Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus:



I spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Camp Loucon in Leitchfield, KY spending time alone with the Lord. It was one of those times that was so blessed, but at the same time very eye-opening. This scripture kept coming to mind as I read, meditated and prayed:



“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14



It is so easy to walk down a road that destroys us. It is like each little decision we make is one small step in a certain direction. And it is only after we have traveled a fair amount of distance that we realize the cumulative effect of those decisions, that we see the direction our lives are taking. When we make decisions and choices that are life-giving, the result is that our lives are replenished and produce good things. When we make decisions and choices that are life-destroying (no matter how small they seem at the time), the result is that we wake up one day and realize there isn’t a lot of Life left in our lives.



Now there are several directions I can go with this, particularly in speaking to college students who are surrounded by so many temptations. But I want to be completely honest and say that this is something that I struggle with daily. Because anything that takes us away from God’s will for our lives is a destructive choice; anything can rob us of the Abundant Life Jesus wants to give us if it comes before His will for us. And anytime we choose something over God, it is sin. Yes, I am guilty of letting things get in the way of what He wants for me and from me. This weekend was a real wake-up call for me, and it caused me to think long and hard about the choices I am making. I am having to think clearly about what I am saying “yes” to and what I am saying “no” to, and why. And I am having to acknowledge the sin in my life of making decisions that are in direct conflict with God’s will for me because I made them wanting to please someone else or because I wanted to prove my worth.



I want to invite you to take this moment to think clearly about your life: Is it filled with Life? Or is it filled with a kind of claustrophobic weariness, emptiness, and dread? Do you feel you have the Abundant Life Jesus died to give you? If not, why not? What choices have you been making lately and why? Could it be that like me you thought you were making choices to please God when in fact you were making them for other reasons?



So here is the good news. At any moment we can begin to make God choices for ourselves that will put us back on God’s road for our lives. We can have Abundant Life. And Jesus Himself will be there to help us find it. As we DAILY seek His face, we begin to understand what those Life-Giving choices look like. Without this daily time with Him, it is IMPOSSIBLE, no matter our intentions, to figure out which decisions are on His path and which are not. But He is oh so patient with us. He loves us so much. He wants us to have everything He died to give us: peace, joy, abundant life free from guilt and bondage and the power of sin. And it doesn’t matter how many times we fail: Every day He his mercy is new. Everyday He is ready to pick us back up and put us on the right road with Him, helping us to make wise choices to keep us there.



So how are we supposed to know which choices are good and which are bad? Well, if we were all really honest, we could pretty well say what is the truth of our choices. We know what is right and what is wrong. For those of us who have asked Jesus into our lives to be our Lord and Savior, He has given us His Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will prick our consciences with specific direction. It will sound off internal alarms when we make bad choices, and It will give us peace about the good choices. If we are stubborn and keep making bad choices, the Holy Spirit becomes like a sharp rock that hangs out in our tennis shoes; we will not be able to ignore the Spirit’s leading in our minds. And the moment we give in to the Holy Spirit we will have a sense of release and well-being.



There is so much love in Jesus’ heart for you. He loves you so much, and it hurts Him to see you hurting. It breaks His heart when you are suffering and when you feel like you are dying inside, and He wants to help. My prayer for you and for me is that we will have the courage to let Him help us. That we will have the courage to follow His direction. That we will have the strength to say “no” to everything else so that we can say “yes” to the Abundant Life He died to give us.



You are so precious. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.



Jesus loves you and so do I,



Sami

Now for Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus:



Over the weekend several Wesley Foundation students and I participated in a DiscipleNow weekend in Elkton, KY. This incredible event was hosted for the youth of Elkton by Petrie Memorial United Methodist Church. My good friend Kris Weathers is the youth pastor there. She, along with some very loving and dedicated folks, put together an amazing time for youth to come to a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to Jesus Christ. I literally saw lives transformed before my eyes. It was such a beautiful testimony and witness to the power of God set free in a community, a church, and especially young lives. Before the weekend was over 7 youth had come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior for the first time. Nineteen other had publicly rededicated their lives. I have to say, as I stood in the middle of Petrie’s sanctuary Saturday night for the commitment service, I stood amazed as I saw the Holy Spirit move like I had never seen. So many people flooded the altar that there wasn’t enough room. We finally began praying with people in the pews. All I can say is “God is so amazing!”



All of this is to say—if you have just about given up on God, hang in there. He is so present, so loving, so crazy about you. I went to this weekend to serve, and God even sent someone to minister specifically to me. God never leaves us. We may feel so all alone, we may feel like our prayers never make it to where God is, but somewhere, right now, God is working through someone to bring about an amazing thing in your life. I know how easily it can be to give up. Especially when the things you have prayed for, hoped for, longed for seem so long in coming. Just know, you are so IN God’s heart. God has a special place in His heart that remembers your name each and every moment. Just because His time frame is so different from ours does not mean He has given up on you. He hasn’t given up on You; don’t give up on Him. And if you need a message of hope tonight, come and join us for our program this evening at the Wesley Foundation at 6:30pm. God gave me a “fly-by” just for you. (You know, one of those thoughts that you have that you are certain didn’t originate with you.) You are so precious to Him. If you forget easily, print off this e-mail and read it often.



Hey! You’re special!



Jesus loves you and so do I,



Sami