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