Tag Archive - Jesus

Row, Row, Row Your Boat…

October 25, 2010 in Across My Heart with 2 Comments

Sometimes we all need reminders. Here’s yours & mine today. Keep rowing when life’s waves are crashing all around you…

We lived in Colorado for six glorious months last year. It was an adventure in so many ways and thank God they were mostly positive adventures.

Shortly before we moved, Grandpa & Grandma came for a visit. We went on several adventures with them, one being Whitewater Rafting down the Colorado River. They bought T-shirts for our boys, who also braved the rapids. The back of the shirts say

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

Row, Row, Row your boat

Gently down a raging,

bone-crushing

Life threatening

Class V stream,

Merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream!

An adventurous twist on the old nursery rhyme. My boys have sang it many, many times since our visit from Grandpa & Grandma.

The Bible is full of adventure. Did you know the disciples took their own turn at a Class FIVE stream? Yep… I think they were way cooler than we give them credit for.

John 6:17-19“…And it was already dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.”

Seriously, they rowed about three or four miles in the dark, raging, bone crushing sea storm waiting for Jesus. I read that this may have taken them nine hours! They kept rowing, and rowing, and rowing, until their Savior appeared.

If I’d been in the boat, I’d have been like, “Okay. I’ve had enough. You guys are ridiculously diluted if you think Jesus is gonna show up now! Seriously, He’s probably snoring under a fig tree somewhere waiting for us to get rid of our stupidity. Lets use the brains God gave us & get this boat to shore before we all DIE!” just before passing out.

If they had listened to me, we all would’ve missed the miracleS.  But FINALLY in the darkest, stormiest hour they saw Jesus walking on the sea. Jesus showed up when the storm was at its worst and when they realized it was Him, their Savior, they willingly received Him into the boat.

When Jesus got into the boat, “immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.” Jesus walking on water gets a lot of hyped attention in Christian circles. It’s like no one notices that He also TRANSPORTED them & their boat to EXACTLY where they needed to be. Jesus was the original Spock! Beam me up, Scotty!

I’ve got a few of my own storms going on right now. How about you?

I encourage you no matter how dark it is, how hard the storm is blowing… KEEP ROWING!!!! Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the raging, bone-crushing life-threatening class FIVE stream! Jesus is there with you, even though you don’t see Him. He knows the perfect time to intervene. Have you noticed it’s usually at the last possible moment – when circumstances look the worst & impossible?

So keep rowing when you’re tired & think you can’t row anymore!

Keep rowing when you’re hungry – the Bread of Life will satisfy you!

Keep rowing when family & friends have started swimming for the shore!

Keep rowing – your Savior is on His way & your miracles are in the making.

Shine On Sisters!

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B-Team Prayer T-2 Days!!!

September 15, 2010 in Across Our World, Mission Trip 2010, Swaziland with 2 Comments

Everything our team and supporters have done this summer – blood, sweat & tears – is for this.

In two days we depart for Swaziland.

Yeah, we’ve done a lot of work to prepare for the trip, but the reality is that in & of itself none of that work matters without us going & sharing Jesus with the children of Swaziland.

This is not a missions trip for us to ‘see Africa’ & get closer to God, though I’m sure we will. This is not to pat ourselves on the back so we can say, “Look what we did for God!”

This is not a vacation. It will be hard & will be a challenge, for most of us, one of the greatest challenges of our lives.

It is not even to deliver supplies & provisions for the Beveni kids, though we are blessed to take them so much that will bless their earthly lives.

So why are we going then?

We go as ambassadors of Christ. We go to bring the message of hope to a dying nation. The hope we bring is that Jesus loves them & wants to spend eternity with them, that He has NOT left them orphans!

If you haven’t read Erica’s blogpost that I added earlier today, read it now. Prepare to have your heart broken. And let that brokenness cause you to PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. for the children of Swaziland, that includes our Beveni kids.

Reality Check.. by Erica Zeiler

Honestly, it’s easy for me to get caught up in the tangible business of this mission. Today, I’ve had a dose of reality that came through one of my team members blogs. Thank you, Erica.

Once again thank you for praying for us. Today please pray more fervently for this request than any other.

Salvation is the mission.

Danielle & The B-Team

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If Jesus Was a Blogger…

May 4, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our World, VIsion with 2 Comments

He’d probably own the domain name IAM.com and have the coolest blog ever.

He’d speak your language whether it’s Ebonics or Greek, fo shizzle!

He’d be able to pull you out of that numb stupor you find yourself in. He’d know what you need to hear & write inspirational stories everyday that you just know are written for you. You’d be glued to his RSS Feed, just waiting for the next post to appear.

He’d be funny, engaging, insightful, and His words would bring about change in our world.

He’d fight for the poor. He’d scream on behalf of the needy. He’d beg you to take action.

His words would seem to jump off the screen. And sometimes, maybe more often than you’d expect, His words would offend you. Yep, you’d be offended by Jesus… {GASP!}

Offended just enough to keep reading. You’d hang on His every word, even when it makes you uncomfortable in your ergonomically correct office chair.

Yeah, JC would no doubt have tons of subscribers, yet not all would be supportive. There would be websites dedicated to removing IAM.com from the web. I guarantee His comment sections would be abuzz with discussion & controversy.

He’d have more Twitter followers & Retweets than Ashton Kutcher  - and He’d follow your tweets too, of course because He’s interested in everything you have to say.

He’d have even more fans on FaceBook than that quirky Christian guy Donald Miller, writer extraordinaire. Trust me, if you don’t know Donald Miller, you should. He’d tell you so himself. Donald Miller on FaceBook

I want you to be just uncomfortable enough to take action.

I wanna blog like Jesus.

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Jesus in Disguise

April 12, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Street, Across Our Table, Across Our World, Mom Matters with 8 Comments

Who do you surround yourself with?

Matthew 25:40 says, ‘And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Jesus surrounded Himself with ‘the least of these’. He gave them hope, He esteemed them highly, He even HUNG OUT with them – the beggars, the drunkards, the prostitutes, the tax collectors! But he didn’t just hang out with them, He served them!

Who is the ‘least of these’ in your life? He didn’t have to find out their life history to see if they deserved his time & efforts. No, he just served them as if they were kings.

So did Mother Teresa.

“The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved — they are Jesus in disguise… Through the poor people I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus. Every AIDS victim is Jesus in a pitiful disguise; Jesus is in everyone… [AIDS sufferers are] children of God [who] have been created for greater things.”

This was startling to me. What a revelation of truth. Let’s chew on this.

That filthy mess of a man dressed in ragged clothing that stands on the side of the exit ramp, holding a sign “WILL WORK FOR FOOD”. He is Jesus in disguise.

That little 10 year old Swazi girl who has lost her entire family to AIDS, who has no one to care for her, who has little hope of living past her 30th birthday, she is Jesus in disguise.

Let’s bring this closer to home.

Your beautiful newborn baby girl, fresh from heaven, is Jesus in disguise. Serve her with joy.

Your teenage son’s friend who hangs around WAY too much & could be a much better influence on your son, is Jesus in disguise. Serve him with kindness.

That little old lady, who can bearly see over the steering wheel, driving 38 miles per hour in a 55mph speed zone, is Jesus in disguise. Serve her with patience.

Serve your baby girl, that teenage boy, that little old white haired lady with fresh eyes today. They just might be – no – they ARE Jesus in disguise. Serve them with joy, patience, and love. Jesus will thank you!

Look for Jesus today. He’s all around you!

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