I'll show you!!

I remember my first visit to Haiti in 2009. I was with a dedicated group of missionaries who already loved the country and it's people. Little did I know at the time that I would leave pieces of my heart there which would call me back and call me to prayer for all those that I met.

On our way to church that first week, I was informed that it was customary to give an offering. Well, the offering was someone sharing a word or song and I was "volunteered" to be the offering. I was nervous, I was scared. I didn't know why. Maybe the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by all I had seen over the past few days, being in a culture that was so different from mine, singing in what was to the people of Haiti, a foreign language to a people I did not know.....the fact was I was just plain terrified.

The trip to the church found me praying relentlessly for God to take my fear away. Out of nowhere, I spotted a truck and painted on it was this... JER 1:17. I knew that it was for me. So, when I arrived at the church I read the passage and this is what God had for me.

“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them." Jeremiah 1:17

Being a quite rebellious person by nature, God knows what I need to hear and how I need to hear it. I needed to be told..."DON'T BE SCARED OR I'LL SHOW YOU SCARED!"

I got the picture and God did what He always does through obedience. He used me for His glory.

Maybe you grew up in a family or with a parent (or maybe it's you) that used this line. "Don't cry or I'll give you a reason to cry!" Not saying it's the best line, but maybe, just maybe it's a bit biblical? The great thing is that God says it with perfect love SO THAT we will do the good thing that He commands us to do. He goes on to say that as we stand and speak without fear that He has made us strong, that the enemy will fight us, but NOT overcome us BECAUSE God will rescue us. 

Now that is comfort to me. Comfort and encouragement to not be afraid (or else) knowing that God has my back. If He is for me who is against, tell me, WHO?....... NO ONE & NOTHING!!

So, my friends, today, I say to you (and me)......

“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:17-9

There's Poop in my pants & I like it ... sometimes

There's Poop in my pants... and I like it... sometimes.
How ridiculous is that? Very! But sadly, in my life, sometimes it's true.

Today, as I was in Bible study with a small group of women, a question, in regards to child-like faith, was asked.

"As we become older, we become more self-sufficient. In what ways can you become more "infant-like or more dependent on God?"- Priscilla Schirer

As I thought about my dependence and my desire to be less self-sufficient and more God-dependent, I envisioned God chiseling me away, molding me, changing me into something that looks less like me and more like Him. But, being chiseled hurts. Being molded and changed is hard, especially for people like me with control issues (I'm working on that.)

My reality is that sometimes, like a toddler, I want to stay the way I am, I don't want to go through the effort and the struggle to be less like me.

Picture the difference between a newborn and a toddler. When a newborn has a poopy diaper they lay there and allow you to change them, to take the mess away and make them new and fresh.....fast forward a couple years and that same child that has a poopy diaper is now busy playing blocks and would rather not be bothered with a diaper change. The stench doesn't bother that toddler and they are totally fine sitting in their own mess.

That's how I feel at times and when I look at it like that it seems pretty ridiculous. Here's the thing, If I stay in the messy condition I am in, unwilling to be changed, not only do I develop a rash (which could be a lack of joy, peace, hard heart....) I actually start to stink up the room. My stubbornness not only affects me, but those around me and they think I smell (figuratively...well maybe sometimes literally.) The odor of stubbornness, lack of forgiveness and pity is enough to literally make one smell really funky!!

I don't know about you, but I don't want to walk around with stank in my pants. My prayer is that I would be like a baby, desiring to be changed, desiring to be made new.

"Lord, help me, mold me, change me and help me to be willing to let you. Amen!"

We're Not Gonna Take it!!!

out·wit

outˈwit/

deceive or defeat by greater ingenuity.

I love definitions because they break down meanings for me and help me understand more clearly. As I was reading the Word today, I came to this passage in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

"Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."

Outwit-to deceive or defeat by greater ingenuity.

How are we deceived? When we don't forgive! It's that simple, it's that ingenious, it's just that clever of Satan and his ignorant designs to defeat us simply by our inability to FORGIVE.

We hear of the importance of forgiveness all the time. Many of us have the same reasons why we don't...."It will take time....I'm just not ready...Some things just can't be forgiven..." Well, here is the reality, as we sit in unforgiveness...taking our time to release others of their wrongs to us, Satan sits their standing over us in our defeat, deceiving us into thinking it's OK to take our time, whispering things like "you have been so hurt, not many would be able to forgive such a wrong" or he might even say..."when your ready, no hurry, there is always tomorrow."

In that, we have have been deceived. We have been outwitted. Make no mistake UN-FORGIVENESS is serious.

Just imagine if we prayed to the Lord "Forgive us our trespasses (the ones that aren't to big) in time and when you are ready if it's not too hard for you, maybe tomorrow or whenever is fine, just as we sometimes forgive others, but sometimes not because we have been wronged too deeply, and lead us not into temptation......"

THAT, my friends is the way the deceiver would like us to pray, BUT just as Paul said to the Corinthians as they were struggling "I also forgive.....SO THAT we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."

Notice that the single act of one person forgiving does not just affect one person, but the body. Paul forgave so that "WE" would not be outwitted. Let's battle the sin of our own individual unforgiveness because it affects the body...it is like a cancer. When we forgive, the body of Christ begins to heal and stand.

Friends, Do not be ignorant of the schemes of satan. Release those who have done you wrong, forgive as God has forgiven you..TODAY.

Unforgivness is serious, it is that place where satan takes us out at the knees and leaves us immobile. It is one of His most ingenious designs. 

Stand, friends! Stand against the schemes of satan and if you are holding onto Un-forgiveness, stand in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to give you the strength to forgive SO THAT you, so that WE will not remain outwitted, but that you will outwit the devil and stand on the Rock, the one who has forgiven you so much SO THAT you can forgive others.

I love you in the Lord, brothers and sisters. Stand, my friends, STAND!

United we stand, divided and Outwitted we fall! The victory has been won, lets stand in it!

So along with the Comedian Kerri Pomarolli whose family sings the song "We're Not Gonna Take it, No we ain't gonna take it, We're not gonna take it anymore!" I sing right along!  Or we can listen to Matthew West. Either one, but sometimes I just gotta scream it out...depending on the day, depending on the battle!

Does She Look like Me?

Growing up in a family that understood the definition of family was a beautiful thing. I remember standing before a judge at the age of 12 and telling him that I wanted Joan and Paul Grotelueschen to be my parents. I wanted to be adopted by my Mom & Dad. They were my parents and they had been for the last 12 years. The Grotelueschen kids were my brothers and sisters. That was real. I didn't even need a piece of paper to tell me that, but you know, paperwork is good!

I didn't look like anyone in my family and that was ok, I didn't even know what it was like to look like someone. I was clearly adopted and stood out like a sore thumb and that was just fine. We knew what family was. My sister was blond haired and blue eyed and my other sister was adopted from Hong Kong. We were sisters. My brothers were great looking white guys, strong and athletic, who loved their little sister. We weren't your traditional family, especially in the 60's and 70's, but we were family and still are!

I'm assuming you know which one is me. I was still (technically) a foster child at this point.

Mia-Mom-Kit San

Back to that little girl.... honestly, there was always something inside me that a wondered.... "Is there anyone out there that looks like me?" Well, one day when I was 16, I got the answer to that question when I sought out my biological family, located them and took a train and bus to the south side of Chicago to meet them. It was actually kind of weird. Here, before me, were people who shared my blood line, black people, like me. I felt a bit out of place. It was all so surreal that I didn't even stop to take a mental picture and ask do we look alike?

Well, that was years ago. And here I am, now in my 40's, posing a question which at the end of the day, doesn't matter, yet, I still feel like asking. A question which now doesn't define who I am, because I know who I am, where I belong and whose arms I am wrapped in. I know what family is, I know what unconditional love is. I know these things, but today, it's just kind of fun looking at my sister, Nita, who grew up so close, yet so far away from me, with a different family, in a different environment, and a different Mom, yet a Mom who gave birth to me too, who gave me life and sacrificed so that I could stand before a judge one day and say I want Mr. & Mrs. G to be my Mom & Dad. That's pretty awesome.

So, tell me....Do I look like my sister?

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, yet, still miraculously my own. 

Never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but IN it.

-Author Unknown

Weeping For Joy

"And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away." Ezra 3:11-13

I read this passage this morning and so many thoughts flooded my mind. What a beautiful picture of the body of Christ. The old men who had seen the glorious temple in all it's splendor in the days of King Solomon looked at the humble foundation of this days temple and wept because they knew what had been and at the same time rejoiced in what was to come..... the new had come.

Those who had not seen the temple of the past rejoiced at the rebuilding and the newness of it all brought such joy that they SHOUTED (and I mean really shouted) to the Lord... "And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.' ” Ezra 3: 11

I have had times where I saw what had been and wept and at the same time I saw what was to be and I rejoiced. After my sister died, leaving behind four amazingly beautiful daughters and the worlds best husband and father, he remarried. I remember sitting at the wedding and shedding tears for what could have been if my glorious sister were still alive....her girls someday getting married, graduating, my sister being a grandmother...but none of that was going to be. I shed tears because I knew what had been taken away, YET, at the same time, I rejoiced at what was to come.

Here standing before my eyes was a man with his four daughters committing to love another women, to take her as his wife and to embark on something new and because of that I rejoiced. Because of the Love of God in their lives, because God is sovereign, because I know that God is good, I could rest in joy and know that what was to come would be beautiful. Because of that, I have a new sister, whom I love because God first loved us.

You see, my weeping of what could have been was wrapped up in the joy of what was to come. My shouts of joy covered and held close the tears like a mother holding a weeping child to her chest.

Sometimes we weep, sometimes we mourn, sometimes we rejoice, sometimes all at once and sometimes in part. But, sometimes the joy comes in the mourning and sometimes joy really does not come until the morning.

So whether you are weeping right now for what could have been, know that joy will come. And if you are one that is standing in joy, may your joy encompass those around you, may you be a rock for them in their sadness and may your joy carry them through the mourning and into the light of a new day.

Shout for Joy all you people, Shout for Joy!! Salvation has come!!

"For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" 

Stuck!

By the grace of God my husband and I own (ok, lease) two new cars. One for him and one for me...... and by me, I mean, the three other adult drivers (my babies) in my house who eat my food, have jobs they need to get to (so that they can pay for college), have weekly servant events, go to mid week worship and love to socialize.

What does that mean for me, a stay at home mom who works from home? Well, it mean just that, I'M STUCK AT HOME WITH NO CAR. My new car that I love so much, I can't even remember the last time I filled it up with gas. I do however know that it is being filled every few days as evidenced by my bank records.

I'm stuck.... at home..... ALL THE TIME. I have to submit in advance and work around others schedules if I want to use a car or even take my son to the ER. It all requires strategic planning. Thankfully, my husband, Bob, has a Doctorate in Family Logistics. All requests and scheduling go through him. He's amazing, what can I say!!

Today, as I made breakfast for my son, who tends to also be confined to the house due to transportation issues, I prayed this as we sat down together... "Dear Lord help us today as we remain in this home, to be lights in all we do. Help us even in are stuck-ness to do your will and your work. May being stuck not stop us from being a light and bringing glory to your name. Amen"

After I prayed this, it dawned on me... actually it dawned on me as I was sitting on the pot-because it's the one place in my house where there are the least distractions...no t.v, no computer, no phone.... (TMI), nevertheless, it struck me that there is so much I can do in my stuck-ness that I couldn't do if I were out and about. So much!!

So today, I re-dedicate my time bound in this house to love, to serve, to clean, prepare meals (we are having pot roast tonight), to plan, to pray and to give glory to God in all I do. May this offering be an act of worship, may I be a living sacrifice right where I am.

Now, to encourage you.....Wherever you are, even if you feel like you are stuck..in that job, in that relationship, in the kitchen, wherever you are, remember that God is sovereign, He is in control, and He cares about where you are and what you are doing. May you fix your eyes on Him, the author and perfector of your faith and run a good race right where you are even if that means doing laps around the kitchen. Give glory to him in what you are being called to do today in preparation for what He may call you to do tomorrow.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 

1 Corinthians 10:31

Bloom where you are planted!

~Mia

My Fear of God

This mornings discussion with my husband combined with my time in the Word today left me pretty overwhelmed. I can't explain a God who commands His people to wipe out entire nations, man, women and child from the face of the earth and who then punishes those who do not follow His instructions to the very last detail. How to I tell people what a loving God I have when they bring this up.... a God who says there is no one good left on the earth except for you Noah, so I am going to destroy them all. How do I justify that?

Well, I think that's it. God doesn't need me to justify Him, but to know Him more, to seek Him more, to trust Him more. He IS just and righteous. That is who he is! He created the world and everything in it. The world is His, the moon and the stars are His also. He loves the world!

As I read in Psalm 7 today, I see God more clearly through Davids heart and cry. David said this.

"O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 

if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 

let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust." vs 1-5

David understood and loved this God of Justice that he would call out to God to take his life if he were found guilty.


"Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high." vs  6-7

David understood that sin and evil angered God. Does it anger and grieve me the way it angers and grieves God?

"The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous—you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God! 

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day." vs 8-11

God is a righteous judge. He weighs our lives and actions fairly according to our righteousness. Standing with Christ I am completely covered. God sees a covering of perfection when He looks at me and sees who I am with. Do I like David cry out for God to search my heart or would I rather stay hidden, those things which I know are unrighteous and filthy before the Lord? Integrity is important.


"If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. 

He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends." vs 12-16

Sin in no less serious now than it was in the times before Christ came and God wiped out evil through wars and the destruction of entire families, man women and child from the face of the earth. The only difference now is that Jesus bridges the gap. #Grace Is Essential Same God today and forever....completely just, completely fair, completely full of Grace & Mercy that He would send His son to be the remedy for our sinfulness and lack of righteousness. The sacrificial blood of Jesus is the righteous cover that we need to stand before a Holy God. 

Once I start to understand, even a small bit, of what real holiness is, I can then begin to grasp how I myself would crumble in the presence of His holiness, a Holy God, Perfection, righteousness, God... and then understanding my unending desperate need for a savior, Christ. Without Him I crumble, without Him I can't even dare to stand and open my eyes in the presence of my God who created all. 

So like David, this holy, just and righteous judge, who we stand before with fear and trembling, my God who made a way to bridge the gap so that I could stand before him with NO condemnation because I am in Christ Jesus....and because God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that ANYONE who believes in Him will NOT perish, but  have eternal life....Like David, it causes me to praise Him and thank Him. 

My words can't express the deepness and gratitude that I have for living this life for him and looking forward and upward to being called home and spending eternity in His presence. My God made a way for ALL... So I say, like David did.....

"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High." vs 17

This song and declaration is my heart today.