Author: Polly

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Now THAT’S Love

Love is in the air, especially this week, right? I find it fitting that my first shift as a Bradenton Booster Club Spring Training Volunteer lands on Valentine’s Day. If you know me, you are aware that I LOVE the Pittsburgh Pirates…even when they don’t deserve it! In a twist of fate that only God could have orchestrated, I was able to connect with a Booster Club member from back home and he invited me to get involved. I am very excited to be an official member of the club and part of the Pirate family. As my daughter often says, “I’m living my best life!”

Another thing I’ve gotten involved with during my time in FL is the Women’s Bible Study at the church we’ve been attending down here. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit. One of the characteristics of that fruit is LOVE. We learned about different types of love last week, one of which is agape. It is described well in a familiar passage often read at weddings—1 Corinthians 13.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”     

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT      

I can’t speak for you, but those four verses point out how terribly short I fall from demonstrating agape love. There’s a reason—only God is capable of that kind of love! The Holy Spirit working in me and through me is the only reason that I ever get it right. I guess that’s why it’s called the “Fruit of the Spirit”—the source of our “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” is God in the form of the Holy Spirit living inside each of his children.

Agape at its best is in another familiar Bible verse:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NLT

Now THAT’S love! God went to the greatest of lengths to give us the privilege and honor of being part of His family. I certainly don’t deserve such love. That’s called grace!

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.”

1 John 5:1 NLT

As excited as I am about the opportunity to be part of the Pittsburgh Pirates family, it pales in comparison to being a child of God and part of His family. The Pirates sacrificed next to nothing to invite me into their family; however, God made the ultimate sacrifice—His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. He doesn’t discriminate—the invitation is there for ALL of us. Have you accepted it? If you haven’t and you’re reading this, it’s not too late. Come, be part of the family. You won’t regret it!

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YOUR Room is Ready

I’ve been telling many of my friends and family, “YOUR Room is ready” for months now. Here I sit, writing in the car as my husband and I make our way south to FL to spend the winter with our daughter and escape the cold of Western PA. Hillary will be there for the next three years pursuing her doctorate degree in OT and needed housing so buying a townhouse was a win-win decision. There are three bedrooms in our townhouse. I affectionately refer to the third one as YOUR. You see, the hardest part of this whole snowbird thing is that we’re leaving a whole bunch of special people behind in PA. I miss them already! Though I’m looking forward to this new chapter, it’s somewhat bittersweet.

The passing of a loved one can also be a bittersweet experience, at least if that person is a follower of Jesus. While the heartache is real and painful, we rejoice that they are no longer in pain and suffering. It brings us comfort to know that they have reached their eternal home.

When my beloved 16-year-old nephew went to his heavenly home in 2007, the following scripture passage was read at his funeral & memorial service:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”                                                                                                                   John 14:1-4 NIV

In the midst of deep grief, these words were comforting. Unlike our townhouse in FL, there are many rooms in God’s house. There WILL be room at this inn for all who believe. Your reservation was made the day you turned your life over to Jesus. And guess what? YOUR room will be ready! He will come for you and take you there at just the right time. He said so!

You may be familiar with these words from the chorus of the popular hymn When We All Get to Heaven:            (Sing it if you wish!) 

When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and shout the victory…

If you are mourning the loss of a loved one, I pray you will find peace and comfort in knowing that one day, in His perfect time, you will be reunited. It will indeed be a day of rejoicing!

Until then, YOUR room is ready in FL (reservations required)!

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Go Ahead…Tell It

Tell it

Tell it again

Tell of the night our redemption began

 

Sing it

Sing it again

There’s joy now and hope for all men

Tell it again

 

Those are the words to the chorus of a song we recently sang in my church’s annual Christmas cantata.

It seems this time of year is one that lends itself to keeping secrets as we try to surprise our loved ones with just the right gift. I will never forget answering the phone one December to hear these words, “This is Sears. Your ping pong table is in.” Well, there went that surprise! At age 10, I was both excited and devastated by this phone call. I gave the message to my mom, minus some detail, and put on a pretty good act when the ping pong table was unveiled on Christmas morning. That very same ping pong table now resides in my basement. I find that it makes for a wonderful place to wrap gifts!

Unlike the ping pong table, there is a gift that isn’t meant to be kept secret. This is not just any gift, it’s the Ultimate Gift—Jesus.

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21 NLT

The angel’s words to Joseph were fulfilled in a stable of all places. God gifted us with His Son when Mary gave birth to the long-awaited Messiah. That night changed everything for it WAS the night our redemption began.

I found myself getting choked up every time I sang the words…

Tell it

Tell it again

Tell of the night our redemption began

 

Because of that night there IS joy and hope for all men (and women and children too)! There are a whole lot of people in our midst who are struggling right now. As Pastor Chris often says, “Everybody is dealing with something.” Does someone you know need to hear (or be reminded of) this Good News? Go ahead—tell it. Tell it again and again. Keep telling it. Sing it if you wish, but PLEASE don’t keep this a secret! There is a hurting world that needs to know that Jesus is our joy and our hope, the Savior of the world.

Have you heard?

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17 NLT

Have a Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

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The Constant

Just recently I taught my algebra students a new term as we began our study of polynomials—constant. If you care to know, it’s the plain old number, the term with a degree of 0. Why is it called the constant? Because, since there is no variable attached to it, its value never changes. In the dictionary, when used as a noun, constant is defined as a situation or state of affairs that does not change.

Have you ever heard the phrase “Change is the Only Constant?” That’s pretty accurate, but not completely. Jesus is constant!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”                  Hebrews 13:8 NLT

 I’ve come to the conclusion that life is a series of transitions. My daughter experienced quite a run of them a few months ago, and, indirectly, so did her dad and I. Though her coursework towards her OTD degree started online in June, it didn’t get real until August when we moved Hillary (and her cat) to FL for the start of the fall semester. That was quite an adventure! We were able to hang around for a week and help her get settled before having to head back to PA so I could begin my own fall semester. I shed tears on and off the whole way home. One thought kept running through my mind, “We just left our baby 1000+ miles away from home with nothing familiar but her cat.” That thought was followed up by the question, “What was I thinking when I encouraged this?” I can laugh about it now that I’ve watched her seamlessly transition to all things new and different, but I wasn’t laughing in August! It seems Hillary has caught onto this “adulting” thing fairly quickly. She may not be a big fan of it (I think she especially misses going to the cafeteria when she’s hungry), but she has proven herself capable.

Hillary had some pretty dramatic life changes thrust on her all at once. Though change to that degree is not an everyday occurrence (thankfully), I think we all experience some level of change in our lives on a daily basis. So, what should we do when the sand shifts beneath our feet and we’re struggling to keep our balance? Seek the One who is even more constant than change—Jesus, our Rock!

“He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.”                                                                                         Psalms 62:6 NLT

He will help us find our footing in the midst of the unsteadiness that comes with change if we just seek Him. And while He’s at it, He’ll clear the path and walk it with us!

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”                                                                                                                        Proverbs 3:6 NLT

Whatever changes you are currently experiencing in your life, no matter how big or small, I pray you will find comfort, hope and peace in the One who will NEVER change as you cling to, and rest in, His promises.