A Belated Update...

Grace Notes-column
Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything in the last few weeks...due to health reasons God has apparently decided I need an unexpected break from studies and posting. I will be offline until the last week of December 2010. I pray and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pets on Moving: Sweet Pea's Perspective, Part Three

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Good Things to Come!

As I write this column it’s been six weeks since the day our lives changed forever! Mom is sitting on our front porch alternately crocheting a blanket and doing homework for tonight’s class. Earlier in the morning Mom made Winter Vegetable Beef Soup and a fresh loaf of Rye bread. After she cleaned up the dishes and sorted the laundry, we came out to the porch.  I took a turn enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures by scratching my back on the porch rug and chasing imaginary bugs across the floor. Mom has jazz playing on the stereo now, and the scent of dry leaves, neighborhood cats (GRR!), a stray dog or two filters through the cracks of the door. The sound of birds chirping and squirrels chattering as they rounded up a few remaining nuts for winter sent me to the window. I looked longingly outside, and then back at Mom. I made a quick decision. I jumped to the floor, ran and jumped on Mom’s lap where I promptly settled down for a (very brief) nap. Mom smiled, scratched my ears and then jumped up to get the phone. Life here in the new place is good. We move at a relaxing, slower pace. God was right. As scary, chaotic and stressful as our lives were at the old place His decision to move us to a new home was the right plan for us. I can’t wait for more good things to come!

Pets on Moving, Sweet Pea's Perspective, Part Two

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The Day Our Lives Changed Forever!

Hello again! Mom is taking another break this week so I’m back to share the second part of my story.

As I was saying last week, it took quite a long while for me to open up to Mom. Every time the two-legs who had abused me showed up to harass us, Mom made sure to protect me so I knew I could trust her. But because of the trauma I had endured in my past the sudden changes in my present sent me scurrying to the closet for cover.

Does Fear or Faith Rule your Heart?

The night before moving day, God visited me again. He asked me this question “Does fear rule your heart or faith?” Neither Mom nor I could sleep that night because we were both restless. Trusting God to provide another home meant taking risks, and embracing change as a friend rather than viewing it as an enemy. Mom had more faith than me, after breakfast was over, the rest of the packing done and we had our daily devotions from God’s Word, Mom prayed, “Okay Papa God, I’ve done everything I can now send us the help we need to move.”

At 10:30 a.m. people started showing up. Every time Mom would get tired she asked God to send more arms and fresh strength. He did but I hid. When Mom and Heather packed, when the people showed up to carry the boxes and furniture out to the trucks, cars, and vans; I hid until Mom came to find me after the last boxes and heavy furniture were loaded on the truck at 7 p.m. She tried coaxing me out of the closet but I was frozen stiff with fear so she picked me up, put me into my carrier and whisked me away to a new home.  By 9:15 p.m. we were tucked into our bed at our new home. As scary as the move was I can honestly say that Mom’s faith helped me to overcome my fears. I’m 9 years old and I’ve lived in one place for my whole life but I’m discovering there is more in this world I want to see!

Oops! Gotta go! Mom’s stirring from her nap! Next Week…more Good Things to come!

Pets on Moving: Sweet Pea's Perspective, Part One

Grace Notes--column
Hello! My name is Sweet Pea. Mom is taking a break this week so I graciously decided to fill in for her. OOPS! Just as long as Mom doesn't catch me typing on her keyboard. Be right back!
Okay, Mom is napping soundly so I'm good to go. Where was I? Oh, yes. I am a nine year old female brown and gray tiger cat. I've never lived anywhere else but our old place so this move to a new place really upset me, at first.
My History
Nine years ago, Mom rescued me from an abusive home. At first, all I wanted to do was hide under the bed, eat, and sleep. Mom was very patient though, and after a while I opened up and began to play and talk to her about my troubles. She listened and stroked my back. I know she loves me very much.
Shortly after I moved in with Mom, God and I had a talk. He comes to visit quite often and on this particular visit God appointed me to be Mom's guardian angel. Mom is a writer and sometimes she forgets to feed me or herself so God asked me to remind her to eat, sleep and relax. I am very good at my job. 

Before The Move
In the months before we moved I knew Mom was stressed. She didn't want to play or talk to me very much. There was constant noise from the two-legs upstairs and Mom kept the blinds closed so I couldn't look out and the two-legs couldn't look in. Heather, a two-leg who helps Mom with errands, housework and other stuff, opened the door one day to find boxes had magically appeared. From then on, the Box Fairies made sure we never ran out of boxes to pack our things in. Periodically, the property manager would come over and talk roughly to Mom. She would cry afterward. I didn't like him much because he smelled of sweat and alcohol most of the time.
On the night before the move, God came to visit again. He knew we both needed reassurance. He told me the next few days would pass in a blur, I may be scared by all the activity just like Mom but I didn't need to be afraid. God said this move was something He had wanted for us for a long time. He also said life would be better for us once we settled into our new place. I believed Him.   
OOPS! Mom's awake! I have to go but next week...The Day Our Lives Changed Forever! {:O)

Clearing Away the Clutter

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How many of us go through life carrying habits, attitudes, and memories, like baggage? 'Clutter' comes in many forms. Past wrongs, and misdeeds we'd like to make amends for. Or, the 'clutter' of old papers, trash and junk mail. If we were to think abut it, the changes that come abruptly into our lives through death, divorce, circumstances, environment or other causes could also be considered 'clutter'.
All concept of waiting has been virtually eliminated from society's culture. We live in an instant, 'I want it now' mindset where everything at every turn must be accomplished immediately. From fast food restaurants to drive-thru grocery stores 'clutter' fills our lives.
As part of the creative process, a writer or an artist will methodically clear a space, wash dishes or remove obstacles from his/her way in preparation for beginning a project.
That is the same way we tend to treat God. We believe if we clean up our lives first we can then approach Him as an equal, not as someone who needs a Savior to clean him/her of sin.
To rid ourselves of all the 'clutter' in our lives we must first recognize there is nothing we can do on our own merits to accomplish this. It can only happen when we accept the 'hand up' offered by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through Christ's death, burial and resurrection we have access to God "by grace [we] have been saved through faith; and that not of [our] selves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB)
Clearing the 'clutter' this way, is an act not only of faith but of surrender as well. When we surrender our lives (dirty, unkempt, marginally clean or spotlessly perceived), to Christ He will work (moment by moment, hour by hour or day by day) to teach us how to live better.
Just as an artist or writer works in conjunction with an editor or an agent to polish and refine their skills, so Jesus will cleanse, polish and refine us. One mess at a time. This transformation isn't instant or immediate but a life-long sifting process to eliminate the baggage of old habits, problems and/or negative influences that hinder our growth to full maturity.
The most important thing God wants us to remember as we persevere through life: Hope is always available if we look up and reach out to take hold of it.

Come Walk With Me Through Life's Journey
From the dark recessed corners of my mind
they came, like specters, one memory at a time.
Taunting, tormenting and accusing me
of failures, mistakes I'd made, like chains dragging me down eternally.
Grim reminders of a scarred and battered soul
that longed to be clean and whole.
As I huddled in fright,
suddenly I was bathed in iridescent white light
and a voice called to me,"My Child, come here
there is no need to cower in fear.
When I died on Calvary's tree
it was humanity's face I saw before Me.
I gave My life in sacrifice
so you would have the Gift of Eternal Life!
These specters of your past have no power over you
for My Blood covers you."
When understanding dawned
I knew then that all along
God had been there
and I was safely in His care.
He will walk with me hand in hand
as together we faced life's demands
and I would grow in His Grace
as He stretched my faith.
I lift my voice to sing,
Thank you Jesus, you are Lord of Lords and King of Kings!"

Written by:
Belle Anne Leslie

Written on:
January 7, 2005

A Way to Appreciate Pastors...

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This week's column is dedicated to all the pastors who are serving Christ faithfully everyday...Thank you!
Below is a link to a wonderful blog by Chuck Swindoll that is written to encourage pastors in their walk with God. I hope y'all enjoy it!

The Pastor's Soul, Role, and Home.: Kingdom Commitment

I'm Grabbing for the Brass Ring!

Grace Notes-column

"At what point was I willing to surrender my unfulfilled dreams? Was there a certain age, timely circumstance or health concern that would prompt me not to pursue them?" Recently, I wrote on this blog about the possibility I might become homeless if I could not find a new place to live.

            The whole process of moving got me to thinking about life and dreams. I realized that as I aged I needed to grab for the brass ring. More than ever, I needed to take risks, to never give up, to sink my teeth into something worthwhile that got my blood pumping, and my heart beating every morning. Life, I discovered, was a learning process, a battleground to be faced and conquered one hope, one dream, and one level at a time. Without the desire to learn, to grow igniting within me I wouldn’t survive and thrive, I would just barely exist.

            I also realized that because my home life was reasonably stable over the last 10 years I had unwittingly allowed my Spirit to become complacent. The truth was the Holy Spirit’s power within me had been lulled to sleep.

            It took the potential possibility I might be homeless for God to wake my Spirit up. He shook my world and while I don't believe He caused the situation, I do believe that out of it He purposed to "give me a future filled with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

            How do I know?  Well, I'm happy to report that God did provide for me another place to live. It's actually much better than the apartment I lived in for 10 years. With the new home, God has given me a new urgency to fulfill my mission in life—to serve Him with every breath until He calls me home. For me, Jesus is the same today, as He was over 30 years ago when He ransomed my soul. Tomorrow and for the rest of my life I will worship Him and only Him.

Join me and grab for that brass ring!

“Sink or Swim, I’m Diving In!”

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            What we bury in the past often rises to the surface in our present depending on the choices we make. These choices offer direction to either aid us in maturing as believers in Christ or destroy us by robbing us of the power to believe God’s promise that He will always be there to give us a future bright with hope (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

           So God presents us with this decision: we can’t be beacons of hope if we are too filled with the darkness of our sinful past—the rage, lack of forgiveness, and pain harbored deep within—to stand and be the faith filled people who inspire change in the world around us, if we are afraid to face the fears that haunt us.

            The difference between people of courage and people who are heroic is what we choose to do in the midst of our fear.

            If we run and hide we are cowards or maybe smarter than people think. If we stand and confront, stand and fight, we are heroes especially if we are fighting for someone else’s life. The question is, “Are we willing to pay the price to save another person's life, even if it means losing everything, possibly your own life?”

            Let me rephrase the question. ‘Can you live with yourself and your choices if you do nothing?’

            If we lose our life for Christ, we will gain the world, if we choose to keep our life, we will lose our own souls and no one else will witness what we know about Jesus, because they will be too busy scoffing, laughing and condemning us for even trying (Matthew 10:34-42).

Knowing this I choose to dive in, sink or swim, to lose my life for Christ, even though I lose everything. I believe that Hope, which hears the will of God and obeys its commands, is hope that heals a broken spirit and restores a contrite heart.

I choose to fight fear with faith, to believe the best in each other, in God’s Word, but most of all, I will fight with the hope God has imbued me with because I know it will not disappoint.   

The Power of a Whisper

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Time changes people, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. I have often doubted changes were beneficial while I was experiencing them, but the lessons I have learned along life's journey have shaped the way I view my life today. 
This summer I wrote a book about my past and the relationship I had with my Dad. Writing the book helped me remember the times God had always been there for me. The lessons God taught me about trust not only helped me put my relationship with Dad into perspective, they impacted my continuing relationship with God. 
One lesson God taught me this summer was that even though I have been a Christian for 30 years, at times I've only mouthed the words, "I trust you, God." I never really understood what it meant to fully rely on Jesus' strength to get me through tough situations.
One of the toughest situations I have ever faced is homelessness. I have Multiple Sclerosis, and I have lived in the same home for 10 years. I have been homeless twice before in my life. The thought of losing my home again absolutely terrifies me. Yet, I can still say I know that God loves me and He will provide for me. My belief is not an act. It is not a gimmick. It is what I know to be true based on the overwhelming evidence of God’s presence throughout the years. Despite all the mounting pressure and stress of the coming days I will continue to trust God for the strength to face whatever comes. I know His Grace will sustain me one moment at a time. 
The power of a whisper—God's voice in the darkness and miasma of fear—trumps even the terror and impact of homelessness. 

Here's a sample from my forthcoming book, Dance with My Father: A Memoir in Poems.

The Power of a Whisper

Years later as I was grieving Mom and Dad’s loss,

I marveled at the way God had been the boss,

not me

and the lessons I had learned throughout the years had rescued me from the travesty

of believing and thinking otherwise.

Now I see through God’s eyes

where I had been viewing life through a smoke darkened mirror.

Daily through the power of an unspoken whisper God reassures me He is always near,

  and He continually exposes the hidden secrets and silent shame

that I use to point blame

at myself

because I had to put my dreams on a shelf.

Through reading The Bible every day

I see the way

God reveals the elephant in the room

so that it will not batter my spirit with portents of doom.

Because the Holy Spirit illuminates my life I could no longer be maimed

or shamed

for all the times

I watched from the sidelines

instead of immersing myself into life unless I gave the Enemy permission to.

I knew

in that moment of crystal clarity that often comes with grief that I could stand,

in God’s strength because His Love would give me the grace to honor His commands,

and face the demons of my past,

free of sin’s unrelenting lash.

Written by:
Belle Anne Leslie

Written on:
August 25, 2010

Scripture References:
John 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13