The text message reads, “As soon my son walks across the stage and receives his diploma I will leave for class. He’s graduating high school tonight.”

My response, “No way. You stay until you get that Father/Son post-graduation picture and send it to me, THEN you can come to class. Class can wait.”

What was this father going to sacrifice? A grade, ridicule from fellow classmates, a missed lesson in ethics class, some lecture from me, the teacher, on being a responsible adult? In the overall scheme of things, so what, right? We’re talking about a family milestone and a chance for a Dad to give a huge “atta boy” to his youngest son; something far more important that any of the aforementioned consequences.

What saddens me is two things: 1) There are teachers out there that would have said, “Great! See you when you get here,” and then have some penalty for tardiness with strict academic by-the-book justification, and 2) Adult students who would have made class (a grade, image, etc.) the priority in their decision.

I may have been one of those rule-abiding teachers had I not had my wake-up call when I was in my own graduate program. I missed class for being out of town for a work conference and the following week I was vacationing with my family 3 hours away. As I stripped myself away from my family to “make it in time for class” I knew my life/my choice was out of balance. I contacted my teacher and told him I was turning around and that I couldn’t justify missing time away from my family when I had just missed class (and my family) the week before. He told me I was doing the right thing, but he needed to drop me a full grade for having two absences and he did, I got a B for the class. I obviously didn’t graduate with a 4.0, but I’m more proud of that ‘B’ than any ‘A’ I ever earned. I learned a valuable life lesson from that and still earned a graduate degree.

Don’t get me wrong, when you have responsibilities like school and work, the right thing to do is to follow-though and honor our commitments. I also appreciate this gentlemen for his willingness to compromise; trying to make both work, because I also value his sense of obligation to being in class too. After all, I too am away from my family to teach class. Time is precious and there is no responsibility greater than family and I feel truly blessed to have paid-it-forward.

After class he came up to thank me and thanked me. Sharing that his son was beaming when he saw that he was there for the whole ceremony. What really brought me to tears is that he said his son was fine with the fact that Dad had leave early to get to class, but when he saw that he had missed class and was there for the whole ceremony, he was extremely happy. That is what made this story all the more special and inspiring for me.

I praise God for giving me the discernment that this is where this Dad and student needed to be. I pray that this young man will make the right choice for his family when his adult commitments collide. To me, these smiles are priceless; a life experience that no tuition can teach.

“It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” Joshua 24:17-18

As I read Joshua Chapter 24 and how the LORD, through Joshua, spelled out deliberately all that He has done for them, it made me think of the recount God may give of my life…

“Sarah, I gave you breath, your parents, your siblings, that scar on your knee. I saved your neck from being broken when you did that dumb stunt in the barn and comforted you with kind nurses when you were hospitalized from appendicitis. I protected you from that boy your parents didn’t approve of, I gave you that internship that helped you launch your career. I brought you out of credit card debt, gave you a husband and two healthy, beautiful smart daughters. I drew you into fellowship with other believers, I orchestrated that conversation with your mother-in-law that ultimately sent you searching after Me. I gave you that strong-willed personality, your passions, your drive, your heart for people.”

I can go on and on, but here’s my point. It’s all His. Everything I have, everything I am, all that I have been through – good and bad – He has had a hand in it. He disciplines me because he loves me and He reminds me that I’m not created to be prideful, self-reliant, self-serving or arrogant. He keeps me on the right path.

So today I’m praising God for my life, and I have surrendered it to Him. But when the Isrealities made that profession, here is verse 19-20, ^“Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

Remarkably, here is their response in verse 21-22, “But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

We are witnesses, all of us who are believers… Live out today, our commitment and decision to serve the Lord.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)

It’s been busy the last couple of months. Earlier this year we bought a house in the country. Our daughters have a love for horses so we wanted enough land for pasture and for the last 13 years we have lived with a highway in our backyard – we were ready to put city life behind us.

When moving day came we hired a couple of local guys to help us load our U-Haul with some of our heavier furniture. The day started with two men and about an hour into loading a third guy showed up. They spoke Spanish so I didn’t understand a word, but from the appearance and sound of their hissing laughter I suspected that guy #3 was an instigator; only later to confirm I was right.

There was this wooden horizontal filing cabinet located in my husband’s basement office. Near it was a pile of bricks that we used to secure the carpet atop the septic tank; an effort to dull the clinking sound when the pump would kick in to push water out. I remember that cabinet because I asked our moving guys to try it in every corner of my husbands new office, only for him to veto the decision of having it altogether. “Put that thing in the garage it’s junk,” he said, and those poor movers carried it (once again) out of the house and deposited onto the junk pile in the third stall of the garage.

Fast forward two months and it’s garbage day. As my husband and I went to pick up the cabinet and place it onto the truck, we struggled to lift it. I knew the cabinet was heavy, but I found that I wasn’t strong enough to help him. He opened the drawer to see if we could remove them and make the cabinet lighter when he found a brick right there in the middle of the empty drawer. Sure enough, Mr. Instigator was playing a joke on his friends and found humor in adding weight to the load. Some joke!

This brick reminded me of how I tend to “carry extra weight” in my life.  Weight that shows up in the form of guilt, worry, shame, anxiety, fear, fatigue, stress, pressure, deadlines, etc. Everyday brings it’s own “stuff” and what does the world do? Piles it on. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t some funny joke. I’m the one who picks it up, takes it on and then goes to God with my “stuff” as if I expect him to fix it.

Well, he did.

Not only did He take it all, He gave it all – for me! For you! I love the verses in Matthew and am reminded that His burden is light. So I’m taking that brick off of my back and giving it to God; praising Him for giving me a better life.

We are so spoiled, we are so blessed
The presents are open, the house is a mess

The busy shopping season finally comes to an end
and the birth of a Savior inspires me to send
Christmas blessings to you and your family today,
reflecting on what is important and say…

That the real meaning and purpose for this day to be
Is that God sent His Son to save you and save me
Don’t take this for granted, it’s a serious event
Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, be sure to repent

He came to this earth to save us from our sins,
in a world that is hopeless, heaven really does exist
If you are still reading and just got the chills
It’s because your heart you know that Christmas isn’t just frills

So take time to pause, question what you really believe
it’s not Santa or good works or religion to cleave
The decision is personal for each one of us
and there is no greater gift than Jesus, God’s Son!

Today’s Devotional: Deuteronomy 11

We have choices. We can chose to be blessed or we can chose to be cursed. I think we know the obvious desire when given those two options. That’s what Moses is saying in verse 26-28, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”

Pretty straight forward if you ask me. So why would anyone disobey God? Who would be so stupid as to bring a curse upon themselves? Answer: Me.

Obedience is hard and I’m stubborn and selfish. I have blogged about Prosperity Preachers and how deceiving it is that they promote the gospel as if the Christian life is the ticket out of hardship, pain, and struggles – when the opposite is true. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour us. (1 Peter 5:8) Non-believers are no threat to the devil, he has them right where he wants them. It’s the souls of the saved that are his target. Our salvation is Satan’s biggest threat, but nobody wants to sign up for a life of pain and strife.

You can argue that if we can’t get to heaven on works and good deeds, why would we have to struggle and endure pain and suffering to get to heaven? There are a lot of answers to that, but there are two I will highlight here:

1. Philippians 1:6-7, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.“

2. Colossians 3:9-11, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

Why do Christians suffer? So God is glorified for what He has done for us and help us to grow (process of being sanctified) in the likeness of God.

Obedience isn’t easy, but the blessing is the reward. Living each day without a conscious and deliberate focus on living a life of obedience is far more pain-staking than any temporary trials.

Today’s Devotion: Leviticus 20

Rules, rules, rules! I like rules that protect, but I hate rules that restrict. Why are we like that as humans? We want our cake and eat it too. That sin nature sure likes to lead us off the path of righteousness, doesn’t it?!

Confession: One law that I frequently break is the speed limit. I know speed limits are in place for a reason, but I’m usually running late, in a hurry or just want to get somewhere. I have had plenty of very friendly (and not-so-friendly) officers pull me over to remind me of what the law is. There are consequences for breaking the law, if I get a ticket I don’t argue or resist – getting a ticket is a consequence of breaking the law. I can’t get upset with law enforcement for doing there job and making sure I obey.

Leviticus is a heavy book of rules and laws and God is not giving options; His penalties are severe. I guess it serves to prove that God doesn’t ‘play’ with sin. As I read some of His DO NOT’s, I cringe. I can’t imagine that anyone would do the certain things named in this chapter, but clearly there are those who can, and do. Our prison’s are full of law breakers, evidence that sin is alive and well. God is also telling them in advance that their conduct has consequences and He is the enforcer – if they choose to participate in these sinful acts, they will be punished. His punishment is very harsh too!

My favorite set of verses of chapter 19 is verse 7-8 “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.” I tend to look for the positive in all things and this verse is as positive as it gets because The LORD does make us holy. He is unapologetic about that too and the beautiful part is that we are better for it.

So today I learned that I need to beware. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD. And so it is… that is something to take very seriously and not take for granted.