Lessons from Mrs. Marcum

So....I was helping out at the OU softball tournament and they had my working next a 75 year old lady, Mrs. Marcum. Oh-we had the best time! For 3 hours we talked about our families, our jobs (Yep-she still works because she loves it!), and our relationship with Jesus.
She is so in love with Jesus! The way she talked about Him made me want to get saved all over again. When talking about her family, she could have shared if they were great athletes or if they were smart or what they all did for a living, but Nope-she shared with me how each one came to know Jesus. As I was soaking in everything she had to say, we were interrupted by a woman wanting to buy a shirt. This "interruption" became an amazing divine intervention. The customer was writing a check for her shirt and asked what day it was. Then she asked what month and year as well. She then apologized for so many questions and added that she was suffering from a terminal brain tumor that caused her to say and do silly things. Without missing a beat, my new friend said, "Honey, do you know Jesus?"
I couldn't believe her boldness (this-coming from someone who is in full time vocational ministry). She didn't care what people thought, she just wanting to make sure this young lady had a relationship with Jesus. They proceeded to talk about what all the ladies tattoos meant and how she lost her son to suicide in February and I watched in awe of how compassionate, sincere, and loving Mrs. Marcum was to someone she had never met and would probably never see again. I truly believe I got a glimpse of the meaning "What would Jesus do?"

The customer left and I couldn't get enough of Mrs. Marcum's heart and wisdom. She then began to talk about her husband of 56 years!!! She was so open and honest about marriage and how it wasn't always perfect and sometimes she had to give 100%-there is no 50-50 in marriage. Oh, but how she loved her husband!!! I asked her if she could give me one piece of advice in strengthening my own marriage, what would it be? She winked and simply said, "Honey, I never had a headache a day in my life." We just burst out laughing. Wisdom and sense of humor? This lady has it all!

If I could impart some of Mrs. Marcum's wisdom on you I would encourage and challenge you to 1) Be bold for Jesus today! Our relationship with Jesus is personal, but it should never be private!
2) Look for an opportunity to show someone Jesus. God may want to use you to show His Heart, His Love, and His Compassion!
3) Love your Spouse, pray for your spouse, encourage your spouse, even when it is hard. Marrieage is not easy, but it is worth it and the rewards are a love for 56 years (and maybe a few less headaches:))

The Rock

We hear almost everyday lately about the storms and hurricanes that are impacting our nation. I have been hearing a lot about Earl, lately. I watch the news to see people running around preparing for the storm and it reminded me of this little Methodist church I grew up in and a song we use to sing, The Wise man and the Foolish man. It went something like this (and be glad I'm not singing):

The wise man built his house upon the Rock

The wise man built his house upon the Rock

The wise man built his house upon the Rock

And the rain came tumbling down

The rain came down and the floods came up

The rain came down and the floods came up

The rain came down and the floods came up

And the House on the Rock stood firm

The foolish man built his house upon the Sand

The foolish man built his house upon the Sand

The foolish man built his house upon the Sand

And the rain came tumbling down

And the house on the sand went SPLAT!

Now that I have that song stuck in your head we can continue:) As I was reading the verses this song was based on (Luke 6:46-49) there are a few things that stuck out to me that maybe God wants to use to speak to you today. In Verse 48 it says, "And WHEN a flood arose..."

This verse doesn't say "IF" a flood arose, but "WHEN" a flood arose. It is inevitably, we will go through storms of life. You may be struggling in your marriage, you may have lost your job, you may have lost a parent, your child may be struggling, you may just be wondering what your purpose is on this earth. Whatever your storm is-Whatever flood has hit your life, the Bible says in these verses there is one way and only one way that we will stand firm and not get knocked over-THE ROCK! You can't stop the storm from coming, but you can keep it from knocking you down by laying your foundation on the Rock, Jesus Christ. So, how do we do this?

Jesus says in verse 47, "Everyone who come to me and hears my words and does them..." First, we must come to him. That sounds easy enough...Right? Well, if you are anything like me Jesus, sometimes is about the Fourth on the list. Often times when I get hit with a storm, my first phone call is to my husband, my second phone call is to my sisters, my third phone call is to my parents, and then I will come to Jesus. Our foundation is laid when we go to Jesus first...always!

Second, we must hear God's word. How do we do that? Being faithful goers of a church and getting in the Bible and actually reading it ourselves. God's word is the weapon we have against the enemy. How do we expect to face our enemy in the storms of life without our only weapon?

Third, Jesus says we must do them. We can't be merely hearers of the Word, we must be doers of the Word. We don't do these things to check off a list, but so that we can build our foundation because, Ladies, the storm is coming.

I share with you these things not to make you fear or worry about the storm, but encourage you to focus on the Rock, after all Jesus says those who have laid their foundation on the ROCK, the storm "could NOT shake it."

Lesson from Vince Lombardi and Jesus

Hello Ladies!!!

I really hope you are having a great start to a new school year!!! The smell of fall is upon us: leaves changing, cooler weather, and oh....football! That is really all that is talked about or watched this time of year in the Roberts' house. As a coach, one of my husband's favorite coaches is the legendary Vince Lombardi. There is a quote from Vince Lombardi that God has used to speak to me and my relationship with God and others. The quote is, "Some people find things in the game that don't exist, but football is only 2 things-blocking and tackling."

God used this quote to challenge me in my faith and help grow me as a follower of Christ and maybe He wants to do the same for you too. How? Well, I always thought that to be a more mature Christian you had to know more about the Bible, memorize more scriptures, you had to do more things, or not do more things. You had to understand the book of Revelation, know apologetics so that you could defend the Christian faith, know theology by studying different commentaries people wrote about the Bible. None of these things are bad things and really can be positive, but these things became the focus of my faith, And when it did I often found things in "the game" that don't exist. I became legalistic, judgmental, and religious and not just towards other people, but towards myself as well. I was so hard on myself and others that there was no freedom. You see, I was making the gospel, the good news, into a list of things I could do or should do, couldn't do or shouldn't do. Then, I read Luke 6:27-36:

But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good

to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray

for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the

cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away

your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone

who begs from you, and from one who takes away your

goods do not demand them back. And as you wish

that others would do to you, do so to them. If you love those

who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners

love those who love them. And if you do good to those who

do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners

do the same. And "if you lend to those from whom you expect

to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners

to get back the same amount. But love your enemies and do

good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be

great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the

ungrateful, and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

When I read these verses and realized these words of Jesus was telling us that the "Game of Life" is only about 2 things: 1)Accepting God's LOVE through His son, Jesus Christ. 2) Giving LOVE to others. Anything else is finding things in the game that don't exist. As a follower of Christ and person in the ministry, my life looked nothing like this and that bothered me immensely. How could I go on to study and learn and try to understand the rest of the Bible when I couldn't understand and live these 9 verses in Luke. I truly believe if every person who claimed to be a follower of Christ would live according to these 9 verses, the world would be changed for the Kingdom of God, starting with me. But how could I love like that? I am not capable and even when I try I fail miserably. Then God simply whispers in my ear "You're right you can't, but I can and I live in YOU!!"

In 2010, I have committed to just read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and get as much Jesus as I can. It has been 8 months and God is doing some amazing things in me and through me. I truly believe God is giving me His eyes to see people the way He sees them (most of the time)) and I am still working on seeing myself the way that He sees me.

Now, after reading this I challenge you to read Luke 6:27-36 again and let God speak to your heart!