We all remember what happened on the first Pentecost. A strong wind filled the house where those early Christians were assembled, tongues of fire sat on each one and the Holy Spirit filled everyone there. After this amazing event, Jesus' followers were overflowing with excitement and enthusiasm to tell others of his saving grace. They were also eager to live out what they believed.

Something else significant happened on Pentecost. Not only did the men receive God's spirit, the women did as well. God had torn down another wall by allowing women, who according to the Jewish custom, were not given the same opportunities for salvation as the men, to receive his spirit. Women now had equal opportunity and responsibility to proclaim the gospel and serve others.

What about you? Many of us have returned from an incredibly inspiring and unifying Feast of Tabernacles, but are we fired up inside to do what the first Christians did? Are we bubbling over with the desire to share our love, faith, time and resources with non-believers and people less fortunate than ourselves?

Since the giving of the Holy Spirit, women have been an active part of the church, but it seems that we are now moving into a time when women can be even more dynamic and effective than ever before. And all you have to do is be available. Present yourself to God as a woman ready for active duty. Tell him you're here, you're ready, and let him show you what he has for you to do.

With the combining of the Pasadena and L.A. congregations, there will be a lot of work to do, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. We've already been through so many changes and this could be "just one more," or it could be the catalyst to get us in high gear.

Please don't sit back and let someone else do it. Be available. Ask God for the energy and enthusiasm you need to live out what you believe.

January, 1997

I am a mumbler. I discovered this while taking a personality test. It wasn't on the side of the page marked strengths, it was on the other side. Mumbling is when you walk around talking to yourself all day, and it can be good, but more often than not it's negative. We all do it and we call it self-talk.

Negative self-talk can be directed at ourselves, and usually happens when we feel we've done something wrong or we're just feeling out of sorts, like on a kick-the-cat kind of day. It can also be directed at others, when we judge and find fault with everyone we see. The problem with this kind of self-talk is that it doesn't always stay inside our head. It can come out and cause even more problems.

There is a way to turn this mumbling into something positive and you can do it by asking yourself four questions. It might help to write them down and pull them out whenever you find your self talking too much. First, "Am I experiencing God's love?" Is the love of God flowing from him to and through me at this moment? God is love and his love is real. If we are not experiencing it, we won't be able to pass it on to others.

The next question is "How am I loving God?" Is what you are doing right now showing love to him? We love him because he first loved us and knowing this should make us want to give that love back every minute of every day.

Then ask "What is my purpose for living?" Do you know what your purpose is? We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). We've been put here to do his will.

The last question gets right to the heart of every situation in which we find ourselves: "Who am I wanting to please?" We have several choices, but it's pretty obvious which we should choose: ourselves, others or God.

So instead of mumbling, complaining or just indulging in stream of consciousness, ask yourself these questions, and then turn each one into a prayer. "Lord, help me experience your love at this moment, and then help me give that love back to you. Help me remember my purpose for living and that you are the one I always want to please. I can do all things who Christ who strengthens me. Amen."

Did you enjoy the presence of God at our retreat last month? I enjoyed his presence as well as being with all of you. It was a wonderful experience to listen to Jan Johnson. Her warmth, humor and down to earth wisdom about being a real Christian really hit the spot spiritually, and it didn't hurt to be pampered with a nice hotel, great meals and of course, the candy bags and scented candle!

I wish each and every woman in our congregation could have been there, but since flu season hit us with a passion, many of you were down in bed. The cost may have prevented some of you from going, and there may have been other reasons for some. But even if you weren't there, I'd like you to keep reading. I'd like to let you in on what we learned, and remind those of us who were there.

The one thing that has really stuck with me these past weeks is how real and close God is. In the past, some of us may have tended to put God in a box, and only bring him out when we were going through a trial or needed something. But you can't put God in a box. He lives in us and that means that he is always there, but how many times a day are you consciously aware of him? In the morning when you pray and read the Bible? When you're on the freeway and people are driving crazily? When you hear that someone is sick?

Hearing Jan talk and especially reading her book, Enjoying the Presence of God, has made me much more aware of God as I go through my daily routines. I have also become more aware of my need to do things in tandem with God. I already knew that apart from Christ, I can do nothing (John 15:5), but becoming aware of God's presence in my life on a minute to minute basis causes that statement to become reality.

God wants us to walk with him, talk with him and always have an awareness that he lives in us. As our relationship with Jesus grows and develops, and our religion becomes one of the heart and not just of the head, let's grow in our awareness of his presence. Let's be real, both with him and with ourselves, and truly enjoy being with God all day, every day.

March, 1997

Wouldn't it be great to have so much self-control that you never lost your temper, never ate too much, always went to bed on time and never, ever blurted out a thoughtless remark? Life would be so much more - controlled!

One of my favorite television characters is Data, from Star Trek, The Next Generation. He is an android who works really hard at becoming more like humans. He is always in perfect control of himself and can't understand it when the humans he works with lose control or act irrationally. He doesn't make mistakes, but he also doesn't experience the wonders of being human - love, joy, passion - even humor is beyond his comprehension.

We're not androids though, so sometimes we have trouble with our self-control. But who is really in control anyway? Are we, or do we let others push our buttons so that we are always reacting to their actions? Is the Holy Spirit in control? Is there some spiritual "tractor beam" that pulls us in the right direction so we have no control over what we do or where we go? If you get caught in a tractor beam on Star Trek, you have no choice but to let it pull you in.

God doesn't use spiritual tractor beams on us. He gave us freedom of choice, our own will and the power to reason. It's up to us what we do with that freedom. Many people just let the wind blow them around, believing and acting upon whatever feels good. Many just follow the crowd. Some listen to what they feel is a different drummer and go off on their own.

So who controls Christians? We should follow our guide. Our guide is ahead of us, blazing the trail. He doesn't control us and he doesn't tell us what to do. He never takes away our freedom to choose. The only thing he asks is that we follow him. Following a guide means surrendering yourself to his leadership, wisdom and courage. It means trusting in his love for you and believing that he only wants what is best and would never lead you off the trail.

Surrender yourself to the one and only guide to eternal life. Don't hold back any part of yourself. Surrender completely. You will still be in control of your life and your destiny, but you will, by your own choice, be led by the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

April, 1997

Is there an angel on one of your shoulders, urging you to do what is right? Is there a little devil on the other, whispering in your ear that it would be more fun to do what isn’t? We always laugh at this in the cartoons - the idea is ludicrous, isn’t it? Or is it? When Paul wrote about the war going on inside his mind - wanting to do what is right, but also wanting to do what is wrong, he may have felt the presence of these two characters.

I sure do. When I read Paul’s words (Romans 7:15-20) I can really identify. I want to do what I know is right, but I can’t always do it. And as soon as I do something I don’t want to do, I realize it and repent but it’s frustrating. I suppose that is one battle, or civil war as Max Lucado calls it, that will rage on for my whole life. There is hope though because as Paul says, Jesus is there to rescue me from this body of death (Rom 7:24-25). I don’t have to be discouraged.

But where does the desire to do good come from? I know it’s in there because there are times when I know my motives are pure and I really want to help people. There are times when I feel God’s presence in my life and I feel his love flowing through me to others (I wish it were all the time). When I am writing articles and doing work on women’s ministry projects, I pray that God will help me do everything with the motivation of helping and encouraging the women of our church. I ask him to help me do what I do for his glory, not to promote myself or my own agenda.

The only reason I can do anything good or help anyone is because God is the one who puts the right motives in my heart. On my own, without his desires in me, I would only be working for myself, or I wouldn’t be working at all. I’d spend all of my time pleasing myself.

If there is anything good in you or me, any right motivation, any selfless desires to help others, it came from God. There is nothing good that comes out of us, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

God gave us women’s ministry and he is the one who puts the desire in our hearts to serve our sisters through this tool. We are instruments in his hands, here for him to play and to use for his purpose and his good pleasure. It’s up to us to be willing, available and open to his lead. After all, he’s the one holding the music sheet, not us. Play on, Lord!

May, 1997

As I neared home after an invigorating walk across the arroyo and back, I started counting the treasures I had collected along the way. I had the pleasure of smelling orange blossoms, I picked up an aluminum can to recycle, grabbed some mole bean seeds to plant, watched the birds and enjoyed the sweet morning air. I felt so thankful and full of blessings. It had been a great walk.

We are always comparing life to a walk or a journey and indeed it is like walking. To get from here (the present) to there (the future) we have to take steps. No one can take them for us and we can’t skip the parts of the road that don’t look nice or easy. We can walk slowly (sometimes we find ourselves crawling), we can speed up or even run.

We don’t have to keep up with anyone or follow the same path as others. We can go at our own pace, stop for a rest, call for help, surge ahead at times or get to the side of the road when we become injured. The best part of the walk is that we don’t have to go alone.

You may be familiar with the poem "Footprints" in which the author goes through life with God at her side, with two sets of footprints in the sand. There are times in life, however when she noticed that there was only one set of footprints. She wondered where God had gone during those stormy days. God told her those were the times when he had carried her.

God is on our walk with us. He is always there, walking beside us. And in the difficult times, when we feel we haven’t the strength, he carries us. He also gives us treasures - little things in life to make the way more pleasant, to help us keep going, to remind us he is there, watching and helping.

Have you taken the time to find these treasures? Or are you too busy just trying to get there to stop and gather them? That hug from a child is a treasure. The bed of flowers your neighbor planted is a gift from her and God. The letter from your mom is a real jewel. When you come across these wonderful gems, whether laying right on the path or buried under a little soil, stop and pick them up. Put them in your treasure box and hold them close to your heart.

The path can become quite rocky and steep, but keep your eyes open for the little treasures God has placed along the way. Give him thanks for all of them, and especially thank him for your mother and all of your spiritual mothers this month as we celebrate Mother’s Day. I love you, Mom!

June, 1997

Meet Jezebel - an interesting woman with an interesting agenda. Most would agree that Jezebel was the most wicked woman mentioned in the Bible. Her idolatry, murderous plots and evil schemes are so well known that her name has become synonymous with evil.

Jezebel wasn't happy with idol worship in her own country, she wanted all Israel to worship Baal too. She set up two heathen sanctuaries, drove out the true prophets of Jehovah and became one of the first female persecutors in history. She had an innocent man tried, convicted and stoned to death so her husband, Ahaz, could have the vineyard he wanted. She wore the pants in her marriage. She completely dominated her weak husband. She was the evil genius behind the throne of northern Israel. Everything she did was for the good of one person - Jezebel.

Jezebel is an extreme case, but it's good to consider her as we look at ourselves and why we do the things we do. If we're not careful, we could find ourselves having more in common with Jezebel than we would like. Whether consciously or not, we often ask ourselves this question when we are faced with the choices in life - What's in it for me?

Looking out for yourself has become a national, perhaps even worldwide pastime. Advertisers encourage us to buy products or do things to make us feel good, look better, enjoy life more. Few ads promote doing good for others or getting involved in the community. Those kinds of messages are much less engaging or motivating than the ones promoting youth, beauty, getting ahead or self-indulgence. We even dubbed the young adults of the 80's the "Me Generation." It seems we haven't left that behind in the 90's.

It's human nature to look out for yourself. I'm sure when I was a toddler, I lived by the Toddler's Motto: "What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine." When I poured orange juice for my sister, I would line up the glasses to make sure she didn't receive one more drop than me. We used to fight over whose turn it was to wash the dishes because we didn't want to do one more lick of work than the other. I like to think I have put away such childish attitudes, but unfortunately, I still find myself making sure I get what is mine and hoping there's something in it for me.

Whether we are attending services, participating in women's ministry or getting involved in the community, we need to examine ourselves. Of course, at times the looking-out-for-me attitude will surface, but when it does, we need to ask God's help to recognize it, repent of it and ask him to fill us up with the right motivation. Instead of wanting to know what's in it for me, ask to have the attitude of Jesus, who gave his life, knowing he would receive nothing in return.

July, 1997

Sometimes movies have great lines. One of my favorites is from Steel Magnolias and it goes like this: That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. This is a good phrase to meditate on when going through a trial. If we make it to the other side of a trial, we can count on being stronger and having learned some lessons.

Another great line comes from the movie Daylight and was delivered while a rescue team was trying to figure out how to reach some people trapped in a tunnel. An explosion had closed off the end and among other problems, water was pouring in. When someone offered a way to approach the situation, one of the workers made the rather forceful comment, "It can't be done!" Her supervisor promptly replied, "The one who says it can't be done is always interrupted by the one who just did it!"

This really struck a chord with me because many of us (including me) are quick to say things can't be done. Why do we do this? Is it because we're afraid we'll be the one called upon to do the work? Is it because, deep down inside, we don't want to see someone else succeed? Or is it just because it wasn't our idea?

Naysaying is nothing new. People have been doing it for centuries. During Jesus' ministry, he did what seemed radical or at least different. He approached problems from new angles and often did what "just wasn't done." His views on women for example, were totally off the wall as far as the cultural norms went. He was always treating women like they were people! In a society where Jewish men thanked God they were not born Gentile or female (because they believed these two groups had less of a chance for salvation), a man who treated women like equals was not following the rules.

Isn't that what you have to do sometimes to solve a new problem? We have to break the old rules of thinking, get out of our comfortable paradigms and try something new. (Two years ago I didn't even know I had a paradigm and now you want me to shift it?) That can mean taking the risk of being unpopular or receiving criticism. Jesus asks us to do no more than what he did. He took a lot of flack for his new ideas - he not only brought a new paradigm, he was the new paradigm. He was not only criticized, he was crucified.

The it-can't-be-done attitude has prevented so much progress, growth, and understanding! Don't let the one who just did it interrupt you in the middle of the sentence. Ask God to help you never again utter those fatal words. Ask instead, Lord, show me the way. God doesn't accept "it can't be done", because in the words of a popular song, "God will make a way where there seems to be no way."

August, 1997

The evening after Jesus fed the people with bread and fish, he walked on water to his disciples in their fishing boat. They were completely amazed. Mark 6:52 says their hearts were hardened. In Exodus, God actually hardened the heart of Pharaoh so he could perform the miracles and wonders that finally convinced Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Exodus 6:14 says Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding.

When I read these verses, I wondered if I had a hard heart. I know I do sometimes. In the past I have realized my reactions to others’ pain has not always been one of compassion and empathy. I think legalism teaches people to have hard hearts, because in our zeal to keep the laws, we became more sensitive to incidents of law breaking than to pain and anguish. Instead of crying with others, I would think, well, they wouldn’t be having this problem if they had been keeping God’s laws.

The disciples had hard hearts, but they weren’t cruel, mean people. Jesus knew they didn’t understand what he was doing. They didn’t understand about the perfect law of love. The disciples were still operating under the rules of the old covenant, which meant paying attention to every jot and tittle. Jesus’ perspective was much larger. He knew the jots and tittles very well, but he knew they weren’t as important as being concerned for a person’s well being, not just in this life, but for all eternity.

Maybe that’s why our hearts seem hardened sometimes, and we misunderstand people and their reasons for doing things. We lack perspective. I remember hearing over and over again in my early years in the church that we needed to see the big picture, to have more of a worldview on what God was doing. Little did we know. God sees this earth and our lives from an eternal viewpoint. I once heard it put this way: "Put your problems up against the backdrop of eternity. When you do, they almost disappear!"

Try holding other people against the backdrop of eternity and maybe you’ll find your heart softening toward them. Next time someone does something you don’t understand, remember we are all just trying to survive in this world. Every individual has his or her own perspective. How we view others and their situation depends on how narrow or wide our own perspective is.

We needn’t have hard hearts. God hardens whom he will (Rom. 9:18), but it is also possible for us to harden our own hearts (Heb. 3:8). Pray for God to soften your heart, and for help to understand life from God’s perspective. You’ll see the world in a whole new light, the light Jesus shines on a dark world. "For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6).

September, 1997

We were all saddened by the death of Princess Diana this past month. The week following the accident was a time of mourning and disbelief, but it was also encouraging. There were so many stories of how she touched the lives of common, ordinary people and of how she loved and guided her boys.

One of the media tributes to Diana included part of a speech she gave at a Washington, D.C., charity event for breast cancer. In the speech, she said "Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own." What beautiful words, made even more beautiful coming from the mouth of one who lived them.

Her fairy tale life was not without large doses of reality. Even though she lived in a castle, she did not have her head in the clouds. Diana visited people with dreadful diseases, touching them, loving them, and as some have said, becoming them. She took her sons with her so they could see the other side of life. They were learning to practice both the kindness and the courage for which she was so well-known.

Kindness and courage were two traits of someone else we know, someone who often exhibited them in the face of criticism. Jesus was kind to the common, ordinary people of his day. He was frequently asked why he bothered with those others considered riffraff. His reply was that if we are kind to the least, we are kind to him.

His courage was obvious in many circumstances, most notably when he was facing crucifixion and death. He knew he could call 12 legions of angels to his rescue, and that God could take the cup away. Instead he courageously faced his accusers and executioners and drank the cup that gave us eternal life.

We follow Christ, and he encouraged us to follow those who follow him. I Peter 2:21 says "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." And in I Cor. 11:1, Paul tells us to follow his example, as he followed the example of Jesus Christ.

Diana was a breath of fresh air in a world in which few good role models exist for women. Except for a marriage that went sour (you wonder whose marriage could survive in the face of so many challenges), her life could be looked upon as an example for women and men everywhere to follow.

As we walk with Christ, learning more every day to be like him, cast our cares and burdens on him and truly surrender ourselves to him, let's continually pay tribute to his life and the lives of those who follow him. Let our tribute to Jesus be that of loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and as Jesus said in Matt. 22:37-39, loving our neighbor as ourselves. Let our tribute to Diana be that of showing kindness in another's trouble and courage in our own.

December, 1997

My family and I stopped celebrating Christmas when I was 15. I was glad to give up the holiday hassle -- shopping for gifts, decorating, sending cards, the stress that seems to be part of it. Even as a teenager, I realized the way we kept the holiday was somewhat empty. Oh sure, the warm, fuzzy feelings of home, hearth and family were there, but when the presents were opened, dinner was over and the dishes done, what was left except the bills, the mess and the relief that it was over for another year?

I haven't missed Christmas all these years. It has become so commercial. Most people know this, hence the saying, "Put Christ back in Xmas." I really have no desire to go back to all the holiday traditions, but I do feel a need to celebrate it in some way.

For so long, we only paid attention to part of Jesus life - his ministry, his trial, crucifixion and death. We left out two important events - his birth and his resurrection. We weren't celebrating his whole life, only the parts we thought appropriate and uncontaminated by paganism. I want to celebrate all of him now!

I want my children to be able to celebrate all of Jesus. Two years ago, after I made them watch the cartoon video of the Christmas story, they went back to their video games and Barbies. Last year it was the same, although they enjoyed the Nativity scene I set up in the family room. But it didn't mean much to them.

We believe in Jesus. We believe he had to become one of us to be our Savior. That means the fact of his physical life and death is important to us, and if we are going to put him at the center of our lives (he is our life - Col. 3:4), we can't ignore his birth. Even though to many, it's just a chance to be with family or party time, Christmas is still a powerful witness to the world that he walked among us and is alive today.

As Jack Hayford puts it, "Jesus is the central personality of history, and whether Christmas is canned or canonized, packaged in ribbon and sold for profit or sanctified in a cathedral where humble souls worship, he is the inescapable Christ." (Come...And Behold Him!).

We don't have to embrace all the holiday traditions. It can feel uncomfortable after our years of shunning Christmas and its' "paganism." But we can't ignore the significance of Jesus' birth. If it hadn't happened, we would have no hope, no life, no light.

I'm looking forward to celebrating all of Jesus this year and I'm going to work to put Christ in Christmas for my children. Let's sing for joy at his birth, just as the angels rejoiced so long ago. Come, let us adore him.