Month: October 2011

What Not To Wear

Posted on by Susan Panzica
My 9 year old self LOVED to dress up!



It’s October 31st and millions of people will spend billions of dollars to eat candy and dress up as someone (or something) else today. It may be fun to dress up as someone else for an event. But what about when we habitually wear an invisible mask to hide who we really are, when we pretend to be someone we’re not.


To read more, click over to Laced With Grace. And please leave me a comment. You know I love to hear from you! 

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To Speak or Not To Speak….

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are just not sure whether to speak or not to speak? That is the question! 
When I used to commute to NYC on the train, sometimes for no particular reason I found myself aware of a particular person in the crowd. I wasn’t sure if God wanted me to speak with that person. I’d get all clammy and nervous just thinking about it. 
Other times, in the middle of a conversation, I’d wonder if the time was right to share, if the person was open, if I could or should speak up. 
So I memorized two Scripture verses to lead me when this situation arises:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Col. 4:6
– and –
Even a fool when he keeps silent is considered wise. Prov. 17:28 
(like another well-known quote: “Better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” lol)
If I sense someone in the crowd, or find myself engaged in conversation unsure what to say, I pray an instant little prayer asking God to reveal His will. One of the two scripture verses will come to mind, and I respond with a second prayer accordingly.
This works well two ways. I know what to do and I have confidence about it. 
  • If it is the Colossians verse, I ask the Lord for the gracefilled words to share. And I’m able to speak with the confidence that comes from knowing that I’m in His will. 
  • If the Proverbs verse appears in my mind, I send up a prayer FOR that person but keep my thoughts to myself with the confidence that it’s A-OK to keep silent at this time. 

Recently read on facebook: 
Knowing when to be silent is as important as knowing what to say.
These two Scriptures verses hidden in my heart help me know when to be silent or what to say. 
Have you been in this situation? I hope this tip helps you! If so, let me know ;D


Does this make sense?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Jericho –

I’ve heard and read the story countless times. Therefore, I assumed that there’d be no new information for me here. I knew God could make anything meaningful of course, but I didn’t count on learning any new factual information about Jericho. Well, never assume….

Maybe you already knew this, but I didn’t.

In our Sunday service, Pastor Mike shared that Jericho had not one but two walls surrounding it – an inner wall and an outer wall. I never knew that. [More about the walls: http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/walls-of-jericho.html]

And it turns out that when the Israelites famously blew their trumpets and shouted their cries to tumble the wall, the inner wall crumbled onto the outer wall creating a ramp for the Israelites to enter. Their greatest obstacle became their stepping stone to victory. The greatest obstacle you face will become your stepping stone to victory.

Up until that point God provided for the Israelites. The day that they camped before Jericho was the last day that God provided manna for them (Joshua 5:12) Now God was requiring them to step out in faith. Faith requires us to do the unusual to bring about what God wants.

Before He gave them their marching instructions, He told them that He GAVE them “Jericho, its king, and all its mighty warriors.” The enemy was already defeated! (Joshua 6:2) We also fight a defeated foe. They had to go through the battle, and we do too. But we fight from victory that is assured.

Why did God have such an unusual plan for the conquest of Jericho? Perhaps it was to prove to them that HE was their deliverer, not their weapons or military expertise, not their skills or talents. Or maybe it was a test to see if they would follow His strange instructions completely. Not that He needed to see if they would pass the test – they needed to know that they could be obedient.

Jericho was considered invincible and that was the first thing on God’s agenda for Israel to conquer. Its defeat showed them (and us!) that it is God who is invincible.

Do you have an impossible obstacle? Take comfort from the words of Rahab – the prostitute and the only one (and her family) saved from Jericho because she was faithful to our Lord and sheltered the spies. “For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11) 

Please let me know how I can pray for you.
“The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” 1 Thess. 5:24


What is RELIGION anyway?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
When my son was little, he found a crayfish in the nearby Glen. He and my husband set up a fish tank abode, and Sebastian lived with us for many years. Not exactly the most cuddly pet, but the very low maintenance was a plus!!

One day, I looked in the tank and darn near fainted. There were two Sebastians! Exactly the same 4 inch size! How on earth????

A closer look revealed that one was merely the shell of the other. It seems Sebastian molted – he shed one complete perfectly shaped “skin.” What looked like two identical living crayfish was in reality one living crayfish and one imposter, a mere specter of the real thing.

Today, my friend Marja’s blogpost, reminded me of this episode of our family history. She wrote about religion, and her aversion to using the word “religious.” That is until she looked up the word in her Penguin English dictionary.
  • [Rilijon] n. belief in and worship of God or gods; specified system of theology ritual and morality based on this; outlook and way of life based on this…

Way of life → It’s not the system or the theory or the rituals that the key. It’s the way of life. Marja said, religion “is not a bad word if we allow it to jump off the page and become alive, if we choose it as a way of life.”  

James says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (Jms 1:27)
Marja noted the two principles here:
– benevolent love for people in need
– a holy life
How often do we mis-use that word religion? People who consider themselves religious often miss its true meaning if their ways of life are just ritual and no relationship with the One they purport to worship. They go through the motions and, like the empty shed Sebastian, they look like the real thing but are missing the life inside. Similar to the Pharisees whom Jesus called “white washed tombs” who look righteous and pure on the outside, but inside are filled with dead men’s bones.
As a reaction, you, like me, may be quick to say “It’s not about religion. It’s about relationship.” The truth is – if it’s about relationship, we will demonstrate our relationship with our pure religion. James talks about worthless religion (1:26) and faith without works being dead (2:14-26).
Paul tells us that we were made as His masterpiece and are saved by faith alone, but that we were made to do good works that he prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10).
The conclusion – it’s not what we do that saves us. But it’s what we do and how we do it that demonstrates to others the love of the One who saved us. Our religion a byproduct of our “way of life.” An empty shell of a religion cannot impart life into another. Only the one who has received the Lifegiver can.
Marja wonders “how difficult we have made ‘our’ religion sometimes…”
Me too.  
How about you?