Author: Susan Panzica

Hang In There!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Easter Sunday morning, there was still a little pile of snow tucked into the garden beside my driveway. The recent rain, wind and warmer weather washed away much of the snow; yet there still remained piles of graying white. For months they sat like giant beached whales. Mounds of snow, at the edges of fences, by the sides of highways, in corners of parking lots. For the entire winter, our lawns were cloaked in white.



Each of those snowflakes that fell en masse last January were so delicate, it’s amazing that they are still present in April. What can we learn from these fragile flakes that have such staying power?





1. They stick together.
Despite the fact that one person can make a difference – which I absolutely believe – it is also true that there is power in numbers.

We simply were not made to go it alone. God made us to be part of a body, His body. He made us for fellowship. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another. Heb 10:25 

God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness..” Gen 1:26 He is one God, but He is a plural God (like one family or one class or one snowstorm are singular, yet are plural.) He is in fellowship with Himself. We are made in His image, and therefore, we need to be in the fellowship of believers. We are made that way for a reason. We are stronger together than we are alone.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl. 4:12

2. They were pushed out of their comfort zone.
Oh, it’s so much easier to stay within our comfort zone, isn’t it? But those flakes that remained so comfortable out on the open lawn were the first ones to melt away. It was the plowed flakes, the ones that got pushed and shoved around that remained. If the snowflakes could speak, they would say that it sure didn’t feel good at the time. To the snowflake, the plow seemed brutal, a real bully. But it was precisely because it yielded to the plow that it survived.

When we don’t understand our circumstances or we have to change our status quo, we need to recognize that there is Someone greater than ourselves in control, Someone who has our best interests at heart.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11

If you’ve been trying to go it alone or if you’ve been facing a difficult struggle, hang in there and be encouraged by remembering that frail snowflake that first arrived in January and is still hanging around in April.


Happy Resurrection Day!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

.

The door of the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” 

“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: 

Rejoice!“


Rejoice, dear friends! May this Resurrection Day usher in a year of peace and victory for you. May you walk closer than ever with our risen Lord day after day after day. 


1. Lk. 2:45
2. Mt. 28:6
3. Phil 4:4 

The Passover Question About Good Friday

Posted on by Susan Panzica


Part of the Passover Seder is the reading of the Four Questions. Usually this is done by the youngest boy, but when I was a child, my siblings were too young, so it was my job to recite – in Hebrew – the Four Questions. It is actually one question with four answers. 

Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilos?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
The answers:


On all other nights we eat leavened products and matzah,
and on this night only matzah.
On all other nights we eat all vegetables,
and on this night only bitter herbs.
On all other nights, we don’t dip our food even once,
and on this night we dip twice.
On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining,
and on this night we only recline.


When I saw the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” several years ago, I was stunned by one scene in particular, an ordinary scene that would not stand out to most of the viewers. In her home, Mary, the mother of Jesus, asked, “Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilos?” The subtitles displayed the familiar words I already understood, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” 
  
It was a lightbulb moment for me. I had known the question in the context of the Passover Seder, the Exodus, the familiar story from from childhood. Now I heard it in the context of the imminent betrayal of my Messiah. 
  
This night was different from all other nights because the sacrifice would be made for the sins of the world, past, present and future. 
  
This night was different because Scripture’s prophesies were about to be fulfilled. 
  
This night was different because the world would be forever changed. <<click to tweet>>
  
That’s why we call it Good Friday. It is a night different from all other nights. It was the night that we were redeemed. 

Tonight, if you attend a Good Friday service, remember the question “Why is this night different from all other nights.” More importantly, remember the answers! 

The Ugly Truth of “Pretty Woman”

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I’ve seen the movie Pretty Woman more times than I want to remember. But I never saw it through their eyes – through the eyes of two young girls, one interviewed in the movie Nefarious, one in the movie Sex and Money.

Years ago, when I saw the movie through my middle class lens, I saw the title character as a beautiful, young woman who wanted out of “the life.” She’d entered a life of prostitution as a last resort. Her mom called her a “bum magnet,” always drawn to the wrong guy, and when she found herself penniless on the streets of LA, she sold the only thing she had, her body.  She was still plucky and moral, just down on her luck. Until one day, her luck turned for the better as a dashing millionaire in the wrong neighborhood needed directions.

But when the two young girls saw this movie, they saw it differently. They saw something that I never envisioned. They saw prostitution as a chance to meet their own Prince Charming, and the movie Pretty Woman was the catalyst for them to enter “the life.”



Each of these girls soon discovered that reality is far different from Hollywood. There was no Prince Charming, no fairy tale ending. They suffered abuse of the worse kind; they lost their freedom and their dignity, and they still experience flashbacks, PTSD, damaged emotions, and lifelong scars.

When I heard their stories, I was sick to my stomach that I had enjoyed something so destructive.

Today is the 25th anniversary of Pretty Woman. Abolitionist Kimberly Rae posted an open letter to Julia Roberts about the history behind the film. I had no idea Disney white-washed this script, creating a fairy tale from what was a “grisly, ugly story about these two people.” And if I had known, I’m not sure it would have made a difference to me then. But it does now.

Please read Kimberly’s post all the way to the end. And ask yourself the same question she asks Julia Roberts, the same question I asked myself, the same question we each must answer – “now that you know, would you do something about it?”

And if you want to do something, but don’t know what to do, visit us at Justice Network. We’re a group of like-minded people like you doing what we can to contribute to ending human trafficking. 

The Profound Mystery

Posted on by Susan Panzica

“You’re Still The One” 2015
http://bit.ly/1x7iv9y

As the Scriptures say,

“A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,

and the two are united into one.”

This is a great mystery,

but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

Eph 5:31-32

Paul paints a tangled web in Eph 5. Back and forth in the instructions Paul gives to husbands and wives, he describes the husband and wife relationship as a metaphor for the church and Jesus, the Bridegroom, calling marriage a great – or profound – mystery.

In the New Testament, the word “mystery” denotes, not the mysterious, but that which can be made known only by Divine revelation… In the ordinary sense, a mystery implies knowledge withheld; it’s Spiritual significance is truth revealed. (Vines)

The word “mystery” means something which is concealed, hidden, before unknown; something into which one must be instructed before he can understand it. It does not mean that it is “incomprehensible” when it is disclosed, but that previously it has been kept secret.

The idea of this being a mystery, is only a mystery to those who haven’t understood that this chapter is about Christ’s relationship to His Church.

“Jesus declares you are His bride. He chose the highest expression of commitment between two people to express His commitment to you. Your identity is wrapped up in the reality of your relationship with Christ.” Eric Geiger

Becoming a Christian is like being carried over the threshold into a sunny room. We leave behind darkness and fear and cross into the light. We enter in to a new relationship, a new lifestyle. We begin a new covenant relationship, sealed with blood.

Entering into covenant relationships with our earthly husband and with Jesus Christ are just the beginning of the profound mystery. Each day presents new challenges. Satan attacks marriages because they represent the Divine union. That’s why this past weekend, and once a year, my husband and I attend a marriage conference called “You’re Still The One.” We are now coaches helping other couples learn the skills and tools that have helped us so much. 

Just like these tools help my husband and I to communicate better resulting in a greater sense of oneness, we also need to maintain effective two-way communication with our spiritual Bridegroom to have a greater sense of oneness. Tools like prayer, fellowship, and reading the Bible are essential to maintain that oneness and allow God to reveal Himself to us in greater measure. 

We begin to understand that which was previously “incomprehensible” to us, and the profound mystery unfolds. But unlike an Agatha Christie novel, we will have full understanding only when we see Jesus face to face. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Cor. 13:12

Until then, we heed Paul’s words in the tangled web of Eph. 5 that provides instructions for earthly and spiritual oneness:

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

On Being A Jewish Tax Collector and Meeting Jesus At The Beach

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I grew up in a Jewish home, a mosh-pit of damaged emotions….

After college, I worked for the U.S. Customs Service in the World Trade Center in New York City. My job was the appraisement and classification of imported merchandise, determining the amount of tariffs and duties that importers would pay the government. I advanced quickly through the ranks and had friends with whom I socialized after work.

On the outside, life seemed good. Inside, the questions and insecurities kept growing. As Charles Dickens said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”



In the summer of 1979, I rented a house in the Hamptons, Long Island, with three girlfriends. Just a converted two-room garage, it was home to us. Despite many rainy weekends, we had a blast. We’d arrive late on Friday night, drink and dance in the bars all night, then sleep on the beach the next day.

Please visit me at Circles of Faith for my testimony about how I came to Jesus.

What was George thinking?

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Today we observe Presidents Day. Or is it President’s Day? Or maybe Presidents’ Day. There are more questions than answers regarding this particular 3 day holiday weekend – including the correct name, use of apostrophes, and who actually we honor on this day. Source 
But one thing hits me as I ponder this conundrum.
I wonder if George Washington had any idea of what was to become of this ragtag new country in just 200 years, a mere speck of history.  Would he have envisioned that the activities of his days would reap a harvest beyond imagination?

Probably not.
George, a faith-filled man, was elected to lead this new nation because of the humility, courage, and integrity he demonstrated in the choices he made on a day-to-day basis as Commander of the American forces during the Revolutionary War and as a leader in helping to frame the Constitution.
We face choices daily too. Each choice or decision builds upon the one before. Each word we utter, each place we visit, each action we take, creates the path of our life and produces a ripple effect to those around us.
Dr. BJ Palmer said, 

“You never know how far reaching something you think, say, or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow.” <<click to tweet>>

A life is made of a series of moments and choices. Just one moment may change the trajectory of a life, yours or someone else’s.
We don’t have to be President of the US. We each can be a person of influence in our own circle of family and friends by the individual moments and choices we make.
It seems a lot of pressure if we contemplate too long on the implications of each and every decision we make. Rather than get caught up in worry, if we commit our way to the Lord and are sensitive to the leading of His Spirit, He will direct our paths.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Prov. 3:5-6 

George Washington did this. Nelly, his granddaughter and adopted daughter, said, “His life, his writings, prove that he was a Christian. He was not one of those who act or pray, ‘that they may be seen of men’ [Matthew 6:5]. He communed with his God in secret [Matthew 6:6].” Source
Who knows the future results of the actions we take today?

The Lord knows. 


Not So Great Expectations

Posted on by Susan Panzica
On Saturday, I heard barely a peep about the snow, just that 2-4 inches were expected. We got 12-14 inches.

But on Monday, the coming snow was all anyone could talk about on TV, radio, social media. Blizzard warnings and expectations of 18-24 inches, whirred people into a frenzy.

It turned out to be the storm that wasn’t. Oh we did get snow, about 8 inches in my area, but the storm stayed farther east than expected and hit areas farther north.

“Jan. 27, 2015 will go down in the annals of history as the day New Jersey came to a standstill for a blizzard in another state.” nj.com

Forecasters blamed it on “sinking air” and gushed apologies. “My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public,” said Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist-in-charge … “You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn’t. Once again, I’m sorry.”

From politicians to business owners to school superintendents to stay-at-home moms, we all made decisions based upon expectations: closing services and roads, early dismissals from schools and businesses, buying more groceries than we could consume in a month.

People complained when we were expecting snow.

Then they complained when we got less than expected.

What was it that fueled these complaints? Not the snow, but rather the expectations of it and their response to those expectations.

It’s not just about snowfalls. It’s about life.

Disappointment is a direct result of expectations that aren’t valid. <<Click to tweet>>



And when we place expectations on someone else’s performance, our disappointment stems from our error, not theirs. We expect those who serve in ministry to be perfect, yet they are as human as we are. We expect our loved ones to behave in the way that we want them to, sometimes even completely contrary to their nature. We want our husbands to purchase the perfect gift by reading our minds, supernaturally knowing our secret wish. Or perhaps we want him to say just the right thing, or pick up a dishtowel, or put the kids to bed. We want our children to never embarrass us by saying or doing the “wrong” thing. We want our relatives to gather together as warmly as an idyllic Hallmark Christmas special.

Through the marriage ministry at my church, learning what makes an expectation valid has changed my marriage, my relationships with others, my life. There are 4 criteria to make an expectation a valid one. Expectations must be:
  1. Conscious
  2. Realistic
  3. Spoken
  4. Agreed Upon
All these criteria are important. We need to be consciously aware that we have certain expectations. We need to speak and share them. They absolutely need to be realistic. And that  last one is key. I often think my expectations of others are realistic, but if the other person hasn’t agreed to it, it is not a valid expectation.

When I’m disappointed by myself or someone else, I either feel my blood start to boil with anger or I spiral downward into a depression. I’ve learned to stop and consider if my expectations were valid. Did they meet each of the criteria? Mostly, I evaluate: did the other person agree to what I expected of him/her?  Because if they didn’t, my expectation isn’t valid, and I’m the one who needs to change the situation.

Is there a disappointment with someone in your life today? Can you apply the criteria above to see if perhaps you are harboring an invalid expectation? And if so, allow God to release your disappointment and to restore your relationship. Share your expectation, and see if you can agree on a realistic solution. You’ll be glad you did!

As for the snow, well…. there’s isn’t much we can do about the weather.  And there are no agreements to be made. But we can choose our reaction, and enjoy it the best we can.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Phil. 4:11-13

How You Can Respond to Human Trafficking

Posted on by Susan Panzica
January is Human Trafficking Awareness month across the country. Sunday Jan. 11 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day in NJ.   

Are you aware that there is more slavery in the world today than at any time in history? 


Please visit me today over at Circles of Faith where I share my passion for ending Human Trafficking. We CAN end it in our lifetime! 

This weekend, read the posts, listen to the messages, learn what you can do in a small way (or large if you prefer) to change the culture and bring an end to this heinous evil. 

Please subscribe to Justice Network’s website to receive newsletters and updates. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to attend our meetings – the second Saturday of each month at the High Mountain Church in No. Haledon, NJ.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim that
captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free…”
Luke 4:18

Read here how I personally got involved in this cause.