Category: disappointments

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Dear friends,


Today is my debut as a contributing writer at the devotional blog, Laced With Grace. 



Laced With Grace



In New Jersey, we have been devastated by flooding. Today’s post reflects on the how’s and why’s some people suffer yet some are spared. 


Please click the link to visit me over at Laced With Grace. And pretty please leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you, and will respond ;D


Blessings,
Susan

Hang in there!!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

There they sit, 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. The recent rain, wind and warmer weather washed away much of the snow; yet there still remain piles of graying white.


Each of those snowflakes that fell en masse last December were so delicate, it’s amazing that they are still present in March. 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.
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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
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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 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.
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Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl. 4:12
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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.
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When we don’t understand our circumstances or we have to change our status quo, we have 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
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Recently, a friend shared this excellent quote with me:
“Comfort is the breeding ground for mediocrity. Hardship makes you find your greatness.”

If you’ve been trying to go it alone or if you’ve been facing a difficult struggle, hang in there. Remember the frail snowflake that first arrived in December and is still hanging around in March; and recognize that you are on the road to greatness!


 

ps – the winner of our giveaway book The Hole In Our Gospel is Marja Meijers. Congratulations Marja, and thank you so much for your encouraging comments and for sharing Eternity Cafe.

Stuff

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I heard a song recently that struck a chord with me. It wasn’t the tune which got me. In fact, when I first heard it, I was ready to dismiss the song as fluff, “gospel-lite”, not worthy of my attention. But the words convicted me deeply.
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Too often, I’m derailed by small things, things that are so trivial it’s embarrassing to admit I’m bothered by them, “stuff” as Francesca Battistelli calls them. In a world where people experience deep suffering, why do I allow these small matters to rob me of joy and peace?
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The Bible refers to small annoyances such as these as “little foxes that ruin vineyards.” Song of Sol 2:15
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Many small things have great impact.
• A poor widow donated two small coins and was honored for it.
• A young boy shared a lunch of two small fish and five loaves, and it was used to feed thousands.
• The mustard seed is the “smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants…” Mk. 4:31-32
• “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” Jms 3:5
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Small things can have large consequences — negative ones or positive ones — depending upon our response to them. We’re given a choice: to just be irritated OR to allow God to use these irritations to shape our character like a file smooths a rough surface.
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This is the Stuff – Francesca Battistelli
I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please ‘Cuz I can’t find my phone
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This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use
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So break me of impatience my frustrations
I’ve got a new appreciation
It’s not the end of the world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HteoxWzAT8

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Is Jesus in the attic?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Since the snow in the Northeast began on Dec. 26th, we haven’t seen lawns; Christmas decorations are still out; and the roadways have had fewer clear days than treacherous ones. Central Park in NYC had a record 53 days of snow-covered grass.
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I have to admit that our own nativity display is still out. We haven’t been able to get to it due to the amount of snow and ice covering it. After it was buried with the first snowfall, more and more just piled on top of it. Our other decorations were stored away, but we just couldn’t put Jesus back in the attic.
And maybe that’s why sometimes things just keep piling up in our lives — so that we don’t put Jesus away. We have a sorry tendency to tuck Jesus away in a corner when things are going well, but when there’s tribulation, we call out to Him in greater measure. I’ve heard it said – nothing improves your prayer life better than big trouble.


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I think with this weekend’s warmer weather, we may be able to finally put away our nativity set. We’ll put away the plastic Jesus, but not His presence.
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“You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence.”
Acts. 2:28.

While You Were Waiting…

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I’ve read it a hundred times. OK maybe not a hundred, but a lot.

The Book of Acts, one of my favorite books in the Bible, full of drama, history, theology.

Chapter 17, one of my favorite chapters, where Paul delivers a powerful message in Athens.

Our adult Sunday School class is studying it. Paul fled to Athens because those Thessalonian rabble-rousers started to agitate the Bereans. Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Berea until Paul’s other travelmates came back for them.

And there it was:
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:16-17

While Paul was waiting…. The 4 little words screamed for my attention.

How many times had I read the inspired sermon that follows these verses and missed the fact that Paul was alone as he wandered around the city, waiting for his fellow workers to join him to begin ministry in this new locale.

“God’s Waiting Room.” I’ve heard the term, even said the term myself. It’s that period of time spent waiting for our life to begin anew.

“When this happens, then I will…”
“When I get a job, get married, have a baby, then I will …”
“When the chemo is over, then I will…”
“When I discover my gifts, then I will…”

Years ago, I heard Elisabeth Elliot share, “We should wait on the Lord the way a waiter waits on tables.” How does a waiter wait? Serving. How may I help you? What can I do for you?

That’s what Paul did. “Paul was waiting . . . So he …” He was distressed with what he saw (idols everywhere) and “so he reasoned with” whoever was around. He didn’t lament that his companions weren’t with him. He didn’t wait until his team was in place. He saw and he served right where he was.

In my husband’s chiropractic office, we have what some call a Waiting Room. We don’t; we call it a Reception Area. There’s a tv monitor that has streams facts about our amazing bodies. The reading materials are about health or about the Lord. Our intention in that room is that while the patients are waiting, they are being prepared to meet the doctor or meet their Maker (not in the fatal sense of the phrase!)

The “waiting room” can be a place of worry or anxiety, a place of uncertainty not knowing what the future holds. It can be a place of preparation for that future. Or like Paul, it can be a place to (cliché alert) “bloom where you’re planted.”

In the allegory book, Hinds Feet On High Places, the character Much-Afraid is on a journey to her Shepherd. At a lonely severe rugged spot, she meets a tiny flower nestled among the rocks. It’s name: Acceptance-With-Joy. The Shepherd later tells her, “When you wear the weed of impatience in your heart instead of the flower Acceptance-With-Joy, you will always find your enemies get an advantage over you.” Her enemies are our enemies: Resentment, Craven Fear, Bitterness, Pride.

On Sunday, our dear friend Irene was in the Sunday School class. She spent most of last year alone in her apartment, exhausted from the chemo she regularly received. Now that her strength is slowly returning, she eagerly makes the long drive to church each Sunday. I asked her about her time spent waiting. Her answer: “It was so difficult, but I got so close to the Lord during that time, I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Irene faithfully leads our prayer ministry and fills the role of “prayer warrior” more than anyone I know, yet the Lord used that time of weakness and waiting to strengthen her in ways beyond her imagination.

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. (Is. 40:31 Amp V.)

Are you in “God’s Waiting Room?”

Do you wait as the Amplified Verse says – with expectation, looking for the Lord, hoping in Him? There lies the key to renewed strength and power, run and not being weary, walk and not becoming tired.

Dear Lord, I pray for those who are waiting. That they may sense Your indwelling power. That they will be strengthened to serve You right where they are. And that in the serving they would become more like You.

I Hate Chipmunks!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
In September and October, you walk our front pathway at your peril. We have the most aggressive acorns you’ve ever seen, or felt. Honestly. The dents they render to a car’s hood or roof are nothing compared to the bumps they produce on your noggin.

Then in the spring, I tackle the unhappy chore of removing of hundreds of tiny oak trees sprouting in my garden. So this week, I decided to pre-empt those suckers and rid the garden of them before taking root. Not as easy as I thought. Like giant pistachios, they had already split and many a root sprouted, burrowed firmly in the soil.

Although there were hundreds, maybe thousands, most were on the surface, fairly easy to dig up, but here and there I uncovered clusters of acorns hidden in the stone wall, under the branches of low bushes, concealed among the stalks.



Then I found it – the Mother Lode, the Cave of Wonders, the Pirate’s Booty. No way was this pile the result of falling acorns. This was a secret stash, a stockpile surreptitiously buried in some clandestine plot. This was the resident chipmunks’ winter preparations.


The outward appearances of these adorable little furballs belie their true identity – hideously destructive varmints. They burrow holes in the soil, loosen the supporting rocks, and now hoard potentially damaging future oak trees.

I didn’t see any chipmunks as I was working. No, they save their activities for when no one is around to witness their detrimental deeds. But the evidence of their handiwork is apparent.


Of course this got me thinking….

These acorns are like the barbed comments that people fling our way. And they hurt, not a bruise on the head, but on the heart. Zingers that find our soft spot, and embed themselves. If we let them take root, they will grow and fester and bear bitter resentful fruit. The longer the root remains, the stronger it gets and the harder it is to remove. It is easy to narrow our eyes at the perpetrator, to retaliate, to judge. But Scripture tells us:


… make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. Deut. 29:18
See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Heb. 12:15

After wasting useless minutes fuming at these critters, I realized –
             they are just doing what chipmunks do.
All my anger isn’t going to make them more sensitive.


I can’t change them, but I can change my root structure:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col. 2:6-7


Instead of hating the chipmunks, I have a choice.
And with those whose comments dent my soul, I have a choice.
I can let them fester, develop bitter roots, and ultimately poison me. Or I can respond as Jesus did. “Father, forgive them. Those chipmunks just don’t know what they’re doing.” Well, a loose paraphrase, but you get the idea.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Eph. 3:16-19

Lazy or Crazy?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
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 One of our most enjoyable family experiences has to be riding a Lazy River water ride – floating peacefully in a giant tube, aimlessly drifting yet gently propelled around a vast loop. The slides at the parks are great fun, but the Lazy River is pure bliss. 
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A few years back, we visited the local water park on Long Beach Island, NJ. They had a Lazy River! Oh JOY! My sister-in-law Cathy, daughter Lauren, and I grabbed our tubes and set out for a serene float. Around the park we went, gliding in paradise.
On our second loop, we abruptly found ourselves overturned, terrified, nearly drowned, totally immersed in water, not knowing which way was up. 

What we didn’t know was that this park had a Lazy Crazy River, lazy serenity alternating with crazy confusion. We were dunked by a ginormous bucket that, once filled, tipped over spilling tons of water on unsuspecting floaters. A few minutes later, we were under attack by watershooters above us who found it entertaining to be gunning down perfectly innocent strangers. Around a bend, relative safety was lost completely by exploding underwater mines followed by powerful streams of water spurting out from above, below, left and right.
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Once we recovered, Lauren and I ventured back into the River, this time sharply aware of the potential pitfalls. Cathy though, spent her time safely ashore not interested in risking the turmoil the River.  



Hmmm…. Kinda sounds like life.

I long to float through life peacefully unhindered, don’t you? Then one day, it happens – a diagnosis, a phone call, a pink slip, [insert your tribulation] and our serenity is shattered. We may feel like we’re drowning or under attack. Dangers lurk everywhere, no end in sight, no place to turn.



But we have a choice. We can retreat to the sidelines of life, watching others in the race.


Or we can stay in the fray, hopefully a little wiser, a bit better prepared. And know that with the struggle will come a strength and a joy that we would not have were it not for that very struggle.


Consider it pure joy, my brothers (and sisters!), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Jms. 1:2-4


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

Are you in a crazy river right now? How can I pray for you, my friend?

It’s Out Of My Hands And Into Yours

Posted on by Susan Panzica
          11:00 pm-     A huge disappointment
          12:00 am-     “why? really, why?”
           1:06 am –     “It’s out of my hands and into Yours”

It’s out of my hands and into Yours
I’m beaten down and don’t feel secure
The heart of the matter is, it’s broken in two
But I know it’s not me that can make it brand new

Expectations shattered 
My mind is battered
The loss of something
The loss of someone
The loss that I am completely undone

I wanted something I couldn’t have
Then why did I want it, I wanted so bad
I am centered around me and not around You
I know this is wrong and it just won’t do
You’re in my life, all around, everywhere
But I just want to feel you right next to me and stay there

You’re all I need
You’re in between
You’re every good thing in my life
You’re love never fails
Even when others bail
You’re love it compels my life

Why do I want unnecessary things
And focus on the short-lived things?

You’re everlasting
All encompassing
And took on pain that I will never receive
You gave ME new life
And endured the strife
How ungrateful and selfish I have been

It’s out of my hands and into Yours
It’s out of my hands and into Yours

Who ever said Your will means pleasure?
I may have gotten hurt, but now I am stronger
If strength is Your will, then God I’m getting it
I’m letting it
I’m not regretting it

It’s out of my hands, God help me endure
It’s out of my hands and into Yours

          by Lauren Panzica
          Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 1:06am


When we hold tightly to our broken dreams, He can’t mend them. But when we release our disappointments to God, we give Him permission to work in our lives. 

The editor in me spotted two beautiful little typos in Lauren’s poem:
          “You’re love never fails…” 
          “You’re love it compels my life…”  
Technically, she meant to write “Your love…” but I also like it this way, telling God “You Are Love… You never fail… You compel my life.” 
When we fix our gaze on Him, we shift our focus in life from the temporal to the eternal.  It’s a choice, an action, to redirect our attentions and put things in proper perspective.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18  

btw- the Greek word for poem “poema” is translated “masterpiece.” Bravo, Lauren!

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Mothers Day … Shmothers Day!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I confess. I have a love/hate relationship with Mother’s Day. For too many years, it represented struggle. Then I became a mom. Still some struggle to be sure, but at last I discovered what it meant to be a child of God – for in my love for my child, I got a glimpse of the unabashed, uncompromising, unconditional, unending love that my Father has for me.



Of course, comparing what I am to what I feel I ought to be (the Proverbs 31 model) leaves me feeling less than best.


This year, I found myself getting stressed out because I wanted to share a brilliant Mother’s Day message to encourage you, but just couldn’t get it together in time. I read a really great post over at my friend, Jody Hedlund, about being (or not being) a supermom. She’s a gifted homeschooling, writing, supermom of 5, but here’s a snippet of what she had to say:

  • “When I really stop to think about all my friends, I realize each of them is a super-mom in their own unique way. We all have unique gifts and abilities. Each of us puts forth incredible amounts of effort and dedication to our talents.”

I wanted to write a post as good as hers.


But I didn’t.


And there’s this quote that I wanted to share:

  • “Every good mother, sooner or later, must understand she is denied ownership; she is merely granted stewardship.” T.D.Jakes

Isn’t that a great quote? I wanted to write a whole essay on the truths contained there.


But I didn’t.


Then I received that email with a great message worth sharing.


And I did.


Too often, I find myself clinging to the memories of my failures. I measure myself against Solomon’s description, that excellent wife whose noble doings surpass all other women, and I am found wanting.


It’s just too easy for me to go jogging down that memory lane. The enemy of our souls would have us settle there in that discouragement. He’s a bully, an intimidator. Peter calls him a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. When I dwell in discouragement, I feel like a toy mouse batted around by a huge, hungry cat.


It’s then that I must flee the cat, dash to the Liontamer, and remember the truth – he is a ravenous lion, but one with his teeth knocked out! He is already a defeated foe. When James says to resist the devil and he will flee from you, he first says to humble yourself before the Lord. Only by recognizing who we are in Christ can we stand firm to resist the devil. Never can we do this in our own strength.


Just as the enemy used Scripture to tempt Jesus in the desert, He can do that to me with parts of Proverbs 31, that portrayal of a true “supermom”. But Scripture is balanced, even Proverbs 31. Here’s the comment I left after reading Jody’s supermom post:

  • People who have called me a “supermom” are those who have seen just a sliver of who I really am, the outside busy part. You are so right when you say each mom has their own gifts and talents that others admire. Sadly, too often we see our failings and admire others’ gifts and talents as more valuable than our own. The only thing that really makes us super is the Maker who made us. Solomon sums it up best: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; BUT A WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD IS TO BE PRAISED!”

It isn’t about what I accomplish or what I look like. It isn’t even about who I am. It’s about Who’s I am. Merely being a woman who fears the Lord is reason enough to be praised. Now instead of jogging down memory lane, I’m going to take up residence in lover’s lane with my Bridegroom.

Spring Blessings

Posted on by Susan Panzica
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come…
Song of Songs 2:11,12
In NJ, we’ve had more than our share of rain. March set a new record for rainfall. But my walk on Saturday morning revealed a hidden blessing from all that rain. The bushes and trees were bursting with blooms – magnificent cherry blossoms, dogwoods, forsythias and magnolias. Peeking through the ground were daffodils, crocuses, and tulips.

For months, these plants appeared dead or dormant, but the end of winter signals a resurgence of life. After weathering the winter in silence, growing and strengthening in the darkness underground, they emerge stronger and more fruitful.
When Jesus was in the tomb, it all looked bleak, but a great work was being done in the darkness. On the third day, He emerged in radiant glory, encouraging His followers to remain strong.

When we experience dark times, we must allow God to strengthen us, remaining confident that such times are not permanent, just a season that will pass in due time. He will bring us through and will use us to encourage others with the comfort we received from Him (2 Cor. 1:4).

May you experience renewed strength, and may you sense His presence in a mighty way. May you have renewed purpose, and fulfill His calling in your life. May you burst forth with the fruit of the Spirit. May you experience the resurrected life.