Author: Susan Panzica

The Unthinkable

Posted on by Susan Panzica
The unthinkable happened this week.
A multi-generational tragedy so great there are no words.

We hugged. She wept, “I didn’t sign up for this.”
Pain unimaginable.
Walking wounded.

It can’t be real. These things happen on Law and Order. They happen to other people, not to me, not to us. But on tv, they are resolved in 60 minutes. This will take a lifetime, if it ever is resolved.

The why’s are not for us to know…. Yet.

But He knows what it is to lose a loved One in a violent tragic seeming mistake.

And because He knows – we can trust.

We can have peace that is beyond understanding.
Not peace of the “worry-free” variety.
But peace that comes from a deep assurance that belies common sense. It is uncommon sense.

How do we cope?
Another friend lost her firefighter husband on 9/11. After being bombarded with literature on how to cope, she searched the Scriptures to see what God said about coping. And found that the word “cope” is not in the Bible.
But the word “hope” is.
Nearly two-hundred times.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him,
on those whose hope is in His unfailing love…
We wait in hope for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
In Him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in His holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in You.
Psalm 33: 18-22

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

 

What’s a nice Jewish girl doing in a place like this?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Jewish girl. Disco band. Salvation mine.


Today’s blogpost is an entry to win a scholarship to attend the She Speaks conference in July. The contest was to write a story in six words. I thought it couldn’t be done, but you just read my story – I was that Jewish girl. Who would have thought that spending weekends at a cottage in the Hamptons visiting bars and disco dancing the night away would lead a “nice Jewish girl” to find her Messiah. But that’s how it happened, the short version anyway.


My testimony “I Was A Jewish Tax Collector” can be found at: http://eternitycafe.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-was-jewish-tax-collector.html


The She Speaks conference was the catalyst for me to begin the journey into writing, including this blog. It is my heartfelt prayer to attend the conference again this July. If not through this contest entry, then praying that the Lord will provide another way.

Can You Top This?

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Heading to my brother’s home a few weeks ago, I passed a line of newspaper boxes. A closer look made me laugh out loud.
In the center was a box selling The Times,
with a sign stating  “No. 1 with Readers.”  
To the left of The Times was a box selling The Trentonian,
boasting a sign declaring “AHEAD of the TIMES.”
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Reminds me of some people I know – the “Can you top this?” syndrome:
“I had a such a busy day today. Couldn’t even stop for lunch.”
     “Well, my day was so busy, I didn’t have breakfast, lunch or dinner.”
“My daughter played varsity soccer.”
     “My daughter was MVP in soccer, basketball and lacrosse.”
“I enjoyed my trip so much, I took over 100 pictures.”
     “Well, on my last trip, I took over 400 pictures.”
“My mom was such a good cook, we never wanted to eat out.”
     “My mom was such a great cook, she was featured in Gourmet magazine.”
“My son was on the honor roll.”
     “Well, my son was valedictorian.”
“As a kid, we were so poor we didn’t have paper to do our homework.”
     “Well, I was so poor, we didn’t have toilet paper.”



You know people like this. As you start to share your story, their minds are only half-listening, just waiting for the moment to share their own better-than-yours story. They can be sad/sadder stories OR good/better stories OR funny/funnier stories. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that that person’s story tops yours in some way.

I imagine the people who lived in Corinth were like this. One-third of all the references of the word “boast” in Scripture can be found in Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians. His many comments on boasting can be summed up like this:

  • Love doesn’t boast. But if you must boast, let it be about the Lord or about your weaknesses in which the Lord’s power is glorified.*

Can you top that? 😉

*Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31

*Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4

*But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

For Such a Time as This

Posted on by Susan Panzica
This post was previously published on 4/9/2009. I am sharing it to observe today’s Jewish festival of Purim.

My friend, Dawn, shared with me about her experiences working an office where the boss is heavily into Scientology. This is not always easy as her values often contrast with his. He talks about the importance of being legal and ethical, yet his actions don’t always follow his words. It is a delicate situation where she must abide by certain rules, yet not compromise her own values and standards.

This reminds me of the book of Esther. Growing up in the Jewish faith, I always loved this story and the holiday of Purim that we celebrated each March with many festivities. All the children dress up as a character from the story, come to the synagogue, march in a parade and eat such delicacies as “hamantashen cookies” (triangular cookies, traditionally prune-filled, based on the three sided hat of evil Haman.) Boys pretend to be King Ahashuarus (or Xerxes as the Gentiles say), Mordecai or the evil Haman. Girls would be Queen Esther… or Queen Vashti, if you wanted to be a rebel. 
One year, my mom made my sister and I the best costumes ever. We were the “Hamantashen Twins.” Dressed in black leggings and turtlenecks with giant posterboard triangles sandwiched over our shoulders, we were an awesome sight to behold. We even won 1st prize – which was a pathetic coloring book that had dots of dried paint in it. If you put a paintbrush in water and touched it to the page, you could paint the picture. Well, we tried it, but without removing the page from the book. One drop of water spread, expanded the entire book and ruined it completely! So much for the grand prize! Oh, well, at least we had the glory!! Anyway, I digress – –
Esther had been chosen to be queen after the Queen Vashti was banished for disobeying the king’s wicked orders. The king’s advisor, Haman, hated the Jews and was plotting their destruction. Esther’s beloved relative, Mordecai, advised Esther that she must approach the king and plead for her people’s deliverance. When she told Mordecai that the king might kill her if she approached him uninvited, he responded “…And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” She heeded his advice, and with great wisdom and a little trickery, the nation of Israel was spared.

When we are faced with circumstances like my friend’s that are contrary to our beliefs, who knows if God has placed us there “for such a time as this?”

– Perhaps we are there to shine our light in a dark place.

– Maybe God will open opportunity for honest sharing.

– Or we might be there just to pray for the people involved.

– He might ask us to speak up (“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” Col. 4:6)

– Or He might want us to keep silent (“Even a fool, when [s]he keeps silent, is considered wise.” Prov. 17:28) and make it a matter of prayer.

– If He wants us to speak up, “do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Mt. 10:19-20

But we can be sure this one thing – that as we seek His will, He will guide us. As the world around us gets darker each day, will you be ready “for such a time as this?”

How To Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Susan Panzica


What did you first think when you read the title of today’s post?
– Leprechauns? Shamrocks? Pot of gold?
– Drunken revelry? Celebrations out of control?
– Green bagels? Green beer? Green painted people?

After working in NYC for years, I’ve seen it all. I find it most curious the way that people “honor” St. Patrick on March 17th. I once witnessed a near-fatal showdown between mounted police and carousing, green-faced partygoers who spilled out of a bar and blocked 33rd St. and nearly became a casualty myself!

Since St. Patricks Day in Ireland is a religious holiday, I wondered how these American traditions developed. MSN.com provided a few answers:

Leprechauns
-In Irish folklore, leprechauns were cranky tricksters who you wouldn’t want to mess with. The cheerful, friendly ‘lil fairy most Americans associate with St. Paddy’s Day stems from a 1959 Walt Disney film called Darby O’Gill & the Little People. The Americanized, good-natured leprechaun soon became a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland in general.

Shamrocks
– You may have worn a shamrock tattoo or donned a clover-covered necklace on some St. Patrick’s Day past. According to Irish legend, St. Patrick used a three-leaved clover, or shamrock, to illustrate the idea of the Holy Trinity, versus the good luck associated with the four-leaved variety, a mistake many Americans make.

Green Milk Shake
– Introduced in 1970, and discontinued in 1990, the deliciously minty McDonald’s Shamrock Shake returned to select stores in 2008. Only available for the month of March, the shake has received rave reviews by milkshake connoisseurs, who have entire websites dedicated to finding all of the shake-selling McDonald’s outposts.

Chicago’s Green River
– Chicago has dyed its river green for St. Patrick’s Day every year since 1962, when city workers realized that the dye they used to trace illegal dumping would provide a fun way to celebrate the holiday. They released 100 pounds of dye into the river, which kept it green for an entire week. Chicago now uses just enough dye to last one day in order to be kinder to Mother Earth.

Parades
– The First St. Paddy’s Parade didn’t take place in Ireland but in the U.S. in 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the British military marched through the New York City streets playing music. In America today, New York, Boston and Chicago boast the biggest St. Paddy’s Day parades, with New York being the longest-running civilian parade in the world. (Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is a wee 75 years old.)

Drinking … a Lot
– While Americans associate St. Paddy’s with binge drinking, the Irish consider it a religious holiday. Until the 1970s, a law required all Irish pubs to close every March 17th. Drinking on St. Paddy’s really only became popular in Ireland post-1995, with the start of a national campaign to attract tourists for the holiday. It worked — over a million people now attend Dublin’s five-day festival.

Corned Beef
– Those who celebrate old-school by eating a meal of corned beef and cabbage are only really getting it partly right: The dish was originally eaten with bacon, not corned beef. Irish immigrants in America couldn’t afford the traditional bacon, so they substituted it with corned beef, a cheaper option they picked up from their Jewish neighbors. (Too bad they didn’t grab some bagels while they were at it!)

The prayer of St. Patrick adds the right perspective to this celebratory day. After reading the words and sensing the heart of this godly man, it grieves me to see the misunderstanding that the celebration of his life has become.

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear for me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
Christ be with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of everyone thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.
Christ in every eye that sees me.
Christ in every ear that hears me.

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

Oh that Christ would flow through me in such a way that people would see Him when they “think of me, speak of me, see me, or hear me.” May your day today be filled with His presence. And may His presence flow through you to those around you today and everyday.


Aftermath

Posted on by Susan Panzica
On Thursday night, my family, friends and I went to a Hillsong United concert, part of the tour promoting their new album Aftermath.

It was a worship encounter that rivaled any I’ve ever experienced. During the final song, I glanced up and saw the massive painted ceiling of the Hammerstein Ballroom, a vision of heaven that brought my spirit right through the roof to the clouds. I sensed the prayers of the people rising up to heaven as incense.

The next morning, I awoke to the news of the tragedy in Japan. My heart is breaking for the loss and suffering over there. And in the days since, the word “aftermath,” so often repeated, has taken on new significance.

The album was titled Aftermath because “instead of living in the aftermath of our mistakes and sin, we can live in the aftermath of what Jesus has done for us.”

What is the aftermath? According to the dictionary, it is:

af.ter.math – noun
something that results or follows from an event,
especially one of a disastrous or unfortunate nature;
consequence: the aftermath of war; the aftermath of the flood
After natural or man-made disasters, there are the expected devastating consequences.
After the cross, there was and is the unexpected consequence – what appeared to be total destruction and loss one tragic Friday 2000 years ago was complete victory the following Sunday. A victory that is ours today. At the concert, Joel Houston of Hillsong shared, “The cross was a symbol of sin and shame, but Jesus turned it upside down into a symbol of grace and forgiveness and hope.”
“A perfect God sent His perfect Son to an imperfect people in order to perfect them through His perfect love.” Heb 10:14 (Hillsong U. version)

Aftermath
The skies lay low where You are
On the earth You rest Your feet
Yet the hands that cradle the stars
Are the hands that bled for me
In a moment of glorious surrender
You were broken for all the world to see
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath
Freedom found in Your scars
In Your grace my life redeemed
For You chose to take the sinner’s crown
As You placed Your crown on me
In that moment of glorious surrender
Was the moment You broke the chains in me
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath
And in that moment You opened up the heavens
To the broken the beggar and the thief
Lifted out of the wreckage
I find hope in the aftermath
And I know that You’re with me
Yes I know that You’re with me here
And I know Your love will light the way
Now all I have I count it all as loss
But to know You and to carry the cross
Knowing I’m found
In the light of the aftermath



May you, dear friend, find yourself in the aftermath of His sacrifice and love for you.

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
…
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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Clogged ?

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Last month, I had unintentionally withdrawn from writing and serving, sensing overcommittment and burnout. While in my self-imposed exile, I read about the Dead Sea, specifically that it is “dead” because the water doesn’t flow out.
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.God calls us to be rivers, not lakes; conduits of the blessings He has showered on us, not reservoirs. This winter, the drainpipe at our home was stopped up, frozen and immovable with the water that was made to flow freely through it. It wasn’t serving its purpose to receive from above and channel the water to the soil below.


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And neither are we if we receive the gifts that God has given us and keep them to ourselves. The Bible says that the gifts we are given are for the “common good1,” that is – they are given to us to share with others. If I am given a gift for teaching, what good is it if I keep it to myself? What about gifts of hospitality, mercy, leadership, giving, wisdom, faith, healing? We are told to “eagerly desire the gifts2” but what is the benefit of hoarding such gifts?
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There is no doubt that in this fast-paced, hyperactive society we live in that there is real danger of overcommittment. But the answer is not to withdraw completely. It is to achieve balance. If we’re stopped up, we can become stagnant, like the Dead Sea. Better to allow the Living Water from above flow freely to us and through us.
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A well-known phrase in chiropractic circles is ADIO – meaning that healing comes from “Above Down Inside Out.” It’s a perfect metaphor for how we should live our lives. We can’t be truly successful on the outside unless we are filled and flowing on the inside having received from above.
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Throughout Scripture, drink offerings were “poured out” to the Lord, and it is well-known that in his final letter, Paul referred to himself as being “poured out like a drink offering.3” But before that, in his letter to the Philippians, he made the same reference “even if I am being poured out like a drink offering …, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.4” This time, it was part of his message that God is at work in us5, and we ought to do everything without grumbling and complaining that we might be blameless and pure, shining like stars in the sky6. Wow, I wanna shine like the stars. How about you?
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Right now, I’m feeling a bit like the “little teapot” of song; Lord – tip me over and pour me out – that I might be filled again and again, and poured out again and again.

1- 1 Cor. 12:7
2- 1 Cor. 12:31
3-  2 Tim. 4:6
4- Phil. 2:17
5- Phil 2:13
6- Phil 2:14-15

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100th Follower Giveaway Contest!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

You’re invited to my 100th follower party! I’m having a giveaway contest celebrating that there are now 100 followers of Eternity Cafe. Thanks to Carolyne of Lady on a Roof for being my 100th follower. Well, at least 100th in the blogworld. I’m also most grateful to the 100+ subscribers who receive my blogposts via email.
I’m giving away the bestselling book, The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns. This book, awarded the 2010 Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, is a compelling account of how a CEO struggled to obey God at all costs. It challenges us to do the same. This book is a life-changer.
To enter the contest, simply leave a comment and share either why you want to receive this book OR how something you read on Eternity Cafe has impacted you. Each comment, either here on the blog OR on facebook, will count as an entry. Commenting in both places will count for two entries.


Okay, here’s how you enter:
1) To enter: Leave a comment with your email address. Entries without an email address are not eligible. (If you are commenting on facebook, you can send your email address privately via message.)
2) To enter you must either be a current Follower or Subscriber OR become a Follower or Subscriber. (Please let me know if you have been or just became a Follower/Subscriber.)
3) Receive a bonus entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog, facebook and/or Twitter. Please be sure to let me know you did so in your comment.
3) The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and is void where prohibited.
4) Deadline: Saturday, 2/26/11, at midnight. Winners will be notified via email, and an announcement will be posted on the blog.

Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the author provides this book or requested this giveaway.

I thank you for being a part of my world. You have blessed me greatly. It is my prayer that this blog will bless you in some way and encourage you to walk strong for God, providing bits of humor along the way. And if you have been blessed, please share it with a friend.




 
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.