Author: Susan Panzica

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

i am a … sister!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

….I interrupt my previously scheduled “i am …” series to bring you the first of two highlights from our church’s family retreat last weekend.


…..#1:

Today is a video of a comical skit performed by my friends and me. Enjoy! After you watch it, I’ll share the secret of how it all developed.
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….




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In case your email doesn’t contain the video, here’s the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxFsZDdEWA8

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Now what’s really funny to me is how God can take a complete lack of talent and an abundance of fears and transform them into a joyfilled experience.

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You see, on our annual church retreats, we have “Share Your Gifts” nights, my contribution usually being an appreciative audience member. This year I wondered what, if anything, I could do. Alas, I cannot sing a single note on key. But, secretly I can lip-sync with the best of them. Then again, I’m way too scared to do anything by myself. Yet I was also a little afraid to ask anyone to join me in such a ridiculous endeavor. Would they laugh at me? Or just think I’m bizarre?
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The small group I attend is studying “authentic relationships,” so I bared my soul and popped the question to my posse. A movement was born! Patty dreamed up costumes. Diane suggested my daughter choreograph our moves, which she did (that was my Lauren dancing in the audience after she successfully led us through our routine!) Even funnier than our performance were our practices. If laughing were an Olympic sport, we won 7 gold medals.
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This just shows how God can use us despite our weaknesses, or in this case, because of them.
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I usually focus on what I lack.
I usually succumb to my fears.
This time, I took a chance and ended up with a memory of a lifetime.
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Whoever said that it isn’t fun to be a Christian – isn’t hanging around with the right Christians!

 

  

i am a Servant

Posted on by Susan Panzica



Jimmy is a simple man. In pretty much every way. Occasionally cantankerous, he stands guard over his domain – the church’s kitchen – keeping the younger generation safely outside its borders. He stands at the sanctuary’s entrance, anticipating his opportunity to usher the offering and communion plates. He has few wants and fewer needs. To some, he’s almost invisible, and he prefers it that way.
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On retreat one year, Alice and her senior friends were struggling at the food line. At least, so it seemed to me. Alice’s cane hooked over her arm as she slid the heavy plastic tray along the metal bar. I rushed over to carry their trays.
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Gently, Alice assured me she needed no help from me.
“When we get to the end, Jimmy will be there.”
And sure enough, when the gals got to the end, Jimmy was there ready to carry the trays to their table. He had been doing that for every meal. Where had I been?

The impact of Alice’s statement took me from the dining hall to the pearly gates. When Jimmy gets to the end, he will be there. He is a faithful servant seeking nothing in return, investing his talents in the lives of others. It was to those who had invested their talents that the Master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”


“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: … taking the very nature of a servant.” Phil. 2:1-7

Unlike biblical times, we are a servants by choice, not of a harsh master, but of a loving and kind one. In fact, our Master knows what it is to be a servant. He said that He Himself came not to be served, but to serve, and He set an example for us to follow. It is not hard to serve our Lord and Master because of His character.

The great price He paid for us gives us security, freeing us from worry. A servant doesn’t need to worry about where his next house payment is coming from, where his next meal is coming from. The servant knows that the Master has taken care of all that the servant needs, maybe not every desire, but certainly all the needs. A servant is a demanding full-time, life-time job, but with wonderful long-term benefits.

Being a servant means relinquishing control to the Master. In today’s culture where it is almost fashionable to be a “control-freak,” it goes against the very fabric of our society to voluntarily yield to another’s wishes. But 2000 years ago, faced with the daunting charge of birthing and mothering the Son of God, young Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” She surely had other plans – to be married to a godly carpenter, honorably raising a devout Jewish family, respected in her hometown. However, in identifying herself as a servant, she surrendered control and set aside her desires to satisfy those of her Master.

To be a servant, we don’t need to have all the answers or abilities. In fact, we find God’s strength more glorified when we serve Him in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The old adage goes, “God is not looking for our ability, but our avail-ability.” He wants a willing servant that He can work through.


Check out this list:

the 3 patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; Moses; Joshua; Ruth; Hannah; Samuel; David; Solomon; Elijah; Nehemiah; Job; Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego; Daniel; Mary; Jesus; Paul; Peter; James; Timothy; John…
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This list could be a Who’s Who of important, influential people in the Bible, yet each one was called or called themselves a servant of the Lord. As you embrace the identity of a servant, what might your future hold?

“Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10



i am an Ambassador

Posted on by Susan Panzica

The first day of school brings a cacophony of sounds – humming engines of school buses; children laughing, yelling, crying; moms laughing, yelling, crying; and Donna’s loud cheerful greetings.
Donna is my neighbor, my friend, and part of our neighborhood Bible study. One day, Donna announced that she just got her dream job – the crossing guard at our local elementary school, the school she attended as a child. I just love that of all the jobs in all the word, this was her dream. Through heat waves, cold spells, rain, hail, sleet and snow, and beautiful days too, Donna mans her post with a smile.
But she is more than a crossing guard. She is our neighborhood’s ambassador for Christ. Her focus is not just the physical safety of the children. Week after week, Donna brought prayer requests to our study group. Often she brought a friend, sometimes a parent she met at her post. If a neighbor was sick, she spread the news so that we could provide assistance. She could just focus on the required elements of her job, but instead she sees beyond the physical to the spiritual needs.
What is an ambassador?
“An authorized messenger or representative. Often, a diplomatic official, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative.”
An ambassador is someone who lives in a place other than his or her true home and serves to represent that true home to others. Ambassadors must live in foreign, maybe hostile, environments and convey the virtues of their native land, encouraging others to travel there, to invest/trade there, to move there. As Christians, our home is the kingdom of heaven. We are to encourage others to make the kingdom their home as well. We must represent the kingdom in a way that draws people unto our King.
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…” 2 Cor. 5:20
Perhaps we assume that it is someone else’s job to be an ambassador. A minister or a Sunday School teacher or a traveling evangelist. Someone better equipped to handle God’s Word. But in this paragraph, Paul says “if ANYone is in Christ, he is a new creation. … WE are Christ’s ambassadors, God is making his appeal through US.” Through you and me. If God can use a donkey and a crossing guard, I have to believe He can use me, and you too. We don’t need to preach a sermon. We just need to share our experience. “All I know is this – once I was blind, now I see.”
I am a Christian today because someone was His ambassador to me. Is there someone you can bring God’s grace to? 

i am a Shepherd

Posted on by Susan Panzica
You might think for a shepherd post, I’d choose to highlight my pastor who is indeed an awesome shepherd of our flock. You might pick your pastor too. Maybe that’s why I didn’t. We often associate the job of the pastor with the identity of a shepherd. In fact, we often confuse our profession with our identity. Randomly ask someone “Who are you?” and the answer might be “I’m an accountant… a teacher… a stay-at-home mom… etc…”
The truth is our identity is not what we do, but who we are. And who we are is what determines what we will do. For example, if we are a shepherd, we will care for our sheep. Not because it is our profession, but because it is how we are made.
In the weeks to come, I will be sharing “people posts,” posts about people who demonstrate a particular biblical identity. And I do believe there will be some surprises, unexpected choices. In fact, every one of the people you will read about was shocked that I asked to write about them. Like Dee Silva. Dee is the front end manager of a local gourmet food store, and my kids’ first boss.
I shop in the Market Basket often. It’s on my way to work, church, and just about everywhere I go. It’s also chock full of excellent produce, meat and specialties. So in high school, when my kids were interested in earning a regular paycheck, it was the first place they applied.
It probably wasn’t the job best suited for my kids. One is a dancer who hated being stationary behind her cash register. The other is superactive and hated being tied to a strict schedule. Yet, from a mom’s point of view, the job was ideal – largely because of their boss.
From Day 1, Dee was and is interested in the youth in her employ. She is compassionate when needed, and she disciplines when appropriate.
My kids haven’t worked there for several years, yet when I ran into Dee a few weeks ago, her first question was, “Today is Lauren’s dance performance, isn’t it?” It was. How did she know??? Facebook. Dee keeps us with her lambs even after they no longer are in her employment. After my son returned from his mission trip this summer, on fire to begin a nonprofit ministry, Dee spent time with him sharing her wisdom about the proper steps he needs to take on his journey.
When my friend asked me if I’d recommend the Market Basket as a suitable place for her daughter’s first job, it was a no-brainer. Dee would be my choice for any first boss.
One dictionary definition of shepherd is: a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people. I could have picked a mom who nurtures her cubs or a coach who encourages his team, a babysitter or a CEO, a writer or a salesclerk. Perhaps I could have picked you.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. While sharing breakfast on the shore, He issued a commission to Peter. After Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” and Peter responded, “You know I do”, Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  Peter was given his mission. Later, the apostle Paul stated that he acted as both a caring mother and an encouraging father to the Thessalonian church. Likewise, you and I are exhorted to care for those Jesus loves, the weak, the unfortunate, the new believers.  It is not just the pastor who is the shepherd.  All of us are called upon to shepherd the lambs of Jesus, leading them to safety, protecting them from their enemy, helping them to grow, knowing them by name.
He is the Good Shepherd …
The Shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3
I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. John 10:14
Who even shepherds the stars!
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Is 40:26
We are the little shepherds called to care for His people…
Feed My lambs. John 21:15

who am i ???

Posted on by Susan Panzica

As some of you know, the subject of my book (still a work-in-progress) is who we are in Christ. There are many books on the names and titles of God, but precious few on who He says we are. Each chapter of my book looks at a different identity that He calls us – an ambassador, the bride, a part of the body, a child, clay, salt, light, a servant, sheep, a shepherd, etc. Since God is called the Great I AM, I call these identities “little i am’s.” 

You know, it’s hard to type a little “i” since Word automatically changes my little “i” to a capital “I.” It takes constant effort to repeatedly undo that “I” and insert the lower case “i.” To me, this illustrates the constant struggle to keep God (capital I AM) on the throne and not me (little i am).

But the Great I AM made us “little i am’s” in His image and for His purpose. By maintaining a sense of who He made us to be, we are encouraged and become more confident to do what He wants us to do.
– When I feel alone and cut off, it helps me to remember that I am a branch of the Vine.
– If I’m under attack, I recall the weapons at my disposal as a soldier of the most high Commander-in-Chief.
– Should I feel crushed under my circumstances, I’ll remember the refining process used by the Potter.
– When I feel unloved, I’m comforted to know that I am loved unconditionally by my Bridegroom.
– If I feel I cannot go on, I learn to press on like an athlete running a marathon.


Over the next few weeks, I’m excited to share what I’m calling “People Posts” based on random people in my life who through their character or circumstances exemplify a particular God-given identity.  Stay tuned. You never know, you could be next 🙂

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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Happy Birthdays!!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I’m a neglectful mother. I thought about it, but I just didn’t do it. I didn’t write special birthday posts for my darling children who celebrated their special days on the 22nd and 27th. But fortunately, their creativity and love for each other provided just the material for you to catch a glimpse into our crazy family. On an ordinary day, I am the proudest mama going, but after seeing their greetings to each other, I’m not quite sure about that anymore! 


Here is the poem that Lauren wrote for her beloved brother:



yo bro

its your birfday and im here to give you a rhyme
i know it wont be long so im sure you got the time
living with you all my life has been kinda crazy
you sweat, eat a lot and sometimes you get lazy

but youre way too cool and smart and really funny
so ill never kick you out even though you like chubby bunnies
the way you sing, smile and fart 
is only just the start
youre more than a brother
youre my best friend
i just freakin love you
THE END



And his greeting to her is the following YouTube video. 
Out of necessity, I’m posting the words first! 

you wrote me a rhyme that was truly sublime
but it will not stand the test of time
because im back with a whole new swagger
my lyrics and moves are makin e’erbody stagger
i got the flow of the century and im here to let you know
it got the biggest baddest happy birthday rap fo sho

you see im singin to the the most beautiful head of curls
whose life of BEIN LOVE inspires so many girls
paper pages in her pocket are the deepest root
because the bible is the key to life’s eternal fruit
if you ask her bout the truth she is compelled to say
that jesus christ is all the love and life and the way
god has blessed her with lifesong always on her lips
lives a life of dance god’s glory moves her hips
the proclamation of salvation grips her tongue
showin love to e’erbody big and small old and young

twenty two years of her life is written on this day
to my sister
how i’ve missed her
HAPPY BIRTH-A-DAY!!

So do you wanna laugh or cry? I’m doing both! 

Thank You!!

Posted on by Susan Panzica


Thank you, dear friends, for your prayers and generous donations benefiting this year’s Walk For Life to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer research. It was a beautiful day, much appreciated since we’ve had rain the past 2 years.  

Over $160,000 was raised, and more will be coming in over the next few weeks, likely bringing the total to over $200,000. Since 100% of the money raised goes directly to research, this means that a study will be fully funded to help find a cause and/or cure for this insidious disease.