Category: sacrifice

The Real Scandal

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Every day it’s a new scandal, a new divisive issue.
  • Race issues.
  • Gender issues.
  • Abuse issues.
  • Political issues.

You know the names. The places. We see and hear them all day, every day. Our newsfeeds overflow with opposing points of view. We share the ones we agree with, furthering the furor. We discount the opinions of others without attempting to understand them.

And I have to ask the question, cliche as it is. What would Jesus do?

Would He raise His fist condemning those sinners? Did He stone the woman caught in the obvious sin of adultery? Or did He say, after writing in the sand, “Where are your accusers? … Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:9-11)

Would He shout about the moral decay in government? Did He encourage boycott of the corrupt Roman government? Or did He say, “Render under Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”? (Mark :12;17)

People are broken in all kinds of ways. Including us. We must first remove the log in our own eye before the speck in another’s. And what if we think they have more than a speck? Well, that’s really not for US to judge, is it? When we are sin-free, then maybe we can have something to say about someone else. Until then, we are all sinners, saved by grace alone. Sinners created to do good works that He planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:8-10).  

Can we stop eviscerating people whose politics, morals, and lifestyles we disagree with? Remember – Jesus saved His harshest criticisms for the Pharisees, those self-righteous religious people He called “hypocrites, white-washed tombs,” looking good on the outside, but dead on the inside. 

Yes, as Jesus-followers, we must live and stand for righteousness in our society. We must be salt and light. But please – let’s do it with love in our hearts, not stones in our hands. Our job is not to judge. It is to be restorers, to be instruments of healing, ambassadors of the good news.

We are to love every person, including those on the magazine covers, in each political party, in viral videos.

Who will listen to us if all they hear from us are voices of condemnation?

I made a decision to try to understand all points of view. I don’t have to agree with each one. But I want to understand each one, and then form my opinion with the knowledge of how someone else feels. I want them to feel that they have been heard.   

“Because Jesus loves the people on the covers of magazines just as much as He loves you and me, and the real scandal isn’t what others decide to do with their lives, but what Jesus did with His.”   Becky Thompson 

Won’t you join me in spreading the real news – the good news of His love, grace, peace? 



  • Race issues. #Ferguson #TexasPoolParty #blacklivesmatter
  • Gender issues. #caitlynjenner #samesexmarriage
  • Abuse issues. #duggars  
  • Political issues. #Obama #Christie

Memorial Day – A Day Of Remembrance. And Honor.

Posted on by Susan Panzica


Memorial Day isn’t about barbeques or three day weekends. It’s about remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country. It’s about sacrifice and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.


As Christians, we can also remember those “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.” Heb. 11:33-34

And, of course, the greatest sacrifice of all: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

I’m so thankful for the soldiers who daily sacrifice their comfort and liberty so that we might live in ours, for those who face dangers so that we would be free from them, for those who lost their lives so that we might have ours.

And I live in praise of the One who gave Himself as a sacrifice, suffered death so that you and I might enter eternal life.   

And so we can do more than just remember the soldiers and the Savior.

We can honor those who sacrificed so we could live in freedom. We can:
  • Joining in suffering, like a good solider of Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 2:3
  • Offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God –our true and proper worship. Rom. 12:1

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”John 3:16-17

Black Friday

Posted on by Susan Panzica


We keep hearing the term “Black Friday” screaming from the TV and newspapers.  The day after Thanksgiving begins the unofficial “holiday shopping season,” the time of year when retailers move from operating “in the red” (at a loss) to operating “in the black” (making a profit).  Stores offer crazy low prices to lure customers in, hoping that they will in turn spend a lot of money for gifts. The debt accumulated all year is finally paid.
I can’t help but think of another “Black Friday”, a day when the greatest price was paid for the greatest gift ever given.  2000 years ago, an innocent man gave His life so that others might live.  Jesus, God the Son, left His heavenly home, to be born into an ordinary family and live an ordinary life in an ordinary town, until He began His extra-ordinary ministry on earth.  For 3 years, He healed the hurting, taught those who would listen, and preached the truth to all.  The conclusion of His time on earth was paying the price for the sins of the entire world, past, present and future, and providing the gift of eternal life to any who receive it. In a word, He paid the debt that we owe, a debt we were powerless to pay.  
Now that Thanksgiving Day is over, let’s continue to live with thanksgiving in our hearts. 
Thank You Lord for paying the debt we owe.  Thank You for rising from the dead in victory, giving us the opportunity to live in victory.  May we keep You as our focus in the days and weeks to come, and be ever ready to share the real reason for the season.  


This cannot be the end….

Posted on by Susan Panzica
This poem, written by Maude Carolan Pych, a truly gifted poet of the North Jersey Christian Writers Group, is so powerful I couldn’t NOT share it with you.
May this minister to you this Good Friday.

THE PIETA
After the earthquake
the peals of thunder
the flashes of lightening across the sky
After the curious crowds dispersed
Mary sat in ominous dimness
upon a mound of earth
at the base of The Cross
holding the body
of her Son
She cradled Him
in the hollow of her lap
close to her bosom
as she had
when he was
her baby boy
Mary removed
thorns of mockery
that encircled His forehead
and tossed it to the side
Straining to see in the shadows
she carefully picked
fragments of thorn needles
still stuck in His lifeless flesh
although they couldn’t hurt Him
any longer
With her fingertips
she tenderly closed the lids
over His dark, vacant eyes
and smoothed
the disheveled, matted hair
…then she kissed Him
O my beautiful Son…
Tears flowed
down her face onto His cheeks
mingling with dried blood
With the edge of her garment
she wiped some blood away
John came
and rested his hand
upon her trembling shoulder
He was now her son
She was now his mother
Mysteries
too deep to comprehend
swirled in her mind
like the flap and flutter
of wings and overshadowing
Son of the Most High
and David’s throne
like pregnant Elizabeth’s joy
when the baby leapt in her womb
and the Baptizer himself, when grown
proclaiming his younger cousin
“The Lamb of God, Who
takes away the sin of the world”
and Simeon’s prophesy
that Jesus would be
a Light of revelation
to the Gentiles and the glory
of the people of Israel
Where is the Light?
Where is the glory?
Where is the throne?
Overwhelmed by sorrow
so intense it stabbed her
deep, deep in her inner parts
Mary cried out in anguish
and rent her robe
Was this what old Simeon meant
long ago in the Temple
when he held Jesus in his arms
and said a sword would pierce
my very soul?
O my Son, my beautiful Son…
I cannot fathom the ways of God, but
I do know this cannot be the end
Maude Carolan Pych

Thank God ~ that was not the end!

Wishing a blessed Resurrection Day to all!

Why Is Red The Color Of Christmas?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
I confess – my least favorite color is red. 
Years ago, a friend gave me a gift – maroon/reddish sweater. I finally wore it to be nice. That day, everyone asked me if I was sick. “You’re a little flushed today, are you ok?” “You look pale today. How are you feeling?” Flushed? Pale? In the same day? Nope, I feel fine – it’s just the sweater. 
My husband and I were shopping for cars a few years after that. The only car left in the model we wanted was maroon/red. It had all the features. The price was right. But I just couldn’t be surrounded by that color, looking sick everywhere I drove. We didn’t buy the car. 
At Christmas, I tend to decorate in shades of gold, white, and silver adding sprinkles of colors here and there. At Christmas, I tolerate red. Barely. 
But today, I embrace RED. I’m grateful for its presence throughout the history of humanity. Watch this video and I think you’ll agree. Red is THE color of Christmas, the color of salvation, the color of life! 

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What is RELIGION anyway?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finishing Well

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Many thanks to all for your prayers and good wishes for AJ. He finished well!  He experienced some knee and hamstring issues about 3/4 through, but pressed on. 


He finished in 3:22:19.62 (8 minutes ahead of his goal time) qualifying him for the Boston Marathon. He placed #114 out of 1856 runners and in the top ten of runners age 20 -24 (he’s 20). 


Here’s some pics (thanks to Lauren, Anita, and Phi Sigma Kappa):


bright and early – start of a great day




before the race – mental prep




crossing the mile 4 & 8 bridge
“AJ’s running a marathon, yet still takes great pictures” Dave M.




“gonna fly now” (Eye of the Tiger – Rocky theme)



greeting his Phi Sig brothers at mile 11




approaching mile 23 hydration station (leading the 2nd pack)




mile 23 – recharged!! 




heading home!
“cue Chariots of Fire music here” Lauren




roommate James running the last mile with him




FINISH LINE!!! 




“Run in such a way as to get the prize
…to get a crown that will last forever.”
1 Cor. 9:24-25



I’m so proud of this boy. He sure isn’t perfect that I know. I don’t want to be  one of those blind “can you top this” moms. But he accomplished what few do. 
And it wasn’t just completing the marathon. 

He had over 30 supporters there – family, school friends, church friends. These wonderful people to whom I am most grateful sacrificed time and money to be there at the crack of dawn and lend their support to this zany kid (“he’s the happiest runner” Dave M). I know others wanted to be there, but supported him in other ways. Why? One of his fraternity brothers summed it up in a text “AJ’s always there for us. Let’s be there for him.”  

We reap what we sow (Gal. 6:8). Sunday’s victory was not gained on that day. It was the months of preparation that allowed him to go the distance. And the support that he received was because of his daily investment in the lives of others, over months and years of relationship.

“whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Cor. 9:6


http://www.razoo.com/story/Ajpanzica

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

 

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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Snow Day Lessons – Part 2

Posted on by Susan Panzica

The kids may have had off from school, but there were some awesome lessons to be learned on our recent snow day! Here’s a few more:

“I Can Do It Myself”

Paul demonstrated what a true neighbor does – saw my need and answered the problem with no expectation of reciprocity. But immediately I began thinking of how I could repay him for his kindness. He offered to finish shoveling the front walk I was working on. But I said that I was fine. Thanks, but no thanks. In truth, I behaved like a little child trying to be self-sufficient, not wanting to receive a helping hand. He could have done it in half the time, and as his sweet wife, Nancy, told me the next day, he was going stir crazy in the house and was looking for things to do. He actually enjoyed it! And I robbed him of his blessing by rejecting his offer of help.
I remember well the days when my children would say “I do it myself!” when I knew that they weren’t mature enough yet to do the task. As I try to stand in my own feeble strength, the Lord is beckoning me to lean on Him. “For when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength).” 2 Cor. 12:10 Amp.
Too often, I reject the help of God and other people in a misguided attempt at independence. It’s easier for me to be the ‘helper’ than the ‘helpee’. But when I resist the help that someone offers, I rob them of a blessing. God desires to bless us, but when we try to do it ourselves, we miss out on that divine intervention.

Power in Numbers

Fragile dainty snowflakes, not one like another, easily crushed by the slightest pressure, yet together, they became a formidable force. Swirling, they blind drivers. Accumulating, they grow into massive mounds. Freezing, they create slick and dangerous icy surfaces.
Oh, what we can learn from the snowflake. We, too, are fragile when alone. We are each uniquely different from one another. If we focus on those differences, we remain alone and frail. But if we stand together, we become mighty, powerful to defeat our common foe. Yet…

Not By Might, Not By Power, But By MY Spirit

The front walkway was cleared as much as humanly possible with the shovel, but still was not totally free from snow. But late in the afternoon, half the walk was completely clear. Which half? The half that was in the sun. Half of the front yard is covered by shade. The part of the walk in the shade remained snow-covered.

The light and warmth of the sun can do what no human intervention can do. And the light and warmth of the Son can do what no human intervention can do. As powerful a force when we band together, it pales in comparison to the mighty works of God.

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over


Beautiful as it is, the pristine snow doesn’t stay pristine for very long. The dirt and grime of feet, vehicles and debris muddle the white landscape.
And as long as we tread on this earth, there will always be cleanup activity. God cleans us up making our scarlet sins as white as snow, and then reveals new areas to work on. Life is a journey, not a destination. the Lord is our pilot, our janitor, our partner, our friend along the way. But He is more than that. He is our source of life and will keep us in this life and the next. Even when it’s over, it’s never over! Praise the Lord!

Susan