The Bush is Burning

There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush...Exodus 3:2

Have you ever had that experience where you hear  a phrase or an idea and think…hum…that’s cool, I’ll remember that (but you don’t)  and then a few days later you hear the same thing again?  That’s when I know I should probably pay attention!  I can be pretty thick headed so sometimes God has to work a little harder to get my attention than He’d probably like!  Our Christian history is full of God’s amazing examples of “attention grabbing”. 

Moses got a burning bush, Jonah got a whale belly and I got Lynn and Lisa! He may not have grabbed me with the same drama Moses and Jonah got, but last week He used two Godly women to light a fire every bit as bright as a burning bush and every bit as surprising as the gulp of a whale to grab my heart. Lisa is an author from California and Lynn works for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and I’d like to share the story of how these two women “set the bush on fire” for me last week.

The first Godly woman put in my path last week was an inspiring and extremely talented author named Lisa Hendey . On Monday of last week I ordered two of Lisa’s books.  One arrived in blazing speed.  When it came, I knew I didn’t have time to sit right down and read it so I asked God to point me to a really good page for a little zap of inspiration. It was the perfect page!  I prayed quickly, and flipped it open to a page and read about how on a whim she had volunteered to design a webpage for the school her sons attended.  She admits she knew nothing about the task but just felt God telling her to volunteer. That “yes” led Lisa to do a multitude of amazing things to spread God’s truth, love and message of hope.  Among some of her amazing accomplishments she has written books, and articles and is responsible with the help of the Holy Spirit for the creation of Catholic Mom.com, an amazing website that teaches, encourages and inspires more than half a million readers a year. Those were not ideas that were a part of her life plan, they were a part of God’s plan for her life. She remains faithful and obedient to God’s invitation and her work of leading souls to Christ just keep growing! Think it was an accident I landed on exactly that page?  I don’t think so!  The bush was on fire and the whale had a rumbly belly! 
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Trust, give up the planning…just say yes to what I’m asking WHEN I ask…that’s what I heard from Lisa.

On Friday of the same week I attended a professional development day with all the Catholic School teachers in the Lansing Diocese and we were privileged to listen to a presentation by a lovely woman named Lynn Lang from St. Louis.  She was sharing her program, Virtues Based Restorative Discipline.  The whole model is based on our role as peacemakers, carefully following the example of Jesus Christ and the virtues His life exemplified. She was fabulous and her voice, her presence, her personality; everything about her inspired peace!  How blessed the Archdiocese of St. Louis is to have her and how lucky we were to have her share her words and ideas with us in Lansing.  Even more inspiring than the program she shared was the example of trust in God that led to the creation of this beautiful program.   Lynn was a mom who had left her career to stay home and raise her babies and one day…as clear as a bell, God put an idea on her heart.  A few years later, it has developed into a program that is spreading God’s peace and changing children’s lives!  God‘s message for her was to listen, trust and let Him lead the way. She was the second strong Godly woman I came in touch with last week whose message jolted me down to my ankles.  

Ya see, I have been tangled up a bit lately trying to figure out how to manage all the pieces of my life.  The blog, the family, the speaking and teaching, my first graders, the laundry and canning the bumper crop of tomatos exploding in our garden! Right in the middle of trying to figure it all out, God lit the bush and put both Lynn and Lisa in my path.  The words from two women, one from Missouri and one from California were God’s messages to me and probably to many others who will read this post  as well. The message:  trust me…listen to me…let me be in charge and I will lay out a plan that will be far more than you can imagine or accomplish by yourself. Be still, and let me do my job…that’s what I think He’s saying.  Sheri…just be my hands and feet…let me be the brains of the operation and the star of the show!  Ok…I got it! Thank you Lisa, and Lynn for answering God’s call and allowing God to work through your beautiful hearts and lives and thanks for helping me see the bush that’s burning right before my very eyes!                                                        
 
A seed to plant:  What’s on  your heart?  Take a minute to toss out all your plans and ideas and ask God to make you still so He might do a mighty work in you and through you!

Blessings on your day!