Baseball Clay---How do I get those pants white as snow? Is there a spiritual lesson in this?

Dirt...my son has that nick name for a reason...since pictures speak louder than words, I will let these pictures explain it---

We play baseball all out, no holds barred. As a baseball mom, I would never say don't get dirty...instead I find a formula to work.  I have been asked many times how I get these pants white again, so here is my formula!  I realize this is all over the internet in various versions but just in case you have a need to know, here is my version!

As soon as possible, I soak these in Iron Out...the powder formula only ($13 on Amazon).  I put the pants in a sink in my laundry room, pour about a cup or so of this over the pants, run luke warm water over the pants, and I let them soak. I usually leave them over night.

After I drain the sink, if there are darker spots left, I wet the end of my fels naphtha bar ($1 at Walmart), and I scrub that spot with the bar of soap. I don't always do this but if we have played REAL hard, I add this in for good measure. 

I then spray the spots remaining with a mixture I keep in a spray bottle. I add half blue Dawn Ultra to half hydrogen peroxide. I keep this in my laundry room marked Ball Pants Only.  

After theses steps, I wash the pants, alone, on white cycle. I do make sure not to wash in hot water. I do warm/cold just to avoid any stains setting in if something does not come out.  You can use any good detergent with stain fighting properties.  I will admit I also have a home made laundry detergent I often use but any detergent works. 

The outcome...

I know it seems like lots of effort but it really is little effort...soaking, a little rubbing, spraying, and washing...the results are worth it!

We all know I find spiritual applications in most things, so it should come as no surprise that washing pants is no different!  

White as snow...that is how Jesus washes our souls.  Like these pants, our lives are often covered in impurities because "we live all out"...we have imperfections because Jesus is the only one to live on earth perfectly.  

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

The glory is Jesus paid a ransom for our sins because He knew we are born sinful.

But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

When we repent of our sins, he washes us white as snow.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

He soaks us in his goodness and glory so the impurities are gone.  

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.....For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13

We are purified so we can glorify our Lord and Savior. May we remember that we are saturated by the Holy Spirit in our lives and may we clothe ourselves with dignity exemplifying whose we are.  This does not mean we won't sin or make mistakes but it does mean forgiveness is available through Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here. 2 Corinthians 5:17

We are sinners saved by grace washed as white as snow.  May the old be gone and all things new shine through.  Claim it, live it and shine bright like a diamond for our Savior and King!

Nobody Better....A batters lesson to all of us!

My son loves baseball...we play school ball and off season we play travel ball.  I love to watch these boys play. Yes, I love to see them win, but mostly I love to see the passion they have for the game and to watch friendships grow on and off the field. One thing you would know if you ever go to a game with me is I yell "loud and proud" for those boys....my boy, his teammates and wait for it---the other teams boys. After all, these games are about more than a win or a loss.  They should be about building character, growing friendships, teaching work ethic, and keeping them out of trouble! Not to diminish my passion to win but I realize win or lose life goes on...but the rest of the lessons learned, we remember for life.

Last weekend, we were playing in a tournament. As I mentioned, I had a cheer for each boy as they batted.  Suddenly, a parent behind me started laughing at me (ok, nothing new, I laugh at myself regularly).  He said, "Sandra, you have said 'nobody better' the last four batters." I looked at him and laughed at myself. Quick witted, I said, "well, in that moment, at that point in the line up there is nobody better."  I went on to justify my comment with that batter is what we have to work with at that moment so there is nobody better in that moment in time -- those pitches were formed for them because nobody could take their place...no matter what was thrown at them it was meant for them in that moment to do with what they could.  I continued with "nobody better" until we ended that game.

What a life lesson!  In whatever moment God has placed you, there is no one better. There is no one God formed for that position other than you. Whatever curve ball is coming your way, there is no body better to face off with it. If it doesn't come at you just like you thought it should, God knew you needed to wait on something better. If you strike out, God doesn't want you to give up.  If it comes easy and you get a walk, God needs you moving for a reason.  If it's perfect and you knock it out of the park, God wanted you to shine to glorify Him.  So whatever you are facing today, stay in the batters box.  Keep your head down on it, wait on it and when it's your pitch, take it. God has nobody better in that moment than you!

Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us God has a plan for our life, to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future, not to harm us...God wants us to glorify Him in the good times and during our struggles.  In Exodus 35:30-35, Moses talks to Israel about what skills God has given them which were for His glory.  Maybe you have never heard of Bezalel and Oholiab but in that moment in time there was nobody better to begin to build the tabernacle.  

Whatever God has blessed you with, benefit God's kingdom with it. Don't underestimate why God has you where you are in this season of your life. There is NOBODY BETTER! And when you get that walk off, we will celebrate with you because at that moment in time, there is nobody better!

Four C's of a Relationship with Christ

Sandra Wit her....well, that is the name that randomly started appearing on emails sent from my phone recently.  You can imagine the jokes that ensued and the hashtags I started receiving from my clowning co-workers.  "U either wit her or u against her," they said. "We wit you." #Inotagainstyou #Iwityou

What I didn't realize is when my work phone was set up, my name autocorrected to Wit you.  Once again, we can be humored by almost anything.

Ah, the spiritual lessons I gleaned from this.  We are either Wit God or we are against God.  Oh, I desire to be "with" Him.  I believe that's all of our hearts desires, to be close to Jesus, to shine gloriously bright for Him. So, how do we do this?

To be with someone, you have to be compassionate, connected, committed, and able to communicate. Let's look at these from a spiritual context.

The C's of a Realtionship

1. Compassionate:  

To be in a meaningful relationship, you have to know the other persons mind-set and be passionately committed to the relationship. As a Christian, we must know why we believe what we believe and be passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 3:15  But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 

2.  Connected:

We find time for relationships that are important to us.  As Christians, we will spend time in God's word and rid ourselves of things that interfere with that relationship. 

Psalms 119:105 - Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Matthew 4:4 - But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

3.  Commitment:  

We have an unwavering commitment to those we love and are connected to.  We stick by them through thick and then. Nothing can break that tie.  Such is the case as a Christian.  Jesus died for our sins and committed to forgive us for our sins. In turn, we commit our lives to Him at the point of salvation.  We are not to let anything get in the way of that relationship.

1John 4:10 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 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

4.  Communication:

We spend time talking, texting, tweeting those we love the most.  We don't let time go by without communicating. We complete each others sentences and know the good, the bad and the ugly...yet we still love.  Oh, so much more, we should communicate with God. Pray without ceasing, seeking Him first in all we do.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

May we be more compassionate, connected, committed and communicative with Christ than ever before!

Four C's of a Relationship With Christ

Sandra Wit her....well, that is the name that randomly started appearing on emails sent from my phone recently.  You can imagine the jokes that ensued and the hashtags I started receiving from my clowning co-workers.  "U either wit her or u against her," they said. "We wit you." #Inotagainstyou #Iwityou

What I didn't realize is when my work phone was set up, my name autocorrected to Wit you.  Once again, we can be humored by almost anything.

Ah, the spiritual lessons I gleaned from this.  We are either Wit God or we are against God.  Oh, I desire to be "with" Him.  I believe that's all of our hearts desires, to be close to Jesus, to shine gloriously bright for Him. So, how do we do this?

To be with someone, you have to be compassionate, connected, committed, and able to communicate. Let's look at these from a spiritual context.

The C's of a Realtionship

1. Compassionate:  

To be in a meaningful relationship, you have to know the other persons mind-set and be passionately committed to the relationship. As a Christian, we must know why we believe what we believe and be passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 3:15  But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 

2.  Connected:

We find time for relationships that are important to us.  As Christians, we will spend time in God's word and rid ourselves of things that interfere with that relationship.

Psalms 119:105 - Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Matthew 4:4 - But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

3.  Commitment:  

We have an unwavering commitment to those we love and are connected to.  We stick by them through thick and then. Nothing can break that tie.  Such is the case as a Christian.  Jesus died for our sins and committed to forgive us for our sins. In turn, we commit our lives to Him at the point of salvation.  We are not to let anything get in the way of that relationship.

1John 4:10 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 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

4.  Communication:

We spend time talking, texting, tweeting those we love the most.  We don't let time go by without communicating. We complete each others sentences and know the good, the bad and the ugly...yet we still love.  Oh, so much more, we should communicate with God. Pray without ceasing, seeking Him first in all we do.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

May we be more compassionate, connected, committed and communicative with Christ than ever before!

Sweet as Tea! Jesus sweeter than Tea!

Sweet Tea....

It's southern and it's energizing.  Many mornings I wake up wondering if there is enough in the refrigerator to give me that kickstart I need. Of course there is, I always make sure tea is brewed before I go to bed.  In South Georgia, having tea in your refrigerator is as necessary as milk is to a new born baby.  It has to be just sweet enough, not too much sugar but definitely not too little!  Brewed just dark enough but not too dark.  Cold always --- never hot tea for this southerner.

Sweet as tea we say in the south.  If you are a sweet tea drinker, you know what that means.  A glass is never far away, always hits the spot, and cannot be substituted!  

Jesus....always by my side, always knows what I need, and cannot be substituted.  Just taking a minute to say how thankful I am that He loves me enough to never forsake me or leave me, to meet my every need, and to be the ONE way.  Sweeter than tea!

Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Philippians  4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A thought on leaving Christmas lights up all year long....do you look like a Christmas tree!?

Christmas lights...some people leave them up all year.  I for one began taking our decorations down on Christmas night!  I began to box ornaments once the last guest closed the door.  The eight trees in my home are proof we love Christmas. This is proof it's not for lack of love for the holiday that we start to un-decorate but because we know it won't be long before we are back to our regular schedules.

This year, I have a new thought on these lights. I almost regret breaking them down.  I have enjoyed the last 32 days with my halls decked so bright.  Every corner was decked with bright Christmas colors since the week of Thanksgiving.  No doubts on our street we are children of the one true King.  Remember my Tim the Tool Man manger scene?  It makes the statement loud and clear we are CHRISTians, right?

So back to un-decorating....our internal lights should not only shine those 32 days but all 365.  Thus, as we undecorate that tree, let's make sure we don't lose our decorations!

Prayers that our life lights don't go dim now that shouting Jesus is the Reason for the Season and defending Merry Christmas over Happy Holiday's is 333 days away.  May we keep that light shining bring within us for Christ so there is no doubt to those who cross our paths that we are children of God the Father-Elohim.

How do we keep those internal Christmas lights shining bright all year long other than sporting this homemade sweatshirt all year? We do this through the decorations in our lives----our words, wisdom, and works.

WORDS

May our words be a reflection of The Word. May we build others up in our words.  Avoid tearing others down. The old adage "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all" applies.  I am certainly not saying we don't confront issues with one another biblically but I am saying as Christian brothers and sisters we are to lift each other up not tear each other down.  When we see our sisters and brothers in need, we encourage them.  We take time to listen to one another and to speak life in to one another.  I challenge us to let others see the light of Jesus shining bright in our life.    

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Encourage one another and build each other up...

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

WISDOM

May we follow and give godly wisdom.  This wisdom comes only from God's word.  May we ensure advice we follow or give lines up with God's word.  We may have lots of knowledge and thoughts on what someone should do, before we speak it, may we seek the Lord to ensure it is His direction and not ours.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  

Proverbs 12:15 The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.


Proverbs 15:31-33 
He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof Will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

WORKS

May our works aka our deeds exemplify the hands and feet of Jesus.  Now, we are clear it's not our works that get us in to heaven, but they do demonstrate who we are in Christ. 

Colossians 3:17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

In Sandra Wilcher vernacular....If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck...it must be a duck. So, if you are a Chrisitian, you should look like one, walk like one and talk like one all year long!  May we all shine bright this year!  I don't wanna look like a duck!  I wanna look like a CHRISTMAS tree...shining bright for CHRIST!  

Let's leave our internal Christmas lights on all year long!  

I don't know who she is....Let others know you KNOW Jesus!

At my office, I hear my name what feels like hundreds of times a day.  Sometimes when I hear someone call out to me or ask where I am, I call out, "I've never heard of her."  For some reason, that never stops people from walking in, starting to talk, asking for help or sharing something with me.  Usually, the only thing it does is cause a brief chuckle or get a response like this  "you are crazy." However, it never stops people from approaching me or continuing with their purpose!  There are few places I go in our town that someone doesn't know who I am because of my job. Ah, the joys of being a social worker. Never a dull moment!

I tried this the other day at home when my kids called out "where's mom?" I said "I have never heard of her."  They both ran to me, told me I was a nut, and continued with what they needed from me.  So denial clearly is not working for me.

Escaping who I am is never going to happen even on my craziest of days.  God created me to serve others, to be His hands and feet, and to tackle some of the craziest of problems.  I actually love it but sometimes a spa retreat seems appealing!  Last night, in my quiet time, I pondered my comment.  "I've never heard of her."  Clearly, a misnomer since I am her!  It took me to a much deeper place...how many times have we denied Christ if not in our words but our actions.

I began to think what is my response to the cross.  When I hear people talking about Jesus do I call out "I KNOW HIM!" or do I remain silent.  When I hear people deny Christ, do I remain silent, do I have a Peter like moment and imply that I do not know Him? 

In Luke 22-After being asked if he knew Jesus,  60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” We all know Peter knew Jesus well, He loved Jesus, He served beside Jesus. But suddenly, he was caught in a dangerous place...to know Jesus may cost him his life so in his moment of weakness, denial gripped him.

I suddenly thought of all the times I have seen posts on social media and hesitated in responding because I wanted to be politically correct or avoid offending others. I thought of times I have sat silent when I had plenty of words to say.  Conviction of my silence and lack of actions being indicative of "I do not know Him."  May we not be silent during this CHRISTmas season -- our silence or actions say we don't know Him.  

SO, I do KNOW HIM!  I cannot deny who I am in Christ, I will not deny who I am in Christ. May we exude who He is in us everywhere we go.  It is Merry CHRISTmas not Happy Holidays, it is Jesus' birthday we celebrate.  On someone's birthday, we only celebrate them so let's remember that this is Jesus' birthday.  The song says it so well...Happy Birthday Jesus, we're so glad it's Christmas...all the tinsel and lights and the presents are nice but the real gift is you!

Luke continues---Just as he (Peter) was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Let's live with no regrets...JESUS we DO know you!  

Peter didn't stop there...he went on to win 3,000 souls to Christ in his first sermon and he was the leader of 12 apostles of Christ fulfilling this truth  Matthew 16:17: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 

Regardless of any mistakes we have made we can still fulfill God's purpose for us!