Kristin Saatzer

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I Can’t Stop Remembering The Cross! (repost)

April 1, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 6 Comments

Original post: March 26, 2016

“And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh

mental and spiritual attitude].” 

~Ephesians 4:23 AMP

 

“I can’t stop remembering the cross!” Words uttered by my four-year-old after participating in a Good Friday observance. As worship music played in the park, I walked Sammy over to look at large wooden crosses displayed on the ground.  These crosses replicated the historical death-crosses of Jesus’ time. After running our fingers over the rough wood of one, my little boy attempted to lift it. Impossible. Next, came a litany of questions after plopping himself on my lap. Each question I attempted to answer brought on five more questions. His inquiring mind wasn’t satisfied and ready to move on to the playground. As he took in the scene, I felt his nervousness as he settled and unsettled on my legs. Revelation blossoming in his little soul.

In the weeks following our time in the park, Sammy peppered me with questions as he continued to analyze and process this story- this Jesus dying on the cross story. We read from the Bible and from picture books on the subject. We prayed. Running through the house, he’d stop and say “I can’t stop remembering the cross!”

Seventeen years later, I hear his sweet, passionate four-year-old voice in my head.

This experience moved Sammy (and his mommy too). He was renewed in the spirit of his mind by seeing and touching the cross. Ephesians 4:23 tells us in the Amplified, that we may have a fresh mental and spiritual attitude by being renewed constantly, continually, perseveringly.

trilogy_three_crosses_wooden_cross_215448

Our renewal comes through remembering: the cross, the nails, the hands, the feet, the grace, the promise of eternity. Remembering: the love, the pierced side, sin erased, the curtain torn, the resurrection.

Rebirth. Renewal. Jesus.

Experiencing Christ, this is renewal! Trying to lift a heavy cross and running our hands over splintered wood. Reading the stories in His book. THIS is renewal (constant, continual), born anew again and again. Revelation blossoming in our souls.

And like my little boy once did, we say, “I can’t stop remembering the cross!”

 

At the cross at the cross, I surrender my life

I’m in awe of You, I’m in awe of You

Where Your love ran red and my sin washed white

I owe all to You, I owe all to You Jesus

~Chris Tomlin

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Who Do You Say I Am?  

March 17, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:13-15 NLT

As I grappled with God on a flight from Honolulu to San Diego, a slight shift began in my life’s course. Even though the college girls’ trip to Hawaii was a blast, I felt an inner hollowness on our return. My life was filled with fun but lacked depth. I had stopped reading my Bible, going to church, and I kept my Christian friends at a distance. I examined my life as I gazed at the clouds out of the airplane window. I thought of my purpose, my future, the way I spent my time, and my relationship with Jesus. Who was He to me? As tears escaped, I timidly began to pray (this wasn’t something I did much of in those days). As I confessed my emptiness, a gentle whisper flowed through my heart. Who do you say I am?

The most important question.

In Matthew 16, the disciples shared with their leader the common view of who people said He was: John the Baptist or Elijah or a prophet. Varied responses like the ones we still hear today: an imposter, a crazy man, a good teacher, the Savior.

Then Jesus turned the inquiry to them, His beloved twelve. Peter, ever impassioned, spoke up immediately, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 NLT) Peter was right, although this Son of God was not what they expected Him to be.

From this point on, Christ began to open the shades, shining specks of light on His future as the suffering King. He preached on themes from the prophet Isaiah and probed the twelve along the way.

This same query asked in the intimacy of this group in Caesarea rumbles down through the centuries to us at this moment in this season of Lent.

The most important answer.

My pensive prayers that day in the seat of an airplane changed the trajectory of my life. Though not immediately. After a year of wooing on God’s part, on a balmy summer evening on a San Diego freeway, tears gushed through choked words. On this brilliant sunset drive, I gave God my most important answer. I professed my need for Him as I replied to my soul’s whisper– You are the Savior. You are my Savior.

The purpose of my life shifted and took shape the night I made my choice.

As Easter beckons, the Savior asks, “Who do you say I am?” In the end, each one of us must respond to this central question of life for ourselves. What we think of Him determines who we are and what we do, the trajectory of our lives, on earth, and for eternity.

Dear friend, who do you say He is?

“You must make your choice. Either this man was the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

PC: Kai Brune and Jon Tyson, Unsplash

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What To Do In The Wait? Repost

February 15, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

I am in yet another long season of waiting as I have been ill for five months now. I thought I would repost this blog because  I find the words and scripture in this devotional ring true for me today. If you are in a season of waiting, I pray they will for you too.
Blessings,
Kristin 

What To Do In The Wait?

Originally posted January 17, 2017

Unwell. Unengaged. Uninterested.   aisle-690298_640

It was as if I stood in a hallway before an unopened door, knowing health and healing lay on the other side.

Ten years ago, I pleaded with God to heal my malaise. I desperately needed and wanted Him to open the door and allow me to step out of the gloomy hallway. Yet there were blessings in that place. Time passed and eventually, God drew me out of the hall, through the doorway, and into His healing light.

These days, I find myself in yet another hallway, praying for another door to open. Only this time it involves two family members struggling through deep waters of pain.

How about you?

Do you stand before a door today, waiting for God to answer? To heal? To provide? Do you need Him to show you the way you should go? Is there a difficult decision before you keeping you awake at night?

And the door seems bolted shut.

What to do in the wait?

~Praise Him: I call it “Praise Therapy”. Praising Him takes my eyes off me.

Hebrews 13:15  NET Bible
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name.”

~Thank Him: For what I am learning and for who He is.

 1 Thessalonians 5:18 New Living Translation
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

~Hope in Him:  With God, there is always hope.

Romans 15:13 Berean Study Bible
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

~Accept His will:  Maybe the door will never open. Maybe it won’t look like I thought it would on the other side. Maybe the wait is the blessing.

Luke 22:42  Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me–nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The door I stand in front of today may never open. To be honest, I have yet to accept that.  I’m trying to find the dividing line between hope and acceptance.  Can I keep one foot on each side of the line? How do I hope and accept at the same time? I suppose it is by believing in God’s will and trusting Him with mine. The blessing in this wait is surrender. Thy will be done.

We stand before many doors in our time here on earth, breathing our prayers in the hallway. There are blessings there as we praise, thank, hope, and accept.

What will you do in the wait?  

 

PC: Pinterest and Pixbay

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My Best-Loved Books of 2020

January 2, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

Hello, friends!

I read quite a bit in 2020, as you can see by the pictures of the fifty-two books I tackled (copied from Goodreads). I reread seven from my shelves at home because of quarantine and the library was closed and I blew my book budget.

I would like to highlight some of my 2020 favorites for you bibliophiles (and wanna be’s) as I do each year on the blog. So, here we go…

Non-fiction:

  1. Chasing Vines by Beth Moore: I deeply enjoyed the lessons on viticulture and the tie ins between the Old and New Testaments. Great questions for readers about the fruitfulness of our lives.
  2. Doing Life With Your Adult Children: Keep Your Mouth Shut & The Welcome Mat Out by Jim Burns:  So… funny timing… I read this book just before my three adult children moved back in for quarantine! There were no big light bulbs here for me, but it is all practical, doable, encouraging, and engaging.
  3. The Third Option: Hope for a Racially Divided Nation by Miles McPherson: This book is my favorite out of all I have read on this difficult subject. The author (a beloved San Diego pastor) brings much hope and positivity while writing through a biblical and practical lens.
  4. Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World by Andy Stanley: This is a controversial book. I find myself still thinking about it often and I read it over two months ago. There are points the author makes that are hard for me to swallow. Then, other points that challenge me in the deepest parts of my Christian soul and cause me to embrace the New Testament and Jesus as never before.
  5. The Path Between us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships by Suzanne Stabile: An Enneagram book by my favorite Enneagram teacher. If you know your number and the numbers of those with whom you do life, you will find this book an invaluable tool. I refer to it often.

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From the Blog

  • I Can’t Stop Remembering The Cross! (repost)
  • Who Do You Say I Am?  
  • What To Do In The Wait? Repost
  • My Best-Loved Books of 2020
  • A Book to Keep, A Book to Share

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