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.

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

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.

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

Thankful for it or Thankful in it?

November 12, 2020 By Kristin Saatzer 6 Comments

Hello friends,

It’s been a while. Thanks to those of you who have reached out through the website to check-in. I have been ill (not COVID-19) for almost two months with something that began after I donated blood in September. It has been quite harrowing, especially these last three weeks.

During these weeks, as my physical health broke down, so did my mental, emotional, and spiritual health. I have struggled to find gratitude in this pit. I have struggled to find joy. Frankly, I have struggled to find Jesus at times.

This morning, as I sat with pen and journal, I determined to write five things I am grateful for right now in the middle of this trial. As I began to write, and my list flowed to fifty – I realized I was experiencing a breakthrough.

Gratitude can do that, can’t it?

And because of the power of thankfulness (it is Thanksgiving month after all), I thought I would repost a blog I wrote during yet another harrowing trial in my life. The message from 2016 and the scripture speak to me in my current pit and I pray it will do the same for you in yours.

May the Lord bless and keep you in these turbulent times.

Kristin

Thankful for it or Thankful in it? June 28, 2016

Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 BSB

“Remember, God tells us to be thankful for every circumstance like it says in 1 Thes. 5:18.” These words came in the form of a text, the day after I received terrible news. My well-meaning friend was being a well-meaning friend. However, her words left me unsettled.

I was not thankful for this trial. Not at all. Still not.

In this verse, are the words “in” and “for”. It says to be thankful in my trial/circumstance, for this is God’s will. Maybe my theology is wonky, but my interpretation is: we may be thankful in our trials but not necessarily for our trials.

So, how does this look? How do we follow God’s will according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18 when faced with tragedy, betrayal, loss, and pain?

Let us dig deeply for the fruit in the midst of our agony and thank Him for it. Even in the worst of times, there are precious blessings if we intentionally look for them. This is how we get and stay thankful in the dismally deep waters of our circumstances.

I found riches in my pain: God has loved me through friends as I’ve never experienced before. I’ve learned the power of vulnerability in seeking help. My trust in the Lord has increased as has my thirst for His Word. AND! I now know that one can survive for days on only Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Saltines.

My journal pages are word-full of the treasures I have found in my trying circumstances. The pages crinkled by my tears. Maybe someday I will be thankful for it. but until then, I press on with my Jesus. For Him, I am always thankful.

Reflect:

~How can I thank God in this trial?

~Where do I see His fruit in my pain?

~How can/will this circumstance broaden my trust in God?

Dear Lord,

How rich we are in Your love for us. Lead us to find the fruit in our pain. Today we chose thankfulness in it, knowing this is Your will for us in Christ Jesus.

Amen

What’s Your Story?

June 15, 2018 By Kristin Saatzer 3 Comments

My dad was in the hospital this week. Thankfully, he is out and his prognosis is good. While I hung out with Dad those two days, I was privy to some sad sights. The most tragic was the man recovering from a suicide attempt in a room close to ours. His parents, wife and tiny children sat vigilantly in the waiting room. A guard waited outside his door.

It broke my heart. Those babies and young wife. The parents, so hopeful in their shock and grief. In light of this and all the talk in society about suicide, depression, and anxiety lately, I decided to repost a blog I wrote in 2015, for incourage.me

So many of us struggle in the area of mental health or love someone who does. It is a lonely, scary business and sometimes terrifying. A different kind of #metoo is happening, a movement of story sharing. There is a beautiful vulnerability in the telling: Those who have suffered from the blues, nudge the issue out of the dark and into the open where light can shine and hope and help can be found. If we tell our stories, it may compel someone who desperately needs a lifeboat, feels isolated, prideful (like me), or too embarrassed to reach out. A friend, acquaintance or even a stranger waits in the wings. We do not have to suffer alone.

I do not know this young man’s backstory. Did he reach out for help? Did he feel pride and shame before it was too late? My prayer is that this is the beginning of his journey out of the pit. Please Lord, please.

Dear friend, what’s your story?

My story continues. Here is a small dose:Continue Reading