The Lily Letters

And the angel said unto them, Fear not : for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11 KJV emphasis mine) [Jason] Soroski, [a writer for crosswalk.com], observed that in the animated special "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown," something very unusual happens when Charlie Brown’s best friend Linus, recites Luke 2: 8-14. Right when Linus says “Fear not” (verse 10), he literally drops the one thing he holds most precious in the world – his security blanket. As I was re-reading this Scripture and reflecting on Saroski’s reflection about the symbolism of Linus dropping the blanket in which he writes, “The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead.”  It made me think about how much we cling to the temporal things of this world; our money, our app...

One of the best things to come from being a sister of SAO was that I gained best friends who helped keep me in line. They helped me evaluate if my intentions were true and of God, or if Satan was knocking on my door. The other day, I was wallowing to one of my best friends whom I had met through SAO. I was telling her about everything that was going wrong in my life right now and then I threw in a casual, “just pray for me.” I could tell in her demeanor something was off and she didn’t even need to say it. I knew she was indicating that, no, she will not pray for me while I host my pity party. Self-pity is described as "excessive, self-absorbed unhappiness over one's own troubles." And lately, I’ve been in a pretty intense and fast paced relationship with it. While I understand there are some aspects of it that are part of mental exhaustion and high anxiety, I know that the majority of it stems from my newly refined pity party planning skills and refusal to shut the pa...

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1 Autumn. My favorite time of year is upon us. On September 22, 2017 autumn officially begins. This is a season that brings giving, thankfulness, pumpkin everything, changing leaves, sweater weather, and football. This is the season of letting go of things that we have been holding onto because winter will bring us a clean slate. I use this season to reflect on the past year. What went well, what are things I want to change, and where do I want to go from here. I take this season to make goals for the upcoming months and how winter will bring a clean slate after all the leaves have fallen. I extend my quiet time with the Lord during autumn to pray and listen to where he wants me to go. When I make my goals, I make them with His plan in mind because although the leaves will change, our God won’t. Our God will never fail us or let us fall like the leaves on the tree. “There is a t...

Jesus' life is a demonstration of what he teaches. This is nowhere more evident than in his teaching about greatness. As followers of Jesus, we are never greater than when we surrender our rights and our position and serve others. No one demonstrated this better than the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and teacher. “Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be the first must be the last, and the servant of all.” -Mark 9:35     “Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve All the disciples, who though they might not be all engaged in this dispute, nor equally criminal, yet were all, possessed of the same notion; and therefore Christ calls them all unto him, what he had to say, being pertinent unto them all. and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the last, and the servant of all.” his pride and vanity shall be checked; his ambitious views shall be frustrated; instead of being first, he shall be last; and instead of having superior rever...

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” —Psalm 91:1-2 As we walk into this new year of SAO, we are called to lead, to make decisions for our sisterhood, to help guide this organization in His path. God calls us to leave it to Him, to not only entrust ourselves, but our sisterhood to Him. Some days, this is simple; at other times, it can be easier said than done. At convention, business matters are attended to and decisions have been made. Now, it is time to take these decisions and incorporate it into the organization. This is when we need to turn to the Lord. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. —Psalm 119:59 No matter the circumstances or situation we are faced with, God is more sufficient for the challenges we face. Our trust must be in Him, not in our own abilities to fulfill His plan. Where can you a...

In a busy time of the year, we need to make time to be still. No one is slowing down, and it seems like we just don’t know how to be still. We need to be quiet and listen to his voice and take time to really be still. When we don’t do that, things just get messier because we are so exhausted that we cannot give any more of ourselves to anything or anyone. We need to stop and remember the meaning of prayer and the meaning to be quiet. We pray to acknowledge God's control and submit ourselves to Him. Being quiet let's us hear His voice, inviting his comfort, peace, and rest. Challenge: Check in with someone to make sure they are taking time in the Word every day and/or sitting and being still with the Lord. "Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him." Psalm 62:1 "The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." Habakkuk 2:20 "Be still, and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10a (Adapted by a devo...

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: "He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him." Now I have told you.'" Matthew 28:5-7 (NIV) I don't think Easter is quite done with me yet. I know what glorious things this Holy Day says to the world at large. But what does Jesus want me to know, to think about, to wrestle through at this time of year? This season of new beginnings. So, I'm lingering here a bit longer. I feel like the girl who wears the same outfit to school two days in a row. Easter is done now. Time to put it back in the closet. Only for me it isn't. I want to wear it again today, tomorrow and many more tomorrows. After all, Easter is no longer a ritual to me. It's a revelation. A time wh...