Who Am I?

December 17, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ' Colossians 3:12

You stand in front of the mirror. The face looking back at you is familiar, but how do you describe the person that you see? What defines you? Who are you? How do you answer that question, my friend?

That may be an easy question, but then again it may not be. My younger self was defined by the expectations of other people. My greatest fear was making the wrong decision or disappointing someone else. My identity was based on avoiding conflict. I didn’t really know who I was. I let what other people thought define me. I was afraid to voice my opinion. Afraid to express my own needs and wants. Afraid of failing. Afraid of rejection. Afraid to be me and unsure of who that person was.

Do you know who you are? A strong sense of identity will settle you. You won’t be as heavily influenced by others or by the media. Knowing who you are brings peace and confidence. You are who God says you are. Do you know who God says you are?

Is God Really With Me?

December 10, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).’ ” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭NIV

‬‬As I listened to the preacher’s story, I had the same questions. He shared a time of sitting in a chair feeling alone and abandoned by God and saying to God, “Don’t You care? Don’t You love me?” The story continued with the man’s little child coming to him at just that moment, climbing into his lap, putting tiny hands on either side of his grown-up face, looking directly into his eyes, and saying, “I love you, Daddy!” At that moment the preacher recognized the love of God coming to him in the form of his child.

I had the same question, “Don’t You care? Don’t You love me?” and I wondered how God would answer me. Later in the service, God used that preacher to answer my questions in a way that I recognized as Him sending His love to me.

There are times in life when we feel absolutely alone. Rejected and abandoned by the people we most hoped would be there for us. There are even times when we feel rejected and abandoned by God. Key word: FEEL. It often seems like He is not there as we walk through difficult circumstances. You may think, “Where are you, God? Don’t You care? Don’t You love me?” Maybe you are in one of those times right now. I am so sorry that this time so tough but let me encourage you to look around and recognize Immanuel, God with you. How is God sending His love to you today?

Peace. Rest. Thanks.

December 3, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ' Colossians 3:15

This has been an interesting week. “What interesting thing has happened,” you ask. Nothing. Nothing has happened. Both Tom and I have been sick and all we have been able to do is sit on the couch and stare at the TV. That’s it. That’s all we have been up to. So, what makes that interesting?

Peace. At another season of my life, everything in me would have been fighting against that reality. I have struggled with some guilt about being sick and not being able to fulfill certain responsibilities, but not like other times. The reality I’ve had to accept is that I can’t. And the amazing thing is that I’ve been okay with that. Others have been able and willing to step in where necessary. Where I have been is where I have needed to be. I have been at peace with that…most of the time.

Rest.

What's Your Story?

November 26, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.” Psalms 107:8

Think about it: What is your story? Where were you this time a year ago? 5 years ago? Ten years ago?

One of the traps people have always fallen into is forgetting where they have come from. Read the Old Testament and you'll see it over and over again. God's people forgot that they were slaves and God sent Moses to deliver them. They forgot that they while they were wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God provided for them. They forgot how He split the Red Sea or opened a path through the Jordan River, or sent food they didn't have to grow or hunt for in manna and quail. It goes on and on.

The Scriptures bear witness that God's people continually, even habitually, forget what God has done for them in the past, complain about their present, and don't expect God to fulfill His promise for the future. As much as we hate to admit it, you and I are just as prone to such forgetting. It's not pretty.

God's Will: Be Joyful, Prayerful and Thankful

November 19, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:16-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It was a life-changing, perspective-shifting moment. I was in college, overwhelmed by an emotional situation that wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go and I was miserable. I was a member of the Geneseo Chamber Singers and we were heading back to town after a trip to Boston. As I sat in the back seat of the bus feeling extremely sorry for myself (a very familiar feeling at that time, by the way) I had a sudden revelation. It was one of the first times that I became aware that the Holy Spirit was revealing something to me. I was immediately conscious that being miserable was my choice, had been my choice, and didn’t have to be my choice. It was the beginning of Lent, and I made a decision to give up being miserable for Lent. Truly, I did! My life has never been the same because after that Easter, the end of those forty days of Lent, I have never gone back to being miserable.

I’ll be honest that for a while I overdid the positive perspective and ignored anything negative without dealing with it. But over the years I think that I have found my balance. Balance comes as I acknowledge what is and choose to trust God’s goodness in the midst of it.

There is actually a simple formula for this kind of life in the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. It goes like this: “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ‭‭(1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:16-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Grateful IN Everything

November 12, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

You want to be someone who says YES to God. It's the motivating factor of your life, isn't it? Yet, there may be an aspect of saying YES to God that you hadn't quite contemplated yet.

Don't stop reading now! I promise you, this will be worth it! Part of being a person who says YES is to cultivate grateful. I know! That's tough, right? It's easy to look at our circumstances sometimes and excuse ourselves from gratefulness. I mean, look at how tough everything is! Maybe it's your finances or your relationships. Maybe it's your own health or the health of someone you love. Maybe your job is wearing you out. Maybe you feel like you have been giving your all for God and getting nothing back. "If God is supposed to work out all things for good in my life (Romans 8:28), then why do so many things seem to be bad?" you may be saying.

I don't want to minimize anything that you are going through. It's tough, and that's the truth. However, I want to park on a verse from the Bible that may help you get some perspective on what you are going through and help you get to a new level of YES. Are your ready? Are you willing?

Cultivate Grateful: Getting God-Centered

November 5, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.' 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 MSG

Have you ever thought about what a grateful heart does for you? What's the benefit to cultivating grateful? How does gratefulness affect us and our relationships? Most especially, how does cultivating grateful affect our relationship with God.

In his book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God Pastor Tim Keller contemplates the most familiar prayer of all time as a model for building our communication with God. He considers what we call "The Lord's Prayer" as a structure for approaching our Heavenly Father. As I read Pastor Keller's thoughts it seemed to me that cultivating grateful is a key to opening the door to experiencing God's presence.

Keller says, "Adoration and thanksgiving - God-centeredness- comes first. Because it heals the heart of self-centeredness, which curves us in on ourselves and distorts all our vision."(p.114)

When I cultivate a grateful heart I am more able to recognize God's majesty and goodness. A grateful heart can glimpse God's great love and longs to honor and obey Him in response. A grateful heart opens the door to closeness with God.

How to Make a Better World

October 29, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Have you ever let loose some toothpaste words? You know the kind I mean. You say something that you wish you could take back as soon as it”s out of your mouth, but, like the proverbial toothpaste, you can’t put it back in. I am old enough that I could probably fill millions of toothpaste tubes with the words I wish I could take back. Words that hurt someone else. Words that revealed my own pride and insecurity. Foolish words. Harsh words. Words I had no business speaking. I have been in conversations where I was literally biting my tongue to prevent myself from letting out words I would regret. Words are important. They have a short duration, but a long impact. One reason I like writing is that it gives me a chance to refine my words before I send them out. Proofreading what I write keeps me from toothpaste words. What if we took the effort to “proofread” our thoughts before we let them become spoken words?

Why Not Say YES to Questions?

October 22, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

Saying YES to God doesn’t mean that you will never have a question. What do you do with your questions? Do you view your questions as a lack of faith? Maybe you stuff them down like that last sweater in a too-full suitcase and then hold them down while you zip them shut. Part of saying YES to God is saying yes to questions. So…what do you do with them?

Why not ask God your questions? If we believe that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, doesn’t it stand to reason that He already knows your questions? If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, doesn’t it mean that sometimes He will know things that you and I don’t? If God knows my questions and He knows things that I don’t then why don’t I ask Him?

How to Win the War Within

October 15, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ' Colossians 3:1-2

You’ve left the room, but the argument is not over. Your thoughts are stuck in a loop. The same hurtful exchange of words flashes across your mind over and over and over. You can’t seem to reset your inner replay. All the emotions that should have stayed in that room follow you everywhere you go. Hurt and anger continue to shout in your ears. Your heart rate is through the roof. Hot anger rises in your flushed face. The war is far from over.

Your inner screening room then begins playing out possible outcomes for a future exchange. You don’t really know what will happen, but your mind is already strategizing your next offensive in the war of words. Your emotions rise and fall with every imagined interaction. When you hurl an imagined barb at your intended target proud and triumphant vindictiveness rises to the surface. You feel all the emotions of a situation that hasn’t really happened and then you carry that resentment into the next conversation which turns into another altercation. Your emotions have become attached to an unreality. Nothing actually happened before you walked into the room. Do you truly want to spend your emotional energy on something that isn’t even real?

September 12, 2026

This is Not Forever

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT

As I tearfully opened the sodden boxes of our stored belongings, wondering what was ruined, a verse came to mind,

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

We were temporarily living with my parents, and our stuff was stored in Tom’s parents' garage. They had a plumbing issue in their bathroom above the garage, causing a leak that soaked several of our boxes and other items, including our mattress. We weren’t sure what was salvageable.

That period of time was already difficult. We were waiting for a job to open up and unsure how long that would take, how long we would be living with my parents, how long our stuff would be stored. Both sets of parents had been patient, loving, and gracious. There was no one to blame for the water damage. Sometimes things just happen.

But when that verse popped into my brain, it completely changed my perspective on going through the damage. The tears didn’t stop. There was some mourning and disappointment. But at the same time, there was hope. This was temporary. These things were just things. What really mattered was how I responded. I could choose an eternal perspective. I could choose to treasure Christ more than an earthly possession.

As it turned out, very few of our things were unsalvageable, and insurance more than covered anything that was lost. But the eternal perspective I gained is a treasure that I still carry. That simple shift helped me through the three and a half years of living in the in-between.