Honey Dips – Trust Him with Your Mites

Mark 12: 41 – 44

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”

With great flamboyance, many of the rich gave a large offering to the temple, but a poor widow, demurely threw in everything that she owned, two mites in the treasury. Seems like a simple act to me, but to Jesus her sacrifice was pregnant with meaning.

The ‘simple’ act arrested Jesus’ attention and he called His disciples to Him to commend her act….for He reckoned it more than a combination of all the gifts given by the wealthy individuals.

This old lady scarcely had enough for herself, still she sacrificed and gave everything to Christ. She gave out of faith and love.

Though her offering may have proved insignificant to those around her, it was the greatest gift she could have offered in the eyes of God. He acknowledged her sacrifice. He recognized her motive. He appreciated her love.

Some of us are like the woman in our scriptural focus – we are broken and poor. Sin has robbed us of our blessing – husband, girlfriend, job, peace and we now grieve, we are disappointed, we are bruised, we are widowed….and to add insult to injury we are poor – poor in spirit, poor in faith, poor in might.

To the world our little may seem insignificant, and not appropriate to use to give to God as our gift but He sees the blessing in the broken, the inspiration in the insignificant and the greater good in our seemingly bad situation.

God has a place and purpose for the broken and poor and He wants us to give Him our mites, our brokenness, our hurts, our everything….so that He can turn it into something marvelous, beautiful, helpful and eternal.

We may not be positioned to give the fanciest and most lavished gifts to God or to others but with whatever little we have, though it be broken and few, it can be used for a great purpose for the cause of Christ.

My challenge to you today is, trust God with your mites, your brokenness, your disappointments.

– Dee

(c) 2014, Dentrecia Blanchette

Honey Dips – Cry of the Seeker

There is a deep longing within each of our hearts for something more. This longing sends us on pursuits in high and low places.

This longing was placed within each of us by God so that we can discover and experience His power, greatness and divinity.

To quench the deep fire that burns within us, we search for who God is amid the wonders of our lives and the lives of other. We search casually, desperately, passionately just for a glimpse at the deep might of God’s nature.  We search in season and out of season to experience God as Paul, Moses and David experienced Him. We wrestle, mourn, pray for a taste of His glory.

What leads us to pursue God with all out heart? Perhaps it’s our frustration of pretending that we are filled or maybe we can no longer live with the uncanny pangs of our hunger. Whatever the reason of our pursuit, we seek Him for an intimate encounter, where we can see Him, know Him and be filled by Him.

Jeremiah 29: 13 says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This is the promise made to the genuine seeker. This is comfort to the hungry seeker. This is hope to the weary seeker. When we seek Christ and search for a glimpse of who He is, we will find Him. What a promise! We may not get it right all the time but when we seek the Lord with ALL of our being, we WILL discover His awesome character.

Throughout these months, my passion to learn more of Christ became a ferocious lion unable to stay within its cage. I began searching for God through His Word, nature, prayer, complementary readings and I found as I pursued with an open mind and heart, God revealed different aspects of His character to me…I found Him to be El Roi – the God who sees ME. Like Hagar, He proved to see the deepest, darkest pains, and the moments that I considered too small for Him to see. There was never a valley I could have graveled in or a mountain top I could have camped on, that God did not see me, recognize me, care for me. I found Him to be my Jehovah Rapha – My God who heals. He proved to nurse my deepest wounds and administer the right stitches and medicine to heal my heart. I found Him to be my Jehovah Shalom – My God of Peace. The God who stills my spirit and lifts me to a place of contentment and inner joy.

I discovered God’s awesome character in my pursuit, and in my discovery, I unconsciously discovered who I am in the process.

I want to share the God that I discovered with everyone I meet and I also want everyone to discover who He is for themselves.

So are you searching for God in this complex age where anyone and anything can be god? Are you looking to no avail it seems? Have you tasted His goodness but desire MORE? I encourage you to keep seeking His face and glory with an open heart and mind; the process may seem fruitless and laborious but is worth it and the promise of finding Him when we seek Him is sure!

– Dee

(C) 2014, Dentrecia Blanchette

Honey Dips – Fiercely Love!

They persecuted Christ yet He chose love. They rejected He yet He chose love. They ignored Christ yet He chose love. They despised Him yet He chose love. In spite of their actions, love was always His FIRST and ONLY response.

As His followers, we are called to be guided by nothing but love and the Holy Spirit.  Christ calls us to be scandalously brave and fiercely love as He loves.

Without question, it is safe to be angry. It is easy to be cynical. It is easy to be critical. It is easy to distance yourself. It is safe to be bitter. It’s easy to be hostile. But it takes courage to forgive. It takes courage to keep on loving. It takes courage to show kindness and tenderness. It takes courage to live with your heart exposed and vulnerable, open to life and committed to showing and being love. It takes courage to have a pure, peaceful, purposeful and spiritual heart in strained relationships and unfair circumstances.

I dare you to choose to be scandalously brave and love today because the world needs the love Christ has showered you with. Your coworker needs love. Your parent needs love. Your children need love. Your estranged friend needs love. Your boss needs love. Your accuser needs love. The abuser needs love. (Consider their action as a cry for love.) They need that love that can mend shattered hearts, cure broken souls, melt frosty relationships, and transform lives.

It’s a magnificent challenge and most days, a seemingly impossible command, but Christ never calls us to do anything without offering help. He says, “Let me show you how to love. Just give me your heart. Let me surprise you with the power of love. Let me show you the power of love.”

Be scandalously brave and love – “even when it’s hard; even when it hurts; even when you are crucified; even when it doesn’t make sense.” Only the brave, love.  

– Dee

(c) 2014, Dentrecia Blanchette

 

Honey Dips – Unloved, unrecognized, unseen

“The greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them….to be understood by them.” – Virginia Satir

Despite the amount of platforms for connection that our age has afforded us, social loneliness is still a very real emotion many of us struggle with.  It’s a sobering reality when we truly consider the ineffectiveness of the tools that were created to help us build roads toward connectivity but rather build walls of separation instead.

Despite the innumerable amount of activities that set our social landscapes ablaze, many of us still feel like a fly on the wall – invisible, overlooked, insignificant and ignored. It renders us hopeless knowing that our days can be filled to the rim with people, pursuits, passions and personalities yet at the end of the day we feel….alone.

The truth is emotional neglect and loneliness cut the soul like a knife – it’s a bloody and painful feeling. And to muffle the feeling, we manipulate what and who we can to be seen and change ourselves to be recognized and loved. The hoops we jump through to feel wanted, loved and cared for, often leave us emotionally exhausted and bruised.

But there is a remedy for those who feel unseen, unloved and unrecognized —- God’s attention is the remedy – His care is the answer – His love is the missing piece to the puzzle.

There is a God whose watchful eye sees our every experience, desire, need and tear. There is a God who sees those who have been intentionally imprisoned by the confines and labels of others – consider Joseph in the pit; a God who sees those who are rejected and unloved by the ones their hearts beat for – consider Hagar and her story of unrequited love; a God who sees those who are high in status and influence but are in need of something more – consider Zacchaeus. There is a God who sees us…and loves us. He pays constant attention to the little and big things in our lives…and unconditionally showers us with affection. No occurrence is too small that God has not taken notice; no moment is too large, tragic, overwhelming….that God has not taken notice.

Today, know that you are seen and valued by God. In the eyes of the King of the Universe you are significant, loved and special.

– Dee

(c) 2014, Dentrecia Blanchette