Casandra Martin

The beginning of June marks more than the beginning of summer on the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is also the official start to hurricane season. From now until November, we will keep a watchful eye on the Atlantic Ocean and the rhythm of its waters. There is more to hurricane season, however, than watching the weather. With the onset of hurricane season, the constant and consistent message is to be prepared.

Storm preparation is drilled into the heads of residents along the Gulf Coast. This time of year finds us stocking up on batteries and bottled water. We are encouraged to stay current with medications, keep lists of emergency numbers, and have an escape plan if we need to leave the area. We never know when a hurricane might hit. Better to be prepared.

Passing by yet another sign reminding us to be prepared because it is hurricane season, I realized that there is a spiritual truth embedded in those words. No matter where you live, storms will rage against our souls. Our hearts will be battered and bruised by tempests of uncertainty, gales of grief, and the ferocious winds of fear. We can’t stop the storms from coming, but we can be prepared to help our hearts weather the worst of what they unleash.

My Jesus Resolution today is to prepare. I don’t know when the next storm is going to hit. I am certain that it is coming. Grounding myself in prayer, study, and spiritual friendships will provide the buffer that I need to weather the next storm. Being prepared doesn’t mean that the storm won’t come, but waiting until I am in the middle of the storm is often too late to gather the tools I need to stay afloat during the worst of its impact. Better to be prepared.

The beginning of June marks more than the beginning of summer on the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is also the official start to hurricane season. From now until November, we will keep a watchful eye on the Atlantic Ocean and the rhythm of its waters. There is more to hurricane season, however, than watching the weather. With the onset of hurricane season, the constant and consistent message is to be prepared.

Storm preparation is drilled into the heads of residents along the Gulf Coast. This time of year finds us stocking up on batteries and bottled water. We are encouraged to stay current with medications, keep lists of emergency numbers, and have an escape plan if we need to leave the area. We never know when a hurricane might hit. Better to be prepared.

Passing by yet another sign reminding us to be prepared because it is hurricane season, I realized that there is a spiritual truth embedded in those words. No matter where you live, storms will rage against our souls. Our hearts will be battered and bruised by tempests of uncertainty, gales of grief, and the ferocious winds of fear. We can’t stop the storms from coming, but we can be prepared to help our hearts weather the worst of what they unleash.

My Jesus Resolution today is to prepare. I don’t know when the next storm is going to hit. I am certain that it is coming. Grounding myself in prayer, study, and spiritual friendships will provide the buffer that I need to weather the next storm. Being prepared doesn’t mean that the storm won’t come, but waiting until I am in the middle of the storm is often too late to gather the tools I need to stay afloat during the worst of its impact. Better to be prepared.

He stopped in the middle of the song. The words to the song by Fred Fillmore still resonated in the air as the crowd paused as he tried to get everyone’s attention,

I know, I know that my Redeemer lives,

I know, I know eternal life He gives;

I know, I know that my Redeemer lives.

“This song is good news,” he said. “Jesus lives! Surely that is a reason to smile and celebrate.” The singing started again, but this time with more intensity. The words sank into my heart a little more deeply, the truth of it rang a little more clearly as I sang. I know my Redeemer lives. That one fact makes all the difference.

The words for this song come from the heart of Job. Faced with unspeakable suffering, he hung his hope on the truth that he knew that his redeemer lives. Knowing this gave him peace, ignited joy, inspired worship, and was a catalyst for courage. Knowing this truth should do the same for me.

No matter what the day brings, how dark the night becomes, how deep the pit is, or how high the mountain we face, knowing that our Redeemer lives should change how we face the moment. In the end, victory is ours. It is finished, assured, and guaranteed by God Himself. Jesus has defeated death, crushed sin, and broken the stranglehold of Satan. The empty tomb proclaims again and again that He has the power, the love, and the resolve to hold me safely by His side.

My Jesus Resolution today is to celebrate the good news that my Redeemer lives. What we sing on Sunday should teach us how to live differently during the week. I don’t have to let life’s circumstances color my vision or cast deep shadows on my heart. Hard things come our way, but they are not the end of the story. Jesus lives! Because I know the One who has conquered death, I don’t have to be defeated by life.

We have become a nation of trash talkers. Sports, politics, businesses, and entertainment venues are filled with people who trash talk the people around them. It doesn’t matter if they are on the other side of the field, the aisle, the conference table, or the red carpet, trash talking is used to define our space, defend our position, or demonstrate our legitimacy. We seem to have absorbed the idea in our culture that trash talking is an appropriate outgrowth of the one-upmanship that characterizes the American can-do spirit.

Historians tell us that the phrase “trash talking” originated in the mid 1980’s in America, but trash talking has been around for centuries. It is at the root of war cries, the foundation for gossip, and the cornerstone of pride. The dictionary defines trash talking as “the use of disparaging or boastful language intended to demoralize, intimidate, or humiliate someone.”

We don’t have to turn to the national stage to hear trash talking. Go to any neighborhood playground, sit in a coffee shop, walk through a busy store, or plug into Facebook and Twitter and listen for five minutes. Someone somewhere is using words to bully, boast, discourage, or defeat someone else. Kids trash talk other kids. Parents trash talk to their children. People trash talk about their spouses. We will even trash talk about the person we don’t know who got in our way, cut us off, inconvenienced us, or just didn’t look “right.”

As Christians, we are called to live and speak in a different way. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” – Ephesians 4:29

My Jesus Resolution today is to be aware of my words. Words have power. Even words said in jest. Even words said in passing. Words have the power to break down or build up. They have the power to cement a relationship or destroy it. They have the power to ignite joy or incinerate hope. I want to teach my children to be treasure finders, rather than trash talkers. I want them to be able to find the good in others, rather than being quick to point out their faults. Jesus never trash talked anybody. He used words to open a door into His Father’s presence. I want to be just like Him.