Casandra Martin

Have you ever been hemmed in by your I Can’ts? Sometimes my I Can’ts loom large. One I Can’t tumbles into another until they create an obstacle that seems too big to overcome. My I Can’ts press in on my heart, making me feel like I have weights in my soul. My I Can’ts create shadows that dim my vision and weaken my courage. One I Can’t seems to open the door to another one and before long, I am boxed in by the impossible.

I Can’ts are real, but grow when I feed them. The more I look at them, define them, study their boundaries, and trace their ripples, the more discouraged I become. They can make me feel stuck, incapable of moving forward or discovering any open doors for my heart.

When I come face-to-face with my I Can’ts, I have two choices. I can slump under the weight of all that I can’t do or be, or I can look for the I Can’s that God empowers me to experience. God is not limited by my I Can’ts. He is a God of possibilities, opportunities, and promises. He invites me to look past the I Can’ts that seem so overwhelming, and rest in the truth that He is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than any I Can’t on my horizon.

My Jesus Resolution today is to focus on my I Can’s. Because of Jesus, I can choose worship over worry, prayer over a pity party, and counting my blessings over complaining about my circumstances. I can choose to see what God is doing instead of focusing on things I can’t do. It may even be in my I Can’ts that God’s glory might be magnified, His grace revealed, and His love most deeply experienced.

“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” – Revelation 1:8

The phone was ringing. My son picked it up and gave a shout. We all stared at the caller ID in disbelief. Identifying the caller, the screen read, “Alpha Omega.” “What if it’s Jesus?” one of the boys asked. “Don’t you think we better answer it? It would be bad not to answer when Jesus calls,” the other one replied. We answered, listened to a spiel about carpet cleaning, and hung up laughing. We should have known that heaven probably doesn’t have a local area code.

While I am rolling my eyes at the carpet cleaning company, I am thankful for the conversation their phone call ignited in my family. How do we recognize when Jesus calls? Do we answer, put Him on hold, or ignore the call?

I have never met anyone who received an actual phone call from Jesus, but Jesus calls to us all the time. He speaks through His Word, answers quiet prayers, and sings with us in worship as we approach God’s throne. We can hear His voice in nature, in the gentle words of a friend, and in the tug of the Spirit as we face needs, difficulties, joys, and beauty. The question is whether or not I am paying attention.

My Jesus Resolution today is to answer when Jesus calls. Jesus calls for my eyes to focus on Him. He calls for my ears to be attuned to His voice. He calls for my feet to follow where He leads. He calls for my soul to be surrendered and my heart to be thankful. Too often, if I am honest, I miss His call.  Busyness, struggles, and inattention put up barriers to experiencing His presence. I long for today to be different. I want to notice. I want to answer. I want to engage in the conversation He wants to share with me today. The Alpha and the Omega wants to talk to you. Will you answer?

I lost my voice four days ago. It has been a time of eerie silence. I am not sure that I have ever been this quiet, especially not for days on end. I can’t talk on the phone. I can’t call out for help. I can’t say ‘I love you’ or yell at the kids to clean their rooms. Being voiceless has changed the dynamic in our house, and in my soul.

There are many times in the world when we feel like we have lost our voices. We talk and no one seems to listen. We express our dreams and the world bats them down. We voice our fears and others turn their backs. If you are famous, rich, or beautiful, you might be given a voice in our society. But the rest of us are stunted by silence. One voice in a sea of voices doesn’t seem to make a difference or change the cacophony that fills our days.

In my quiet days, I have relearned an important truth. God listens to our whispers. He hears the yearnings of our souls, and pays attention to the rhythm of our hearts. God cares more about surrender than He does with sound. He draws us close in His arms and listens to what our voices cannot say.

My Jesus Resolution today is to whisper to God. The world may tell me that I have no voice, but God listens to every whisper. When my heart aches, God knows. When tears fall, God touches my cheeks. When joy swells, He rejoices with me. When my soul cries out for grace, He gently wraps me in His love. Not being able to talk is a challenge, but knowing God is listening to my whispers enfolds me in His peace.

“I regard no man as poor who has a godly mother.” – Abraham Lincoln

You have a gift to give to the children in your life. You don’t have to be wearing the latest fashions, sporting the newest electronics, or driving the fanciest car to make a difference to a child. You have to love Jesus.

You have to love Him enough to set down the world’s standards of success, and rejoice when you see His image blossoming in your child.

You have to love Him enough to believe that following His pattern will set the best example for your children.

You have to love Him enough to say “no” to the world, even when it doesn’t make you cool, popular, or liked.

You have to love Him enough to see your children as vessels for His glory, not repositories for the world’s junk.

You have to love Him enough to take a long view of growing a soul in a society obsessed with instant gratification.

You have to love Him enough to be convinced that faith is the most precious gift we can give to our families.

You have to love Him enough to let your children see Him working in the good, bad, and ugly parts of you. Only then will they understand the true meaning of grace.

My Jesus Resolution today is ask Jesus to help me love my kids. Being a mom is the most challenging, rewarding, frustrating, joyous, humbling opportunity I have ever had. I want to get this right. I want to give them enough tools to launch them on their own faith adventure. I want them to see Jesus so clearly that His image is burned deeply into their sight, their thinking, their actions, and their choices. The best gift that I can give my children is to give myself fully to Jesus and invite them along for the journey.

She called home to touch base. She hadn’t felt well for a couple of days and was feeling a little homesick. “I just can’t put my finger on it. I feel off.” “I know what it is,” I replied. “You miss your momma.” She laughed. That is my answer for every time my kids are having an off day. Missing home can just make you feel out of kilter. We talked a few minutes more and she headed off to work. Our conversation, however, has resonated with me all day.

Sometimes our hearts ache and we just can’t put our finger on why. We have an unanswerable longing for something that we can’t quite name. We chalk it up to being busy, tired, stressed, or a lack of chocolate. The truth, however, may be soul deep. Maybe we are missing home.

The truth is we don’t fit here. We walk through our days as citizens of another kingdom. The more we look like Jesus, the more our hearts ache for His presence. The longer we stand in His light, the deeper our discomfort with the darkness around us. The more we give ourselves to holiness, the more out of kilter we feel with our culture. Perhaps C.S. Lewis said it best. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

My Jesus Resolution today is to remember that I am made for another world. It is okay to miss home. I am not supposed to feel entirely comfortable walking in this world. Its joys and beauty are shadows of the delights of heaven. Its sorrows and troubles remind me that I am on a journey and need to travel light. Next time I feel a little off, I am going to remember that maybe, just maybe, I am missing home.

The sign announced the Grand Opening. The Miracle Hair Salon is opening up on a corner near my house. I smiled as I drove by, imagining the conversations that would take place in the coming days. “My hair is a mess. I need a miracle!” “It is going to take a miracle for me to look good enough for this reunion.” “Do you have a miracle that will get the gum out of this head of hair?”

Sometimes I wish there was a miracle salon. Someplace where I could go, plunk down my credit card, and get a miracle. I like the idea of being able to order up a miracle to suit my needs, answer my pain, or ease my way. But that isn’t the way God works. His extraordinary power fills our ordinary moments. He gives us more miracles in a day than we ever notice. He paints beauty on the petals of a flower, pulls the tides of the ocean onto the beach, brushes the tips of the mountains with snow, and filters sunlight through the clouds.

Every time we see God’s movement in the world, we are witnessing something amazing. Our God who is outside of time moves in time to answer prayers, walk in our sorrows, transform our hearts, and give us what our hearts so desperately need. When we need a miracle, God gives us something so much greater than a momentary solution, He gives us Himself.

My Jesus Resolution today is to pay attention. God is here. God is moving all around me. He answers before I ask. He sees to my needs before I know them myself. He fills the world with beauty, color, texture, flavor, and joy simply because He loves me. I don’t need a miracle salon. I need open eyes to see the miracles that are taking place all around me every day.

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

Today’s to-do list: Change the world. Why are you laughing? We often think changing the world requires having super powers, extraordinary fame, or unlimited resources. In reality, improving the world is as simple as breathing a prayer, walking in faith, and smiling with joy. Remember, God does the changing. We are simply His instruments.

Here are ten things you can do today to start improving the world.

1. Pray.

2. Engage in a deliberate act of kindness.

3. Give a hug.

4. Send a thank you note.

5. Post something encouraging on Facebook or Twitter.

6. Live the Golden Rule.

7. Play with a child.

8. Turn off the television.

9. Smile.

10. Tell one person about Jesus.

My Jesus Resolution today is to improve my little corner of the world. Too many times, I look at the world and throw up my hands in despair, not realizing the power one act of kindness, one word of mercy, or one expression of hope can have on someone else. How might the world improve if we all committed to leaving a little bit of Jesus behind us as we move through our day?

A little girl sits with a daisy, plucking off the petals as she whispers, “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not.” Getting close to the end, she holds her breath to see what the outcome will be. A smile will fill her face if the remaining petal declares love, but if the last petal reveals ‘he loves me not,’ somber silence follows.

It is a silly game that little girls play, but it has a grown-up reality. How many times do we look at our circumstances as a measure of whether or not God loves us? I got a promotion – He loves me. There is an unexpected bill – He loves me not. I found the perfect new dress – He loves me. I get caught in traffic – He loves me not. He answers my prayer with a ‘yes’ – He loves me. He answers my prayers with a ‘no’ – He loves me not. We take sunny days, smooth sailing, and happy moments as evidence of His love. Mountains of struggle, times of discouragement, and crashing storms all cast shadows in our hearts about the reality of His love.

Here is the truth our hearts need to remember – God loves you. Passionately. Fully. All the time. In every situation. No matter what. Period. There is never a ‘He loves me not’ when it comes to God. Your circumstances don’t dictate God’s love. They help you experience God’s love.

My Jesus Resolution today is to count the ‘He loves me’s.’  Every day is filled with heavenly ‘I love you’s.’ I serve a God who calms raging seas and walks on the water through the storms. Either way, He loves me. I don’t have to hold my breath and wonder. I can breathe in the deep reality that He loves me beyond what I can imagine. I am going to look for the blessings, the reasons to be thankful, and the evidence of His presence in my day. Every time, I am going to stop and remind my soul, ‘He loves me!’

Ever ended up where you never wanted to be? Sometimes life makes strange turns and we end up on a path we never imagined walking. Perhaps it is a relationship that broke rather than bloomed, a work situation that finds you struggling rather than successful, a physical challenge that took you by surprise, or a financial circumstance that demands more sacrifice than you had expected. Whatever it is, you look around at your life, stand a little dismayed with where you are, and wonder how to live in the middle of being where you don’t want to be.

You are not alone. Noah ended up on an ark. Abraham hiked up a mountain. David hid in a cave. Joseph looked through prison bars. Jacob had a hip injury. Paul was shipwrecked. Gideon was thrust into battle. Peter heard a rooster. John got stuck on an island. Jeremiah got thrown into a pit. Ruth lost her husband. The Bible is filled with stories of people who find themselves in the wrong place with the right God. No matter where they are, they make the decision to trust, obey, surrender, rejoice, pray, and worship right where they were.

Sometimes we want to believe that we would be able to look more like Jesus if our circumstances were more ideal. The truth is that God calls us to look like Jesus wherever we find ourselves. God empowers us to walk in faith through our difficulties, and challenges us to use our circumstances as frames for His glory.

My Jesus Resolution today is to look like Jesus in all my circumstances. Faith isn’t about rising above my circumstances nearly as much as it is about looking like Jesus in my circumstances. God calls me to shine for Him wherever I am. Someone once said, “People are like stained glass windows. They glow and sparkle when it’s sunny and bright; but when the sun goes down, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

It had been a long weekend. We were on the road, and I was watching the cacophony of colors painted by the wild flowers speed by as we headed home. Cars passed. Traffic flowed. Trucks zoomed by. Finally, one car pulled alongside us. There was nothing special about the car except for a small sticker on the back window. All it said was Pray First.

I have been thinking about those words for days. Pray First. It is a gentle reminder filled with deep wisdom. Those words have echoed in my soul igniting reflection, repentance, and resolve. Do I pray first? When my day goes bad, do I pray first? When I receive good news, do I pray first? When I face a struggle, experience heartache, or am faced with a decision, do I pray first?

To be honest, I usually get to prayer. But also to be honest, it isn’t always the first thing I do. I mope, complain, call a friend, get on Facebook, eat a cookie, or bury myself in work. Prayer falls somewhere on the list. Just not always first. And when Pray First isn’t my first response, my soul struggles to find its footing and I miss the opportunity to see God in the moment.

My Jesus Resolution today is to Pray First. I want prayer to be my default – the place where I run when life is hard, the world is cruel, circumstances conspire, or when joy explodes. His presence is safe shelter. His arms draw me nearer to His heart. He is a rock on which I can stand, shouting His praises and proclaiming His power. Praying first moves me deeper into His purpose, and gives my heart the grace it needs to face the day.